Indra's Heart

NINE

There are no words spoken and no music playing on the drive back home. Just the wind whipping against my damp face through the open windows and the engine humming to fill the quietude.

I'm annoyed with Will, but I'm grateful that Xander West is still alive. He flinched hard when the bullet landed on the pavement, inches away from his head and begged for his life again to Will's satisfaction. It shouldn't have even went that far though. Loud noises attract attention.

I drop him off and neither one of us issue the other a goodbye. My body aches as I roll my shoulders back and I worry for what the morning will bring. I make a right turn down my street and ease my foot on the brake to stop the car from mowing the figure in the middle of the road.

With a frame that is completely obscured by the cloak, I cannot decipher this person's gender. My heart pounds in my chest, my breathing becomes heavier, and goosebumps travel up the back of my neck when my headlights shine into the hood of the garment. Somehow, light is unable to penetrate the darkness surrounding its face at all and I'm staring into an abyss of mystery. I contemplate just swerving around but the yellow orbs that appear in that second ignite a fire in my belly. I've got to uncover the identity.

So I floor it.

I've been stalked for weeks and I'm sick of this shit. I'm done being the scared one. Right before my vehicle collides with their body, I hit the brakes, slamming my head into the headrest. The figure has not moved or even flinched, pissing me off even more.

"What do you want from me?" I yell, putting the car in park before grabbing my bloodied crowbar and flinging the door open. The adrenaline coursing through my veins falters when I stand up and realize that this person is....short. Really short. Am I getting punked by a child? "Answer me or I'll beat your ass."

"That would not be a wise thing to attempt, Andrew." The adult feminine voice startles me and I lower my weapon.

"Who...who are you?"

A hand as pale as the moon snakes out of her sleeve and pulls the thick hood back to reveal her face, leaving me speechless.

She has porcelain skin, a small button nose, and silky jet black hair. Her face is small and round and her ears are very pointed. Weirdly pointed. They almost look sharp enough to cut something. It's her eyes that are the most peculiar though. Big and glossy, they look akin to glass. Her lids hardly ever close over the irises that perpetually dance around her pupils. I'm even more confused and creeped out now than I was a few seconds ago. She can't be a real person.

"I am Sryx."

"Six what...years old?"

"My name is Sryx." She deadpans.

"Oh. Well, what are you doing? Like why are you following me? And why do you look like that?" I scowl, earning another robotic slow blink.

"I am here to save your life again. This time, with your help. You won't be able to hide much longer once you become eighteen years of age and when you are found, blood will be shed. Take this and keep it with you at all times." She produces a small glass sphere with specks of bright yellow swirling inside of it and I reluctantly grab it from her narrow palm.

"Save my life from what?" I raise the cold object up to the moonlight, completely mesmerized by its charm. Suddenly, the specks lose their twinkle and I'm alone in the middle of the street.