Nefarious

Chapter 28

When Alex and I arrive at the cabin, appearing seemingly out of thin air in the middle of the living room, I land on my feet with experienced grace while Alex's hand quickly slips out of mine and he crashes to the floor, tumbling into the front of the couch with a dull thud. Brows furrowed, I tilt my head slightly as I watch him roll onto his back with a groan, arms spread out at his sides.

"You could've warned me," he grumbles, huffing out an annoyed breath that blows a few fiery curls from his forehead.

"I could've, but where's the fun in that?" I retort sarcastically.

Rolling his eyes, he sits up, resting his back against the couch as he scans over the interior of the room curiously.

"This is a nice place," he comments, dark rust colored eyebrows raising slightly as his eyes linger over the large glass windows that display the slowly darkening sky.

"Yes, it is, so try not to break anything while i'm gone," I say, a stern tone laced into my voice.

His brows quickly pull together as his eyes snap back to me, shooting me a puzzled expression.

"Where you goin'?" he asks confusedly, his accent from many lifetimes in New York becoming prominent.

"There's someone else I need to talk too. It'll only take a few minutes." I answer. In an instant, like a distinguished flame, I once again disappear from the living room.

My feet fall flat against a black and white tile floor as I appear in an all too familiar small shop decorated in jewelry and bushy, green plants. Eyes scanning over the entirety of the room, I take note of the white blinds that are shut tight, covering the large single window, and the sign on the door that reads 'Closed'.

I look to the rack displaying many necklaces, a different thin chain or strip of black fabric hanging from each small hook to support the individual ornaments of metal jewelry. A random bare hook, breaking the organized consistency, reminds me of the first time I was here, and makes the cool metal of small black wings painfully obvious against my skin in its spot hidden just below the neckline of my shirt.

The thumping, rhythmic sound of a heartbeat greets my ears, breaking through my thoughts from its origin at the back of the store.

I start cautiously in the direction of the heartbeat, rounding the long counter that marks where most shoppers stop. My footsteps are silent as I get closer, eventually turning into a narrow, short hallway that leads to a single doorway at the very end. The entrance of the room is hidden behind a curtain of orange beads that jingle and bump against eachother as I gently push them aside with my fingertips.

I step in slowly, my eyes swiftly moving over my surroundings. The square room, lit by multicolored soft lights, is relatively small with majority of its space being taken up by two long bookshelves that cover adjacent walls, leaving a bed, nightstand, and desk to fill the rest of the room. The dark wooden shelves are adorned with miscellaneous boxes, knickknacks, and books, some of which are radiating with faint power or are surrounded by strong auras.

As I stand stiffly, searching the room with my eyes, a door to my left abruptly pops open before Amy casually strides out, unaware of my presence. Suddenly, her body gets tense, feet freezing in place when her widening eyes snap to my frame. She lets out an immediate gasp, rapidly searching my face before her attention falls on my gray, bloodstained shirt visible beneath my unzipped jacket.

"W- What are you doing here? What happened?" she sputters out, quickly coming to stand in front of me, eyes glued to the drying blood that mostly belongs to Alex. "Are you okay?" she asks, a hint of panic seeping into her voice.