The man before me dropped to the ground, and I felt my eyelids flutter as I tried to keep my balance. After a moment, I fell backwards, but was caught with strong, familiar arms.

Sebastian pulled me tightly against his chest as I heard Evan continuing to fight behind us.

"Don't let them live simply for my sake," I whispered. "Kill them."

A few moments later, the sounds of fighting ended with thumps as bodies hit the ground. The only sounds left were the pouring rain and my labored breathing.

"You were supposed to still be resting," I heard Sebastian whisper to me.

I closed my eyes and lay against him. "I woke up and had another vision." I paused, and felt tears begin to burn at my eyes. "I saw you get killed. I wasn't going to let that happen."

He held me tighter, and I welcomed his warmth. I'd saved him. He was alive.

Lisa and James approached us then, but I didn't look up. I didn't want to see the worry on their faces or the bodies lying around me.

"How did you-" Lisa started.

"She clearly teleported," Evan answered her. "I'm not surprised she has the ability. It's almost as rare as her visions, and only really powerful demons possess it. It is her destiny to be the most powerful demoness."

I opened my eyes and looked up to see something similar to pride in Evan's eyes. Lisa seemed pretty shocked.

"I what?" I asked, not knowing if I had heard correctly or if my fatigue was confusing words.

"You teleported," Evan answered, "probably about 100 yards or so. I'm not sure how you managed it, considering it takes a lot of strength and energy to pull off, but…"

I looked away from him and Lisa and down at my hands. I teleported? Great, another stupid ability I have to worry about.

I looked to James, a part of me wanting to know his thoughts on what I had done. However, he was focused on something else. I followed his gaze and tried to sit up. "James-"

"No. Don't say anything," he said. I had never seen him so sad.

"I had no choice. He was going to hurt Sebastian."

"He's a demon, Chrystal. Nothing he could have done would have hurt him."

"But my vision-"

"Was probably nothing more than an image in your head of the worst possible outcome of this fight. He would've been fine."

I felt my eyes brim with tears. "Have you ever loved someone, James?" I asked accusingly.

He seemed taken aback by my question. "What? What has that got to do with-"

"It has everything to do with this." My tears were beginning to spill, but I tried to keep my expression steady. "Do you have any idea what goes through a person's head when they see someone they love in danger? They will do anything to save that person. Even if it means having blood on their hands."

James was quiet, and I followed his gaze to my bloody swords and fingers.

"I didn't want to," I cried, my resolve to keep my face steady withering. "I just didn't want to see Sebastian get hurt…"

There was a long moment of silence between us. I tried to calm myself, but I couldn't. I'd done the unthinkable.

I looked up at James once more. "If I go through with this destiny of mine, if I become a demon, there will be no avoiding things like this. I'll kill more people. We might as well both be getting used to it."

James shook his head. "Well until you decide for sure, you should really leave the dirty work to the ones who aren't bothered by the death of a human. Leave the killing to the demons." Then he turned and walked away.

There was a moment of silence before the voice above me spoke. "I apologize, My Love. It was my duty to make sure you never had to do anything like this, but it seems I was the reason you did."

I turned my gaze toward Sebastian and tried to smile at him through the tears. "And I'd do it again for you. Although I'd prefer not to make a habit out of it."

His sad expression lifted, then he leaned down and kissed me softly and lovingly as one of his gloved hands wiped my tears. When he pulled away, he stood, still holding me. "Let's get you out of the rain and cleaned up. Being soaked through really isn't good for your health."

I nodded and leaned my head on his chest as he hurried back toward the house, Evan and Lisa following close behind.

When we got back to the house, the first things Sebastian did was carry me up the stairs to our room so I could change. He brought me a clean towel so I could dry off, then left the room with my swords, promising he would wait just outside in case I needed help.

I undressed and dried off the best I could with the towel provided as I tried to process everything that had happened in the past maybe 10 minutes. It had all happened so fast. I'd had a vision. I'd seen Sebastian die. I'd gone to prevent that. I'd killed someone.

I was finishing putting my clothes on as the reality of what I had done began to sink in. I'd done it. I'd done the one thing no one had wanted to see me do. I hadn't even taken the time to see if they were being controlled or not. But when I saw that he was going to hurt Sebastian…

I slid down the side of the bed and hugged my knees. I'd meant what I said to James, but he was right, too. I hadn't decided my fate yet. I knew the visions would continue whether I became a demon or not, and I knew that until I was turned, they would drain me of energy every time I had one. And on top of that, I had a new ability to worry about. I could teleport? What?

I could tell I was becoming overwhelmed, but I couldn't bring myself to stop thinking about what I had done and where my life was heading. I draped the towel over my wet hair and held my head in my hands, trying hard to fight away the tears that felt warm compared to my chilled body.

A light knock rapped on the door. "Chrystal?" Sebastian's muffled voice called.

I didn't answer, and the door opened a long moment later.

I didn't look up or even bother to move the towel out of my face. I stayed where I was and let Sebastian sit down and wrap his arms around me.

"This is what they didn't want to see," I told him.

I felt the towel be pulled away, and I let my hands fall to my lap as I looked at him. I couldn't read his expression.

"And that is why they are not here," he said, pulling out a washcloth. "You did not do it for them, so they have no reason to be mad at you."

"Yes, they do," I cried as he began to wash my face with the cloth. "I still killed someone. They'll be furious."

"I don't think so," he told me, continuing to scrub my face. "Disappointed at first, maybe, but I do not believe they will be angry with you."

He pulled the cloth away, and I glanced at it to see it was stained red. I looked back down at my bloody hands and my tears multiplied.

Sebastian covered my hands with the washcloth, gently massaging the blood away. "You did what you felt needed to be done to protect yourself and others. There is no shame in that, especially when your feelings were correct."

He once again pulled the cloth away, and I looked down at my clean hands. I could still see in my mind's eye the blood that had previously been there, and I sighed, leaning against Sebastian, where I stayed until I could no longer fight the fatigue and fell asleep in his arms.