Magics: Escape (Book 2)

Chapter Three

Kai jumped awake in the middle of the night not because of nightmare, but because of a loud scream that penetrated his dream completely. He gasped and sat up abruptly, his heart immediately pounding. He quickly looked around the room, but Shintaro was awake and looking just as confused as him, and Chase was rubbing his eyes tiredly. Father! flashed through Kai's mind almost immediately after, and he jumped off his mattress and onto his feet, shaking the sleep from his head. 

He swung the door open, hearing Shintaro get to his feet behind him. He dashed out into the hall and pounded into his father's room. When he opened the door loudly, Falte jumped awake with a small yell and scrambled around in his bed until he fell off.

Kai would have laughed until he couldn't breathe if he hadn't previously heard a creepy scream. He fought back a giggle and ran over to his father, kneeling beside him. "Are you okay?" he asked cautiously, hoping that it wasn't Falte who had screamed.

"Ow," Falte mumbled groggily. He rubbed his elbow and looked up at his son. "I was sleeping until just now. What in the world are you doing?" His eyes traveled up and behind Kai, and he tipped his head. "What are you and Shintaro doing in my room this early in the morning?" 

"Someone screamed," Kai answered in a hushed tone, feeling a shiver run down his spine. "I wanted to make sure that it wasn't you. But you seem fine, so I'm going to check on Abby and Linda now." With that, he got back to his feet, pushing gently past Shintaro, who stayed and helped Falte stand back up.

Kai hurried into the living room blindly. He felt around with his hands until he found the couch. He leaned down over the back of it and found Abby sleeping soundly on her side. He breathed a small sigh of relief, then began to walk around the couch to try to check on Linda. 

Until he slammed his foot onto something hard that skidded across the floor. He froze and mumbled a few unintelligible words angrily, bending down and clutching his foot. 

"What was that?" Linda's voice asked from below him. She seemed completely awake, whereas Kai heard Shintaro and Falte sluggishly walk out of his father's room.

"Your book, I'm pretty sure," Kai seethed, squinting to see his friend even though he knew it would do nothing.

"No, I mean: who screamed?" Linda asked a 'duh' tone. "I know you just kicked my book." Suddenly, she was there in front of him, looking up at him with a cautious and curious look. "Was it someone in here, or was it out there?" She jutted her thumb - at least, Kai thought that was what she did. It could have been her whole hand, he wasn't sure - at the front door.

"It sounded like it came from outside," Chase's voice said from the hallway. He flicked on the lights, momentarily blinding everyone. He squinted and rubbed his eyes again. "Should someone go check?" He yawned and gazed around at his friends.

"I'll check," Kai volunteered immediately. Falte raised an eyebrow at him, but Shintaro was quick to offer to go with him. Kai felt a smile creep onto his face as Shintaro walked over to his side and gave him a look.

"Alright," Falte said. He yawned and rubbed his arms, then turned to Linda and Chase. "You guys can go back to sleep. I have work in two hours, so I'll just stay up and get ready. I'll stay quiet." He smiled at them as Chase nodded and walked back into the hallway.

"Take a coat," Linda said to Shintaro, then nodded at Kai. "It's pretty cold out there." 

Shintaro gave her a tiny smile. "There's two hanging in the foyer. We can get them on the way out. Come on, Kai." He turned around and walked toward the tiny room by the front door.

Kai followed him, but felt a million questions zipping through his head. Who had screamed, and why? Was it Moon, finally back and playing with all her new toys? Was Thorn back this time? If it were either of those two, what did they do and what would they do if they found Kai and Shintaro - the most wanted of the both of them?