Family.



Chapter Nine: A Lost Soul.

A young girl trudged through the as yet rebuilt village of Ducaine Grove. A long time ago she would have called it home, but now, well now it held too many haunting memories. She had seen her parents and other members of her clan murdered here, despite the spells the clan had placed on and around the village to protect it. She had seen herself die here. She had been ten when the saurians came, her father had called the Thorn-Blood clan back to the ancestral home as soon as he sensed something was about to happen, he had even warned the authorities, "fat lot of good that did," she thought, "what was it they called him? . . Oh yes a dithering coot who belongs in either a museum or a funny farm, wonderful characters those army boys, glad none of my friends wanted to join them." He barely had time to cast the spell before the saurians hit, but he never got time to strengthen it. She remembered that night so well. He came to her room and asked her to join the family down stairs, she had been scared because he didn't wake her up in the night unless it was something really serious. He'd taken her to the library where her family had gathered and said;

Flashback:

"Cupcake, we will not survive this war, but you must, therefore we need you to go out into the woods and hide, but first we must use a piece of your hair to make a doppleganger," the little girl looked at her father confused not understanding the large word, "We will make an exact replica of you so that you can hide and stay safe, we will call on an old 'friend' of the Thorn-Blood family to help teach and protect you, so go up and pack your bags, now cupcake we must prepare the spell." she didn't say a word she was a brave girl and didn't find much use for crying unless she felt it absolutely necessary, so she went back to her room and packed her bags. Her mother soon joined her, being only an ordinary magickless puckworlder she wasn't much use downstairs so instead she wanted to spend her last few hours with her daughter before the child was spirited away to safety. Tears streamed down the older woman's cheeks as she lovingly helped the child pack a small rucksack with a few clothes and some other essentials, not forgetting a framed picture of the family they and her husband the forefront, and one picture of the child and a dear friend whom she doubted the girl would ever see again.

"Please mother," said the girl, "please don't cry. I'll be okay honest." The girl didn't know what else to say she loved all of her family so much, it was hurting but there was nothing she could do, she almost did cry but she was determined not to in front of her mother so as not to upset her anymore. She knew it must be terrible for someone who didn't really believe in the teachings of the Goddess to know in advance that you were going to be killed brutally. The child shuddered at the thought and suddenly felt herself wrapped in her sobbing mothers arms, doing the best to comfort her she gently pushed away and closed her bag, changed into some outdoor clothes and taking her mother's hand went downstairs heading back to the library. They entered on the tail end of an invocation spell and in a large ball of golden light a body appeared, it stretched out and her feet touched the ground. She was not a duck, the child didn't know what she was. She was dressed in small leather boots, an unusual dress that was cut into four triangles in the skirt, and was low cut around her chest, her hair was pure white, the same color as her friend's brother's feathers,plus it was thick and spiky. As the light subsided she opened her eyes which glowed for a moment and then showed bright red eyes and cat like pupils, her ears were also pointed. The girl's father approached the newcomer.

"Demoness Mihoshi we have released you to fulfill a mission, once that is done you will have your freedom again, do you understand demon?" Mihoshi looked boredly at the man in front of her, jumping into the air she landed as if on some invisible stool in mid air, she crossed her legs and started adjusting her hair.

"Yeah yeah I understand, I look after the kid good and I get to be a fully fledged demon again and I don't go back in the cave, I get it I get it!" Mihoshi looked over at the girl who stared defiantly back, "You do know she's kinda scrawny to be saving a world right?"

"Cupcake," the father said ignoring the demon's comments, "I need you to come here so I can create your replica." She obeyed, he took a strand of her hair and put it into a small caldron and started to chant. Five minutes later she was looking at an exact replica of herself. However no sooner had her father cleared away the evidence of the spells cast' there was there a loud crash that came from the doorway. Her father looked towards the noise in shock, but knew who it was, "By the Goddess I didn't expect them so soon," he turned to Mihoshi, "protect my daughter demoness Mihoshi, we'll make sure you are not detected or followed, do not use your powers until you get a fair way away though, I sense a saurian of the old ways with them, he will sense your powers and will know something is not right if you do." Mihoshi nodded, grabbed her charge around the waist and ran in the opposite direction to the noise, "all right Thorn-Blood clan lets show them why its not nice to threaten our family." He took one last glance at the retreating demon and his beloved daughter and making sure that his wife had the doppleganger he started throwing out as many defensive spells as he could.

Mihoshi got as far as the trees and dared not go further until everything calmed down, for although she was a powerful demon and could handle anything a saurian could throw at her the death of her charge meant going back to the cold tomb she had been sealed in years ago, plus the spell that had released her made sure that she didn't have full access to her powers until she had completed her mission. It wasn't long before she was wishing that she had found a better spot because the Thorn-Bloods that had survived the battle were rounded up in the clearing in front of them and with one saurian broadcasting footage to Goddess knows where were slaughtered one by one until only the child's father, mother and doppleganger remained. Draganus himself appeared to kill them slowly, leaving the father till last who had tears streaming down his face from the loss of his wife and the apparent loss of his daughter.

End Flashback:

"Hey Saffron!" a small white cat pounced onto the shoulder of the girl, "Saff are you sure you know where this spell is?"

"Yes Mihoshi, just be quiet if anyone hears you they're going to wonder where on Puckworld I got a talking cat from!" Saffy arrived at the foot of a small hill where she found a small rock, she cast a small spell to move it and underneath was an ancient book that had belonged to her ancestor, in it was a teleportation spell that would take her to where Draganus and the strike force were so that she could stop the killing once and for all, "I hope your ready for this Mihoshi," the young teenager said to her companion, "because I wouldn't be surprised if we're in for one hell of a ride!" She grabbed the book, found the spell and cast it. A dark purple light engulfed them and they were suddenly somewhere else, at the top of a cliff they could see a city so they found a road and walked towards it.