Prologue

"Where are we going mommy?" 7 year old Clarissa questioned as she was practically dragged across the marble floor to her father's office.

A loud boom came from outside, followed by bright lights and cracking noises. To every sound louder than a whisper, her mother's, Jocelyn's, eyes would widen in fear. A few times she would cup Clarissa's mouth to muffle any sounds that had slipped from the child's lips. She had tried to hide this conflict from her beautiful little girl for a while, however, she knew she couldn't keep it up for long. They were going to come for her eventually.

When they reached the office, Jocelyn rushed to the rectangular desk at the end of the room and pulled open the second to last drawer. Clarissa stood off to the side against the giant tapestry that was hanging on her father's office wall and watched as her mother reached into the drawer. There was the click of a switch and the wall opposite of Clarissa opened up into an extension of the room they were in. Her mother then pulled her by the arm into the room.

"Stay here, and don't come out. Not even if someone calls your name. If they are on your side then they will come to you." Her mother warned her, and without getting a chance to respond Clarissa was suddenly enveloped in darkness.

To Clarissa it felt like forever in the damp, dark room. She was very confused and wanted her mother to hurry back to her quickly. What did mother mean by 'if they were on my side'? She wondered, before jumping at the sudden sound of scampering feet on marble flooring. She clamped her hands over her mouth to stop the squeak that threatened to leave. Once she was sure she wouldn't alert anyone of her presence she peeked out from a small crack in the wall.

Three men stood around the room and another had himself seated in the shiny leather seat her dad usually sat in behind the intricate redwood colored desktop. She pushed herself as close as she could against the wall and strained to hear what the men were saying.

"Where could she have gone!" She heard a deep Russian voice shout angrily followed by the sound of a something smacking hard against a smooth wooden surface. Clarissa flinched instinctively away from her secret hole in the wall.

"We're sorry sir, her mother was a step ahead. We got her just as she was leaving this room, but there was no child with her." Another replied more timidly and Clarissa's eyes widened at his answer. Did they really have her mother?

"So you have the mother?" The Russian man asked.

"Of course sir, just like you asked." Well that answered her question.

"Good, now let's find the girl. I'll search in here while all of you split up and search the rest of the palace. Leave no space unchecked. Are we clear?" The first man, who Clarissa now assumed was the leader of their pack, ordered.

"Yes sir!" The other men cried in unison before filing out of the room.

Clarissa leaned back from the wall and watched the leader through the hole in her hiding place. He pulled out an unusual cylinder device that looked almost like a wand. Clarissa's eyes widened in shock when she realized that it was an exact replica of the one her father used when he was teaching her runes. Her father told her that the instrument helped you do different things as long as you drew the correct runes.

Clarissa stiffened as she recalled this and realized that she really needed to get out of this room she was in. She slid across the walls trying to find a knob or switch that could lead her to a second door or exit, but she couldn't. The walls were cold, slimy, and smelled like what she thought was a mixture of raw fish and broccoli. She longed to be out of this room. She was gagging on the air and he was sure to find her in no time. The fear was making her heart pound. She couldn't take it any longer, she suddenly needed air. It was like someone was suffocating her. The cement wall hiding her from the evil man who took her mom opened and she was hit with a rotten smell similar to the time her brother, Jonathan, found a dead raccoon in his closet. The bright light stung her eyes as she choked on the putrid smell filling her lungs. She couldn't breathe any longer. Darkness surrounded her and she was taken away into her own little dreamland...

Clarissa opened her eyes slowly, letting the sunlight in one ray at a time, so she wouldn't blind herself. She knew she hadn't woken up yet. She could always tell when she was dreaming or not. In dreams she always felt calm and peaceful, and she always ended up in the same place. It was like her mind had invented its own little world for when she needed space from other people and problems that she was facing. She wasn't alone there either. A boy was always with her, and he would help her. He would ask her how she was or give her answers to questions she sometimes didn't even know she had. She never knew his name because she had never bothered to ask him. She assumed he would tell her when he wished. Besides she just liked his company. Neither of them needed to be bothered with names.

Clarissa sat up and adjusted her eyes to the ideal world around her. She was in a field of golden grass that glinted off the sun as its rays washed over them. Occasional dandilions flowed back and forth with the wind and the trees followed along with the same dance. Clarissa stretched and then stumbled to her feet. She was still a little disoriented for some reason. That dead smell really took its turn on her. Once she was stable she looked around and noticed a lake with a giant willow tree next to it. As her eyes found the lake she was shocked. Next to the lake there was a bunch of stones all lined up next to each other like a cemetery. But it couldn't be one, could it? The spaces between the tombs were too small. There's no way there are fully grown people under them. Also, this was her happy place, sad and sorrowful things weren't allowed here. Clio walked slowly up towards where the stones were placed. Halfway their however, she hid behind the thick trunk of the willow tree. The boy was there, sitting next to the what she now knew were gravestones. She recognized him by His mop of blond hair and his intimidating stance that she actually knew wasn't all that scary.

Clarissa was confused. How could there be sadness here? It's supposed to be happy, and not full of death. How did this happen? She wondered as she watched her fearless friend next to one of the graves, curled in a ball. Finally she couldn't take it anymore. She came out from behind the tree and walked up to him. He didn't notice her at first, but eventually he looked up and saw her. He looked relieved as he scrambled to his feet and pulled her into a hug.

"Clarissa! Thank goodness, you're okay!" he cried and then pushed her away. "But, you need to leave now!" He started frantically shaking her. "Wake up Clarissa! Wake up!" A bright light surrounded them and suddenly Clarissa was submersed into darkness... again. The last thought that flew through her mind was. How did he know my name?

"Wake up Clarissa. Please wake up." Clarissa heard someone sigh beside her and felt pressure applied to her hand. She fought with her heavy eyelids and it felt almost as if she was pushing apart two giant cement walls in order to see. Finally, she opened her eyes only to shut them tight from the light coming from above her. She groaned and heard a small apology followed by her brother Jonathan calling something out from far away. Clarissa sat up and looked around her. She was in a room full of machines and giant cylindrical glass objects that, because of their complexity according to the seven year old, only Raziel could know how they work. The rusted door to the right of the room burst open and Jonathan ran into the room and towards the man that was standing next to her bed.

"We need to go now!" Jonathan gasped, out of breath. "They're almost here, Luke!"

The man, Luke, ran his hands through his hair. "Okay, okay. Clarissa dear follow your brother." He said grabbing her shoulders and prodding her towards one of the cylindrical enclosures along with her brother Jonathan. Clarissa looked over at him, fear written across her face, and grabbed his hand. She needed the comfort of her brother at that moment. He was the only one she knew at that moment that she could trust. Jonathan squeezed her hand back and his lips tipped up into a small smile that they both knew wasn't enough to give her solace for what was happening. They both grabbed the metal bars on both sides of the glass containers they were currently enclosed in. Clio breathed in and held her breath as she waited for Luke to pull the lever.

"Jonathan?" Clio's voice echoed through the glass chamber. "Are we gonna be okay?"

"Of course Clarissa." Came his reply. "Just close your eyes and think of something else"

"Okay." Clarissa responded and closed her eyes to think about her mother. The one person she needed most. For the third time that day Clarissa fell into a deep sleep, but this time it was on purpose.