Lying in Wait

"All right. Follow me." Wren pulled Keagan again, and the blonde lady gasped as she was taken into a carry. Wren then ran in a direction away from the main door. However, she arrived at a garage where Cherie and another maid were waiting.

"It's ready, Madam." The maids bowed down as if they were told beforehand.

Wren brought Keagan down and rode the big black motorbike that only had streaks of red as if it jumped through fire. Keagan also rode the bike behind Wren, even if they were just in pajamas. With Wren kicking the starter, the bike quickly engaged its engine. It didn't take Wren another minute to drive away and out of the estate. At such speed, Keagan couldn't help but hug Wren tightly.

Growl! Keagan felt like she heard a growl from the side. Her eyes were shut from the wind, but she managed to open them to see the dark neighborhood they trod. Within the shadows behind the houses and other buildings was a colossal creature that ran on all fours. The glinting red eyes were so sharp as if it was a predator waiting for an unlucky human to walk in its trap.

It was just that Keagan felt like what ran next to them was a huge cat made of shadows. She faintly mapped the silhouette, but it looked so formless as it moved through the houses. Then again, when she heard the sirens, she felt the bike slowing down. Soon enough, they reached the perimeter set by the police and the fire department.

"Elijah!" Keagan called out as she looked around the sea of faces in the area. The man was tall and handsome; it should be a breeze to spot him in a crowd. It was just that she couldn't find him at all. That was when she looked up and stared at the fire the water hoses barely reached. "Elijah…"

Keagan ran toward the barricade and tried to get over to enter the burning building. It was just that a police officer caught her. "Hey! You can't go inside!"

"No, my boyfriend is inside! I need to find him!"

"The people who got out in time are over there by the parking lot! Please look for him there first!" The officer had to push against Keagan to keep her from crossing the barricade. "Debris has been falling off the longer the fire went! You can't stay here! You can't enter the building!"

Keagan weakened and turned in the direction the officer pointed. She quickly ran to find the people and saw how a lot of them had shock blankets and were being treated for smoke inhalation. Her feet dragged her to the spot, her bare soles dirtied by the soot that flew off from the flames.

One of the old women looked up at her and gasped, "Keagan! Keagan! Thank God you're not inside! Don't come up, please. It's so dangerous!"

"Where's Elijah?" Keagan feigned a smile and asked the elderly. She even helped the old lady keep herself from falling over. It was just that the older woman's face paled when she asked for Elijah. Keagan didn't know what that meant, but her heart ached.

"The explosion and the fire started on your floor, Keagan." The middle-aged daughter of the old lady came to take over. Keagan also noticed how her arm was wrapped to protect the severe burns. "Also… we saw him take a woman with him just a few hours earlier. There was even this other guy who followed them. I… I don't know if that man caused the fire after catching his wife with Elijah or something…"

Keagan stared at the daughter, but Wren appeared behind her. She caught Keagan's shoulders the exact moment the blonde lady lost her strength. "Why is that strangely specific and conclusive?"

The daughter looked at Wren and noticed how this beautiful woman felt like she owned armies. The daughter shrunk in her spot. "We saw them kissing inside the elevator. That man looked so suspicious, so we figured he could be the only one to do this."

"All right, reserve that statement for the police." Wren then attended to Keagan, who turned to lean on her instead. "Let's wait here until the police get done with sweeping the place for everyone who hadn't gotten out on time."

"…no…" Keagan walked out slowly to another side. There were not many people on that side. The police didn't even get to stand around to guard that side of the perimeter. Keagan stepped closer to the building. "If that's true, then he's home. No, I need to help him get out if he's home. I don't care if he brought another girl already… but if he's home, then…"

Grab! Someone grabbed Keagan's elbow and kept her from walking again. She turned to beg the person, but she found herself staring straight at Gephardt's sharp eyes. He then spoke, "If he can't get out on his own, he's good as dead. Are you planning to die with him?"

Keagan's eyes quivered, but she only limped against his hold. "But I can't… just stay here knowing that he could still be alive…"

"…Wren, I caught a whiff of the Stag and the Fox nearby. Also, the flames smell like it's been mixed with hawthorn and vetiver." Gephardt gritted his teeth. "One of those things must have engaged in a fight with the Stag, resulting in this fire. We could wait for the firemen to clear it out, but what if it's not yet dead? Should I go?"

"No." Wren shook her head and stroked Keagan's head. "Keagan, please promise me you'll stay here with Gephardt. I will fetch Elijah, dead or alive."

"Fetch him?" Keagan twitched and turned in Wren's direction, but Wren was already gone. Since Gephardt was looking up, she followed his gaze and dropped her jaw. "How… is she doing that? Is she really… scaling the building that fast?"

When Wren promised to fetch Elijah, she already knew she would have to show off signs in front of Keagan. The first time was a hazy memory, but tonight might be different. Then again, a dangerous creature might be lying in wait for the firemen on that particular floor. What was worse was that Elijah's body might be the unlucky food for its regeneration.

Boom! Wren gathered power in her legs as she lowered herself a little. She then launched herself up and easily reached the third floor of the building. Her hands grew out the strong claws, and one of them soon dug through the cement. She punched another hole using her other hand, taking out her first hand and using the hole as a stepping stone. She jumped to the sixth floor at the next second to do it all again.

Before anyone could notice her at the side of the building, Wren had already rolled inside a broken window on the seventeenth floor.