image [https://i.postimg.cc/tC7hQXyf/ch-84-vol-3.jpg]

We needed to run far and fast. Those pint sized pursuers were right on our tail.

Any twists and turns we took along the street slowed us down significantly, and there were plenty of them. It was to the point that I had to question what the demons had done to this town's layout.

Our only guiding light was a NAV point I’d set on my map, leading us to the star and shield icon deep downtown. Without my map fully functioning, we had to wing the directions a bit.

“We’ll lose them in this building!” Uncle announced as he led us in.

Everyone was inside within seconds. As we hid behind the entrance, the night hags all raced past without noticing where we’d gone.

“They lost us,” Indena commented.

“Not for long,” Uncle said, pushing us through the building. “There’s vents in the walls, and I’m sure they’ll be searching through those to find us.

This building looked like a dingy funeral home, but I couldn't tell if that was because the demon zone changed it, or if it was always this way. Regardless, we made haste through it. There was scampering in the walls, just like Uncle warned us about. We weren’t sure if they’d found us yet, but we didn’t stick around to find out.

A weird black webbing was everywhere. It looked really gross, so we avoided touching it. A lot of it was especially concentrated inside of a room with a casket. Huge masses of it were glowing red on the floor.

“I wanna burn this stuff and get rid of it” Indena said, but it didn’t appear to be flammable.

“Don’t burn anything right now,” Uncle warned her. “They’ll find us quickly if you do.”

“Yeah, I know. But this crap is giving me the creeps.”

She's not the only one.

Everyone managed to sneak through the funeral home undetected. We got back onto the streets, which happened to be empty of any demonic threats. Lucky for us, it also proved to be a shortcut to our destination.

“It’s right around here, Uncle.”

In this area, every building looked like it was ripped out of a dreary Halloween movie, just without the fun costumed characters or candy. But right before us was a building that seemed very out of place in all that.

An antique store!

Its karate chopping frog logo called to us with its silliness. A sign in the window said, 'hop over and chop till you drop!'

The star and shield icon over the map was located inside that store, so this must have been like some sort of safe haven. In video game dungeons, you’d usually need to use these places as save points.

We tried opening the door, but it was locked.

“Hey, someone give me a bobby pin and a toothpick.” Indena kneeled in front of the door while inspecting the lock.

Emily pulled out a bobby pin from her hair, as well as a multi-tool knife from her belt that she handed over.

“You know, I can pick locks too,” Emily said.

“Good for you." While she was talking, she was picking the lock, brushing the inner parts of it and trying to twist it open. "For the record, I only know how to do this because I once got locked out of my apartment when my roommate wasn’t home.”

“You lived with someone?” I asked.

“Why, is it that hard to believe two people can live together?” She gave a confused smile. “Yeah, I lived with my friend Sasha. We trained under the same priestess.”

She mentioned Sasha before when we were stuck in that valley. She said they would sneak into movies and not pay.

“Was Sasha a bad girl?” I asked.

“Nope,” Indena said, still focused on the lock. “She’s more like Yamin, but less of a nervous wreck” Indena chuckled. "If I took after Archpriestess Sovereignty's fighting skills, Sasha took after her personality."

"So, she's really nice and kind?" I asked.

"And stupidly bubbly."

*TINK!*

Her bobby pin broke, then she swore something nasty under her breath.

“Hey, I need another pin.”

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

“This is my last one, so make it count,” Emily replied.

“I’ll make you count…you lousy...” Indena grumbled to herself, getting back to picking the lock. “Sasha and I are like sisters. She’s also a miko. We fight all the time about who’s stronger.” She took a deep sigh. “Maybe that’s why Yamin drives me a little nuts. Reminds me too much of her.”

"This Sovereignty," Uncle spoke up, "she was like a mother to you, I assume?"

“Yeah,” Indena nodded.

“Do you have a real mom?” I blurted out.

“Nah, my dad gave birth to me. Idiot.”

She doesn't have to be so mean about it…

Indena continued by saying “Last time I saw my real mom was probably when I was three or something… Not a great memory.”

*CLICK!*

The lock made a click sound, then Indena got the door open.

“Thank the divine I don’t worship!” Indena announced, handing the bobby pin and tool back to Emily. “Alright, let's head in. Just in case those little buggers find us, I’ll lock it once we're inside .”

We ran in and carefully closed the door shut so it didn’t make a sound.

Shelves upon shelves here were stacked with assortments of random junk and crazy items. Some things looked like really expensive gems and charms, others looked like cheap toys. It was a pretty mixed bag.

Supplementing all the old nick-knacks was the smell of sawdust and mold. This was a true antique store experience.

Uncle and Emily set Marek and the woman we saved down in a corner. Emily gathered a few items up and started nursing both the incapacitated with a first aid kit.

This antique store was the only place we’d seen so far that wasn’t affected by the demon lord’s power in some way. There had to be a reason, so we started looking.

Not long into the search, I found A note behind the front desk.

Dear Miss. Monica,

Please stop working so hard. You look like you're losing sleep again. If you want, I can watch the store for the next few days. You don’t have to pay me. Just get some sleep and put in a good word for me with Victor at the cafe.

Don’t tell him I asked for that last part, or he’ll get suspicious :P

Love, Yamin.

Yamin was here? Was this recent, or maybe before the demon attack?

"You said the note was addressed to a Monica?" Miss Emily held up a red crystal card she pulled from the woman. "Found her."

"What are the odds?" I knit my brow.

"Probably high," Uncle said. "If she was hiding in here when the demon lord took over, she would have been mostly safe."

He theorized that she probably left not long after we got here, then got herself caught by a night hag on the street. But I have to wonder, how long was she hiding out in here?

"Why would she have left a safe place like this?" Emily asked.

"I can't find any food here, so she might have been looking for some," Uncle answered. "Until she wakes up, we won't know for sure."

“Oi, Shrimp, you’re still bleeding,” Indena changed the subject, reminding me about the trickle of blue blood that was dying my feathers.

Getting this arrow out of my wing would be a lot easier then getting the one out of Marek’s knee. Mine could just be yanked out and healed. His was going to need surgery to properly remove it. Uncle was still going to help both of us, but Marek's was going to be more unpleasant. Good thing he was still sleeping.

The problem of removing mine though was that it was going to hurt since the sedative was wearing off. I wasn't looking forward to that part.

“We can pull it out now, if you’re ready,” Uncle offered.

I didn’t want to do it in front of everyone, so we went into a backroom.

Uncle broke off the arrow head, then carefully tugged the wooden part out so it wouldn’t leave any splinters in me.

“Yeep!” I squealed from the pain. “It hurts!” This was the worst pain of my life!

“I know,” he said in a considerate tone. “I'm almost done.”

It was almost over. Then I could use my healing magic to close the wound.

After my minor surgical procedure, Marek's came next. Uncle was a lot more cautious with him, since he didn't want to mess up Marek's knee. I had to heal that up too in the end, and boy did he need it.

~☆☆☆~

My wing healed up nicely, but it still felt a little weird and stung really bad. Even after I de-spawned them, I still had really uncomfortable pain shooting through my back.

While I was recovering along with Marek, Emily and Indena had found what was causing this place to be protected from the demon's domain.

“Check out the fireplace over there,” Indena said, pointing to something shiny.

Right on the mantel was a trophy looking altar. Seven glowing stars shone around it with one bright blue one in the middle.

This was an altar of the Seven Stars of Heaven. A symbol of the Ecclysian religion of this country. The same one that venerated me as the Eighth Star Angel.

“That’s Deula stuff, right?” Indena asked. “What’s up with this thing?”

I was detecting a lot of stardust radiating off of it. It was actually generating electromagnetic energy, kinda like a bunch of real tiny stars. With the amount of light energy this produced, it must have been fighting off the demon's control, preventing this antique store from being affected by the domain.

“Guess that explains why we're safe here,” Indena concluded. “Should we carry this thing with us?”

“No,” Uncle said. “We’re not carrying the wounded around with us either.” He turned to Emily. “Mind staying behind and watching over them? Nothing should be able to get you guys here.”

Emily was more than happy to take on that job. She'd already made some makeshift beds for the lady and Marek to lay in.

"Indena, Yalda, we'll be the ones storming that castle," Uncle said.

"Hey, we get the fun part," Indena commented, half sarcastically.

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