Weak with shock and grief, I let Roan lead me through the city. At some point, he'd dropped his arms and opted with holding my hand. He held on tight, as if afraid I would suddenly take off. His fears were unjustified though; my head felt empty and clouded at the same time, and I barely had the energy to walk, let alone run away.
As we walked, people ran past us, their voices high with fear and worry. Roan didn't bother explaining to the people running by. They would find out soon enough if their loved ones were okay or not, and he was silent as people jostled and pushed past us. The noises were like a rush of water in my head, but I stayed silent too as we walked.
What felt like hours later, Roan's footsteps slowed to a stop. I looked up to find that we were almost on the outskirts of the city; the narrow alleyway we were in wasn't unlike the one we had met in. Right in front of us, a rusty ladder descended down the wall. It creaked precariously, as if just the force of the wind could knock it over.
I looked up at Roan.
"Go on." He nodded at the ladder.
I looked at him blankly.
Roan sighed, misinterpreting the look on my face. "I'm not going to take advantage of you or anything, Emery. I like to go here when I want some peace and quiet. I think you need some of that right now."
He was right; even just in the alley it was silent. The sounds of the city and chaos had faded long behind us without me noticing. I stared at him for another moment before grabbing onto the first rung of the ladder. It was rough and cold on my hands.
I climbed for several minutes, feeling more than hearing Roan climbing up behind me. In any other situation, I would never have gone anywhere alone with him; I'd literally just met him, and he could be a psychotic killer for all I knew. Somehow though, I knew that wasn't the case - he was gentle and kind, and I couldn't get the sight of his gentle, sorrowful eyes out of my mind.
Finally, I pulled myself out onto a small rooftop. It was clear it was unused; empty crates tottered in leaning towers around a large squat chimney. My eyes were immediately drawn to a tattered blanket spread out carelessly in front of it; whoever sat there liked to look out at a magnificent, twinkling view of Feloix Felaii.
I turned away sharply from the black plume of smoke in the distance; it rose up like a giant arm pointing accusingly at the sky. Roan was just pulling himself up behind me, dusting off his hands on the front of his jeans.
"Do you live up here?" I asked him flatly.
He chuckled, stretching his arms as he looked around us. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I live in an apartment across town. I just like coming here once in a while. I'm pretty sure I'm the only person who knows about this place."
I didn't reply, rubbing the tops of my arms absent-mindedly.
Roan didn't miss the movement. "Are you cold? Come over here."
His hand went to my shoulder, gently steering me towards the blanket. I sat down immediately, and Roan sank down gracefully beside me. Thankfully, the plume of smoke was hidden by a tower of crates. I watched expressionlessly as he pulled out his squirrel - still knocked out - and placed him gently on the blanket in front of my crossed legs, before pulling off his jacket and draping it across my shoulders. I was immediately warm; the suede was soft, and it smelled like a mixture of something spicy and musky.
"Thank you."
"No worries." He leaned back against the worn chimney behind us, crossing his arms across his chest. He was wearing a ratty old shirt advertising something called "U2", but he didn't look cold, even as evening began to descend. I didn't miss how his golden eyes searched my face.
We were quiet a long time before he spoke.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Roan's voice was quiet and cautious.
I didn't answer right away, looking out across the rooftops. Far in the distance, the silvery trees that surrounded the city looked like soldiers.
I felt numb. Grief and agony had racked my body upon seeing the burning Commerce Building, but now, far away, I simply felt cold. The knowledge that my parents were dead seemed oddly removed, like it was someone else who'd had their parents killed. It was like the events of the afternoon were like a strange dream, with everything that happened moving like I was underwater. It didn't feel real, even though I knew it was.
How could this have happened to me?
"It's my mother's birthday." My voice sounded stoic. "I was supposed to meet her and my father there, then we were going to go have dinner together."
Roan was quiet, listening.
"My Uncle Felix was supposed to meet us at the restaurant, since he works late. He works in the Council Chambers as a defender, and he's in the middle of a high profile case."
Roan was still silent, though his lips twitched at the mention of my uncle. I decided not to ask about it.
"I should probably go find him." I told Roan quietly. "He just lost his brother a year or so ago, and now...."
I couldn't finish it. Uncle Felix, my mother, and my dead uncle Francois were triplets, and now, the three of them were reduced to one. It was so horribly, horribly sad.
"Emery." Roan's voice was gentle. "What are you feeling? I can't imagine what you're going through right now."
I clenched my teeth. His question was hammering home the fact that this was real, that this really was happening. What happened didn't happen to someone else, it was happening to me.
And I wasn't ready to accept that yet.
I took a deep shuddering breath. "I should go find my uncle, Roan. Thank you so much for staying with me, but I'm going now."
I climbed to my feet, careful not to step on the squirrel. Roan looked up at me, his face sad. He reached out a hand, his mouth opening to say something, but then he suddenly froze. I looked at him questioningly, holding out his jacket to him, but then a creak sounded behind us.
We stared at each other.
"I thought you were the only person who knew about this place." I whispered.
"I am." He hissed back.
There was another creak behind us, and Roan swiftly pulled me down so that I was in his lap.
"Hey! - "
He clapped a hand over my mouth, his eyes wide and alert as he looked behind us. I stared up at him; he was warm against my back, but his body was as still as a statue. Why was he so afraid? Was it one of the horned witch's cronies? He'd seemed so offhand about the situation earlier, but was it more serious than he'd made it seem?
It was silent for a long, long time.
I shrieked as the chimney exploded beside us; chunks of stone and dust burst out with a groan. Roan cursed, his breath hot on my neck, and I watched with wide eyes as he threw out an arm. Fire roared out between his finger tips, singeing the ruined chimney behind us and instantly lighting a tower of crates into flame.
Roan was on his feet in seconds, throwing me up so that I was standing. "Roan!" I cried out as a stack of crates just beside me shattered into splinters with a boom.
He pulled me out of the way, somehow managing to snatch up the unconscious squirrel and throwing him into my arms as he simultaneously shrugged his jacket on hastily.
"We have to go." He told me firmly.
"No shit - " I screamed again as Roan swiftly grabbed me and tossed me over his shoulder. "What - "
I watched in horror as the dusty floor imploded where Roan's feet had been running two seconds before. My head jostled up and down as Roan hefted me across the roof, and I looked up just in time to see a dark figure gliding out of sight behind some crates.
"Hold on!" Roan yelled.
I looked over just in time to see him leap off the roof.
My eyes practically bulged out of their sockets; looking down, I saw the shimmering alleyway sail past below us. Then, with a jolt, Roan landed on both feet on the opposite rooftop, the impact forcing the breath out of my chest with a whoosh.
I looked up again. "He's still following!"
Roan powered on, his legs pumping below us. I gasped as the furry bundle in my arms squirmed; the small animal was awake.
"Put me down, I'm squishing your squirrel!" I yelled as another chimney top rushed past my peripherals. I watched in horror as it, too, combusted into pieces with the force of another spell. The shadowy figure was still in pursuit; Roan jumped onto another roof top, making me bang my chin on his shoulder blade, and I saw that the figure was flying, not running.
"Sugar glider!" Roan shouted into my ear.
"What?!"
"Bono's a sugar glider, not a squirrel!" Roan told me indignantly, turning abruptly to the right and leaping onto another roof top.
"This is hardly the time for technicalities!" I yelled back.
He didn't answer, and I felt the sugar glider squirm out of my arms. For a horrified moment, I thought he fell, but then the small rodent popped up on Roan's other shoulder. I saw that Bono had huge, luminous brown eyes, and they were disarmingly intelligent as they met my gaze.
"Bono!" Roan quipped happily. "You're awake! Did you have a nice nap?"
He squeaked back in response, almost flying off Roan's shoulder as the wall beside us exploded. Roan cursed, toppling to the side and almost hurling me off the rooftop; I scrambled desperately for a hold on his back, the street below us lurching sickeningly towards me.
"Bono, make yourself useful!" Roan roared, stumbling as he gathered his bearings and kept running. His boots pounded on the rooftop below us, his feet sending up tiny clouds of dust.
I cried out as the sugar glider immediately launched off his shoulder the same moment Roan jumped across another divide. In disbelief, I watched the small animal throw his limbs wide, stretching out and gliding straight into our pursuers face. He squeaked triumphantly, and I saw his tiny limbs scratching and clawing at the figure with lightning speed. Roan's feet thudded onto another rooftop, making my head and my gaze drop again. When I looked up, both the figure and Bono were gone.
"Wait, they've disappeared!" I told Roan.
He slid to a stop, narrowly avoiding sliding off the rooftop. Roan put me down, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. His golden eyes scanned the rooftops we had just cleared.
"Damn it, Bono.." He muttered, putting his hands on his hips as he rested for a moment.
Abruptly, a figure rose up from the alley right in front of us. I yelped, tripping over my feet and falling against Roan. He instinctively caught me, but his eyes were trained in surprise at the figure floating in front of us.
Whoever it was, he was clad in all black from head to toe in some strange, gauzy material. The only thing that showed were a pair of narrow eyes, and I saw with a jolt that they were icy grey and devoid of emotion, and they were looking directly at me. Roan and I were frozen in his gaze, and I watched with dread as the figure rose an arm to cast a final exploding spell.
Before he could, something silvery and huge tackled him. Roan and I stared in shock as both figures fell out of the sky and into the street, causing several passersby to cry out in surprise. We both ran to the edge of the roof, peering down to see that the silver figure was in fact a beautiful leopard, great feline roars ripping through the air as it clawed at the black figure. People took off screaming as the figure tossed out more spells, shop fronts and alley walls exploding with increasing fervor.
"Emery, let's go." Roan tugged at my arm.
"Wait - "
With a whoosh, the black figure slipped out like oil from beneath the leopard and flew away, disappearing around the corner. The leopard yowled after it in fury.
"Emery - "
"Wait!" I snapped at him, tearing my gaze away to look at him. "That's my uncle, Roan!"
I looked back, and my gaze was immediately met by a familiar silver eyed one.
My Uncle Felix had found me.
-------------------------
In his normal form, Felix Fleur was a handsome man. His dark hair was slicked back stylishly on his head, and he looked business-like and dapper in a dark grey suit. Shiny black shoes clicked officiously against the shimmering street as we walked through his gate and up to his modern, simple house; it matched him, with its grey walls cut bluntly and efficiently, it had no room for nonsense.
He was silent as he pulled out a key and unlocked the front door. Stepping aside to let me walk by, I saw the silver of his eyes glance back to where Roan stood uncertainly by the gate.
"You too, Roan." Felix said curtly.
I looked back in surprise from just inside the doorway - how did my uncle know Roan? Roan walked up, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his jeans. His gaze met my uncle's squarely, but uncomfortably.
"You sure you want me here?" Roan asked him.
My uncle simply nodded.
Roan sighed and walked past him into the house. I could see Bono's huge eyes glowing from within his collar. The small rodent had someone found us as we'd made our way through the streets; he'd skittered up Roan's leg and torso and dived straight into Roan's jacket. He was clearly as uncomfortable as his owner; Roan was looking around Felix's front room, chewing on his bottom lip.
The house was modern and neat, with glass furniture and black leather couches. The walls were decorated minimally, with muted paintings and the occasional photographs. My heart panged at the sight of my parents' smiling faces in a few of them, and I looked hastily away.
"How do you two know each other?" I asked, filling the silence.
Felix had just locked the door behind him, and was now closing all the curtains. He looked back at Roan with a shrewd face. "I've defended Roan Ryker more than once." He said simply, continuing to move around the room. As the room fell into darkness, the lights attached to the walls began to glow a soft blue.
I looked at Roan, my eyebrow going up again, and he shrugged and grinned at me sheepishly. "I guess I really am a criminal."
"You can tell her all the stories later." Felix said gruffly, walking over to me and taking my elbow. He pushed me onto the couch, making me look up at him in surprise. For some reason, he couldn't quite meet my eyes - he crossed his arms across his broad chest and took a deep breath, his beautiful eyes blinking up at the ceiling.
"Uncle Felix?"
When he looked down at me, I was shocked to see that his eyes were full of tears.
"Your parents are dead, Emery." He told me quietly, his voice hoarse.
It was like a slap to the face. I swallowed with some difficulty. "I know."
He blinked in surprise. "You do?"
"We were there." Roan said from behind him, forcing him to look back. He seemed too uncomfortable to sit in the opposite couch; instead he'd opted to lean against the wall. "When the building fell... we were there."
Felix processed this, his face turned away from me. When he looked back, his face was weary and sorrowful, and stray tear slipped down his cheek. He wiped away at it impatiently and knelt in front of me.
"I'm sorry, my dear." He whispered, taking my hands.
"I'm sorry too." I said back to him softly, leaning my forehead against his. We had both lost loved ones that day; my parents and his sister were gone forever.
After a long moment, he took a deep breath and straightened, looking me in the eye.
"I'm going to be frank, Emery dear." He told me firmly. "You need to leave the city."
I blinked at him. The conversation had abruptly taken such a huge turn, I didn't understand him. "What do you mean?"
"I wish I had the time to explain everything in detail, but that assassin will be back again. I'm afraid that when he returns, he won't fail in killing you."
"Wait." Roan spoke up before I could, a frown on his beautiful face. "They were after Emery? Not me?"
My uncle smiled wryly. "Yes, as hard as it is to believe, you weren't the target as usual." He turned back to me, his face grave. "And this isn't the last time you will be targeted, love."
"What do you mean?" I was bewildered. "Why was he trying to kill me? I've never done anything to offend that guy, at least I don't think - "
"He was hired." Felix interrupted me, squeezing my hands to silence me. "Your parents and I aren't sure by who. They've managed to keep that a secret. But now they're getting too close, you have to leave before it's too late - "
"My parents?" I pulled my hands out of his grasp. "They knew someone was trying to kill me?"
"Yes, we were going to tell you about it tonight." My uncle said pleadingly, his silver eyes bright with an emotion I couldn't identify. "Your father had been adamant about keeping you in the dark about it, but it was getting harder and harder for us to keep you safe. We tried our hardest, Emery dear."
"I don't understand." I shook my head slowly. "I don't believe this. You must be mistaken."
"You were the target of that explosion." Felix interjected forcefully, making me flinch. "I'm sorry dear, but we don't have time for you to process this. You were late, weren't you? They somehow knew you were meeting them there, that's why the building burned when it did."
"Felix..." Roan said uncomfortably.
"You were late, and that's the only reason you're alive right now." Felix continued, ignoring him. "They couldn't get you at home, because we'd put too many spells up, they couldn't get you in the street because your path could always change, but they knew you would be there today, and so they tried to get you there." His hands grabbed mine again; like all shifters, his hands were cool, but they were clammy with anxiety. "You almost died today, do you understand that? You were supposed to die!"
"Felix!" Roan pushed away from the wall, his voice shocked. "You're scaring her!"
And he was. My heart was beating out of my chest, and I could feel the blood draining out of my face as I stared back at my uncle. How could this be happening? My parents were dead, and they were dead... because of me?
"Why?" I whispered plaintively, simply. "Why me?"
Felix seemed to deflate in front of my eyes. "I don't know." His voice was exhausted, and it looked like he had aged ten years in the last few minutes. "You parents didn't know either. All we know is that ever since your parents adopted you, there have been attempts to take your life."
"Since I was a baby?" I asked, my chest tight.
As shifters, my parents couldn't biologically have children. No shifters could, and nobody knew why. I knew the story well. My mother was convinced that she and my father were different, that they would be the rare exception to the shifter race. After years of failed attempts, my mother had accepted in grief that there was no such thing as exceptions for them; she would never have a child for as long as she lived. However, before the realization could plunge her into despair, she and my father found me abandoned outside their house one December night. I was like a gift from heaven, she told me, her face glowing with happiness. I was her gift, and she treasured me all the more for it.
Felix nodded in response to my question. "Don't ever doubt how much they loved you, Emery, but it's been hard all these years. Someone was trying to kill you since you were just a baby, and Felicia couldn't understand why." He hesitated. "Your parents think... they think it's because of what you are."
"Of what I am? But I'm a shifter too - "
"We don't know that." Felix said quietly. "They didn't know that."
I stared at him, struggling to comprehend. At eighteen, I still had yet to shift for the first time. My parents assured me that all shifters shifted at different times, and classmates had teased me by saying that I would be a fib, a shifter who couldn't shift, but I hadn't thought much about it. I'd assumed, like my parents had told me, that my day would come.
From the look on my uncle's face right now, that day never would.
"What am I, Uncle Felix?" My voice surprisingly calm.
He didn't answer right away, his silver eyes searching my blue ones. "Your parents didn't tell you the truth." He said finally. "When they found you, you weren't wrapped up like a present in a basket in front of their house. They found you floating in a river, crying your lungs out as the winter air turned your little body blue. They had no idea how long you'd been in there, but they were amazed you were alive."
My head was reeling. A river? They'd found me in a river?
Felix was suddenly climbing to his feet. "I need to show you something." He said, walking over to the fireplace. "Your mother asked me to keep it, since she was afraid you would find it at your house." He crouched in front of the ashes, his fingers searching through it. I watched as he pulled something out of the soot and wipe it clean on the sleeve of his suit.
"Your parents loved you immediately." Felix said as he walked back towards me. "They didn't know who you were, what you were, or where you came from, but they loved you immediately, love. The only thing that reminded them that you weren't theirs was this; you had it grasped tightly in your fist when they found you, and it's all you had left of wherever you came from."
I leaned forward to see what he was holding out to me. In his large, pale hand, sat a beautiful blue stoned ring.
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