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Blood.
A trail of crimson splodges led Elijah and Jake through the forest, and the further they got from the cave, the thicker the splatters became. The smell was both human and demon, which could only mean that both Zoe and the people chasing her were hurt, and that brought back the feeling of dread Elijah had experienced earlier. Despite knowing that his life would be easier without her to lug around, the thought that she was dead or dying hurt him. Why?
He tried to put it out of his mind and followed the trail, rushing through the thick forest as the snow started falling. They were getting closer—they had to be. There were footprints all over the place, bullet shells in the snow, and scorch marks on the trees.
And finally, Elijah could feel auras. They were weak because of the mountains, but they were there, and he locked onto them with all of his senses. He left Jake behind, using his ability to move through the shadows, and in a matter of moments, he emerged in a small opening where three catchers were running deeper into the woods.
Elijah didn't hesitate; he stepped out of the shadows beside one of them, grabbed the man by the back of his coat, and then slit his throat with his claws. The other two swung around and started firing their weapons as they yelled and screamed, but they failed to land a single shot. Elijah stepped to the left in the blink of an eye, dodging their rain of bullets, and then he plunged his hand into the second man's chest. As he tore his heart out, he kicked the third man's chest so hard that the sound of his breaking ribs echoed through the forest, and when he landed on the snow with a thud, Elijah snarled at him. He'd not give him the mercy of a quick death.
"Elijah!" came Jake's breathy voice.
The demon turned his head and set his eyes on the leopard as it pounced out of the brush and join him.
"Is she here?" he asked desperately.
Elijah closed his eyes and focused; there were only three more auras in range, and one of them was Zoe. "This way," he said and hurried through the woods.
He moved quickly, and as the smell of blood thickened, his heart started racing faster. It was Zoe's blood, and her aura was weak. She was hurt, and he could smell the gunpowder in the air. Had one of the catchers shot her?
As Jake followed, Elijah burst out of the trees and into a small opening close to a narrow river with an old beaver dam stretching across the small waterfall. Two hooded men with rifles were skulking around, moving closer to the dam, which was where Zoe's aura was coming from.
He wasn't going to give them a chance to find her. The demon charged forward, and when the catchers turned to face him, he swiftly pulled his blade from his jacket and threw it at the taller man, who grunted painfully and stumbled back. Elijah then grabbed the second guy's rifle and snatched it from him before he could fire, and at the same time, Jake pinned the first man down and started tearing at his throat with his teeth.
Elijah sunk his fangs into the man's neck and took the chance to gulp down his blood to help him recover from his fight with the cave lizard. But after a few mouthfuls, his impatience to find out whether Zoe was okay or not forced him to stop. He threw the choking man to the snow, and as he bled out beside his mangled comrade, Elijah hurried over to the dam.
"Zoe?!" Jake called worriedly, rushing to it, too.
"I-I'm over here," she called weakly.
Once they climbed the steep hill to the top of the waterfall, Elijah and Jake rushed to the dam. Elijah found an entrance closer to a tall boulder, and Zoe was hiding inside with her back against the makeshift wall. The bullet wound on her right side was bleeding profusely through her fingers, which she had clamped over it. There were tears streaming down her face already, but when she looked at them both, a whole lot more fell to accompany her relieved look.
"Oh, my God! Zoe!" Jake shrieked.
Elijah shoved the leopard aside before he could reach the girl and scooped her up in his arms. He quickly carried her out of the dam and laid her down on the snow. He took his bag and jacket off, and after folding up and putting his jacket under her head, he opened his bag and grabbed his ammo tin.
"Is she gonna be okay?!" Jake whined, pacing around above Zoe's head while staring down at her.
Ignoring him, Elijah took his butterfly knife from his pocket and some gauze from his tin. Then, he moved her hands away from the wound and lifted her shirt so that he could examine it. There was too much blood for him to see her skin beneath it, so he used the gauze to wipe as much away as he could, and when he saw the streaks of silver veining out from the wound, he scowled to prevent a concerned frown from appearing on his face. He might feel worried about this girl for no apparent reason, but he wasn't going to let either of them see that.
"What species of demon are you?" he asked her.
Through her crying and painful winces, she answered, "S-sang...devoro."
"W-what's happening to her?!" Jake cried.
She was a sangdevoro, too? He had so many questions but now wasn't the time to ask them. Elijah used his knife to get the silver bullet out of Zoe's side; the girl flinched and whined painfully, but it wasn't over yet. He needed to stop the silver's spread, but he couldn't do it himself. The metal would cause him pain he'd rather not experience again.
Elijah grabbed Jake's paw and yanked him closer. "Shift back and suck the silver out of her blood."
Jake's eyes widened. "W-what?"
"Fucking do it!" Elijah snarled.
With a nervous stare, Jake left his leopard form and kneeled beside Zoe. He glanced at the girl's teary face and then at Elijah's impatient scowl and moved his face towards Zoe's wound. But he was taking too long, so Elijah grabbed the back of his head and pushed his face closer. Jake grunted angrily but did as he was told and started sucking Zoe's wound.
Elijah looked around while he waited, focusing his senses. He didn't know if there were any other catchers out there, but he wasn't taking any chances.
"W-where's Antonio?" Zoe whimpered.
The demon rolled his eyes and looked down at her. "You almost fucking died and the first thing you say is 'where's Antonio'?" he exclaimed.
"I just want everyone to be okay," she cried quietly.
Elijah snarled irritably in response and watched the silver veins disappear from the skin around the girl's wound. He pulled Jake away, who spat the silvery blood onto the snow. "You're going to need blood," he told Zoe as he placed some more gauze over her wound. "It'll help you heal faster."
The girl frowned. "Fr-from where? I-I've...never done that before."
He stared at her in both disbelief and confusion. "You've never done what before?"
"I've...never bit someone for blood. Usually...usually it just comes in...in a bag or cup," she murmured. She was getting weaker.
"W-what about one of those hunters?" Jake suggested.
"Human blood barely does anything for me, so it's not going to help her. And lycan blood is worse," Elijah muttered as he rolled up his sleeve. He didn't want to risk her bleeding out; he needed her alive so that he could find out what she knew. So, he reluctantly moved his wrist towards her face. "Here."
Zoe adorned a nervous expression. "What?"
"Just do it so we can get the hell out of here," he uttered.
She hesitated as she meekly gripped his wrist with her left hand. "How long should I do it for?"
"Until you feel fine enough to walk," he said.
The girl nodded and said, "Thank you." But she still looked reluctant. After a few seconds, though, she slowly opened her mouth, pressed her two fangs against his skin, and then bit down into his wrist, wincing a little as she did.
Elijah tensed up a little in response, but to his relief, this girl knew how to keep her venom from causing him agony and instead inflicted him with a light sensation of euphoria.
"Will she be okay now?" Jake asked.
"The wound will take a little while to heal completely; I'll have to suture it. But she'll be fine," Elijah mumbled. He then glanced at Zoe's face, and when he saw a confused look warp her meek expression, he frowned strangely. Had she never tasted demon blood before? Or was something else confounding her?
Zoe then pulled her fangs from his wrist and murmured, "Thank you, Elijah.
He pulled his arm away from her and glanced at the two small puncture wounds. They'd heal soon. Now, he had to focus on closing up Zoe's wound. He took a needle and thread from his ammo tin and quickly got to work; the soon he was done, the sooner they could get back on track.
"Where's Antonio?" she asked again.
Jake twiddled his fingers. "W-we didn't see him on the way," he said sadly.
She started crying again.
Elijah huffed irritably and finished suturing her wound. As he then packed all his things back into his bag, Zoe slowly sat up and threw her arms around Jake. However, when she tried to do the same to Elijah, he snarled in warning and backed off a little.
"Sorry," she mumbled despondently.
Jake helped her to her feet. "Maybe we can take a quick look around for the dog," he suggested and glanced at Elijah for permission.
The demon grunted in response and zipped his bag shut. He stood up, threw his bag over his shoulder, and then watched Zoe and Jake look around for the girl's ugly rat dog. He wanted to head back to the mountain road and continue his journey to Flinnwick, but the fact that the cashier mentioned that there was a lab out here somewhere—a lab where the catchers were taking lycans and demons—made him feel...conflicted. It had to be a Lyca Corp. facility. And he wondered, what if Haru was at that lab? What if there was something or someone there that could tell him where Haru was?
He took his eyes off his hapless, annoying companions and stared at the mountains in the distance. Did he want to take the risk and go find the lab out in the mountains? Or should he continue to Flinnwick? But what if Haru was here? What if he wasn't? What if he was, but the lab was huge, and there was no hope for Elijah to get in there without an army? Or what if it was one of Lyca Corp.'s smaller buildings?
Elijah pondered, trying to decide. He had no idea where Haru was, and passing up the opportunity to check a lab off the list was foolish, wasn't it? He had to go.
"Antonio!" Zoe called sullenly, holding the sutured wound on her side.
"Anty!" Jake bellowed as he helped the girl limp towards the end of the dam.
The demon rolled his eyes. "He's not coming. He's probably been eaten by one of the hundreds of things that live out here. We need to move."
Zoe turned to face him...and then she started crying again.
"Oh, my fucking god," Elijah growled under his breath.
"Don't say stuff like that," Jake exclaimed. "Maybe he's hiding under a tree or inside a log or something. We can look for him on the way back," he said, trying to calm her down.
"We're not heading back yet," Elijah told them.
Jake frowned while Zoe kept calling for the dog. "Then...where are we going?" he asked.
"To the lab the catchers were planning to take Zoe to."
"W-what?" Zoe stuttered, gawping at him. "Why would we go there?"
"Because Haru could be there," Elijah answered as he walked past them and started heading down the side of the small waterfall. "I've already told you that there's no record of any Lyca Corp. facilities or operations that Quinn could find, so I'm not going to pass up the opportunity of searching a lab that Haru could be in."
Zoe and Jake watched him pass, but then the girl started calling for her dog again.
Elijah's aggravation grew thicker. He stopped walking and turned to face them. "Forget the fucking dog—it's dead!" he exclaimed angrily. "For all we know, more of those hooded assholes could be on their way here, and there's no way we'd know because these mountains a full of fucking vendite. So, either get moving yourself, or I'll drag you both," he threatened impatiently.
"I don't want to leave him here," Zoe cried.
But Jake looked hesitant. "Zoe, I...I think we should go. He's right. There could be more catchers coming."
Zoe wrapped her arms around him as he tried escorting her towards Elijah. "What if something happens to him?" the girl lamented, sniffling.
"Well...if he's out there somewhere, he'll find you, right?" Jake tried to assure her as they reached Elijah.
She sniffled quietly and mumbled, "He's never been lost like this before. He's probably so scared."
As he led the way into the trees, Elijah rolled his eyes hard. Was she seriously still whining about her stupid little dog? She'd literally almost died and all she could think about was an animal?
"He'll be okay," Jake said, still trying to comfort her.
"I don't even have anything to leave for him," she bawled.
The demon rolled his eyes again. He was getting extremely tired of this girl and her dog, not to mention the fact that she clearly had her priorities mixed up.
"Can we come back and look for him after?" she pleaded.
"Yeah," Jake answered.
Elijah had no intention of wasting time searching for a dog. He just wanted to get to the lab in the mountains and find out whether Haru was there. If he was, then he'd do whatever he had to to get him out, and if he wasn't...then he'd just keep looking. He knew where Ronan was now, so at least he wouldn't be hitting a dead end if this lab wasn't the place Haru was sent to.
"Do you even know which way you're going?" Jake called.
With a quiet sigh, he shifted his attention from Zoe's annoying crying to the forest around him. The vendite was still making it impossible for him to sense anything too far away, so it wasn't going to be easy to find the lab. "We'll get to higher ground," he mumbled. "From there, we'll see if we can find it."
"And if not?" the pardus asked.
"Then I'll work that out if it comes to it," Elijah muttered.
To his relief, neither of them said anything else; they continued through the dark forest in silence. He still had a million things to ask Zoe, but he was too pissed off right now, so he'd wait. First, he wanted to find the lab—that was more important. Haru could be there, and that fact pushed him forward. All he wanted was to find him and give him the freedom they'd both longed for years ago.
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✧ Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! ✧
♛ What was your favourite part? ♛
✟ Do you think Antonio is okay? ✟
✙ Do you think they'll find the lab? ✙
❖ Got any questions? ❖
◈ Let me know! ◈