White Rabbit

Chapter 15: From Shadows

REECE

Much to Labyrinth's displeasure, we decided to allow Essence to join our group as a trainee with Jace after he left. Afterwards, I got called to another emergency, with Katsuro and Lucian coming along to help.

"What do you think it could be this time?" Katsuro asks as he walks along beside me and Lucian, Katsuro on my right and Lucian on my left.

"I don't know," I sigh as I look up at the dark sky, admiring the way the stars shine in the black and dark blues before looking back in front of me, remaining vigilant of my surroundings, "I don't really care, either. I just want to get this over with and go back home."

"Why, so you can get back to Essence?" Lucian snorts.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I shoot him a sideways glance.

"It means, it's truly wonderful and all that you're infatuated with someone else that isn't Clattonia or Juniper, but don't fall in love with her," Lucian says, "You'll regret it."

"Excuse me?" I raise my eyebrows and nearly stop in my tracks, "You're getting ahead of yourself. For one, I just met Essence. Two, I'll be the one to judge what I regret and what I don't regret. But thanks for the advice."

"I'm just saying--"

"Don't," Katsuro glances over at Lucian and shakes his head.

"Look, if you need to talk about what happened with Nightshade, I'll be here to listen. But don't taint everyone with your cynicism," I say, "If anything, you should be giving that speech to Katsuro."

"Reece!" Katsuro exclaims.

"He already knows about your feelings for Juniper," I say bluntly as we continue walking.

"You know too?!" Katsuro shouts.

"Of course I do," Lucian rolls his eyes, "Who do you take me for? I'm not an idiot."

"Seriously?" Katsuro sighs as he runs a hand down his face, "Who all knows?"

"Everyone," Lucian and I say simultaneously as the three of us round the corner of the nearest brick building, gliding along the sidewalk in the darkness.

"Great," Katsuro says dishearteningly as his shoulders slump and he sighs once more, "Just great..."

"And if you ever hurt her," I say as I look at Katsuro out of the corner of my eye, "I'll hunt you down and rip your throat out after breaking all of your fingers for ever touching her and disabling all of your senses except for pain. I don't care who you are, nobody hurts Juniper."

"I promise I won't," Katsuro says as he looks straight ahead with a determined, protective expression, "You can take my word on that."

"Good," I nod.

"You better live up to your word then," Lucian chuckles darkly.

"I always do," Katsuro shoots Lucian a sharp look before sighing, "I just don't know how to ask her out. I mean, what if she doesn't--"

"Stop," I command as I put my arm out in front of Katsuro, keeping him from walking any further, which makes Lucian stop as well, pausing to draw out his sword slowly.

Katsuro raises his arm up with his shield on it, holding it diagonal to his chest as his eyes scan the area, before his eyes widen and he holds his shield up to his face, blocking the shadow bullet which glows and flashes with purple and lilac poisons, his feet digging into the ground and sliding backwards slightly from the force as more bullets keep flying one after the other.

"Muerte," Lucian mutters as he swings his sword around and points it at the ground, making a diamond tile that swirls with blues, yellows, and silvers appears underneath his feet before making a checkerboard pathway of diamonds to the girl covered in swirling shadows.

At every other diamond tile there forms a shield of energy in the shape of diamonds as well, which Lucian hides behind as he steps onto the next diamond and immediately propels forwards, almost as if he's magnetically being pulled to each diamond, each one lighting up as he touches and passes over it. The diamond energy shields each shatter as well as he soars through them, leaving pieces of what look like stained glass on the ground in his wake.

"That's right," Misery smirks and beckons to Lucian with her hand, "Come to me. Come to me like Kaden did. Perhaps I'll kill you just as I did him."

"Shut up!" Katsuro shouts and steps forwards while seething at Misery.

Katsuro leaps up and spins, throwing his shield at Misery as I unsheathe my great sword from my back and leap up, landing with my right foot on the edge of the blade as the sword cracks through the pavement, a Time Field spreading out from beneath my feet as the golden and black rune spreads out across the ground in a giant circle, the air becoming much darker as it spreads out. The Time Field provides cover for Katsuro as his shield flies at Misery, who has the capability of moving her eyes in real time, as she glares at me and slowly moves out of the way, leaning backwards in slow motion.

Meanwhile, Lucian stops in his tracks whenever Nightshade appears in a puff of neon purple smoke, standing in front of him and blowing a blue-violet powder with hints of neon purple in his face as she winks at him, taking the opportunity of his surprise to swirl around and kick him forwards several feet.

Nightshade smirks with her hands on her hips by her dark, black skirt and sash, her nightshade colored eyes glowing slightly as her raven black hair runs down to her waist. She shifts slightly and looks down upon Lucian, the silver throwing knives that rest in trinity sets at her sides glinting in the moonlight and her black and nightshade colored top holds throwing knives as well inbetween the criss-cross lace up that holds the black part of the vest covering the nightshade fabric underneath.

"You've gotten weak, Adley. I didn't know I hurt you that badly," Nightshade taunts.

"What?" Lucian scoffs as he wipes blood from the side of his face beside his lips while he's on his knees, slowly standing back up, "Are you gonna kick me down and murder me just like you murdered my heart? Because, I hate to break it to you, honey, but it's not going to work."

Nightshade's eyes narrow in anger, but they quickly widen in surprise whenever I leap towards her after ripping my great sword from the ground, swinging it at her effortlessly right before she disappears in another puff of neon purple smoke, only to reappear several feet away, her originally nightshade colored eyes blazing neon purple with rage. Meanwhile, Katsuro's shield flies by Misery's head and barely misses, hitting the stone wall behind her and getting stuck in the rocks as rubble crumbles to the ground from the incision. Almost instantaneously, Misery throws a bolt of flames at Katsuro, sparks and embers flying in every direction, lighting up the darkness as it flies towards him. Katsuro's eyes widen in surprise and he summons his shield back to him just in time to block it, but he flies backwards into a nearby lamppost from the force, the light flickering as sparks fly off of it.

"Nightshade! Misery!" Kazuki calls out as he runs past, throwing a bag with something in it to Misery, "Hurry up. I do not have time for such trivial matters."

Misery narrows her bright red eyes at Kazuki before they go back to being their regular brown color and she sighs.

"I'm afraid he's right," Misery sighs as Kazuki flies off, "We don't have time for this. Let's go, Nightshade."

"What a bummer," Nightshade pouts before sighing, "Fine."

Lucian grits his teeth in anger and attempts to throw his sword at Nightshade as she holds on to Misery's arm, but they disappear in a puff of neon purple smoke right as his sword passes through, leaving it to clatter to the ground after hitting the wall.

"Come on," I say as I stand next to Lucian and grip onto his shoulder, "Let's go. We have to report back to Clattonia."

Lucian nods and slowly goes over to get his sword while Katsuro comes over and joins us, brushing the dust out of his hair and off of his clothes, giving a tired smile before the three of us head back to Clattonia and the others as fast as we can as blue eyes watch us from the shadows.