by Mika B. Coit
Jung fired away with his guns, every silver bullet he shot hit the demons right in the middle of their forehead and causing them to disappear in a wisps of white smoke.
Kazuki whipped his sword around him slashing the demon’s heads off completely and also making them disappear in wisps of white smoke. Iliana watched the demons before her getting closer and closer as soon as she suddenly sensed the presence of water that made her hands tingle a demon grabbed her arm and pulled her throwing Iliana into a pile of wooden crates. Father Benjamin stopped his chanting and shouted.
"Iliana!..."
Iliana covered her head with both her hands as the wooden crates and empty glass bottles from inside it fell on top of her.
"These demons have a thing of throwing people around." Iliana grumbled lifting herself up and sitting down on the ground. When a group of demons started to surround her, she used her hands and feet to push herself. Iliana shuffled backwards away from them until she banged the back of her head on something. Massaging her head Iliana turned to find a bronze tap which was attached to the white cylinder behind her. While Iliana tried to turn the stiff tap on which she failed to do so... she heard gun shots close-by and Jung called out to her. Iliana spun round to find the demons that had crowded her were all gone and Jung stood there lowering his guns.
"Are you all right?" He asked.
Iliana nodded and was helped up to her feet by grabbing hold of Jung’s arm, when she noticed more demons surrounded them.
"Jung... can you cover me please?"
"What for?" He asked watching her crouch back down and trying again to turn the tap.
"I think there is some kind of fluid in these cylinders."
"The club used to use this warehouse to store wine as well as other alcohol, but I didn’t think they had any wine left in the cylinders!" Jung said loudly shooting the demons that kept gathering round. "I did not think you were type to drink, and you couldn’t have picked a better time."
"I am not going to drink it, silly!"
"Oh... you had me worried there for a moment."
The taps were so stiff that even though Iliana put in all her might to turn it, it still did not budge. Seeing her struggle Jung said...
"Step back... and get behind me quickly."
Iliana followed his order and he shot a few silver bullets at the taps causing a spray of red wine to burst out. Iliana instantly stepped in front of Jung, raising her arms up and guiding the burst of wine towards the demons around them. The red wine then turned into clear liquid when it hit them and made them disappear.
"Whoa!... Now that is something you do not see every day!" Jung remarked.
Jung watched in awe as Iliana waved her arms around with the jet of wine following her every movement and demons vanishing quickly. Kazuki turned round to look at her as she danced her way towards him, but he then carried on whipping his sword at the demons.
After a while most of demons were almost gone but a figure caught the corner of Iliana’s eye. It ran down a gap in between the piled up wooden crates and was heading towards a side door. Iliana ran after it bringing a stream of red wine with her which hovered above her. She forced a jet of wine to rush ahead of her to hit the demon, but the demon stopped running and turned round. It held a hand in front of itself and the stream of wine suddenly dissipated in thin air.
A little shocked and surprised at that outcome Iliana waved in another water jet but instead of towards the demon she directed it at the wooden crates either side. The dark figure was instantly buried under a mass of wooden crates and glass bottles. Iliana quickly ran to the demon and stood in front of the pile of rubble, not exactly knowing what to do. She looked around to see if any of the boys were nearby and was just about to call out to them when suddenly the rubble exploded out everywhere. Iliana ducked from the flying glass bottles and debris of wood. And in a split second was pushed back with great force and somehow found herself pinned to one side. Her back against the wall metres away from where she was just standing... her feet barely touched the ground and a hand tightly gripped around her small neck.
Choking and hardly able to breath Iliana stared into the eyes of the demon. Looking deeply into it’s dark brown almond shaped eyes. Iliana knew instantly that it was not a demon but human and the tight grip was that of male. Although his eyes were that of a human it was different in someway. It was as if there was no soul or life behind it, just emptiness. The male figure was completely dressed in black cloth, even his head, nose and mouth was covered. His eyes and hands were the only body parts which were not covered. He looked exactly like a ninja but without the weapons. For a few minutes both of them stared at one another. They were so close Iliana could just smell the faded woody scented cologne that he had on. But when Iliana’s name was called out which sounded like Father Benjamin, the male figure loosened it’s grip then let go of Iliana’s neck and walked away. But as he did Iliana noticed his pale manly hands that had just gripped her neck. There was a tattoo painted between his thumb and index finger, then continued down towards his wrist. It was a small bird with a white belly and grey wings with black streaks. Its long tail stretched down to the male figures wrist.
"Iliana!..."
Iliana turned to Father Benjamin who ran towards her as she coughed uncontrollably and massaging her sore neck.
"Are you alright?... What happened?"
Unable to answer him she waved her hand then turned round. She already knew that the male figure had long gone but she could not help but look anyway.
All the demons were gone and all of the people awakened completely oblivious to what had happened and utterly confused to why they were in a warehouse. Father Benjamin and Jung had to convince them that they were all part of a police experimental test which they had previously agreed to participate in. Surprisingly they all went with it.
Standing outside the club watching the last bundle of people making their way back home Iliana thought of the man dressed in black. Wondering who he was and the kind of power he possessed. Father Benjamin suddenly appeared and stood next to her making her jump.
"Sorry... I did not mean to startle you."
Iliana shook her head.
"I was in my own world for a moment."
"Back in the warehouse... did something happen to you?"
"W-what do you mean?" Iliana asked trying to sound innocent.
"Your neck is a little pink and earlier you were coughing away like no other, it was as if you had been strangled!" Father Benjamin said looking at her in concerned way.
"Strangled?... N-no... I think it must have been where I crashed into those wooden crates... I must have grazed it then." Iliana replied avoiding his gaze and hoping he would not see through her unconvincing lie.
At that moment Jung came out from the alley with two well built men behind him and Kazuki hot behind their heels.
"I’ll see you guys at work next week. Take a good few days to relax... you have worked hard and have earned a break." Jung said to the two men patting them hard on the back.
"Er... thanks Jung." Said one of the men who looked like Popeye the sailor man with his muscular arms and bald head. "But what about... what happened here and all those people?"
"I said not to worry about it Dave... didn’t I?... Just go home and I will explain next week at work, okay!" Jung said.
Still looking a little baffled like the other crowd of people who had gone home, the two men walked off with Jung waving them goodbye.
"They only know a little about possessions of people... I will definitely not invite them to the Unknown World ." Jung said in a serious tone but then excitedly added turning to Iliana. "That was an eventful night wasn’t it? And Iliana... you were totally amazing... you were like a swan."
"Now that is a bit of an overstatement!" Kazuki remarked.
"You would say that, wouldn’t you!" Iliana exclaimed narrowing her eyes at him.
"I still do not understand why all those people were in the warehouse." Father Benjamin said frowning.
"There must be a reason behind that gathering."
"Hmm... it seemed all too easy." Kazuki agreed. "It was as if they were waiting for something or someone."
Jung sighed as his eyes surveyed the quiet street.
"You wouldn’t believe that this street used to be bustling with people... and this club was the most popular in the city." He said changing the subject.
"You mentioned that before... and you said it was heaving with life before it was ruined." Iliana said. "What happened to this side of the city?"
"Lord Baddesley is what happened!" Jung answered quickly and quite loudly that it echoed around the street.
"Lord Baddesley is one of England’s richest man... a tough business man and..." Father Benjamin started to explain.
"And he hated poor people... oh, and a complete basta..." Jung interrupted but was cut off by Father Benjamin who covered Jung’s mouth with his hand.
"Not in front of Iliana please."
Jung bit his lower lip as he groaned under his breath.
"Lord Baddesley had always had issues with the poorer side, even when his wife was still alive... Lady Baddesley was the complete opposite. She loved helping people and giving money... much to Lord Baddesley’s disgust... although he did not stop her." Father Benjamin explained. "Then one day... with the reluctant acceptance from the Mayor... Lord Baddesley decided to build new clubs, restaurants, hotels, etcetera on the other side of the city. Of course a handful of people and plus the Mayor disagreed with it. But no one could do nothing as he found himself a new and brilliant lawyer... from Jane D’Coye."
"Mother!..." Iliana said. "Mother’s boss is Lord Baddesley?"
"Yes... your Mother fought for him on all legal grounds, so no one could stop him. So a group of town people decided to give Lord Baddesley a scare in his own home. One night Lady Baddesley and their son was out for dinner and Lord Baddesley was at home alone. The town folks threw large stones through the windows. They also set light to scrunched up paper bags and threw into the windows too. They graffiti on the walls of his mansion until suddenly half the house was in flames."
"But when a black Jaguar drove into the driveway and Lord Baddesley came out from it... hell broke lose!" Jung added.
"Wait... I thought you said Lord Baddesley was at home?" Iliana questioned thinking she might have heard it wrong.
"Everyone thought that too... but Lady Baddesley decided to stay home at the last minute and their son accompanied her. So Lord Baddesley attended the dinner alone." Father Benjamin explained. "He ran into the burning mansion... then ten minutes later when the fire brigade arrived he came out dragging his unconscious son and Lady Baddesley who was already dead."
"I had to help with the investigation... and we found out that the people happened to throw the stones and flaming paper bags into the windows of the library. That’s why the fire got so out of control. The son was hit unconscious by one of the stones and ended up in a coma for over a month, and Lord Baddesley well... he went and sued the people involved for all the money they had before they all went to prison. And three weeks later were slaughtered in their prison cells after all having suffered major mental issues." Jung reported. "It was totally the weirdest case I had ever had... and it all happened in less than two months. After which Lord Baddesley had already started the renovation of the whole city, making one side of the city filthy rich and other side a ghost town."
"Whoa!... What a story... What happened to the son?" Iliana said.
"He woke up from his coma, then transferred to the London Academy and hasn’t returned since." Jung answered.
Whilst sitting in the passengers seat of Jung’s Mini Cooper with him behind the wheel and Kazuki in the back seat, Iliana’s mind was swimming with the story of Lord Baddesley and his family. It was when Father Benjamin flashed his lights behind them before turning into a different road Iliana remembered the man dressed in black. She wanted to tell Father Benjamin when he questioned her earlier and in fact felt quite guilty for not, but she needed more information on the ninja like man.
It was Jung who decided to give both Iliana and Kazuki a lift back home to Primrose Bay. The fifteen minute journey seemed longer than usual, Iliana thought. Maybe it was because no one breathed a word in the car, everyone’s mind was pre-occupied. It was only when Kazuki opened his door whilst Jung was still driving and all the lights and alarms went off, luckily he was driving the thirty mile an hour speed limit on that road.
"Jeez Kazuki!... What the hell...?" Jung cried out after slamming his foot on the brakes.
"You passed my street!" Kazuki bluntly said undoing his seat belt.
"There’s no need to just open the door whilst I’m driving... you nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"You do worry me at times... a man from the police department who is absentminded when driving!" Kazuki remarked.
Jung pulled down his seat belt so he was able to twist round to look at him.
"I am not absentminded!" He snapped.
Kazuki raised an eyebrow.
"Every time you give me a lift you always pass my street... Either because you talk too much or you’re in your own little world... And you know it yourself... you are a dozy driver!"
Jung pressed his lips tightly together as if he knew Kazuki was right and could not come up with a good comeback. Shaking his head Kazuki got out the car before slamming the door shut, and as he walked away from the car at the corner of his mouth there was a small grin.
"It annoys me when he’s always right." Jung said sighing as he turned back round and slumped in his chair.
"He annoys me, full stop!" Iliana exclaimed firmly.
Jung laughed out quite loudly.
"Yeah... I figured that... But you know... once you get to know him you’ll see his softer side and you might catch a nice smile."
"You are not saying that way down deep, deep, deep inside his dark and cold heart there is warm light are you?" Iliana joked sarcastically.
Jung again laughed out literally throwing his head back into the headrest of his seat.
"You do make me laugh... if I didn’t have my Caitlyn I’d ask you on a date." He snorted in between his fits of laughter.
Assuming that Caitlyn was Jung’s girlfriend Iliana smiled and watched him as he recovered from laughing so hard before she added.
"Anyway... I have actually seen him smile once earlier today."
Jung looked at her surprised.
"Really?... Now, that is shocking... things are looking up." He said then added when he saw Iliana look at him confused. "Don’t worry."
"Oh... okay." Iliana said not knowing what he meant. "I will walk from here to my house."
"Eh... don’t be silly... I will drive you if you remind me where your house is... and I promise I won’t drive pass it." Jung said crossing his middle finger over his index finger.
Iliana pointed to the next road from Kazuki’s.
"It is down that road... I actually did not realise that I lived the next block from Kazuki... how unfortunate am I!" She sarcastically pointed out.
Jung smiled.
As Iliana approached the iron gates to her house she turned round and waved at Jung who was adamant that he would not drive off until he saw her walk into the gates of her house. Iliana then noticed the gates was open.
‘I am sure I closed that before I left... unless...’ Iliana said to herself.
She looked up into the driveway and saw the Jaguar car parked up in front of the house. Iliana heard Jung drive away as she slipped through the open gates, and as she approached the house Mother came out from the front door and jumped.
"Holy monkeys Iliana!... You nearly scared me to death!... How long have you been standing there?" Mother gasped slapping her hand over her chest.
"Not very long!... Sorry, I did not mean to startle you!" Iliana apologised.
"Well... I was not expecting you home so soon... I thought you would stay at your friend’s house for the night!"
"I felt a little
tired today so I did not have intentions of staying for long." Iliana responded hoping Mother would see through her little white lie.
Luckily Mother was only half listening as she made her way down the steps and opened the boot of the car revealing dozens of shopping bags.
"Actually I was going to give this to you in the morning but whilst you are here... I have something for you." Mother announced scrambling through the bags until she found a large white box with a purple bow attached to the front that was almost as big as the box itself.
She gave the box to Iliana who lifted up the lid and pushed back the lilac coloured tissue paper, revealing a champagne coloured material which was folded neatly inside.
"I know... you are probably thinking that you already have loads of dresses that probably has not even seen daylight in your wardrobe. But my boss of course will be there... so I want you to look your best... and when I saw this dress, I knew instantly that you will look like a goddess!" Mother exclaimed proudly.
Not wanting to sound ungrateful as she did have hundreds of clothes that Mother had bought her in the past, Iliana smiled and replied.
"Thank you Mother... but you have not told me anything about where we are going or what we are doing."
"Oh... of course... it was only announced earlier this evening that my boss’s son has finally returned home, and that my boss has arranged a big party next weekend... I know it is short notice but this is such a prestigious and formal gathering." Mother proclaimed enthusiastically then carrying on almost squealing with excitement. "And we have been invited!... Oh, and those you have children attending at St. Anthony Preston’s Academy like yourself... can invite one friend."
‘Mother’s boss’s son?’ Iliana thought recalling the conversation she just had with the boys. ‘He is back?’
Iliana could not help but smile at the sight of Mother being so bubbly and excited. Humming to herself cheerfully, Mother grabbed more shopping bags.
"I have even bought your Father a new tuxedo!" She said shaking the bags in her hands. "Anyway, I must not get too excited otherwise I will not be able to go to sleep... and it is already past one in the morning... Could you be an angel and help me carry those bags in. Andrew was going to help me when he dropped me off but I ordered him a taxi so he could go home as it was late."
