Shadow Warriors

Chapter five

The phone buzzing on the table beside Sarah, made her tear her eyes away from the screen of her laptop. She reached for it, seeing Lexi's name displayed on the screen and swiped to answer.

"Hey, Lex."

"Hey, you. Are you ready? We should be at yours in about half an hour."

Sarah frowned, "At mine? For what?"

A heavy sigh came from Lexi. "It's Friday, Sarah. You better not bail on me tonight!"

Shit!

"Listen, Lex-"

"No! I don't want to hear it. We had this planned for weeks, and I don't care if I have to drag you out of that apartment kicking and screaming, you are coming with us tonight. Now, get off your ass, and put on something pretty. Jake and I will be there in thirty minutes."

Sarah sighed, admitting defeat. "Okay. See you in thirty."

She hung up the phone and sagged into the backrest of the sofa. Despite not feeling in the mood to go out, she could use a drink after everything that happened in the last few days. To be around normal people, and have normal conversations that didn't include monsters and purgatory and shadows.

With a nod to herself, Sarah got up and made her way to her bedroom. She found a pretty black dress, low cut, and rather tight for her liking, and donned it on.

She pulled out the matching shoes, four-inch stilettos, and put them on, taking a moment to find her balance.

Checking herself in the mirror, she decided that the make-up she had on from that morning would do, and ran a brush through her long blonde hair. It hung down her back in wavy curls, almost reaching her waist. She applied a fresh coat of lipstick and grabbed a small purse from her wardrobe.

Going back to her laptop, Sarah sat down and clicked on the next web page. It showed the same painting that Mr Takamori had in his home. A very expensive, seventeenth-century work of art by a farmer in a small village in the north of Japan. The story behind it was exactly what Mr Takamori said it was.

Guardians who lived in a Shadow world that existed behind a thin veil. Protectors of life, and wardens of Purgatory. There wasn't a great deal of information on the internet about it though. Most of the references took her to links about songs, or movies, and to the art piece in Mr Takamori's house.

She sighed, realizing that there was only one way she was going to get the answers she wanted.

A buzz on her phone broke her attention and she grabbed it. Lexi and Jake were on their way. She closed her laptop and stood, straightening the uncomfortable dress.

Doing her usual rounds through the house to check the windows, Sarah wondered when she would see Axin again. Her curiosity as to what answers he had, and to learn more about this unbelievable world he lived in, gnawed at her brain. How is that possible. Shit like that doesn't exist, does it?

The buzzer rang by the front door, and Sarah went to open it. Jake stood at the door, a half-grin on his face and those piercing blue eyes looking right through her.

"Hi, Jake," Sarah said, already feeling her skin crawl at being so close to him.

"Hello, Sarah. You look very pretty tonight. Lexi is waiting in the cab downstairs. Are you ready?"

She nodded, grabbing her keys off the hook by the door. They made their way to the lift, and as much as Sarah hated being in a small space with him like this, she had no choice.

Once the doors closed, Jake pressed the button to take them to the ground and turned to stare at her.

She met his eyes, giving him a half-smile, then turned to face the door.