Anna came out of the resto where both she and Jake used to hang out. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror, as she passed by the glass pane. She wore camo khakis, boots, and a gray sando, topped over by a-bit oversized maroon cotton jacket. She checked her rack, as she noticed a few boys at the nearby tables took a glance at her.
"I guess, Rachel must be really busy drilling lesson's into him. Or, maybe it's the other way around, like literally." She thought, then realized how awkward it was, and felt herself blush, the heat coursing through her cheeks as she willed herself to snap out of the dirty thoughts. Her cheeks reddened.
"Hey!"
Someone shouted with enough volume to snap her out of her monologue. "Oh bother." She mumbled to herself as she saw a fair-skinned guy running towards her, wearing cargo jeans paired with a gray long-sleeves and a beanie.
"Where've you been Annabel? Grandma's worried sick." He says, looking distressed." You know how she is with sudden dissappearances." Lawrence says. His hazel hair, curling out of his beanie.
"Yes. I know, but don't call me Annabel, and what did you tell her anyway?" She asked, as the two of them walked the crowded streets of the Fifth.
"Well, I told her you were over at Jake's."
"Or, maybe you could've thought of a better one, instead of the usual excuse." She says, as she adjusted the strap of her red bag.
"Well, it's not like you weren't anyways." Lawrence stammered, "I mean, you are always with him."
Lawrence raised a brow at her, who just solidified his point. Anna realized she might be in for another set of lecture, just to satisfy his brother's curiousity.
"I am not." She snapped at him. "So what's with you and that Brianna lady anyways? You seemed comfy." She says as she continued walking. Hoping he haven't noticed that she changed the topic.
"Her name's Beatrice, and No, I'm not comfy with her." Lawrence eyed her, "I mean, she's all... Netflix, and hugs, and the popcorn stuffs." He replies, lookin a bit irritated. "I'm lookin for something.. wild, maybe?"
"But that's why I thought you were comfortable?" She exhaled a sigh. "I mean, you are a netflix person are you not?" She asked, her shoulders squared and continued talking, when Lawrence just shrugged at her. "Or, am I just mistaking you for my brother, and you are a totally different person with the same face?"
Lawrence looked at her like she just said somehing stupid. "Really?" He jerked to a stop.
Anna rolled her eyes and went on, "And to add spice to that, my brother is a really nerdy kind of guy, like he just spends all day facing his computer.. I wonder what he's watching." She teased and made a face.
"Okay, okay stop it. You're hurting my feelings now." Lawrence laughed.
"I wonder what's with all the tissues in the trash bin." She continued teasing. Lawrence choked, looking like a cornered rat. If rat wore beanies. "Hello? that was Beatrice." He explained.
"Okay, If you say so." She says, still feeling like torturing the crap out of him.
"Oh really?" Lawrence narrowed his eyes at her."How about you and Jake, already past first base?" He teased, emphasizing the word base.
"What?" Anna felt herself blush, and stammered. "You and I both know, that were just friends." Though she hesitated for a second before she spoke the last word. Lawrence rolled his eyes at her. Anna tried to show enthusiasm, hoping he wouldn't notice, but the look on her brother's face told her that she failed, and horribly at that.
"Just friends?" Lawrence says as they arrived at their apartment street.
"Just friends." She confirmed, with a tone of finality.
"He's a jerk then. I would've come tenfold if I've got myself a girl with a body like yours." He laughed, looking at her booty then to her bumpers.
"Gosh, your into incest now?" Anna says to her shock, her gray eyes wide but decided to play with the joke, with a hand on her mouth. "I'm trying to confirm it. Is that a bad idea?" His face looked amused at the ridiculous idea.
"Whatever." She says as she opened the door and laughed as she stepped into the halls and the darkness swallowed her.
--
"Lawrence!" Anna woke up with a gasp, feeling like she was hit by a train or something. Her head ached, accompanied by a throbbing pain at lower sides. "Just a dream." She told herself when she figured that she only dreamt of her brother.
She tried to recall what happened. And images of this noon came to her mind. The hotel, the weapon store, Jake and Rachel on the floor. She shook her head in irritation. Not this one. She remembered throwing a fit after she slammed the door shut. And snapping at the shopkeeper who kept on glancing at her rack. She just got outside, when she noticed someone chasing after her, expecting it to be Jake. Instead she turned and saw two hooded guys, going straight at her. That's when she ran the other way around as fast as she could and bumped into someone. She said her apologies and raised her head, and then everything went black.
She cleared her throat when she noticed a tall figure that stood still like a statue over the window. He seemed to have notice her, and he turned to face her.
She stiffened.
His features where inhumane, pale white skin as smooth and poreless as those of a surface of a glass, and a set of ruby eyes that bore into her, complimented by a silver hair with bangs parted to either side of the face which further emphasized the shape of his jaw. He wore a long unbuttoned dark coat that revealed his exposed chest. Black trousers, and black boots.
"Annabel Lourisse Grayburn." He says, as the corners of his mouth raised into an amused grin.
--
Jake quickly gunned out on the streets as fast as his legs could muster. He gritted his teeth as he quickened up the pace, nearly stumbling on the process as he sharply took a left turn.
"Hey, watch where you're goin?" Dozens of pedestrian shouted at him. He didn't paid any mind to them, as he recklessly ran and even collided with some of them.
I should have chased after her. If I did none of this would have happened. He thought.
"Jake!" He heard Rachel shout somewhere above him, which snapped him back to reality. He spared her a glance and saw her jumping roof to roof, with cat-like grace. "Climb. It's way faster in here than down there." She added, and slid down above a nearby tent, and offered her hand. "Too many pedestrians."
"I noticed." Jake says, he grabbed her hand. And with a grunt he shifted his weight and jumped as she pulled him above next to her, and continued running and jumped at the next block. "So, any idea who might have done this?" He asked.
"Whoever they were, " Rachel started, her voice shook as she spoke. "They didn't even leave any traces." she went on." I don't know about you, but every nerve in my entire body is screaming that this is a trap." There was something in her face that Jake felt like she wasn't telling him something.
Jake's throat went dry. She definitely is hiding something, and whatever it was. He figured, he'll just have to find out later. Rescuing Anna comes first.
"Can't we just fly over there?" He says, getting a little bit impatient. Rachel looked like he'd just insulted her. She shook her head instead, and spoke. "Too many people." She says, though the tone in her voice made it look like she didn't even believe what she had said.
They continued jumping until they saw the tower just ahead and stopped near the shrine. Just above the bell tower. "See anything?" He asked.
"No. They must be inside." Rachel says.
Goddammit." Jake muttered, and flicked the switch inside his head on. This is probably the first time that he'll do this outside in a foreign city. Better get prepared for weird languages. He thought and braced himself, as waves of thoughts quickly drowned him as a tidal wave would have. He gritted his teeth and focused scanning all the thoughts at once and willed it to expand, to cover the entire tower.
"Jake stop. You'll kill yourself." Rachel must have noticed what he was doing and warned. Jake shook his head,in confusion. There's no one in here. He thought. He focused into penetrating the higher floors. Until he felt something just above the top floor. There were two thoughts above.
One was well guarded, but he was sure he heard a sinister laugh. Like the guy knows what Jake was doing, but he just let him be as a human would have left a frog, to better deal with the flies. He felt confident, even felt amused that he was letting Jake know that he was the one in control, not Jake. And that he could just squash Jake anytime if he ever chose to. Jake slowly withdrew from the guy's head, and focused on the other one who was afraid, worried and angry at the same time. This thoughts. They were Anna's.
"Jake. Someone, help me." Anna thought. "Where are you guys? Please."
Jake's knees buckled, as he turned the switch off and felt a mental backlash. Rachel quickly moved and put his arms around her shoulder. "Where are they?" She asked.
"Top floor. Anna is there. But the other one, his thoughts were well guarded, it made me felt like he was keeping me at bay." Jake says, he felt his body went suddenly heavy. Not now. He thought. "Like he was just toying with me." He finished just as a silver flash engulfed Rachel's grip, and swung her sword as she deflected something that flew too past to be seen away from them.
He didn't notice them earlier, but now there were five hooded guys that wore black coats in front of them. It shouldn't be a problem, if it weren't for the fact that Jake and Rachel stood on top of a building that was three stories high and the four of them were hovering in the air, and at their backs, were pair of wings that were like a crow's.
Jake quickly straightened up, to Rachel's concern. "Im fine." He assured her, as he plucked the golden ring that hung on his neck. It was Rachel's idea, that running on the streets with a weapon in hand would probably be a bad idea, and might have set the police officers off, or worse the embassy. She taught him that holy swords can take on any form as long as the wielder wills it. Like her pendant. The form it takes should be something that Jake can truly prove that belongs to him, hence the ring. One of his first winnings in his charades.
A pillar of gold shot out from under his grip. The golden radiance as blinding as that of the rays of the sun. It blazed brightly before the light thinned out and vanished, leaving a golden sword in its wake, under the grip of his hand. An exact replica of Rachel's sword. Sister swords, and that was why it had looked so familiar.
One of the hooded guys dove towards them. Jake braced, and Rachel who planted her foot firmly to the roof, spun. "Close your eyes." She mind-speaked to him,as Jake saw something gleam inside her other hand, she whirled and the sky whited out, along with a loud buzzing noise.
Flashbang?
He only had enough time to shake his head, when he felt Rachel tug at his arms, and dragged him into the edge. "Hold tight." She heard her say, and quickly he clung to her waist, as they both jumped and slid down on an electrical wire and slammed right though the bell tower's window.
Rachel landed on her feet silently, and Jake stumbled down crashing to the nearest row of seats. He rose up, feeling like he just broke a rib and followed Rachel who quickly bolted towards the double doors and sealed it shut.
"And I thought we were running?" Jake says, as he noticed that it all made sense. As the hooded guys came crashing in from the windows, and landed on the ground. It wasn't that they were running. She wanted them to think that they were, when all she really wanted was to lure them inside of here. Make their wings useless.
Rachel chuckled, and spoke. "Whatever made you think that we were?"
"I think, I get your point." He flashed her a smile, and spun Caliburn in his hand. As he faced the intruders.
The five of them stood side by side, the two on the left with spear and axe in hand, the other two held a bo staff, and the remaining one a broadsword. All made of silver. The one with the mace stepped forward, and brought his hood down, revealing a messy hazel hair and piercing onyx eyes. Jake didn't know why, but somehow the guy reminded him of Iris, where hers was innocent, and child-like. This guys features was as sharp as that of a well maintained blade.
"Phanuel" Rachel acknowledged, but held her position.
"So, whose the guy?" Phanuel asked, and squared his shoulders. He glanced at both of them, and his features went curious. "And where's Gabriel? He ought to be in here."
"None of your concern." Jake heard Rachel say, as Phanuel took a step, a loud gunshot echoed throught the room.
Jake whirled and saw Rachel her hand still aimed, and the barrel of her gun still smoking. "Now, that were talkin. Can you tell me what this is all about?" She asked.
Jake swallowed and turned his attention back to the four, as the three behind Phanuel, advanced.
Phanuel raised his hand up to stop them, and they did. "Speak, or the next one's on your head." Rachel warned, as she rested her fingertip on the trigger.
"Chill out." Phanuel says. "We were sent to get 'none of your concern', here." He pointed at Jake. "Though, I do wonder why?"
"Oh?" Rachel raised a brow, "And did he tell you to abduct that human girl?"
"Human?" Phanuel looked taken aback. "I don't know what you are trying to impose? We didn't abduct anyone. Well- not abducted a human, I suppose."
"The one with the red hair." Jake says impatiently. He felt his grip on his sword tighten. Phanuel rolled his eyes, and chuckled like he had just figured out something."Oh, Jesus." He says. " that cambion?"
Cambion? He's probably talking about Anna.
"Hold up, what's a cambion?" Jake asked Rachel, who avoided his gaze. It was Phanuel who answered. "A being born of a human parent, and an infernal one."
"That can't be right." Jake's voice shook.
"So, she didn't tell you?" Phanuel says, as he took a quick glance at Rachel then back to Jake, as he spoke. Jake thought he was talking about Anna, but he realized he isn't. He was talking about Rachel.
So, she knew?
"Or, maybe I should quit wasting my time here." He says, and both Rachel and Jake tensed, and braced themselves.
"Get him." Phanuel ordered, and the three attacked forward. "I'll handle our old friend here." He says as he charged at Rachel and brought his massive mace down, that made the ground shook.