Sabastian's side of the spectacle made me look like the bad guy. Yeah, I admitted, Angel had warned us not to venture outside. But, I was a light sleeper. Once those girls were detected, what was I supposed to do? Left them to die? No way. They were children.
According to him, it was because of my disobedience why he had to come and rescue me. Oh, how could I forget the part where I caused the bandit to turn against his friends, so he had to remain with us, in constant danger. If it wasn't for me, the bandits would have gotten their food and gone home. What kind of speech was that? It was as if he was picking up for them.
"Are you okay?"
I turned to the eldest of the girls with a smile. "Yeah, I am."
No, I was not. That alpha was so… Damn it!
"We're here," Chloe, the younger child, sing-sung.
Undertaking too much of the blame, I decided to leave them and walk the girls home. Nicole had work while Chloe had to attend school. I didn't ask if Nicole wasn't supposed to be in school. The facts were obvious. She had to work to take care of both her and her sister. Such a sad life.
We halted at a small house not far from the hotel. I could even catch a glimpse of the bakery from the gate. Funny enough there was a neck height brick fencing, an iron gate, and a rough tiled walkway up to the door. There wasn't much yard space at the front. A step out of the front door with three of Sabastian's strides and we would be out the gate. I could see why it was easy for Chloe to leave last night.
A guy leaned against their front door. Chloe released her sister's hand and rushed to the man. No, it was a boy. He appeared to be the same age if not older than Nicole. The girl hugged the boy. Both of them shared a laugh.
"Morning, Toshero," Nicole greeted. "I thought you would leave for class already."
He held up a bag. "I brought breakfast and made lunch for Nicole. I couldn't leave it on the step. You guys kind of scared me when I didn't get a response."
A flush of red shaded the poor girl's cheeks. "Thanks, but we're fine."
All the evidence pointed to the fact that this guy was her boyfriend.
The boy eyed me. "Morning, Ms…"
I waved away that abomination. "You can call me Scarlet. Morning." I turned to Nicole. "Are you okay, now?"
She nodded and I handed my pouch with coins to her. It wasn't that I would need it any longer. We were leaving today anyway. Yesterday, I had gotten enough snacks to keep me going.
Nicole's face grew redder. "I can't—"
I thrust the pouch in her and strolled away before she could finish her refusal. I headed in the direction of the bakery with the few coins taken from the pouch.
There weren't many customers in as yet. I got six cookies with four muffins and four bottles of water.
The walk back to the hotel was faster than the stroll from. As usual, Sabastian was able to pick up my arrival.
He flung the door open. "It took you long enough."
I stepped past him into the room. He was a bag of confusion. One minute he wanted to kill me and the next he was all affectionate. There was no way to tell which one was his true intentions.
The french doors were open and the drapes drawn to the sides. The room was brighter than when I left. The bandit was also gone.
Sabastian threw himself down on the bed. "He's in the bathroom."
I didn't respond or give my concern about the brightness in the room. He had to come back out here anyway. I shouldn't even be concerned for a creature who could be planning to kill us any time.
"I bought cookies and muffins," I passed Sabastian two of the muffins.
Angel attempted to take one of the muffins from me but snatched her hand away. A deep frown crinkled her face. "You're wearing a barrier."
Now, it was my turn to be confused.
Sabastian devoured his first muffin. "Yeah, she came back yesterday with it. Women. You send them to get food and they return with all sorts of stuff."
Oh, it had to be what Brucie and the others did.
Angel flexed the fingers that had almost touched me and massaged her hand back. "Odd. You can see it, Sabastian?"
The werewolf paused. "Yeah, can't you?"
The angel observed her fingers. "No, but it's strange. You can see it and touch her but I can't."
Silence passed between us.
I couldn't tell what it meant. Brucie didn't give me much to go on. He was like be careful and whatnot. Nothing to indicate what I should be careful of. I guess this barrier was to help me on my journey. We were going to the most dangerous places in this world.
But the spell had to be powerful to ward off even a Guardian Angel, second in command to a God. Yet, it was strange that Sabastian could both see and touch me.
In the same breath, the bandit walked out into the room. He stopped short of the bright light from the sun. He was now clothed in black pants and a long sleeve shirt with black gloves and boots. This cloak swung against his ankles and covered his forehead. If he held down his head, it would be difficult to make out his face.
Sabastian beamed at the sight of the ghost. "You look good. Those clothes should protect you from the rays of the sun."
"Yes, Sir," he hissed. His voice sounded more like a snake's than an actual ghost. I could recall, the others had the same tone.
Angel observed the bandit. "Tell me something, Leo. How did you become a bandit? Judging by your appearance, you haven't yet consumed any souls."
Sabastian handed him a muffin. He took the treat and nestled back on the floor. He didn't fear Sabastian. Yet, he stayed clear of Angel.
"I was injured at the crossroads," he confessed. "Everything happened so fast. One night I was supposed to be the pack leader and the next I woke up to my best friend plunging a knife into my heart. When I woke up again, I was in a queue at the crossroads. A fight broke out with one of the souls. He was killed in a battle and was enraged. The enforcers were trying to sedate him but he was too much for the two angels. He would have hurt the little girl in front of me. I had to step in. We fought and both got injured. I woke up again like this."
Oh, so this was what happened to damaged souls. They were unable to pass on, so they turned into grey-colored ghosts.
"The others took me in and explained how they got power and our rank of ghost," he explained. "I fed on animals instead of souls. It was just as good but didn't give as much strength as the souls. As it turns out, the same guy I fought at the crossroads had turned into a mega ghost. He wasn't too happy about our fight and came looking for me. One of the other bandits gave me the advice to tag along with them. I had to get stronger to fight him, so I followed the others and met this God."
Which god?
Sabastian got to his feet. "It's a good thing too. Stick with me and I'll give you the power you need to fight that coward. Who seeks fun in fighting someone not strong as he is?"
Since when was fighting supposed to be fun? It was not a sport. Most people fought to survive, not sought it out.
I sighed.
It was official, this bandit was here to stay whether I liked it or not. I couldn't even hate him with all he had been through.
"Where's your shades?" Sabastian asked him.
He fished the sunglasses out of his cloak pocket and put them on his face, shielding the world from those deadly eyes.
"On the other side of this village is the Forest of Beast," Angel filled us in. "This is where we'll have our work cut out for us. We'll have to rely on you, big guy. This part of the trip is based on strength and you're the strongest of us all. This is your playfield. Just don't die. None of you."
Sabastian smirked. "I don't plan on it. After all, I have a brother waiting for me to get back home in one piece."
"We have all the supplies we need to aid us in our journey," she stood alongside the alpha. "If we leave now, it will allow us to get into the forest by sundown."
"What about those ghost bandits?" I questioned.
"They won't enter the forest," Angel smiled. "If you haven't noticed, they aren't that strong. Those animals in the forest have more powers than even the mega ghost."
Was that even supposed to make me feel better? We were trading one hell for the other.