The air outside was oddly cheerful, a stark contrast to the shitshow brewing beneath the surface. Silvercrest Plaza gleamed in the late October sun, all decked out for the season with plastic pumpkins, cheap cobwebs, and fake skeletons hanging from storefronts. The crowd bustled around like nothing was wrong—teenagers laughing, parents dragging toddlers by the hand, and a few high-schoolers loitering by the arcade entrance. It all seemed so normal.

But this was Ravetham. Normal wasn’t even in the damn dictionary.

Ennuy Null, looking smooth as hell, strutted through the plaza with Selene by his side, her white hair catching the light like a damn spotlight. Her aura screamed bougie royalty, even in this ghetto-fabulous setting. Every step she took looked like it belonged on a runway. Ennuy? He was playing it cool—leather jacket on, hands in his pockets, keeping his swagger in check while he low-key flexed on everyone who walked by. They looked like a mismatched power couple straight out of a dystopian romance, with all the what-the-fuck energy to match.

Not far behind, Adrian was lurking in the shadows, following at a safe distance with Sister Georgina in tow. The plaza's peaceful atmosphere was deceiving, though. As if laser shots could make noise anyway—silent but deadly, each one of those vibro-rounds packed enough punch to vaporize someone’s daydreams and leave no one the wiser. He was tired, bleary-eyed from his night of cloning and reanimating, but that didn’t stop him. The mission? Clear as hell. He needed Sister Georgina to handle Ennuy—and if she failed, well… he had some backup plans already brewing.

As Ennuy and Selene walked toward the glass doors of the Silvercrest Mall, Sister Georgina made her move. Her eyes were sharp, unfeeling, as she reached into her habit and pulled out a vibro Uzi—a nasty piece of work that hummed quietly in her hand like a sleeping beast about to wake up. With a steady hand and without hesitation, she aimed right at Ennuy’s back.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

The vibro rounds fired off silently, invisible to the naked eye, except for the faint shimmer in the air where they passed. The shots flew fast, too quick for most to notice, but not for Selene.

"Fuck!" Ennuy grunted as one of the vibro rounds clipped him right in the shoulder. His body jolted, stumbling forward, blood spilling down his arm.

Selene barely even flinched. The moment she saw her man take the hit, her face twisted into an icy snarl. Her halo—her Domain—flared to life around her head, glowing like a neon ring in the sun. Before Sister Georgina could even pull the trigger again, Selene was already on her. She didn’t scream or shout. She didn’t need to. All she had to do was look at the nun with those glowing red eyes, and in an instant, the old woman’s arm jerked upward as if possessed.

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BLAM!

Sister Georgina’s own gun fired a single, deafening shot—straight into her head.

Her body crumpled to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut, blood seeping from the neat hole in her skull. Selene didn’t even break her stride. She grabbed Ennuy’s uninjured arm and dragged him into the mall like it was just another day in Ravetham.

The mall doors slid open with a soft whoosh, and they stepped into the air-conditioned chaos. Teenagers ran past, a gaggle of girls screamed about a sale on faux fur jackets, and an old man in a Santa hat handed out flyers for some pop-up Christmas event. No one batted an eye at the blood dripping down Ennuy’s arm, assuming it was just part of his Halloween look. Lucky for them it was October.

Inside, Selene glanced down at Ennuy's wound. "You good?" she asked, not sounding particularly concerned. Her Domain made her cold like that, focused, untouchable.

Ennuy grinned through the pain, already healing fast thanks to his Dhampir blood. "Yeah, I’m good. Ain’t no nun gonna take me out. But I ain’t gonna lie… that hurt."

Selene rolled her eyes but smiled, giving his arm a playful squeeze. "We’ll get you patched up after we find those shoes I want."

Outside, Adrian watched it all unfold from behind a pillar, his fists clenched tight. "Fucking useless," he muttered under his breath, as his drone hovered nearby, retrieving Sister Georgina’s limp body.

The old bat had been one of his best reanimations, and now she was just scrap. But no matter—he’d regrow her. He had her DNA on ice back in the lab, and with his tech, it’d take maybe a couple of months to bring her back to full speed. Next time, though… next time she’d be a full-blown cyborg. Hell, he might even throw in some laser vision for good measure.

But that wasn’t what had him fuming. No, it was Ennuy. The nerve of that bastard, walking around with his little sister. Unforgivable. How dare he? He watched them from across the plaza as the mall swallowed them up. Selene, laughing, looking like a damn model, while Ennuy—that dog—limped behind her, clearly not worthy of her attention.

Adrian's mind raced. He couldn’t let this slide. Not now, not ever. He had clones. He had robots. And he sure as hell had time. He would build an army if he had to. Sister Georgina’s failure wouldn’t be the end. No, he could make more—multiple Sister Georginas, each one tougher than the last, armed to the teeth, with new upgrades that even Ennuy wouldn’t see coming.

Adrian turned and walked away from the carnage, his robots already on the scene cleaning up the blood and hauling the dead nun’s body back to his lab.

Inside the mall, Selene dragged Ennuy through the aisles of high-end stores, her smile never fading. The sleek white tiles sparkled underfoot, and the escalators hummed quietly as shoppers shuffled up and down. The scent of cinnamon and caramel wafted from a pretzel stand nearby, but Selene had her mind on one thing: shoes.

"I’m thinking heels," she mused aloud, glancing at a pair of six-inch stilettos in a display case. "Something fierce, you know? Something that says, ‘I don’t have time for bullshit.’"

Ennuy chuckled, shaking his head. "Girl, you already say that with every look you give."

Selene shot him a wink, exactly the kind of shit that made Ennuy forget all about the laser hole in his shoulder. "You know it."

As they moved deeper into the mall, Charm's words echoed in his mind—unlocking his Domain, his power. But right now, all Ennuy could think about was surviving this date.