Demon
By Magelet
(My thanks to Eliza Simpson for reviewing!)

A hand snatched the knife away from Keller. "What is wrong with you?!" Hannah yelled at her. "You're about to kill
yourself?! I've died a lot of times, and believe me it's not that great, and there's a small chance that you might come back
too, which isn't always peachy-keen in itself." The Old-Soul's eyes were filled with tears. And her voice cracked and Theirry,
who was behind her, came to her aid.

"There's no proof that Galen's dead. And if he is, would he want you to do this? Would he want you to end your life-
something he loved and wanted for you more than anything but happiness? He wants you to live Keller- and, if he really is
gone, do everything and anything he can't. You must see that?"

"Give me the knife, Theirry. I want to die. I've had enough brushed with death; it won't be bad at all. It'll be
nothing but relief. And Galen's dead. So if there's no afterlife or after consciousness, than he'll never know or care that
I'm dead. If there is, than we'll be together and he can yell at me all he bloody well wants!" He voice broke with emotion
and her eyes filled up with tears.

"What's going on in here?" a feminine voice came from the door. Jillian and Poppy poked their heads in the door and
took in the scene. Hannah and Theirry looking desperate, Keller looking crazy, tears, and one of Rashel's very sharp knives.

Oh my God, Keller! What were you thinking?" Poppy whispered, going to sit beside her friend, hugging her tightly.

"I keep thinking that my mother was right." Keller muttered, shaking away from Poppy's embrace and standing up. "I
will always be alone." She heard the others leaving the room silently- depriving it of any item that could have been in the
least bit sharp.

Looking out her window, she thought about Galen- her lost soulmate. She could almost see him in front of her- looking
like he hadn't eaten in a while, scratched, bruised and windblown. "Keller!" he called her name "God, Keller, if you can hear
me, don't do anything stupid! Don't let your namesake control you. I'm coming back for you. Hang on Keller. I love you." The
voice was faint to begin with and faded as he spoke.

Taking a deep breath, she left her room for the first time since they'd come home a week ago, walking down a flight
of stairs to Iliana's room and knocked on the door softly.

"Keller!" The Witch Child opened the door, exclaiming. "You're out of your room!" Then she seemed suddenly worried
"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Or, better and as fine as I can be at the moment. I kind of let the demon in me take over for a few
days and I'm not over it yet, so don't expect me to be miss congeniality. But I saw something, I think it as a witch thing if
I really actually saw it."

Iliana's eyes lit up with interest and shock. "Show me where you saw it."

The pair went back up to the panther 'shifter's room and over to the window that Keller had been looking out when she
'saw' her soulmate.

"It looks normal to me." Iliana mused looking around, "I can sense a bit of something, it may have been sent by a
powerful witch wherever Galen is, I don't know. If Aradia were here, I bet we could tell you for sure. It's awful hard being
the Witch Child when you're a lost witch." She frowned thoughtfully.

"You've changed so much from the first time I saw you." Keller told the girl.

"And so have you." Iliana smiled a bit, "You can be really moody, and let your first name take over who you are, or
you can be the sweetest, most sentimental thing on earth." She paused, "I'm glad you haven't totally given up hope and tried
to do anything stupid. I think there's always still hope..." she trailed off at the sound of running feet in the hallway.

"Keller!" Maggie Neely (soon-to-be-Redfern) burst into the 'shifter princess's room. "He's alive. They've got him in
a Daybreak center in Brazil. Galen's alive!" she laughed.

Keller just stared at her-face blank, but with hope and joy gleaming in her eyes.