Zurin’s eyes darted around the crowd, her muscles tensing. "You think it’s one of theirs? Someone else they sent?"

Xylo didn’t answer right away. Instead he dropped the cigarette, crushing it beneath his heel.

"It’s not worth the risk," he said. "We’re leave. Now."

Zurin hesitated, her hand still on her axe. "But she’s right there—"

"Now," Xylo repeated, his tone brooking no argument.

It wasn’t a risk he was willing to take because If the demon back there turned out to be someone who would defend the girl instead, it would only create another complication they hadn’t planned for.

Zurin cursed under her breath, then turned and began moving back toward the car.

It was then that Ethan reacted with widened eyes. His mind raced quickly; maybe he was wrong. Maybe they actually saw him and decided they didn’t want to engage any further.

"Shit," he whispered. Good thing the call was still connected, so even as he said it, "they’re turning back."

Rayleigh and Bella had heard him and glanced at each other for a second as their car continued speeding toward the building, now close enough that it loomed into clear view.

The call disconnected, and Ethan gave Joe a mental order to follow them as long as possible and keep them in sight.

Unfortunately, protocol required that one person remain with Ishtar at all times, regardless of the situation, and for good reason. It was a safeguard in case something unexpected happened.

Ethan couldn’t break his own protocol as he watched the demons nearly clear the crowd and make their way back toward the car.

His jaw clenched

-

And then, just as Zurin neared the edge of the marketplace, someone stepped into her path and brushed past her in such a way that his shoulder colliding with hers.

It happened so fast.

Zurin stopped immediately, and turned her head around, her eyes flashing with irritation.

"Watch it," she growled.

But the fellow didn’t stop. He kept walking and had disappeared into the crowd.

Xylo grabbed her arm. "Forget it. Let’s go."

Zurin stared after the figure for a moment with narrowed eyes, then turned back toward the car.

They reached it a moment later, climbed inside, and the car drove off. Joe immediately gave chase, moving across the rooftops as he kept the vehicle in sight.

But what Zurin didn’t realize, what she couldn’t have realized, was that the man who had brushed past her wasn’t just some random vendor.

It was Rayleigh.

And in that brief moment of contact, as their shoulders collided, Isabella’s shadow had left Rayleigh’s foot and transferred silently and seamlessly, into Zurin’s.

-

The sedan rolled down the quiet street, leaving the marketplace behind.

Zurin looked furious, but she said nothing. In her own way, she trusted Xylo enough to understand why he had made that decision.

Xylo kept his eyes on the road. "It was the right call. If that presence belonged to someone aligned against our cause..." He exhaled and shook his head. "Let’s just observe for a while ."

"I hear you. But Next time, we are not leaving without her" Zurin muttered.

Then an eerie voice came back with a reply from behind them, "There won’t be a next time."

Xylo quickly glanced at the rearview mirror, and his eyes widened at the devious, smiling face that had emerged from the mass of darkness in the back seat.

Isabella.

"Zurin—"

Zurin’s hand shot toward her axe. "What the—"

Then the darkness exploded outward.

It poured from Isabella’s form like thick smoke flooding the car’s interior in an instant. The seats, the dashboard, the windows—everything swallowed by rolling blackness.

The shadows wrapped around her throat, cutting off her voice.

Xylo jerked the wheel for a second before the darkness engulfed him.

From outside, the car looked almost normal, still rolling forward down the empty street.

But through the windows, the entire interior had gone completely black, as though the inside had been filled with solid darkness.

The sedan drifted, until it veered off the road and bumped against a pole. The engine sputtered and died out.

Then the darkness pulled back and dissipated like smoke, fading into nothing.

The windows cleared and the car was empty, with no driver nor passenger.

Joe who had been following this stopped in amazement and genuine shock, that reflect on Ethan’s face at the same time.

Then a smirk formed on his lips, "that’s my girl"

-

A knock sounded at the door.

Ethan turned from the window, and a moment later, the door swung open after Rayleigh opened it.

Isabella stepped inside, with a satisfied smile on her face.

"Not gonna lie, that was impressive there, Ethan said, walking toward her. "Fast thinking with the shadow transfer."

Bella shrugged, though there was some pride in her expression. "I’m just happy I got them"

She stepped further into the room, moving toward the open space. Then she stopped and stretched her hand out.

The air around her fingers rippled, distorting like heat rising off pavement. Then the darkness came and temperature in the room seemed to have dropped

It poured from her hand in thick, rolling waves, swelling outward until it formed a massive sphere of pure black. The surface churned and twisted,

Ethan watched closely, and Rayleigh moved closer to Ishtar, his hand resting protectively on her shoulder.

Then, from within the darkness, two figures stumbled forward.

Xylo and Zurin.

They hit the floor hard, with their legs giving out. There was terror in their eyes and both were visibly trembling, as though he’d just been pulled from the grasp of death itself.

Ishtar’s expression shifted the moment she saw them. Her eyes narrowed furiously, and her hands curled into fists.

Rayleigh noticed and slowly rubbed her shoulder with his hand, keeping her steady.

Ethan, meanwhile, walked closer to the two demons with a casual smile on his face. He stopped just a few feet away, crouched and tilted his head.

"Hello."

-

A/N: I apologize that this came late today. There was an emergency that required taking my lady to the hospital. Thankfully it wasn’t anything serious at all.

Yeah, now about the bonus Chapters;

-Just before the month ended, we actually ended up with 439 tickets, thanks to the Readers Mr Isham and Mr Looney. Prior to this, we were below the 400 mark.

I’m just going to say instead of 439, we hit 450 tickets. So i owe an 4 bonus chps from tickets last month

We’ve already gone past the 50 tickets goal this week, so thats an additional 2. In addition to the 4 extra for hitting 300 ps already this week.

This brings it to 10 bonus chps and if you add this to the 8 already, thats 18 total bonuses (FUCK ME😂)

Anyways, we resume bonus Chapters starting tomorrow.