Page 27

“Evan!” Celie was the first one to react, and unexpectedly, she ran towards him. It looked like she wanted to hug him, but of course, she didn’t. Instead, she grabbed onto his shirt sleeve, taking in his ragged appearance and bloody face with panic. “What happened to you? You’re going to bleed to death!”

“It’s just a scratch. Don’t worry about it.”

“That certainly looks worrisome…” A firm and slightly upset voice spoke.

Evan turned to the silver-haired woman, her stormy grey eyes narrowed at him. He deflated a little. “Rhea.”

“It’s been a while,” Rhea stepped closer, placing a hand against the bleeding gash on his forehead. The wound started slowly sealing closed. “I see you’ve been engaging with interesting people.”

Her eyes flickered to Delos, and finally, the third person spoke up.

“Okay, we found Big Bro. Great! Now can we go back and look for the others?” Elysia’s usually bright eyes were red-rimmed.

“Look for whom?” Evan turned to Celie. “What happened?”

Celie heaved a tired breath and started explaining.

When Evan had suddenly disappeared along with Aaron from his closed room, the five friends had been shocked for just a brief moment before they started panicking. None of them had ever witnessed such a phenomenon before.

Celie was the one who shook off the shock first and came up with the idea to seek out Rhea. She was the only one, besides Evan, that Celie knew who could deal with such supernatural stuff.

Even though Celie had always been a little wary of Rhea, she was their only source of direction. Celie and her friends asked around until someone finally pointed them in the direction of the antique shop. When they swarmed into the cramped space, Rhea wasn’t really surprised when she heard how Evan had disappeared, but her expression hardened.

Without thinking twice, as if she knew exactly where to find Evan, Rhea led the group towards the restricted land of the Old Temple. But the situation escalated when, halfway across the land, Nick, Rumi, and Wren suddenly disappeared. Even Rhea was shocked when the children vanished from under her nose.

As Celie recounted the incidents, Elysia grabbed Evan’s hands. Tears stained her flushed cheeks as her composure shattered and she finally cried out, “Please find them, Evan! My…my brother is gone too. Please find him.”

Evan instinctively squeezed her hand back in reassurance, still not sure how to comfort a crying person. Then suddenly, he frowned. “Uh, your brother ?”

Wren and Rumi were siblings, so was Nick Elysia’s brother?

When Elysia just kept sobbing, Celie answered, “Wren is her brother. They’re twins.”

Evan stared at his sister and almost asked, Are you sure?

Because how? This pink-haired, bright-faced ball of sunshine was a blood relative of the gloomy-faced, dark-haired boy who had a daily word limit of two sentences? And not just any relative. Twins ?

Not only were they the farthest apart in personalities, but they didn’t even closely resemble each other.

Well…if Elysia painted her hair black, and Wren tried to look less melancholy, maybe there could be some semblance of similarity between them.

But the way Elysia was blubbering uncontrollably, it was evident that she was scared for her brother. There was no need for confirmation.

With a gentle hand on her shoulder, Evan assured her in his best big brother voice. “We’ll find them. I promise.”

Upon hearing that, she started crying harder, and clung to Evan.

When Rhea removed her hand from Evan’s wound, the bleeding had stopped. “This will have to do for now. Let’s find the kids and go back.”

“Wait. Aaron is still with the—”

“That is not your problem to deal with anymore,” Rhea firmly cut him off. “Aaron made a choice, so he has to bear the consequences.”

That stumped Evan into silence for a moment. “Consequences?” his brows furrowed. “What do you mean? What choice?”

Rhea’s lips pressed into a straight line. “Aaron wasn’t forcefully taken away, Evan. He colluded with the Covenant of Nightshade willingly, on his own accord.”

Evan’s blood froze in his veins. “What?”

“His mind wasn’t influenced due to some binding spell or enchantment. He gave it up himself,” she continued, monotonously.

Unable to handle her cruel words, Evan started chuckling humorlessly. “That's ridiculous. Aaron would never... He didn’t have a reason—”

“He wanted power. The kind you possess, the kind that would give him an upper hand over others, the one that would make him strong enough to protect what he cherishes. But a fire that intense needs fuel just as solid,” Rhea said. “In exchange for that power, he willingly gave up his humanity. His conscience.”

Evan shook his head, disbelief and shock rattling his system. “Who are you even talking about? Aaron wouldn't—”

“Don’t you understand?” Rhea’s voice rose a notch, and Evan flinched. “He is not the person you thought he was. Aaron is not your friend.”

That hit him like a blow to his guts, and Evan almost stumbled back. Delos was there, steadying him, his hand tracing soothing patterns on his back.

Evan paused, then glanced back at Delos, who gave him a small nod.

“Let’s go,” Rhea said, her voice firmer. “We need to find the kids.”

Evan ran his bloody fingers through his hair. Then he glanced down at his hand. The effects of the Thousand Knots should have dissipated by now.

He pressed his palms together, concentrating his spiritual energy into his hands. Sure enough, a blue light flickered to life, burning brighter as he focused.

With a steady exhale, Evan drew his hands apart, conjuring a long, jagged blade that hummed with spiritual light.

Elysia and Celie blinked. Looked at Evan. Then at each other.

“Wow,” Elysia leaned over to study the translucent blade that had materialized from thin air. Just to make sure it was real and not 3D projecting, she poked the blade. It was solid, like a thick slab of glass.

Celie cocked a brow, impressed.

“Good. It’s back,” Evan raised the blade with a small smile.

Then pointed it straight at Rhea.

Her stormy eyes widened, then narrowed in disapproval. “What is the meaning of this, Evan?”

He held the blade steady at her face. “Girls, behind me.”

For some reason, they didn’t even question his intention and quickly followed his order, standing behind him and peeking at the figure at the end of the blade. Only after they were secured behind him did Evan move, pressing the blade against Rhea’s throat.

“Where are the others?”

Rhea looked at him like she’d already been stabbed. Her jaws clenched. “You think I—”

“Where. Are. They?” He enunciated each word by pressing the blade deeper against her throat.

“Evan…” Celie cautiously started. “What… What is happening?”

“Your mind is bewitched,” Rhea said, staring Evan dead in the eyes. “Are you really suspecting me? I was the one who led the kids here to you.”

“And that’s the problem,” Evan shook his head, bemused. “The Rhea I know would've never brought the kids to this wretched place. She'd have come alone—and trust me, she always comes alone.”

His eyes swept over the Rhea standing before him. There was no trace of malice or resentment on her, neither was there anything amiss in her appearance. Just a minor hiccup.

There was no heartbeat or breathing. Something Evan had failed to notice in his rush of relief and joy at seeing them.

But Evan had only noticed something was not right when Delos started drawing soothing patterns on his back. The patterns that vaguely resembled the words “fake” and “clone.” That was when Evan had started paying close attention to Rhea .

“First of all, it’s strange that Rhea would bring anyone into this heavily haunted area without so much as giving them a talisman thread for protection,” Evan said. “And not only did she bring them here, but three of them disappeared from right under her nose?” Evan dug the blade into the clone’s neck, breaking the thin skin and drawing blood. “Rhea is a clairvoyant, with senses sharper than any predator in the wild. Nothing can vanish under her notice. So, before I dissect your voice box out of this fake body, would you like to tell me who sent you?”

There was no way a clone had infiltrated Rhea’s shop and taken her place. It would make more sense that the person who’d pointed Celie and her friends towards the direction of Rhea’s shop had intentionally lured them into this clone’s nest.

Rhea stared at Evan with vacant eyes, then sighed, reaching up to scratch her head in a very unladylike manner. Slowly, she grinned, the corners of her mouth pulling so far apart they almost touched her ears.

Yep. Definitely not Rhea.

“Doesn’t matter who I am, boy. What I said about your friend remains unchanged,” the clone snickered, voice a little raspy. “He has gone too far. You can’t save him now.”

“Let me be the judge of that,” Evan’s voice dropped low—a warning. “Tell me what you are and who sent you here?”

The clone backed away from the blade, that horrifyingly wide smile still plastered across her face. Such a sight on a face Evan was so familiar with made it more disturbing. And all the more infuriating.

“You pretend to be a hero…” The clone drawled. “Yet you cower behind demons for help. Pathetic.”

Energy crackled in the blade, shining brighter as Evan’s blood gushed faster through his veins.

“Where are they?” he ground out, suppressing the urge to stab the clone through her un-beating heart. “What did you do to the kids?”

“Me? Oh, I’m not strong enough to do anything,” the clone raised her hands in mock surrender. “But my master is. If you wish, I can take you to him.”

“Evan,” Delos echoed from behind. “Don’t believe it.”

“Like hell I would,” Evan fixed the clone with a blank stare. “If you tell me where the others are, I’ll let you leave with your head intact. But you might wanna hurry because I’m not exactly a patient man.”

The clone seemed to consider that, its eyes moving, rolling around in the socket like a malfunctioning robot, before coming to an abrupt stop on Evan. “I'll tell you, if you give me something in return.”

“I am giving you mercy.”

The clone cackled. “I don’t feel pain. Even if you take my head off, I won’t flinch. But…give me something to nibble on and I’ll lead you to your friends.”

“Nibble on?”

An abnormally long tongue flicked out of the clone’s gaping mouth. “I do occasionally enjoy the taste of human flesh.”

Elysia gagged, slapping a hand against her mouth. Celie’s face scrunched in disgust. Delos pulled the two girls behind him and moved closer, as if ready to step in.

Evan stared at the creature which was starting to look less and less like Rhea and more like a distorted image of her. Its jaw twitched, eyeballs rolling in opposite directions. “You will lead me to them if I give you my flesh?”

With a greedy glint in its eyes, the clone nodded. “I promise.”

Well, a piece of flesh in exchange for the safety of his sister’s friends didn’t sound all too bad to Evan. Plus, he really didn’t want to stab that thing. Not out of the benevolence of his heart but because it wore the face of the only parental figure in Evan’s life.

Stabbing that thing would be no different than driving a blade through his own mother.

Dropping his hand along with the spiritual weapon, Evan offered his free hand instead, which was already smothered with blood. “Go on then.”

“Evan!” Celie called and tried to stop him, but Delos held her back, his own eyes conflicted.

The clone flicked its long tongue out again, drool dribbling down its chin. In its eyes, Evan’s hand probably looked like a finely cooked steak, garnished and all.

However, before it covered the three steps towards Evan and took a hearty bite, it suddenly froze. Its flicking tongue lolled out of its gaping mouth, eyes wide in horror.

It took Evan a moment to realize why it’d abruptly turned rigid. And when he did, he rolled his eyes. “Took you long enough to appear.”

The Shadow’s giant hand grabbed the clone into its fist, yanking it several feet away and up in the air. That’s when it started thrashing. It flailed, viciously gnawing at the hand, but it did nothing to loosen the Shadow's fist.

When the figure was lifted off the ground, standing right behind it was a tall silhouette, dressed in a fine red suit. His face was so proportional it was almost inhumanly gorgeous. Dark eyes settled on Evan, running the length of his body as if checking for something. When they landed on his bloody head, Xen’s jaws clenched.

The Shadow fist tightened around the clone, making it screech like a beast about to be skinned alive.

Delos sighed and covered the two girls’ eyes.

In the next moment, the Shadow crushed the clone into a meaty pulp, entrails and blood raining everywhere.

Evan tore his eyes away, focus landing back on Xen, who had already closed the distance between them, hovering far too close for comfort.

Seeing that, Delos kept his hands firmly over the girls’ eyes and closed his own.

“What is happening?” Elysia whispered, still rattled by the clone’s screech.

“Nothing for our eyes to see,” Delos whispered back.

Celie remained quiet.

Cupping Evan’s chin in his warm palm, Xen stared at him with a hard expression, dark eyes glinting red at the gash on his forehead, which had reopened as soon as the clone was crushed. “You’re hurt.”

Evan’s eyelids fluttered. He’d meant to shrug it off with a Just a scratch , like he’d done with Delos and Celie. But when his mouth opened, something unexpected slipped out.

“It doesn’t hurt that much.”

Xen’s shoulders seem to tense even more at that, glare hardening. His huge hand wrapped around Evan’s forearm, the patch he’d extended to the clone for a nibble. “You offered your flesh to that thing.”

His tone was accusatory, but his eyes still held a faint look of concern. Evan didn’t know what to feel.

“It was going to lead us to the rest of the group,” Evan said softly, afraid anything louder might disturb the sudden calmness that had blanketed over them. “Losing a little bit of flesh would've hardly killed me.”

A low grunt echoed from Xen. He brushed his thumb over the gash on Evan’s forehead. The touch was feather-light, but the wounds sealed close immediately. “You will never, ever offer your body or any part of you to anyone again.”

Evan pressed his lips together. “You don’t get to decide that.”

“Oh, but I do,” Xen cupped Evan’s nape, fingers threading through his hair. “This body is bound to me in blood. Mine . And you will protect it, remembering it belongs to me,” Xen nuzzled Evan’s temple before running his tongue across the fresh blood that had seeped before the gash closed.

A shiver wracked Evan’s body. “Stop l-licking me like a dog.”

“You like dogs.”

“When they are furry and…and small .”

“Mm.”

“Um, what’s going on?” Elysia asked. “I heard the word licking and now I’m mildly curious.”

A sudden heat crawled up Evan’s neck as he extracted himself from Xen’s arms, like he’d been caught red-handed. Xen made to reach out again but Evan slapped his hand away.

He cleared his throat. “Alright. It’s done. The clone is gone.”

The three blind monkeys regained sight.

Elysia saw the splattered entrails and retched dryly.

Celie suspiciously glanced between Evan and Xen.

Delos grinned. “Well done.”

Xen stuck close to Evan’s side, the concept of personal space as foreign to him as always. “From now on, you will not leave my side,” his eyes were fixed on the closed gash on Evan's temple. “Do you understand?” Evan sighed, then nodded, intending to step away. But Xen grabbed his arm and pulled him back. “Tell me you understand.”

“Okay, fine. I’ll cling to you like a ghost,” Evan said, like coaxing a stubborn child. “Are you done? We still have to find the others.”

“But how?” Celie asked, then fidgeted with her hands. “And what about that thing she said about Aaron? Is that…true?”

“No,” Evan answered, almost reflexively. “Aaron's not someone who craves power or control. He is just a goofball who wants to get along with everyone.”

After a beat, Celie joined in, “Yes, he would never give up his humanity.”

Aaron without his humanity would be exactly the person Evan had seen earlier at the Tomb of Ascension. Every time he recalled the sound of his bloodcurdling screams, Evan’s guts churned.

“Let’s find the kids first,” Evan heaved a tired breath.

“Kids?” Elysia looked bewildered.

“Your brother and the rest.”

Celie and Elysia glanced at each other before the former crossed her arms across her chest. “We’re seventeen.”

“Not kids,” Elysia finished.

Delos nodded in agreement.

Evan sighed, not wanting to argue with moody teenagers. “Okay. My bad. Let’s go find your fellow seventeen-year-olds.”

Seeing a satisfied look on the two girls’ faces, Evan almost chuckled to himself.

“ We’ll find them.”

Everyone stopped and turned to the owner of that voice.

Xen stood tall among the entire crowd, looming over them with his imposing presence and domineering stare.

“We?” Evan asked.

“You and me. The rest goes home.”

Celie and Elysia instantly complained. “I’m going too.”

“My brother is missing. I will help.”

Xen stared at them, face stoic. “You’re barely capable of helping yourself, much less others.”

Elysia gaped, pressing a hand to her chest. “Rude.”

Celie cocked a brow. “Oh, so you know everything about us, do you? Now that I think about it, where were you all this time? Funny how you always seem to appear right when things go wrong,” her eyes raked over him like he was a lesser species of the hierarchy. “Maybe you’re the one who’s behind all this.”

At that, a shadow stepped out from behind Xen. “Kindly mind your words when you speak to My Lord.”

Celie jumped in fright.

Elysia did too.

So did Evan.

“ Where the fuck did you come from?! ” All three screeched, clutching onto their chests.

Zeev bowed slightly towards Evan, the white mask on his face eliciting a few more terrified whimpers from Elysia before she shrank behind Delos. “H-He wasn’t there before, right? How d-did he suddenly appear out of nowhere? Is he a ghost?”

“Is anyone around here human?” Celie asked, fuming that she’d been startled while bravely confronting Xen.

Xen, Delos, and Zeev remained silent at her question. While Evan rubbed his throbbing head. It didn’t even hurt this much when he’d been whacked in the face with a piece of rock.

As Delos tried to calm the girls down, Evan turned to Xen.

“Why can’t they come with us?”

Xen glanced—for what felt like a hundredth time—at the now-closed wound on Evan’s temple. “They won’t be safe where we’re going, and I believe you explicitly mentioned that you care about their well-being.”

“They wouldn’t be any safer alone at home,” Evan countered. “If we’re together, I can at least keep an eye on them. I can protect them.”

A muscle fluttered in Xen’s jaw, and Zeev subtly reared back. Evan, however, didn't waver, his unblinking gaze locked on Xen. Waiting for a sensible explanation.

After a beat of silence, Xen said, “I’ve already made myself clear on this matter. I do not care about them. Not in the slightest. And if it comes down to it, I won’t hesitate to choose your safety over theirs.”

His tone was so sincere while stating such cruel words that Evan didn’t know whether to be offended or flattered. He had no idea what lay ahead of them, but if Xen was trying to caution against the others tagging along, it had to be taken seriously.

After a moment of contemplation, Evan turned to the trio behind him. “Celie, Elysia...I think it would be better if you went home,”

They immediately began to protest, but he cut in sternly.

“Listen to me. I've been dealing with creatures of this kind for over a decade. And the only reason I've survived is because...I fought alone. I didn’t have to worry about protecting anyone but myself. But I can't fight and protect you at the same time,” he turned to Elysia, tone softer. “I promise, when I come back home, I’ll bring your brother and friends with me. But if you insist on coming along...we might not get that chance.”

Elysia sniffled, wiping a fresh tear, then reluctantly nodded.

With a pat to her head, Evan turned to Delos. “Could I trouble you again to accompany them back to my house and stay with them until I return?”

Delos smiled. “No harm will come to them. You have my word.”

At last, Evan turned to his sister. “Here, take this,” he pressed the crystal blade into Celie's hand, then pressed his palm over hers, passing a surge of spiritual energy into her so she'll be able to wield it.

He reached for Celie’s free hand and Elysia’s, pressing them together before securing them with a spiritual binding.

“Until you make it home safely, don’t let go of each other. This spiritual energy will repel most creatures,” he said, still holding onto their joined hands. Then he pointed to the blade. “But just in case, if you have to fight, use that. It'll pierce through anything. Alive or dead. Do we understand?”

Both the girls nodded, wide-eyed.

After a moment of hesitation, Celie said, “Take care.”

Evan quirked a small smile, suppressing the urge to pat her head. “You too.”

Delos took Elysia’s free hand. “Okay, girls, let’s get you home, shall we? Don’t let go of my hand; you’ll be fine.”

He turned to Evan, and paused. Those crystal blue eyes seemed to contemplate something, before he leaned close to Evan, mouthing words for his ears only. “Remember, a sheep in disguise is always a pawn.”

Even after the trio had disappeared towards the exit of the restricted area, Evans stood still, staring at the space where the group once stood. Only when Xen’s fingers brushed against his knuckles did he break free of the trance and look up.

“Are you alright? Xen asked, Zeev standing not too far from him.

Evan nodded distractedly, Delos’s words swimming in his head. “I rarely ever am. Where are we going again?”

With a flick of his wrist, Xen transformed back into his red robes, flicking his long sleeves. “In the Giant’s Belly.”