''I have to wake up again. Do I truly need to? Abram had passed out far more from tiredness than from his grave wounds, wounds that had already recovered. He made sure to keep the bandages properly placed to ensure no one would notice his recovery, and stood up with a groan.

''Nicholas, you better go and take a nap. It is my turn to be on watch duty.''Abram reached the fireplace. He didn't see anyone in the abandoned building. He slowly walked back, while staying on guard. It never mattered what happened before out there, there was always someone there to greet him when he woke up. It has always been this way.

''Haha...show yourself! I know there is someone here! "His mind was wandering through every terrible possibility it could, but his instinct made him pull out his knife as someone reached him from behind. He had moved his knife towards that presence and almost reached their neck before it was stopped by a gloved hand.

A woman, slightly taller than he was stopped the knife from reaching her neck. She walked back with an angry expression on her face, she was a pale blond woman with green sharp eyes, wearing a black suit with a green tie, her hands with black gloves, and her grip strong and firm. The two of them were locked in place staring at each other.

''I thought you were only good at hiding, but I guess this is what they call street smarts, not bad. My name is Aurora. Would you be kind enough to back off? We don't have the time to waste killing each other, at least not for now.'' She didn't seem to even bother to try to take off his knife, but somehow it felt like she could take it with ease.

''Where are Aisha and Nicholas!''

''If you want to know, step back and let me talk, man.''Abram steps back as she lowers her grip and puts her hands back in her pockets, likely to show she wasn't up for a fight, but her posture was pissing him off. It was just so utterly arrogant.

''Who are you? ''

''Already told you, I'm Aurora. About your friends or whatever they are, the tall guy kidnapped the girl while you were passed out in your room. "'

''No way I'm going to just believe that Nicholas did...'' She pulled a photo from her pocket without saying anything more. It seemed to have been taken outside of this room. Nicholas was carrying Aisha out of the building. Abraham was stunned. Why was this woman spying on them? That was his first thought, but he had to rapidly consider what the photo was showing him.

''My people tracked them, I know where he is. If you start moving, you may still make it in time. He is not alone, so keep that in mind.'' He was growing angrier by the second, but in his confusion, there was one thing that made a lot of sense.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

''He...Is he going to do a ritual? ''

''Afraid so, sacrificing one girl will at best summon a pathetic demon, but that is more than enough for someone like him to make it big on the streets. You know how it is, no? ''

''He wouldn't, he couldn't...I need to find him.'' Abram raised his knife towards her.

''Who are you? Who the hell are you?'' She turned the photo showing an address behind it and then passed it to him. He grabbed it and made some distance between them again.

''Just a friendly neighbor. Believe me, I don't want some girl to get sacrificed just like that. Isn't that enough info for you? Don't waste any more of your time, go catch up with your friend already.'' Abram walked backward, keeping his eyes on her till he felt safe enough to run off in the opposite direction.

''Nicholas, you can't be such a coward! "Abram ran out of his safe house. He had no shortage of questions, but no time to even ponder any of them. But though it hurt him, he was not that shocked. When it came down to it, this was the only way to be truly safe in the Creak district.

As he ran, something was reaching out for him. A fog began to envelop his surroundings, making him only able to see the alleys in front of him, as the city was slowly being engulfed. He tried to run as fast as he could, but he felt something touching his back, thin, long fingers settling on his shoulders as he ran.

''At the end, he grew tired of waiting. They are both leaving you now. You were too careless for far too long.'' The voice of a woman was reaching for his ears and he ran even faster to leave it behind. it wasn't the voice of Aurora, it was a raspier tone. That voice still reached him and he could feel the cold breath behind him. He saw a hand with its flesh ripped off, with long black nails as claws reaching towards his cheek. He closed his eyes and kept running.

''I will aid you, but we know that even if she lives, she will not thank you.''That cold voice whispered from his back.

''I don't care, I'll get to him, I'll put a stop to his idiocy.''

''Will you kill him? Will you forget him?''

''I will never forget anyone with a demon ever! "Abram screamed with his eyes closed to the voice behind his back.

''Let's walk together then, just us as it should be.'' There was a veil of white fog engulfing him as he completely disappeared.

He had vanished and the only witness was the woman in the black suit who looked at his run from afar.

''There is no way to follow him with our eyes, but that's all right, we both know where he is going, let's just keep an eye out for him and his cute friend.'' Aurora was looking at him from a rooftop till he was completely gone without a trace. She had her palm on her mouth as she giggled. One of her green eyes was now tinted in a striking red tone.

She was walking at the border balancing herself like a child pretending to fall.

''What do you say? Do you like him enough, Aurora, to present him to them all? The woman smiled as she talked to herself. ''Someone else seems to already have him, so we will have to negotiate. Next time, let me talk to that shadow behind him too, from demon to demon.''The woman giggles, speaking only to herself her voice changing wildly in tone.