STRANGULATE | Markicest

54 | EGO

The carriage dropped Dark and Xilef off a few blocks away from the nightclub, X Amani. The music was muffled from the distance, but it still vibrated the ground with its primal beat.

There weren't many people this far out in the City, but Dark still put his hood up to conceal his face. He could never be too careful.

He glanced at Xilef, meeting his eyes, and they shared a nod.

"We're near the club," Dark said to his earpiece. Xilef spun around slowly, searching his surroundings for Mark's aura.

"I've got access to the cameras in the area," said Eyes through the device. "No sign of them yet."

"They could be inside," Dark mumbled under his breath.

Xilef tugged on Dark's cloak. He perked up.

"Antinstine," said Xilef, eyes snapping from aura to aura. He looked like a robot in search of its target. "I can't see his aura, but—I can feel it."

Dark's breaths came out shallow. "And Mark's?"

Xilef's brows furrowed, and he focused harder. After a moment, he shook his head.

"Not yet," he muttered. "Odd..."

Mark's aura was strong, wild... bright like a wildfire. Xilef told Dark so the first time he felt his presence through Eyes' screen. And if Xilef could sense Antinstine's aura, but couldn't sense Mark's... it meant something was wrong.

Dark's heart pounded in his chest. He was beginning to regret coming out here.

"Come on," breathed Xilef, motioning the other to follow. "It's coming from here."

Dark gave one last sweep of their surroundings before following after him. They slipped into a dark alleyway. It felt like a maze, with its twists and turns and jutting angles. Cold and darkness clung to them; the alleyway was so narrow that the wet brick brushed up against them, dirtying their clothes.

A faint light glowed up ahead.

Xilef stopped, and he pressed his side into the cold brick, eyes flitting back and forth. Dark watched him, silent.

Xilef reached a hand back. "Turn off your earpiece," he breathed.

Dark nodded. "Going offline," he said to it quickly, then turned it off and stowed it in his pocket. Xilef did the same.

"Any sign of Mark?" Dark whispered.

Xilef lingered, looking at the auras, and pursed his lips. "There's three people," he said quietly. "Antinstine, a woman, and... I'm not sure." He glanced over his shoulder. "I sense Mark, but his aura... it isn't the same."

Dark clenched his fists under his cloak. Guilt crawled up his throat.

"It's too tame," continued Xilef, beginning to walk forward as slow as he could, careful not to make a sound. Dark lowered his hood and followed suit. "It's what I sense in killers. Cold-blooded ones."

Dark swallowed. He felt like he was to blame for that.

They approached the light but hung back in the shadows, hiding behind miscellaneous junk in the alleyway. The light opened up into a large, empty street, with tall buildings that lined it like a cage.

In a way, it looked like a stadium.

In the middle stood the three people. Mark with a woman at his side, and Antinstine across from them. Dark's heart pumped, and his breaths went shallow; he had to grip onto the brick wall to contain himself.