[The newly rewritten version of this book is now up on my profile, titled "Indigo's Owl"]
[Please consider checking it out, it's a total rewrite of this older version (which I wrote back in 2013 as my second-ever book). That said, if for some reason you insist on reading this old version, have fun in the chaos <3]
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Cover by the wonderful Prisim, the best blue bunny on Wattpad.
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Prologue - Night Owl
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"Where is he?"
"I... I don't know who you're talking about!"
She stepped closer to him, her cloak shifting slightly with the movement. "I think you do. He's stirred up the underground enough over the last few weeks so all the second-rate villains like yourself are eager to join his soon-to-be non-existent ranks."
The man's eyes shifted behind her before returning to try and focus on her face, hidden by her cowl. "Well, maybe if I knew who was asking, my memory might-"
She reached up, pushing her cloak back from her shoulders. In the shadows of the alleyway, the blue runes that marked her otherwise bare arms cast an eerie glow across the stone walls. She watched as his eyes slid down her skin, widening with every rune they crossed.
"You're... you're the Owl," he said.
Ding ding, we have a winner.
"Very good," she said, rolling her eyes. Her fingers made their way up to the cold amulet pressed against her throat, tracing its design. "Now if you don't mind, I'm rather busy so I'll make this simple. Tell me where he is now, or you'll be joining the Elites for breakfast tomorrow."
The man's eyes went wider, if that were even possible. "It's you who's been leaving us for the Elites? Why?" He snorted. "You think that appeasing them will stop them from hunting you?"
The Owl ignored his question. Instead, she turned around to stare at the place where another figure was crouched behind a dumpster. "I'll apply the same rule to your friend sneaking up behind me."
When the hidden figure didn't get the message, she enveloped the dumpster in colour and lifted it into the air above his head. The surprised man, garbed in a curious outfit of green and white leapt back against the wall. With a flick of her wrist, the Owl sent the dumpster crashing into the back of the alley.
She returned her cloak to covering her shoulders and beckoned him over. "Please, feel free to join the discussion."
This time, the green and white figure moved to join his friend.
"Now, this is the last time I'll ask - where is he?"
The two men glanced at each other. When they turned their eyes on her, she flexed her palm under the folds of her cloak. They weren't going to make this simple for her.
Her initial target sneered and struck the most ridiculous pose she'd ever seen, his palm taking on a faint yellow glow. "How about we just leave you for the Elites instead!"
He lunged towards her, palm outstretched. The Owl knocked his hand aside, extinguishing his colour with a burst of her own. The man stumbled, clutching his hand with a cry of confusion even as his friend tried his luck.
He was no more successful than the first. With a flick of her wrist, she ignored the fire searing her veins and commanded her colour to surround them. A moment later, both men were encased in a black cocoon that drained their bodies of colour and left only their heads free of its grip.
She didn't say anything, waiting with her hand outstretched. The two supposed villains garbled a few incoherent sentences at each other, their eyes flicking nervously between their prisons and the runes that were now blazing with a fierce blue light on her arm. She kept her face neutral, maintaining her hold on them with ease despite the power burning inside her.
Her silence did its job. After a minute of writhing around and realising they could do nothing about it, the words began spilling out.
"He... he's in Sirah! He's only just moved there, but he's there, I swear! Right in the heart of the city, some old tower that used to be an Elite base but I swear, I swear by the colours that it's all I know!"
"You idiot, now he'll never-"
"Like it matters! You wanna be in prison without your colour for the rest of your life? We don't owe him nothing! I swear, that's all I know!"
The Owl waited a moment, listening to their insistence of what they knew. If it were Sirah he was hiding at, that brought on a whole new set of problems.
When she was sure they knew nothing else, she closed her hand into a fist. The black colour encasing the men, once pliable, immediately hardened, freezing the men in place. She set them on the ground near the mouth of the alley and adjusted her cloak, pulling her face deeper inside her cowl.
"Hey, hey Owl - you said you'd let us go if we told you!"
She turned back to face them for a moment. "I said I'd let you go if you didn't waste my time. You decided to try your luck against me, and you lost."
"Wait- no, please! I-"
She walked away, placing her hand over the amulet on her cloak that was now warm to touch.
The voice echoed through her mind. Successful night I take it, Athira?
It's cheating when you can see my mindscape, you know, she thought back. You don't get points for already knowing.
Psht, said the voice. So where are we headed now?
Athira drew her cloak closer and made her way to the top of the nearest building. On the horizon, she could make out the lights from the city centre. If their height was anything to go by, the buildings towered above the rest of the landscape, but it was only to be expected in a city that the Elites chose to be one of their bases of operations.
Sirah. We're going to Sirah.
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A/N - So as the title says, this story is an attempt at NaNoWriMo. I make no promises that it'll be good, since 50k words in a month means slightly less time per chapter than what I was working with for Sentinel. Either way, if you like it, please vote/comment ^.^
Please keep in mind, Indigo is a first draft => There will be a few minor tweaks along the way (Athira's Owl cloak changes colour), but feel free to point out any typos you find ^_^
Picture by @MaliciousMoanna ~ Check out the DA link on my profile! ^_^