Faith (Book Two)

Chapter Thirteen

"Thank you," Ruka says and I can hear in her voice that she is still shaken.

"What happened?" I ask while tossing the glass in the trash.

"I just startled myself and dropped the plate," she says dismissively but I can see that she is still slightly shaken.

"Ruka?" I ask her, and I meet her gaze. I can see the fear lingering in her eyes, is she afraid of me?

I listen for footsteps, a heartbeat, someone breathing, but I only hear us. Dax comes in in a hurry and sees me cleaning the glass up off of the floor and lets out a sigh of relief. He grabs the vacuum and we finish cleaning up the mess.

"Are you alright, Ruka?" Dax asks her quietly as I grab a quick snack.

"I'm fine, I just startled myself, that's all," she says, and her heart skips a beat. Why is she lying?

I cast a curious glance in her direction, but she is too busy finishing making breakfast to notice. Looking her over I don't see any evident signs of harm, but I can tell something else happened. Looking around the kitchen I don't see anything until I glance out the window. Something is dangling just past the window frame. Getting up from my seat I walk into my bedroom and climb out onto the fire escape.

Looking towards the kitchen window I see a rope hanging from the rooftop. The cable is thick and meant to support something that is heavy. Glancing up to the roof I don't see anything, but I am at a bad angle. Closing my eyes, I listen again, and then I hear it, a heart-racing away. Slipping back into my room I grab my pocket knife and then go back out on the fire escape.

I can easily get to the roof but if whoever is up there has a gun; well you shouldn't bring a knife to a gunfight. I continue to listen, and I just hear pacing but no metal clinking. Sucking in a breath I start climbing up to the roof and easily pull myself over the edge. Catching my balance, I see the stranger is facing the other way, completely oblivious to me.

Looking them over I don't recognize the uniform, but they are in one. The dark brown top and black pants are all durable looking but there is no logo or marking to indicate who this person is. I put my watch into my pocket and make sure it's off. Stepping closer they whip around.

"Stop, don't move," I command, and he freezes, hand midway towards a weapon of sorts.

"Who are you?" I ask, and I see their eyes zoning out.

"My name is Alastor Brown," he says.

"Why are you on my roof?" I demand, and I hear Ruka's panicked voice.

"I'm looking for Macie," he says.

"What do you want with her?" I ask curiously.

This is the second time these people have come after her. I don't know what she is into, or why they are after her, but I know she is a good meta and a friend of Aviva and Lena. Making up my mind I wait for his response.

"It's my job to retrieve her," he says.

"Why do you need to retrieve her? Who is giving you this order?" I question stepping closer. My watch starts buzzing in my pocket alerting me to a call.

"Her father wants her to return to her proper home," he says, and I can hear the strain in his voice.

I stop my advance and am only a few feet away now. Alastor looks me dead in the eyes and I can see the war waging in his eyes as he tries to keep himself from answering my questions. I can't help the faint sense of satisfaction I feel, it's so easy to get the information I need sometimes.