"It's really over?" Clara asked, staring at the two beetle-like parasites in her small palm. Her voice quivered with a mixture of relief and lingering fear.
I nodded, taking the dead creatures from her hand. "They won't bother you anymore."
William Vance hovered anxiously behind us, his face etched with concern. "Those things were inside my daughter all this time? Causing her nightmares?"
"Yes. They feed on negative emotions, particularly fear and grief." I closed my fist around the parasites, summoning a flicker of spiritual fire to my palm. The creatures crumbled to ash, which I brushed away. "They're completely destroyed now."
Clara's eyes widened as she watched the display of power. "That was so cool! How did you do that?"
"Clara," her father admonished gently, "remember what we discussed about asking too many questions."
I smiled reassuringly at them both. "It's just a technique I learned. Nothing to worry about."
