• Dawn was breaking, painting the sky a bright pink, orange and red. A blonde haired woman walked casually on one of the trails in the forest. Her green eyes searching the landscape around her, looking for any dangerous signs. A twig snapped. The woman turned toward the noise, almost tripping over a stone with her hiking boots. They were here. She turned toward the trail she was following and ran. She could hear the barkings of the demon dogs as if they were telling her the orders from their master. The woman ran even faster, stretching her legs with every stride. She would feel her aching feet and hot adrenaline coarsing through her veins.

    The dogs stopped barking like a condutor waving silence over a symphony. The woman could hear her own ragged breathing as well as the soft padding of the dogs behind her.They were closing in on her. The woman gradually stopped running, feeling her heartbeat run like a hummingbird's wings, and her breathing just as steady.

    "Giving me a run for my money, huh?" the woman said breathlessly to the shadows. "Why don't we talk face to face, Chauncey?"

    A man materialized out of the shadows, as if his body was made up of it completely. The man wore a long-sleeved black shirt, black pants and black shoes. His dark hair was combed back neatly, showing off his sculpted and sharp features and his fathomless eyes. His eyes were like a starless night, just as cold, dark and empty.

    "I'll make this fast, Celeste, my dear. Just give me what I want and I'll let you go." said Chauncey. He snapped his fingers quickly. Immediately seven dogs appeared out of black smoke and started circling the woman, trapping her. The woman could see these weren't your everyday guard dogs, they were hellhounds. Their deep dark coats, sharp teeth and claws, their rotting and decayed smell and piercing red eyes made that as clear as day.

    The woman laughed, "Don't call me Celeste. You know how that bothers me." She looked straight at the man, no longer laughing. "You don't want to do this." Celestine said danerously.

    Chauncey smiled "Of course, my apologies, my dear Celestine." Chauncey bowed slightly and started pacing around Celestine. "Now back to business. Give me the artifact." he demanded.

    "Never." said Celestine. "You know why I can't give it to you and you know why you can never have it."

    "Then I will keep hunting down the artifact until I find it. I find it fun hunting you Gaurdians all the time. And I can practically smell its power radiating from you." Chauncey stopped pacing. "Give it to me or pay the price the others have." he growled.

    Celestine smiled. "Fine."

    Celestine jumped up, she landed on a branch on a nearby tree and began to jump branch to branch, tree to tree, to get away from Chauncey. Celestine could hear and differentiate the padding of the hell hounds and the muted steps of Chauncey.

    Celestine jumped back to the ground, already surrounded by the wretched smell of the demon dogs. A black flash of light came at her. Luckily, Celestine dodged the light quick enough that it only seared her shirt. Chauncey appeared out of the shadows and was ready to attack again. Celestine could feel the rings starting to form around her right hand. Chauncey fired another bolt of dark light towards Celestine. She rolled to the right and extended her right arm containing the 3 pulsing rings of light circling her hand. She watched as the rings rolled off her hand, expand in front of her and fired a single powerful white beam towards Chauncey. It happened all to quickly for Chauncey to dodge and got struck square in the chest and flew backward.

    The hell hounds then took the chance to pounce on the woman. Celestine quickly fired off spells to keep the hounds at bay. Surprisingly, the hounds retreated only a few feet away giving Celestine a 12 foot radius from their circle.

    Celestine could hear clapping on her left and turned to meet the noise. It was Chauncey. He was unscathed, no mark on his shirt from her blow, not even a wrinkle. Chauncey smiled. "Most impressive, Celestine. You've been training haven't you? I'm glad to know your title doesn't fail to you. An archangel indeed."

    Celestine tried to mask her face. She couldn't believe it! Chauncey should have been dead from her spell, or at least weakened. Then recognition hit. She smirked at him. "An astral drop, I should have known it wouldn't have been that easy to kill you."

    "Thank you for the compliment, my dear." Chauncey replied. Chauncey shot another spell at Celestine. This time she was too late to dodge, his spell hit her left arm making her fly backwards onto her back. Chauncey walked over to where Celestine had fallen. He grabbed her neck and pinned her to the ground.

    "Now give me the artifact." Chauncey growled.

    Celestine laughed. She could feel her warm blood dripping from her arm. "Like I would tell you," Celestine lifted her right hand which had 5 white rings. The rings now separated into runes.

    "You wouldn't, my dear, Celestine." said Chauncey.

    "I would."

    A bright light filled the area and expanded throughout the forest. Both of Chauncey's hands were empty now. There was no evidence that the female archangel was ever there, except a single white feather. Chauncey picked up the feather and stood up. "Well, this will delay plans." he said. "Such a pity Celeste, you were such a good girl. Where will the artifact be now I wonder?" Chauncey studied the feather closely. Then looked at me. "I found you." he smiled.

    I screamed.

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    I woke up from the dream. These were the kinds of dreams I had almost every night now and they kept on becoming more and more vivid. They almost seemed like.... No, impossible. They were just dreams.

    To Be Continued...