Seer's Handbook

by lisalilsis

Rose Hathaway is one of the outcasts of the school, looked down and ignored by everyone except her best friend Christian But Rose might not be as ignored as she thought. The new boy, Dimitri, has his eyes trained on her. But Rose has a secret. Her dreams are telling her something. She is seeing someone get killed by the thing she's convinced herself is not real. All human.

9. Chapter 9 Breakfast with the fam

Hey thanks for the reviews, for your interest in this story and for reading this story. Sorry that I can't give much away, but you'll all figure it out soon. Anyways the last chapter ended with Rose waking up with Dimitri in her room in case you forgot. And here's the rest. Review and tell me what you think.

Dimitri was in my room, again. Did he have no shame? And more importantly had he been watching me sleep? Because if he had I would die of mortification. I wasn't a peaceful sleeper. Christian once told me that I snored louder than a stampede. Worst of all I drool. My cheeks surely have dried drool crust, my hair is a messy tangle, and the pajamas I was wearing weren't exactly Dimitri appropriate.

"What are you doing in my room?" I shrieked.

"Keep your voice down. You don't want your parents to discover a boy in your room." He seemed to think about that for a second. "Unless, of course, you want us to meet that way"

He had a shit eating grin on his face. He was enjoying this a little too much. "Nice doll by the way. Totally not weird that a girl your age still sleeps with Elmo." He laughed. "But if I can make a suggestion you should probably burn it.. " Dimitri glanced down at me, "And those pajamas too while you're at it."

My face grew bright red."What's wrong with my pajamas?" I huffed. It was my usual gray cotton pajama bottoms and a white t-shirt. The ensemble seemed passable, it wasn't like I was wearing Spongebob pajamas.

"What's wrong with it? Well for starters they're not lacy and they cover way too much skin." He leaned in closer towards me and whispered secretively,"It's not exactly what I want to see on a girl when I sneak into her house."

I grabbed my pillow and chucked it at him. He dodged, chuckling quietly at my temper."If you want I'll help burn those retched pajamas. You can just take them off and hand them over." He looked me over. "Unless you need help taking them off. I'm all for that too."

I was ready to chuck my other pillow at him. He grinned, his eyes following my hand as they reached for the second pillow. But I didn't grab it. I was still lying in a half sitting position, but something stirred inside me. I suddenly wanted to one up the bastard. "Sure." I told him as seductively as I could. "I need extra help with my cloths. Mind taking them off for me." I tried to imitate the way Mia bites her lips when she wants a guy's attention. Dimitri stared at me in shocked. I wanted to give myself a high five for finally rendering him speechless.

"Is that a no?" I continued, my voice sounded breathy, even to me. "Can you at least tell me why you're here?"

He seemed to shake his head clear of the confusion. "I… yeah. For the book. I was going to ask you to come with me to the forest. We could ditch school today and I could help you with the book." His voice came out ruff. He seemed to be struggling with something. He couldn't even meet my eye, he kept looking everywhere except at me.

"What's wrong? Is Dimitri feeling awkward because a girl got the best of him." I teased. Dimitri always flustered me; it was an interesting change to see the tables turned.

"I am not awkward." He bit out. "Just thinking of how you'll look better, on the table or on your bed." His voice seemed to regain that flirty charm of his.

"Better how?"

"When I finally give it to you, I want to know what the better place will be. With the desk I could just knock off all the things and lay you on it. Seems more wild." He grinned. "But the bed, that's more comfortable."

I couldn't believe it. Was he actually talking about sex? My face must have shown my indignation because his face softened.

"Just go change out of that horrible excuse for a pajama and meet me outside. Tell your sister, you got another ride to school, or something." He paused. "Better yet, I'll come to your house and tell her myself." He made his way back to the window and started climbing out.

"But you're already in the house." I told him confused.

He looked back at me. "Yes, but I have to make my formal entrance through the front door." And then he was gone.

I changed quickly into my standard jeans and t-shirt, opting for a red one rather than my usual black. I had been told that red is my color; it brightened my tan skin tone transforming it to a beautiful golden brown.

I quickly combed my hair and pulled it up in a ponytail. My hair looked nicer than usual. I almost had the impulse of leaving it down but figured it would be weird showing up like that. I didn't exactly leave my hair down, I always pulled it up. If I went down there with it cascading down my shoulders it would only fuel my parent's belief that I was dating Dimitri. Not to mention what Dimitri might make of this. He would probably think I was doing it to impress him.

When I finished with my hair I stuffed the new book into my bag and ditched the other—I wasn't going to carry both, they were really heavy—and made my way down the stairs, hoping that Dimitri hadn't arrived yet. I hadn't heard the door, but Dimitri was sneaky when he wanted to be.

I stood in the living room, unaware if I should wait beside the door, or settle the hunger in my stomach. I settled for the latter and poked my head into the kitchen.

The kitchen table had six chairs, being a family of four, two were always left unfilled. My dad pitches fork fights to prevent anyone from sitting in his chair at the head of the table. My mother follows dad's suit and sits on the other end. Leaving Mia and I to pick the seats in the middle. Even having a selection of four chairs we always sit in the same ones. Mia sits on the one closest to my mom on the right side. And I sit on the one in the left side closest to my dad.

But this time when I saw the table, one of the unfilled chairs had someone in it. It also happened to be the chair next to mine. Dimitri had come in, who knows how long after he climbed out my window, and was talking to my family, like if it was the most normal thing in the world. He was just sitting there with a plate of food in front of him; chatting them up like if they were all best friends.

And my family was laughing, all of them laughing in perfect union to a joke Dimitri was dishing out. They all looked so happy. Mia was laughing so hard she was supporting herself on the table so that she wouldn't fall off of her chair. My mom next to her had tears in her eyes from the laughter, and my dad—the one who supposedly went hard on his daughter's boyfriend—was looking at Dimitri with a genuine smile on his face.

I couldn't help but think that this is what a family looks like. I'd never seen my family look so happy over breakfast, not even during lunch and dinner. They were laughing, and I wasn't there. I quickly slipped out of the kitchen before they noticed me. I didn't want to ruin their apparent happiness. I had a knack for wiping the smiles out of people's faces.

I didn't get far into the living room when someone stopped me.

"What do you think you're doing, huh, Rose?" Dimitri asked. I didn't even hear him come up behind me. He was a sneaky bastard sometimes.

"Nothing, just wanted to get something." I lied.

"Really." He looked at me, his gaze saying yeah right. "You should have stayed. I was waiting for you. Why'd you run out like that?" So Dimitri saw me leave. I didn't even think he noticed.

"I didn't want to interrupt. You guys were having fun in there. I didn't want to ruin it." I smiled meekly.

He looked confused. "Why would you ruin it? The best part of the kitchen was when I saw you enter, well somewhat enter."

I didn't have time to tell him that I wouldn't be ruining it for him. I would be ruining it for my family since they always get a little tenser when I enter. My mother chose that time to enter the living room. Her eyes lighting up when she spotted Dimitri and I.

"There you are, Rose." She said before turning her full attention to Dimitri. "And where do you think you're running off to. I think I'm going to have to adopt you as my son to keep you here, you're just so charming." She laughed. "Rose, why didn't you bring your friend here sooner?" She scolded before turning her bright smile back on.

So now Dimitri was just my friend. Before she was convinced that he was my boyfriend.

Dimitri and I followed her back into the kitchen. At first I felt guilty that I was going to ruin their breakfast; but I didn't. We were a normal family for once. It was kind of fun, being able to hear the family goof around. I even joined in a couple of times. Dimitri told us stories about his old school that had even me laughing at full volume. I noticed one thing though, Dimitri, was respectful when he wanted to be. He didn't mention one sexual comment and kept a big gap between us. I could tell my family loved him.

Apparently Dimitri had told them, before I got there, about taking me to school because of a student teacher meeting we both had to attend before school. Seeing how respectful, witty, and charming he was my parents—well my mom mostly—agreed.

Dimitri was the first out the door when we left. I lagged it a little behind and managed to catch a tid bit of a conversation my mother was having with Mia. I was closing the front door but caught it before it closed all the way, leaving a little crack open, to hear from.

"You should try to go out with, Dimitri. He's a real catch. Delightful, really, I wouldn't mind him coming over for dinners." My mother sighed. "He really seems to put the family together. I don't think we've all just sat together and laughed in a long time." She added wistfully.

"But he doesn't like me, remember. I tried once and failed. Plus he likes, Rose."

"Nonsense he was acting perfectly fine with you today. I don't think he doesn't like you. Who wouldn't like you anyways?"

"Apparently him." She had a sour tone in her voice. Did she still like Dimitri? "But why are you asking me to get with him. Rose, is clearly the object of his affection?"

"Because, sweetie," She had a sad tone in her voice, "This boy has a certain aurora to him which makes him well liked. The second he opens his mouth to speak, or when he just smiles and laughs, that boy will have no trouble making lots of friends. Rose, just isn't the type of person who could socialize. You've seen what happens with her. People are afraid of her. If she ever assumes a relationship with this boy it would only lead to her heartbreak. It won't last, for him at least. He doesn't have many friends right now, but how do you think Rose is going to feel when he's surrounded with friends. How do you think he's going to feel when his friends call his girlfriend a freak." She took a deep breath. "I hate it when they call her that. And I hate to think how much that name will get to her if he breaks up with her because of it. You have to make sure that Dimitri doesn't assume a relationship with her. Friends they could be, but anything else would end up hurting her."

I closed the door, not wanting to eavesdrop anymore. My mom wanted Mia to be with Dimitri, not me. She was the big catch after all. And apparently Dimitri was too high for my standards.

"Rose." Dimitri waved at me from his car. "Going to get in anytime soon?" His dark hair was mussed messily, his face was inviting, warm, and I couldn't stop looking at it. He was too perfect. He was funny, had a natural charisma when unleashed, and his looks were perfection. He would never be meant for me, even my own mother knew that. I didn't dwell on that fact too much. I still wasn't sure if I even liked Dimitri. My automatic answer was no. Handsome boy plus me just doesn't add well together. If I was meant for someone it would have to be one of those overly tattooed guys that have a split tongue and metal implants. Those guys could actually be seen with a girl like me and not be ridiculed. They would see us together and think, "well that makes sense."

I hurried over to his car and climbed in. The scent of lemon hit me strong. I gave him a questioning glance. "I had a lot of time yesterday after I dropped you off. Figured I'd give this baby a good cleaning."

"So, you driving us to school." I had thought of something he clearly didn't pay mind to.

"Sure, "school"." He said cryptically.

"No really, school. Or have you forgotten we have Mia for first period." We needed to at least go to that class so that Mia doesn't get suspicious.

"Crap." He hit his forehead with the palm of his hand. "I forgot that Mia was that annoying girl in our class."

I hid my smile behind my hand. "So, I say we go to first period, then ditch afterwards like yesterday."

"About that." He gave me a tight smile. "We should be more careful. People might be watching us." People? "We can't be acting too chummy in class. We should make a meeting spot. After class I'll go out first. I'll meet you beside the school, next to Ricker street. Is that ok?"

"Ok, I could do that."

"You got the book?"

I tapped my hand against my bag, "of course."

We drove to school in comfortable silence. Neither one of us had anything to say, but it wasn't awkward. We were comfortable just being near each other. I used that time to pull out my phone and text Christian. I didn't warn him the day before that I wasn't going to be in school. And even though I was still mad at Christian for keeping the book from me, I didn't want to completely ignore him. Once I texted him I shut off my phone. I didn't have time to explain to him why I wasn't going to be there when he texted back.

When we arrived to school we made sure not to be too close to each other. We walked together to class but we had a no contact gap between us. I would have made a joke about him taking this whole people watching us too seriously. But after the shadowed man and creepy Eddie, I was starting to take as much caution as he does.

We didn't talk the whole way to class. From the outside we looked like two students walking in the same direction. There was no sign of friendliness between us. But what people couldn't see was that from the corner of his eye, he kept a constant watch of me. I could feel his gaze radiating over me.

In class, we sat next to each other. But we didn't talk or make jesters. We listened to what Mr. Nagy was lecturing about—which was something about limits—and later did the problems he assigned on the board.

The students made slight speculations about Dimitri and I's fall out friendship. Agreeing that the past two days were a fluke and that the normal hostility had settled between us.

Aside from that, no one really paid us much attention. The class was still buzzing about Natalie, but it wasn't as heavy as yesterday. They all talked in quiet tones so that Mr. Nagy wouldn't hear them. He was currently, nose deep in a magazine, and even if he did hear them, he paid them no mind.

The students were trying to dissect who the last person to talk to Natalie was.

"She was talking to Lissa, remember, before she left home." One of the students was saying.

"No, she talked to Erin after she talked to Lissa."

"Yeah, but then her mom came to pick her up."

"No, after she talked to Erin she talked to this other girl right when her mom came."

"Well who was it."

"I don't know who. All I know was that she had this wild hazelnut hair. It was up in a bun. And she had ugly boy jeans. I didn't get a look at her face though."

That snapped me out of my eaves dropping. I knew who the girl they were talking about was. But apparently no one else did. No one saw that girl's face when Natalie approached her—or maybe they didn't care enough to figure out who it was at the time. The point was that nobody knows that it was me who Natalie approached last.

That day, I never expected her to come up to me. We hadn't talked since we were eleven. Natalie had ignored me completely these past couple of years. She acted like we were never friends. But that day she came up to me. And she was happy.

"Rose, I am so glad you're here. I've been looking everywhere for you." Natalie smiled at me genuinely. Her deep green eyes alive with mirth.

"Why are you talking to me?" I asked confused. I had been waiting the mandatory fifteen minutes before being allowed to enter the car. And now Natalie was here, bright as a daisy like if we were best friends again.

"Because, silly, I have a secret." She bounced up with excitement; her black hair bobbing in her ponytail. "I was asked not to tell anyone." She whispered. "But you're not going to tell anyone, right, Rose. You were always good at that, keeping a secret. I miss that about you. My friends now are big blabbers. I can't tell them anything. "

"Anyways." She continued. "I have a date tonight. It's in this secret place. He hasn't told me where but he's going to lead me there tonight." She smiled in thought. "I really like him. I wish I could tell my friends about him but he told me to wait until he meets them."

"So you're going on a date." And I care why?

"Yep, I can't believe it. I have to bust a mission impossible just to get out of my house but it's worth it. Anyways I have to go." She pointed at a brown minivan that had pulled up next to the school.

Natalie snuck out to go with some guy. Later, when she disappeared, I felt guilty for not asking her for his name. I should have asked questions. I could have fond out who her killer was. Now it's too late. But I will find him; that I swear.

I felt the prickle sensation that alerted me that someone was watching me. I always felt those tingles when Dimitri sat behind me. But now he wasn't. Dimitri was sitting next to me, diligently doing his work. Someone else was watching me, and I had a clue as to who that was.

I turned my head slightly and met the beady eyes of Eddie. He smirked and turned his eyes towards Dimitri before returning them back to me. He shook his head no, warning me.

I snapped my head back to my assignment, but the illusion was ruined. Eddie knew there was something going on between Dimtri and I. No amount of pretend was going to change that.

As soon as the bell rang Dimitri sped out of the room, paying me no mind. I made sure to take my time putting my supplies away. I didn't want to be tempted to run after him.

"What's with you and Dimitri?" Mia asked as she skipped to my table. "You guys looked all serious in your work. I didn't even see you talk once."

"Don't worry," I looked around, almost everyone had left the classroom. "Now you can have a shot with Dimitri. It'll be just what mom wants."

She sighed. "So you heard that. Listen, I told her I wasn't going to do it because Dimitri doesn't like me. I'm not such a fool to go after a guy who's clearly not interested." She ran her fingers through her long glossy hair. "Besides, it's about time I help my little sis get the guy."

She looked at me with the determination of a warrior, I couldn't help but laugh. This would surely mean a make-over.

"No, no make-overs."

"I wasn't going to suggest a make-over. He seems to like you just the way you are—as crazy as that seems."

"Is it really that crazy for a guy to like me, for being just me?" She gave me a look that said of course it is.

"Thanks for all the moral support." I replied sarcastically.

"Don't make it sound like that. I am supporting you."

"Could have fooled me." I walked out of the classroom, Mia trailing behind me. "Anyways, there's no need to help me out with Dimitri. There is nothing going on between us for you to help me with."

She gave me a skeptical look but changed the subject. "Ok then, how are you and Christian doing?"

Was she serious? "Are you actually attempting to make small talk with me, in front of the school population."

"Don't look at me like that. I am just trying to right some wrongs. Start a fresh new pallet so to speak." We had reached the endpoint of the hallway. I would either have to go left into the other connected hallway, or keep going straight to exit outside.

"Christian and I are doing fine." And another thing, please leave. I can't go outside if you're watching me. I thought.

"Yeah, you guys are really creating quite a stir. First you and Dimitri start being friends, and now Christian and Lissa."

Wait what? "What do you mean Christian and Lissa?"

"Nothing, it's just that I saw them going into a classroom, alone, during lunch yesterday. They stayed in there for the whole half-hour." Christian and Lissa, Lissa the girl who constantly calls us loser's and freaks. Christian was talking to her. "Didn't Christian tell you?" Mia looked at me apologetically.

"No, but I guess it's because I didn't see him yesterday. I'll talk to him today and ask him about it."

"Oh, ok then. I better go to my class now." She turned around and walked the opposite way from me. I saw her walk till she disappeared from my view.

I knew I had to go but I was frozen there. Even when the bell rang I stayed there thinking. Why would Christian be talking to Lissa? How did it even happen? Lissa had a strict no freaks rule.

A creaking door broke through my thoughts. I looked towards the heavy front doors and found Dimitri's head peeking through.

"What are you still doing in here? We have to go, remember." The reminder of the book was probably the only thing that got me to leave. I had to learn what was inside it. I would deal with Christian later.

Half an hour later I found myself sitting down with Dimitri in the woods. The book was in our laps. The surrounding envelopment of trees were our only companions. Well, besides the bears that roam around the sequoia woods, but I tried not to think of that.

The book was weird, only the beginning sections of it were filled the rest of the book were all blank pages. Dimitri exhaled ruffly. "I didn't think it would matter. Usually your guide allows the rest of the pages of the book to be seen. But seeing as you don't have a guide I didn't think it would matter."

"So what do I do now?"

"I guess just read the parts it does show and the rest we'll just play it by the ear."

I had figured out that much. The book might not have much, but it did explain some crucial parts. "Look," I pointed out to Dimitri, "It describes the seer and the guide."

It all started with the guide. Guides are humans who have been granted the power to make seer's. They harness a huge amount of information. The older the guide, the more they know. And since young guides don't know as much as the older guides they never get to guard a seer on their own. They have to learn their information first hand, and from the book. Young guides work along side an older one and learn at the same pace as the seer does.

The guide paves the way and help a seer believe in the world of the other. They are also there protectors. A guide's sole purpose—aside from teaching the seer—is to keep the seer alive. They hide them somehow. It didn't exactly say how they hid them but I guess that's only information a guide could have.

It was all very interesting but what really got my attention was the part about the seer. Some of the parts were like Dimitri said, how they see the past and the future to act on the present. But there was other things. It explained how a seer's power is more powerful when a demon is close by. Usually a seer has to concentrate really hard to get a vision. But when the demon is near by the vision comes instantaneously.

The role of the seer is to stop demons from infesting the Earth. It showed many different traps a seer could set for the demon like the blood trap which was exactly how it sounded. Apparently you draw a circle on the floor, that's at least five feet wide in all directions, and write the demons name all in blood. The demon would get trapped inside the circle no matter where he is. Whoever's blood you get doesn't matter, it just has to be human. There were many other traps and I felt overjoyed to realize that I knew several of them from the research I made with Robert.

All in all, the explanation to get a vision was pretty easy. All you had to do was open your mind to the possibility that demons are out there. You have to know in your heart that you're a seer. And when that feeling of truth settles over you, you have to relax, stay calm and take deep breaths like if you were meditating. You have to concentrate, to feel the energy zooming through your body and eventually the process comes so naturally to you it'll be like breathing.

Apparently though, it was easier said than done. As soon as I saw how easy it was, I did exactly what it said. I cleared my head. I let myself believe in demons and in my being a seer. I concentrated. I was in tune with my body. I even sat crossed legged with my elbows on my knees and my fingers forming a ring. All I was missing was saying "oooommmmmm".

"It's not working." I hissed. "Why isn't it working? I did everything it says."

"Obviously, you're not going to get it on the first time." He drawled. I was actually hoping for exactly that to happen.

He leaned against a massive tree, and studied me closely. "With a bit of practice you might get it. But don't expect it to be over night. Remember that it takes Seer's years to master their powers. That's why they start their training so young."

I hadn't thought of that. "Then how am I ever going to save myself from the horned demon."

"By staying inside your house." He looked at me expectantly. "Or with me."

Having Dimitri as a constant body guard, the thought didn't sound as bad to me as it should.

I threw myself backwards on the ground and let out an annoyed breath. "Why did this guide even choose me anyways? It's obvious I can't do this. Maybe even they realized that." I flinched.

"What is it with you and your constant lack of self-esteem?" He asked pushing himself off of the tree. "Can you really not see yourself for who you really are?"His eyebrows were pulled tight together. I had annoyed him.

"Well this may be hard for you to understand since you have the whole female population licking your hand, but it's hard to believe that you're worth something when everyone else says the opposite. When apparently I'm the only seer a guide's ever left. I have lived years with people leaving me—people I called friends—and now I learned that the one who made me unlovable left me too." I had to stop my rambles before the tears falls. I will not cry in front of Dimitri. I would rather have my skin peeled off my flesh than have Dimitri see one tear fall from my eyes. Rose does not cry.

His expression turned tender. He had scratched a part of me that I didn't let anyone see—that I didn't want them to see. "You are not worthless. You have something—a gift—but that doesn't mean you are worthless. Remember what I told you, everyone else is just afraid of you. You could take that as a bad thing, but you got to admit you use it to scare people purposely sometimes." I guess he knew about my staring at people to get them to back off.

"It has its perks." I agreed. "But I'd rather no one be afraid of me. To be normal, or to at least have had some guidance."

He grimaced. "You're guide being lost is unfortunate. But it has nothing to do with you. Guides never make a mistake when they choose a seer. Especially since they have to make sure that the kid is strong, mentally. The things seer's see is not something just anyone could handle. The fact that you're here talking normally is proof enough that you're equipped for the job. A regular person would be a raving lunatic having seen the things you have."

He was trying to make me feel better. A tiny smile slipped through my lips. "Thanks."

"Getting into the habit of thanking me, aren't you."

"Don't be an ass."

"That's like asking me to not breathe. Both of which are impossible, in case you didn't get that." He grinned at me good naturedly.

"Shockingly, I got it." I teased back. Dimitri had a way of making me feel better that I was grateful for. He made me forget about the anxiety and panics that were settling in my body making them into a low hum, so easily ignored.

I lifted myself off the ground and dusted the dirt off my pants.

"So now that you're done with your self-loathing let's get down to business. First unbuckle your pants…. kidding." He said once he saw my face. "Seriously now, if you want to master this whole seer thing you've got to do the whole meditation thing every day. Especially after you've just had a dream."

I gave him a questioning look. "Why?"

"Because you're more open to your powers when you're sleeping. It's easier to get in tune with your seeing capability when you freshly had a vision." I shivered a little. Why did everything have to go back to my dream? Can't I ever get a nice vision, maybe one where demons are the ones that are getting killed, instead of the innocent.

"I guess I could try that tonight. Hey Dimitri…."

He quirked up his eyebrow."Yeah."

"You said that demons look like regular persons, right." He nodded. "I guess I was wondering, why is that?"

"I wondered when you were going to ask me that." He looked resigned. "And the answer is easy; they simply possess a well abled body. They replace the human soul with their own murky black to control the body. So they're able to walk around, talk, and even befriend us unsuspecting bastards." He shook his head in disgust.

"Possess like in the exorcist?" I asked, suddenly not wanting to hear the answer.

"Yes," He breathed out slowly, maybe because he saw how much this was affecting me. "Just without the head spinning." I looked into his eyes and saw the truth in them. I could read him so well now, his face was an unreadable mask but his eyes held his every emotion.

It all suddenly made sense. Why Dimitr was saying that I would never suspect who they are. It wasn't just because they look like regular people, it's because they could be people I know. People I would never suspect because I've known them for years.

Someone like Eddie, I realized, who a couple of days ago, was the geeky kid sitting in the desk behind mine. He was gawky, tripping over his oversized feet, and had a nervous tendency of biting his nails to the quick. Seeing him yesterday against the doorway looking calm and composed, even a bit sinister, I saw none of the old Eddie there. The only thing this new Eddie and the old one had in common was their looks. Everything else, from his posture to the look in his eye, was different.

And more importantly, Eddie, wanted me to stay away from Dimitri. Why would he want me to separate from him? There was only one reason I could think of. Eddie wants to get me alone.

Dimitri said the only way to be safe was to stay in my house or with him. After what happened yesterday—technically this morning—with the shadowed man chasing me, I believed him. The man left me alone as soon as I was with Dimitri. Could Eddie be the shadowed man? I wasn't sure yet. But him, wanting me to separate from Dimitri got him at the top of my list of suspects.

"What is it?" He asked. I realized I had been staring at Dimitri throughout my entire revelation. I probably looked like an idiot.

"Nothing," I answered quickly and snapped my face away from his so he wouldn't see my blush.

He took a step closer to me. His foot made little sound against the dirt. "You looked like you were dealing with some pretty heavy stuff. What is going on in that brain of yours?"

I wasn't sure if I should tell him about my suspicions about Eddie. But it was the look of concern he gave me that broke my silence. I told him everything, starting from meeting Eddie in the cemetery, to the weird encounter he and Mia had, ending with the warning Eddie gave me to stay away from Dimitri.

"So what do you think? Could Eddie be a demon?" I asked.

"It's definitely possible." He stroked his chin thoughtfully with his hands, before his eyes looked at me suspiciously. "What were you doing in the cemetery anyways?" Crap, maybe I should have lied and said I saw him at the grocery store.

"I was… you know, taking a walk with my dear sister." I said weakly.

His eyes narrowed. "A walk in the cemetery?" He said skeptically.

"Well—"

Something clicked in his head. "You saw something there, didn't you?" He realized.

"No, I…" I couldn't think of a single thing to say. I knew I had to come clean.

"You what?"

My head bowed forward. "I saw something there." I confessed. I wasn't quite ready to tell someone about Natalie. I had planned to avoid this topic for as long as possible. It was my little secret, I wasn't comfortable yet sharing it, but Dimitri was expecting an answer. So I told him. It all came out in a torrent. The reoccurring dreams about Natalie, the portal to the underworld opening, the black mist, everything I had kept inside of me came out. I didn't leave anything out.

When I was done, I felt oddly better. I had been keeping that secret so tightly bound within me, it felt good to let it out.

I felt so good, in fact, that it took me a while to notice that Dimitri went deathly still. He was frozen in his spot beside me. He was as still as the trees surrounding us. The little pebbles on the ground had more life than he did at the moment.

I sensed that something was wrong, and only Dimitri knew what. I shook him, hard, by the shoulder, barely causing him to stir. "Dimitri!" I yelled and kicked him hard in the shin.

"Ow." He turned to look at me—finally moving. His face looked angry, but then it changed into murderously furious.

"You," He pointed an accusing finger at me, "you saw him, and you thought it was smart not to tell me!" He didn't quite yell but his voice was louder than usual. There was an edge of venom in his tone. "Why would you keep something like that from me? Aren't I your demon consultant; if you see a demon you're supposed to tell whole thing I've been doing is to keep you save. And you choose now to tell me that you've seen him."

Dimitri paced back and forth in front of me, nearly pulling his hair out in frustration.

"This is big, huge. He's seen you. He knows for sure who you are now." The end of his shirt whipped around him as he continued his pacing.

"What are you talking about? Doesn't he already know who I am?" Isn't that why he's been trying to keep me safe this whole time, because the big bad demon knows that I'm a seer.

He stopped in front of me, rubbing his hand against his temple. "I thought he didn't know for sure if you were a seer. But if you saw him in his true form then he knows exactly who you are."

"What do you mean? It's not like if I was really there, how could he see me?"

"Because, when he's in his true form he can see you with his demon eyes. Those eyes are so powerful they can see anything, even a seer." He sounded exhausted."Fortunately for you, a demon can't survive long in its demon form when on Earth. That's why it needs a human body. And humans are just humans, they possess a normal eyesight. Demons can only see what their human bodies see."

"Oh crap." He saw me there. The demon actually looked at me. The eyes in the smoke, it was real. Were real, even when I was little I saw the eyes, the eyes that stared at me like if they could see me—did see me. I placed my hand on my head to keep steady. I was feeling woozy. The cool air from the forest did nothing to clear my thoughts. Fear climbed up my chest. "How long could a demon last without a body?" I asked. My voice was remarkable composed, revealing none of the panic I felt.

"A couple of hours at the most… Rose, are you alright." Dimitri looked at me for any signs of distress.

A couple of hours, would a demon leave a body for a couple of hours to torment a small girl? If the girl was a seer he would. If the girl was unprotected he would risk getting out of his human body to track her. But why did he stop?

"I'm fine. Never been better, actually." My voice sounded hallow even to my own ears. There was nothing funny in this situation. I couldn't even make a joke—which was the way I chose to handle stressful life had gone off the deep end in a week. It had turned from semi-normal to a complete freak world where demons run lose and seers fight them in some sort of ongoing battle that no one knows about.

"We should go. This whole thing was a bad idea. I should have never approached you." His face was full of remorse. "I am sorry, but I need to take you home now. Don't go anywhere else." He said fiercely. "Remember you're safe at home."

"Or with you," he turned his face away from me. "Or with you….. right?" My voice quivered.

He didn't look at me when he answered. "I don't think that's an option anymore."