Cerro's heart raced as he spotted Clair sprawled motionless on the church's second-floor balcony. Without a second thought, he descended swiftly to her side.
"Claireth! Claireth!" His voice rang out desperately, but she remained unconscious.
Per saw the line of halted cars at the church's rear entrance upon landing and hurried over to Cerro, her expression contorting in horror at the sight of Clair. "What's happened to her?"
"I'm not sure, but she's still breathing," Cerro replied, his voice tense with concern.
"Take her. We need to get her to Filbur. Hivrins are closing in," Per urged urgently.
Cerro wasted no time, scooping Clair into his arms with determination before taking to the air. Per spotted Clair's phone on the floor, snatching it up before following after them.
Meanwhile, as Zach reached the church's front gate, his attention was caught by the sight of figures cloaked in black slipping into the church from the rear. He froze in his tracks, a prickling sense of danger urging him to reconsider his approach from the front. He swiftly retreated, seeking an alternate route along the left side of the church's metal fence. As he scanned for a viable point to breach the barrier, his movements stilled again, instinctively ducking out of sight as he caught sight of armed men donned in black coats with faux fur collar patrolling the grounds of the church. They stood as vigilant sentinels, guarding every entrance.
Zach's heart clenched with worry for Clair. The situation remained a puzzle, but he couldn't shake the ominous feeling that something was terribly wrong. With a sense of urgency gripping him, he dropped to a stealthy crawl, seeking cover behind the concrete gravel boards of the fence, determined to reach the back gate. But before he could advance any further, his phone buzzed in his jacket pocket. Retrieving it, his eyes darted across the screen and saw Per's name flash across it. Quickly, he answered.
"Zach, we’ve got her. Get to Maple Shrine. Ark will pick you up," Per said, her voice urgent, before abruptly ending the call.
Relief flooded Zach's senses. As he prepared to leave, a series of mechanical noises and voice emanated from within the church, stopping him in his tracks. Intrigued, he peered cautiously inside and listened to the source of the sounds.
"Are you certain you hit her?" inquired a man's voice, tinged with concern.
"If you did, she should be here. Why can't you find her?" The frustration in the speaker's tone was palpable.
"We are not certain, perhaps someone intervened, sir," another voice replied, faint but discernible.
"So, we've lost her? You know Yustin will not be pleased to hear this," the first voice responded, its calm demeanor belying the underlying tension.
"Sir! Sir! We've found a scythe. I believe it belongs to her," a third voice interjected, breaking the escalating tension with a note of urgency. "The air team is on their way," he announced.
Moments later, a helicopter descended from the sky, its rotor blades chopping through the air with a steady thrum.
Zach observed from below as the helicopter maneuvered above the church, lowering a large metal ring suspended from a chain. His gaze followed as an object emerged from the rooftop, gently ascending until it reached the center of the ring.
In a swift motion, the helicopter departed, veering southward. Below, the men dispersed, retreating to their vehicles and driving away as if the scene had never happened.
****《•》****
Ark felt a wave of relief wash over him as he saw Zach sprinting towards him. "I was starting to worry something had happened to you," he said as Zach arrived, panting heavily.
YOU ARE READING
Divine & Wicked: The Trapped Memories (Book2)
Fantasía(Fantasy•Romance) COMPLETED Zach woke up with an addled mind and empty heart a few days after his surgery. He seemed to feel that his life had begun again. As he continued with what he thought was his normal life, fragments of his lost past slowly b...
