It was late June and the last day of school before summer break. Madeleine Shay was standing on the level stone roof of her apartment building, flecked with air conditioning units and satellite dishes, and watching a group of middle-school teenagers walk past the building, chattering about mundane things. It seemed so ironic that things as normal as school and exams and summer break was still going on, what with Aosoth still at large. Her dad had needed to make up a couple of reasons for her absence from school for the past two weeks, lying to the school management that she was suffering from a severe case of myalgia. She'd shrieked with laughter after her dad had dropped the phone and he'd stood there with a resigned shrug, the light from the window illuminating his rectangular glasses. He was such a terrible liar.Afterwards he'd sat her down and explained the reason for his hiding her from the Hunter world and keeping the truth about Aosoth from her."I never thought I’d see your
𝘚𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺Ayesha groaned impatiently as Maddie threw yet another piece of clothing on the ground."Will you just pick something to wear already?" She asked. She was sitting on Maddie's bed, her booted feet propped up on a couple of pillows."I don't have party-worthy clothes." Maddie protested as she eyed a sweatshirt in the back of her closet.Ayesha reached out from the bed and picked up a sequined, royal blue dress from the pile of the floor. She shook it in front of the other girl's face. "This" she said pointedly "is party-worthy."Maddie looked at the dress with a grimace. "Hard pass, please." She picked up the sweatshirt she had been eyeing and threw it over her jeans, then pulled Ayesha from the bed. "Let's go."They walked out of the room and clambered down the staircase to the kitchen, where Paul was enjoying a lone coffee and toast.He raised his eyebrows as Maddie stopped before him, giving her a quick once-over. "Well, that isn't party material.""I don't care, as
Maddie felt like she was stepping out into a calm, chilly spring night. More glowing moon-like orbs lazily floated around. The whole room was dark and breezy, and despite her thick hoodie, Maddie shivered slightly. The lazy chatter and clinking of glasses made her feel extremely at ease."I've never seen anything like it. It's beautiful, Cassie." She murmured in awe."Magical," Ayesha added."Thank you," Cassie beamed and gave a mock bow."Oh look, there's Jason." Ethan pointed out, steering them towards a corner of the room.Jason was standing among a bunch of young men his age, all of whom were dressed very fancy. Jason, on the other hand, looked like he'd rather be anywhere but there. He'd still managed to look formidable even in a three-piece suit, and was twirling a small Celestial Blade in his hands.Their eyes locked from across the circle of teenagers, and Maddie felt a small jolt in her stomach. She reluctantly broke eye contact with him after a few awkward seconds. She still
Maddie felt like she was stepping out into a calm, chilly spring night. More glowing moon-like orbs lazily floated around. The whole room was dark and breezy, and despite her thick hoodie, Maddie shivered slightly. The lazy chatter and clinking of glasses made her feel extremely at ease."I've never seen anything like it. It's beautiful, Cassie." She murmured in awe."Magical," Ayesha added."Thank you," Cassie beamed and gave a mock bow."Oh look, there's Jason." Ethan pointed out, steering them towards a corner of the room.Jason was standing among a bunch of young men his age, all of whom were dressed very fancy. Jason, on the other hand, looked like he'd rather be anywhere but there. He'd still managed to look formidable even in a three-piece suit, and was twirling a small Celestial Blade in his hands.Their eyes locked from across the circle of teenagers, and Maddie felt a small jolt in her stomach. She reluctantly broke eye contact with him after a few awkward seconds. She still
Maddie let Ethan lead her out of the basement, away from the screams of fallen Hunters and the howling of the demons. The trapped glow worms still floated lazily along the corridor, like a relic from a better time.Ethan pulled Maddie to the dark kitchen, where Jason and Ayesha were wating for them. Cassie was nowhere to be found."Where's Cassie?" Maddie asked immediately she saw the both of them. "Where the heck is Cassie?!""We...don't know. The last time we saw her, she was fending off one of those demons." Ayesha replied."And you left her down there, all by herself?" Maddie yelled at her, then turned to Jason. "That's your twin we're talking about!" Jason didn't even flinch at her harsh voice. He frowned as he regarded her with piercing green eyes that seemed to shine even in the near-darkness of the kitchen. "She's in here." He tapped at his temple. "I can hear her thoughts. She's fine." His face was cast in shadows, his white-blonde hair made darker by the dimness of the room
Maddie didn't wait for another word from her father. She ran across the living room and attacked him with a hug, her arms wound around his neck."I was worried to death about you." She said, almost sobbing gratefully into his shoulder."It's fine. I'm fine." He said and pulled her away from him gently. "How was your party?"Maddie looked back at Ayesha, who gave her a look full of warning. "Uh, it was fine. Very boring, actually. I'm sorry I came this late.""I was worried something happened to you. I called you severally but you didn't pick up. I was about to come out to look for you after I cleaned up this mess." Maddie's hand went to the back pocket of her Jeans, where her new phone sat. "What mess?" She asked. The source of the smell seemed to be coming from the kitchen. Paul led her and Ayesha into the kitchen, which had been turned upside down. The large, almost unmovable kitchen table lay on its side. The chairs had been thrown around the room, and several plates and cups had
Maddie's face melted into a mask of horror, and she and Ayesha let out a combined "What?!""Yes." Paul replied, his face resolute. "I should have done this all those weeks ago immediately I started noticing signs of Aosoth again in this city. The dead bodies, the scary news..." He sighed and rubbed his eyes. When he opened them again, the resolution had been replaced by a sad look. "I'm sorry, Maddie.""But running away won't solve anything!" Maddie protested. "We have always been on the run for as long as I can remember. It won't change anything now, same as it didn't every single time. Aosoth will find us, no matter how far we go. We have to stay, and fight." "Well, we didn't run far enough." Paul replied. "And fighting won't suddenly make...her go away. She's a Greater Demon. She cannot be killed easily, I'm sure you've noticed that. Hell, if she could, we wouldn't be having this conversation. It would take Heaven and Hell to send her back.""
Maddie had packed her bags silently, not sparing her father another word or so much as a glance. She knew he could feel the obvious contempt from her, knew that he wanted to make it up to her in some way, but she didn't need his fake sympathy.She wanted to stay behind and fight her battle, not run away from it.For the rest of that day, she'd walked around the house in a silent bubble, totally ignoring her father. Over breakfast, he'd told her they'll start their journey to New Orleans in the evening. She'd stared at the piece of cold scrambled eggs before her, hating the sound of her father's voice as he'd said those words. She'd felt relieved when he finally finished his breakfast and left the kitchen.Ayesha had never come back with the Ravenwoods as she'd promised, and Maddie had felt a growing sense of betrayal fill her up. In the end she'd thrown her Celestial Blade against the opposite wall in anger, feeling a momentary satisfaction as the blade had buried itself in the wall.