Knights of the Grey City

Chapter 28 - THIRD

The Third Knight, Katie Walker, entered the Grey City on a dreary January afternoon.

Around four o'clock, after a long shift at the factory, I looked up and found myself in the Grey City—the shift was no longer surprising. I kept walking, throwing out my senses to their limits and preparing to transform at any moment.

Huang joined me shortly as the Gargoyle, swooping overhead. "Camilo, I sense another person!"

"She's here already?" I said, then swore when I realized what that meant. "Quick, get over there and chase off any demons. I'll see if I can talk to her."

"Agreed. Follow me," Huang said, taking off across the rooftops. He swooped down a few streets away and I heard the distinctive shriek of a snake sentry.

This was it. It had been only two days since I called her in. I felt like I'd had no time to prepare, but plenty of time to worry. I would not, I decided, transform anywhere near her. The Leviathan's instincts were too unpredictable.

I had been freaked the hell out on my first entry, even when Huang had tried to approach me as non-threateningly as possible. But Huang had been guarded at the time, worrying that I might be some kind of demon. We knew this person was human, and we knew she had to be terrified. We'd have to do this delicately.

I found her a few streets ahead, hiding in the recesses of an alley and intently watching the Gargoyle fighting some distance away. My stomach fell—she was young, damn it, probably younger than Esther: only fifteen or sixteen, by my guess. She was a wide shouldered, white, dark-blonde young woman wearing a black hoodie and torn jeans, with what looked like a school backpack slung across her shoulders.

She was half-crouched with her hand on the wall, eyes completely focused on the Gargoyle as it took off into the sky, having killed the demon. I hesitated, not sure how to approach without scaring her. My boot scuffed the pavement and she immediately pinned me with a glare.

"Where are we?" she demanded, her voice shaking.

"We're in another dimension," I said, then immediately decided that was the worst possible thing to say. She looked at me as if I'd grown a second head. "Uhh, don't worry, that shiny dragon over there? He's on our side. You're safe, so don't freak out."

"I don't know what the hell is going on here, but... you need to get out of my way," she whispered, backing up. "I need to get back home."

"You, um... you can't. I'm sorry, you're not in Toronto anymore, you're not in the real world."

"Get out of my way," she repeated.

I just stood there like an idiot, trying to figure out the right thing to say that would calm her down. Nothing was coming to mind—she was completely within her rights to be freaked out, suspicious, and upset. "Listen, I'm not trying to hurt you. I'm here to help, I swear. I'll tell you anything you want to know about this place, about me, about how you get back home. You just can't run off into the city, because it's really dangerous."

I thought that was pretty reasonable until she suddenly rushed at me with a pocket knife.

Old instincts kicked in and I immediately darted back, reaching for my own knife, which I no longer carried. She didn't hesitate, but sliced at me as soon as she was close enough, almost getting me good across the stomach. The knife sliced my shirt. As I dodged back, expecting another stab, she dashed past me and vanished into the Grey City.

"Where's she going!?" Huang demanded from above, swooping overhead.

"She tried to stab me!" I said in amazement, patting my stomach to confirm the damage was minimal. There was a scratch, but it wasn't deep. "She's completely freaked out. Damn it. We've got to make sure she doesn't run into any demons."