sanctuary | on hold indefinitely

twenty-one | rage

Farah had never seen Filix as angry as he was now, marching through the streets of Chester until they reached the multi-story carpark, where the Range Rover was waiting. He punched the elevator button with his bony fingers, the muscles in his jaw straining as he swallowed. She smirked at his ill temper, crossing her arms over her chest and pretending to ignore the throbbing ache in her head leftover from the fight.

Her muscles still tingled with adrenaline, her veins still flooded with unused, pulsating magic that made her restless. She could almost smell the richness of it as it rolled off Filix, too, and merged like a magnetic force between them.

He shuffled on his feet and hit the button twice more until the elevator doors finally opened and they stepped in wordlessly. Distorted mirror images of themselves followed on each of the four walls. Everything was cold, metallic, completely the opposite to the bookstore. Farah leaned into her reflection, wiping the black eyeliner that had smudged beneath her eyes and straightening out her tousled hair. From behind her, Filix watched her in the mirror, his eyes two blazing black holes as he pressed the button for the basement level.

"So," she said, turning around to face him properly, "What now?"

"What now?" he repeated through gritted teeth, inching closer to her as the doors closed and the lift began to descend. Farah's stomach dropped with the sudden movement, and she clutched onto the railing for support. "Has it escaped your attention that we were just overpowered by a soft little coward—and Split scum, no less?"

"Oh, I see," Farah sighed, rolling her eyes. "You'd like to spend the rest of the day whining about the unexpected emasculation you just experienced. I tell you what, you do that and I'll continue the search for my sister."

With a sharp intake of breath, he gripped her forearm, pinching the thin skin hiding beneath her long sleeves. His face was a ghastly white beneath the fluorescent lights. "Do you think this funny, Miss Lee?"

"No." She narrowed her eyes, pushing Filix off her with a forceful shove that sent him stumbling into the mirror behind him. He pressed his hands against the glass to steady himself. shooting her a glare. "I think it's embarrassing, actually, but talking about it is a waste of time. We'll find another way to get my sister back."

"Yes, and we can start with that address you gave to me," he spat. "We're going to pay a visit to your father. You better hope that he gives us what we need without trouble because I am no longer in the mood to play games."

The elevator came to a stop as he spoke, the doors squealing as they opened onto the dark car park. A light flickered above them as Farah scowled and stepped out, overtaken a moment later by Filix.

The lot was dead save for one other person: a dark-haired woman wrapped up excessively in a scarf and a bulky hat. Her car clicked as she locked it, her keys rattling as she dropped them into her bag. As Farah and Filix grew closer to her, she looked up at them, a polite smile gracing her lips for a brief moment before her expression slackened with shock—no, Farah thought, pride swelling in her chest, fear.

Filix came to a halt so suddenly that Farah almost fell into him. She frowned, moving to stand beside him. The woman remained beside her car, frozen. In the shadows, she looked no different than all of the other humans that Farah had seen today.

"What are you doing?" Farah asked. His wiry frame had seized with tension, his black eyes gleaming: a snake sizing up its prey.

He ignored Farah, taking a slow, calculated step towards the woman. "Look at what we have here. You spend all day searching for a witch and then one falls right into your palm—and a Necromancer, no less."