Enilese gasped as she got up frantically . She held her head , panting heavily .
It took her three whole minutes to finally calm herself down as she grabbed the glass of water from the bedside table and drank half of the water in one go .
She rubbed her eyes as she checked the time , it was almost eleven now .
When she came back yesterday , it was already four in the morning .
As she recalled the last night's events she couldn't help but shudder a little .
All the events that happened last night put a toll upon her as she went to bed immediately after taking a quick shower .
Today , she didn't have much to do , she only needed to take care of some simple tasks in the base . Thus she didn't rush to get up , rather she rested her head on the headrest of the bed and closed her eyes . She thought about the dream she had just now .
She didn't know how she should react to such a dream . She muttered .
" If this continues , I'd surely go crazy ."
....
When she parted ways with the dark soul last night , she had so many doubts and questions in her mind .
But she wasn't bold enough to address them to the man .
She couldn't help but come back without creating more problems for herself .
But those suppressed emotions of hers eventually found their way out through her dream . Everything that she wanted to say to him , she said in her dream . She finally did the thing she was dying to do , to pull off his hood , but that too in her dream .
However , ironically enough , just as she pulled off his hood a bright light blinded her vision and her dream ended .
It was the same every single time . She had had countless dreams about him . Some of them she remembered , some she didn't . But one thing she remembered very clearly . It was that whenever she is close to uncover the identity of that dark soul her dream ends . It was as if , her unconscious mind didn't really want to know his identity , as if it was better to not know the real identity of the man behind that mysterious black hoodie . It is like , if the clouds of mystery that were surrounding him , clear away , things would turn wearier .
She sighed and started recalling the last night's events . She still needed time to process everything , she had yet to figure out which side to believe , that Rellar woman or the dark souls .
She had so many thoughts in her mind , so many things remained unanswered last night , she didn't know whether the woman was dead all this while since their first meeting or she died recently , she didn't know why the woman tried to attack her , what was that dark soul's purpose of going there , were they really responsible for the massacre of Rellar community , was the woman speaking truth when she said that the dark soul was there to destroy their souls completely and many more things .
But apart from everything , there was an idea or , more precisely , a possibility that was tormenting her more than anything else .
A possibility , that has been surging in her mind for so many days , a possibility that was just growing stronger with each of her encounters with that dark soul .
But at the same time , she was unwilling to acknowledge it .
The dark soul's behaviour with her was thought-provoking too .
No matter how much she thought about it she couldn't think of any acceptable reason for which he was going out of his way and helping her everytime .
She couldn't help but sigh as she muttered , " Why do I always put myself in these situations and then become unable to come out of them ! Why don't I learn a lesson ! Every single time I'm making the same mistake . "
Suddenly she straightened up as she remembered something . Her eyes became wide as she thought , ' How did he get my number ? How ? '
Last night she didn't pay much attention to it because her focus was on more important things . But now she couldn't help but reflect on this matter .
She felt stress building up inside her as she thought , ' If he can find out my number he can definitely find out other informations about me ... How much does he know ? How much ? Does he know who I am ? Had he already guessed that I am from the Angel base ? '
She gasped at the thought and slightly shook her head thinking ' No no no , he definitely doesn't know about it . If he knew he wouldn't have saved me all this time . And he could've revealed it to Charles when he was questioning me on this matter . ' , she took a small breath as she couldn't think anymore .
After a while she calmed down and grabbed her phone .
She opened the chats that were sent by the dark soul before drowning in her thoughts again .
--------------------------------------
Dark soul base .
At the breakfast table .
Aaron and Ryan were already having their breakfast , Shawn was the last one to join them .
As he slowly took his seat he was greeted with Ryan's teasing remark .
" It seems , someone had a really wild night yesterday ! "
Shawn glanced at him with a slight frown as he didn't get what he was talking about .
It was until he followed Ryan's eyes , finally it became clear to him .
Ryan had a toothy grin on his face as he was looking at the scratch marks on Shawn's wrist .
Sure enough , Ryan's sharp eyes didn't miss the marks even though Shawn was wearing a full sleeved shirt .
" Was it fun ? " , Ryan asked , pointing to the scratch marks , with his eyes .
Shawn clearly understood what he was indicating , he shot him a death glare which only made his grin wider .
Aaron hadn't noticed Shawn's scars until he too followed Ryan's line of sight .
He immediately asked , " What happened to your hand ? What are those marks ? Were you caught in any problem , last night ? You returned very late too ? What happened exactly ? "
Shawn didn't show any interest in answering the series of questions and continued to eat .
Aaron frowned when he didn't receive any answer .
Ryan hit Aaron's arm with a smirk and said , " Come on , Aaron ! You can't even guess that ? "
" Guess what ? " , Aaron asked in confusion .
Ryan let out a laugh and said , " Oh , I forgot that you are too innocent to understand these things , Aaron . "
Aaron looked at him with a frown and then turned to Shawn and said , " What things ? " But Shawn was not in the mood to clarify Ryan's nonsense .
He simply ignored him and said to Aaron , " It's nothing serious . "
Ryan let out a breathy laugh and said , " Yeah , yeah , it's nothing serious just marks of love ....."
He was going to say more but before he could , Shawn stared at him coldly . Ryan immediately stopped talking but the teasing smile didn't leave his face .
Aaron , on the other hand , didn't know what to say .
He got it that Shawn was not in the mood to answer , so he didn't press the matter anymore and quietly concentrated in his breakfast .
Nobody talked for a while .
Finally Shawn spoke up , " Aaron , did you manage to find out what I asked ? "
Aaron's expression changed slightly as he said , " Um ..... not yet . "
" How long are you going to take to confirm a simple thing like that ? "
" I'm sorry . I'm really trying , just give me some more time . "
At first , Ryan didn't pay attention to their words but this time he turned to them . He had no idea what they were talking about so he said , " What's going on ? What is this about ? "
But neither of the two answered his questions . He frowned and asked them again what were they talking about but they remained quiet as before .
Ryan looked at them suspiciously , he knew that they were intentionally ignoring him , he was going to ask again but before he could his phone started vibrating .
He checked the caller ID and realised that it was an important call . He looked at the other two again , he really wanted to know what they were being so secretive about , but for now he decided to take the call . So he got up from the table and went out of the room .
As he left , Shawn spoke up , " It's such a simple task . I don't understand , what's taking you so long ? "
Aaron spoke , " I've managed to find other informations about her . I can report them to you , like , her name is ..... " ,
Aaron tried to say but Shawn interrupted him .
" I know her name . I just want you to confirm only one thing . "
" I know . " , said Aaron , " But it's not simple . "
" Why ? "
Aaron continued , " I can confirm this much that she does have some connection with the angels , I have informations that she was seen with some of them , a few times . But this fact is not enough to prove that she herself is an angel . There is a possibility that she is just friends with those angels . "
Shawn looked at him but remained quiet . Aaron continued again , " Basically I'm trying to say that I don't have any definite evidence to confirm it , I haven't received any information of her using any spirit power . So .... "
Aaron stopped talking as he saw Ryan entering the room .
Ryan came back to the table and sat down . Shawn got up and was about to leave when Aaron said , " Give me some more time , I'll definitely find some solid evidences . "
Shawn remained silent for a moment before he let out a sigh and said , " Leave it . I'll confirm it myself . " , and with that he turned his heels and left .
Aaron looked a bit dejected but he concentrated at his breakfast .
As Shawn left , Ryan spoke up in a low voice , " Hey , what was that about ? "
Aaron looked at him but didn't answer .
" What did he ask you to check ? " , he asked again .
Aaron continued to have his breakfast ignoring his questions .
" What's going on ? Why are you not telling me ? " , Ryan asked again .
After a while Aaron finally replied , " He said not to tell you . "
" Huh ! " , Ryan was dumbfounded , he asked in disbelief , " He said not to tell me !? "
Aaron nodded .
Ryan thought for a while before a smirk formed on his lips as he said in a mischievous tone , " But doesn't that mean that you must tell me ? "
Aaron looked at him with a done expression and replied with a firm " No " .
Aaron knew , if he stayed with Ryan any longer he would end up spilling everything , out of frustration . So he chose to leave .
Only Ryan was left at the table .
He thought for a moment and muttered , " I bet , they are cooking something fishy . "
----------------------------------------
Enilese and Shawn were sitting at the usual cafe . Earlier that day , Enilese texted Shawn asking if they could meet today and Shawn didn't object .
Though it was Enilese who wanted to meet she was looking very absentminded today .
She didn't talk much since they had arrived . Currently , she was staring out the glass window with conflicted eyes and Shawn was staring at her .
He didn't speak either , he gave her the time , she needed to settle her disturbed mind .
After a long silence .
" You look so disturbed today . "
Shawn said as Enilese finally averted her eyes from the window .
She let out a sigh and replied , " You are not wrong . I am a bit disturbed . "
" Why ? Are you still thinking about that old woman from yesterday ? " , he said .
As he mentioned it , all the frustrating memories from yesterday started coming back to her .
She stared at him but didn't say anything . And what could she possibly say ? That she got herself into much more problematic and dangerous mess after following a dark soul and the woman turned out to be totally different from the way , she had assumed her to be !
No , she couldn't say that .
" Let's talk about something else . " , She said trying to change the subject .
Shawn , as always , just nodded without pressing the matter further .
....
After some time , a waitress brought their order .
But when she was serving them somehow the tray in her hand slipped and the other orders along with the coffee fell on the table .
And to make everything worse the hot coffee splashed on Shawn's hand .
Enilese got startled at the sudden incident as she pulled back her hands from the table . " Oh no . I'm sorry , I'm really sorry , sir . " , the waitress immediately apologised and took some tissues to wipe the coffee from his skin .
But Shawn held out his other hand , took the tissues from her hand and simply started wiping his hand without saying anything .
" Shawn , are you okay ? " , Enilese asked .
He nodded maintaining his aloof demeanor .
Shawn's appearance along with his cold expression was already intimidating for the young waitress , now that she had made a mistake , looking at his still calm expression she became extremely frightened .
She knows how badly the customers rebuke and insult the staffs for even the slightest mistakes . She was on the verge of crying , she was certain that today was the last day of her job because she was sure in her heart that she has offended the wrong person .
" I am very sorry sir , let me bring some ice for you . " , she said hurriedly suppressing her cry .
" It's fine . " , Shawn said in his cold voice making her more scared .
" I'm sorry , sir . I am really sorry . " , she said again , this time in a slightly cracked voice .
Enilese looked at her and found her cute , she said , " Hey , it's okay . It's just an accident , don't be scared . We won't complain about it to your boss . "
But the waitress' eyes were on the other person at the table because from her perspective though Enilese looked kind enough to let her go , the man with her looked merciless .
Shawn noticed that the waitress was still standing , looking at him , so he spoke up , " I said , it's fine . So , don't just stand here apologising repeatedly , make some arrangements to clean this . "
The young waitress slightly tremble at his authoritative voice but at the same time she was genuinely surprised , she didn't expect to get out of this trouble this easily .
And she could sense that his tone might be rude but there was no hint of malice in his words . She looked at Shawn gratefully and spoke .
" Yes , yes sir . " , said the waitress and finally took a breath that she had been holding for a while .
In the next few minutes the waitress carefully cleaned the table and proceeded to bring their orders again .
....
Today , Enilese was not talking much like usual , honestly speaking she was distracted , certain images , phrases and fragments of her dreams were flashing in her head . And above all , a bitter suspicion was tormenting her bitterly .
Since she was not talking , Shawn didn't say anything either . Rather he continued to observe her subconscious actions .
It was good that Enilese was not looking at him , if she could see his eyes she would have been shocked to see the intense hostility in them .
On the other hand , Enilese's unfocused eyes were fixed on his right wrist which was placed on the table . The images of the scratch marks on that dark soul's wrist were constantly flashing before her eyes .
Shawn was wearing a casual black shirt and his sleeves were rolled up making his slender and veiny hands clearly visible . But as his hand was on the table the lower side of his wrist was out of sight .
Enilese held his hand subconsciously . As far as she remembered , the dark soul had the scratches on the lower part of his wrist .
She didn't know what she was doing or why she was doing so but she could feel this much that at the moment , if she doesn't check his wrist the restlessness of her heart won't go away .
But it was not simple for her .
There was a tug of war , being played in her mind with rational thoughts on one end and her emotions on the other .
Everything about that dark soul seemed extremely familiar to her .
His physique , his aura , his temperament , his scent , his touch , everything about him reminded her of someone very close to her .
And the man whom she shared the most intimate relationship with , was Shawn .
It was not that she was suspecting Shawn , rather she was surprised that such thought occurred to her .
Probably , the idea of familiarity with the dark soul was just a result of her over sensitivity , however , regardless of her faith in Shawn , today her thoughts were not co-operative at all .
After contemplating for a long time , she finally turned his wrist a bit which was enough for her to discover that there was not a slightest mark on his wrist .
Enilese's eyes quivered a little as she slightly traced her fingers along his wrist .
At this , his eyes turned extremely cold but she was so indulged in her thoughts that she failed to notice the change in his expression .
After a while , she finally let out a sigh .
At this point , she didn't know what she actually wanted . She wasn't sure whether she was relieved or disappointed .
' What was I expecting ? That there would be scars on him ! Seriously , what is wrong with me ! How can I even think like that ! ' , she couldn't help but think as a bitter feeling spread through her heart .
At that moment , his voice rang .
" Do you like my hand that much ? "
She flinched at his sudden voice as she looked at him .
He had his gaze fixed on her , the earlier hostility in his eyes was nowhere to be seen .
She couldn't come up with any reply to his words when he said again , " Or , you are .... looking for something ? "
His tone was amused but his eyes had a hint of subtle provocation .
Enilese widened her eyes slightly as she awkwardly released his hand .
She said , " Um ... sorry , I didn't know what I was doing . I think , I'm a bit distracted . "
" Is that so ? " , he said .
She nodded avoiding eye contact with him .
" May be , I saw wrong . But your eyes looked so eager to find something , on my wrist . "
Enilese looked up at him as the provocative undertone of his words sent chills to her skin
.
Enilese bit her lips and said , " It's nothing , just ignore it . "
He didn't press the matter anymore .
By that time the waitress brought a new tray and served their orders carefully . She again apologised for her earlier mistake and left .
Enilese was trying to solve something in her mind , she was constantly feeling that she was missing some point , something felt odd but she just couldn't grasp what it was .
She was thinking hard when her hand touched the hot coffee cup , she came out of her daze as she retracted her hand with a gasp .
And then realisation hit her .
" Wasn't the coffee hot ? " , she suddenly said .
He raised his brows as she grabbed his hand again with unfocused eyes .
Scrutinising his hand sharply she said in a hesitant tone , " How come there is no reaction on your skin ? It's not even reddened a bit ! "
She looked straight into his eyes as if asking for explanation .
His eyes had an implicit glint which made her uncomfortable for some unknown reason .
He arched his lips into a smile and said , " I don't know . May be ... I am immune to heat . "
She stared at him with an uneasy expression on her face . It were just some simple words but those few simple words made her completely unsettled .
-----------------------------------
Later , at the coffeeshop .
Enilese was absentmindedly staring at the phone that was left by Shawn .
Few moments ago , Shawn excused himself to washroom and he left his phone on the table .
It was a simple thing but for Enilese it was another means of torment .
Looking at the phone , her thoughts messed up again . An irritating idea started surging up , in her mind . In the phone , she saw a new chance .... to test her suspicion .
As the thought occurred to her she felt extremely uneasy .
She didn't know why she was having these unnecessary thoughts . She didn't want to think about these things .
She was already feeling bad for checking Shawn's wrist earlier because of her lame thoughts , she didn't want to go through the same thing again . But she wanted or not , today her emotions were really not in her control .
And that's why , no matter how much she hated to do it , she grabbed her phone slowly and after much contemplation finally dialled the unknown number from last night , the number that she now knew , belonged to that dark soul .
She still didn't know why she was doing this and what result she was expecting but she really wanted to get over with those baseless thoughts of hers . She was really tired of everything .
For some reason Enilese didn't put her phone to her ear , rather she placed it on the table and waited for the call to get connected .
Her eyes were fixed on his phone that was just inches away from her own phone .
Somewhere , she believed that nothing was going to happen . It was just another baseless assumption of hers .
She waited for some time but just as she had expected , nothing happened ..... Shawn's phone didn't receive any incoming call or any other kind of notification .
' I knew it . I was just overthinking things . ' , she thought as she shook her head slightly .
She was about to take her phone to cancel the call before it actually gets connected to the dark soul's phone .
Just then , like an uncanny siren , Shawn's phone started vibrating .
In an instant , she froze in her place .
All the other sounds around her as if stopped while the vibrating sound started taking over all her senses .
Her heart was pounding very fast for an unknown fear . She didn't know what she should do next .
The phone was kept in a way that the phone screen was towards the surface of the table , so Enilese couldn't see the caller ID .
Her blank eyes were fixed on the vibrating phone .
She wanted to check the caller ID but at the same time she was very anxious to do so .
The phone was just inches away from her reach but for some reason her hand felt too heavy to lift .
The phone kept on vibrating , making her more unsettled with every passing moment .
After much dilemma , she finally decided to check the caller ID as her shaky hand made its way to his phone .
She took a small breath as she was about take his phone but before she could , a familiar veiny hand grabbed the phone .
Instantly , her hand froze midair .
Enilese looked up only to find Shawn checking the caller ID with a slight frown .
Her breath stuck in her throat , she couldn't think anything anymore , she just stared at Shawn as an unknown anticipation started engulfing her heart .
Under her gaze , Shawn accepted the call as he sat down .
" What's the matter ? " , he spoke .
The faint and indistinct voice of the other party came through the phone .
Only then , did Enilese's pounding heart settle down a bit , she took a deep breath and tried to calm down .
' It was just a baseless assumption , after all . ' , she thought as she messaged her temples .
She glanced at Shawn and grabbed her phone .
She let out a sigh and checked her phone only to find that the call was never connected .
------------------------------------
Shawn and Enilese almost left the coffeeshop but Enilese found out that she forgot her phone inside .
She came back to take her phone while Shawn waited outside .
But it was indeed an eventful day .
As she was leaving after collecting her phone she overheard some unhealthy verbal exchanges between a couple , seated two tables away from theirs .
The man's tone was rude and imposing while the woman's voice sounded weak and tired .
Enilese couldn't help but take a second look at them .
" Why are you not eating ? If I ask you to eat that means you have to eat . " , the man said in an authoritative voice .
The woman replied meekly , " I....I am n...not hun.... hungry . "
" Didn't you get what I said . Eat . "
" Please don't force me , I am not feeling well . "
" What did you say ? B*tch , how dare you talk back to me ? "
" Please .... "
Enilese didn't like the way , the man was behaving with the woman , so she approached their table and intervened .
" Excuse me Mister .... "
The man turned to her and said in an uninterested tone , " What's the matter ? "
Enilese said , " Can't you see that she is not well . If she doesn't want to eat why are you forcing her . "
The man raised his brows and said , " Who are you ? "
Enilese suppressed her anger and said " That is not important here . The important thing is , the way you are behaving with her is not right ..... "
The man interrupted her , " Hey woman look , this is our personal matter . It's not your concern what I do with her . So stay out of this . "
Then he turned to the woman and started again , " And you , you still haven't started eating . I think you've forgotten last night's lesson . "
Saying that , the man grabbed some food and shoved it to her mouth . The woman coughed as she choked on the food .
" Stop your drama and eat . " , the man said through greeted teeth .
The woman's eyes became teary as she chewed the food with much difficulty . But the man shoved the food more as he said , " And dare to cry and you'll see . "
The woman started coughing again but the man didn't release her a bit .
Enilese couldn't take it anymore as she slapped his hand away , the woman breathed hard as she stopped herself from making any noise .
The man glared at Enilese and said , " How dare you slap my hand ? I'm telling you again , stay out of our personal matters . Otherwise it won't be good for you . "
" It might be your personal matter but this is a public place . " , said Enilese , " And you are literally abusing her . Do you think , you can abuse her like this and nobody would say anything . "
She turned to the woman and comforted her , " Please , calm down miss . Here , drink some water . "
The woman drank some water but didn't say anything .
" He is abusing you , why are you not saying anything ? And why are you staying with him , in the first place ? " , Enilese said .
The man was infuriated as he got up from his seat and looked at Enilese with angry eyes .
" Waiter , waiter . " , he called out suddenly .
As the waiter approached them , he said , " Can't you guys see , this woman is disturbing us . This is your service ? Tell her to stop interfering in our business . "
" Sir , please calm down a bit . " , the waiter tried to ease up the situation .
But the man shouted , " Why should I calm down . That woman is disturbing us and you are telling me to calm down . Tell her to get lost and leave us alone . "
The waiter looked at the two woman and then to the man again and chose to remain silent .
" What ? You can't do that ? " , the man shouted again , " Then , call your manager , I want to see what he has to say about this . "
" Sir , please behave yourself . " , the waiter said .
" What did you say , I should behave ? Go to h*ll . Enough with this nonsense , I don't want to waste my time in a damm place like this . "
He said as he marched to his partner .
" Let's go . " , he said to her as he tried to hold the woman but the woman moved away from him as she held onto Enilese .
The man raised his brows and said mockingly , " Oh , just because she has shown you some support You think , you can get away from me . Don't forget , you have nowhere to go , you are bound to go back with me . Just let us go back , I will teach you how to behave properly . Now , don't test my patience and come here . "
But the woman still stood in her place holding onto Enilese .
The man was very angry at this point , he held the woman's hand and started dragging her .
Enilese tried to stop him as she said , " She doesn't want to go with you . Why are you forcing her ? Leave her alone . "
But the man totally ignored her words and continued to force the woman .
Enilese said again , " Look if you don't release her , right now , I will call the police . "
The man let out a dangerous smirk and said , " Okay , do that . Let's see where it goes . "
Enilese had enough . She took out her phone and was about to make the call when her peripheral sight caught a glance of something silvery .
After taking a good look , she found herself at the pointing end of his knife .
Her hand froze midair as she glared at him .
He held the knife against her throat and said with a smirk , " What happened , beautiful ? Weren't you being very bold just a moment ago ? What happened now ? "
The people , present there , were already irritated by the disturbance but they became alarmed when the man pulled out the knife . Many of them chose to leave the scene to avoid any form of trouble .
The remaining customers and the staffs stood terrified , not knowing what they should actually do .
The man snatched her phone from her hand and tossed it onto the table as she looked at him hatefully .
He then looked at the other people and said .
" Let me see , who dares to call the police . "
The woman moved away from Enilese and said to the man , " I'm sorry , I'm sorry for not obeying your words , I'll go with you . Please , don't do anything to her . "
Enilese frowned and spoke , " Miss , don't go with him . He'd torture you again . Don't worry , we can definitely find a way .... "
" We can't . " , the woman said in a crying voice , " He is ruthless . You don't know what he can do . Thank you for trying to help me . I'm already grateful for that but you can't help me . I'm sorry . "
" So you still know how to talk sweetheart ?
The man smirked as he held the woman by his other hand . He then said to Enilese .
" And you . You heard her , right ? Now , get lost from here . "
Enilese gritted her teeth in anger . She knew that the man wouldn't be able to harm her because of her spirit power . But if she uses her power her identity would be exposed before all these people . And she didn't want to go through that trouble .
Thus she could just try to think of some other way to help the woman . Seeing that the man was busy , talking to the woman and therefore was not paying attention to her , she took a step back and tried to take her phone from the table .
But the man held the knife closer to her and said again , " Uh huh .... and don't even think of doing anything stupid . Or else ..... ahhhhhh . "
He couldn't complete the sentence as someone held his hand that was pointing the knife at Enilese . The man growled in pain .
" Or else ? " , Shawn's deep voice rang as Enilese turned to him with a relieved expression .
Shawn put more force on his wrist as he repeated , " Or else , what ? "
The man's face twisted in pain as he uttered through gritted teeth , " Who ..... who ... the h*ll are you ? "
A devilish smirk appeared on Shawn's face as he spoke , " Just , someone more ruthless than you . "
In the blink of an eye , Shawn twisted his hand on his back .
The man had a stout and well built body but Shawn's steel like hand gripped onto his wrist so hard that he felt as if his bones were being cracked .
The man's grip on the knife loosened and it fell on the table .