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Lucifer’s expression hardened. “I see. I think you’ve overstayed your welcome, then.”
Michael sighed as Arianna sputtered. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult—”
“But you did,” Lucifer interrupted. “Now get out.”
Sariel and I exchanged frantic looks as the room began to glow. Michael locked eyes with me just before the entire room was engulfed in white.
Take care of yourself, fille,I heard in my head.The worst is yet to come.
24
END TIMES
ARIA
The white light faded, and Sariel and I were dumped on our asses into completely unfamiliar territory. Weirdly, it seemed to be the afternoon, which didn’t line up with what I remembered the time being.
This wasn’t where Barimuz had dropped us off before, in some alley in Tokyo. The place we were in was not a concrete city of tall buildings and smog but green grass under our feet, blue skies above our heads, and a few European-looking buildings blocking us into a small area that looked distinctly like mass housing units.
I was immediately hit with a sense of familiarity at the building designs, though I couldn’t place why. I was a little too busy being freaked out at the moment.
What the hell, Sariel? Isaid to him, dread crawling up my spine as I shuffled closer.Did Lucifer just spit us back out into fucking Europe again? Was he mad that I wouldn’t give him my soul and my birth mother insulted his decor, so he put us back in enemy territory?
Shh, babe. Calm down,he soothed. I could tell that he was nervous, too, though.
Shit. What do we do now? Try to find the nearest capital with a portal again, then escape to what? Australia? Where’s Neo, Reese, Marilyn, and Johnny? Did Barimuz hurt them? Are they stuck in Tokyo while we’re here?
Sariel tried to calm me down again, but even he was faltering. My questions must have made him realize the gravity of how bad being in unfamiliar Free Kingdom territory was.
We were at least in what looked to be an infrequented space between industrial buildings, so no one else was around, and we were temporarily hidden from anyone’s sight.
First of all, we need to find out where we are before we can do any planning,Sariel said.The fae aren’t all-seeing or all-powerful, and Europe isn’t composed only of their allies. Word probably still hasn’t spread everywhere yet, either. If we’re somewhere random, no one will recognize us immediately.
His reasoning cooled my nerves a lot. I took a deep breath—I was probably still rattled from the talk with my parents because it wasn’t the easiest to do.
“God, I really want a bath,” I lamented out loud. “And food. And sleep.”
He chuckled a little. “Same. We might get it soon, pup, as long as we can find somewhere isolated enough that no one will bother us for a minute.”
I nodded at him, and we crept our way to the entrance of the alley to poke our heads around the corner.
We were in a complex fairly similar to the Resistance one we’d been in not too long before, only that there was no one around to be seen. Judging by the lack of weeds, dirt, and decay, this place wasn’t completely abandoned, but it didn’t look occupied, either.
I don’t see anyone,I said.This place gives me a weird feeling. Let’s get moving.
Sariel wordlessly agreed.
We came out of the alley and out onto the empty, if well-maintained streets. My mind wandered; if people lived here, where had they all gone at the same time? Were they evacuated from something?
I was uncomfortably reminded of the attack on the Resistance camp we’d drawn by being there. This place seemed so similar to it that a little voice in my head was telling me its emptiness was my fault, even though that was literally impossible.
My wolf bit at the voice, which kind of made me smile despite the circumstances.
We cautiously passed one apartment-like building, then another, then another. While passing a building that looked a lot like a library, the outer gate of whatever area this was showing up in our lines of sight, the door of the unidentified building suddenly opened with a loud bang.
Sariel and I jumped into fighting stances on instinct, turning towards the door. When we saw the wide-eyed woman who had opened it, though, we froze.
It was Reese.
