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The dog shook its head, turned, and tried to attack again, but Axle stopped it with a single hand, catching the small of its neck. It struggled to get free, but he drove a knee into the side of its face, killing it instantly.
He turned back to the box, opening it slowly. Sure enough, the bracelet was inside the box. However, compared to the purple one Natalie was wearing, this one had a green glow. Axle shut the box, put it under his arm, and quickly made his way to the stairs, knowing he had to get the box as far away as he could.
As he began to leave the building, he saw the people milling about outside. Turning back, he ran out the service entrance, knowing that there would be fewer people there. As he got out the back, he pulled out his phone to call Bingwen, seeing that the truck was still parked.
“Axle!” The scream came from above him. He turned and saw Bingwen tossing a table through a window on the second floor.
“Oh no,” Axle said to himself, rushing back toward the building.
Bingwen grabbed Nat, throwing her out the side of the building. She screamed loudly as Axle rushed at the building, jumping as high as he could and grabbing her out of the air before they both fell back down to the ground. He landed hard, cracking the pavement, before toppling over and falling to the ground.
“Are you okay?” he asked Nat, seeing the look of shock on her face as she held on to him, not wanting to let go. “We’re on the ground now, we’re on the ground, it's okay.”
“Get to the truck!” Bingwen yelled, and Axle looked back to see Kanai facing off against the wizard. The demon swung his claws at Bingwen, but he blocked the attack with a wall of energy that shattered on impact. Bingwen waved his hands, drawing air from all around them and channeling it into the room, filling the place with dust and debris.
Axle didn’t need to be told twice. He got back to his feet, grabbing the box and Nat, before he hightailed it to the truck. He dumped Natalie in the backseat before starting the engine. As the vehicle kicked to life, he turned, looking up in time to see Bingwen get knocked to the floor.
“Come on, you idiot!” Axle yelled, waiting on him to get up.
Kanai grabbed Bingwen by the throat, lifting him up from the ground. Before he could finish him off, the sorcerer vanished and was on his way out the window, floating through the air until he landed in the back of the truck. Axle hit the gas, sending them speeding down the road.
Just as the truck took a turn, Axle heard something jump out the back, and heard a scream from Natalie. It was another demon dog, and Axle looked at the rearview mirror as the creature rolled away on the asphalt. He looked down at the seat beside him and saw that the box was gone.
“The box! It got the box!” Axle yelled at Bingwen, swerving the truck.
“It’s no use,” Bingwen replied.
Just as he spoke, they drove past the closest intersection and the air suddenly changed. Axle wasn’t sure what happened, but as he watched Bingwen, he could tell the man had done something. He brought the truck to a stop and looked back to see the police and fire trucks arriving at the building.
“What was that?” Axle asked, looking at Bingwen who was out of breath.
“I put a mirage over the building and the surroundings, so those who were stuck inside wouldn’t see things as clearly. As much as we’re all about keeping the world safe, if the guy on the sidewalk saw me fly down two stories, it would be hard to keep that under wraps,” Bingwen said. “But it’s gone. I can’t sense the bracelet, nor Kanai. He’s gotten it, and there’s nothing we can do now.”
Chapter 14 - Natalie
As Axle brought the truck to a halt at his place, Natalie let out a breath she had been holding the entire time. Everything was crazy, more than she could even come to believe. She had nearly died, again, for the fifth time in under a week. She had come face to face with Kanai, and somehow she had survived it. It felt as though she was pushing her luck to the limit, and at some point she would run out.
“Jesus, Nat, are you trying to get killed?” Axle asked, looking at her through the rearview mirror.
“What? Of course not.”
“You had one job. All you had to do was stay in the house with me. But you ran off. Why? What if we hadn’t gotten to you in time? Because of this stunt you pulled, now Kanai has the other bracelet!”
Natalie recoiled, shaking her head. “No, no…ThisstuntI pulled was to get the other bracelet. I would have told you about it, but I didn’t want you taking your madness to my place of work, and I knew I had a better chance of getting it than any of you.”
She watched as Axle frowned, getting out of the car. Bingwen hopped out of the back and began walking toward the house, mumbling something to himself. He didn’t seem as upset as Axle, so at least the sorcerer understood. Natalie wondered if it was because they’d had sex. Was that why Axle was being so extra about this?
“If you had said something to us, maybe we could have found a way to do it, without putting you in danger,” Axle sneered as he opened the door and let her walk in.
“Are you serious right now? I’ve been in danger since the day we met, Axle! I haven’t been safe since then, so allow me to try and act on my own. Call me crazy for thinking a monster would attack my place of work, yeah?” Natalie shot back. “I went there to get things done by myself, and I didn’t know that would happen.”
“But it did, didn’t it? And now Kanai has the other bracelet, and you almost died. If you had, he would have two, and do you know who’s going to suffer if he has two bracelets? All of mankind. He’s going to bring hell on earth and damn the consequences.”
Natalie shook her head as she got on the couch. She couldn’t believe this guy. “Look, I did what I thought was right, but you can’t tell me I’m crazy ‘cause I thought it would be a good idea to do something that made sense in my head. The only reason leaving your house and going to my office was dangerous, is because you’re a part of my life now!”
“You made that choice, Nat!” Axle shot back.
Bingwen cleared his throat. “If the lovebirds are done bickering, I think I figured it out.”
