“This will be your room from now on.” Said Damien, observing his fingernails a bit too closely. “But, what about my parents?” I asked. He chuckled, and sat down in one of the armchairs. “They have no memory of you.” He said, matter-of-factly. I gaped at him, but didn’t say a word. He had obviously used something to alter their memories. Damien rose from the chair, and walked toward the door. “I’ll be in the sitting room.” He said. Then he cracked the door open, and slipped through, leaving me alone with Odin. He was tapping his fingers on the wall, impatiently. His chains clinked with every movement. He walked fluidly over to me, and placed an icy hand on my cheek. He put his face next to mine, and whispered in my ear, “You’d better watch your behavior around Damien, little girl. He has quite a temper.” I shivered at his touch. Then he then turned around and exited the room. I trailed behind him, walking down a long hallway, and into a rather large living room. Damien was sprawled across a long golden couch, with a remote in his hand. He was flipping channels on a flat screen television that stretched across the length of the wall. Then he set the remote down, turned to me, and held up a small manila envelope. “Juliet, I need you to deliver this to my friend. He lives just across the woods, and Odin will be more than willing to show you the way.” He smiled oddly, and handed the envelope to me from over his shoulder. I grasped it loosely, and it slipped from between my fingers and drifted onto the carpet. I bent to pick it up, but Odin had already swooped down and retrieved it. He held it up to me, wiggling it between his first and middle finger, and smirking. “Neat trick.” I said, in awe. He looked at me curiously, and replied softly, “I have many more up my sleeve, I assure you.” I swiped the thin package from him, wrapped my fingers around the collar he wore, and pulled him toward the door. I was surprised by my own daring. “We’ll have to go now, so we are back before dark.” I said, but when I pushed the maple door open, I found that it was already dark outside. “You were unconscious for quite a while, Juliet.” Hissed Odin, who was currently straightening himself up. “But if you’re going with me, it’s best for the sun to be down.” I stared at him, confused. “Wait. I never told either of you my name.” I muttered. Damien snickered from the couch, “It was on the library card in your wallet.” I sighed. How wonderful. They had gone through my things. I faced Odin, who was giggling as well. “Why do you have to come with me, exactly?” I asked, not really wanting to be around him more than necessary. “I need to protect you.” He said, “There are many creatures in this wood, and most of them would find you simply delicious.” I scoffed, and opened the door once again. The darkness was nearly impenetrable. I walked out onto the patio, squinting, and tried to make out a path. I heard someone chuckling behind me. I turned around, and heard Odin’s voice, mocking me. “If you would’ve waited a few seconds, I could have given you a flashlight. Here.” I felt him press an object into my hands. A flashlight. I felt around the base clumsily until I found the switch. I hit it, and a narrow beam of light shot from the bulb. Odin placed his arm around my shoulder protectively, and pushed me forward along the path. The little light that was produced by the flashlight didn’t help me see at all once we entered the deeper sections of the forest. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hey ya’ll. It’s Danni. I figured I might as well include some short comments after each chapter from now on. I finally finished this chapter, after like, six weeks! Too many things are distracting me recently… I’m sorry if anyone is mildly/severely scared by my characters thus far. I suppose I have a knack for creating disturbing characters and putting them in disturbing situations. Well, thanks for reading, I suppose.