Bear Protector - Bella Love-Wins

1

Kiera

Kiera woke up to the sensation of a pair of bird talons resting on the side of her collarbone. She did not have to open her eyes to know it was Coco, her Osprey witch familiar. The bird was probably looking down into her face intently, as though she were prey.

“You had the same nightmare, didn’t you?” Coco cooed gently.

“Yes,” Kiera groaned. She tugged a pillow over her head so Coco would move.

Of course it was the same nightmare. Her heart was pounding, her skin was soaked, and her bed sheets were a tangled mess. This one dream had recently become a regular torment with the same images of devastation, destruction, and loss coming in flashes behind her eyelids. Whenever they were too unbearable, her screams would wake her. Sometimes Coco, the Osprey assigned to be her familiar, would wake her.

In her dream, she was eleven years old. The sun was shining for the first time in weeks. Her parents and many of her neighbors had swarmed the streets to enjoy the last warmth of autumn before an intolerably long winter. Kiera and her mother would walk down the cobblestone streets in the direction of the village’s only bakery for fresh bread to eat with their stew. Just as they were about to enter the bakery, the blaring sound of a winter storm siren erupted around them. A storm was coming, which had made no sense to the villagers, given the pleasant weather.

Only Kiera had reacted. She had screamed, tugging on her mother’s arm to get them back to safety. Mama had ignored her, announcing that there was enough time to purchase the loaves of bread before the weather turned. The dread rose in Kiera’s heart. Although Mama was also a witch, she didn’t seem to sense the coming danger, and none of the other village witches felt it either.

In the dream, her spells were powerless, and no matter how hard she tried to scream, no sound came out. All she wanted was to warn everyone to get inside. The storm was not the actual danger. It was only after a dark cloud had approached that her mother’s face mirrored Kiera’s terror as the realization hit her.

The danger was no longer approaching.

It was here.

Inside our walls.

This early winter storm marked the destroyers’ return to their Chicago shores. The ferocious, mammoth-sized, demon-like, soulless monsters were a menace to all of Azmark. They attacked the region sometimes hundreds at a time, swimming to the island with prowess, devouring or destroying everyone and everything in their paths.

Kiera ran a hand over her forehead and pushed the covers down her torso. Perspiration caused strands of her auburn hair to stick to the side of her face in clumpy patches. She forced herself to slow her breathing, silently reminding herself there was no danger today. It had been a long time ago that the destroyers attacked and killed nearly everyone she knew. Including her mother.

“Not to worry. Dreams eventually fade,” the Osprey chirped. “As do memories.”

“It has been nine years, Coco.”

“I know, dear. Keep the faith. On another note, it is time to get up.” Coco waited until Kiera stirred again before hopping up to perch on the bedpost. “The big day is here.”

“It cannot possibly be time yet. The clock has not even struck nine.”

“It has, dear. You slept through it. Now get up before I start whistling. I know how much you hate that shit, but I am not above pissing you off to get you moving.”

“Language, Coco,” Kiera answered.

“What? Because I said shit? I am just getting started, young lady. Just wait until I have some fish in my belly.”

“Well please do not start with that high-pitched whistle. You will wake everyone.”

“I will not, because everyone is already up and about. Trust me, I checked. By the way, the Chancellor is having breakfast in the kitchen.”

“Oh.” Coco’s news about Chancellor Minassus, the leader and most powerful witch of the region of Azmark, made all the difference. Kiera sat up in bed. “Okay. I am up. I will be ready in a half-hour.”

“Good.” Coco lifted and spread her dark brown wings, which more than spanned the width of Kiera’s bed. She flew across the room to the only window in the bedroom. As it was half-open, the bird used its beak to nudge the wooden shutters forward enough to balance on the outer window sill. “I will be back long before you are ready. Do not leave without me, all right? I must get