WISH

I wake with a start. Aiya's already up, throwing on her sweatpants. "Wish, get dressed! The barrier has been torn down. They'll be here any second!"

I look at the clock. It's only been six hours since we caught Vear. Aiya said two Faceless were coming for him, but I thought it would take until daybreak to get past the protective barrier.

There's an explosion outside, towards the Main House; yelling and cars screeching up the road. My body trembles. Vear can't be free already, can he? I look at my hands. Blood pools on my palm from the shard in the dream. It stains my cotton sheets the longer I take to act.

Aiya is next to me in a flash. "What happened to your hand? Don't tell me you—"

"There's no time for that." I brush past her towards the bathroom and wash my hands. The water stings, hurts like a bitch when I douse it in rubbing alcohol, but the pain makes me smile. I'm still alive. At least for now.

After wrapping my hand in ointment and gauze, I pull on a hoodie and my best running shoes. The paper butterfly is safely nestled in my bra cup because pockets are for amateurs and I knew Vear wouldn't have the nerve to look there.

Of course, I'd never give the real paper butterfly to Mari. It only took a couple of Google searches and YouTube videos to create a perfect paper butterfly from cheap copy paper. Mari never opened the jar, because we told her that it was dangerous. Gregori confirmed it.

Now that hell has broken loose outside, she'll figure out it's a fake for sure.

Mom busts the door open. She's dressed to fight, has a gun on either side of her hips, and sword across her back. "Good your both up. Wish, I need you to take this."

She's already out of breath. I meet her at the door as she pulls out a necklace from her pocket. It's a crystal teardrop, delicately looking, something I shouldn't be holding onto right now. I've never seen it before, but a persistent nagging tells me I should know what it is.

Before I can ask, she's putting it around my neck and tightening the leather cord enough for the teardrop to rest between my breasts. "This will protect you. Keep it out of sight," she says, then brings me into a tight hug. "I love you... I love both of you..."

Everything's happening so fast, I don't know how to respond. I should be squeezing her back. I should be forcing her to stay and forget Mari and just run away. I don't want to lose her. She's all that I have left. When I finally hug her back, it's not enough. It's never enough.

Mom takes my shoulders. "Go to the tornado shelter and lock it. Don't let anyone in. No matter what. Do you understand?"

"Why don't you come with us?" Aiya says, but there's another explosion outside. Closer this time.

Mom wipes the sweat from her forehead. "There's no time. Hurry!"

She's gone before we can get another word in.

Seconds tick by.

It's eerily quiet in the house. Stifling and haunting and full of shadows.

Aiya and I grab our emergency packs and run out into the living room. We strap them to our backs, ducking low, making sure to stay clear of any windows. It's brighter outside than it should be for three o'clock in the morning. When we step up to the sliding doors, we're on either side, checking the perimeter the best we can.

"It's clear on my end," I whisper, crouching beneath the window.

"It's hard to tell from here. Hold on." Aiya stands and flushes further against the wall. "Looks clear from here. How long will take us to get there?"

"About fifteen minutes if we walked. Eight if we run." Two times a year we go to the tornado shelter during the hottest times and in the snow, in the dark and in broad daylight. It helps us memorize the steps we need for chances like this.

Aiya nods her head, but I can tell she's angry. "Of course, it's further away for you guys. I knew we should've stayed at the Main House."

But she didn't want to risk Vear being so close. "It doesn't matter. Normally, I'd say we should keep to the shadows, but considering who's after us..."

"Are you seriously suggesting we run out there, guns blazing?" Aiya eyes are so wide they might fall out of their sockets. "We'll be open targets."

"You're strong and fast, Aiya. Remember: firepower."

She tries to force down a grin. "Don't make me laugh. Okay, alright, but if we're doing this, we're holding hands." She reaches out for me and I grab it, lacing our fingers together for extra security. "Don't you dare let go of me."

After one deep breath, we're flying out the sliding door and into the night.

Fire blazes up the drive, spits of flames leading a path into the forest. Trees blaze in the distance, clouds engulfing the area like a dense fog, smoking out the creatures we trapped inside their barrier. We run across the open field, towards the Main House, coming closer to Dad's Green House. The night air clenches my throat, drowning me in cold temperatures, making me regret not wearing my coat. But that would've been stupid. I need all the flexibility I can get.

We're almost to the Green House, a halfway point to the Main House, and from there we go straight West, back into the stalks of overgrown grass at the edge of our wheat fields. Aiya squeezes my hand to grab my attention. Up ahead, flames rise from the garden outside the Main House. We're still far enough to stay hidden, but close enough I can smell the burnt flowers and feel their screams of agony.

Vear appears out of the smoke, blood dripping from his claws. He slashes through the rot iron fence with ease, stepping over the barrier that is supposed to stop him from leaving. It sizzles at his legs, up his body, but it's too weak to stop Vear from leaving. We run to the Green House and hide.

He stops feet away from the fence line and looks up at the sky. The smoke clouds over the area, spreading further until not even a single star is left in sight. When he takes a deep breath, I curse under my breath. He's searching for my scent. "We need to go. Now."

We start to go, but Aiya stops at the other end of the Green House. I knock into her and glance over her shoulder. Ken's throwing fire balls at someone, or rather something. It hovers above him, flapping what look like bat wings, but its body is long and scaly like a snake. Fire flares from its mouth, sharp fangs dripping deadly mucus that melts the ground. It has to be a Faceless shifted into its primal form, but it's breathing fire... I thought only Gens Helios had the ability to control fire. Does that mean their half Helios?

Aiya screams. Fire pieces Ken's shoulder, scorching his arm. He falls on the ground trying to rub out the flames before they do serious damage. My heart won't stop racing. We should be running away, but Ken's hurt. We can't just leave him, but I can't let Vear get the butterfly either.

I let Aiya's hand go and push her. "Go!"

She hesitates for only a second, then runs out there blazing fire from both of her palms. Her heat is overwhelming, she's a warrior and a queen by birth right. Her fire is more powerful than Ken's. Her anger runs deep within her veins, surging out of her palms into a magnificent wave of fire after fire. She hits the Faceless in the back, burning its wings, continuing to burn its body as it falls to the ground until there's nothing left but a charred husk.

Aiya bends over her knees, heaving onto the ground, trying to catch her breath. So much power used at once has a cost. She let too much out at once and needs to get her breathing back under control before she can fight again.

There's a loud crunch by the garden. Metal is twisting and snapping from the fence under Vear's shadows, they engulf the air around him, screaming into the night as if mimicking his own anger and sorrow. They throw the metal fragments at Aiya and Ken.

I do the one thing I've sworn to never do again. The moment Dad died, I pushed that part of me down and forced it away because without him I feel abnormal. That sense of loss just grows deeper. It's the one part that doesn't make me human.

I act without thinking and slam my hands to the ground.

Giant tree roots rise from the earth, sheltering Aiya and Ken from the onslaught. Metal after metal fencing stabs into the roots and into the ground surrounding them. There's a brief moment of calm and awareness of what I've done. I've not only exposed myself to Vear, but showed the ace in my hand. Shit.

When the dust settles, Ken is coughing up dirt, but breathing and alive. Aiya's trembling, steadying her dominate hand by the wrist, preparing for the next attack. I should go to the them, they need my help, I even take a step forward, but Vear stops me in the tracks. Shadows flick behind him like lethal tails, cutting at low branches and making slices in the earth. His steps are purposeful, dominating the land that should be under Gens Helios' protection.

And yet, I feel so powerful. A surge of energy sparks within me.

I refuse to let anyone else I love die, again.

"Don't waste your time on them!" I dig the paper butterfly out of my bra. Its gold dust shimmers from the flames; the plastic envelope ignites like a million stars. "I have what you want. Come and get it!"

"Wish! Don't do this!" Aiya yells. She tries moving, but stumbles and falls.

I sprint away, running on my toes to push my body faster and harder, and enter the meadow that separates our houses from the farming fields. I don't need to look back. I can feel him on my trail, the shadows flickering on the periphery.

A low tree branch scratches my cheek. I put my arm up in defense and continue running through, jumping over fallen sticks the size of my arm, avoiding mole tunnels and holes the squirrels forgot to fill. The tornado shelter is just on the other side, right at the edge of the wheat field—

One minute.

30 seconds.

The door's in sight.

It's built at an angle into the ground with reinforced concrete bordering the outside. Weather has aged the exterior by a few years, but it's maintained well. I just need to quickly type in the code to unlock the door.

The buttons are hard to push in, rusting from being outside, and should probably be replaced, but with what? I don't know. We can't use a keyhole. Doors with keyholes are portals to Akane, because of this, there are no doors on this complex with keyholes. Even the one on Dad's Green House has been soldered over.

I say there are none, but there is one door—inside this shelter.

Going to Akane is my last resort, but in the back of my mind it's always been an option. Worst comes to worst, I go to Akane and search for a new door. Once I find it, I can go anywhere. I could travel to Japan or get lost in the Amazon Rainforest. Vear will never find me there. The only problem is finding a door and not getting killed by something else.

The tornado shelter finally unlocks. I shove my shoulder into it, pushing the chunk of metal open enough to slip inside. It slams shut and locks me in darkness. An overwhelming scent of charcoal burns through the still air as a barrier activates outside.

I search the walls, carefully stepping down the steps until I come across the light switch. The door bangs behind me, scratches gorging into the exterior with frightening strength. I have no doubt Vear will get through, which leaves me five minutes at the most.

The lights flicker on, one after the other, until the entire bunker is lit. This place is more of a doomsday shelter, mixing vintage tech with new. There's canned food and freeze-dried food that will last up to three years or more, depending on how many people are down here. Beds and rooms and more tunnels that lead to places unknown. Mari's great-grandfather built this during World War II, and it's been updated yearly ever since.

I don't have to travel far for the door. It's on the back wall, straight from the entrance, a perfect path for anyone to run towards and enter Akane without stop. I yank the cloth off the wall, dust clouds the area, making me cough for a moment. The door frame is plain, stressed and fading brown from the age of time, but the handle is what makes it magical. Gold iron swirls curl into a handle and meet a plate burned black, spreading across the wood like a flaming star.

I gasp the handle and imagine where I need to go in Akane. Where the safest place I could venture that would have Vear hunting me for days before he realizes I'm gone and back on Earth, again. The only place I can imagine is the Treschine Forest. It's so vast, spanning into multiple territories, and there will be so many plants at my disposal, but it's under Gens Norwood's rule. I'd rather not go there, but what choice do I have?

The door to the tornado shelter bursts open. It hasn't even been two minutes.

With the forest in mind, I push open the door. Akane is on the other side. Daylight beams from the morning sun, radiating on my face and warming the tips of my nose. It feels like I'm home... and feels like I don't belong. Trapped between this world and the next, I'm halfway across the door frame—

My bodies yanked back by my emergency pack. I crash to the ground.

Vear stands over me, his arm raised, claws formed into a giant point. The sun shines off his back, darkening his body and making him even more imposing. A shadow of death.

He plunges his claws towards me. I roll out of the way. Concrete explodes under his attack and knicks me in the cheek. I barely have time to stand up before he's swinging. I duck; metal screeches from his claws, rumbling the ceiling like a small quake. At this rate, he's going to bury us alive.

But I have to get through that door.

I have to keep this butterfly away from him.

I can't let him have it.

I can't let anyone have it.

It's mine.

For a moment time slows. I'm running and Vear's aiming for my throat.

My breathing stills, water drops from leaves off a tree in Akane, gently moving in the air, dancing and floating. Movement catches my eye on the floor. The plastic envelope is on the ground near the hole Vear created. The paper butterfly squirms and pushes until its wings break free of the seal. It climbs out of its cage and flaps its wings once in stretch.

I step towards it. Vear misses my neck and crashes into a support beam.

The ceiling crumbles and quakes, and the butterfly takes off into the air. Vear gasps. I look at him and he looks at me, and for a moment, I glimpse that boy inside him, the one who's desperately chasing after his dreams.

Vear's quick on his feet, I'd almost say he's feline the way he dashes forward and hunts the paper butterfly with every ounce of strength. I'm not going to make it. He's too fast for me. He'll catch it before I even have a chance. So, I do the next best thing. I chase after him.

We both cross the threshold into Akane at neck break speed. The door slams shut behind me, but I don't care. I have to catch him. I can't let him have it.

By some miracle, he slips on a smooth rock, breaking his fast pace. This is it. I won't get another chance. I ram right into his back and tackle him to the ground. We go rolling and tossing until the ground slows our tumble into a bed of leaves.

The forest breeze pushes my hair from my face, cools the sweat dripping from my forehead, and eases the air into my burning lungs. We're both breathing heavy, frozen on the ground, and for the first time, in a long time, I'm smiling so wide. My cheeks hurt, my entire body is worn from fighting and running... and I'm just so happy. I can't help but laugh.

God, I feel so delirious like I'm high off the air and sunshine. When I sit up, the sky is a stunning blue and the tree leaves are a vibrant green, soft and velvety. The air tastes of sweets and an ever-crushing dream just out of my reach, and yet, I want nothing more than to keep feeling this. I want to bask in its essence and drown myself it's glow.

Vear trembles next to me, dragging his claws into the ground as he eats dirt. And I couldn't care less. I should be running. I should be getting as far away from him as possible, but I can't seem to move. All I can do is stare off into the clouds, smiling, waiting for my death.

He finally drags himself up and twist the front of my sweatshirt. His eyes are full of hate, but he doesn't make a move. Like me, he's too worn out to fight.

"You... you...," he struggles to say, but he can't even speak. After a while, he lets me go, falls back on the ground, and covers his face.

He yells into his hands, a heart wrenching scream that would tug at anyone's heart.

I should feel bad, but I don't.

There's this sudden itch in the back of my head. It's distracting and burning. My vision blurs, and for a second I think I'm going to pass out, but then I see the paper butterfly. It's flying through the forest, heading towards these odd-shaped boulders, standing tall like statues, scattered around this open land as fog drifts in.

I reach out towards the butterfly, thinking maybe I can catch it. Instead, I hit someone's chest. It pulls back instantly. I blink until I come face to face with the Faceless Fox. The giddiness dissipates, freezing cold in my veins.

"She's pure. Lock her wrists before she comes out of it," Vear says.

The Faceless Fox yanks my wrists towards him and wraps them in black ribbon. They mold to my skin, smoothing out into a thick line of ink. It glows once, then nothing, but it doesn't feel like nothing. "What did you just do—"

He pulls me off the ground and slams my back into the trunk of a tree. His head tilts to the side, blonde hair wild and untamed, and claws are frighteningly close to my face.

My hands are up in surrender to show them I mean no harm, in truth, I'm going to blow another bullet out of my shoes and take this tree down. I try conjuring the ammo needed for such a feat... but nothing happens. No flicker. Not even a spark.

Desperately, I try controlling a nearby bush full of thorny vines—still, nothing.

What the hell is going on? It's just like last time.

Vear stands and brushes the dirt and leaves that cling to his jeans. "It's pointless. Your abilities have been sealed with those cuffs."

He can't be serious. I've never heard of such a device.

He removes a bracelet from his own wrist and reverts back to the king of shadows, standing taller with the help of his heeled boots and horns that are tipped in gold. The Akane language flows eloquently from his lips. His royal upbringing shows. "Kill her. Then send out a search party for the paper butterfly. It shouldn't be far."

"Wait, don't kill me," I quickly say. "I know where the butterfly is heading."

Vear walks away. "Your words are meaningless to me now."

"Then I can show you, if you let me." I hold out my hand, but the Faceless Fox swats it away. "Fine. I saw it heading towards these ruins or statues made of creatures. Out in the middle of a vast field, surrounded by approaching fog."

Vear stops, but doesn't respond, so I continue, "You said it yourself: it chose me. What if it's showing me where to go?" Still, he stays silent and I fear this it. This is my last chance. "Maybe it's about time you do something different!"

He clenches a fist at his side, the only tell that he's furious with me or this whole situation or both. Eventually, he relaxes and snaps his fingers. Two Faceless jump from high up in the trees, their presence concealed, I never noticed them before. How long were they there?

They kneel before Vear. "Contain the dreamwalker while we head back home. If she tries to run, kill her. If she utters a single complaint, kill her. I have no more patience."

The Faceless Fox growls. "Vearishk—"

"I gave you an order, Kato," he snaps. "Once we reach the caves, I'lldecide what to do with her next. Let's move before the vultures catch ourscent."