Wingless ~Book Two of Winged~

Avoiding

I jump awake when someone loudly knocks on the hotel room door. I look up at Etheriel and he doesn't look like he necessarily wants to get out of bed so I groggily slide out of bed, almost tumbling onto the floor. I open the door and a maid stands on the other side. Her cart is a couple doors down and I am confused on why it isn't with her. Her eyes are extremely distant like she isn't even awake.

"Hello?" I say and her eyes continue to stare straight through me.

"Trinity?" She sounds far away.

"Yes?" I look both ways down the hall.

"This is for you." She almost sounds like a robot as she holds out a beige envelope to me. I carefully take it and watch as she pulls something out of her pocket. A butterfly knife. I back up a step as she opens it skillfully. What the hell is going on? I can't even process her movements as she stabs the knife straight into her jugular. My lips part to scream, but nothing ever comes out. Pain doesn't even cross her face as she pulls the knife out and drops it before crumpling to the floor. I drop beside her and press my hand against her gushing neck, knowing that it never works in movies and probably doesn't work in real life.

"Etheriel!" I yell for him and I immediately hear his feet hit the ground and come to me. The girl stares blankly up at me before a slow smile forms on her face. Two doors down the hall open and I look up to see a panicked Nathan coming toward me and Dominic frozen in his doorway.

"What happened?" Nathan rushes towards us. Dominic snaps out of whatever thought he was in a quickly comes over.

The girls smile remains. "This will be you when I find you." And with that she's gone. Dead. I stare frozen at the small smile that is stuck on her face and with my hands still against her neck, covered in her blood. Etheriel pulls me up and to his chest, wrapping his arms around me tightly. My hands shake violently, dripping her blood and my eyes stay on her.

"W-What... What was wrong with her?" My voice comes out shaky.

"Eli..." Dominic mumbles and I slowly look up at him.

"He was here?" I mumble and a sudden wave of guilt overcomes me and I look away from him.

"I didn't sense a passage open." Etheriel says behind me.

"Then he is still around here..." Nathan echoes slightly and Etheriel's arms around me tighten.

"Dominic..." Etheriel starts and Dominic instantly looks over at us, "take Trinity someplace." Dominic stares and works out that I didn't tell Etheriel what happened and he takes a step closer to me.

"Okay." He reaches out to me and I immediately jerk away, out of Etheriel's arms.

"No!" I accidently yell and Etheriel and Nathan look concerned. "Malachai... Malachai and I will go." I say and Etheriel stares while Dominic narrows his eyes at me.

"He can't get you away as fast as Dominic can, Trinity." Etheriel says slowly.

"I agree, you know I hate Dominic, but he can get you away faster." Nathan agrees.

"And what are all of you going to do? Look for Eli? Well, he's just going to follow where ever Asmodeus takes me." Dominic twitches and looks like I just downgraded him by using his real name. After his name leaves my tongue, something sparks and I realize something. Something I have seen him do before.

"Where's Malachai's room?" I demand not able to look at Dominic without wanting to hit him.

"The room next to mine." Nathan says and I give him a forced smile before walking past him and stepping a foot away from Dominic as I pass him. I walk down the hall to Malachai's room before realizing a mistake. He won't hear me if I knock. Luckily, before I can raise my hand to even attempt knocking, the elevator dings, grabbing my attention as Malachai steps off his arms full of stuffed animals. I stare as he approaches and then he stops and stares at the dead body down the hall with three people standing around it and then he looks at me. I however can't look up from the stuff animals. I quickly walk up to him and grab his shirt, pulling him back to the elevator. Once in the elevator, I turn to push the lobby button and see everyone staring at us. My eyes lock with Dominic's and I feel my gaze turn into a glare as the doors shut. He knows I know.