The Child of Light and Shadow

Predator

"Are you sure you don't want any?" Yukiji asks, putting another cupcake in her mouth. I swear, with the amount of food she inhales by the hour, she should be three times her size.

"I'm good," I reply, not really having much of an appetite. Ever since this whole mess began, I've only been eating when necessary, and even that's getting rare. Hunger just doesn't come to me as often anymore. Is this what it's like to be a fairy? "You might wanna tone it down. Wouldn't want to get a stomach ache when the kidnapper makes their move."

She pouts at me, looks at the cupcake, shrugs, then swallows it. Oustanding. "Do you really think they'll come?"

"Not sure. The twins seem pretty certain of it. I'm guessing they sensed something, but refused to tell us. You saw how weird Patrick got."

"I don't know him well enough to say he was being weird."

"Fair enough, but he was still being needlessly aggressive. They were definitely unto something. There's that whole thing with someone spying on us, too."

She swallows the contents of her mouth, then lies down on her mat. "They might've been checking you out."

I blink at her, confused. "Me? But they can't see my wings. They're glamoured." At least I hope they are. It'll be real awkward having to explain to everyone I've come across that I'm a member of a thought-to-be mythical but is actually nearly-extinct species of magical creatures.

Yukiji smiles up at me. "I meant your hair."

Right... It's grey. "Think it'll return to normal?" I hope it does. I don't wanna look like an old man.

"I don't think so. Consequences of overusing magic are almost always permanent."

"What do you mean?"

"You don't know?" The girl sits up, looking as if she's thinking about something really hard. "Ryan's overuse of her shadow magic is what made her insane. She was a lot nicer before." I guess that makes sense. Is my fuzzy memory one of my negative consequences, too? Most likely.

"You guys should tone it down," Dexter says, and I glance at the little paper man floating in the air next to me. "You don't want the kidnapper to know you're aware of them, or that you both have magic. They can't sense Yukiji, so she's the one they're more likely to take."

"Has that thing been active this whole time?" I ask the paper man.

"Yep. Also, as for why Patrick got weird... Well, he's always like that when monsters are involved."

"What do you mean?" Feels like we're about to get a backstory up in here.

The paper man doesn't transfer Dexter's voice right away. I guess he's hesitant to trust us with this. Good. I trust him a lot less than his brother, mostly on account of his ability to remain calm and pragmatic. People with short tempers are a lot easier to read.

"Tell him his ass looks great in that," I hear Obi say, probably not knowing I'd get his voice, too.

"Tell that moron I heard that, and that he'll die screaming."

"Oh, hey there, Miss. We must stop rendezvousing this late at night. People might think we're up to no good."

"You're always up to no good. Now shut up and let him speak."

Dexter sighs. "Nevermind. Just believe me when I say our history with monsters is far from a pleasant one. Patrick didn't mean the things he said, and he'll apologize in a day or two. Just give him time."

"Fine," I reply, not really interested in an apology. Still, making small talk with an Apostle might make us become closer, and then they'll be more motivated to look for my family. I'm really starting to doubt Ozzie's intent in that regard. If anything, he's probably looking for the jewel Medea was after.