They had all been ushered
out of the theater quickly after the power had gone out, and Ashtyn took that
moment to escape out onto the giant stone patio at the back of the hotel. The concert had been fun, but after a day
spent in a creepy old house, followed up by whatever the hell had happened at
the concert, she needed some fresh air.
Just as she was sure that the others felt it, she too was feeling uneasy
about their current situation.
“You okay?” Rita’s voice
came from the archway that led into the lobby.
Ashtyn turned, doing her
best to smile. It wasn’t easy, not with
the growing knot in her stomach. “I’m
fine. Just worn out.”
“Hasn’t exactly been the
ideal vacation so far.” Rita walked
towards her slowly. “I’d say you must be
used to it, but I don’t think anyone can really ever get use to… this stuff.”
Ashtyn laughed. The sad part was, she was used to it. It didn’t make it any easier, but at this
point in her life, she had come to expect the odd and dangerous to come barging
in whenever it could. She knew Rita was
knew to the wonderful world of demons and other dimensions, but her introduction
had been a crash course.
“It never seems to go
away.” Ashtyn shook her head. “No matter
how far you run, it always seems to find you.”
“That’s why I stuck
around.” Rita walked up to the short, stone railing that surrounded the porch,
and leaned against it. She looked out
past the large, lush garden, past the tropical forest that surrounded the
property. Her eyes seemed to fix
themselves on the moon that hung in the starry sky above them. “After… well, after I found out about my
father I had the realization that this stuff is in my blood. I could bury my head in the sand, but I knew
it wouldn’t matter.”
“Rico ran.” Ashtyn
stepped closer to her. “You could have
followed him.”
“Rico didn’t see what I
saw.” Rita looked at her. “He didn’t find out what I did.”
Tears welled up in Rita’s
eyes, but she laughed and wiped them away.
Ashtyn reached out, her hand resting on Rita’s shoulder.
The poor girl had seen
true evil, and that evil had been the very man who had given her life. She had never known her father, had never
even met him before Fantasy Land, but he was still a part of her. Up until now she had always seemed so put
together, but Ashtyn knew that deep down she was trying to deal with something
that no one else could understand.
Their eyes met.
Rita leaned forward
quickly, her lips pressing against Ashtyn’s.
The kiss held for a second, two seconds, time seeming to stretch
out. Ashtyn pressed back, returning the
affection. When the kiss finally broke,
a silence fell over the two of them.
Rita spoke first. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have…”
“It felt nice.” Ashtyn
leaned in, bumping Rita’s shoulder with her own.
“Going to shoot me down,
right?” Rita glanced at her.
“Let me process first,
and I’ll let you know.”
“It’s not an instant
rejection, so at least I have that going for me.” Rita laughed, looking out across
the garden. Her eyes went wide, the
smile falling from her face. “Hey, isn’t
that the guy from the plane?”
Ashtyn strained her eyes,
and she could see a figure running towards the forest. It did look like Q, but she was only getting
brief glimpses when he broke from the shadows of the large shrubs and
trees. He was holding something,
cradling it against his chest.
“You think we should
check it out?” Rita was already making her way towards the stairs leading down
to the garden.
“I guess so.” Ashtyn was right behind her.
Both women took off in a
sprint, doing their best not to trip as they made their way through the
garden. Ashtyn took the lead, her body
given a little extra speed with Tabitha’s influence, and in no time she was
only feet behind the man she had seen running.
It was Q. He was panting, and Ashtyn could hear choked
sobs escaping him in quick bursts.
“Q!” She called out his
name, not sure if that was the correct move.
What if he was a threat? What if
he was THE threat?
He stopped, whipping
around. His eyes were red rimmed, and
tears stained his cheeks. Clutched
against his chest was a large, round crystal, a strange glow buried deep in the
center of it.
“Please, just leave me
alone. I need to… I need to get out of
here.” He was backing up, almost to the
line of trees that led into the forest.
“Listen, I might be able
to help you.” Ashtyn took a step towards
him. Her senses were on high alert. She could hear Rita catching up.
“You can’t help us.” He shook his head. “She’s back, and no one is safe. Not me, not Aria. Not even you.”
Us? Did he just say us? And he was talking about Aria as if she was a
real person. Her eyes fell on the
crystal again, and that strange glow seemed to flicker, then dance around the
edges of the crystal. What exactly was
in that thing?
“You’d be surprised at
what I’m capable of.” She took another tentative step, “and what I’ve already
faced. I’m…” the words felt odd coming
out of her mouth, “I’m part of a team of Demon Slayers. The real deal.”
Rita was at her side now,
panting loudly. “She’s not lying. I’ve seen what her and her friends can
do.” Rita choked down a mouthful of air,
and stood up straight. “They saved my
life.”
“You can help?” He moved
closer. “Really?”
“We can try.”
“Then follow me.” He
turned towards the woods. “We aren’t
safe at the hotel. I have a… a safe
house in the forest. We can talk
there.” Without another word Q stepped
into the line of trees, seeming to vanish into the shadows.
Ashtyn glanced at Rita,
and then the both followed him.
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