Leaving behind Alec with those creatures, or whatever they were, might not have been the best idea. But by the time I had this realization, all of us had already walked far out of the red zone, and to go back to fetch a guy who had spent the entirety of a month or more of his life in that place was not a very effective one. I had resourcefully concluded.

My thoughts were as messed up as Everlee's over-functioning wardrobe, which was an actual milestone if you have seen it. I pressed my fingers to my temples on both sides, massaging them so that they would somehow magically reorganise, or I hoped they would.

"Well," I heard Daine say. She was walking ahead of us, her fist tightened and white. "What's the plan?"

"There's none," I said on cue, not missing the way her hands tightened and shuddered as she failed to hide her despair with this situation.

I sighed, taking two ain't strides to take her side. I caught her hand and squeezed it when I did. She smiled and walked closer to me, attempting to lay her head before realising that I was too short for that.

I swallowed my pride.

Alec had found Daine on the funeral day of her family and took her under his wing. Even though they didn't have a father-daughter relationship like most would assume, given that Daine only spent three months with Alec before she found out about the Fallen and chose to become one and went into training for it, even then, he had still been her stronghold and a brother in times of need.

At most, if anyone here has been hard hit by the suspicion mounded on Alec, it will most likely be her.

Nights on Colchester Street are busier than daytime, and it didn't help that this street was what most would call a miracle or a blessing. Despite being shut down after Oarkale got stowed away by the rise of water, it was able to rise again with everlasting fame and population.

The air hummed with voices as we wove through the crowded section of the marketplace. The tinkling laughter of women as they gossiped and the shouts of men as they shrieked to attract customers filled the atmosphere.

I pitched down my voice and said, "He is growing sirens." By him, I had meant Alec, but I didn't have to further refine it because everyone had already assumed it as they were not offered alternative suspects.

There were few signs of agreement or nodding, but the majority remained gravely silent, a walking contradiction to the atmosphere of this street.

"But the question is, does Alec know, Cassia?" Jasper said, rubbing his hands over his face and combing his long hair with his fingers.

"I don't think he does," Everlee said as white clouds puffed out of her mouth, dancing in the air with the rest. "If my gut is right, then he is manipulated to do it," she said, before cross-cutting all of us and sliding near a newly opened and heavily decorated inn as if she hadn't spoken something that was one of the most alight observations she had made. We all stopped and noticed the way her eyes glinted at the low-hanging inn sign.

"Everlee, not the time," Delaney said firmly.

"I wasn't. Just admiring it."

"But-" Delaney was cut off.

"And I am done admiring; we are eating here," Everlee said, pouting at Delaney, catching him off guard. "Plus, we haven't eaten anything since lunch. We can't do anything on empty stomachs." With that, she rushed for the door while Delaney palmed his forehead.

"That girl," he grumbled under his breath, and I caught a small smile hiding behind the shadow of his arm.

Delaney was a lost cause at the hands of Everlee, even though he tried his very best not to. He is not to blame, as Everlee was not someone who would sit back and let her time grey away without having fun of it, even at the moment of a heavy crisis. It is also why the Senate most of the time prefers Everlee for the job in the torture chamber, as most of her clients were ninety-nine per cent likely to spill the truth or go insane while keeping it in.

Either way, whoever they were, their fate was sealed the moment Everlee walked into that room. But her hyper and eccentric personality doesn't let her be tied to one job, which was the only reason she wasn't hired full-time there.

The rest of the team followed her inside, breaking away from the large waves of people as they poured into the streets like a tsunami. The bell jingled as Everlee opened the door with a spring to her steps, and many eyes got rooted in us.

The heavy scent of root beer incense floated through the air. Scandalously clothed dancers spun as they purely relayed their weight on the red silk that hung from above. Murmurs and the clinking of glasses were even more omnipresent as we walked deeper inside.

The interior design of the inn made it look reminiscent of the lost art of Oakdale Street. Paintings of ancient times weighed down the naked brick walls, and sensing their openness, vines crawled up their cracks and wedged themselves in between.

A young woman, whom I assumed hadn't aged past twenty, came over to our table with a large jug sloshing with red wine. A heavy scent of roses floated over the heavier scent of wine.

"What do you order?" The woman spoke heavily, emulating the upper classes except for the occasional lumpen vowel of the city. Her crimson, dark lips curled as her siren-lined eyes took in each of us.

Everlee clapped her hands together at her arrival and began rattling out gibberish names like chanting a spell for summoning exhilarating, rich appetisers, and as long as they were compelling, none of us cared what filled our stomachs. The lady smiled and nodded before taking her leave.

Minutes later, our table was piled with china dishes that held the old flavours of Oarkale Street. Everyone was silent for the first few servings as we stuffed our mouths. And when our stomachs ladled up to the brim, conversations began to shine out.

"Perhaps you would like something else?" The lady asked as she smiled at me before it went over everyone, innocent and beguiling. Her eyes swept past Delaney's hunting gear, which he had still worn. It might have stayed there for a moment, but not a spill of recognition slipped past her guards if she had any, but a look of intrigue before Everlee dismissed her.

"Wait for me, I've got to use the washroom," Daine said as she stood and left while my eyes trailed behind her before it was drawn to a tiny window near my side.

I watched the swirl of colours mix as the crowd moved, all looking joyous and energetic. Buying and latching on to everything they could get their hands on. Many chattered with each other while kids ran in between, cutting across whatever international affairs they were discussing. I spotted many men playing poker while taking a pull at their cigars or pipes at every interval of time.

The normality and peace of this ordinary life always overwhelmed me. I had a childhood with them and should have had a filtered future too. But I was robbed of it too early. A filter that had shattered after sixteen years of living with one.

It was not fair how my life crumbled, and I suddenly was no longer the child society deemed customary. I was part of a perfect family of four, living our destined lives before it was harshly snatched away.

And with it, my naivety was burned away—the innocence I had once detested, the desires for my dreams—a nightmare. Becoming the ghost of my late family, I committed a crime I now live to bear.

It was not fair.

I fished out an old, dead wristwatch pointing at eleven at night, one that had belonged to my father—something that he had worn to his death and the only standing memoir I have of them.

Life is the most twisted path of all.

The clock chimed on cue, drawing my eyes to it. The hour handle struck out to me, barely touching 'eleven' with its short length. I felt myself smile at that.

My back straightened as I became aware of the stillness that had dawned over our table, and I turned my head so fast that I could have even cracked my neck.

My heart sank as I watched the empty tables. All of them had fled, and I understood why when I spotted the waiter striding to our table with the bill. "Dang it! Those pigs." I grumbled as I saw Everlee's brunette head be the last to scramble out of the front door.

As if heaven had poured a stroke of blessing over me, a bewildered Daine walked up to the table. "Where's everyone?" she asked me, her words slightly slurred. Now, I am a very dignified person most of the time, but as I have said, it is only most of the time.

"I don't know either. I would see to it now." I stood up and picked up speed, not waiting for her reply, and hastily crossed to the waiter who had reached our table. I didn't turn back until I was out the door, marching out like my hair was caught on fire as I shamelessly became one of the pigs I had been cursing a moment ago. You know what they say: desperate times call for desperate measures.

Everlee grinned maliciously like one of those random fairytale villains plotting some wicked plan that was doomed to fail when she saw me. "Let me guess," she says, tapping her long black nails with the other in front of her with her anticipatory grin. "You dumped it on Daine."

"Right on the spot." I winked at her. And they all laughed. We waited for Daine, who came by scowling and grunting dark curses under her breath, and we trekked back to the site. All too soon, the site loomed ahead of us, and we dispersed into our cabins. Some were heavily intoxicated, like Jasper, who had to be carried by me to our cabin while the others were in a hurry to the bathroom.

I walked with Jasper, a dead load on my back, down the cobbled path, which slithered and twisted past beautiful greenery. I observed the once-white buildings under the iridescent glow of the numerous lamps that sat on the pavements, their walls now stained with years of negligence yet somehow still maintaining their vibrant details.

I tucked Jasper in on his bed at our cabin and then went to my room. Freshening up, I changed into a new pair of clothes and jumped into bed. Sleep doesn't come to me as I would wish, so I found myself still staring at the ceiling after hours had ticked off.

A strike of thunder rolled, and I sprang up on my bed, startled and witless. I scanned around my room, suddenly feeling very alert. Something caught my eye, glooming in the piled-up dirty clothes. The moonlight streamed on it, and whatever that thing was, it saw the light and revealed itself for a split second before it died out.

Intrigue won me over as I moved my blanket and slipped to the cold floor. I switched on a lamp and cautiously neared it, trying to pinpoint where it was again in the hope of taking whatever it was out of my cabin. The light blinked again, spoiling its coordinates for me as I grabbed my pants, which I had worn today. Another wink from the part where my pocket should be, so I slowly placed my hands inside it, felt a slimy texture and pulled it out.

I cursed and stood up, throwing away whatever it was that I took out as my hands burned. Upon inspection, I found numerous cuts littered with blood on my hand, with the slimy substances hovering over each, and it hurt like hell. I tried to take that slimy trail off my hand using my finger, and I gritted my teeth as it got cut again.

Kneeling on the floor, I grabbed a small wooden spoon and prodded at the thing on the floor. It moved, and the realisation hit me like a truck. This was that creature April had passed to me on the way back after extracting it from Alec's lair.

I looked outside at the sky through my window, now lit by the moon's shine. There is no way any medic will be up now. So I went out, retrieved the first aid kit from my work room, and tried to absorb the slimy liquid with dry cotton.

It didn't work, as the slime wasn't as watery as I felt it was. I switched and experimented with wet cotton, but this time, even though the liquid was not absorbed when drops of water fell on it, some of the liquid gushed off my hand and fell on the floor.

Taken aback, I made for the bathroom in my bedroom. I read the bandages and the kit on the side of my sink. I turned the tap on, water whooshed and guttered out to the sink, and I surrendered my hands to it, praying for it not to cause or further alleviate the cuts. I monitored as the slimy liquid got spattered away at the force while some slowly dripped away with the flow of the water without leaving any new scratches or cuts on my hand.

When it was wholly gone, I quickly bandaged my hand and did a pump in the air in victory. Followed by gathering some water in a container, and using my wooden spoon, I carefully scooped that creature into the filled container. The mission was successful, with the only causality being the wooden spoon being cut into two.

My head throbbed as I tried to recall where I had seen something like this before it hit me—slashing threads!

I realised that this is how the threads were made, and this is what Alec meant when he showed this to us. The slashing threads have been around for about five months now, which means Alec has been tending to them for more than five months.

But if my intuition is right, then he has only been manipulated now, because had it been before, we would have known. I would have known first. Or maybe he was under their spell when he was around their reach, which would make more sense with the timing.

I put a palm on my forehead as my mind seemed to drown in countless possibilities and unexplored theories.

The thunder rolled again, and I decided it was high time that I got some sleep before stepping forth to confront whatever was going to happen tomorrow.

I let my eyes heavy in the peace that I had stored the container containing the creature safely in the deepest compartment of the cupboard and locked it before nestling myself back into the bed.