Hey, everyone!!! In anticipation of Sacrifice Me Season 2: Part 1 (Episodes 1-3) releasing in just ONE WEEK!!! I thought it might be fun to put my short story, “Red”, up for you guys to read for free.

This is a Shadow Demons Story that first appeared in the Once Upon A Kiss twisted fairy tale anthology. Why is it important for Sacrifice Me, you ask? Well, one of the new characters you meet in “Red” also plays a major part in Sacrifice Me, Season 2! His name is Connery, and he’s the first werewolf to enter the Shadow Demons Saga world.

I’ll be putting up the chapters in the following order, so be sure to check back every day for a new part!

Monday: Chapter One
Tuesday: Chapter Two (Part 1)
Wednesday: Chapter Two (Part 2)
Thursday: Chapter Three
Friday: Chapter Four

I’ll also be putting the Prologue to Sacrifice Me, Season 2 up here on Saturday. Some of you have already heard the Prologue read in this Facebook Live video, but if you want to read it, come back Saturday where I’ll have it published here on the blog! (**If you aren’t able to access the video, you might need to request to join my Coven, a private Facebook group with over 1,500 fans. We have a lot of fun in there, so just request to join and I’ll get you in!)

I hope you enjoy this story!

Chapter One

My little sister whimpered and clutched at her arms. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and her hair was soaked.

“Come on, Rayla,” I said, holding my hands in front of me in prayer. I could hardly stand to watch her go through this, but I couldn’t leave her side. “Wake up. You’ve got to wake yourself up.”

When she was in this dream state, it was extremely dangerous for anyone else to wake her up, but we’d tried to teach her several tricks for how to wake herself up when she was stuck in one of her more dangerous visions.

She moaned and kicked her legs, but her eyes remained closed.

I shook my head and stood up, wanting to punch something. It wasn’t fair. Rayla was only eight years old. How could the coven simply turn their back on someone so young and innocent?

It’s for the greater good.

I’d heard that statement enough times now to hear it echoed in my head for all eternity. I didn’t give a shit about the greater good if it meant letting a sweet little girl endure torture like this.

So far, she’d been lucky enough to wake up without too many injuries, but I’d heard stories about others. Girls who had not been so lucky. Some of them went to sleep and either never woke up, or woke up with burns or slashes across their bodies so damaging that they couldn’t recover.

I had to do something. I couldn’t let that happen to my little sister, no matter what the rest of the coven said. They weren’t the ones left behind to take care of her when our parents died in that bombing downtown.

Rayla was my responsibility and had been for the past three years. I’d just turned eighteen the month before they died, so I was given sole custody of my sister. She was my life, now. I wasn’t going to let her die.

Not like this.

“Charlotte?”

I turned at the sound of her weak voice, my eyes instantly flooding with tears of gratitude.

I knelt by her side and grabbed her hands. “I’m here,” I said. “Was it a bad one?”

She nodded. Her lips were chapped, and there were faint scratches all over her arms. Not enough to draw blood, but enough to cause pain.

I kissed her hand and reached for a glass of water, helping her sit up so she could drink.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked.

She looked away.

I knew better than to push her too hard. If she didn’t want to talk about it, it was best just to leave it for another day. It was only four in the morning, but there would be no more sleep tonight.

“Should I make tea?” I asked.

She squeezed my hand. “In a minute,” she said. “But I have something important I need to tell you.”

I leaned closer and brushed the hair away from her face. A sweaty strand stuck to her skin.

“What is it, love?”

“I saw something tonight,” she said. “Something that could change everything for me.”

I straightened and dropped her hand. She’d never told me anything like this before. She would sometimes discuss the monsters she’d faced or the types of people she encountered in her dreams, but she didn’t like to talk about anything that related to us or our future.

“I need you to do something for me,” she said, her eyes staring straight into mine without blinking. My heart nearly stopped from fear.

“Anything,” I said. “You know that.”

“It could be very dangerous,” she said.

“Will it help to keep you safe?” I asked.

She nodded.

“Then tell me,” I said.

And I meant it.

I would do whatever I could to keep her safe. Even if it cost my own life.

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Come back tomorrow for Chapter Two: Part 1 of “Red”.