About four hours later.

They approached a loft building set between two white-painted ones and climbed the stairs.

Eduardo pushed open the door and led them inside to a rather impressive space.

The apartment was spacious, and the afternoon light poured through the one-way windows. It had two chandeliers hanging from above, and the left side of the space held a full kitchen with wooden cabinets.

The center was dominated by a large living area with couches. And to the right, a raised platform served as a bedroom section.

There were wallpapers with flower-like designs on the walls, and bookshelves lined certain corners of the space.

They were still taking in the space when Eduardo spoke, gesturing toward a corner near the entrance. "There’s a smaller room in there, with another bed."

They turned toward his voice to look, but Eduardo was already wearing an apologetic expression. "I apologize for how small it is," he said, adjusting his glasses. "It was the best I could secure on such short notice in this part of the city." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Isabella smiled. "Eduardo, this is fine actually."

Rayleigh nodded in agreement, already moving further inside with Ishtar walking close behind.

Ethan placed a hand on Eduardo’s shoulder. "You’ve done well. We’re not meant to be here long anyway."

This was a rented space, and they were the only occupants in the entire building.

Eduardo gave arespectful nod, then spoke again, "Master Ethan... are you certain you don’t want me to stay and assist with these demons?"

Ethan shook his head. "No. I need you back at the company. Valerie’s been there alone all morning."

Eduardo then bowed his head. "As you wish, Master Ethan."

With that, he turned and left, closing the door behind him.

The mention of Valerie reminded Ethan of someone else, and he reached into his pocket, pulling out his Arcphone.

The screen lit up, and sure enough; there were three missed calls from "Blue Eyes🦋"and a string of unanswered texts.

The contact name had a bit of history behind it.

A few weeks earlier at the guild, Hayley noticed her contact was saved simply as "Hayley," and she wasn’t having it.

What followed was a thirty-minute back-and-forth where she insisted on something more... personal. Her suggestions ranged from "First Love" to "My Lady," both of which Ethan had said No to.

Eventually, he settled on "Blue Eyes," the first thing anyone would notice about her. And somehow, she liked that one.

He scrolled through her messages now. Most of them were variations of the same complaint:

Blue Eyes🦋: where are you??

Blue Eyes🦋: ethan seriously

Blue Eyes🦋: you’re killing me here

Ethan exhaled and started typing.

Me: Hey. Some stuff I gotta take care of. I won’t be coming in today.

A second later, the screen showed: Blue Eyes🦋 is typing...

Blue Eyes🦋: What? Why? What stuff? 😤

Me: Not sure I want to text a really long story.

Blue Eyes🦋: huh? Wait, is everything alright? Is this about work?

Blue Eyes🦋: I’ll be on my way.

Me: No no, hold on. I’m not at the company.

Blue Eyes🦋: Where then? At home?

Me: No. But don’t worry, I’ll tell you all about it later.

Blue Eyes🦋: 😑 not fair you’re leaving me alone again today, but its fine. Call me when it’s done?

Me: Sorry sorry. and yeah, sure.

Blue Eyes🦋: By the way, your vice and the vampire...

Blue Eyes🦋: [video file]

"Hm.." Ethan muttered, tapping on the file, and it downloaded almost instantly. The video opened, and he had to stifle a laugh.

The camera, clearly held by Hayley, was pointed at Percival and Wilson, who were squared up in front of each other near the guild entrance.

Percival’s face was had a furious look and his tone just as angry. "What are you trying to do to Aliyah? Kidnap her too?"

Wilson’s eyes went wide. "What?! The hell?"

Aliyah standing off to the side, looked totally confused. "No, no, that’s not what happened—"

Hayley’s voice came through the phone, laughing in the background. "Let them be, Aliyah. This is gold."

The rest of the video was just the two of them going back and forth, voices escalating until the 45 seconds duration ended.

Ethan shook his head, grinning as he typed back.

Me: What is actually happening 😂

Blue Eyes🦋: Wilson saw Aliyah on her way to the guild building and gave her a ride since she was walking. Percy was standing right outside when he drove in with her.

Me: Oh shit 😂

Me: Please don’t let them bring down the place.

Me: Okay, I gotta go now.

Blue Eyes🦋: you’re leaving me here too?😒🖕

Blue Eyes🦋: Take care ❤️

Ethan smiled, locked the screen, and slipped the arcphone back into his pocket. He lifted his head and saw the others had spread out across the apartment, exploring the space.

He walked in further, heading towards lsabella who stood infront of one of the windows, staring out at the none-gated courtyard below.

Ethan stopped beside her, following her gaze. "That’s the sniper," he said, pointing toward a large building across the street. Its rooftop had a clear line of sight to their window.

Bella leaned forward slightly, squinting. She could just make out Joe’s figure on the rooftop, his head turning slowly from side to side as he scanned the area.

She nodded, then her gaze returned to the empty courtyard and her fingers curled into fists. "I hope they show up soon," she said. "I really hope they do."

Ethan glanced at her, then back out the window. "I hope they do too."

The plan was this;

Since the demons had a way to track Ishtar, the idea was to let them. Let them follow her signature straight to this apartment, where Ethan and the others would be waiting.

There were a few reasons they had chosen this location instead of the manor. For one, Ethan didn’t want demons anywhere near his home. His past experiences with the league had made him wary of anything similar happening there again.

—-

A/N: Attached to this write up is the picture of the house incase you missed up above