The Black Lotus | Vol.1, The Eldenarian Artifacts ✓

20.

Makaela and the others found solace inside the brightly lit food mart. A long line had formed at the register, making the already small space even more cramped. She was grateful for the abundance of bodies around her, though. If the Redfangs did make an appearance, they would've had a difficult time finding them.

They needed to get back on that bus.

But if the snow didn't let up soon, they would be sitting ducks inside.

"Maybe those were just regular wolf howls," Imogen said.

Remy shook his head. "No, those were definitely Redfangs. You can tell by the howl. It was the same ones we heard the day my mother-" His grip on the bag of chips in his hands tightened. They popped and all the chips fell to the ground. From the register, a man yelled at them.

"Sorry," Remy muttered.

"You're paying for those!"

"Yeah, yeah." Imogen waved them off. She grabbed another bag of barbecue-flavored chips off a shelf and tossed them to Remy. He gave her a speculative glance. "These are better anyways. No one likes sour cream and onion."

He glanced down at the bag, examining the colorful writing on the bag.

Makaela wasn't well-versed in the typical ordinaire cuisine. Xander had done most of the cooking in their household, occasionally helped by Remy. The two of them often prepared meals using recipes from their expansive library.

Her face fell.

She never thought she'd miss being cooped up inside the mansion. Now she wished she never left.

"I knew we should've stayed on the bus," Sebastian said as he folded his arms. His eyes were glued to the window, watching the snowy landscape outside. There wasn't any sign of the werewolves. Not yet. They wouldn't reveal themselves until they say a clear opening. The Redfangs might've been savages, but they were coordinated attackers as well. Makaela witnessed that firsthand.

"What do we do?" she asked.

"What can we do?" Sebastian huffed in exasperation. "We wait for the snow to stop so we can get back on the bus."

"But what if it doesn't stop? What if we're stuck here?"

"Then we're screwed."

Sebastian stomped off toward the drink aisle. Remy followed behind him like a lost puppy.

As his words echoed around inside her head, it felt like the fingers of death itself had wrapped around her. After all, it was only a matter of time. She absentmindedly rubbed the faint bruises on her throat. The last day and a half hadn't been kind to her. Yuri had almost killed her twice now-first in the forest when her spell tore through her arm and then on the train.

Had it not been for Imogen, she would've died.

She glanced at the girl.

Surprisingly, she had taken everything relatively well. As well as she could've expected, anyway. As she studied the ordinaire, Makaela couldn't help but wonder why she was so eager to join them on their journey.

So, she decided to pose the girl a question.

"Won't your family be looking for you?" she asked. "I mean, it's going to take us a few days to get to Las Vegas. And how're you going to get back? Bringing you along might've been a mistake-"

"You don't have to worry about that," Imogen interrupted. She pursed her lips. "My family won't miss me. My dad didn't even know I was in town to visit him."

"You don't live with him?"

She shook her head. "I'm from Toronto. It's where my mother lived before she died."