No More Choices (Void and Light Book One)

Chapter Fourteen

Akiriya

Emory was pulled away from me and I sat up immediately prepared to protect her for some reason. The dark blade from my dream was in my hand in a flash, the chain that hooked at the hilt wrapped itself around my forearm. The plain jeans and t shirt that I wore changed into dark blue and black armor that glinted with specks of silver like stars in the night sky.

Color drained from Yama's face as I crouched, ready to swing but froze when I realized that Yama was the one who pulled her away. I dropped the sword and it dissolved into nothingness.

"Holy crap!" Calvin whispered, his eyebrows reach up to almost the center of his four head. There was something different about him though, I looked at everyone else and it seemed like there was something wrong with all of them. They look different. I just couldn't tell how. This together along the wall in a line side-by-side, shoulder to shoulder. I looked for Emery who looked lost and dazed sitting on the floor. I walked over to her in the room went tense, I could feel it. And yet for some reason I was calm.

Jarek came close to me to help me pick Emery up. When he touched her though it was like electricity shot through my body, through Emory, and left me tingling. Next thing I knew, he was sitting on the floor next to Emory, dazed looking.

"What happened?" Yama grumbled, Scowling at me. His hair was a mess, he looked like he gone mad while I slept, saffron spoke up.

"Try not to touch anyone else okay?"

"Why?"

"Because you're doing something to everyone!" it was Yama. I was startled at the tone and volume of his voice, not used to him being so rude. I wasn't used to him talking at all. I covered my face with my hands as I felt tears roll down my face

First, Saffron showed up, then all her hot pals came along right after Emilio died, and then the lady in the bathroom and then the mountain and then the dream, but there was the kiss with Zelisa and the one with Emory and— I glanced Zelisa. She sat in a chair that was placed in the corner of the room. "Are we in my house?"

"Yes, and you would know everything about yourself already if you had listened to us instead of running away!" Yama was getting closer to me, "What, scared?" He smirked as he got into my face and I had the urge to slap a stupid look off of his.

"Yama, chill out!" Calvin shot at him. Yama turned into his direction "Excuse me? Don't you get it? We clearly made a mistake with her. She's not the one we're looking for, We should go home."

"What?" Saffron jumped away from here spot against the wall. "What do you mean? This isn't the kind of thing you can just change your mind about!". They continued to yell and scream, completely ignoring me as I watched on in horror. When I met them only a few days prior they had seem so closely knit together, but seeing them like this, it made something in me break. They had each other and clearly they had been together for a long time, like family. I was envious of that fact. They had so much going for them. I wish I'd had something like that but instead... they were arguing like children.

I barely even registered that I had left my room until I was standing in front of my aunt's bedroom door. Pushing it open slowly so that I didn't wake her, I glanced around and saw her bed still made and empty, all the lights were off in there, curtains drawn. Where was she? I walked to the kitchen looking for a note, I spotted the home calendar to see if something had been marked, maybe an event of some sort but no luck. I went to the living room and looked for my backpack, pulling out my cell phone I saw 46 texts and 11 missed calls from Clarice, but nothing from my Aunt.

I silently opened the door and closed it behind me. Yeah, I know, pretty stupid right? Well, It's my life. I ran down the stairs to the ground floor of the apartment building as quickly as I could. The true chill of the night had me shivering as I walked to the 24 hour convenience store that she worked at part-time in the afternoons.

Sheila, the cashier gave me a glance as way of greeting. She was a grumpy middle aged woman who, underneath all of the glares and grumpy was actually just a real sweetheart. "Can I help you with something, kicker?"

I snickered at the name, something I'd earned from her after some creep had tried to hit on me right in front of her. I'd kicked him so hard that he went sprawling, I was eight at the time. "I'm looking for my aunt, have you seen her?"

She looked up at me and squinted her eyes, "She left hours ago, went home early at that."

That was especially strange, she never left early for any reason, not even when I got sick. She always told me to just suck it up, and now she was suddenly leaving early? This didn't make any sense. The bells chimed behind me as I lost myself to my thoughts.

"Akiriya, what the hell?", Calvin stood at the entrance, glaring daggers at me. I returned the gesture as rudely as I could.

"Can I help you with something?", Sheila was coming around the desk, a hand on the bat she kept stashed back there. I put a hand up and looked at her, smirking, "It's alright, I've got this under control. What do you want, Callie?"

He rolled his eyes, "I want you to come back to the house, so we can talk."

"Talk," I scoffed, "you mean me watching your little group rip each other to shreds and have Yama accusing me of I don't even know what? Yeah, no, I think I'll stick here."

"Look, I know how you mus-"

"NO! You don't know." I took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of my nose, "outside, now."

As I huffed past him, his distinct scent wafted across my face, smoke and something spicy, I wanted to lean in a smell whatever it was that alluring musk was.

Note to self, if we end up friends, steal his soap.

I looked at him when I was completely outside, "are you coming or what I'd like to get this shit show over with as soon as possible."

He huffed and began to follow me, I could get my information my way, with one last glance his way, I bolted, let the interrogation begin.