ȻȺw-ȼȺw
ɌȺȼħɇł-
Ɉᵾłɇs
ȻȺw- Ɨ đøn'ŧ ƀɨŧɇ-
ɌȺȼħɇł!
Sŧøᵽ-
Ɉᵾłɇs
Ȼømɇ øn- ȻȺw-ȻȺ
"Juliette!"
A gasp escaped her lips. Blinking rapidly, she scanned her surroundings as a pair of warm hands cupped her face. Her eyes met Dick's concerned gaze, while Kory lingered in the backseat, wearing a similar expression. She suddenly burst into a fit of coughing when she realized she'd been holding her breath the entire car ride.
"Jesus... I thought—I thought..." she heard the man blurt out, his breathing also growing erratic.
The air around her felt suffocating; the tightness in her chest returned. She squeezed her eyes shut, bolted out of the car, and slammed the door behind her, leaning against it to catch her breath.
Two more car doors slammed, and then footsteps stopped in front of her. "Jules, hey—hey... you need to breathe, okay? Breathe... just like this..." He cupped her face again, trying to match her breathing and slow it down.
She finally opened her eyes again, but this time, she deliberately avoided his gaze. Pulling away from him, she tried to rush toward the wreckage ahead. "Rachel—we need to find Rachel—"
"Jules, what just happened—"
"No—stop!" She spun around, raising her finger and shaking her head. "Remember our priority..."
Kory and Dick exchanged cautious glances before jogging to catch up with her. Flashing his badge, they got a closer look at the destruction: a pile of burnt, smoking wood and cement, with firefighters scattered throughout the scene.
"She must have lost control," Dick muttered, wide-eyed.
"Maybe she's still around," Kory said as they moved toward an ambulance where one of the sisters was being patched up.
"Hey, where's Rachel? Is she okay?" Dick asked, trying to hide the worry in his voice.
"She left... ran..."
"What happened? Huh?" Kory asked again, this time more gently.
Ƀᵾŧ ɏøᵾ'ɍɇ sȺfɇ ħɇɍɇ.
"But you're safe here..." Her words spilled out suddenly, causing their heads to snap toward her.
ɌȺȼħɇł-
Nø-!
Sħħ.. ɇȺsɏ, ȼħɨłđ-
Ħɇɏ!
ɆȺsɏ.
ɌȺȼħɇł-
FȺɍ ɇnøᵾǥħ ȺwȺɏ- fɍøm ħɨm..
"Far enough away from him.."
"Jules.."
Sħħ..
Ɉᵾsŧ Ⱥ ƀȺƀɏ..
"Just a baby.."
WħȺŧ Ⱥɍɇ ɏøᵾ đøɨnǥ..
Nø! Nø!
Wɇ Ⱥłł mᵾsŧ mȺꝁɇ sȺȼɍɨfɨȼɇs ȼħɨłđ-
"We all must make sacrifices.."
Nø ønɇ wȺnŧs ɏøᵾ, ɌȺȼħɇł.
"No one wants you, Rachel.."
Ɇvɇɍ.. ɇvɇɍ ȺǥȺɨn-
Łøøꝁ Ⱥŧ ɏøᵾ.
Nø!
WɇȺꝁ- fɇȺɍfᵾł
"Weak, fearful.."
"We just wanted to keep her here. Keep her safe, that's all," the nun exclaimed. "Where no one could hurt her, and she couldn't hurt anyone."
She pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling her heart pound in her ears. A rough hand grabbed hers.
"We gotta go," she muttered, pulling him along.
"There's no stopping it now." The nun suddenly stood up, but she kept pulling Dick away, with Kory following close behind.
"Stopping what?" the man called out, watching as she was escorted back into the ambulance.
"Oh, God. God, forgive me," she whispered, her voice breaking. "God, forgive us all!"
"Why did you leave her here?" The fuchsia-haired woman caught up to them, her eyes accusing as she glanced at Dick.
He paused, pulling her to a stop. "In a convent full of nuns? Yeah, seemed real dangerous."
"To be fair, they definitely had something to do with this," the brunette said softly.
"And you know, you're the one who stole my car and drove off." She was ignored as Dick turned to glare at the other woman, who suppressed a scoff.
"Yeah, I thought you could handle her for a few minutes, but I should have known better, considering you ditched her in D.C."
Dick had no immediate comeback—she wasn’t technically wrong.
"I didn't mean to ditch her, okay?" He lowered his voice, squeezing her hand tighter. "I was trying to—"
"You just couldn't handle her, so you left her, and left her with your friends." She nodded toward the brunette, who now stared uncomfortably at the snow-covered ground. "It's pathetic."
"Look, can we argue about this after we find her, okay?"
"That's where I come in." Jules cut in, grabbing the attention of the two arguing adults. "I think I've built some kind of link with her through my powers, and as she gets stronger, the link gets stronger too. I... I was able to get into her consciousness—don't ask how, it's just randomly happening—but I can't tell if the visions are a bit off—"
"Hey," he interrupted gently, grabbing her shoulders. "Breathe. Try and tell me what you saw, slowly."
She blinked a few times, trying to focus. "A... a green tiger… and a hunter."
"I'm sorry, a green tiger—?"
"What was the hunter's name...?"
"I—I don't know. Sorry."
"Don't be. We'll just make a stop at the nearest station. Come on."
YOU ARE READING
Veil of Shadows ๋࣭⭑⚝ Dick Grayson
Fanfiction"There is beauty in the shadows, if you dare to look." ๋࣭⭑⚝ Juliette 'Jules' Montrose... the epitome of magic to many, yet throwing water at her will only melt the surface of her cold exterior. With a missing fat...
