I woke up drenched in sweat, haunted by some familiar glowing yellow eyes that belonged to a tall, bony monster that kept chasing after me as blood dripped from its claws. Brea was still sound asleep beside me, her beautiful hazel brown hair all over her face, well, at least one of us was having a good sleep, I thought as I headed for a much-needed shower
Brea woke up later after several failed attempts by her mother. She only smiled cheekily at me as she sat on the couch across from me. From that smile, I knew she had heard every attempt but chose to ignore them. They went home early, apparently her father had decided to grace them with his presence, and I prayed to the heavens that they would at least have a peaceful gathering as I headed to the fields near the hills to get some peace of my own
If I were told I'd ever have a normal conversation with the cocky 'prince' Anson I'd laugh out loud and roll my eyes but here we were no arrogant behavior from him nor any sass from me which was highly appreciated on my side for I knew I had zero strength for any potential arguments. Our meeting was so casual that I almost forgot how weird he sometimes acted like the day he pretended not to be sneaking some suspicious looks at me when my mother decided we eat at the diner after one of my papers and just when I thought everything would be smooth his bracelet suddenly glowed like it was pulsating, two pulses' and Anson was suddenly in a rush to leave
My curiosity piqued, so I decided to do something stupid. I followed behind him. I parked some feet away and waited till he was in the house, and followed. I positioned myself on a window that gave a good view of the living room where both brothers were standing, and I thanked the heavens that the window was a bit ajar so their voices easily flowed through
"Why did you call? Did you find it?"
"No, there has been a change of plans. No help is coming, so I decided it would be more convenient if I headed to Graven first while you stay here in case it returns."
"What! That's too risky, what if you come across it, if what the Legate suspected is true, then we're dealing with a boss, they're stronger and faster."
"We have no choice Ans. We have no extra manpower, so if that thing heads this way, it's best you be here."
"It's still risky, do you think we can solely defeat it?"
"We have to, if I do encounter it, I'll try my best to hold it down and call for you."
"I couldn't get there fast enough."
"Then you take flight."
"What? That's too dangerous."
"What do you want me to do, huh, we have no choice, the longer we delay, the more it kills, and heavens help it doesn't get smart enough to help others crossover."
"I'm still coming with you."
"No, you'll stay here and do as told."
"Yeah, cause I'm just a pathetic little pup that does as it's told."
"Damn it, Ans. What do you want me to do?"
I stumbled. What the fuck did I just see? My heart beat rapidly against my chest, and I tried my best to retreat as slowly as I could, that was until I slipped on something and hit the ground hard, taking down with me a metallic water can that rattled loud enough I was sure they had heard it. I rose quickly to my feet, ignoring the pain that shot from my ankle that had twisted at an angle; it was definitely going to be sore the next day. Nonetheless, I tried to run through the pain, cussing along the way
I managed to hide behind a nearby bush and prayed that whoever had just opened the front door didn't find me. Seconds ticked in and every one felt like the air was being taken from me, I steadied my breath as much as I could, listening keenly to the footsteps that were now where I once was, tick tock the clock in my head went on taunting me. The person stood still for a while, and it was not until his name was called that he moved. I now knew it was Anson who was searching, and I wasn't sure if I should be glad or scared
The guy did act strange a couple of times, but at least we had some kind of rapport. I still didn't know him well enough, and from the conversation I heard, it was clear the two were more than just strangers. His brother, on the other hand, had always had a scary factor about him, and his cold eyes could easily freeze someone, but what I saw took him to a whole other level that I would have never imagined in my young life. The image still filled my mind even as Anson came closer to where I was hiding, stood for a while, then left. Whether he had somehow sensed it was me and spared me, or he just didn't see me, I let out a breath when the front door closed.
I waited for a few more minutes before I arose, my ankle yet again reminding me it was injured. I limped to my car, hoping that no one would spot my walk of shame, or was it a limp of shame? Either way, I managed to get to my car and thanked the heavens again that my left foot was the one injured, not my dominant one. Throughout the journey to my house, I kept wondering if I had perhaps imagined what I saw, or was it some sort of weird manipulation
I passed my mom a quick excuse when she asked about the limp while she massaged it to help avoid swelling, my brother, on the other hand, didn't miss the opportunity to make fun of me while expertly imitating my limp to which I chucked a couple of pillows his way and managed to have one hit him right on the nose making him sneeze a couple of times after which he scowled heavily at me making me smile satisfactorily but that was the only normalcy I had this night as I remembered what I had the unfortunate pleasure to witness a phenomenon that I was sure anyone I told would laugh straight at my face and brush it off as a joke if they wouldn't be inclined to call me crazy first
I had barely seen Anson's brother since that first day at the diner only spotting him once after he passed me by with their truck, the man didn't seem to care much for other people and gave off the vibe that you should never try to approach him which I was more than glad not to do, even Brea who always found it easy to approach people mentioned it was better not to get close not that she found him too intimidating but because he seemed like a jerk she said but now I found myself curious about him, about both of them.
Why were they here? Where were they from? What exactly was the thing they were looking for, and more importantly, what the hell were they? It wasn't every day that you saw a guy sprout snow-white wings from his back