Ashley smirked but didn’t deny it.
Jaden walked at the edge of the group, keeping his distance from Malakai without making it too obvious. He pretended to adjust his pack every time Malakai glanced his way, the earth mage’s calm demeanor betrayed by just a hint of tension.
Eve slung her sniper rifle over her shoulder and fell into lockstep beside Jaden, hair shining like she’d just come from a salon and not a night of sleeping on the ground in a dirty camp.
“You know,” she said. “If you ever get tired of explosions and attitude, I could show you what real precision looks like.”
Ashley rolled her eyes. “He’s fine where he is,sniper doll.”
Eve flashed Ashley a smile sharp enough to cut. “I wasn’t talking to you.”
“Good,” Ashley said. “Now if you could just stop talking completely, that would be nice.”
“Just like old times,” Nate sighed.
Behind them, Lionel was silent. I never knew if he was thinking or fading away when he was this quiet. But he was always watching, like a shadow. Every time my eyes caught his, there was that flicker of something, regret maybe, orexcitement, or both. I looked away first, pretending to check the map that I already knew by heart.
There were so many things we needed to discuss between us, but none of us were brave enough to take the initiative, so we left them buried in the ground.
Malakai noticed, too, of course, he always did.
“He’s quiet today,” he murmured near my ear.
“He’s quiet by nature.”
“Not with you.”
I didn’t answer. I didn’t have to.
“Eyes up,” Nate said suddenly, his tone shifting. The easy humor drained out of the air. “Something’s moving up ahead.”
The group tensed, habit snapping us back into focus.
Jaden’s hand brushed the ground, earth humming under his fingers. Ashley’s bombs stopped spinning in her palm, while Eve brought her rifle forward and Lionel’s scope gleamed in the early morning sun.
Malakai was still bound, still smirking. “Finally.”
The first sound wasn’t a growl as we expected.
It was laughter.
Soft, human. Too human.
We froze as a figure stepped out from the mist, a girl, maybe fourteen, wearing a torn dress, eyes wide and pleading.
“Help me,” she whispered, sobs escaping her.
Ashley took a cautious step forward before I grabbed her arm. “Wait.”
Malakai tilted his head, watching the girl the way a wolf watches a reflection. “Too early in the day for ghost stories.”
Then, the girl smiled, a twisted, crooked smile. Her mouth stretched too far, eyes flickering like candlelight as her skin rippled.
“Shapeshifter,” Jaden breathed.
By the time the word left his mouth, the girl lunged.
Lionel moved first, quickly firing before aiming properly, yet he pierced it through the collarbone. The demon shrieked, body folding back into its real form, a blur of black goo and claws.
