Trickster [Fantasy, YA] Chapters 16-The End (Patreon)

Hey peeps!

Here is the end of Trickster. Hopefully you all enjoyed the half-succubus girl, the magic girl, and the crazy demon-hunter. It was a wild ride? o.o

Shami

Chapter 16

Separate Ways

“Shadow hunters, tainted by the shaheen, sought out the darkness for power.

Some traveled to the Void and never returned.”

---

“Annnnd done!” Lilian proclaimed.

She got up and took a step back, admiring her alchemy circle. Ariella, dressed in her tent of a jacket, smiled. “You’re sure it’ll work, right? If it explodes Uncle Rahul will figure out what we’re doing.”

Fox, leaning against a nearby tree, dismissively waved his hand. “Hurry, Imp. If you want to avoid getting caught you have to go soon.”

“I got this, I got this.”

Lilian grabbed the instruction manual for the grill and focused on the picture displaying the finished product. She stood in front of her new runes and held out her hands, trying to keep the picture of the grill in her mind’s eye. She closed her eyes, heard the magic sing, and exhaled. The playful melody of creation and renewal sounded familiar. It’s working!

The electricity in the air caused Lilian to smile. A warm breeze swirled around her, and she could hear Ariella gasping in delight. A bluish-white glow pierced her eyelids, almost blinding her. Within seconds the runes had been consumed.

Lilian opened her eyes. The grill stood ready to be used.

“I hope no one saw that!” Ariella anxiously stated, glancing over her shoulder.

“Why do you say that?”

“That was so bright! Seriously, it was a solar flare on Earth!”

Lilian immediately turned her attention to the house. She wasn’t as concerned with random people seeing, just Uncle Rahul. He hadn’t come outside yet. Lilian let out a long sigh. Uncle Rahul had indeed gone back into his study, just as Ariella had said he would.

“All right. Chore done. Let’s get out of here.”

Before they left, Lilian took the remaining mortar and spilled it across the runes engraved into the concrete porch. The mortar would hide the evidence and, if anyone asked, it was a simple accident.

Ariella nodded and the two girls set off through the woods surrounding their property. Lilian turned back to call Fox, but he had already disappeared, following them through the shadows. The sleepy town of Leaf Valley barely stirred as Lilian and Ariella jumped through the underbrush and stumbled out onto the main street.

“How’re we going to get to town?” Ariella asked. “It’ll take hours if we walk.”

“That’s why I called a taxi to meet us at the grocery store,” Lilian playfully said. “Warren has money. He can pay for it.”

---

Lilian jumped out of the taxi and waved to the driver. “I’ll be right back!”

She ran up to the fence of Warren’s home and stopped. She strained her ears, listening to the nearby melodies, searching for hostility and danger without venturing too far. The nearby silence put her at ease. She walked around the fence, ran across the front yard and entered the house through the back kitchen door, just as Warren had done.

“What the—?”

Lilian jumped at the sound of Warren’s indignant shout. “W-Warren! Uh, hello!”

“What’re you doing in my house?!”

Unlike in school, Warren wore nothing but a pair of blue boxers and a ratty grey t-shirt; his emaciated state was made clearer by his ill-fitting clothes. He stepped away from the island counter and threw down his fork and cold spaghetti.

“I need to talk to you,” Lilian coyly stated.

“So you just barge into my kitchen?!”

“Don’t forget the part where I ask you to pay for my taxi.”

“What?” Warren incredulously asked.

Lilian playfully bit her tongue and pointed to the door. “I told the driver you would pay again!”

Warren’s eyes darted around the room. He scooped his fork back into his hand, his muted song playing into panic, but his expression was as emotionless as stone. “Where is your shaheen? I know he’s close.”

“He’s not going to hurt you this time, I swear! I talked to him. He’s going to play nice.” Lilian motioned to the door a second time. “Besides… the taxi guy is waiting. He’s going to think you stiffed him if you don’t go.”

Warren exhaled in frustration. He reluctantly marched from the kitchen and toward his front door. Before exiting he turned on his heel to face Lilian. “Stay here,” he commanded. Lilian nodded and watched as he disappeared.

Almost as soon as he left, the back door opened, revealing a cautious Ariella. She stepped in, intimidated by the awesome size of the kitchen, and kept her head deep within her jacket. Fox walked in after her, his shiny black hair windswept back, revealing his many ear piercings and, to Lilian’s surprise, several small tattoos behind his ear. Like Uncle Rahul, she thought.

“Hey, Fox…” Lilian began. She trailed off, realizing then that the writing wasn’t the same. A different language?

“What is it, Imp? Is there something I can do for you?” he asked sweetly, titling his head to the side and smiling.

She leaned forward and glared. “Hey. Don’t think your charm will work on me. No hurting Warren. No hurting any of Warren’s family. You’re on your best behavior.”

“You wound me,” Fox dramatically stated, placing the back of his wrist to his forehead. “I’m a civilized fox, housebroken and leash trained.”

Ariella tightly held herself and kept her back to the wall. “It feels like… shaheen are close by.”

“The void eaters,” Fox immediately replied. “They smell like shaheen from a distance. It’s a clever lure until you get close.”

“Do they kill many shaheen?”

“No, but I can’t speak for you demi-creatures. Maybe they kill your kind all the time.”

Lilian glared up at Fox.

He smiled and added, “But have no fear, Ariella. The boy we’re visiting is weak.”

Ariella gave Fox an odd glance. He had never vocalized her name before and his odd emphasis bothered Lilian. Pushing the incident from her mind, Lilian walked over to the kitchen table and took a seat. Ariella followed suit. Fox jumped up onto the counter of the island and finished off Warren’s spaghetti, loudly slurping down the noodles without a second thought.

Warren hastily reentered the room, hoping on one foot as he pulled his jeans up into place. He wore a long sweater over his ratty t-shirt and had almost completely covered his haggard body.

“Lilian, we need to talk—er, what is that?!”

Warren jumped back and hit the wall, startled by Ariella’s presence.

“Another shaheen?! How is that even possible?!”

Lilian jumped up with her hands out. “Quiet!” she hissed. “And Ariella isn’t a shaheen! She’s like me! Calm down!”

Breathing deep and panicked, Warren slowly slid along the wall to the far door. Fox jumped off the counter and blocked his escape, sliding an arm over his shoulders and pulling him close.

“We didn’t get to talk much last time we saw each other, Void Eater. You should stay. And chat. With me.”

Warren leaned away, visibly shaken. “You’re a monster,” he firmly stated. “You tried to kill me.”

“Actually, I was going to eat you,” Fox playfully corrected. Regurgitated spaghetti sauce and noodles poured from his mouth and he snapped his teeth shut, slicing the writhing pasta in half. Ariella gagged. Warren violently cast off the shaheen and pulled a knife from his jeans pocket.

Fox slurped the remaining noodles back into his mouth and chuckled. “Relax, Void Eater. I made a deal with the girl not to harm you.”

Unwilling to look away from Fox for more than a moment, Warren asked aloud, “Is that true?”

She didn’t know when, but Lilian realized then that she had been tightly gripping the table in frustration. Although Fox had promised her the world he was still willing to push the envelope. He’s as compliant as a spastic cat, she thought. Lilian opened her mouth to finally answer, but Fox beat her to the punch.

“It’s true,” Fox quickly stated. “Lilian beggedme to spare you. He’s so pathetic and weak, she said. I feel sorry for him and his whole family.” Fox’s mocking and condescending tone only enraged Warren, his fear quickly eclipsed by a hateful song.

“You’ll regret ever stepping foot in this house,” Warren growled.

Lilian had had enough. She imposed herself between them and shook her head. “Stop! No fighting! We’re here to help you catch that othershaheen! The bad one! Not Fox! He’s a good guy—even if he’s a total dick otherwise.”

“You brought another shaheen here!” Warren shouted. “Another one! How can I trust her when obviously you’re in cahoots with the Void itself?! What kind of shaheen is she?”

“I’m not a shaheen,” Ariella interjected, her eyes glazed with tears. “Stop calling me that!”

“Yes, you’re insulting shaheen everywhere,” Fox sarcastically commented.

“I’m just… a normal girl.”

Warren narrowed his eyes and took a few calming breaths. After a moment of contemplation he returned his gaze to Lilian. “She’s like you, only part shaheen.”

“That’s what I said,” Lilian snapped.

“She’s still influenced by her shaheen bloodline. What emotions does she exploit? Where was born? To whom was she born?”

“You’ll just have to ask her yourself. She’s right there.”

Warren slowly exhaled. “I know nothing of you. Can I really trust her to give me a truthful answer?”

“Of course you can trust her,” Fox said, walking back over to Warren and once again sliding his arm over his shoulders. “Think of it like this… If people were like stages of sex, Ariella is the warm afterglow following the climax.”

Warren shrugged off Fox’s arm and glared. “Are you?”

“Fox would be the malfunctioning pregnancy test that gives you a false positive,” Lilian quipped.

“So, she’s a seductress,” Warren commented, picking up on Fox’s hidden messages. “And you… you’re a mischief maker.”

“I suppose, if you had to boil down all my great accomplishments and personality into two words, that would technically be an accurate statement,” Fox said, dismissively waving his hand.

“A mischief maker who serves the eighth circle.”

Fox tensed. He quickly chortled and muttered, “Think you’re clever, do you?”

The two glared at each other for a strained moment. Lilian crossed her arms tightly over her chest. “Guys! Focus! Warren, we have a problem with a shaheen and I have two friends who know a lot about shaheen. Let them help. You don’t have much to lose.”

Much to Lilian’s delight, the music in the room gradually calmed, but she could hear the tension within the verses of notes. Ariella slid deeper into her jacket and Fox turned his attention to the surroundings. Warren, still on edge, paced the room.

“So, how are we going to go about finding this shaheen?” Lilian asked.

Warren shrugged. “My father is confident it’s not a shaheen. He insists it’s a curse.”

“Your father is wrong,” Fox cheerily chimed in.

Warren grit his teeth and remained silent.

Lilian pointed to the door. “We should investigate your parent’s room. That’s where I heard all those terrible songs.”

Surprisingly to Lilian, Warren nodded. “Fine. Let’s do it.”

He walked over to the door and stepped into the hallway, not bothering to wait for anyone else. Lilian, Ariella and Fox followed behind, though Ariella fidgeted nervously the entire time. She fell behind the group, glancing over her shoulder as they travelled. Fox seemed to delight in her panic, but Lilian eventually dropped back in order to reassure her cousin.

Warren’s parents’ section of the house rang with the same cannibalistic intent that Lilian remembered. She shuddered as she drew near and, for the first time in her life, was thankful that the others couldn’t hear the music. Warren slowly opened the door and stepped inside. There were three rooms; a sitting room, a bedroom and a bathroom.

Once everyone entered, Warren shut the door and flooded the room with light. Fox glared at the appliances but quickly set about searching the room. Much to Lilian’s surprise—and delight—he seemed diligent in his search. Ariella clung to Lilian and shivered once they walked further into the room.

“I don’t… like this place,” she whispered.

Lilian nodded. “Yeah. Tell me about it.”

The sitting room, decorated in reds, greys and blues, had a dreary tone about it. The books on the shelves looked worn and well-loved, but otherwise the place looked untouched; the furniture was merely decoration.

Lilian walked into the bedroom. The color scheme remained the same, but she quickly noticed medical supplies in the corner. IV stands and bags made the place feel like a hospital and already Lilian felt uncomfortable. Warren stood off to the side, eyeing everyone as they searched.

“Hm?” Ariella murmured.

She broke away from Lilian and wandered over to the dresser. Sitting on top, next to pictures of Warren’s mother and father, were stacks of papers and notes. She picked up the first page, her eyes wide. “L-Lilian… This is from the CPE…”

“You don’t need to search that,” Warren snapped as he quickly grabbed her arm. His hand slipped past her glove and made contact with the bare skin of her wrist. Everyone in the room, save Warren, immediately caught their breath and waited, even Ariella.

Warren took the paperwork from her hand, seemingly unaffected by Ariella’s flesh, and placed it back down on the dresser. She pulled away and rubbed at her arm.

“You… don’t feel weird?” Ariella quietly asked.

“I’m fine,” Warren hissed. “I might look sick but I can handle myself.”

Lilian stepped up to the two of them. “No, she meant, did you feel weird when you touched her?”

“What? No. Why would I?”

“It’s just… Well, she’s…”

“If this is some sort of shaheen trick I already told you that shadow hunters are resistant to that kind of thing.”

Fox chuckled under his breath and went back to his searching. Lilian kept one eye on her cousin while she shuffled around the bed.

“You really didn’t feel anything?” Ariella whispered.

Warren shook his head. “Of course not.”

“Would you mind… touching me again? Just to make sure?” She pulled the glove off her hand and held it out. Warren gave it a suspicious sideways glance. “Y-you don’t have to,” she quickly stammered. “I just… I’ve never touched anyone that wasn’t effected before…”

With a reluctant look about him, Warren reached out and placed his hand on top of Ariella’s. The two held hands for a long moment. Ariella slowly smiled, her cheeks turning a bright red. Warren spotted her odd reaction and quickly pulled away.

“What’s your problem?” he snapped.

“S-sorry,” she stuttered, ducking back into her jacket. “You have nice hands.”

Warren turned away, baffled. He walked from the room, following after Fox, leaving Lilian and Ariella alone in the bedroom. Lilian stopped searching and instead walked over to her cousin.

“Hey, at least you found someone you can touch! It’s that awesome?”

“I guess,” Ariella muttered.

“Warren’s a good guy. I’m sure you’ll like him.”

“I don’t know…”

“C’mon. Give him a chance.”

Ariella shook her head. “Lilian, I think we should leave. He’s somehow connected with the CPE. We shouldn’t be here…”

“I knew about the CPE,” Lilian replied. “I’m sorry, I should have told you before we came here, but Warren’s father works for them.”

“You know what dad says about the place. I don’t want them to find us.”

“They won’t. We’re fine.”

“But this is the exact situation dad always warns us about, Lily! He says we can’t be found by the CPE and here we are snooping around the CPE.”

“You still have your bracelet, don’t you? It’ll be fine!”

Ariella held up her arm and examined it. She quickly pulled it close to her chest, as if flinching from an injury, and stared at Lilian in panic.

“What is it?” Lilian whispered. “You have it, right?”

Horrified, Ariella slowly lifted her arm to show Lilian. The bracelet, frayed, looked as though it had been caught on something. The tiny magic charm had only a thread to hold it together. Lilian could barely hear the magic it resonated. Frustrated, Lilian quickly pulled off her own bracelet and carefully switched it with Ariella’s.

“What happened to yours?” Ariella whispered, staring at the patchwork accessory.

“I may have tumbled across a street at one point and it got a little scuffed. It’s still good.”

Lilian could only barely hear the magic from her bracelet as well, but she didn’t want to mention anything. We haven’t been caught yet, so maybe no one is looking for us, she optimistically thought.

“We still shouldn’t be here,” Ariella continued. “The CPE… We shouldn’t anger them. We shouldn’t even be anywhere near them. We should go.”

“I want to know more about them. I’m not going to leave.”

Ariella and Lilian stared at each other for a long period of time. Finally, Ariella said, “I want to leave, Lily. I want to leave right now.”

“What’re you going to do? We should head back to the house together.”

“Well… I was hoping to go see Gunner,” she earnestly said, avoiding eye contact with Lilian.

“Perfect. You can visit Gunner and I’ll investigate this myself. You don’t need to worry.” Lilian motioned to the door. “I can handle this. Just make sure you get back to the house in a few hours.”

Ariella took hold of Lilian’s arm and frowned. “Come with me.”

Lilian jerked her arm away. “Uncle Rahul might be super afraid but I’m not. My mother and brother went missing because of the CPE. If I help Warren and his family, maybe they’ll help me. Maybe I’ll learn something.”

“I’m still going to go.”

“I know. I’ll see you later.”

With a fretful look, Ariella turned toward the door. “I’ll see you at home…”

Chapter 17

The CPE Hunter

“Children of man and shadow are rare.

Shaheen seldom know compassion and human bodies are frail.”

---

“Where is she going?” Warren asked, walking back into his parents’ room once Ariella had left.

“Didn’t you see the bounce in her step and the blood in her cheeks?” Fox playfully asked, walking in behind Warren. “She’s going to meet her first enthralled.”

“Fox!” Lilian hissed. “Stop that!”

He smiled and hopped onto the giant king sized bed. “Just you wait and see, Imp. The boy will be wrapped around her finger before long, acting as her minion and personal slave. I’m jealous, really.”

“She walks around town?” Warren incredulously asked. “Enthralling people?!”

“No, of course not!” Lilian interjected.

“Then what’s going on?”

“She just doesn’t want to be here. She’s… well, sensitive and doesn’t like to rock the boat.” Lilian tapped her side with her hand when she realized Warren wanted a better explanation. “Look, she’s going to spend time with her friend, okay? Not some slave.”

Fox threw himself backward and began making snow angels in the blankets. “Oh, he’ll be her slave. It’s only a matter of time. Or, better yet, she’ll get his soul and leave his husk of a body to wither away in the foothills, lost and never heard from again.”

“You’re a sick bastard,” Warren spat, his lip curled in disgust.

Fox laughed.

Lilian rolled her eyes. “You’re only feeding into his jokes,” she said. “If you just stop reacting he’ll stop saying outrageous things. He’s kinda like a four-year-old, really.”

Still upset, Warren glared at his parents’ door. The presence of a second shaheen—or at least, a part-shaheen—had surprised him. His father’s words regarding Lilian’s past seemed more plausible. He turned his attention back to the CPE paperwork on his father’s dresser. Nothing more than expense reports and inventory lists. His father had been tasked with recovering stolen books and notes, yet just the mere sight of the CPE logo seemed to entice the demi-azra.

Warren looked up. Lilian had wandered into the bathroom, still investigating the place like an amateur sleuth. She examined even the smallest of objects, turning over everything in sight in the hopes of finding something, even the soap. Her apparent dedication impressed Warren, but he knew at some level their task was futile.

My father would have found something relating to the shaheen if it were in his room… He shook his head and focused on his thoughts. Yet she felt sinister things from this part of the house. Who comes in here? My mother? My sister? It isn’t them. Is it… someone from the CPE?

“So, Void Eater, were you conceived on this bed?” Fox drawled.

His thoughts shattering in an instant, Warren slowly turned to the shaheen on his parent’s bed. The pillows and blankets were in a state of disarray, scattered around the edge of the bed and floor. The vile creature lying in the very center smiled up at him with sharp canines and sadistic delight in his one visible eye.

Warren refused to answer, hoping that Lilian’s advice would hold true.

“You’re right,” Fox continued, regardless of Warren’s silence. “You look more like a bathroom stall child. Or perhaps… the backseat of your neighbor’s van child.”

He didn’t know exactly why, but the shaheen’s taunts caused his blood to boil faster than anything Warren had encountered in the past. He tightly balled his fists and walked out of the room, painfully aware of the knife in his pocket. He needed breathing space and a chance to relax his tense muscles. His anger caused his ribs to hurt.

Warren took a seat on a leather chair in his father’s sitting room. To his great irritation, Fox followed him and began fingering the books on the shelves that lined the walls.

“You’ll need to fix the bed before you leave,” Warren said, his voice tense and restrained.

Fox removed a book from the shelf and causally flipped through the pages. “That sounds like your problem.”

“So you want my father finding out you’ve been here? Is that what you’re saying?”

“D’aww… Is someone trying to threaten me?” Fox asked in a child-like voice. “Is that what that was?”

“I know who you are, Ellalaharjinn,” Warren harshly stated under his breath. “I read all about you and your extended stay among humans. My father and the CPE could easily bring you in.”

Fox slammed the book shut and smiled. “So you do know my name. What a cute trick. That isn’t going to save you. Shaheen cannot make pacts with void eaters, and although I’ll hear you say it, I need not answer your summons.”

“I would never make a pact with you, demon.” Warren stood and pointed to a section of books on the top shelf. “My father just knows a great deal about killing things like you. Your name is on his list. I’m allowing Lilian to help, but if you get out of line…”

“You’re testing my patience,” Fox said, placing the book back on the shelf. “I like it. You should come up with some more ways you think you have the advantage. I appreciate a good back and forth.”

“This isn’t a game,” Warren hissed.

“All life is a game. I just like to be upfront about it.”

“Watch your step. If you or Lilian try anything funny, I know your strengths andweaknesses.”

Fox’s smiled widened. “Good, good. That’s a good start, and it might have been a creditable threat if your father was around… but I don’t sense him nearby. Does he always leave his sickly children undefended or is this hope-your-son-dies-while-you’re-at-work-day?”

“He’s out hunting,” Warren curtly stated.

Technically, he was hunting for Lilian, but Warren wasn’t about to mention it for fear of Fox’s reaction. As long as Lilian didn’t go out into the open or stay long, he was certain she would get away… but the fewer people around the easier his father would be able to track her.

“Hm. What a shame. Did you want to try again? Perhaps there is something you think you know about me that would be my undoing?”

“I—”

“Are you guys even looking?!” Lilian shouted from the back bathroom, her voice echoing throughout the whole house. “I feel like you’re just huffing paint in the front room! Actually do something or go home!”

---

Ariella stood on the edge of the field, gazing out across the emerald grass, watching the football players run through their drills. Her eyes tracked the high school students as they smashed against bags and ran between goal posts. Gunner, on the sidelines with the coach, handled the equipment and passed out drinks to the players. Even at a distance, she could tell the others enjoyed his presence.

The wind carried the scent of the players, their strength apparent and the sweat of their training inspiring. She could taste the masculine edge on the air; it excited her. Her home never had such sights or smells, only those of the animals, dust and the elderly neighbors. Ariella wanted to walk over and become part of the activity, to feel like she belonged, but she knew she had to stay far away… So she watched, and kept hidden in the shade of the few trees that dotted the field.

Fox’s words and taunting haunted her mind. She slid further into the embrace of the shadows, hoping to find comfort. Ariella hated herself for giving in to her desires, for being so attracted to Gunner… She also hated that Fox knew. She just wanted to have her own feelings and deal with them like a normal person. She could never do that with the shaheen around. He knew her guilty emotions and vocalized them to the world, just to see her squirm.

If Gunner knew…

Ariella took a deep breath. Gunner knew she was different, but if he knew the truth… would he feel deceived? I’m no magical princess… If he knew I was some sort of demon would he still joke and come to see me? Or… or would he run? Her thoughts turned to Fox. Would he try and scare Gunner away, just to hurt her?

He would do that, Ariella thought. I know he would.

She leaned around the tree and continued to watch. Just the sight of Gunner caused her heartrate to increase. The thought—the fantasy—that he would see her and rush to greet her caused her to blush.

Lilian is right. I shouldn’t be worried about being happy… Ariella allowed her worry to melt away. She would deal with Fox as it became a problem. She wanted to see Gunner.

Not confident enough to interrupt their training, Ariella continued to watch as the sun crept across the sky. She didn’t mind the wait, and sat back to enjoy the show. No one seemed to notice her presence and the shadows whispered unintelligible promises, easing her worries.

Finally, as the sun traveled its last mile to the horizon line, the players dispersed. The cool emptiness of the field gave Ariella confidence. She slinked across the grass and headed straight for the locker rooms. She would wait for Gunner to exit and speak with him before heading home.

She heard the rushing water of showers and hid behind the gymnasium. The football players exited in groups of two and three, laughing and joking about the day. Ariella spotted Gunner among the last to exit and she smiled as she stepped out of the shadows to greet him.

Gunner froze and the football player next to him gave her a nod.

“Hey. How’s it going?”

“I’ll see you later, Nick,” Gunner said, motioning him off. “Tell the others something came up, okay?”

Nick, obviously confused, nodded and then waved to Ariella, giving her a suspicious glance. Ariella averted her gaze until the boy had gone.

“Gunner,” she whispered. “I… wanted to see you again.”

“That’s fine by me,” he said with a laugh. “I just, er, I dunno why, but I didn’t expect to see you here.” Gunner rubbed at his neck. “Are you like, a witch that hangs out near the gym or something?”

She shook her head. “No. Nothing like that. I just wanted to see you again. I knew I could find you here.”

“Hey, if you want my address or phone number you only needed to ask, babe.”

“You would give me your phone number?” Ariella asked, holding back her glee.

“Of course! I mean, half of me thought you weren’t even real, you were just some dream or something.”

Ariella laughed. She tucked her head into her jacket, not because she wanted to retreat but because she wanted to hide her flushed cheeks. A small piece of her wanted Lilian nearby just so she could turn and squeal in delight with every positive development.

“My car is out in the parking lot,” Gunner said. “You wanna head that way?”

“Sure.”

They walked out to the empty parking lot. All the other football players had left and the gymnasium had been locked. Ariella enjoyed the privacy and happily skipped over to Gunner’s car.

Gunner opened the back door of his vehicle and threw his towel and dirty clothes in. He shut the door and turned back to Ariella, suddenly looking nervous. He leaned against the car and crossed his arms over his chest.

“So, uh…”

Ariella held her breath. Was he upset with her? Did she disappoint him? Was he expecting something different?

“… you gonna use your magic or something now to, er, fix me?”

She let her breath out in relief. “Not yet,” Ariella said. “Soon though. I just need more time.”

“Yeah, of course, course,” Gunner said, shrugging. “You gotta find the heart of a newt and the feather of baby griffon, I get it.”

They both laughed. Ariella took a hesitant step closer. She reached out to place her gloved hand upon his and suddenly recoiled, her nostrils filled with a shaheen’s scent. Fox is here?! She whipped around, her eyes narrowing into a glare.

Gunner also glanced around. “What’s wrong?”

“Would you mind just waiting here for a second?” Ariella asked. Gunner nodded. She stepped away from the car and walked straight over to the darkest shadow cast by the nearest building. She leaned close and whispered harshly, “Fox?! What’re you doing here? Leave me alone!”

Nothing answered, not even the shadows.

Ariella frowned. “Stop it, Fox. I don’t want you around! It doesn’t matter what I am; I deserve to be happy too!”

Again, silence.

Confused, Ariella inhaled deeply. All she could smell was the terrible scent of shaheen. Fox was the only shaheen she knew, and the only one to hide from her… lurking about in order to torment her further. Who else could it possibly be?

“Shouldn’t you be watching Lilian?” Ariella whispered.

Again, no reply.

She turned away from the darkness with a huff. “I’m just going to ignore you. Do you hear me? Leave me alone!”

She flounced away, crossing the parking lot and returning to Gunner’s side. The teen gave her an odd look. “Were you… yelling at the shadows?”

“It was nothing. Just forget about it.”

Gunner suddenly tensed and took Ariella by the arm. “Look out!” was all he managed to choke out before shoving her to the side.

Ariella heard an odd popping noise as she smashed against the side of Gunner’s car. Confused, she stared at Gunner and realized he had some sort of dart with bright yellow fletching sticking out of his shoulder.

Obviously in pain, Gunner winced as he violently ripped the dart from his flesh. “Get in the car!” he commanded. “There’s a guy with a rifle on the—”

Another muted shot and Ariella felt a sudden, terrible pain in her neck. The dart, expertly avoiding her puffy jacket, protruded from her body. She instinctively reached up and grabbed a dart, pulling it from her flesh, but she could smell the hint of powerful chemicals.

Gunner threw open his car door and pushed Ariella inside. He half collapsed getting to the driver’s side door, his arm limp and his body almost unresponsive. Ariella turned her attention to the top of the gymnasium. A man dressed in heavy black combat gear stood on the very edge of the roof, a large rifle in his hands. He wore a face mask and what looked to be military-grade scouting goggles.

The man on the roof reeked of shaheen. It had been his scent from the beginning.

Confused and sluggish, Ariella left the car.

She didn’t want to endanger Gunner and she knew the man had come for her. All she could think about was getting back to her father—he would know what to do! Another shot from the rifle and Ariella felt a sudden pain flare up in her calf. Her vision blurred and she only barely realized she had tumbled to the ground.

She pushed herself up, despite her weakening muscles, and tried to get further away. Maybe there would be people nearby… people that would go get help…

She collapsed again, aware that she couldn’t sense anyone nearby. They had all gone home after practice…

Ariella’s last thoughts were about Gunner. I shouldn’t have gone to see him,she thought. Now he’s in danger… It’s all my fault… and I can’t get up… Her eyelids, suddenly her enemy, hung heavily. She could hear the sounds of boot steps nearing as she shuddered.

A gruff hand pulled her up by her limp arm.

“Shaheen,” a man rasped.

She tried to speak, to tell him he was wrong, to explain that Gunner had no part in everything, to call out for her father, but the words never came. Her lungs, practically asleep themselves, wouldn’t take in the air necessary for speech.

The man holding her had blood on his face and his scent was filled with a sweetness that called to Ariella. His blood had… power…

Barely able to distinguish one color from another, Ariella saw the blood smeared on his eyes and eyelids, enhancing his vision with stolen abilities from the Void. She closed her eyes, only vaguely aware she was being dragged away.

Chapter 18

Captured

“Those who exemplify certain virtues empower their souls.

Shaheen desperately want these souls for themselves – for they are far stronger than the rest.”

---

“I don’t understand,” Lilian said. “I thought… we wound find something.”

Lilian stood outside Warren’s home, staring at the perfectly maintained garden that made up his backyard. Despite the hours of searching, they were empty handed. The songs in the house sang of secrets, but all Lilian could see were gloomy halls and misplaced medical supplies.

“No shaheen dwells here,” Fox casually said, taking a seat on the bench. “I knew the moment I stepped foot in the house.”

Lilian turned on her heel and gestured to the house. “You knew this whole time?! But—but it was you who said they were being tormented by a shaheen in the first place! Was that just a lie?! Why didn’t you say anything?!”

Fox leaned back on his posted arms. “The void eater isn’t cursed; I wasn’t lying about that. Which means… there should be a shaheen here, but there isn’t. It’s a mystery, Imp. One I was hoping to solve with your investigations, but now I feel that perhaps whatever was bothering his family has up and left.”

“So… you don’t know what’s wrong the family?”

“Apparently not.”

Flustered, Lilian walked back over to the bench and took a seat next to her bizarre guardian. “What’re we going to do?”

Fox yawned. “Forget about this place and never return?”

Lilian stared up at the purple tinted sky and sighed. The stars weren’t out yet and her mind was a haze. Suddenly she turned to Fox and gave him a half-smile. “Maybe we could lure it out!”

“… What?”

“Lure it out! You know, maybe you could appear or, just be, er, seen or something and then the thing would show itself.”

“Why would it do that?”

“Aren’t shaheen like, bros? It’ll trust you. You’re both shadow creatures.”

Fox threw his head back and laughed. Birds, which had been peacefully sleeping nearby, flew startled from the trees. Lilian waited in annoyance as Fox settled himself. He rubbed at his eye and gave her an odd grin. “Any other bright ideas?”

“Maybe we could watch the family while they sleep,” Lilian earnestly stated, trying desperately to come up with a solution to her problem. “The creature has to be stealing their blood at some point and if we catch it in the act then bam. We found it.”

“Nothing steals our blood in the middle of the night,” Warren chimed in. He stepped out of the house and strode through the garden, his gaze on the ground. “A doctor from the CPE comes to draw blood once every week or week after. Dad says if we have too much blood we’ll die from the poison of the curse.”

Lilian and Fox exchanged glances. Lilian turned back to Warren and lifted an eyebrow. “What’s with you guys not telling me crucial information?! Now we know our culprit! It’s the doctor!”

Warren sighed. “It’s not the doctor. I would have known if he were a shaheen.”

“Of course not,” Lilian said, hit by an epiphany. “It’s the CPE…”

Fox clapped his hands together. “Mystery solved. I’m glad we were able to help.”

Warren turned to Lilian, his song conflicted but stronger than Lilian had remembered hearing it before. “Why don’t I take you to the place my father works? Then we’ll see what you can sense.”

“You would take me to the CPE?” Lilian asked, both excited and terrified, her emotions fighting through the contradiction.

“My father trusts them, and so do I. But… I want to get to the bottom of this and I need your help. If something is going on, I’m sure they would want to know about it too.”

Fox snorted. “That won’t be dangerous at all. I’m sure they’ll forget all about their past blasphemies and treat Imp here with all the respect she’s due. They won’t try to capture, kill or harm her in any way. I can see nothing but good things from this plan. Spectacular things.”

“Well, I need to think about it,” Lilian said, ignoring Fox’s comment. “And I have to be getting home regardless. Maybe I can come back and we can talk about more plans then?”

Warren crossed his arms and slowly nodded.

“Good. Then it’s a deal.”

Lilian stood up and embraced Warren. His boney frame didn’t make for a comfortable experience, but she smiled to herself at how tense and awkward he was with her close proximity. She released him. “Don’t worry. I have a plan. Remember those guns you gave me? I modified them to fight shaheen. We’ll catch whoever is behind this and then we’ll make them pay!”

“W-what’s with you?” he stammered. “It’s my problem, not yours. You don’t have to concern yourself.”

“When my mother went missing I would have given anything to have someone look for her. I was too young and… I didn’t know how to go about investigating anything… I don’t want something similar to happen to you. Especially if it’s the CPE. They can’t be allowed to hurt people like that are.”

Warren, at a loss for words, continued staring at the ground. Fox got off the bench and stretched.

“Whelp. I think Imp and I need to be on our way.”

---

Warren glanced up and watched as Lilian leaned in close to the shaheen and harshly whispered. It sounded as though she were berating him, but Warren couldn’t make out her words. He patiently waited until the two had ended their quarrel.

“Here,” he said, reaching into his pocket and withdrawing cash. “This is for the taxi home.”

“Thank you!” Lilian beamed. She examined the handful of bills and then gave Warren and odd look. “Are taxi rides expensive?”

He narrowed his eyes and motioned to the money. “Obviously. The bus is a million times cheaper.”

“Sorry,” she sheepishly said. “Uncle Rahul doesn’t let us off the farm so I never had a chance to… ya know… make money, so… I just wanted to thank you again for this.” She awkwardly shrugged and, behind her and out of view, Fox rolled his eye.

He doesn’t let them off the farm? Warren stared at her a while longer, hearing his father’s words echoing throughout his thoughts. His father had been so certain that Lilian was a master thief and villain of the CPE. She could barely handle money…

“There’s a phone in the kitchen and a phonebook in the top drawer,” Warren offered. “I need to clean up before my father gets home. Your shaheen definitely left a stench throughout the house.”

“I would have peed to mark the place as my territory but Imp would get upset,” Fox sardonically drawled.

Lilian snorted and quickly covered her mouth, stifling laughs. Warren narrowed his eyes. “Seriously? You found that immature tripe amusing?”

“Sorry,” she muttered between breaths. “It’s just… he did it once before to this neighbor that was always snooping around… It was funny.”

“If I knew that was how you felt I would have done it again,” Fox commented.

Lilian stopped laughing. “No. You did well, Fox. We’re here to help Warren, not make jokes. Mrs. Benson, on the other hand, totally deserved your pranking.” With the money in hand, she jogged up to the back door and motioned for her shaheen to follow. The shadow creature reluctantly pursued her, giving Warren an odd glance before entering the house.

Warren sighed. He felt tense around the shaheen, but… He liked the girl. He had never known an azra before, not even a half-breed. Warren knew the legends and tales of the sun and its warriors that fought against the night and helped humanity. A small piece of him wondered if she had abilities not yet demonstrated—abilities to utterly destroy shaheen…

Shaking his head to dispel his thoughts, Warren walked back into the house and immediately went to the cleaning closet. Shaheen had a foul odor about them, but bleach and disinfectant covered almost any smell, especially for a handful of hours after it’s applied. Warren knew his parents would never question the cleaning supplies. Their housekeeper used them liberally, believing the household had a weak immune system, the ultimate cause of their suffering.

Warren didn’t bother leading Lilian or Fox to the door. He listened to them leave, the harsh slam of the taxi cab punctuating their departure. As he wiped down the hallways and the railings to the stairs, the only other noises Warren heard were from the clicking of windows on the second story. Jessie occasionally got up to change the air flow in the rooms. Sometimes she wanted the wind; other times she couldn’t stand it.

Jessie…

A small piece of him wanted to drop everything he was doing to go check on her, but Warren pushed the urges from his mind. Jessie didn’t like to be disturbed, especially not in her room. He understood her reluctance. Warren couldn’t stand letting people see him bedridden.

Just as Warren finished cleaning his parents’ bedroom, he heard the front door open and close. A shiver ran down his spine as he turned to the clock in the room. No… They shouldn’t be home for hours. Maybe it’s Lilian and Fox? Did they forget something? Panicking, Warren hid the cleaning supplies in the hall closet before closing all the doors and quietly jogging down the hall. He stopped and leaned over the banister, looking down to the front room.

Warren held his breath the moment he spotted his father. Slung over his shoulder was a large black body bag. Dragging behind him, another black body bag, nearly twice as large as the first. Warren furrowed his brow in confusion.

“Father?” he called down.

Startled, his father snapped his attention upward and frowned. “Warren. What’re you doing up? You should be resting.”

“I wanted some fresh air.”

“I see.”

Heinrich threw down the bag and wiped at his face. Smears of his own blood were caught in the scruff of his two-day beard. He wearily shrugged away his pains and slowly dragged the bags further into the house.

“Warren, open the basement door for me.”

Without hesitation, Warren leapt down the stairs and ran to the basement door. His father glowered, upset with Warren’s needless expenditure of energy. “Don’t let your hubris be your undoing,” his father warned. “You’ve no need to save face with me. I’m your father.”

“Then you should believe me when I tell you I’m fine,” Warren snapped, pulling open the door and motioning for his father to go through.

His father hefted the bags and gently lowered them down onto the steps. He took care to move them carefully, and when it became clear that his loss of blood had begun affecting him, he motioned for Warren to help.

With an unsteady hand, Warren took the bag. He heard the front door open and close; the soft click and quiet silence that followed informed Warren of his mother’s presence. His father made a motion to stay quiet. She never liked her husband’s line of work and preferred to stay as uninformed as possible.

Warren instead focused on the bag in his hands. Is this Lilian? he wondered. “Who are these?” was all he could bring himself to ask.

“A demi-shaheen and an enthralled,” his father replied. “I thought I had caught the demi-azra you had met, but apparently there are odd happenings in Silver River. I found this one at the high school.”

Warren’s heart practically skipped a beat. Ariella. He half-smirked to himself. I should have known my father would find her… He’s done this for years. “Was the demi-shaheen hurting anyone?”

“It doesn’t matter. The CPE will want to see this. Handlers will be taking it to the labs tomorrow morning.”

“What if she were just… trying to be normal? Would we need to turn her in then?”

His father stopped at the bottom of the stairs. He turned his attention to his son and stared for a long—uncomfortable—moment. “I never said it was female,” he final stated. “Warren, are you keeping things from me?”

“No,” Warren immediately stated. “Of course not. The bag is light; I just assumed.” The words rolled freely from his tongue, uninhibited by his conscience.

His father frowned and turned away. The basement, larger than the house itself, had heavy steel doors, freezers and powerful motion-triggered flood lights to dispel needless shadows. There were rooms protected with blood magic, locked from those who knew nothing of its eldritch properties.

Warren’s father pulled the bag near a far door and then stood up. “I apologize. That makes some sense; I’m just… on edge. Ever since we talked the other day I’ve just been… Not myself.” He walked up the stairs for the second bag. “Help me with this last one.”

“You’re not worried about them waking?”

“Dr. Keegan assured me these darts would last. They’ll be unconscious until they’re picked up tomorrow.”

“And what will happen to them then?”

His father shrugged. “I don’t know where they came from, so I assume they’ll extract the information and quarantine them until they have the supplies necessary to research them further.”

Warren grabbed the other end of the bag and helped his father move it down the stairs. His mind lingered on Lilian and Fox. They had risked a lot to help him, and now his father had captured their friend. On the other hand, he knew his father wouldn’t turn against the CPE.

I owe them, Warren reasoned. If only for one time…

As he helped his father move the bag, he went over the plan in his head. I might not be able to summon Fox to my side, but he’ll know when I say his name… I’ll warn them. But only this once.

Chapter 19

Summons

“Forgive me.”

---

Lilian stared at the sky above and watched as the twinkle of stars began to piece through the fading sunlight. She glanced back to the brick grill and jumped back in fright. Fox, in his black fox form, stood perched on top of the grill, playfully tilting his head back and forth.

“Fox, cut it out,” she groaned.

His ears twitched in annoyance. “You’ve been disagreeable lately, Imp. We should play a game.”

“I—” Lilian cut herself short. She could feel her own tension and defensive posture. She rubbed her arms and sighed. “I’m not a little kid anymore. I have to step up. I can’t hide behind others, or make excuses. I gotta be strong.” She gripped her arms together and allowed her thoughts to drift to her mother. So many terrible nightmares about her mother… I’m old enough now, she thought. I can’t back down.

“Responsibility isn’t all glowers and grim decisions. You must care for yourself as well.”

“I’m trying to be serious.”

Fox jumped from the grill and rubbed against Lilian’s legs, practically purring as he arched his back. She pushed him away, rolling her eyes.

“Stop that. It’s weird now.”

He persisted, leaning heavily against her and then rolling onto his back. Lilian looked away, staring up into the sky and hoping the sight of the stars would calm her. Then, much to her surprise, Fox grabbed at her shoelaces and violently tugged, half ripping them from her shoes in one motion.

“Hey!” she barked.

Lilian grabbed at her foot and Fox pulled back further, yanking the shoelace straight from the shoe. Lilian lunged for the fox and missed, tumbling to the ground. Fox, shoelace in mouth, dangled it close. She swiped, missed and glared.

“Oh my god,” she groaned. “Give it back.”

Fox titled his head and slowly began chewing the shoelace as he thought, tearing it to shreds with his sharp canine teeth. Lilian jumped up and attempted to grab the shoelace from his mouth, falling short by a mere inch by the time Fox pulled away. He wagged his long fluffy tail and gave her an animal-smirk.

She couldn’t help but laugh. Lilian stood up and brushed the dirt from her pants. “You’re like, a lord of shadows, ya know. Aren’t you ever embarrassed sometimes?”

“When you’re a lord of shadow the opinions of your lessors rarely impact your mood.”

Lilian nodded and chuckled. “That makes sense.”

As if faintly hearing his name from across the town, Fox jerked his head to the side, his ears erect and facing away. Lilian took advantage of his distraction and leapt for the shoelace. She grabbed it and pulled it away, happy over her triumph. She remembered all the times in her youth when Fox would hide things from her, or keep things away for extended periods of time. The nostalgia did, in fact, raise her spirits. Stupid Fox, she thought, laughing to herself as she laced her shoe with the chewed shoestring. He’s just childish sometimes. No shame.

“Imp,” he said, slowly turning back to face her. “The void eater has a death wish. I’m going to grant it.”

“What?” Lilian indignantly asked. “What’re you talking about?”

“The fool is calling my name.”

“I’m sure he’s just cursing the fates for ever having met you,” Lilian quipped.

“No, Imp. My true name. He wants my attention.”

“He knows your true name?! You never told me your true name!”

The black fox silently rushed through the shadows and appeared near the house, some forty feet away. “He discovered my true name without my involvement,” Fox whispered, his voice carried by the shadows themselves.

Lilian shook her head. “Are you two secretly hooking up behind my back? Gah, that is so like you!”

“Again,” Fox hissed, his attention turned to the distance. “He dares to call my name again.”

Fox slipped through the void and appeared on top of Uncle Rahul’s house, at the very top of the Dutch gable roof. The cool breeze rustled his silky black fur, like an elegant weathervane.

“Don’t hurt him,” Lilian scolded. “I mean it. No matter how many times he says your name.”

Without another word, Fox disappeared into the freshly settling night. Lilian exhaled and glanced around. Ariella… Where is she? Discontent and lonely, Lilian wandered back to the grill and took a seat on the edge. She patted the bricks and admired her handiwork.

“Ya know what, grill?” she sarcastically asked. “I’m really proud of you. You’re the best grill I’ve ever made with my Ikea magic.”

Silence.

Lilian sighed. I can’t believe I’m even thinking this but… I wish Fox hadn’t gone. She turned her attention to the window of the house and lifted an eyebrow. The lights were off and the place quiet. Where is Uncle Rahul?

---

Warren paced his room, uncomfortable and nervous. It bothered him that his father would be willing to harm such a young girl… Warren knew of the shaheen and their treachery, but the girl wasn’t really one of them, was she? His father, reluctant to discuss the matter further, retreated to his room, seemingly unaware of the “guests” that had been there earlier.

A small piece of Warren had worried his father would know immediately, but… Dad hasn’t been the same lately, he solemnly realized. He probably went to his room to rest…

“Where is he?” Warren asked under his breath. Should I speak his name a third time? No… It’s against the fates. Only risking things further…

Warren stopped in his tracks. Is he ignoring me? He shook his head. Of course he is. Warren resumed his pacing, more distressed than he had been previously. Maybe I should just go see her tonight. Or maybe—

The lights flicked once and then extinguished, the bulbs in the overhead lamps cracking and exploding with a quick popping sound. Warren flinched and whirled around. Within an instant his eyes adjusted to the darkness, courtesy of his infamous bloodline.

“Ellalaharj—”

The shaheen growled, cutting off Warren.

“You can call me Fox or I can kill you. The choice is yours.”

“Very well,” Warren spat. “Fox.”

The shaheen took a human form, but much different than the one Warren had seen before. He wore an eyepatch, but his other eye, gold and black and devoid of white, glared down at him. Fox’s body, the form of older man, appeared more sturdy and gentlemanly than his teenage form. His outfit… Warren took a moment to take it in.

Fox wore a blood-red waistcoat, a white button down shirt, black slacks and matching black frock coat. His raven-colored hair, windswept back, had streaks of whites originating from his temples. His frame, surprisingly tall and muscular, confused Warren. He knew Ellalaharjinn to be a trickster… his current human form didn’t reflect that.

“Since you respond quickly to ultimatums, I’ll give you another one,” Fox drawled. “Tell me why you spoke my name or I can kill you.”

Warren hesitated. For a split second his mind went straight to his father. Perhaps Ellalaharjinn could be killed… He shook his head and dispelled the thought. The shaheen hadhelped him and the girl Lilian… And what little he did read about Ellalaharjinn seemed to include numerous occasions in which he escaped while other shaheen fell…

“Are you deaf and stupid? What an unfortunate combination.”

“Your… ward, for lack of a better term, is here,” Warren stated. He could feel his blood pressure rising with each second while in the demon’s presence.

Fox’s eye widened. “Impossible,” he whispered.

“Not Lilian. The shaheen girl. Ariella.”

Fox laughed once and dismissively waved away the comment. “She isn’t my ward.”

“I thought… she was your subordinate.”

“You thought wrong.”

Warren turned on his heel. His room, a moderate size, had a great deal of space for him to pace. He had few personal effects and, even if the lights were on, it would look unused and gloomy. He had spent so much time in the hospital when younger that his parents had moved his toys to his high dependency unit. When Warren returned home he left them behind, feeling it were time he focused on more than just his own amusement. Now, however, with a shaheen so close, Warren wished he had something to remind him of happier times.

“Was that all you called me for?” Fox asked.

“Handlers from the CPE will be coming to take her away tomorrow. Don’t you care what happens?”

“The real question is: why do you care? Ariella is a hapless spawn of shadow—the exact kind of thing void eaters seem to hunt nowadays.”

Warren turned back around and tightly held his fists at his sides. “I’m not in the business of hurting little girls. She didn’t seem… dangerous.”

“Oh? Weren’t you afraid she was enthralling people? Besides, what did your daddy say? Surely you’d agree with his judgment.”

“Don’t talk like you know me,” Warren spat.

“I know more than you think.”

“Then…” Warren turned his gaze to the floor. “… then you should know I’m not about to fight my own family over this. We’ve enough problems as it is…” He looked back up, annoyed with Fox’s odd smile. “What? What’s so funny? All I wanted to do was spare the girl some unfortunate fate. Lilian seemed convinced something terrible would happen and, after speaking to my father, I think… I think she might be right.”

“Well,” Fox drawled, seemingly back to his whimsical self. “I’ll think about whether or not we’ll do anything. Ariella was never my favorite.”

“There’s another,” Warren added. “A boy. I think… I think he’s just a normal.”

“I care even less about some random boy.”

“Just tell Lilian. She’ll care.”

Fox turned away and shrugged. “If I feel like it.”

“If you don’t do it tonight I doubt you’ll have another chance. The CPE are veterans of the shadow wars, and you’re not exactly known for your participation. The eighth circle is weak and you have no allies.”

Fox stopped in the doorframe and Warren smiled to him. Don’t like it when it happens to you, do you?

“I won’t place Lilian in needless danger,” he darkly stated.

Before Warren could say anything, the shaheen disappeared. The boy nervously fidgeted, conflicted about what his role should be. He wanted to help the girl… that much he was sure of. Warren couldn’t determine if Fox and the girl would come back, but he told himself he would wait for them before acting.

---

The time ticked by slowly. Lilian glanced upward. Only fifteen minutes had past. Lights in the house flickered on and off at odd times, both relieving Lilian and bothering her at the same time. Uncle Rahul rarely moved around the house. He stayed in his study, cooked food and occasionally went to visit the animals. What’s he doing now?

Lilian heavily braced her head onto her posted hand and watched as all the lights flickered off for a fourth time. Did Uncle Rahul think they were still preoccupied with the grill? He hadn’t checked out the window and the blinds were drawn shut, preventing Lilian from seeing inside. He did seem eager to get us out of the house again, she thought. I really need to talk to Fox about this strange behavior. I bet he could sneak around inside and figure out what Uncle Rahul is up to.

The music, peaceful and filled with moonlight lullabies, suddenly jumped with a playful tune that Lilian knew all too well. “Took you long enough,” she huffed.

A pair of hands came down on her shoulders, startling Lilian. She turned her head and looked up at Fox in his human form. His eyepatch and narrowed eye gave him a sinister appearance, but his smirk and song gave away his playfulness.

“Imp. We need to talk.”

“What happened with Warren?”

“That’s what I need to discuss with you. You see, certain things have happened and, instead of hiding this all from you, I think it would be better if you and your uncle handled the situation.”

Lilian narrowed her eyes. “Fox… You’re worrying me. You’re never this serious. What’s going on?”

Fox casually stepped around and took a seat on the grill, pressed up against Lilian’s side. “Well, at first I thought I might never tell you… After all, knowing Ariella only puts you in danger… But then I realized the peril to you only increases if this cult-like organization gets ahold of the girl.”

Catching her breath, Lilian knew exactly what Fox had to say. “Where is she?” Lilian breathlessly asked. “What happened?”

“Apparently one of the void eaters caught her out ’n about.”

Lilian jumped from the grill and threw her weight into her run. Fox took her by the shoulder, throwing her off balance and roughly returning her to the grill, trapped under his powerful grasp. His nails practically cut through her clothes and into her flesh.

“Fox!” she hissed. “Let go!”

He immediately released her, almost as if compelled to do so.

“Imp, listen to me. I’ll help you get the girl, but you have to be reasonable. Now that the void eater knows what she looks like, knows that she stalks this area, you will always be in danger, unless…”

“Unless what?!”

Lilian took a step back and rubbed at her shoulder.

“… You’ll need to dispose of her captures or simply leave this place. Immediately. But even killing the void eaters will only buy you so much time.”

“Killthem? Did… did Warren do something? I didn’t think—”

“It wasn’t the boy. It’s his father.”

Fox waited, holding back information for reasons unknown to Lilian. She turned away and stared at the house. This is a nightmare. She knew she had to tell her uncle. With a heavy sigh she slowly began walking back to the house. Somehow, silently, Fox appeared next to her, eyeing her with his one good eye as they traveled without speaking.

The backdoor opened with a loud creak and Lilian stepped into the dark kitchen. She passed by the tiny table and chairs, heading straight for the hall and right back to Uncle Rahul’s study. Fox disappeared, though Lilian could still hear his song. He remained nearby, if only out of sight.

At she neared the door, Lilian saw the glow of light emanating from underneath. She knocked, waited a moment, and heard the shuffle and grind of chair legs against the wood floor. Moments later, Uncle Rahul opened the door. His thin frame appeared more haggard than normal. He had dark bags under his eyes, and rubbed at them as he looked Lilian over.

“Oh? Did you finally finish the grill?”

“Uncle Rahul,” Lilian said, her voice weaker than she expected. “Lilian is… missing.”

The two stared at each other, Uncle Rahul’s eyes slowly widening with realization and panic. For a brief second his song stopped, only to restart like an out-of-control hurricane.

“Where is she?” he asked, turning back into his room and hastily grabbing things on his desk.

“Er, at this house in Silver River,” Lilian hesitantly replied.

“What? Why?”

Uncle Rahul haphazardly grabbed a bag and scoured his room. He threw things in the bag with only half a glance toward consideration. “She was right,” he murmured under his breath. “I don’t know what’s going on… How could I let this happen?”

Biting her lip, Lilian hesitated with her last statement. “Uncle Rahul… I, uh… A void—er, a shadow hunter found her.”

Uncle Rahul stopped everything he was doing and slowly turned to face Lilian. His glasses were slowly slipping down his nose, but he eventually brought a hand up to fix the problem. The sweat on his face ensured the glasses would slip again, but he didn’t bother wiping it away.

“What?” he finally asked. “How do you know about shadow hunters?”

Lilian opened her mouth to answer, but her uncle held up his hand and shook his head.

“Nevermind. That’s not important. Where is she?”

“—and the CPE might be involved,” she blurted out.

The music in the room switched back and forth, confused and out of sync with itself.

Uncle Rahul’s naturally dark and tanned skin blanched. He turned away, his hands shaking, and stared down at his desk. He stared at the objects in front of him, unseeing and lost in thought. He ran both hands over his sweat-soaked hair and held his breath. After a long while, he exhaled. Shaking his head he slowly asked, “Where is she?”

“At… my friend’s house. His name is Warren. I know how to get there… kinda. I took a cab.”

“Tell me… tell me how to get there,” he stammered out. “You wait here…”

Lilian shook her head. “I’m coming too.”

“A-absolutely not.”

“I have weapons!” She turned away from the study and ran into her room. It didn’t take her long to retrieve her guns. The runes, painstakingly etched into the side, gave the weapons an arcane nature. She could hear the music in the magic. They would work.

Uncle Rahul dashed to her door and froze when he spotted the weapons.

“You have guns?” He shook his head, clearly in disbelief. After a few ragged breathes he said, “S-she was right… I really am the worst father…”

“My friend gave them to me. It’s okay. They’ll help us hurt the shaheen.” She handed her uncle one of the guns. He took it and nearly dropped it once the weight hit his wrist.

“I can’t believe this is happening… I should have been paying more attention… I shouldn’t have been trying to—”

“It’s all right,” Lilian cut in, glaring. “We’re going to go get Ariella and then we’ll figure everything else out, okay? You’re a great uncle! This… er, well, it’s all my fault, okay? I put Ariella up to it and I’m the one that met Warren… Ari actually made normal human friends and I just brought trouble, like I always do.” Lilian’s chest tightened the moment she finished muttering the sentence. It had never occurred to her that perhaps all her family’s misfortunes were somehow tied to her… It’s just a coincidence…

“She made friends?” Uncle Rahul whispered. “They weren’t afraid of her?”

“We don’t have time for this! We have to go! We’ll think about stuff later!”

Lilian turned to leave, but her uncle placed a gentle hand on her already injured shoulder. She flinched, but froze, giving him a questioning look.

“It wasn’t your fault, Lilian,” he said. “It’s mine. I… I should have…” He trailed off and instead gingerly embraced her. “I should have taken advice offered to me. I just… I can’t stand the idea of losing either of you. You’re both my daughters as far as I’m concerned.”

Flushed and on the verge of tears, Lilian pushed her uncle away. “W-what did I just say?” she playfully asked, despite the seriousness of the situation. “We need to go get Ariella!”

“R-right… Let’s go.”

Chapter 20

Inosol

“I’ve gathered so much knowledge, but…

I never should have sent you away.”

---

Warren impatiently watched the street through his front window. When unknown cars drove through his quiet neighborhood, he shut the curtains, but once the headlights had disappeared into the distance, he resumed his vigil. A small piece of him felt crazy for defying his father on a hunch. Another piece of him, a much larger piece, hated the fact his father was keeping so many things secret.

What is so important that he couldn’t tell me? Haven’t I shown time and time again that I’m resilient? That I could help him? Warren shook his head to dispel the thoughts. He had a terrible feeling he knew why his father wouldn't tell him. He knows I wouldn’t approve. He knows what he’s doing is wrong. That’s the only logical explanation.

The banging at the front door startled Warren. Confused, he stood stiff and ridged. When the second round of banging filled the front room, Warren rushed over and opened the door.

Dr. Keegan stood before him, a scowl set into his older face. He stroked his short greying beard as he stepped into the house, practically pushing Warren aside as he forced the door open further. His tall frame cast a long shadow.

“Where is your father?” Dr. Keegan asked, glancing around the room with narrowed eyes.

“He’s in his room,” Warren curtly replied. “What’re you doing here this late at night?”

“Your father contacted me. We have urgent business.”

Without waiting for Warren to reply, Dr. Keegan stepped around the teenager and headed straight for the back room, very familiar with the layout of the house. Warren, concerned, jumped in front of the doctor, preventing him from reaching the stairs. The older man stopped in his tracks and, for the first time since arriving, brought his full attention to bear on Warren.

“Step aside,” Dr. Keegan commanded.

“What’re you going to do with the girl?” Warren asked, cutting straight to the chase. “She’s harmless.”

Dr. Keegan mulled over the question with a sneer. “I told your father not to discuss the matter with anyone.”

“He didn’t. I can piece things together on my own just fine.”

“Then you should realize this is none of your business. I think your father and I have made that perfectly clear. Now step aside, child.”

Warren placed his hand on the banister, further blocking the path. “What’s so important that you had to rush over here? I thought handlers would be arriving tomorrow to transport the girl?”

“This is a matter very important to the CPE. It was decided that we could not risk delay, so I was dispatched to take care of the matter. Do you understand now? You’re obstructing a very important task. Step aside.”

Dr. Keegan grabbed Warren’s arm and wretched it from the banister. The evening shadows and lack of sun invigorated Warren. He easily pulled his arm free and stepped up to the next stair, again, blocking Dr. Keegan.

“What’s so important about her? Why all this for one girl?”

“She is no girl,” Dr. Keegan said with a hint of disgust. “She is a collection of stolen flesh, darkness and misguided light. She’s CPE property and if you don’t move I’ll be forced to deal with you.”

“You are trying to harm her,” Warren incredulously stated.

After a brief moment of thought, Dr. Keegan reached out and took hold of Warren’s loose shirt. In one powerful motion, the doctor threw Warren over the banister and sent him tumbling to the floor of the front room. Warren caught his breath when he landed hard against his bruised and broken side. However, he knew the importance of recovering quickly—he jumped to his feet, though half hunched and cradling his cracked ribs.

The doctor easily leapt over the banister himself and reached for Warren a second time. Warren jumped back but, much to his surprise, his enhanced speed couldn’t outmatch Dr. Keegan. The old man took hold of Warren’s arm and pulled him close.

“The azra girl was here, wasn’t she? Sharazina said they had both been here… You spoke to them. Where is the other hiding?

Warren tried to wrench himself free, but his efforts were futile. “What’re you?!” he hissed. No human is this strong!

“Warren?” his father’s voice boomed down. “What’s going on down there?”

Both the doctor and the teenager turned to stare up at the second story landing. Warren’s father stood at the railing, his eyes glancing back and forth, trying desperately to make sense of the scene before him.

“He’s crazy!” was the first thing that came out of Warren’s mouth.

Without hesitation, his father kicked over the railing and skillfully landed in the front room. The doctor started to speak but Heinrich would have none of it. He grabbed Dr. Keegan and physically separated him from his son. Once split, his father turned to examine Warren.

“What’s going on?!” he growled.

“He attacked me,” Warren quickly stated. “He’s here for the girl and—”

“Your son was the one that helped the other disappear,” Dr. Keegan cut in. “Just as Sharazina suspected. You shadow hunters slip too easily into the ranks of darkness, rejoining your accursed ilk. It was only a matter of time before this happened. We should have kept you all locked away.”

Heinrich and the doctor exchanged hateful sneers. The flame of tension built into a bonfire.

“If that’s how you feel, doctor, kindly remove yourself from my house. I will not be accused a traitor in my own front room.”

Warren’s father motioned to the front door. “Count yourself lucky that my son or I didn’t show you what shadow hunters are capable of.” He turned to face Warren and gruffly ran his hand through his son’s hair. “You should have called for me,” he whispered. “There’s no reason I have to risk losing you too.”

“I don’t know what he is,” Warren replied, rubbing at his arm. “I didn’t expect his strength.”

“What’re you talking about? You shouldn’t exert yourself when you’re low on blood.”

“Nevermind me—the doctor, he—”

Heinrich gasped, his eyes widening in abject terror. He stumbled forward, grabbing onto Warren’s shoulders and clenching hard. Within the half-second Warren had to take in the situation he saw his father had been stabbed through the chest by raw light itself—like a solidified piece of sun shaped in the form of a thin blade. It had pierced his father’s chest, preciously through the heart, so on-point that had been no margin for error.

The light blade violently exited back the way it came, through Heinrich’s chest. Warren’s father collapsed to the ground, his blood suddenly free from his body. The doctor stood on the opposite side of the room, his hand formed much like the blade that made up his new claw. His hand, raw light and energy, shone so bright it burned Warren’s eyes just to look at it. The skin on Dr. Keegan’s arm, starting at the elbow, had burned away, some of the charred bits wafting down to the ground.

Before Warren could recover, the doctor lashed out with his claw of light, its blade tips piercing the air like the deadly rays they were. Warren tripped backward; the light blade sliced through his shirt, skin, collar bone and shoulder with such ease that Warren almost didn’t notice. The extreme heat nearly cauterized Warren’s wound and singed his clothing.

Dr. Keegan raised his arm to swipe again and Warren’s adrenaline caused everything to play before him in slow motion. He hit the ground on his back, crawling away on his elbows, unable to breathe from shock. The creature before him was carved from light and flame itself, hardly bound by reality.

He’s… an azra!

The impending strike caused Warren to act from instinct. He bit down on his tongue, tasting the hot copper flavor of his own blood, and moved aside just fast enough to avoid being skewered by the azra’s light. Warren spit his blood across the room, striking Dr. Keegan on the cheek. His skin melted as if touched by acid—burning away and causing the older man to cry out in pain.

Without hesitation, Dr. Keegan brought his claw to his jaw and dragged upward, digging into his face and peeling away his skin. Warren caught his breath and stared.

The creatures of shadows—shaheen—had hideous true forms sculpted from the primal fears and emotions brought about by the first night. The creatures of light—azra—were told to have ethereal bodies of mist and light, but… Warren couldn’t take his eyes off the monster before him.

The azra had an oval of flesh for a head, a single vertical eye stretching from its “chin” to its “forehead”, its iris an intense gold. The creature’s eyelid was pulled to the sides at such an extreme degree that the eye itself threatened to burst from its “head”.

Streams of light ruptured from the azra’s back, forming wings of blinding sunshine, obstructing Warren’s sight. A million thoughts ran through his head as he shielded his eyes. Why was this happening? Why an azra? Why had it attacked? What did it want? Warren had no time to investigate, for he knew his life was still in immediate peril.

“Warren!”

Although Warren couldn’t see, he immediately recognized his mother’s voice.

“Mother! Run!”

---

Uncle Rahul parked his old, but practically unused, car just a few houses from Warren’s. Lilian jumped out and pulled her sweater tightly around her, both to conceal the gun she had in her waistband and to fend off the chill air. The shadows… Lilian could hear an agitated song on the wind. It sang of disorder and terror. She pushed it from her mind and turned her gaze to the sky.

The stars were out. She let out a sigh of relief, happy to see at least one good sign before embarking on her unnerving endeavor.

“Shaheen are unpredictable,” Uncle Rahul murmured as he walked around the vehicle to Lilian’s side. They both turned toward their destination and walked as calmly and as casually as possible. “They can take many shapes, such as p-people and animals. You need to be, er, vigilant.”

“I know,” Lilian absent-mindedly stated as she focused her attention on Warren’s house.

“They may try to trick you.”

“They won’t.” Lilian moved a hand over the hilt of her gun.

“And… and they may try and offer you things to make… make a pact. Don’t listen to them. It’s never worth it.”

“You don’t need to worry. I got this.”

Uncle Rahul stopped walking and faced Lilian. “They might say things about me… about you or your m-mother… You can’t listen to them, do you understand?”

Lilian narrowed her eyes. “What do they know? Why would they know things about my mother?”

“The shaheen that work with the CPE are monsters,” he whispered. “They’ll say anything to unsettle you. They’d do anything to m-make you surrender… Just, er, don’t listen to what they have to say.”

Lilian couldn’t shake the feeling that her uncle was withholding information, but she didn’t push the matter. She kept so much from him, that he could afford him some secrets. Uncle Rahul nodded and motioned back to the house. She turned back and her eyes were immediately drawn to one of the second story windows. A bright light shone and then disappeared, as quickly as it had appeared.

“What was that?” she asked aloud, confused. Her mind immediately went to a terrible place. Something is wrong.

Her uncle nervously rubbed at his arms. He fastened the straps of his bag and pressed forward, a look of uncharacteristic determination on his face. He strode up to the front walkway and Lilian ran ahead to stop him.

“Wait! I know a way through the back.”

She pulled her uncle to the side and jogged across the dew covered grass. The back kitchen door was just as Lilian remembered it. She sprinted to the door and turned the handle, relieved to see it remained unlocked. The moment she stepped into kitchen, a chill ran down her spine.

The music…

An orchestra rang throughout the walls of the house, like a hymn approaching its crescendo, building and filling her blood with a need to act. Lilian pulled the gun from her waistband and avoided placing her finger on the trigger, fearful she would succumb to the impulse in the song and accidently fire.

Uncle Rahul walked in behind her and stiffened. He pushed his glasses up onto his nose and wiped away his nervous sweat in one motion. His muddy complexation couldn’t hide his pale expression and already he appeared as though he might buckle. Lilian could practically feel his apprehension.

She placed a hand on his shoulder. Uncle Rahul quickly nodded. “I’m fine,” he muttered. “I’m fine.”

They took hesitant steps into the uninhabited kitchen. Lilian jumped the moment a terrible crashing sound filled her ears. She could tell by the hard scramble on wood and the stomping that there was a commotion on the floor above. She immediately leapt into action, fearing the worst when it came to Ariella’s safety.

“Imp,” Fox whispered in her ear the moment she hit the kitchen door and entered the depths of the house. “She’s in the basement. No need to concern yourself with the conflict above.”

Lilian froze and her uncle crashed into her, sending them both into the nearby wall. He stepped back in shock and rubbed his hands across his vest.

“Ariella’s in the basement,” Lilian whispered in a harsh tone.

“How do you know?”

“I do! Just trust me!”

Instead of making her way to the second story stairs, she turned toward the front room. Uncle Rahul followed, uncertainty in each step, but with each passing moment his hesitation melted away. Lilian would have shared in his confidence had she not seen the front room. The moment her eyes caught sight of the body, she once again froze.

The blackish-crimson pool that slowly spread along the groves of the wood planks sent shivers through her body—the requiem that haunted the room sang of only one thing…

Death.

Violent, unwanted, unwelcomed, death.

“A shadow hunter,” Uncle Rahul whispered, his eyes glued to the body. “His blood is tainted with darkness…”

Lilian snapped her eyes to the corpse. She let out a quick exhale when she realized it wasn’t Warren. The body—the man—appeared older, but once very physical. Warren’s father… Lilian turned away and pushed forward, careful not to step in the sanguine pool.

Another crash on the second story slowed her, but not long enough to stop Lilian from reaching the long hall that led further into the house. She could feel a slight tugging on her clothes, guiding her to the basement door. Lilian knew it had to be Fox. She could hear his chaotic song, its tempo faster than even the loud orchestra that nearly drowned out all others. Was he afraid?

Lilian stopped at the basement door and pulled. The door held fast, locked in place. Her uncle stepped forward and moved her aside.

“Wait,” he breathed.

Uncle Rahul dug through his bag and pulled out a sharp pen-like knife, its point that of a fine razor. He knelt by the door handle and quickly began carving in runes… words that he seemed to understand. Lilian watched in fascination, but the length of time it took reminded her of nightmares where she was stuck in position while a monster steadily barreled down upon her.

Faster,was all she could think, her heartbeat set to maximum. Please, just hurry.

The floor trembled and shook with the commotion above.

“Warren! Jessica! Just run!”

Uncle Rahul and Lilian both turned their heads to better listen. A woman had been shouting, her voice an echoed moan of a ghost in a haunted mansion. Warren…

“Finish this; I’ll be right back,” she quickly said as she took off down the hall, toward the yelling.

“Wait! Lilian! Come back!”

She ignored her uncle’s protests and continued forward. Just as she reached the front room, the banister from the floor above shattered, sending chunks of wood and splinters raining down onto the front room floor. A woman tumbled down with them—thrown from the second story down to the front room in a hail of her own blood. She hit the ground with a sick thud.

Lilian, poised to run and offer aid, froze in place the moment a second person jumped down from the second story. It’s not a person, she immediately recognized.

A bright light, bright as any summer afternoon sun, filled the area—it emanated from the creature before her. At first she feared she would be blinded, but her eyes quickly adjusted, taking in the shine and removing the harshness. She could see—as though the intensity of the light no longer existed.

The man—no, a demon—a horror, stood in the front room.

Although most its body resembled a man, the husk of flesh was nothing more than a suit or jacket draped around a monster. The creature’s true arm resembled raw light given form. It stretched from its shoulder down to the floor, ending in thin claws, like rays of the sun. Its “head” stood only to hold a single eye—no mouth, no ears, no nose… Just a single vertical eye; open and searching.

The creature’s gaze landed upon Lilian. It stared at her with a ferocity unmatched by normal human gazes.

It was the source of the fever-filled hymn.

“No… I… I won’t let you hurt my children!”

The woman on the floor, awash in her own blood, called upon her shadow hunter powers to create spines of black and red. She threw them at the creature while it stared incessantly at Lilian. The spines cut deep into its body, sending waves of agony and death through its veins.

Despite her scream-filled song and requiem heralding her impeding death, the woman got to her feet. With blurred vision and shaky hands, she motioned for Lilian to go, confusing her with her own daughter.

“Run, Jessica! Run!”

Chapter 21

Azra

“Fate has been poignant and humanity cruel.

Tomorrow shall be my last day…

If only I could see you one last time.”

---

Lilian couldn’t believe her eyes. The monster before her, no shaheen, had a name. Inosol. Is rang true in her mind, like… a long forgotten memory. Inosol’s eye, unblinking, swiveled in its socket, focusing not on Lilian, but on the shadow hunter woman trying to protect her.

No words were exchanged, but Lilian could feel contempt and disgust emanating from every pour of the creature, directed solely for the woman. One step forward and Lilian let the impulse of the drumming hymn take over. She instantly brought the gun to level and fired. The kick from the weapon startled her, but it wasn’t so much that she lost control. The runes on the side of the gun ignited into light, encasing the speeding bullet with power and sending it forth, like a visible laser through the front room.

It slammed into Inosol, the physical metal cutting through his body, but the light… It did nothing. Rage filled Inosol’s song, but he did not stop his march toward the middle-aged woman. Her spines still filled his body with a poison that Lilian could hear hissing through his skin, burning him like acid. The creatures of light could not suffer the power of darkness and vice versa.

Inosol brought his oversized claw up and gripped the woman’s head. Lilian caught her breath and immediately fired a rapid burst of shots. Each bullet technically hammered into the creature, but not even the accumulation did as much damage as the woman’s single spine of darkness.

With force and cruel harshness, the creature’s claw melted through the woman’s flesh, crushing and slicing like an apple slicer. Lilian couldn’t breathe—not as she watched the woman’s body crumple to the floor, blood and hair clinging to Inosol.

“Run, Imp.”

The familiar voice brought her back to reality. She wheeled around and ran down the hall, suddenly aware of all the noise she was creating. At the end of the hall, Uncle Rahul stood, having finished his runes around the door handle. Lilian didn’t stop until she collided with him. She tried to steady herself by grabbing hold of his arm, but her whole body refused to stop trembling.

Her uncle gasped the moment he saw the creature standing at the far end of the hallway, his single-eyed gaze burrowing into their souls.

“Inosol,” Uncle Rahul breathed. “You’re here…” He pushed Lilian back, never breaking eye contact with the monster. “They sent an azra…” he muttered to himself. “I never thought they’d send an azra…”

Without hesitation, the azra lifted its arm and its finger-claws shot out, striking with the speed of sunlight, piercing Lilian’s shoulder, arm and knee. The injuries came and so fast, and the claws so hot, that for a brief second she did not even realize she had been wounded. When the claws were recalled, Lilian fell to the floor, her leg useless.

Inosol struck a second time, his attack so fast and vicious that Lilian couldn’t even brace herself. To her surprise, it struck Uncle Rahul, its “fingers” piercing his chest. He fell to one knee the instant the creature withdrew, but before another strike could come, Uncle Rahul pulled down his long sleeves and smashed his forearms together, aligning the letters carved into his flesh and forming words that otherwise weren’t complete.

A shroud of mist suddenly filled the hallway and house; its warm protective properties covered Lilian and Uncle Rahul, drowning out all other songs and giving them clarity. Uncle Rahul’s arms wept with blood, the runes on his skin sinking deeper into his body.

Lilian took a deep breath, confused by her momentary reprieve, but she knew she didn’t have time. Despite the pain filling her body, she reached out and gingerly touched her uncle. He coughed, his voice wet, and, with an unsteady hand, rubbed at the largest wound on his chest.

“Uncle—I…”

He shook his head and Lilian watched as the wound on his chest disappeared and then reappeared one his left forearm, seemingly migrating to a less grievous area of the body. Uncle Rahul’s palm, though Lilian had never seen it before, held a circle of runes that she recognized. An alchemy circle, she recognized.

Without a terrible chest wound, Uncle Rahul could once again stand. He turned to Lilian and grabbed her broken knee. She gasped in pain, but the odd alchemy circle on her uncle’s palm felt warm and comforting. Lilian could feel parts of her body rearranging—a strange new feeling she never thought she would experience—and she knew instantly what was happening. The alchemy circle didn’t make things from nothing… it needed pieces.

Lilian watched in wonder as her knee “healed”, but she suddenly felt bruises forming on other parts of her body. Nothing as intense and terrible as her knee… she realized the injury had dispersed into a manageable body-wide injury.

“We have to hurry,” her uncle said. “We need to leave this place.”

Lilian nodded and got to her feet. Inosol didn’t have the same contempt and hate for her or Uncle Rahul that he seemed to have for the shadow hunters. He didn’t even seem to want to kill them… just… incapacitate them. Fear crept through Lilian’s mind, spine and heart. The azra was powerful. How were they even to fight it? Perhaps running was the only option.

Uncle Rahul got up, the mist in the hallway swirling around him. He activated the runes he had carved into the wood and watched as the magic burned deep, cutting the handle and melting it away. The door, free of any lockings, swung open.

Uncle Rahul pulled her through, half-stumbling on the stairs himself. “Hurry,” he urgently whispered. “No one will save us from that monster.”

Save us? Lilian suddenly glanced around in panic. Where is Fox? Why isn’t he here? I thought… He’s always around when I’m in danger! In her confusion she hardly registered walking into a well-lit basement. Flood lights had clicked on, washing the area with their high-powered florescent light, but it paled in comparison to the azra. Lilian had no difficulty seeing.

Her uncle took deep breaths and stared. Their protective mist didn’t follow them down, but it did hang in the doorway, seemingly made, in part, of glitter that reflected the nearest light.

“Where is Ariella?” he asked, breathless from injury and fear.

“I…” Lilian ran a hand over her face. Concentrate! She closed her eyes and focused. The song of the basement rung quiet. She could barely sense Ariella’s faint hum of allure. “Over there…”

She pointed. The basement, practically a house itself, had long halls filled with doors on either side. The place was a prison where the softest objects were steel and stone. Despite the desolate atmosphere, Uncle Rahul didn’t delay. He ran to the door and threw it open. Lilian hesitated to follow and instead turned her attention back to the stairs. Warren… She knew he was in trouble—that she was somehow failing him with her inaction.

“She’s here!” Uncle Rahul shouted.

Lilian slowly walked up the steps.

Uncle Rahul had everything under control. He had powers she wasn’t even aware of. He was strong enough to carry Ariella out of the house… But Warren… She exited the basement and saw that the protective mist had dissipated. Inosol was nowhere to be seen, but Lilian could feel a terrible heat and once again hear his hymn. Upstairs…

She could hear fighting and the crackle of roaring flames.

Without telling her uncle her intentions, she ran for the second-story stairway. The front room, now decorated with blood and corpses, haunted Lilian’s thoughts as she carefully stepped around the carnage to make her way to the stairs. The two requiems blended together, playing in one last harmonious melody that only lovers could know.

Once on the steps, it wasn’t hard to follow the luminous trail of the azra. The entire house shone with its light and foot-sized grooves were burned into the wood. Charred bits of wall and furniture led her through the house.

The sound of glass shattering put Lilian on edge.

She rushed up the stairs and froze on the second to last step up. Fox stood before her, glaring down with his one visible eye. His song… she couldn’t hear it over the music of the azra.

“Fox—where have you been?! I was attacked! Hurry, we’ve got to help!”

She tried to walk up, but he barred her path and, instead, pushed her back.

“Not this way, Imp. To the front door. Leave the void eater to his fate.”

Lilian narrowed her eyes, confused. “But—”

“Your uncle’s trick worked,” Fox interjected, smiling. “The beast of lightdoes not know where to find you. In its confusion, it went back to the only other available targets. There’s nothing stopping you from leaving. Help your uncle escape.”

Lilian could see the fires on the second story growing in rage and intensity. Embers crackled and popped out beyond the broken banister, falling onto the front room floor. Smoke billowed from the hallways, but Lilian hardly noticed. Her eyes adjusted, impervious to the heat and ash.

“I can’t leave Warren,” she said, stepping up to walk past Fox once more. Again, he prevented her from climbing the stairs, blocking the path and pushing her back.

“He can handle himself.”

“I saw what the azra can do! He’ll be killed!”

Fox shook his head. “What do you plan to do, Imp? You don’t think it’ll kill you as well?”

Lilian turned her gaze to her feet. Fox walked down, standing with her on the same step, and placed a hand on her shoulder. His fingers grazed the injury from the azra, causing her to flinch in pain.

“You’ve no way to fight the monster. It easily overpowered you. Run. It’s your only option. Even your mother knew when to flee.”

She listened as a loud crash of wood, glass and metal sounded throughout the second story hall. Obviously, the azra was still fighting. Warren is still alive. Lilian glanced up at Fox.

“The car is on and waiting outside,” he cooed. “Let’s go.”

She glared. “I’m sorry, Fox.”

Lilian pulled her gun and fired it into his shin, the luminescence encasing the bullet briefly illuminating the stairway like a strobe light.

“Son of a—” Fox growled, grabbing his leg.

Lilian jumped past him and ran up to the second story.

“IMP!”

The second story burned with the rage of firestorm. For some reason, though Lilian had never been in a position to test her instincts, she knew the fire would not harm her. She ran past the flames that licked at her heels and dove head-first into the nearest hallway.

Almost immediately, Lilian had to swat at her clothing. Although shewas unaffected by the fire, her clothes weren’t.

Through the heatwaves Lilian spotted two individuals. They dove into the nearest room and hid around the corner, trying desperately to evade their pursuer. Lilian watched as Inosol walked out of one room and into the hall she shared. The azra spotted her, no longer confused by the mist. It brought its claw up to attack.

Fox leapt from the shadows seconds before Inosol could bring its claws to bear on Lilian. His attacked in his fox form, leaping through the flames and biting down on the azra’s human-like legs, easily tearing away chunks of muscle and skin. The blackish, rotted wound left behind hobbled the azra.

Inosol slashed with his claw of light. Fox went to step away, normally very quick, but his back leg—still wounded by Lilian’s gunshot—gave out. The claw clipped Fox’s neck, sending oily blood across the walls.

Lilian turned away from the fight and dashed toward the two that had taken refuge in a nearby room. Once she neared she saw Warren and his sister Jessie huddled in one of the many bathrooms. Warren held his younger sister close to his body, shielding her from the smoke and fire.

Lilian haphazardly ran forward, heedless of the crumbling house all around her. Although she breathed in smoke, she hardly registered the fact that, rather than clinging to her lungs and preventing her oxygen intake, the debris passed through without issue and her exhales were dragon-like.

She grabbed Warren’s arm and pulled. His body, nothing but dead weight, barely moved. Both he and sister, drenched in blood, were worn and exhausted. Jessie barely took breaths, and when she did, it was proceeded and followed by weak coughing.

“Get up!” she commanded.

Warren barely turned his head and made no effort to stand.

“You have to get up! C’mon, Warren!”

Nothing.

“Think about Jessie!”

She pulled again, and to her relief, Warren began to stir. He leaned his weight against the wall and slid up, holding Jessie close. His restricted breathing made everything that more difficult.

Lilian offered her shoulder and took most of Warren’s weight onto herself. She immediately pulled him into the hall and froze. Fox, despite his injuries, had managed to keep the azra from moving forward. He clawed and bit at the creature, keeping him frustrated and at bay. Inosol used calculated movements when he struck, trying desperately to kill the shadow that stalked him, but never could complete his task.

Inosol, with his gold all-seeing eye, stopped the moment he spotted Lilian. Suddenly, as if knowing that Fox would somehow intervene, he lashed out at her—his claws rushing forward. Sure enough, Fox leapt from the shadows and knocked Lilian to the ground, just in time to save her from the strike. Warren and Jessie tumbled with her, both wheezing from the smoke.

Black blood washed across the hallway. Fox hadn’t been quick enough to avoid the strike himself, not with his injuries. His fox form hit the floor unmoving, his neck pierced and draining blood rapidly.

Desperate to do something, Lilian jumped back to her feet and grabbed Warren. Inosol limped down the hallway toward her, never breaking his fanatical gaze. He lifted his claw, ready to strike. Lilian pulled her gun and held Warren close. The fire didn’t stop the azra, her gun didn’t stop the azra…

Lilian held her breath and prepared to run.

Chapter 22

Center for Profane Eugenics

“I have put together a compendium of the shadows and the light.

I want my child to know of his father’s world, but…

I can only hope my child finds it.”

---

Without warning, Fox got to his four feet and opened both his eyes. For a short second, a fleeting moment, Lilian saw both Fox’s eyes, and her vision narrowed until that was all she could see.

“No!”

Warren pulled her away, breaking her gaze.

“Don’t look! It’ll strip you of your sanity!”

It was too late for Inosol. The azra stared deep into Fox’s eyes and suddenly lost all control. His song hissed and whistled, broken and without rhythm. The light he emanated intensified, burning brighter with each second, fueling the fire all around him. He brought his claw to his eye, trying to rip the insanity from his body by physically gouging through his sensory organ.

Fox once again collapsed—his body melting away into the flickering shadows left by the raging fire.

Warren managed to grab Jessie and Lilian guided him away from the azra, desperate to put distance between them. The creature of light wasn’t dead, merely insane and thrashing about. The fire around them singed their clothes. Warren’s skin charred, but he refused to release his sister. They ran all the way to the broken banister that overlooked the front room.

Lilian nearly ran through the broken portion. The opaque smoke made it difficult to see.

Warren fell to his knees just beside the stairway. He shook his head and wheezed.

“Take… Jessie,” he coughed out. “I—I can’t…”

“But—”

Warren used the last of his strength to push his sister up into Lilian’s arms. He collapsed into a fit of coughing, hitting the floor and falling unconscious from the lack of oxygen and heat. Lilian struggled to keep the young girl in her arms. She turned to the stairs and wondered how she would best get the siblings down.

Thuds of footsteps in the hallway caught her attention. Inosol, blinded by his own madness, stumbled down the hall and toward her—like attracting like. The azra continued to thrash and flail, his claw of light burning and destroying everything it touched. Lilian couldn’t hear Fox’s song… was he even with her anymore?

Inosol, only feet from her, outstretched his claw. Rather than endangering Warren and his sister, Lilian dropped Jessie and jumped through the broken banister. She hit the first story floor and tumbled forward, landing hard enough to send blinding pain up through her shins and knees. Her eyes filled with water, and her breath caught in her throat in a silent scream.

Lilian dragged herself through the front room and toward the door. The congealed blood all around sent shivers down her spine, but she had to push through no matter what. She flipped onto her back when she heard the loud, terrible thud of the azra pursuing her.

He too had leapt down from the second story and into the front room, hitting the ground hard enough to shatter his rotted leg. Inosol collapsed forward, his “head” upright as if to stare at her, but no eye was left after the violent clawing. Instead he pulled himself across the floor with his human arm, attempting to close the gap between himself and Lilian.

Everyone’s gone, she thought, her inner musings racing by in her panic. It’s just me. It’s… it’s just me.

Lilian once again readied her gun. Unable to stand, she levied it against her body and fired, the kick nearly sending the gun from her weak grip. The bullet slammed into Inosol’s shoulder, but did little to slow him.

Lilian shuffled backward, her hands slapping into the jellied blood that pooled all around her. She couldn’t take her eyes off the azra. He pulled himself closer, heedless of everything else. If the azra touched her, she would surely be rent in half. She had to kill it. Had to destroy it.

Or be destroyed herself.

Shadows! Shadows!

Lilian knew she had to fight the light with darkness… but she had none. Panicked, her eyes darted around the smoke-filled room. Embers were falling at a rapid rate, the second floor mostly collapsed. What was there? Only fire and ash and—

Blood.

A shadow hunter’s blood. Tainted with darkness.

With an unsteady hand she pulled the magazine from her handgun and smeared the blood across the opening in the side, coating the bullets within. Inosol, almost upon her, haphazardly slashed, his claw coming down onto Lilian’s forehead, across her left eyebrow—barely missing her eye—and continuing down onto her cheek. The stream of blood left in the wake of the injury blurred her vision.

Lilian held her breath, closed her injured eye, locked her magazine back in place and immediately fired.

The bullet smashed into the azra, coated in not only blood, but light as well. Like poison, the creature writhed in pain as the darkness spread through its body, searing its veins. With the last of its will and might, Inosol lunged for her, his claw outstretched.

The shadows pulled Lilian back, saving her from the scythe that would have surely have ended her life. In that moment she could practically fell Fox’s breath on the back of her neck, but… she still couldn’t hear his song. If anything, his grip was weak and his presence fleeting.

Lilian knew she would have no other chances.

She closed her eyes and fired wildly, each bullet aimed at the creature’s arm. The bullets shattered the light-claws and torn through Inosol’s body. He moved forward, fueled by spite, and with her last few shots she clipped his head, causing him to twitch and fall heavily upon her. The heat in his body died and ushered in a requiem of hate and regret.

The fire consuming the house was brought to the forefront of Lilian’s thoughts. With a deep breath she rolled out from underneath the azra, thankful she could still move, and half-limped, half-ran up the stairs to the second story. She took hold of Warren, grabbed Jessie, and summoning all her strength, stumbled for the front door, dragging them behind her.

With her shoulder, she slammed through the front door and broke out into the clear night. A terrible throbbing covered her shoulder and wouldn’t leave her. Although tears blocked her vision, she continued forward, never bothering to glance back. She didn’t know where Uncle Rahul had gone and she barely knew where she was… all she knew was that she needed to continue forward, no matter what.

The raging flames consumed Warren’s house, illuminating the quiet neighborhood. Smoke rose up in pillars. Lilian could hear sirens in the distance. People were out on the sidewalk, but they were half hidden behind trees and fences, concerned for their own safety.

The moment Lilian’s feet touched the sidewalk, she allowed herself to breathe. She inhaled deeply and wildly glanced around. The pyre behind her increased in heat and intensity, but the stars were just ahead. Out on the street, waiting by his car, was Uncle Rahul. He saw her and ran over. Without any questions he helped take Warren and Jessie to his car.

The moment the unconscious bodies had been crammed into the vehicle, Uncle Rahul opened the trunk and removed a set of blankets. They had words sewn into them—words similar to the protection bracelets that Lilian had crafted for herself and Ariella. Uncle Rahul threw them over the individuals in the back and wrapped Lilian in the last one. He climbed into the driver’s seat and frantically motioned for her to follow.

Lilian threw herself into the passenger seat and Uncle Rahul punched the gas, speeding away from the devastation.

---

Ariella watched as her father touched Gunner’s knee and activated the alchemy circle hidden in his palm. Gunner stared in fascination for the few moments the magic took to work its wonders.

“You’re a white mage or something?” Gunner asked.

“No… nothing like that,” Rahul said, removing his hand and sighing. “I’m not healing you. Just rearranging, uh, pieces of your body, to fix certain things. Your body can handle multiple smaller injuries rather than certain larger ones…”

Gunner stood up and stretched out his leg. “I can’t believe how amazing this is… I mean, it’s crazy that we were attacked out of nowhere, but it was totally worth it!”

Ariella faced her father and frowned. His arms were wrapped tightly in bandages, covering the runes on his skin that had dug in deeper with use. She averted her gaze and sank into her jacket as she muttered, “I’m sorry…”

“We’ll talk about it later,” her father stated. “I’m just glad to see you safe.”

She slowly nodded. As Gunner jumped around to test the limits of his leg, Ariella asked, “How do you do that?” She motioned to her father’s palm.

“It was a gift from my mother,” he said, wiping his glasses on his vest. Unlike his arms, his palm didn’t bleed or imbed itself deeper. “She was a master of the azra language and runes. She drew them on my palm when I was younger.”

“What’re we going to do now?” she whispered, very aware that her life could no longer be the same. I can’t believe they found me so quickly, she thought. They’ll find us again for sure. And then what will we do?

Her father took a long deep breath. “I don’t know… We’ll think of something though. Don’t worry.”

Ariella sank into the deepest canyon of her jacket and enjoyed the darkness that swallowed her. She listened to the whispers, unable to make out words, but confident that they were coaxing her to embrace her power… fight off her would-be captors and protect what she held dear…

It was there in the darkness she felt her pact with Gunner solidify. She had completed her end of the bargain… and now he would be bond to her. The darkness whispered of her successes.

Ariella enjoyed their whispering. She hadn’t been awake during the conflict with the azra, but she didn’t want to see Gunner, her father, or Lilian hurt. Using her powers had been so rewarding. I wouldn’t have been taken if I had just… she shook her head.

Next time will be different.

---

Warren slowly opened his eyes, nightmares lingering in his mind. He moved—only slightly—and sharply inhaled from the pain that flooded his being. Although he could taste the night air, his injuries were beyond what could be healed by mere shadows. He took a moment to regain his composure before shifting again.

“Are you awake?”

Warren turned to face the person speaking, but his neck refused to comply. “Where am I?” he rasped, his mouth filled with cotton.

“My house. Don’t worry. You’re safe here.”

“Who…?”

“It’s me, Lilian. Are you… okay?”

“Where is Jessie?”

Lilian came into view and took a seat on the side of his bed. It creaked beneath her, the bed obviously worn from age. “She’s fine. She’s resting in the other room.”

“And my mother…?”

“Uh,” Lilian averted her gaze. “I’m so sorry,” she murmured under her breath.

At first Warren didn’t register her words. It took longer for her apology to slip through the cobwebs of his mind. He sat still, cold to the world and drained of all fire. He didn’t speak and instead focused on the white noise that blotted out his thoughts.

“You’re looking better today,” Lilian said, jumping off the bed and returning with a bowl of warm water and a rag. She gingerly patted the damp rag across his neck and shoulder. He knew it should hurt, but his body was numb—numb to everything. He didn’t flinch, not even when she applied ever more pressure.

Warren stared at Lilian, realizing then that she had a deep scar running from her forehead, across her orbital socket and down her cheek—a chunk of her eyebrow would never grow back once the scarring set in. Her eye was black and bruised, one shoulder in tight bandages, and her long gold-blonde hair was matted and tied back. Despite her weariness, she smiled and moved with an excess of energy.

“You… carried both of us?” he whispered. “Out of the house…?”

“It was nothing,” she said with half a shrug, not bothering to move her injured shoulder. “My uncle and Fox helped as well.” Lilian carefully patted him with a dry towel.

Warren shivered. He didn’t want to think about shaheen or azra, but…

“Where is Fox?”

“I… I haven’t seen him since we left your house,” Lilian intoned.

“When…?”

“Yesterday evening. You’ve been sleeping for, like, twenty-six hours. Uncle Rahul thought you might not wake up, but I knew you would. Your song told me so.”

My song… Warren brought a shaky hand over his chest and stomach. He was covered in blankets. “I thought you said my song was weak?”

“Well, it refused to go out. Maybe it’s not as weak as I thought.”

Lilian pulled her knees to her chest and stared. Warren waited, not bothering to engage in further conversation and regretting his decision to move his arm.

“So what happened back there?” she asked in a forced playful manner.

“Our family’s… doctor… was an azra. The CPE wanted your cousin. I… questioned him, but… he became belligerent and…” he trailed off, unable to put together motive for such a senseless act of violence. All his life he had been told that azra would help humanity, not harm them. Why then…?

“The CPE uses the blood of shadow hunters to further their eugenics projects,” someone Warren was unfamiliar with chimed in. Warren narrowed his eyes but couldn’t manage to turn his head. The unfamiliar individual crossed the tiny room and craned over Warren.

The man above him wore a simple, but dapper, outfit consisting of a sweater vest, long sleeved button up shirt and khaki slacks. His skin, a muddy brown, shone with sweat. He appeared haggard and wearily straightened his thick glass onto the bridge of his large nose.

“The CPE breed people with shaheen and the blood of shadow hunters will, er, help with the fertility,” the man continued. “When I was under their control… one of the shadow hunters helped individuals escape and, well, they weren’t as trusted after that, you see…”

“Who… are you?” Warren asked.

“My name is Rahul Banerjee.”

“It’s not Montserrat?” Lilian interjected.

“No… that was your mother’s last name.”

Warren shook his head. “You were a member of the CPE?”

Like a nervous twitch, Rahul straightened his glasses a second time, though they weren’t out of place. “I, uh, was taken from my home and… brought to one of the many centers that the CPE use for their breeding experiments. What I was trying to tell you was… the azra I knew—the azra that worked for the CPE—never trusted the shadow hunters. They would, uh, fight with each other. It doesn’t surprise me that Inosol would attack you if you crossed him. I remember Inosol being… unstable… at times. Often aggressive.”

Lilian shook her head. “Breeding experiments?”

“CPE—Center for Profane Eugenics,” Warren drawled. “My father said… it was because their goal was to keep the shadow hunter lines strong. To fight the shaheen. Not to… to make half-breeds. Why would they even do that?”

“They do try and keep the shadow hunter lines strong,” Rahul said with a heavy sigh. “But they’re controlled and governed by an elder shaheen. Whatever they’re planning… it’s not to destroy shaheen, that much I’m certain.”

Lilian continued shaking her head, as though she were caught in a storm of disbelief. “Why haven’t you ever told me these things before?” she incredulously asked. “Don’t you think I should have known?!”

“I was keeping us safe,” Rahul breathlessly replied. “You wouldn’t… you wouldn’t need to be troubled with these things if, uh, if the CPE didn’t know where we were. This worked for me for nearly a decade. I thought… this could work, but obviously I was wrong. I had advice from others… I should have listened, but—”

Lilian slid off the bed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Even if we were going to stay in hiding, you still could have told us! This is important! This is serious! Why, Uncle Rahul?! Why hide this?”

“Because I didn’t want you searching for your mother,” Rahul immediately said, a pained look on his face. He and Lilian stared at each other, their gazes unwavering.

Warren closed his eyes and suddenly realized why Lilian had been so afraid of the CPE to begin with. If Rahul was to be trusted then everything made sense. Lilian and Ariella were experiments of the CPE that had escaped. When the CPE thought they could reclaim them, they would stop at nothing. Lilian’s mother, Rahul… they must have been experiments as well.

Lilian stormed out of the room without saying another word. Rahul watched her go. He took a step as if to follow her, but stopped himself. He hesitated and instead took a step back. With a slow exhale he turned to Warren.

“I don’t know you, but… I’m sympathetic. You and your sister can stay with us—I don’t think the CPE can pierce my protections. I don’t know if we can stay here forever. We may have to leave, or at least… um… move further away.”

Warren remained silent.

He attempted to return to his sleeping state. He didn’t know the details, but he knew what had to be done.

Warren would see the end of the CPE.

---

Lilian flounced through her house and exited into the backyard. The quarter moon shone bright enough to light the grass, porch and barnyard. She took in deep breaths, on the verge of breaking down, but her will stood strong. The world didn’t reflect her chaotic insides. Instead of crying, she kicked at the empty boxes stored by the house. They crashed on the cement porch, giving Lilian a satisfying feeling of destruction.

She grabbed a bag of oats meant for the goats and unceremoniously threw it across the yard. The disorder wrought by her actions wasn’t nearly satisfying enough, but the energy exerted calmed her.

“Fox!” she called out, her voice cracking. “F-Fox… where are you?”

Only the night wind bothered to answer.

“Fox…”

Lilian roughly ran her fingernails over her face, one nail catching on the wound over her eye and reopening it. She caught her breath and applied pressure to the opened cut. “Damn,” she muttered under her breath. Why hasn’t this healed yet?

The backyard darkened, the moon obscured by sudden cloud cover and the shadows rushing in to fill in the remaining crevasses. Lilian smiled and whirled around. She could barely make out silhouettes, but she knew everything would be all right. Fox. Finally.

“What is it, Imp?” he asked, a hint of playfulness in his voice. “Normally you want me to leave.”

His song, though quieter than usual, hung in the air. Lilian breathed a sigh of relief. She had come to expect his song and it had bothered her when it was gone. “Fox…” She walked toward the sound of his voice and tightly embraced him. He felt… different than normal; not like what she remembered. She clung to him and smiled when he returned her affection.

Lilian ran her hands across his back. His clothes were soft, like the shadow clothes he had given her, but damp. She pulled away and felt the clinging, sticky sensation of blood on her hands.

“Fox?” she whispered.

“Hm?”

“Are you okay?”

“I had forgotten how much of myself I had lost over the years,” he said, his voice filled with disinterest. “It’s nothing to concern yourself with.”

She wiped the substance off on her jeans and frowned. “Fox,” she quietly began. “I need to ask you a favor.”

“A favor? This oughta be interesting.”

“I knew Uncle Rahul was hiding information from me this entire time, but I didn’t think he actually knew where my mother was…” Lilian turned away and hugged herself, ashamed that, when her mother needed someone, none of her family bothered to help her. “I need you to help me fight the CPE.”

“Tsk,” Fox dismissively stated. “Why would you want to do that? You knowyour mother would rather you safe than place yourself in danger to save her.”

“I can’t just sit around,” she intoned. “I have to do something. I have to try.”

Fox gently placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back into an embrace. Lilian inhaled his sweet sugar-like scent and relaxed. Despite his bleeding he felt… stronger and more confident than before. Trustworthy.

“Think about what you’re up against,” he sweetly continued. “The CPE is in league with shaheen and azra, creatures that adhere to a long-fought war, yet brought together for sinister purposes… You don’t know their strength, or numbers, or plans, or capabilities, or allies, or weaknesses… Fighting a single azra nearly cost you your life, and you didn’t make it out unscathed.” He held her out in front of him and ran a harsh thumb over her cheek, opening the wound a second time and spilling blood down her face. “You used to be a pretty girl. Now what will people think?”

Lilian ripped herself away from Fox’s grasp and immediately brought a hand over her wound. She turned away, shaken and hurt by his cruel statement. For a moment she remained silent and Fox offered no further commentary… but Lilian could practically hear his smile. She narrowed her eyes and straightened her posture.

“Is that it?” she curtly asked.

“Hm?”

“Is that all you’re going to try and dissuade me with? I’m a little disappointed. I thought you’d be a little more manipulative.”

Fox snorted and laughed. “That’s a lot for a little girl—such as yourself—to deal with. Does it take nuclear warheads to dissuade you?”

“I’m no longer a little girl,” she stated, turning around to face Fox, though it was nearly impossible in the dark. “You could gather that information. Uncle Rahul already knows quite a bit about the organization. Warren knows people there. Ariella could force people to cooperate. I could fight. Wecould fight them.”

“Inosol was weak,” Fox hissed under his breath, taking a step closer to Lilian and practically looming over her. His one visible gold eye shone with an indistinguishable emotion. “He was unstable. The fool couldn’t even fully revert to his true form. He was nothingcompared to what you’ll face if you continue down this road.”

“Then help me,” Lilian softly said, wrapping her arms around his body and placing her chin against his chest, staring up at him. “I’ll make a deal with you. I know what you want.”

“Do you?” he drawled.

She grabbed his blood-soaked clothes. “You need to recover your strength. If Inosol was weak and nearly killed you…”

“It was your wretched gun and imbecilic plan to simply run into danger that did me in, Imp,” Fox sardonically stated. “If I hadn’t been handicapped by my own team, perhaps I could have destroyed that irritating sun-spot.”

“So you don’t want to steal power from the CPE?”

Fox slowly exhaled. He growled in irritation as he glared down at her. “If you weren’t a hormone-soaked teenager you would realize how moronic this is.”

“C’mon,” she playfully whined. “I’ll get you power from the CPE and in exchange you can helping me save my mom. I have to resort to using guns and imbecilic plans because you’re constantly working against me! Imagine what we would be like if we were working together! Life would be infinity better then. You know it would.”

“Lilian, who are you talking to?” Uncle Rahul called from the house window.

Lilian let go of Fox and turned toward her uncle. She nervously rubbed at her neck and became irritated when she felt the dried blood on her palms. “Uh…”

“We should discuss the future,” he said. “You should come inside.”

“A-alright,” she replied. Lilian turned back to Fox, confused by how Uncle Rahul couldn’t seem to see her guardian shaheen. “Are you coming?”

“I’ll stay out here, Imp.”

“Are you going to help me?”

Fox remained silent.

“Well, whenever you’re done pouting, I’ll be inside.” She huffed and flounced toward the house.

“Imp.”

Lilian froze.

“I’ll help you… but you have to trust me.”

“You have to trust me too. I can handle it.”

“And the others? Do you know for certain they’ll help you?”

Lilian turned back and smiled. “We’ll make the CPE regret finding us.”