The Sixth Child

Chapter 9

Luka frowned up at the clock.

6 pm.

Kailey had said that school finished at 3 so why wasn't she home yet? Surely it didn't take that long to get home and if something had gone wrong then why wouldn't she just ask for help? Unless things had gone really wrong...

'El, where are you? Please talk to me? Are you Ok??' He asked her, now starting to get worried.

He waited a few moments... No response. That would only happen if she were asleep, had no energy or if she was... No. What had probably happened was that she'd started showing off her fire to Mika or something and used up too much energy. She had to be Ok, he couldn't lose her after he had just gotten her back...

"You think something's wrong?" Damien asked, appearing beside Luka.

He jumped, snapping his attention to Damien to see him frowning thoughtfully, an obvious glimmer of worry in his eyes.

"I haven't heard from her since just before her classes ended, I've tried talking to her but she isn't answering. Even if she were mad at me like I thought she was earlier surely she'd at least let me know that she and Mika are both alright..." He said, trying not to panic.

"What's going on?"

Both boys turned their attention to the door to see a confused and subsequently irritated looking Sam staring at them. Damien turned to Luka, silently asking which of the two should be the one to tell him.

Luka grimaced, taking a deep breath before giving his explanation, alongside all possible alternatives that he could think of.

"Her being out of energy doesn't explain why she isn't home yet. She'd still have Mika who could, first of all, give her energy and, second of all, help her home. Besides, aren't Mika's friends driving them home now? So, that doesn't make any sense. Which means that those Devil assholes probably got to them..." Sam said, his rage practically palpable.

Luka grimaced, fighting back the tears that battled to spill down his cheeks. She had to be Ok.

She had to be Ok.

She had to be Ok...

If she wasn't... Fuck.

He felt a warm hand on his shoulder and looked over to see Damien staring at him, eyes full of understanding- and tears.

"She's Ok, we just need to find her. Find them." He said, as gently but sternly as he could manage.

"Damn straight we'll find them. And, when we do, I'll kill the assholes myself." San growled, glaring down at the table with an intensity that practically made the wood burn beneath him.

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The ground was cold and hard beneath her. It felt so familiar and yet so different all at once... The scents and sounds were different, clearly. It was the Human World. Not that dungeon.

And yet that same heavy cold that had blanketed her senses in those long years now filled her once again, not even leaving an ember in its wake. But this was the Human World... It had to be.

"Kailey...?" Someone whispered beside her, gently laying a hand on her shoulder.

Mika. That was Mika sitting beside her, checking on her. Because this was the Human World. This was the Human World and yet they'd both just been kidnapped by Devils. Devils who had stripped her of her powers yet again.

Kailey groaned, gently opening her eyes and taking in her surroundings. She sat up, taking her time to avoid dizziness.

Beside her, she could feel Mika's gaze fixed onto her along with the less-than-pleasant gazes of several others in the building. These were also accompanied by snickering and grunts of amusement.