“It won’t be enough. Besides, we’re too far away from any other tunnel or bridge. We’ll probably face the same odds if we go another way.”
“Wait. Shouldn’t you be attracting them now?”
He grinned. “Since recovering my memory I’ve been practicing how to hide my aura. Actually, it’s more like trying. I can fade it but not for long.”
The corner of my lips tugged up. “That’s good, I guess.” I lost the grin a second later. “What do we do then?”
He looked at the other girls. Keisha was seated beside Raisa, holding her hands, probably telling her some lie like “we’re gonna be fine”. In this world? That was as far from the truth as it got.
“We’ll bring them back here, and I’ll try to fade all of your auras with mine.”
I nodded. Trying to keep my exterior confident and steady, I walked to the girls. I was sure they could see past my facade, but it was probably better to see I was trying to be strong than to look like a desperate woman. Because on the inside, I was probably as afraid and nervous as Raisa.
I was able to convince Raisa and Keisha to join us in the middle of the alley. We crouched on the dirty ground, and Micah stood beside us. He closed his eyes, focusing on whatever it was he did to try and fade our auras.
His eyes shot open. He glanced to the alley’s opening, as if he had sensed a powerful aura close.
I stood beside him. I slid the sleeve of his jacket up and put my hand over his wrist, skin-to-skin, trying to help him. A little of my energy seeped into him, and he sighed as if it was easier now.
The demons’ screams and cheering came from afar.
Micah walked to the alley’s opening and looked around the wall. I scooted close to him.
“You shouldn’t be here, darling.”
“Neither should you.” My eyes settled on the mass of demons, and I was sure I had gone pale. “Oh my God … there are too many of them. There are more wingless ones than winged ones.”
“The winged ones are called Akuma,” Micah explained. Akuma were on the ground, gathering in the center of the lane, as if they were ready for a parade. “And if you observe well, you’ll see there are two types of wingless demons. The Ornek and the Arak. The Ornek are right behind the Akuma, and the Arak are in the back. If you compare them, you’ll see that the Arak have smaller ears and not as pointy. They have a little hair on the back of their necks, their arms are longer, and their stomachs are more pronounced.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “That’s disgusting.” He smiled. I took a sharp inhale before looking back at the demons. “Right. So, what are they waiting for?”
“For …”
He didn’t have to say it.
Omi appeared near the corner, floating a few feet above the ground on some kind of black cloud.
I gasped placing my hand around Micah's wrist again, and he tensed.
Omi wore his usual white crumpled suit. His hair could use a trim and a comb, and maybe his face needed a razor too. But he did look powerful.
As Omi got closer, we were able to make out his words. “… here somewhere.” His voice boomed through the air. “Search every corner, under every stone, inside every sewer. Break into every house, kill everyone, but find her.” My grip around Micah’s wrist tightened. “I want her. I need her.” I looked up as another dark cloud followed Omi, but this one was high in the sky and fire danced around it. “I want her alive!”
Omi raised his arms, and the fire bolts fell from the sky. The demons cried before turning around and running like lost rabid dogs.
“Fuck.” Micah grabbed my arm and dragged me to the back of the alley again.
Keisha was already up, with her sword ready in her hand. Damn, the girl looked badass.
“What was that?” she asked.
“Omi—”
“Bad stuff,” I said, cutting Micah off. “We need to run. Now.”
Micah glanced around to the few doors in the alley. He marched to one and kicked it twice, three times. When it seemed a little loose, he grabbed the dagger from his waist and used it to pry it open.
“Come on!” he shouted.
Keisha, Raisa, and I rushed inside.
As Micah closed the door behind us, I looked around. We were in a mailroom of an office building.
Keisha stopped. “Here.” She offered him one of her swords. “You probably can make good use of it.”
Micah gripped the sword as if he owned it. “Keep moving. We need to find another exit, preferably far away from the demons.”
We entered a long corridor, and I let the others pass in front of me.
I came close to him and looked him in the eyes. “It is about me, isn’t it?” He pursed his lips. “Micah, Omi was talking about me, right?”
“I guess so,” he said through gritted teeth.
“But how? How did he find out about me? Oh my God, what about my family? If they know about me, they know about my family.”
He clutched my shoulders. “Hey. He didn’t say your name. They are probably looking for a girl your age with a similar aura, and that’s it.”
“But how did they know to look for a girl?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. Just … don’t worry yet, okay?”
“You’re asking me not to worry? I’m the queen of worrying.”
He smiled. “I know.” He ran his hands down my arms. It was almost comforting. “But I’m here, darling, and I won’t let anything happen to you.” He looked at me as if he meant it.
I swallowed my tears. “After three months away you think you can waltz in here and use your charm to save the day? Think it’ll work?”
With that smug smile of his, he tugged my hands. “I don’t know. You tell me.”
“Jerk,” I muttered, shaking my head.
“What?” he asked, an amused tone on his voice.
I ignored him as we walked down the corridor following the others.
At the end of the corridor we exited to a large room with lots of tables and computers. There were doors labeled with exit signs across the room.
In the middle of the room I stopped and pointed to a corner. There were a few people hiding under some tables.
“We can’t leave them,” I whispered.
“We can’t save everyone,” Micah whispered back.
Ignoring him, I turned to the people. “Hi, hmm, you should leave. It’s not safe here.”
A man stood up from under a desk. “But there are mo-monsters outside.”
“Yeah, and they are breaking into the buildings now. It’s only a matter of time until they break in here.”
“A-are you sure?” the man asked.
“Yeah, she’s sure,” Micah said. “Like she said, there’s not much time. So, goodbye and good luck.”
Once more, Micah grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the exit.
“What’s the matter with you?” I hissed.
“What’s the matter with me? I’m here trying to save your pretty little ass, and you’re trying to save every stray we find.”
“Excuse me?” I stopped and stared at him. “You came to save me? Let me tell you, I didn’t ask for any saving.”
He groaned. “Oh, really? Because you looked like you were about to be eaten by a demon when I arrived and saved your skin.”
“Holy … can you be any less infuriating?”
“Look who is talki—”
“Hey, you two,” Keisha said. “Stop that right now.”