The Weight Of Remaining

CHAPTER 2

The second creature never saw me coming.

One moment it was crouched on top of the bar, claws digging into polished wood. The next, I was behind it.

A bottle shattered against its skull, but it was not enough.

It turned with a snarl and it's claw swept toward my face.

I ducked.

The bartender screamed and I could swear I heard someone else throw up. Why were people so dramatic? You'd think they'd be used to these attacks by now. I rolled my eyes from the thought. Sadly my judgemental thoughts were interrupted by the creature that lunged again.

I slipped beneath its arm and drove my elbow into its ribs. A crack echoed through the room. It was still alive... Unfortunately.

“Caelyn!” Mira’s voice cut through the chaos.

I glanced over my shoulder. The third creature had cornered Liora against a collapsed table.

Wonderful.

My favorite people were trying very hard to get themselves killed tonight.

I sprinted. The world became a blur of tables, bodies and broken glass. Sound stretched into a distant hum.

The creature raised its claws. Liora raised both hands ready for the impact that was about to follow. And before either could move—

I slammed into the monster’s side hard enough to send us both crashing through three tables. The impact stole the breath from my lungs. For a second everything hurt. Then the creature rose again.

Of course it did... I hated these things.

Its head twisted toward me. Smoke leaked from its mouth.

Then a spear of violet fire punched straight through its chest.

The creature froze. Looked down. And collapsed. It was finally dead.

I stared, adrenaline still rushing from the fight.

“You’re welcome.” Mira stood next to me, one hand extended.

“Show-off.” I grinned despite myself as I took her hand.

Mira looked entirely too proud of herself

“You’re alive.” she said as though that settled the argument

“Unfortunately.” I said with a sarcastic smile.

A dramatic groan came from somewhere near the floor

“I hate both of you.” Liora muttered, sounding exhausted by our existence.

The three of us laughed. A little hysterically. A little too loudly.

Because suddenly—

It was over.

The remaining creatures were dead. The screaming had stopped. Only the crackle of small fires and the sound of people catching their breath remained.

Then silence settled. The kind that always came afterward. The kind I hated most, because silence gave people time to think. And thinking led to questions. Questions led to attention. Attention got people killed.

Especially people like me.

I looked toward the back of the room again. The strangers were still there, observing us closely.

The dark-haired one met my gaze this time. It wasn't the accidentally casual eye contact. It was very much intentional on his behalf.

His eyes narrowed slightly. As if he were fitting together pieces of a puzzle. A puzzle I desperately didn’t want solved.

My stomach dropped.

He noticed something.

“Time to go,” I said.

“What?” Mira blinked, caught completely off guard by the sudden change in my tone.

“Now.”

“Caelyn—”

“Now.”

For a second, irritation flashed across Mira's face, then she heard it. The tension in my voice. The same tone I'd used a handful of times before. The one that always ended with us leaving immediately.

Liora followed my gaze towards the strangers.

It took her less than a second. Not because she understood what I was seeing, because she'd learned to recognize the look on my face. The look that meant something was wrong.

“Ah.” Understanding settled on her face. “Bad?”

“Very.” My answer came immediately.

“What am I missing?” Mira looked between us.

“Several years of context,” Liora muttered.

“No time to explain.” I didn't even look at her as I spoke.

My gaze flicked back toward the stranger

I grabbed my jacket from the back of my chair. Or what remained of it. The sleeve was shredded.

Fantastic.

The universe clearly hated me.

Without another word I pushed through the crowd toward the side exit. People were too busy recovering to notice. Exactly how I liked it.