Dameon:
I watch Mariel as she finishes her snack, playfully tearing at it with her teeth. The small action seems almost inhuman, and it makes me wonder if her beastly side is bleeding into her human one.
The thought fills me with dread. I can't lose my little girl.
But now that I've revealed the secret that can damn me to hell forever, I could be ripped from her side permanently. I try to wipe the horrible thought from my mind. "Mariel?" I call. "We should get started."
She shoves the last bite of food into her cheeks like a little squirrel, then skips over to me. She looks so happy and innocent as her curls bounce in the light of the glistening sunrise. If only she knew the responsibility that weighs on her shoulders right now.
Why should she have to bear this burden? Maybe we shou
