sanctuary | on hold indefinitely

seven | flames

The flames were already roaring beneath the setting sun when Farah found the others, the smoke tainting the pink twilight with a murky orange. Tonight's victims were middle-aged, most of them round-faced and in formal wear that could only belong to those with a life of luxury. Farah grinned at the sight of them squirming in the heat with sweat pooling into every crevice of their skin, their faces flushed and contorted: afraid.

She had found them in the ruins of an old warehouse tonight. The open air was cool against her hot skin and caused the flames to waver in wild, unruly shapes. Weeds were already growing between the cracks in the old concrete, and the skeleton of the building was non-existent save for a few crumbling walls and windows that no longer held their glass. Already, people had made themselves comfortable in the dark nooks, sitting on coats and blankets while they talked to one another. Soft music crept from the portable speakers that sat atop the brick, just loud enough to mask the witches' screams. 

Farah grabbed a beer from the crate on the muddy ground. Her skin prickled as she felt the presence of another being behind her. Turning, she found Filix, a smug smirk on his face and his eyes ogling her lazily. "And where have you been, Miss Lee?"

She sipped her drink, letting the bitterness sit on her tongue for a moment before she swallowed. It was warm, having been sitting so close to the fire. Still, it was better than nothing. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"'Tis why I asked," he drawled. His black eyes reflected the flames flickering behind Farah. As he lifted his own bottle to his mouth, she saw that his hands were caked in dirt and dried blood. He'd already had some fun of his own.

"Alright, Shakespeare." She rolled her eyes, moving to stand beside him so that she could watch the fire again. "You started early today. Couldn't wait for dinner?"

"I was hungry." She could see that he meant it from the way his eyes gleamed and his tongue licked his teeth. He loved every moment of it, felt every bit of pain he inflicted on them, as though the sensation rushed through his veins like a drug. "Where's your sister?"

Farah fell silent for a moment, deliberating. "Who knows? Probably sulking somewhere."

Filix knocked the bottle from her hands with a gesture she hadn't anticipated. Their bottles shattered together on the floor, the broken glass sinking into the soil. His demeanour was still calm, but he was towering over her now, smelling like smoke and looking like it, too, with his skin tinged grey and the rest of his features as dark. "Don't lie to me, Miss Lee."

"I'm not lying," she scowled coldly, pushing him back with both hands. "You owe me a drink."

His hands curled around her wrist before she could lower them. His palms were hot, his long nails nipping her skin. "I went to her apartment today to ask her why she hadn't been here this past week. It was empty. Her things are gone–but of course, you already knew that, didn't you?"

Farah's glare hardened and she pulled her hand away with a forceful tug, taking a step back from Filix. "I don't know how things go in your family, but I don't pry into my sister's life. If she isn't home, I don't know what to tell you."

He seemed not to have heard her, his jaw clenching tightly. A slight shudder was beginning to ripple through his shoulders. "Where were you today?"

"Nowhere exciting, I can assure you."

With a forceful push, he had pinned her up against one of the old brick walls. The cold, grey stone jutted into her spine uncomfortably, her breath squeezed out of her as he pressed her shoulders back. "Don't lie to me, Farah. Things will get ugly if you lie to me again. I will ask once more and I expect a real answer: where is your sister?"

"Gone," she gasped, grinning to hide her pain.

"Where?"

"Away from you, darling. I asked her to come home. I told her you would look for her."

He released her from his grasp, stepping back and narrowing his eyes into cat-like slits. "So why isn't she here?"

"She isn't ready yet, but she will be." Farah's voice was filled with amusement, and beneath that, something ominous. As she tried silently to regain her breath, she reached out a hand and threaded her fingers through Filix's. The cold metal of his rings caught her by surprise in the bonfire's heat. "Give her until the end of the week. She won't last out there. Where else is she going to go?"

"I hope for your sake that you're right, Miss Lee." He returned her playfulness with his own, lowering his head so that their mouths were inches away and she could smell the bitterness of the beer mingled with cigarette smoke on his breath. There was a scar just above his eyebrow that had been there as long as she had known him, and his short lashes curled just slightly at the ends, casting crescent shadows on his high cheekbones.

"I'm always right, darling," she said, raising her hands to put them on his chest.

He clutched her wrists again before she could touch him, lowering them back to her sides slowly. "She has until the end of the week. You tell her that she has until the end of the week. If she isn't back by then, I'll be forced to look for her myself. How's that, darling?" he mocked, his breath fanning across her face.

"Perfectly reasonable." Her smirk was genuine now, and she stepped back so that she was no longer in his personal space, picking up another bottle from the table. "I'll tell her."

This time, he was the one to step towards her, bending down slightly so that he could whisper in her ear. "Don't lie to me again, Farah. You know I don't like it very much when people lie to me."

She watched as he trudged away, the flames from the bonfire reaching towards him as though they were arms desperate to touch him. The witches' screams were louder now, but she was learning to tune them out, to focus on the music and the breeze whistling through the trees surrounding them.

"Oh, Devan," she muttered under her breath, hiding her lips with the neck of her bottle. "You have no idea how much trouble you're in, darling.

"No idea at all."