Phantom's Queen (Book Three of the Phantom Series)

A Veil Of Raindrops

Harumi's POV-
I sat, shivering, on Skylor's bed as she paced around the room, waiting for Nya to pick up on the other side of the phone.

Outside of the apartment, the rain made sounds raging from a soft, calming patter to the intense roar of thunder.

I watched as Skylor paced around the room, holding a phone to her ear. Her bright red hair rhythmically swished from side to side every time she turned around.

Once again, and I was immensely guilty of this, but I was relieved Skylor was blind. She couldn't see my weakened, wet state, or the Apithian markings that covered my body.

After a few moments of silence, Skylor spoke: "Hey, is this Nya Mizu? Good. It's Skylor. Harumi's at my place- Yeah,yeah come over here. Yeah. Be careful. I love you."

Skylor lowered the phone and hung up, the spoke to me, not turning around to face me. "Nya's coming. She'll be here soon."

I nodded, slowly, still shivering. Even though I was inside, and Skylor kept her apartment warm, the air was frigid.

Soon, I heard a loud banging at the door. That, and the sounds of the storm, made it the perfect environment for a horror film.

Skylor walked over to the door and opened it, letting in a draft of cold air. I turned my head to look at Nya- she was wearing a plastic poncho over her leather jacket. Her hair was loose, black and wavy, and rain soaked. She had a wild look in her blue eyes, like she was in her natural environment.

Skylor spoke softly to Nya about some matter, I picked up mentions of my name, spoken in hushed tones.

Skylor let Nya into the apartment and closed the door, not caring that she was wearing her shoes inside, and dripping on her floor. After a silent moment, Nya's eyes reached mine.

It took her a moment to comprehend things, then she jumped back, stuttering. "S-Skylor."

I should've expected it. I wasn't in the best shape. My now green-and-curly hair was darker and damp, clinging to my scalp. My makeup ran down my face, because of the rain and my tears. And my Apithian markings were glowing bright green.

I was fully exposed, and too rattled to care.

Nya stepped back, trying to grab onto something. "Skylor... harumi's ..."

Skylor stood there, a blank expression on her face. "What? What is it, Nya."

I closed my eyes, then looked up. I summoned all the courage I had left.
"I'm... Apithian."

Skylor stepped back, her feet not making a sound on the tile ground. "Harumi..." She said.

Nya shook her head, looked at me, then pressed her fingers to her forehead. "It doesn't make any sense..."

I buried my face in my cold hands. "I'm... sorry."

I heard Nya use her powers to dry herself, then her footsteps as she approached me. She placed her hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, too. Uh. I support you? Is that how this works?"

Nya chuckled. "Yeah. And uh. Skylor, you support her too, right?"

Skylor confirmed Nya's statement. 

I still felt cold.

"Look, Harumi." She said. "I'm here for you. I know I don't understand politics or anything, but I'm always here for you."

I nodded uncertainly. Nya's words reassured me.

I met Nya's eyes. She looked honestly concerned for me. Not many people ever looked at me like that. My father, Jita, Nya, and Kirv were the only ones I could name.

Nya spoke softly, as to not alarm me. "Why did you come here, Harumi?"

I shivered, tears forming in my eyes. "Jita... she's leaving. I don't know where she's going. She said to forget about her.. I... I ..." By then, I was bawling.

Nya tightened her grip on my shoulders. "Don't cry. We need to think up a logical solution to this." Nya glanced over her shoulder. "Skylor, dial up Pixal."

Skylor nodded and said 'yeah', then turned to the holographic projector.

Nya turned back to me. "You're ok. We'll find her."

I nodded, wiping tears away from my eyes.

With a shimmering noise, a flickering holograph of Pixal formed in the center of the room. Skylor dimmed the lights. "You guys should be able to see better now."

Pixal looked concerned. /What's going on, guys? Is everything alright?/

Nya stood up to face Pixal. "No, it isn't. Harumi's ... friend, Jitaku has gone missing."

Pixal looked confused and got out a soft, 'huh?" Before Skylor stepped up to explain. After the blind ghost briefly (and sarcastically) summed up our situation, Pixal nodded, then pulled out a tablet of her own.

"What are you doing?" I whispered, making my presence in the room noticed for the first time since Pixal had been introduced into the conversation.

Pixal spoke, not looking up from her work. /I'm researching recent cases in Apithian sightings outside the camps./

After moments of silence, Pixal's faceclit up in surprise. /Is this Jitaku perhaps an adolescent male, tall, with dark tan skin, a half shaven white hair, and violet markings?/ she asked

I stuttered. "What? No, Jita's a girl, and..."

Nya stepped forward. "Wait, Pixal, that sounds like that dude Harumi and I interviewed that one time... what was his name?"

Pixal flipped over her tablet, which showcased a rotating bust of a young man, along with data files on everything from his eye color to his mental health.

The person Pixal was showing us was none other than Kirv Dianna of the Konesheti order.

A/N- haven't updated in a while. Got finals and junk. Sorry!!! Hope you enjoyed this!