13 Chapter Thirteen

"You want me to do what?" I glanced up at Carina, nearly choking on the oatmeal Eclair had prepared for me. Carina had a crazed look on her face, her dress shirt unbuttoned to her navel which showed off the swirling ink and shining piercing that was hidden. She was having difficulty with the buttons, her fingers fumbling with them like a child fiddling with their shoelaces.

"I signed up for a disturbance call, however, I can't go alone. I have to bring three other people with me." She sat down and focused. Eclair looked up from her newspaper in amusement at Carina's unruly appearance.

"Then ask Michael and Gabriel. I can't do superhero things, I'm more of a background character," I grumbled and took a large bite of my porridge. Carina began to whine in annoyance while Eclair's shoulder shook from laughter.

"They were assigned to something different! Come on, please? I hate being stuck here, and it will only be one day!" Carina begged, lacing her hands into a prayer. Her black push up bra was still uncovered by her crimson blouse as Gabriel walked in. He came through the doorway behind her and walked around her circular table and to the fridge that rested behind me. Carina was oblivious to his presence as her head was bowed in her begging. That was until there was a loud explosion of water and spit that erupted all over the table. Some splashed on me, and the droplets that hit Carina made her look up and cover herself. Orange juice that had exploded from Gabriel's mouth still dripped from his unhinged jaw. Eclair finally exploded, whacking a dry part of the table with her hand as she gasped for breath. Gabriel sped out with his glass of orange juice, dropping the dishtowel on his mess as he left. Carina pulled the buttons in place with her face as red as the streak in her hair.

"If you need three other people, then who else is going?" I asked, wiping my arm with my hand.

"My friend Carmella and a surprise guest." She seemed to get skittish at my inquiry. Something seemed off, but a voice rang through my head.

Don't live a life of 'what if's'. Live a life of 'oh wells', Scrat's voice occupied my thoughts. I bit the inside of my lip and sighed in annoyance.

"What should I pack?" I narrowed my eyes and took another mouthful of oatmeal. Carina grinned in satisfaction.

"Your cards and your wit. One more thing, since this is a Seven Sin and Saint mission we have to be 'formal'." I tried to say the word 'formal' with my mouth full of the delicious and motherly porridge, but it came out muffled and unrecognizable. Carina pulled at her dress shirt and grinned.

"Suit up, baby." She reached down and tossed a pair of black dress pants and a deep purple blouse.

"You've got to be kidding." My jaw dropped as she placed a blazer on the table. Shaking her head she did up the rest of her buttons.

"They'll be here in ten minutes." I growled in annoyance at her chipper attitude and stood up.

"I'll be back," I sighed and began to make my way to my room.

"Have fun!" Eclair howled with laughter and rolled the bowl over, devouring the rest of my porridge that I left behind. My legs protested in exhaustion as I climbed up the steps. Slipping into the large room and not even bothering to take a look around and started to get changed. Pulling on the black polyester pants and leather boots I started to slip the buttons of the silk shirt through the holes. When I fumbled with the fourth button I cursed under my breath.

"Need a little help there Peanut?" Michael's voice floated next to my ear.

"No I'm fine, these buttons are just---" My blood ran cold as I felt his presence behind me. I whimpered in terror and embarrassment as I felt his hand run through my hair.

"Stay still and work on the buttons," He ordered, twisting my hair into intricate knots as he pulled it.

"W-What are you doing?" I squeaked while following his orders.

"Braiding your hair." I suppressed a laugh at his words, confounded and stunned that Michael-- the all powerful and terrifying archangel-- knew how to braid hair.

"How much did you see?" I whispered, mortified by his piercing gaze. A chuckle rumbled in his chest as his fingers continues their.

"I turned away when you took off your shirt. So all I really saw was your back," I relaxed as the tension began to leave my body. "So what are you getting all dressed up for?"

"Carina is dragging me around with her today," I left out the part about the mission, fearing that he would get mad at me for going. I saw him explode yesterday at Mary-Anne, and I still felt my blood freeze at the prospect. I did not want to invoke his wrath, so keeping my mouth shut was the best option.

"Dressed like that?" I nodded, biting my lip to keep my voice off. Just as I finished buttoning the blouse Michael finished with the braid. Placing the end of the braid on my shoulder I touched it, feeling the elegant curves and twists.

"Do I look like Elsa?"

"Listen, I have an eight year old sister. Enough said on my braiding skills," The room went silent after that as I shucked on the blazer.

"Hold on one second," Michael turned me around and started to pat down the wrinkles I had created. I felt like a child being properly dressed before the first day of school as he straightened my shirt and pulled the amulet from under my collar.

"You're missing something." He began to ponder, staring intently at my figure. I craned my head to the side and inspected my outfit.

"What on earth do you mean?" I asked. I began to look over my body to see if anything was out of place. Nothing appeared to be abnormal.

"This," He leaned down and grabbed my face with his hands gently. Pressing his lips against my forehead once again, he breathed in my hair.

"For good luck," He sighed. When he pulled away I felt warmth recede away from me. For a second I thought he had pieced it together, but his innocent smile proved me wrong.

"I'll see you soon." He patted my shoulder and weaved around me, adjusting the pack slung over his shoulder. I followed close behind him on the stairs before we parted ways at the ground floor. Before I even returned to Carina I heard the bickering of an all too familiar voice. My muscles clenched in anxiety, I turned to corner to face the two girls joining us. Carmella and the she-devil herself, Mary-Anne.

"Hello dearie,"

My heart sunk into my stomach at the monster dressed in traditional crisp suit. Her golden eyebrows were furrowed at the middle as she pulled at her shirt.

"What are you doing here?" I already knew the answer but I silently prayed to myself I was wrong.

"I'm coming with you brats," I groaned in annoyance, shooting a glare at a cowering Carina.

"Why though? You hate us," I scoffed and crossed my arms. I tried to look intimidating which was difficult for a girl my size. Mary-Anne just gave me an amused smirk before shaking her head. Her elegant curls bounced around her face as she laughed.

"You are correct. Honestly you three are about as useful as a flat tire," She bit her lip in agitation, "But if you're not going anywhere near my fiancee. I'm making sure of that."

"What are you his mother? You really don't get to control who your 'fiancee'-- and I use that term lightly-- spends time with." Carmella stepped in at this point, her poppy blouse shifting about her ebony hair.

"I just wish for him to stay healthy and safe. Who knows what diseases this dwarf carries," She seemed to laugh at her own joke.

"Is your ass jealous of the amount of shit coming out of your mouth?" Carmella hissed, narrowing her eyes at Mary-Anne. Carina clapped her hands to cease the bickering girls.

"Okay let's get going!"

"Can I take Gressil?" I asked, watching the black dragon bounced happily. The trio winced at my request.

"What kind of idiot would bring their familiar to a Sink?" Mary-Anne flicked her wrist in disgust. I mouthed the word 'sink' to Carina.

"A land without access to magic.�� I nodded in thanks as Mary-Anne's mouth dropped.

"If a Guardian doesn't know the difference between a Source and a Sink they should just gank themselves." Carmella got riled up again, but I beat her to the punch.

"If I wanted to kill myself I'd just jump from your ego to your IQ." Carina snorted before biting her lip to silence herself.

"We should really get going or we're never going to leave." Carina walked over to me and grabbed my wrist.

"We're going to Sink layer sixty three. Grand River Hospital, we're going into the Psychiatric Wing." Something seemed to resonate within me at her words, a spark of magic igniting in my chest. The world seemed to melt around me in a whirl of red, gold and purple. It dissolved into smoke and began to rebuild itself as a blue and white hallway, the pastel yellow walls surrounding the four of us. I blinked in surprise as I spun around to inspect my surroundings.

"O-Okay." I gawked in surprise, trying to rid the lump in my throat. A nurse at the blue and white station paid almost no mind to us, the rest of the staff walking around us as if mystical appearing people were a regular part of their lives.

"So why are we here?" Mary-Anne scoffed and sneering at a coughing elderly man.

"A sudden wave of malicious energy was seen in the general area. All I know is that one of the Judges wants a particular person extracted from here before the energy reaches her." Carina began to weave her way to the nurses station.

"Which Judge?" Mary-Anne asked as we tried to catch up.

"Mary-Anne, you do realize that makeup does not cover up your stupidity? If a Judge sends out an order we don't have the authority to demand who it is. That would be disrespectful to the Judges privacy and would be a huge mistake for us as a team" Carina reached into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled out letter.

"I'm pretty sure this team is the mistake." I grumbled, sticking close to Carmella.

"If you want to see the real mistake here, just ask your parents." Mary-Anne's rude remark made my blood boil.

"Mary-Anne, you really are a horrible person. Emphasis on the first syllable." Carina shot in as she navigated us towards the station. Before Mary-Anne could respond we arrived at the station and Carina took charge.

"I'm here to collect this patient." The nurse barely looked up. She eyed the name on the letter and smirked.

"I can't do that."

"And why not?"

"Listen sweetie, I'm not going to discharge a delusional and clinically insane monster to you. Get a proper court order and then we'll talk. If you excuse me, I have better things to do." The rude nurse began to continue her typing on her computer. Her statement seemed to beg a question that we all had to share a look to comprehend.

Were we here to stop the monsters, or rescue one?

Mary-Anne and I sat in the foyer, sipping on coffee from the Tim Hortons located across from the burgundy foam seats we were placed on. She eyed me, seething with a dark emotion I could not place.

"What do you think this perso--"

"Why does he like you?" She scoffed, taking another sip of her French Vanilla. I pinched the bridge of my nose in agitation.

"Listen, I do not want to fight. I just want to get this job done and go home." I tried to remain on the pacifist track, but Mary-Anne continued chugging down the genocide railing.

"It makes no sense! I've spent years perfecting my appearance and sex appeal. Now he wants to throw away all this for a girl who looks like the living proof that manure can sprout legs and walk around." I was almost offended by her insult but I found myself chuckling at them instead.

"That was a good one," I found myself surprised by my compliment as did Mary-Anne. "I don't think he feels for me in the way you think. I think he just sees a lost puppy who he's still coddling." She seemed stunned at my outburst.

"I have known Michael since I have been born. I have never seen him 'coddle' anyone before. For some reason he finds you special, and that makes you special to others. It's the kind of special that I would want to be open with," She sounded far away in a dream world, and for the first time in forever I felt myself feeling bad for her. There was something hidden in her, something she could not admit to those around her. After seeing the environment she was raised in, I knew it could be a wide variable of things. It was a type of longing I had seen before in many eyes in my prior ordinary days. I stayed silent but from the look Mary-Anne gave me, she knew that I understood what she meant.

"You know a good friend once told me something I want to live by," I gulped down some more of my bittersweet coffee. She urged me to continue my thought, growing impatient.

"Don't live a life of 'what if's'. Live a life of 'oh wells'." Her eyes turned as wide as dinner plates as if I had just told her the secret to the universe.

"If people do not accept you for who you are, they do not deserve to be associated with you. That's just me though." I raised my hands in surrender, half expecting Mary-Anne to explode at me in her usual fashion. I was met with eerie silence instead.

"I'm still going to destroy you," She hissed, but it seemed half-assed. Perhaps I had truly connected with the beast that resided in this beauty. My smirk came to the surface and Mary-Anne shared my smirk.

"Whatever Scream Queen," Like puppets we took a sip together. I doubted we would become best friends but at this point I would settle for acquaintances.

"She's nuts!" Carina shouted, her voice bouncing through the large room. She held a massive file filled with colourful sticky notes protruding grotesquely the binder.

"We already know that Mary-Anne is insane, what's new?" Mary-Anne slapped my leg in annoyance. Carina and Carmella sat in the bench across from us and opened the file.

"Shae Amara Tatum." She flashed us a picture of a dark child with frizzy hair and sunken eyes, "She was admitted eight years ago and diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, PTSD and multiple personality disorder. Apparently she witnessed her parents murder and receded inside herself. So far they have separated four personalities-- Jezebel, Drea, Eva and herself."

"Jesus Christ," Mary-Anne gasped and covered her face.

"Nope it's just me," Carina's attempt to lighten the mood failed.

"You seem like you have more," I edged closer and tried to peer into the file.

"In her last session with her doctor a new personality emerged. She called herself 'the fallen one of Eden'."

"She thinks she's possessed by Satan?" Carina just shrugged, seemingly unconvinced at the explaination.

"Something does not seem right about it but it's possible." She looked over the documents once more before closing it.

"So how do we bust the nut?" I stood up and stretched out my spine. Carina just shrugged and looked around at us for any ideas.

"Oh come on!" Carmella sighed in annoyance and glared at Mary-Anne in particular.

"You're telling me that we are four powerful people with one magical person, one sexy warrior, one smarticle particle and one person who I have no idea what they do and we can't figure out how to bust a girl out of a room?" Everyone seemed very disappointed at my realization and bowed their heads.

"Actually, I think I have an idea." Mary-Anne grinned.

"That's surprising." Carina scoffed and flipper through the pages.

"What?" Mary-Anne's eyes sharpened at Carina.

"I'm surprised you came up with a plan."

"I'm not stupid!"

"Well I always say that if you can't be the sharpest tool in the shed, you might as well be the hoe." After the two finished their bickering, Mary-Anne explained her plan. What came next would change us all forever. What we did not even realize was that only ten feet from us in the vent eight glowing red eyes glaring from the darkness.

Someone grabbed her shoulders and shook, inadvertently causing her to drop her pencil and scream. Pushing her work visor back up, she spun around to see a familiar face grinning down at her.

"Lucas, you asshole!" She whined as she fixed her flustered figure. The two other figures of Rebecca and Jack chuckled at her easily startled demeanor.

"When are you back on?" Lucas asked as he fiddled with his blue gloved hands. Some of his blond hair peeked out from his baseball hat and fell over his thick rimmed glasses. She immediately deflated, feeling instantly defeated.

"I don't want to go back on." She whined and drummed her fingers against the wooden crew room table.

"Stop your whining." Jack mumbled and stuffed salty fries into his mouth. Rebecca's hand shot out and hit Jack's sturdy arm.

"Stop being mean to my baby." She looked over to me with her perfectly blended eyeshadow covered eyes and blew me a kiss. The girl returned it and wrapped her hands into a heart. Lucas chuckled at the interaction and rested his arm on the small girl's head, treating her like a armrest. She smiled and did not move to disturb him.

"Stop pushing your heterosexuality on me." She mumbled under her breath in a joking manner, making those around her laugh. He just rubbed his forearm on her head to add to the humor and she frowned comically.

"Stop this madness." She ducked her head away.

"You've been saying that a lot lately. Where did you get it from?" Lucas hummed and moved his arm onto my head once more. Her body locked up at his words and the others took notice.

"My sister said it once," She lied and grabbed her mechanical pencil, "And I've got fifteen more minutes." No one asked any more questions. Instead Rebecca noticed the small clipboard containing various numbers and names.

"Can you pass me the schedule?" The girl obliged and handed it over to the the other. Jack tried to snatch it away but Rebecca slapped his hand away.

"I swear to everything holy, I will end your life you piece of shit." The girl narrowed her eyes at him and he grinned devilishly. A small couch bubbled in her chest and she had to break eye contact.

"I think you're already dying." Jack shoved another fry into his mouth.

"Yeah I'm dying faster than all of you." Rebecca snickered at her words and grabbed some of his fries as well.

"Aren't we all dying at the same speed?"

"Nah, you guys are dying at average speed. I'm at Usain Bolt speed." Jack burst into laughter at my words-- and his laugh was terrifying. He sounded like he was struggling to breath and possibly going through a seizure.

"You sound asthmatic." The small girl frowned as he slapped the table. Rebecca giggled but kept eating his fries. Lucas shook his head and left the small room to get back to work.

"Calm down it was not that funny." He was still grinning but managed to calm himself.

"You good?" She raised an eyebrow at the grinning man.

"Yeah." And he continued eating like nothing happened. Rebecca and the girl shared a look with small smiled and raised eyebrows.

"Bonehead." They said in unison. Jack shrugged as the girls just giggled once more. Pushing her fingers against the hard cover once more, she rubbernecked to check the time. Filled with defeat and despair she stood up and walked back to work, leaving the dreaded book behind.

I was in my position and felt like a fool. I had traded my blazer for a lab coat as Mary-Anne and I strode down the hallways of the hospital. The beeps and coughs around us were like an orchestra of illness playing the tune of pain, recovery and death. Mary-Anne nudged me in her own lab coat as we came up to the mechanized door that blocked the psyche ward from us.

"Can you do it?" She whispered and started to grow agitated. We passed a security guard who looked at use suspiciously. My own nerves began form a knot in my throat as we got closer.

"I think I can."

"I don't need to think you can do it, I need you to do it." She hissed under her breath. My hand sunk into my pocket and gripped the Random Act of Kindness card we had snagged from the nurses station. My eyes locked on the card scanner as we stood before it. The guard began to inch closer to us and my anxiety levels peaked. Sparking a bit of magic in my chest, I felt the warm sensation travel down my arm as I readied the card.

"Excuse me, do you have the authorization to go in there?" He barked and grabbed my shoulder roughly. He brought my hand down with it, sliding the paper card through the reader. The door buzzed and clicked with a green light.

"Yes sir, we do. Now if you would release my associate we must be on our way." Mary-Anne hissed and slapped his hand away. The man seemed transfixed by her and his copper skin flushed red.

"Sorry madame," He grabbed the door and held it open for us. My shoulder still hurt from his grab as I sped in, Mary-Anne in stepped beside me. The guard slipped in after us and stood protectively by the door.

"Okay so this just got harder with the smitten guard," I sighed and pulled out my cards, shuffling through them.

"So how do we bypass him?" She growled as we turned the corner. I saw the flash of cameras recording our every movement around us. I stopped walking and Mary-Anne looked at me skeptically.

"What are you doing? We need to release the others!" I cocked my head to one of the cameras.

"Give me two seconds." I focused on the familiar buzz of electricity in the air that echoed from the machines. I felt something snap in my head and the cool feeling returned on the top of my head.

"Off." My words came out as a hiss again as fiery power poured from my throat. The buzzing stopped immediately, and one poor camera that must have been damaged started to spark and fizzle. Mary-Anne nodded in appreciation as my power retreated from my body.

"Good job you asinine maggot." I rolled my eyes and placed the card I searched for on the floor. It was a abysmal ebony face card, with nothing but the words The Cage scrawled on the front.

"So what's the plan?" Carina had asked, setting her chin on her palm.

"Salayria must have a card that could hide us or you two." At Mary-Anne's words I had remembered a disturbing card I had come across while flipping through them.

"I have a card called The Cage." Mary-Anne grinned.

"Perfect. Salayria will summon the card and trap you two in it. We'll steal some lab coats and sneak in. I saw the door was locked with a key card, do you think you can open it?" All eyes turned to me with hope.

"Maybe," I winced and rubbed my knees.

"Then we'll walk in, summon you and find the girl. What room is she in?"

"Two-Five-B." Everyone seemed to like this plan. There was just one thing that bothered me. I was the cog of this plan and if I failed, we all would.

Shaking off the memory I focused on the card. As if sensing my desire there was a flash of light and the sound of shackles hitting the ground. Carina and Carmella stood there with flesh as pale as ghosts, a contrast of their usual olive hues.

"O-Okay, never do that again." Carmella sputtered and fixed her long plaid scarf.

"Now that we've been scarred for life, lets go get her." Carina began to search the room numbers.

"Wait," Mary-Anne called, "We've got a hiccup." Carina did not stop her hunt for the room, but Carmella stopped to listen.

"A guard came in with us. He's by the door." I turned my head to see if someone was eavesdropping. Luckily, there was no one in sight.

"Mary-Anne, flash him your tits." Carina called out from way down the fluorescent lit hallway.

"I will do no such thing!" Luckily for us, she used her inside voice as to not cause a ruckus.

"He seemed interested in you, why don't you flirt with him?" Mary-Anne's glare was sharper than the first time I met her.

"Why didn't your mother use a coat hanger?" My jaw dropped at her insinuation.

"Whoa, Mary-Anne! That's uncalled for!" Carmella barked and stood between us.

"Quit being a bitch and take one for the team!" Carina screamed from the hallway. Footsteps echoed from the adjacent hallway.

"Is everything okay down there?" The guard called, slowly creeping closer. We all froze in terror.

"Do it!" I growled and pushed her to the mouth of the hallway. Giving me a final smoldering glare, she edged over to the turn and leaned seductively on the wall. I saw her twirl the guards tie between her fingers and bite her lip.

"You're so cute it's distracting me from my work." She purred as she did so. Suppressing a gag Carmella and I dashed quietly down the hallway to Carina. This I was good with my prior ninja experience at home. Carina waved her hands with vigor, the hand clamped on the doorknob of room two-five-B. She took out her bobby pins and began working on the lock as Carmella and I made our way down the hallway.

Dry scuttling.

My feet hesitated as we passed an air vent, an eerily familiar floating from the bars. I had realized a vital flaw in our plan. We had taken into account our time, the hospital staff and the volatile patient, but we had forgotten about one thing.

A sudden wave of malicious energy was seen in the general area. All I know is that one of the Judges wants a particular person extracted from here before the energy reaches her.

We had forgotten about the monsters. Just as that thought rang through my skull the vent burst open violently, embedding itself into a patient's door. The patient howled in fear from the other side. The scuttling got closer and louder and I turned my head to the source of the noise. Chasing after us was my worst nightmare. A wolf spider the size of a printer was chasing us, it's hairy legs twitching and fangs bared. I could not help the scream that bubbled from my throat at the sight. Carina looked down from her lock picking and her eyes widened.

"OH HELL NO! NU-UH! I'M NOT OKAY WITH THIS! MARY-ANNE KILL IT! KILL IT!" She wailed as she desperately tried to unlock the door. Judging by the shrill screams that came from the rooms and down the hallway, both the guard and Mary-Anne had spotted the beast. The patients began to scream with us as Carmella and I shrieked as we ran.

"I FUCKING HATE SPIDERS!" Carmella screeched as Carina yanked the door open in fear.

"GET THE HELL IN!" She dashed in and held the knob. Carmella ducked in as did I, something hairy and strong brushing by my leg. Anxiety and fear pumping through my veins we tried to close the door. The thing had three legs in the door and screaming in protest, spitting and hissing at us.

"What in the seven hells is that?" I cried, tears streaming down my face as I started to kick at the wriggling legs.

"An arachnoid! A monster sized pack spider!" Carmella grunted and joined my frenzy. My blood ran cold.

"Did you say… pack?" She nodded as fear filled the air, Carina struggling to close the door.

"They travel in packs of four to six…" She trailed off and we all came to the same horrific realization.

"Where's the rest?" I grunted and grabbed Carina and pulled back to help her with the door. I felt a pair of thin arms wrap around me and help. I saw a frizz of dark hair and mocha skin around me. It was Shae, trying to help us close the door. Mary-Anne was screaming for help down the hallway, more scuttling heard in the vents above us. We were surrounded.

"What's their weakness?" I screamed as Carina jolted further. Through the crack I saw another large spider behind the first which looked like a brown recluse waiting behind it's companion.

"Fire! But I'm not good at pyromagic and Carmella is a necromancer! We're a little short on fire magicians here!" She started to kick the legs as well before placing her leg on the doorframe and pulling back.

"No we're not." I grunted and let her go. Shae released me and grabbed Carina. For a girl who was clinically defined as insane, she seemed to understand the gravity of the situation without even knowing our intentions. I began to furiously look through my cards, palms sweaty and skin rippling in terror.

"I have to have something!" I gasped, the climax of my fear running up my spine. I had to of had something fire related in my hand and the shrieks of spiders made tears run down my cheeks. My hand passed over one card that seemed to light my hand ablaze in warmth. The Ifrit is was called; a giant anthropomorphic wolf with a lion's mane, rams horns that curled around it's hair and silver and gold bracelets wrapped above each joint on his body. Blue markings covered its body like tribal markings.

"Oh God please tell me you can help," I felt tears dripping down my face and onto the cards surface. I felt no rush of power, the card just remained silent. With a defeated cry the door was wrenched open and the girls stumbled in front of me. I could not react before I felt the twisted arms of the spider pull me into a death grip, it's hot breath on my neck. In that moment, I knew I was going to die and my body let go of everything-- that included my bladder. The fight or flight response took over and I shut down. Squeezing my eyes closed in fear I had milliseconds before I was torn apart. A blast of heat washed over my body and the spider screeched in agony in my ear before I felt a thin dust coat my body. A second squeal came from my right, and ten a third from above me. A heap of burning dust landed on my lap as a growl of annoyance was heard right beside me. I cracked my eyes open with my body still rigid with fear.

"You're a dumbass." A deep voice growled beside me and I peered over. "I don't care for weaklings." The Ifrit stood tall and proud, his blood red eyes burning holes into my own. I began to sputter and babble, unsure of what I could or should of said in my state of anxiety.

"I hate spiders," Is all I managed to sob as I buried my hands in my hair. The Ifrit began to stomp outside, roaring in delight at the challenge. Carina grabbed my face in her hands, a bruise forming around her right eye.

"Are you okay?" She gasped and noticed my urine soaked crotch dusted in ash. I just shook my head as Carina held me.

"I felt Mary-Anne leave, we've got to go." Carmella hissed and held onto Shae who was repeating nursery rhymes to herself. Carina hugged my head to avoid my eyes to the melting world as I felt my body wander through the imaginary space around us. Never in my life had I ever been so scared, and that was just a taste of my life yet to come. Everyone collapsed on the floor, the glittering chandeliers from Michael's dining room above us. Eclair looked up from her book and smiled at us.

"So how was it?" She cooed and I started to feel tears run down my face in joy. Relief racked my body as I deflated.

"We made it back alive." Mary-Anne croaked from the couch, resting her body against the back of it. I noticed a familiar figure shaking next to her.

"Where am I?" The guard whimpered, his teeth chattering in terror. Oh boy; we had a lot of explaining to do.