Surrounding Darkness Part 6

"This is your father?" Winter asked, hesitant.
"Yes, yes, why else would I be calling 'Dad'?"
"Some thing's wrong with him, Jake. I can sense it and that is the same smile Shadow-"
"AH, my son! You are home!"
"No," Winter whispered. The father's eyes had a trace of red. "Shadow."
"How was it you got away from those tyrant fools?"
"Winter here, she saved Andrew and I."
Shadow's hidden eyes met hers, "Ah, the young Winter? I believe I've seen poster of you on the boards."
"Have you now? Have you at all seen me anywhere else, perhaps? Maybe in some, ah, I don't know, torture room?!"
"Winter!" Jake growled, "What's wrong with you?"
Shadow's servant growled, frowning.
I didn't think you'd find out so soon.
What, with that smile? I've only seen a thousand times before, Shadow.
The boy will not believe you.
How would you know?
Shadow chuckled, drowning out Jake's voice, I could take him just as easily. But, I'm afraid, that would make the chase too easy.
Winter's world came crashing down, your toying with me.
Oh, did I just hear loss of hope in your voice? Your frightened now aren't you?
Winter felt her lungs tighten, the word toying kept ringing in her mind. She fought to keep herself from falling on her knees. Then confidence came through her again, "Jake, your father didn't believe in God, did he?"
"Finally! You speak! What was that about before?!"
"Answer the question, Jake. I tell you later."
Jake's face reddened with anger, but answered the question, "No, he wasn't."
What was that again, Shadow, did I just hear you curse?
The boy still won't believe you.
Sure.
Shadow cursed again, then the man he was controlling leaped off his horse, slinging his game over to Jake, saying, "Here son, I want to teach you something."
"Dad," Jake whispered soft enough Winter couldn't hear, "I'd wish to stay with Winter, some thing's wrong with her."
"You think?"
"Dad, I'll tell you about it later."
If your still alive, Shadow said with a smile in his voice.
Shadow took the deer back and entered the tent, sounds of glee flowing out of it.
Winter looked away, how do you get a demon out of a human?
Prayer.
Winter looked around, who said that?
It came again, prayer.
Prayer, Winter repeated.
The voice did not come again, but Winter smiled, she had one thing Shadow could not, God. Winter chuckled, Please Lord, free Jake's father from Shadow's possession. Amen.
Winter believed, she admitted, in God. Winter did not, however, expect a solution to come right away.
Jake, once again, was trying to talk to her, his hand squeezing hers, franticly trying to shake her from her trance. Winter grinned at him, "Help me pray for your father."
"What?"
"You heard me, pray for him. He's being controlled by Shadow."
"That's insane, I've never heard you say that he could do that before!"
"Your being blinded by your fear!! You have to believe me! He's going to kill your family, then I'll have nothing! Again!"
Jake's silent anger floated in the air, "I don't believe you-"
There was a scream from inside, both Jake and Winter turned to look. Winter ran ahead of Jake, into the scene; Shadow held a knife to his own throat, two voices rang inside Winter's head.
GET OUT! Boomed one.
Not if you wish to die, Shadow's voice responded. Jake ran to his father, only to be yelled at to stay back by Shadow's cool voice. Shadow's possessed head turned towards Winter, smiling, his free hand rising to the point to her mark. Slowly, the flesh beneath it began to burn, the mark biting, tearing, burning.
"I want to show all of you, especially those who don't know Winter's secret, what a monster she really is, and what powers I possess."
No, Winter pleaded.
Shadow's man laughed, lowering the knife, gaining control again.
"Oh yes, Winter. Now, all of you might want to cover your ears, she's quite a screamer."
"NO!" Winter screamed. The pain traveled up her arm, scales began to consume her hand, painfully changing her hand into a scaly, clawed, hand. Winter began to claw at her scales now starting to hide her mark. It didn't matter, they continued to grow. She remembered every time she had changed, she either wasn't awake, or was passed out on the floor as the scales bit their way to her neck. She had to stop it, "No, please, not yet! I don't want to be this-this-"
"Monster? Face Winter, you are." Shadow finished.
"NO!" Winter screamed, no in the demon's shadow. The scales began to cross her chest, expanding her bones, changing her structure, fighting its way to her other arm. Winter screamed out loud, she's never managed to stay conscious this long before, but, of course, she built up strength through the daily beatings at the prison. She attempted to crawl away, clawing her way to the door flap. As she could nearly feel the flap, Shadow reached down, gripped her neck, pulled her off the ground, and stared into Winter's beautiful eyes.
"Everything you love, everything you cherish, I will crush them with one sweep. I may not be able to come here now, but believe me, when I do, you'll wish you were already dead."
"No," Winter choked, as the scales began to tear at her neck, "I won't let that happen."
"Oh? And how so?"
"Just like this," Winter threw the dirt she had gathered in her hand into the eyes of the demon-man. He threw her back and wiped away the dirt. Gaining control of herself, Winter whipped up, her newly grown tail whipping at the ground, eager for a fight. The scales gripped her back, build-painfully-new bone for her wings. Her dragon was able to stand like a human, upright, new nostrils flaring. Shadow had recovered as well.
"Your going to have to do much better than that."
"I intend to." Winter leaped up into the air, nearly ripping the tarp with the new spikes traveling on her back. All the instincts of dragons, as well as her own, rushed into her: flying, fear, love, fighting, breathing fire, and, surprisingly, ice. Winter rushed over Shadow, his slow body not quick enough to leap out of her tail's way. She threw him, and he hit the the brick of a butcher's house nearly out of sight. Dragon instinct forced her to roar, her purple scales reflecting off the rising moon, her teeth glittering in the night, her forked tongue directing the flames flowing from her mouth. Shadow recovered quickly, running at with unbelievable speed. He was suddenly on her, digging the knife into her wings. Winter pulled away, but it was too late, her wings were ripped. She landed with a thud, upright and ready.
"Winter!" Jake shouted, "He's still my dad! You can't kill him!"
More complications, Winter thought. Shadow smiled, and held a knife up to the dad's neck.
"Here, my dragon. Don't let me hurt myself."
Winter managed to just barely take the knife away, as the other knife dug farther into her right wing. Now there was a clean, clear cut through the whole leathery material. Winter roared out with pain, her tail whipping around her, tying Shadow's hands together. The scales bit into his wrists, but Shadow felt no pain, it wasn't his body after all. Winter gripped his neck, "I believe, with God's help, you will leave." Shadow laughed, "I can't believe you think this God is real! Ha!"
Winter smiled, "I can see you know of Him. And I can also see the redness in this man's eyes fading."
Shadow cursed, "No."
It was Winter's turn to chuckle, "Told you I had a plan."
One last curse left Shadow's lips before he left the man, and Winter quickly rushed him over to his family.
"Here, his wrists need bandaging, his back may be hurting, and try to convert him to God." Winter spoke to Jake, in a wonderfully, beautiful voice, loud and clear. She didn't meet the mother's eyes and continued, "If you need me I'll be in the forest, or, if it's an emergency, yell. Dragons can hear from over a thousand miles."
Jake simply nodded, staring up at her newly gained hight. "Demon," the mother muttered. Winter's blue eyes narrowed, the slits of eyes turning to her.
"Would a demon save your husband? Would a demon rid another of a demon? Would a demon wish to follow God?"
The mother looked down, avoiding Winter's dragon eyes, "No."
"Good. Now I must go. Jake," Winter's eyes softened, "please, I am no demon. I would never hurt your family."
Jake smiled, "I would never think that." He reached up and ran his hands over her cheek, her scales softening so not to cut him. The adrenaline of the fight had worn off, her scales lowering so soft to the touch, the spikes running along her back shifted away from the stiffness she had before. Her throat no longer pleaded to let go of the heat trapped deep inside. Winter touched his hand now smaller than a baby's, and said, "Be careful," then jumped back and with incredible speed combined with long legs, she was to the forest as quick as lighting.