After we exited the library, we ran as fast as we could, three miles straight to the motel.
"Hey, wait up! Can we just take a cab?" I gasped, my chest burning like I might collapse any second.
"No. No cabs," Vic shot back without slowing, pushing past a group of pedestrians.
"What could possibly be happening at the motel and why is it our problem?" Krin called from behind, clearly struggling to keep up.
"Kora sounded terrified," Vic said. "It might be something bad."
"Yeah? Well, so is running three freaking miles!" I snapped, slowing to a stop and clutching my side as I tried to catch my breath.
Vic noticed immediately. He stopped, turned, and rushed back to me, grabbing my hand.
"We're almost there," he said firmly. "Just a little more. Keep moving."
Before I could argue, he pulled me forward again and we started running.
After what felt like forever, the motel finally came into view.
Or… what was left of it.
What stood before us wasn't a building anymore, just a charred skeleton of wood and metal, still smoking. The fire had died down, but the air was thick, heavy, and suffocating. Ash drifted through the night like black snow.
We slowed to a stop, no one spoke. The crackling of dying embers was the only sound left.
I swallowed hard, my voice barely steady. "Unbelievable."
Krin stared at the ruins, completely shocked, "Yeah," he muttered mouth wide opened.
Vic stepped forward slowly, his eyes scanning every inch of the wreckage like he was searching for something.
"No," he said quietly. "This is not good."
A section of the debris shifted with a soft crumble, sending a small cloud of ash into the air.
I flinched. "Vic…"
He ignored me and ran ahead, straight to Kora. She stood on the other side of the wreckage with two teenagers, both of them sitting on the burnt grass, their faces pale and shaken.
I hurried after him, nearly bumping into his back.
"What happened here?" I asked, my voice unsteady.
"Tragic," Kora replied flatly.
She turned slightly, gesturing to the two teens. "These are the only survivors. The only ones I could save, anyway."
Vic exhaled and crouched in front of them. "Hey… I'm Vic. And you are?"
"I'm Posha," the girl said softly, clutching her jacket like it was the only thing holding her together.
"I'm Raymond," the boy added, sitting close beside her. His face was pale, and his blue eyes looked like they had seen too much already.
Vic nodded. "Can you tell me what happened?"
They both went quiet, their eyes dropping to the ground like even remembering hurt too much.
"Jason messed up," Kora cut in. "Led the Bossa girls straight to us. Good thing I got here when I did… at least I saved these two."
"Funny thing is…" Posha said, her voice trembling, "there were only three of them. Just three. Against the strongest demons I've ever seen and… we were still no match."
"They killed everyone," Raymond added hoarsely. "Captured their souls in airtight jars. We barely made it out."
Posha broke down completely. "I'll never see my family again…" she sobbed, ash clinging to her ginger-brown hair.
I quickly wrapped an arm around her to comfort her. "It's okay, dear… maybe they'll reincarnate, and you might see them again one day."
I looked up at Vic and Kora, hoping they would add something, anything to lighten the mood.
"Right, guys?" I added weakly. But their expressions darkened immediately like they knew something I didn't and that made the air between us feel even colder.
"What?" Krin asked, noticing immediately. "What is it?"
"It doesn't work that way," Kora said coldly.
"Why not?" Krin frowned. "I came back."
"We don't reincarnate," Vic said quietly, avoiding our eyes. "We get reborn."
I stood up slowly, confused. "What do you mean?"
"When a demon dies," he began, his voice careful, "their soul becomes a yellow wisp. It has twenty-four hours to return to hell and be reborn in its flames."
He paused before adding. "If it doesn't…" his jaw tightened, "it ceases to exist."
I froze the moment I heard it, like something inside me had been switched off. At first, the memories came in slow, fragmented flashes, then all at once, breaking through the walls I had spent five years building. Screaming filled my head, loud and close, refusing to fade, as if it had been waiting all this time for me to finally remember.
And then it snapped.
I was there again.
That night. The butchering. Everything unfolded with cruel clarity, but this time I saw something I had missed before, a detail so small it had meant nothing back then. A yellow wisp drifted out of his body the moment he went still, trembling as it rose, almost like it didn't want to leave. But before it could escape, it was caught and sealed inside an airtight container.
I hadn't understood it then, why that moment mattered so much to them. Now I did. And the truth landed heavier than anything else I had ever felt: I would never see my dad again.
"Peige!"
My name cut through the haze, snapping me back to reality. Krin was in front of me.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice filled with concern.
That's when I noticed it, the tears on my chin. And all of them staring.
I quickly wiped my face, forcing my expression back into place. "Yeah… I'm fine." I even smirked a little, like that would convince anyone. "So… what now?"
Vic's gaze stayed fixed on the wreckage. "This was a bold move," he said quietly. "And clearly a message."
"They won't stop until they wipe us all from existence," Kora added coldly. "We can't let that happen."
"Yeah, but what can we do?" Raymond spoke up, his voice tense. "They're way ahead of us. They know everything about us. They even have devices that can tell us apart from humans. And we have no intel on them, none at all."
"The kid has a point," Kora admitted.
I exhaled slowly, my mind still spinning. "I know someone who can help."
All eyes turned to me.
"If there's anyone who's good at getting information on people… it's Fred. My brother." I hesitated. "At least… he's the only one I can think of. But I have no idea where he is."
For a moment, no one spoke. Then Kora's expression shifted slightly, a small, knowing smile forming at the corner of her lips.
"I think I can help with that," she said. Her eyes hardened as she looked toward the ruins. "It's time to put an end to this Bossa Nova threat."
...
Still that night, when I returned to my hostel, I collapsed onto the bed.
Jaca wasn't back yet, so the room was quiet, except for faint murmurs drifting in from the courtyard and the hallway beyond.
I lay still, staring up at the ceiling, my body sinking into the mattress beneath a mess of scattered clothes.
My mind refused to settle, it kept circling back to Vic's words.
When a demon dies, their soul becomes a yellow wisp. It has twenty-four hours to return to hell and be reborn in its flames.
My chest tightened, dad's soul had been captured.
That was why he never came looking for us.
Even knowing that, something inside me still ached for him. I still wished I could talk to him, just once. Even for a moment.
I exhaled slowly and closed my eyes, forcing myself to breathe evenly and hoping sleep would take me before my thoughts did.