With his muscular arms crossed, the enormous barbarian beside me kept obnoxiously tapping his shoe against the pavement while we waited. Logan's gaze fell on nothing in particular, seemingly lost in thought. He was probably worried about what might happen in the 4th District. Even I had my worries regarding the profit we'd make. If we managed to find any jewelry that is.

As we waited for our drive to arrive, I put down the backpack and plopped right on top of it. Not even that was enough to disturb Logan's line of thinking. The axe in his hand, on the other hand, was enough to startle a few passersby. No one dared to object, however. Who would want to irritate this behemoth of a man?

"We're the Hawkes," I told him, which brought his attention to me. "We'll manage, somehow."

"That's what we are," he repeated. I could hear the pride in his rough voice. "You're right, Gray. We'll figure something out when we're there."

I nodded my head, lightly massaging the bruise on my side. "Uh-huh."

He didn't notice that gesture as he whispered in a firm tone: "We'll just stomp on whatever monstrosities get in our way."

Logan's eyes then returned to the avenue ahead. I did the same, watching the black van drawing closer.

"They're here," he muttered, signaling me to get up with a light pat on my shoulder. "Oh, and Gray."

"Mm?"

"Let's have a drink sometime," he said.

Recalling the events that happened within the Underworld, I gulped and squeezed out an: "Please, no alcohol..."

I've already satiated my curiosity in that regard. I doubted I'd ever be able to drink any booze ever again. Only water from now on, and juice if I'm in the mood. Anything other than that would simply be a waste of money, time, and health.

"Why? asked Logan, somewhat offended, then pointed his thumb toward himself. "Are you perhaps refusing my gracious offer? Don't be a moron, Gray. Just give me a call when you gain the courage to officially become an adult. Ava has plenty of beer to spare in the grocery—"

That's when the car's brake cut him off before he could say more of his nonsense.

"What kind of lies are you feeding to him, Logan?" voiced a woman in a bemused tone.

With a shrug, he answered: "There wasn't a single lie in my words."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"That in itself is a lie."

She threw her elbows over the window, resting her chin on her arms as she watched us. Half of her short hair was tied up so that her bangs wouldn't get in the way while fighting. The other half hung down, barely reaching her shoulders. Not minding her presence, I went around the van.

After a moment, Logan's lips curled upward: "Can't you see it?"

"See what?" she questioned, unaware of the trap he laid.

His smile deepened. "Even the brat's annoyed by you, Mara."

"He's not!" she hissed, then poked her head out of the window to look for me. "You aren't annoyed by how I behave, are you, Gray? I wasn't trying to be cool or anything. It was just an act, okay? A joke!"

I often found her quite pushy. Like Ava, just younger and more energetic. She rarely takes no for an answer and pushes through even the direst of circumstances. An excellent trait the scout out of our party could possess. My opinion aside, if I were to tell her otherwise, she might burst into tears. That's why I thought about what the best answer in this situation would be. Something that would help me avoid a lot of trouble.

After my brief moment of contemplation was over, I gave her my answer: "It's nice to see you too, Mara."

"He completely ignored me!" she yelled, imaginary tears forming around the corners of her eyes.

"That's what you get for trying to make fun of me," said the barbarian, taking pleasure in her reaction. There was a murmur of sorts in the background, but it was barely audible.

"Oh, you son of a bitch," she said through her gritted teeth. "You'll pay for this one."

Logan threw the axe on top of his shoulder as if to show just how confident he felt. "I'll take you on at any time of the day, but—"

"But?"

"Don't curse in front of that brat." He scratched his beard. "It's embarrassing seeing you admit you can't win an argument against me, resorting to throwing a tantrum instead. Gray is a lot more mature than you in that regard."

"For how much longer do you idiots plan to ignore me?" asked the man from the driver's seat as he wiped his glasses on his shirt. "Get in the van already."

"Scary..." Logan shriveled, took a step back, and covered himself. "Do you intend to take my organs and sell the on the Black Market or something...? You're awful, Eddie."

It's the Underworld, I wanted to correct him, but bit my tongue just as I was about to let out the words. I should have no knowledge of that place other than the stories this barbarian told me about.

"It's Edward," he refuted.

"Sure thing, Eddie."

Without saying another word, Edward twisted his body around and pulled out a crossbow from the back.

"Do you have anything else to say?" he asked while loading it with an arrow. Its shaft had a small rune in the center, resembling the ones I had on my artifact.

"No, sir," answered Logan, raising his arms and resigning himself to fate. "We're getting in the van, sir."

Edward nodded, then put the crossbow down. "Good."

"Wait," muttered Logan, looking around. "Gray? Did you already get in the van?"

Mara only shook her head in dismay as she saw the party leader's lack of self-awareness. "Yes, he hoped in while you were occupied toying with Edward. If you don't want to walk all the way to the 4th District, you should get inside too, Logan. You could take a cab, but I doubt you'd fit into one..."

His shoulders dropped as soon as he heard about my unexpected betrayal. "Sure..."

Don't act as if I've done something unforgivable. All I wanted was to get this heavy burden off my shoulders—the backpack.

I know you can understand that, so no hard feelings, alright?