Episode 4 Unwanted Allies
341 Words
Mira didn’t pull her wrist away immediately. Instead, she studied Kai with quiet interest, as if measuring something beneath the surface. Her eyes shifted briefly to the pendant, then back to him.
"You’re stronger than you look," she said.
Kai released her hand cautiously. "You’re faster than you look."
Ren exhaled quietly, already losing patience. "We don’t have time for this."
He glanced down the empty street. The silence felt wrong. The Shadow Market was gone, but the danger hadn’t followed the same rules.
"They'll still be tracking us," Ren added.
Mira tilted her head. "Shadow hunters don’t usually chase this far unless something important is involved."
Kai lifted the pendant slightly. "I’m guessing this qualifies."
Mira nodded.
Ren stepped forward. "Then we move."
They walked quickly, keeping to darker streets. The city felt different now, like something invisible had shifted. Kai kept glancing behind them, half expecting shadows to peel away from the walls.
"So," Mira said casually, "how long have you had the pendant?"
"About twenty minutes," Kai replied.
"And you already triggered it twice?"
Kai frowned. "Is that bad?"
Ren answered instead. "Yes."
Mira let out a quiet whistle. "You’re either lucky… or very unlucky."
Kai sighed. "Great. That clears things up."
They turned down a narrow alley, footsteps echoing softly. The pendant warmed again in Kai’s palm.
He slowed.
"You feel that?" he asked.
Ren nodded immediately.
Mira’s expression sharpened. "Someone’s close."
The air shifted.
A shadow moved across the wall ahead of them, but there was no one there.
Kai felt his heartbeat quicken.
"I don’t like this."
Ren drew his blade quietly. "Stay behind me."
The shadow moved again.
Then a figure stepped out from the darkness.
Not a hunter.
This one wore a long coat, hood pulled low. He stood still, studying them.
Mira stepped slightly forward.
"You’ve got to be kidding."
Ren’s grip tightened.
"You know him?"
Mira didn’t answer right away.
Finally, she sighed.
"Yeah."
Kai glanced between them.
"Friend?"
Mira shook her head.
"No."
The figure took one step forward.
"Trouble."
- Writer
