Curse Of Neon Night

Chapter4

Fire and Trust

Concrete shards lie around me, dust in the air as the roof of the warehouse was about to fall. My boots are skidding through the rubble, a rune-covered knife is the light in my hand. The cursed necklace is pounding against the jacket pocket, its violet radiance is oozing through the leather. Zane is still running alongside me, his black jacket torn, silver eyes shining under the flickering neon light of a broken skylight. There is a plank that breaks above our heads, it is falling fast. I reached out to Zane, pulling him behind a box with me. His chest is against mine, stiff and warm, the curse burning where our skin is in contact. I ascend with a knife in my hand, and he urges me to the rusty side door. His warm fingers on my moon that, the curse was like an electric shock through me. I pulled away, slamming the door with my foot, and we run down an alley decorated with neon lights of the city. Hell's Kitchen is being lit up in pink and blue by the lights hovering above us.

A motorcycle coming very fast turns the corner, the sound of the tires hitting the wet road can be heard. Jett Cruz comes to a stop with a skid, his spiky brown hair is sticking up, his hazel eyes are wide under his patchwork jacket. "Get on!" he says, impatiently. I place myself on his motorcycle from the front and grab hold of his waist. Zane follows me and puts his hands on my waist, the curse is like fire. My heart stops momentarily, but I shove Jett as he accelerates the chase. The motorcycle goes ahead with great speed, turning through narrow streets the wind is playing with my black bob. What they are is neon lights and one can see them better when riding a motorcycle in a city. It's bars, pawn shops, and flashing lights which form the neon lights whirl. Zane's chest against my back, and the warmth of his breath on my neck, making me shiver. I look away with a scowl. "Get lost, Cinder," I say, my voice being as harsh as my words.

His silver eyes shine with amusement, a sneer forming at his lips and his hands becoming more firm on my hips. Jett takes a turn into a dead-end alley with his tires screeching. He gets off, quickly getting a glowing device out of his jacket, one that can disable a ward, and sounding like an angry hornet. "Safe house, block one," he said as he threw the device in my direction. I take it, the machine is shaking in my hand, and I move a bit further from the motorcycle. Zane's hand was near my thigh, but he was getting off, and the curse was firing again. I put the device away in my jacket and keep a strong hold on my knife as I ran after Jett, my boots making splashing sounds.

Zane is chasing me in his steps. They are too close, the curse is making my skin tingle. We escape into a shop with windows and door covered with wooden planks, the walls are covered with runes that are growing. Jett is hitting the board with his foot and a trapdoor is opening. He is opening it with his foot, dust is coming out of it, and he is going down the ladder, the sound of his boots hitting metal is loud. I am right behind him, my knife reflecting the light, the necklace against my thigh is shaking. Zane is running after me, his hand brushing mine, a jolt burning through my veins. There were lanterns hanging from the ceiling in the cellar, and boxes after boxes of mysterious things piled with high - light balls, and noisy blades, etc.

Jett is closing the trapdoor. He is shaking his cigarette as he pulls out a worn-out phone from his coat. "The bad guys are near," he says, looking at the screen and poking it. ""Talia's diary said the grimoire is in Central Park. "" He glances at the necklace in my jacket and then at Zane, eyes narrowing. I take off the necklace, its purple light getting brighter and dimmer like a heartbeat. My hand is on fire, the curse is igniting. Zane moves towards me, his shadow covering me. "Let it go, Raven," he commands, his voice being very low and rough. I looked at him fiercely, clenched my hand with the necklace, but let it drop on a crate."

The light gets bigger, the shadow becomes more and more twisted on the walls. Zane's hand comes down on my arm and the curse gets even hotter. I am standing with a knife pointed towards him. "Take your hands off me," I say, very angrily, and a step back. He came towards me, his silver eyes staring into mine, and with one move he grabbed my wrist in his hand, his fingers are hot. "I left you alone that night for your safety," he said angrily. "The merfolk would have killed you. I was the one who protected you." His other hand is on my cheek, nice but super hot, the curse is loud and humming."

I remove his hand from my face with a swat, my tattoo is softly vibrating, and go to the crate, putting the necklace into my pocket.

Jett is throwing a water bottle at me. His cigarette is shaking. "Be more alert, you two," he is saying and at the same time taking out a wrinkled map from a box. I have the bottle in my hand, and I am drinking fast, water is going down my chin. Zane is watching me and his smile is coming back, his eyes are following the drips. I throw the bottle at him. He is laughing low, catching it and opening up the map. "Central Park vault," he says, running his finger along a marked section. "We hit it tonight." I agree, my knife is going away from sight in its sheath. Jett goes inside his jacket and takes out a shining ball. Turning it between catching it and throwing it, "I'll be the one out there," he says and is seen climbing the ladder. The moment he goes up, the door is closed with a slam.

Zane is stepping closer, his hand running over my hip, the curse is like a live wire. I tried to shove him away, but he got my wrist and held me to him. His lips were shaking, almost touching mine, while his breath was warm. "We are not against each other, Raven," he said, his silver eyes full of fire and ‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌confusion."

Feeling the heat coming off the necklace in my pocket I turn around with my heart racing and run my finger along the shape of the map. A loud explosion goes off and I turn with the knife in my hand just as the trapdoor gives way. The three big men with very little under their skin drop down with glowing red eyes and the symbol of Vexor tattooed on their throat. One of them lifts a bat covered in sharp spikes and strikes open a box. The wood from the box is flying around. I position myself next to the table, with a knife that shines. Magic signs light up with blue color, cutting off one goon's arm. Black mist oozes out of the arm and the guy howl in pain. Zane's claws show up, demon side out, and he rips off the chest of one goon. The other one grabs Jett by the collar and is dragging him towards the ladder.

"The necklace!"

"The goon snarls, a blade pressed to Jett's neck.".

I jump forward, and the knife I have cuts through the goon's wrist. Blood spouts out and he releases Jett who then kicks his knee and gets rid of the hold on him. Zane overheads the goon, claws ripping his shoulder. He goes down and the black smoke that was his life source blasts out of him. Jett coughs, fingers soiled with blood tracing the cut on his neck. I take him by the arm and pull him to a standing position. "Are you alright?" I inquire while looking at his injury. He gives a nod, teeth clenched, and indicates the direction of the ladder. "More coming," he gasps, his voice rough.

Zane snatches the map, forcing it into his coat. I take the necklace, it's sparkle is like fire on my palm, and put it back in my pocket. We go up the ladder with the movement of the boots creating a loud noise and then we get into the shop. Outside, the thugs continue to pace as their shadows move across the windows. Jett takes a smoke bomb out of his coat and throws it. A big cloud of gray smoke bursts and the air gets filled with poisonous smoke. We run across the back door, through the alleys that are moving past us, with pink and green neon lights that are flashing.

We arrive at a rusty van parked right next to a dumpster. Jett opens the driver's door with a yank and slides in. I get into the back of the van, Zane on either side of me with his thigh pressing against mine, and the curse feeling like a hot spark. I try to move away and keep

my grip on my knife.