To Sunlit Isles (The Never-Ending Circus, Book 1)

Chapter Twenty-One

They took a backwards sort of route back to the hotel, planning on splitting up halfway and leading their pursuers into a trap. Izabelle had suggested they meet up at a parking lot located three blocks away from another hotel. They would make whoever that was following them think they were staying there instead of Hotel Fairgrove. The parking lot was more or less empty and abandoned looking, used by day staff at a law firm across the street. They would rendezvous there, hopefully have lost their pursers in the chase. If they were still being followed once they reached the parking lot, then they only had one option left; fight.

"Everyone understand the plan?" Freddy addressed the group. "Me and Lilly will head through Downsworth street. Felix, Ailsa, and Izabelle will take Appleby crescent and we'll meet up at the empty parking lot Izabelle told us about. Sound good?" No arguments from the rest, so they split up and headed their separate ways, for now.

Watching from a nearby rooftop, Onyx spoke into her earpiece. "Brick! They're splitting up, you follow the three of them, I'll watch our two special targets."

"Got it." Came Brick's reply over the wire.

Five minutes later, Freddy checked behind him and Lilly and concluded that no one was following them on foot. "It looks like the sinister looking guy followed the other group."

Lilly stayed close to Freddy in the darkened street. There were fewer street lights here, and everything cast an ominous shadow. It was like the darkness was moving all around them. "I hope they'll be ok."

"I'm sure they'll be fine." Freddy reassured her. "It's us I'm worried about. The presence, the one hiding itself from us in the shadows, it's still following us."

Sure enough, a shadow stirred in front of them from behind a dumpster. Like a black curtain flowing in the wind, a figure melted out of it, and stepped in front of them to block their escape. A black wooden mask covered the apparition's features, and the rest of it blended in with the dim lighting. "I'm only supposed to follow you," A distorted, strained voice came from behind the mask. "But you knew. How did you know I was following you?"

Freddy hesitated, his voice caught in his throat. This was an actual stalker or something, a threat that wanted to hurt them. Freddy didn't know how to deal with this, but he knew someone who did. He began trying to contact the will of the being dwelling inside him, but before he could ask it for help, he felt a warm hand around his.

Lilly was holding on, no doubt frightened, but looking strong for the both of them. "It's alright, you got this." She said to him softly. Looking down, they both realized their clasped hands were glowing, a murky smoke drifting lazily around them as well.

Gathering his courage, Freddy replied to the shadowy assassin. "Yeah, I knew. You move in the shadows, whereas I just move them. Anything traveling through the darkness is moving through my domain." He wasn't sure what he meant, but it definitely felt right, and seemed to have the effect he was going for on their assailant. "Not to mention, I have a pal on the inside. He speaks to me when jerks like you are posing a threat to my friends."

"Don't make false statements you can't hold up. Nobody can control through the shadows but those with a shadow in their hearts, and I can see you're heart clearly. It lacks darkness, it's practically glowing from within." Onyx was right about her assessment, but wrong about the source of that light.

"You're smarter than you look," Not to mention creepy, looking into people's hearts, Freddy thought. "Except that light isn't mine. My other friend here helps me find a balance between the light and my own demons." He turned to face Lilly, putting his back towards his opponent. "Thanks for the assist Lilly, but we can't escape if I'm holding back. Stay safe."