by D. N. Hoxa
“Hey, wait a second!” I called after her, running down the street. “What the hell is going on here?”
“Keep your voice down,” she said, slowing down a bit.
“Who was that guy? And why are we still running? I threw him off the fifth floor. He’s not going to be able to move for a while.”
Elisa flinched. “Yes, he will. Just keep walking.”
“And you keep talking.” I needed some sort of an explanation for this.
“You shouldn’t have followed me, Scarlet. You should have been gone by now,” Elisa said. Every few seconds, we both turned around to see if David was there, but nobody was following us.
“If I hadn’t, he would have attacked you, and if you think the fall didn’t knock him out cold, then I think he would have won.”
“I wasn’t going to let him attack me,” Elisa spit.
“Sure you were.” I’d been there. I’d heard her.
“No, Scarlet. I was going to run away. It’s why I took him to the rooftop. It’s my escape route.”
I stopped walking. Facepalm. This was Elisa the Hedge witch we were talking about. Of course she had an escape route.
“Who was he?” I asked halfheartedly. We were entering a different neighborhood now, one filled with one-story buildings and stores of all kinds. I’d never been to the Bronx before so I had no clue where we were.
“Someone you don’t wanna mess with.” That much I’d gathered.
“And who is she?” The woman he spoke about was obviously someone he cared about a lot—and Elisa knew her, too.
“Someone worse.”
“You know, I came back to help you when you screamed. A little more talking would be nice.” I wouldn’t go so far as to say I regretted having gone to help her, but she was sure making it hard.
“You shouldn’t have come after me, Scarlet. It was dangerous. Stupid. You could have gotten yourself killed.”
“I didn’t. I’m standing right here. And I wanted to help you!”
“I appreciate that, but you can’t always help everybody. You have to know when it’s time to run.” It was strange to receive lectures from someone who looked barely out of teenagehood, but with Elisa, it was different.
“Okay!” I shouted, and stopped going after her. She stopped walking, too. “I get it. It was a mistake. Thanks a lot for the Pretter. Goodbye.”
She’d activated the spell stone she gave me, so I put it in my back pocket together with the other two. I’d blown one of them when I used my magic against David, but I didn’t know which, so I kept them all. My mind was all over the place and I needed to focus. It was dark now, and it was going to take me a while to get to East Harlem, when I could have been there by then. Blocking my powers, I searched the street for any familiar face, but saw no one. No David, or soldiers, or demons.
“Scarlet, wait,” Elisa called behind me, but I didn’t stop. “Hey, I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be a bitch. I was just scared.”
“Doesn’t matter, Elisa. I wasn’t offended. I just need to go now.” As long as she wouldn’t be chased again while I could see, I’d be perfectly fine.
“Stop for a sec,” she said, tapping me on my shoulder. “I’m trying to tell you something.”
I sighed. “I’m all ears.”
“I need to leave town, so what do you say I come with you to Florida?” Shoot.
“No, I’m going on my own.”
“I’m going on my own, too. We can go on our own, together.” That made no sense at all.
“Why do you trust me now, so suddenly? You don’t know who I am, Elisa.” And I sure as hell didn’t know who she was—just that she reeked of secrets.
“Sure I do. You’re David’s worst nightmare.” She grinned.
Ouch. I flinched. “Was it bad?” The worst line in history, and I picked that to introduce myself to a stranger? C’mon, Scarlet.
Shamelessly, she nodded. “I had goosebumps all over me, and not in a good way.” In my defense, I was used to being on my own, and that sort of thing sounded much better inside my head.
“Whatever. I’m still going on my own.”
“I’ll find us a car. It’ll be easier than stealing one,” she said, and when I started walking again, she followed. “I’m not going to let this go, Scarlet.”
“You realize we’re going back to where David was, right?” That should have scared her, but didn’t.
“He’s gone by now, but he’ll be back. I really need to get away from here.” She sounded genuine, but like I said, I didn’t know anything about her.
“You can’t come with me. You just can’t.” And if she knew where I was going, she wouldn’t want to.
“Sure I can. I’ll even pay for gas,” she said.
Rolling my eyes, I realized she really wasn’t going to get off my back. So I made her. “I’m not going to Florida, Elisa. So get in your car, pay for your gas, and go alone. They sell maps if you don’t know the way.”
“Where are you going?” she asked me, not as surprised by my answer as I’d expected. I said nothing. “You’re going to try to save them yourself, aren’t you?” I still kept my mouth shut. She was going to try to lecture me, to tell me how wrong this was and how stupid I was being, but I wouldn’t let it get to me. I had my reasons, and my principles. “You know it’s stupid. It beats me why you’re going for this.”
“It doesn’t have to make sense to you. I’m doing what I think is right.”
“You’re committing suicide,” she insisted.
“So be it.”
“You’re also killing all the people they took if you try this on your own.”
“So help me.” If she thought she was so smart, I’d let her help me.
“I can’t,” she whispered, making me laugh.
“Sure you can. You just don’t want to. You’ve hunted demons for…how long? You did it just for fun, you said so yourself.”
“But it’s different now,” she argued.
“How is it different? You won’t be able to leave your home without being caught by the ECU, or by David, whoever he is. Might as well do something while you hide.” It was what made sense for me, but I already knew she’d never go for it. “And where is the bus station?” I was tired of walking. I could use a seat right about now.
“Scarlet, stop.”
When I did, I realized she’d stopped walking a few steps back. “What?”
Looking at the ground, she shook her head. “I’ve seen them. The witches the ECU held in there.”
“You did?” We’d found Elisa in the living quarters, but for all we knew she’d ended up there while trying to escape.
“They have no idea what they are, or what to do with themselves,” she said, making me sick to my stomach.
“It’s why I’m going to find them” Even if that’s the last thing I did.
“If what you said is true, if they’ve evolved even more and can even speak, the demons aren’t to be taken lightly.”
“I know what the stakes are for me, but you? They don’t attack you. That’s what you told me. Your magic doesn’t interest them—mine does. You’re practically a shadow to them.”
To my surprise, Elisa nodded. “Do you have a plan?”
Holy cow…was she really thinking about this?
Heart in my throat, I stepped closer to her. “I’m going back to my apartment to get some money I hid in a wall. I’m going to stock up on Pretters and weapons, and go to the hospital you found us in. If they’re there, I’m going to give the witches a way to escape, then lead the demons away.” It was a decent plan, one that would potentially end with my death.
But Elisa flinched. “You have an advantage. They can’t smell your energy when you block it, but being a shadow is not going to be enough.” Then, her pupils dilated, and her eyes moved to my left hand. Casually, I pulled my arm behind my back. “Now that is another story.”
“Whatever it is, I wouldn’t count on it too much. I tried to make it turn into that swo
rd again, but it didn’t work.” Who knew how long it would take me to teach myself to work with it? And time was what those witches didn’t have.
“You need to know exactly what it is first,” Elisa said.
“There was a fairy in the ECU, who came to check it out. Said it was a dragon. A real, skin and bone dragon, and that it was ancient witch and fairy magic, but nothing else.” If there was more, he’d told it to Erick Adams in another room, far away from me.
“Are you sure that it was this thing that killed the demons?” Elisa asked, her eyes glazed over. She almost looked like she was crying, but it was just excitement, calling up my own.
“Yes! We all saw it. It was the dragon. It turned them into burning charcoal.” I was going to remember that image until the day I died.
“So if you figure out how to make it work again, you could actually make it out alive,” she said. “I’d take the witches out, and you’d kill the demons.”
“Hold on a sec. Are you saying—”
“Hypothetically,” she cut me off, but I was already grinning.
“Right. Hypothetically. If this thing works again, it would only be a matter of finding the demons.”
“That’s not the hard part,” Elisa said, and I agreed.
“The hard part will be finding out about the dragon. I have no idea where to even begin searching.” I doubted Google would have an answer to something like this.
“I might.”
That sounded delicious.
“So what the hell are we waiting for?!” This was perfect! Elisa couldn’t be sucked dry by the demons. She was a Hedge witch. She wouldn’t be in danger, not like Luca, Fallon, Ax and Grover. It’s why I would never even hesitate to let her tag along.
This was it—the break I needed. The break I’d been waiting for but didn’t know: Elisa.
“This could get out of hand quickly, Scarlet,” she warned me.
“I know. Trust me, I’ve been sucked dry by those things a lot of times. I know exactly how fast things can change.”
“We’ll need to prepare for all possible outcomes.”
“We’ll have your Pretters—and your magic.” Spells! Lots of yummy Hedge spells.
But Elisa shook her head. “No Pretters. I can’t go back home.”
“So we’ll go to my apartment. I have enough money to buy everything we need.”
Elisa froze for a second. “How much do you have exactly?” She sounded awfully suspicious.
“About twenty thousand. Why?”
Her wide grin changed her face completely. “Then I know exactly where we can find information about the dragon.”
Music to my freaking ears. “Sounds like our first destination.”
“Tomorrow,” she said. “We need the money, and we need the location.”
“The location? What location?”
“The black market.”
“The…” Holy cow. “The black market?”
Elisa nodded. “It happens every Saturday, but we won’t know where until—”
“An hour before. Yes, I know.” I’d been trying to get into the black market for as long as I could remember! But wait… “It’s too dangerous, Elisa. Somebody could recognize us.” There would probably be a lot of people there.
“The black market is neutral ground. Nobody dares to speak of what they see in there. The price for that is death, no questions asked.” She made my freaking day.
“I’ll take your word for it.”
Elisa grinned. “Let’s go to your apartment.”
I’d died and gone to heaven. I was finally getting into the black market.
Five
Getting into my apartment wasn’t going to be easy, it seemed. There were two werewolves, dressed in plain clothing, walking from one side of the building to the other, looking at every person passing them by, not even pretending to mind their own business. If the ECU thought I was going to walk right up to my apartment just because the soldiers weren’t wearing their uniforms, they had an even lower opinion of me than I realized.
“I bet you two more are waiting across the street,” I whispered to Elisa. We kept a good distance from my apartment, standing behind a parked car, only because she insisted we did so. She was so sure we wouldn’t get caught, I didn’t know whether to learn from her, or kick her in the shin for being reckless.
“Are you sure there’s no back door?” she asked, looking down at the phone in her hand. I didn’t mean to pry, but it was impossible not to see Noah’s name on the screen and the hearts right after it.
“Yes, I’m sure.” I’d lived in that place for two years. “If we can figure out how many are in my apartment, I think I know how to get us inside the building.” Behind the building, there were three perfectly climbable ebony trees. We could use them to get to the second floor, which was entirely resided by humans. Getting in through the window wouldn’t be a problem, and taking the stairs to the basement would also be easy. But what was waiting for us behind my door?
“If they catch us…” Elisa’s voice trailed off. Now she was getting scared?
“Where else can we get the money to pay the guy?” I was going to need a lot of it for the black market to buy everything.
Elisa cringed. “If we use our powers, we’ll be as good as gone.”
“Without them, there’s a fifty percent higher chance we’ll get caught.” Not to say that I wanted to use magic, but I just didn’t see how we could get away without it. “What about Pretters?”
“They’re all shields and concealers. I don’t have any attack spells,” Elisa said.
We could stay there and talk about this until sunrise, but the truth was, we had no choice but to get in there. We needed the money to pay whoever Elisa knew to tell us about the dragon. If I didn’t learn how to use it properly, there was no point in finding the demons.
“Let’s do it.” I sounded much more confident than I felt. Sweat covered every inch of me, and the night wasn’t even that hot. My nerves were a mess, but my determination didn’t waver.
“I’ll warn you right now that I will not use my magic. I can’t risk getting caught again.”
“I understand.” I didn’t like it, though, but what more could I ask of her?
We went around the whole block to get behind my building and to the trees. Their smell was heavily, so calming. Maybe that’s why the solider keeping watch was resting against the first. Shoot. They were certainly not going to make this easier for us.
“There’s no way he won’t see us.” He was right there. We wouldn’t even be able to get close to the trees.
“Leave him to me,” Elisa said. “Wait for my signal.”
I didn’t argue, or follow her when she ventured toward the soldier, walking slowly, keeping her head down. She looked nothing out of the ordinary, and the soldier watched her pass him by, but he was looking for me, not Elisa. He was put there to catch me, so she didn’t raise any of his flags. I lost sight of her in the darkness, but I suspected she went behind the last tree, and around it.
My ears began to play tricks on me. I kept imagining that I’d hear her scream, just like she did earlier in the day when David found her, and that the soldiers from the front of the building would come running to their colleague. My eyes joined the game, too. I pictured him turning around and catching Elisa red-handed, and apprehending her before she had the chance to…
Wrap her arm around his neck from behind and hold him until he passed out.
Was this a trick, too?
The soldier was fighting. He was trying to elbow Elisa in the stomach, but she was still standing. My heart galloped inside my chest and I was unable to take in a deep breath. My eyes moved from the narrow tunnel between the two buildings, and to Elisa, who was by some miracle still holding the soldier by the neck. So far, nobody was running to her. I should have stayed back until he fell to the ground, but I couldn’t. I ran forward with my daggers raised. If the others came at us now, I’d be ready for them, and if the two of the
m came alone, I could take them, never mind that they probably had guns, and I no way of shielding myself from the bullets without my magic.
The soldier in Elisa’s arms went lip just as I stepped in front of him. He slid down her body and hit the ground with little noise, or maybe I just didn’t hear it over the sound of my heavy breathing. I turned to the tunnel, as ready as I was going to get, and I just waited for the others to come running.
“What the hell are you doing?” Elisa spit.
When I turned around, I saw she’d already started to climb the second tree.
Holy cow, what the hell was I doing, indeed. I was wasting time. The solider was on the ground, unconscious. It made no sense to me whatsoever that she’d taken him. Maybe because he seemed to be a witch? If he’d been a werewolf, she’d have had no chance.
Shut up! I shouted at my own mind, and put the daggers away. Freaking out was going to cost me time but as I jumped to reach the first thick branch of the tree, it was impossible not to imagine I wasn’t being chased. Almost like I had a dog barking at me, his jaw closing right next to my feet, seconds away from sinking his teeth into my flesh.
But there were no teeth, only sweaty hands trying to firmly grab on to the branches so I wouldn’t fall right next to the soldier. One of the thinner branches reached all the way to the building, close to a window, which was unfortunately closed. The one in front of it was slightly open, though, and I definitely didn’t like to have to jump to it at such height, but I was going to have to do it. Elisa’s graceful movements caught me off guard yet again. Even standing on a tree, about to enter a place possibly swarming with ECU soldiers, I tried to think of a way to make her tell me who she was. Where she came from. What her whole story was. I’d listen for hours if she’d share, but I already knew she wouldn’t.
Elisa wrapped her arms and legs around the branch and began to drag herself toward the windows. The wood squeaked and bent down slightly, making my fear grow. Elisa was smaller than me, definitely thinner. What if the tree didn’t hold me?
