"What do we do now?" I slammed myself on the chair.
"I don't get it", Peter muttered, "How did the Council got to know about you?"
"Someone from the inside must have spied and gave them the news", Marian answered.
"Look out if someone's missing", Courtney said aloud.
"Guys", Theo came to us, "Bad news- Louis is missing!"
"What?" gawked Marian.
"Louis?" Peter sat with his fingers knotted, "I never expected him to do anything like this".
"He had a problem with her since the very beginning", Marian frowned.
"But now what shall we do to get away from this?" I asked.
"Louis must have already informed about this place", Courtney answered, "We can't stay here anymore. Let's run somewhere else".
"Where?" Theo looked puzzled.
"What about The Gingerbread?" Peter suggested, suddenly coming back to life.
"Right", Marian chimed in, "That's the best place to go and hide. Nobody would think that we're hiding there".
The rest of the team like the muscular guy and the red-head guy and a couple of demon hunters left the place long before us.
"Where did they go?" I asked, nervously.
"They went from where they had come from", Theo said, "They don't wanna be a part of whatever is going on here".
"Let's not wait here more", Peter interrupted, "Let's move".
The Gingerbread was, as I had thought a small café down the East Street. A tiny bell jungled as we entered through the main door. The smell of fresh bread, cakes and ice-cream hit my nose. It smelled delicious. There was a small counter at a side, displaying various cakes and breads. A fat woman sat behind the counter. There were two tables and a couple of chairs for a few customers who would come to eat.
"Hello, Mrs. Rothbury", Peter greeted the woman.
"Hello, kids", she seemed cheerful, "What brought you here?"
Theo and Peter explained her everything in detail.
"The Council is a hard thing to get away from", she frowned as if she knew a lot about this new world. "You can hide here for a few days, but not more than that. I don't want any sort of trouble in my little café".
We agreed and she led us to a back door which was locked. She unlocked it and told us to go inside. We were now standing in a big hall. There were bunkers at its sides. There was a big cupboard to keep our things. A small window with a view of the back garden was in a corner.
"Will you please tell me who she is?" I inquired.
"That's Mrs. Rothbury", Courtney answered, "She's our kind, but only with a human business of café. This was her storeroom, which was later built into a dorm for demon hunters to stay".
"Many demon hunters used to visit Seattle in the beginning and couldn't find a proper place to settle in. Mrs. Rothbury eased their work by building this dorm", Theo added.
"How many days are we gonna stay here?" I asked.
"Depends on outside situations. She already warned us", Peter sat on a bunker.
"What about home?" I asked him, suddenly tensed.
"Don't you worry about home, Rose", Peter smiled, "They will forget everything. Darius will put a memory blockage system at our place".
"Oh my brother!" Courtney exclaimed, "Darius? Is hw with us, too?"
"Yeah", Theo laughed, "He promised to check on the Hoffman house as well as look for any valuable information about the Council".
"That's cool", Marian cried, "At least, he is with us".
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in", Courtney called.
The door opened and Mrs. Rothbury came in, carrying a tray of five steaming bowls and placed the tray at a side table.
"Chicken soup", she said merrily, "You kids must be hungry".
I had almost forgotten how much hungry I was due to the Council. Now seeing the bowl, my stomach grumbled and I took a bowl from the trey. Others did, too. The soup was delicious with chunks of chicken and a thick broth mixed with corn and turnips.
"Yummy!" Theo chuckled, "You really are an amazing cook".
"Oh dear, thank you", Mrs. Rothbury blushed.
"There's the washroom", she pointed towards another door in a corner.
I wanted to have a hot shower after a tiring day. The steaming hot water made me feel live and energetic. My tank top and the pair of faded jeans were the only outfits that I've been wearing since last night. I needed to change. When I let Mrs. Rothbury know about it, she happily handed me a pair of navy blue jeans and a floral shirt which was a little loose on me.
"These were my daughter's", she said sadly.
"They are pretty comfy", I smiled, "Thank you". I didn't mind asking what had happened to her daughter.
"Laura was my sixteen-year-old, pretty daughter. She was killed in a car crash along with her father," she said slowly, "My husband Rich was drunk while driving. I blame him for Laura's death". She clutched a gold chain tightly in her hand. She said it was Laura's possession.
"That's pretty upsetting, Mrs. Rothbury", Marian said apologatically.
"We won't put you in danger at any cost", I promised before she left the room.
We occupied one bunker each except Theo who said he found sleeping on the floor more comfortable.
"Guys", Courtney announced, "Whoever wakes first will rise the others up". She drifted off to sleep.
When I woke up, it was late afternoon. "You slept like dead, Rose", Peter chuckled.
"We saved you these", Theo passed a trey. It had a mould of cheese, two slices of bread and a cup of hot tea.
I saw that the rest of them had already finished their lunch. Only Courtney was licking the last bits of cream from a plastic cup. She found me staring at her.
"I'm sorry", she finished whatever was in the cup, "I finished your blueberry pastry. Thought you won't eat".
"It's okay. I don't like blueberry", I smiled.
"These are made by Mrs. Rothbury herself", Theo mentioned, "They're simple amazing".
"We should think about our next plan", Peter said, ignoring Theo.
"Which are the places we can go for hiding?" I asked.
"I guess we should head to Venice", Marian was amused.
"You wanna go directly in Clave Island, huh?" Theo laughed.
"We can go there and convince them", Marian replied.
"It's not an easy task, girlie", Courtney said, "They won't get convinced so easily not if they're looking for Rosanna since ages".
Courtney was right. We can't just show up in front of the Council and beg them to stop executing me to death and then fly back here.
No one had a good plan. We sat and talked about ourselves till it became dark outside.
"I wanna get some fresh air", Marian yawned, "It's suffocating in here. I'm out".
She got up and went for a walk outside. Mrs. Rothbury brought us a can of vegetable stew each in evening.
"Where's Marian?" she inquired.
"She went on the alley for a walk", Theo said, "Didn't you see her go?"
"Oh dear!" she looked tensed, "I was in the kitchen".
"Why didn't she come back yet?" I was nervous.
"I'll go and check", Peter rose up.
"I'll go with you", I held his shoulder.
He didn't protest. We both stepped on the alley. Cold breeze hit my skin and almost entered in my veins. It was cold. There weren't many people except for a few who were closing their stores and walking fast down the alley to go home.
"Marian?" I yelled on top of my voice, "Where are you?" No answer.
"Marian?" Peter called, "Marian?"
Still there was no reply. The alley was dimly lit with street lights. All I could see was emptiness. Nobody was out in a cold night. It was almost 8.
"Let's check the opposite side", Peter suggested and we both walked towards the opposite alley. We called Marian once, twice, thrice. No sign of her.
"Looking for you little friend?" a voice asked wearily.
We spun around to find a bald man staring at us from a house door.
"Yes", Peter answered, "Did you see her?"
"She was walking here in evening when three hooded men came and seized her". He had a horrifying expression.
"Oh no", Peter bit his lip, "It's the Council, you know".
"How did they know that we are here?" I frowned.
"The Council is not an easy thing to get away from", the bald man muttered.
"Who are you?" Peter was surprised.
"I'm Eric", he smiled, "I have been living here since past nine years. I'm one of your kind but without the business of killing demons".
"That's why you could see the Council members", I mumbled, "Humans can't see them, right?"
"Right", Eric answered, "And yeah, they gave me a message for you".
"What message?" Peter asked impatiently.
Eric took out a small piece of paper from his shirt pocket and handed it to him. Peter unfolded the paper as I came closer to look at it. It was a parchment paper filled with elegant slanting handwriting. Written in black ink were the words- Give us Rosanna Valdez. I know she's with you."What do we do now?" I slammed myself on the chair.
"I don't get it", Peter muttered, "How did the Council got to know about you?"
"Someone from the inside must have spied and gave them the news", Marian answered.
"Look out if someone's missing", Courtney said aloud.
"Guys", Theo came to us, "Bad news- Louis is missing!"
"What?" gawked Marian.
"Louis?" Peter sat with his fingers knotted, "I never expected him to do anything like this".
"He had a problem with her since the very beginning", Marian frowned.
"But now what shall we do to get away from this?" I asked.
"Louis must have already informed about this place", Courtney answered, "We can't stay here anymore. Let's run somewhere else".
"Where?" Theo looked puzzled.
"What about The Gingerbread?" Peter suggested, suddenly coming back to life.
"Right", Marian chimed in, "That's the best place to go and hide. Nobody would think that we're hiding there".
The rest of the team like the muscular guy and the red-head guy and a couple of demon hunters left the place long before us.
"Where did they go?" I asked, nervously.
"They went from where they had come from", Theo said, "They don't wanna be a part of whatever is going on here".
"Let's not wait here more", Peter interrupted, "Let's move".
The Gingerbread was, as I had thought a small café down the East Street. A tiny bell jungled as we entered through the main door. The smell of fresh bread, cakes and ice-cream hit my nose. It smelled delicious. There was a small counter at a side, displaying various cakes and breads. A fat woman sat behind the counter. There were two tables and a couple of chairs for a few customers who would come to eat.
"Hello, Mrs. Rothbury", Peter greeted the woman.
"Hello, kids", she seemed cheerful, "What brought you here?"
Theo and Peter explained her everything in detail.
"The Council is a hard thing to get away from", she frowned as if she knew a lot about this new world. "You can hide here for a few days, but not more than that. I don't want any sort of trouble in my little café".
We agreed and she led us to a back door which was locked. She unlocked it and told us to go inside. We were now standing in a big hall. There were bunkers at its sides. There was a big cupboard to keep our things. A small window with a view of the back garden was in a corner.
"Will you please tell me who she is?" I inquired.
"That's Mrs. Rothbury", Courtney answered, "She's our kind, but only with a human business of café. This was her storeroom, which was later built into a dorm for demon hunters to stay".
"Many demon hunters used to visit Seattle in the beginning and couldn't find a proper place to settle in. Mrs. Rothbury eased their work by building this dorm", Theo added.
"How many days are we gonna stay here?" I asked.
"Depends on outside situations. She already warned us", Peter sat on a bunker.
"What about home?" I asked him, suddenly tensed.
"Don't you worry about home, Rose", Peter smiled, "They will forget everything. Darius will put a memory blockage system at our place".
"Oh my brother!" Courtney exclaimed, "Darius? Is hw with us, too?"
"Yeah", Theo laughed, "He promised to check on the Hoffman house as well as look for any valuable information about the Council".
"That's cool", Marian cried, "At least, he is with us".
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in", Courtney called.
The door opened and Mrs. Rothbury came in, carrying a tray of five steaming bowls and placed the tray at a side table.
"Chicken soup", she said merrily, "You kids must be hungry".
I had almost forgotten how much hungry I was due to the Council. Now seeing the bowl, my stomach grumbled and I took a bowl from the trey. Others did, too. The soup was delicious with chunks of chicken and a thick broth mixed with corn and turnips.
"Yummy!" Theo chuckled, "You really are an amazing cook".
"Oh dear, thank you", Mrs. Rothbury blushed.
"There's the washroom", she pointed towards another door in a corner.
I wanted to have a hot shower after a tiring day. The steaming hot water made me feel live and energetic. My tank top and the pair of faded jeans were the only outfits that I've been wearing since last night. I needed to change. When I let Mrs. Rothbury know about it, she happily handed me a pair of navy blue jeans and a floral shirt which was a little loose on me.
"These were my daughter's", she said sadly.
"They are pretty comfy", I smiled, "Thank you". I didn't mind asking what had happened to her daughter.
"Laura was my sixteen-year-old, pretty daughter. She was killed in a car crash along with her father," she said slowly, "My husband Rich was drunk while driving. I blame him for Laura's death". She clutched a gold chain tightly in her hand. She said it was Laura's possession.
"That's pretty upsetting, Mrs. Rothbury", Marian said apologatically.
"We won't put you in danger at any cost", I promised before she left the room.
We occupied one bunker each except Theo who said he found sleeping on the floor more comfortable.
"Guys", Courtney announced, "Whoever wakes first will rise the others up". She drifted off to sleep.
When I woke up, it was late afternoon. "You slept like dead, Rose", Peter chuckled.
"We saved you these", Theo passed a trey. It had a mould of cheese, two slices of bread and a cup of hot tea.
I saw that the rest of them had already finished their lunch. Only Courtney was licking the last bits of cream from a plastic cup. She found me staring at her.
"I'm sorry", she finished whatever was in the cup, "I finished your blueberry pastry. Thought you won't eat".
"It's okay. I don't like blueberry", I smiled.
"These are made by Mrs. Rothbury herself", Theo mentioned, "They're simple amazing".
"We should think about our next plan", Peter said, ignoring Theo.
"Which are the places we can go for hiding?" I asked.
"I guess we should head to Venice", Marian was amused.
"You wanna go directly in Clave Island, huh?" Theo laughed.
"We can go there and convince them", Marian replied.
"It's not an easy task, girlie", Courtney said, "They won't get convinced so easily not if they're looking for Rosanna since ages".
Courtney was right. We can't just show up in front of the Council and beg them to stop executing me to death and then fly back here.
No one had a good plan. We sat and talked about ourselves till it became dark outside.
"I wanna get some fresh air", Marian yawned, "It's suffocating in here. I'm out".
She got up and went for a walk outside. Mrs. Rothbury brought us a can of vegetable stew each in evening.
"Where's Marian?" she inquired.
"She went on the alley for a walk", Theo said, "Didn't you see her go?"
"Oh dear!" she looked tensed, "I was in the kitchen".
"Why didn't she come back yet?" I was nervous.
"I'll go and check", Peter rose up.
"I'll go with you", I held his shoulder.
He didn't protest. We both stepped on the alley. Cold breeze hit my skin and almost entered in my veins. It was cold. There weren't many people except for a few who were closing their stores and walking fast down the alley to go home.
"Marian?" I yelled on top of my voice, "Where are you?" No answer.
"Marian?" Peter called, "Marian?"
Still there was no reply. The alley was dimly lit with street lights. All I could see was emptiness. Nobody was out in a cold night. It was almost 8.
"Let's check the opposite side", Peter suggested and we both walked towards the opposite alley. We called Marian once, twice, thrice. No sign of her.
"Looking for you little friend?" a voice asked wearily.
We spun around to find a bald man staring at us from a house door.
"Yes", Peter answered, "Did you see her?"
"She was walking here in evening when three hooded men came and seized her". He had a horrifying expression.
"Oh no", Peter bit his lip, "It's the Council, you know".
"How did they know that we are here?" I frowned.
"The Council is not an easy thing to get away from", the bald man muttered.
"Who are you?" Peter was surprised.
"I'm Eric", he smiled, "I have been living here since past nine years. I'm one of your kind but without the business of killing demons".
"That's why you could see the Council members", I mumbled, "Humans can't see them, right?"
"Right", Eric answered, "And yeah, they gave me a message for you".
"What message?" Peter asked impatiently.
Eric took out a small piece of paper from his shirt pocket and handed it to him. Peter unfolded the paper as I came closer to look at it. It was a parchment paper filled with elegant slanting handwriting. Written in black ink were the words- Give us Rosanna Valdez. I know she's with you.
"I don't get it", Peter muttered, "How did the Council got to know about you?"
"Someone from the inside must have spied and gave them the news", Marian answered.
"Look out if someone's missing", Courtney said aloud.
"Guys", Theo came to us, "Bad news- Louis is missing!"
"What?" gawked Marian.
"Louis?" Peter sat with his fingers knotted, "I never expected him to do anything like this".
"He had a problem with her since the very beginning", Marian frowned.
"But now what shall we do to get away from this?" I asked.
"Louis must have already informed about this place", Courtney answered, "We can't stay here anymore. Let's run somewhere else".
"Where?" Theo looked puzzled.
"What about The Gingerbread?" Peter suggested, suddenly coming back to life.
"Right", Marian chimed in, "That's the best place to go and hide. Nobody would think that we're hiding there".
The rest of the team like the muscular guy and the red-head guy and a couple of demon hunters left the place long before us.
"Where did they go?" I asked, nervously.
"They went from where they had come from", Theo said, "They don't wanna be a part of whatever is going on here".
"Let's not wait here more", Peter interrupted, "Let's move".
The Gingerbread was, as I had thought a small café down the East Street. A tiny bell jungled as we entered through the main door. The smell of fresh bread, cakes and ice-cream hit my nose. It smelled delicious. There was a small counter at a side, displaying various cakes and breads. A fat woman sat behind the counter. There were two tables and a couple of chairs for a few customers who would come to eat.
"Hello, Mrs. Rothbury", Peter greeted the woman.
"Hello, kids", she seemed cheerful, "What brought you here?"
Theo and Peter explained her everything in detail.
"The Council is a hard thing to get away from", she frowned as if she knew a lot about this new world. "You can hide here for a few days, but not more than that. I don't want any sort of trouble in my little café".
We agreed and she led us to a back door which was locked. She unlocked it and told us to go inside. We were now standing in a big hall. There were bunkers at its sides. There was a big cupboard to keep our things. A small window with a view of the back garden was in a corner.
"Will you please tell me who she is?" I inquired.
"That's Mrs. Rothbury", Courtney answered, "She's our kind, but only with a human business of café. This was her storeroom, which was later built into a dorm for demon hunters to stay".
"Many demon hunters used to visit Seattle in the beginning and couldn't find a proper place to settle in. Mrs. Rothbury eased their work by building this dorm", Theo added.
"How many days are we gonna stay here?" I asked.
"Depends on outside situations. She already warned us", Peter sat on a bunker.
"What about home?" I asked him, suddenly tensed.
"Don't you worry about home, Rose", Peter smiled, "They will forget everything. Darius will put a memory blockage system at our place".
"Oh my brother!" Courtney exclaimed, "Darius? Is hw with us, too?"
"Yeah", Theo laughed, "He promised to check on the Hoffman house as well as look for any valuable information about the Council".
"That's cool", Marian cried, "At least, he is with us".
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in", Courtney called.
The door opened and Mrs. Rothbury came in, carrying a tray of five steaming bowls and placed the tray at a side table.
"Chicken soup", she said merrily, "You kids must be hungry".
I had almost forgotten how much hungry I was due to the Council. Now seeing the bowl, my stomach grumbled and I took a bowl from the trey. Others did, too. The soup was delicious with chunks of chicken and a thick broth mixed with corn and turnips.
"Yummy!" Theo chuckled, "You really are an amazing cook".
"Oh dear, thank you", Mrs. Rothbury blushed.
"There's the washroom", she pointed towards another door in a corner.
I wanted to have a hot shower after a tiring day. The steaming hot water made me feel live and energetic. My tank top and the pair of faded jeans were the only outfits that I've been wearing since last night. I needed to change. When I let Mrs. Rothbury know about it, she happily handed me a pair of navy blue jeans and a floral shirt which was a little loose on me.
"These were my daughter's", she said sadly.
"They are pretty comfy", I smiled, "Thank you". I didn't mind asking what had happened to her daughter.
"Laura was my sixteen-year-old, pretty daughter. She was killed in a car crash along with her father," she said slowly, "My husband Rich was drunk while driving. I blame him for Laura's death". She clutched a gold chain tightly in her hand. She said it was Laura's possession.
"That's pretty upsetting, Mrs. Rothbury", Marian said apologatically.
"We won't put you in danger at any cost", I promised before she left the room.
We occupied one bunker each except Theo who said he found sleeping on the floor more comfortable.
"Guys", Courtney announced, "Whoever wakes first will rise the others up". She drifted off to sleep.
When I woke up, it was late afternoon. "You slept like dead, Rose", Peter chuckled.
"We saved you these", Theo passed a trey. It had a mould of cheese, two slices of bread and a cup of hot tea.
I saw that the rest of them had already finished their lunch. Only Courtney was licking the last bits of cream from a plastic cup. She found me staring at her.
"I'm sorry", she finished whatever was in the cup, "I finished your blueberry pastry. Thought you won't eat".
"It's okay. I don't like blueberry", I smiled.
"These are made by Mrs. Rothbury herself", Theo mentioned, "They're simple amazing".
"We should think about our next plan", Peter said, ignoring Theo.
"Which are the places we can go for hiding?" I asked.
"I guess we should head to Venice", Marian was amused.
"You wanna go directly in Clave Island, huh?" Theo laughed.
"We can go there and convince them", Marian replied.
"It's not an easy task, girlie", Courtney said, "They won't get convinced so easily not if they're looking for Rosanna since ages".
Courtney was right. We can't just show up in front of the Council and beg them to stop executing me to death and then fly back here.
No one had a good plan. We sat and talked about ourselves till it became dark outside.
"I wanna get some fresh air", Marian yawned, "It's suffocating in here. I'm out".
She got up and went for a walk outside. Mrs. Rothbury brought us a can of vegetable stew each in evening.
"Where's Marian?" she inquired.
"She went on the alley for a walk", Theo said, "Didn't you see her go?"
"Oh dear!" she looked tensed, "I was in the kitchen".
"Why didn't she come back yet?" I was nervous.
"I'll go and check", Peter rose up.
"I'll go with you", I held his shoulder.
He didn't protest. We both stepped on the alley. Cold breeze hit my skin and almost entered in my veins. It was cold. There weren't many people except for a few who were closing their stores and walking fast down the alley to go home.
"Marian?" I yelled on top of my voice, "Where are you?" No answer.
"Marian?" Peter called, "Marian?"
Still there was no reply. The alley was dimly lit with street lights. All I could see was emptiness. Nobody was out in a cold night. It was almost 8.
"Let's check the opposite side", Peter suggested and we both walked towards the opposite alley. We called Marian once, twice, thrice. No sign of her.
"Looking for you little friend?" a voice asked wearily.
We spun around to find a bald man staring at us from a house door.
"Yes", Peter answered, "Did you see her?"
"She was walking here in evening when three hooded men came and seized her". He had a horrifying expression.
"Oh no", Peter bit his lip, "It's the Council, you know".
"How did they know that we are here?" I frowned.
"The Council is not an easy thing to get away from", the bald man muttered.
"Who are you?" Peter was surprised.
"I'm Eric", he smiled, "I have been living here since past nine years. I'm one of your kind but without the business of killing demons".
"That's why you could see the Council members", I mumbled, "Humans can't see them, right?"
"Right", Eric answered, "And yeah, they gave me a message for you".
"What message?" Peter asked impatiently.
Eric took out a small piece of paper from his shirt pocket and handed it to him. Peter unfolded the paper as I came closer to look at it. It was a parchment paper filled with elegant slanting handwriting. Written in black ink were the words- Give us Rosanna Valdez. I know she's with you."What do we do now?" I slammed myself on the chair.
"I don't get it", Peter muttered, "How did the Council got to know about you?"
"Someone from the inside must have spied and gave them the news", Marian answered.
"Look out if someone's missing", Courtney said aloud.
"Guys", Theo came to us, "Bad news- Louis is missing!"
"What?" gawked Marian.
"Louis?" Peter sat with his fingers knotted, "I never expected him to do anything like this".
"He had a problem with her since the very beginning", Marian frowned.
"But now what shall we do to get away from this?" I asked.
"Louis must have already informed about this place", Courtney answered, "We can't stay here anymore. Let's run somewhere else".
"Where?" Theo looked puzzled.
"What about The Gingerbread?" Peter suggested, suddenly coming back to life.
"Right", Marian chimed in, "That's the best place to go and hide. Nobody would think that we're hiding there".
The rest of the team like the muscular guy and the red-head guy and a couple of demon hunters left the place long before us.
"Where did they go?" I asked, nervously.
"They went from where they had come from", Theo said, "They don't wanna be a part of whatever is going on here".
"Let's not wait here more", Peter interrupted, "Let's move".
The Gingerbread was, as I had thought a small café down the East Street. A tiny bell jungled as we entered through the main door. The smell of fresh bread, cakes and ice-cream hit my nose. It smelled delicious. There was a small counter at a side, displaying various cakes and breads. A fat woman sat behind the counter. There were two tables and a couple of chairs for a few customers who would come to eat.
"Hello, Mrs. Rothbury", Peter greeted the woman.
"Hello, kids", she seemed cheerful, "What brought you here?"
Theo and Peter explained her everything in detail.
"The Council is a hard thing to get away from", she frowned as if she knew a lot about this new world. "You can hide here for a few days, but not more than that. I don't want any sort of trouble in my little café".
We agreed and she led us to a back door which was locked. She unlocked it and told us to go inside. We were now standing in a big hall. There were bunkers at its sides. There was a big cupboard to keep our things. A small window with a view of the back garden was in a corner.
"Will you please tell me who she is?" I inquired.
"That's Mrs. Rothbury", Courtney answered, "She's our kind, but only with a human business of café. This was her storeroom, which was later built into a dorm for demon hunters to stay".
"Many demon hunters used to visit Seattle in the beginning and couldn't find a proper place to settle in. Mrs. Rothbury eased their work by building this dorm", Theo added.
"How many days are we gonna stay here?" I asked.
"Depends on outside situations. She already warned us", Peter sat on a bunker.
"What about home?" I asked him, suddenly tensed.
"Don't you worry about home, Rose", Peter smiled, "They will forget everything. Darius will put a memory blockage system at our place".
"Oh my brother!" Courtney exclaimed, "Darius? Is hw with us, too?"
"Yeah", Theo laughed, "He promised to check on the Hoffman house as well as look for any valuable information about the Council".
"That's cool", Marian cried, "At least, he is with us".
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in", Courtney called.
The door opened and Mrs. Rothbury came in, carrying a tray of five steaming bowls and placed the tray at a side table.
"Chicken soup", she said merrily, "You kids must be hungry".
I had almost forgotten how much hungry I was due to the Council. Now seeing the bowl, my stomach grumbled and I took a bowl from the trey. Others did, too. The soup was delicious with chunks of chicken and a thick broth mixed with corn and turnips.
"Yummy!" Theo chuckled, "You really are an amazing cook".
"Oh dear, thank you", Mrs. Rothbury blushed.
"There's the washroom", she pointed towards another door in a corner.
I wanted to have a hot shower after a tiring day. The steaming hot water made me feel live and energetic. My tank top and the pair of faded jeans were the only outfits that I've been wearing since last night. I needed to change. When I let Mrs. Rothbury know about it, she happily handed me a pair of navy blue jeans and a floral shirt which was a little loose on me.
"These were my daughter's", she said sadly.
"They are pretty comfy", I smiled, "Thank you". I didn't mind asking what had happened to her daughter.
"Laura was my sixteen-year-old, pretty daughter. She was killed in a car crash along with her father," she said slowly, "My husband Rich was drunk while driving. I blame him for Laura's death". She clutched a gold chain tightly in her hand. She said it was Laura's possession.
"That's pretty upsetting, Mrs. Rothbury", Marian said apologatically.
"We won't put you in danger at any cost", I promised before she left the room.
We occupied one bunker each except Theo who said he found sleeping on the floor more comfortable.
"Guys", Courtney announced, "Whoever wakes first will rise the others up". She drifted off to sleep.
When I woke up, it was late afternoon. "You slept like dead, Rose", Peter chuckled.
"We saved you these", Theo passed a trey. It had a mould of cheese, two slices of bread and a cup of hot tea.
I saw that the rest of them had already finished their lunch. Only Courtney was licking the last bits of cream from a plastic cup. She found me staring at her.
"I'm sorry", she finished whatever was in the cup, "I finished your blueberry pastry. Thought you won't eat".
"It's okay. I don't like blueberry", I smiled.
"These are made by Mrs. Rothbury herself", Theo mentioned, "They're simple amazing".
"We should think about our next plan", Peter said, ignoring Theo.
"Which are the places we can go for hiding?" I asked.
"I guess we should head to Venice", Marian was amused.
"You wanna go directly in Clave Island, huh?" Theo laughed.
"We can go there and convince them", Marian replied.
"It's not an easy task, girlie", Courtney said, "They won't get convinced so easily not if they're looking for Rosanna since ages".
Courtney was right. We can't just show up in front of the Council and beg them to stop executing me to death and then fly back here.
No one had a good plan. We sat and talked about ourselves till it became dark outside.
"I wanna get some fresh air", Marian yawned, "It's suffocating in here. I'm out".
She got up and went for a walk outside. Mrs. Rothbury brought us a can of vegetable stew each in evening.
"Where's Marian?" she inquired.
"She went on the alley for a walk", Theo said, "Didn't you see her go?"
"Oh dear!" she looked tensed, "I was in the kitchen".
"Why didn't she come back yet?" I was nervous.
"I'll go and check", Peter rose up.
"I'll go with you", I held his shoulder.
He didn't protest. We both stepped on the alley. Cold breeze hit my skin and almost entered in my veins. It was cold. There weren't many people except for a few who were closing their stores and walking fast down the alley to go home.
"Marian?" I yelled on top of my voice, "Where are you?" No answer.
"Marian?" Peter called, "Marian?"
Still there was no reply. The alley was dimly lit with street lights. All I could see was emptiness. Nobody was out in a cold night. It was almost 8.
"Let's check the opposite side", Peter suggested and we both walked towards the opposite alley. We called Marian once, twice, thrice. No sign of her.
"Looking for you little friend?" a voice asked wearily.
We spun around to find a bald man staring at us from a house door.
"Yes", Peter answered, "Did you see her?"
"She was walking here in evening when three hooded men came and seized her". He had a horrifying expression.
"Oh no", Peter bit his lip, "It's the Council, you know".
"How did they know that we are here?" I frowned.
"The Council is not an easy thing to get away from", the bald man muttered.
"Who are you?" Peter was surprised.
"I'm Eric", he smiled, "I have been living here since past nine years. I'm one of your kind but without the business of killing demons".
"That's why you could see the Council members", I mumbled, "Humans can't see them, right?"
"Right", Eric answered, "And yeah, they gave me a message for you".
"What message?" Peter asked impatiently.
Eric took out a small piece of paper from his shirt pocket and handed it to him. Peter unfolded the paper as I came closer to look at it. It was a parchment paper filled with elegant slanting handwriting. Written in black ink were the words- Give us Rosanna Valdez. I know she's with you.
Very informative, keep posting such good articles, it really helps to know about things.
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