Mist (Book Three of the Royals Trilogy)

Chapter Three

We reached a small building at the outskirts of town. It was a small cottage, there only appeared to be big enough for a small room, a restroom and a small kitchenette inside. If I hadn't been a Huntress, I would have guessed the building was abandoned but since I was, I could see slight, soft footsteps marked on the grass. There was a lingering smell of fire that had been tried to mask with the smell of animal droppings and wood. 

"How did you come to know of this place?" I asked Mark as I turned to him. We were still sitting on our motorcycles and we had just taken our helmets off. 

"I used to get out of camp a lot when I was a Trainee, I had always enjoyed exploring and investigating," he said sheepishly and I raised an eyebrow in surprise. Mark had always been a Hunter who followed orders in my mind, I couldn't imagine him breaking the rules by leaving camp without a supervisor. "Why do you look so surprised?"

I shrugged as I got off the motorcycle, "I always thought you followed the rules, like Gideon does." 

Mark laughed and shook his head, "even though we are brothers, we are not the same, just similar in some aspects. He was Elda's favorite and trained to be the future leader of our camp, practically raised to follow orders until his time to lead came whereas I was the rebellious sibling, I used to get into trouble a lot. That is, until Elda assigned Richard the task of keeping me in check." We had started to make our way towards the cottage as he talked and by the time he trailed off, we were at the door. "We'll continue this later," he whispered and I nodded right as his hand reached the door to knock. 

Mark knocked on the door with a certain rhythm and I could only guess it was a signal for Hunter Liam in case anyone came knocking on his door, he would only open the door to a certain pattern. 

As predicted, Hunter Liam opened the door a fraction of an inch and then his eyes settled on Mark and then on me. Slowly, the Hunter opened the door and let us through. "You weren't followed?" was the first thing he said. 

I shook my head, "nope, we weren't. We made sure of it." Blair's father nodded and the three of us stood in the small kitchenette. As I looked around I wasn't surprised to see that I had been right, there was only one room, one bathroom and one kitchenette inside. 

"I'm guessing Blair didn't come with you," the older Hunter said as he went to the minifridge and took out a beer. "Do you want anything?" he asked us and Mark and I shook our heads. 

"No, actually she doesn't know we're here," I said and Liam looked disappointed but he nodded his head. 

"Why are you here then?" he asked before taking a big gulp of his drink. 

Mark spoke this time, "we want you to meet with us. All of us. That includes Elda's other son, Gideon Stone and one of Skylar's close friends. We think you'd be better at convincing Gideon of what is happening." 

Hunter Liam looked uncomfortable and he didn't say anything for a moment, "I haven't found anything new, I'm just starting to get back in touch with my contacts, I don't know how I'd be of much help."

"You know Elda, you practically grew up with her and you're Blair's father. That will mean something to Gideon because what you say will have weight on him because you know Elda better than he does," I intervened confidently. Mark nodded in support as he stood next to me. 

"Makes sense, it's still risky, but I understand why you'd prefer to risk it. I'm guessing Elda has everything she needs," Liam said with a sly smile on his face. 

"Almost everything, I don't think she has found the temple yet. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here talking about this," Mark said with a shrug. 

"Let's make sure to keep it that way," Liam responded and took the last gulp of his beer before placing the empty glass bottle on the sink. "Where do we meet?" 

I turned to face Mark, the location had been chosen by him and I still didn't know where we were going to go. "There's a big building nearby, it's a mall in the shape of a tower. We have a reservation in the restaurant on the tenth floor. I picked that place because Hunters back at camp prefer to avoid crowded places where many snobby humans are mingling together. And it is a place relatively far from camp." I raised an eyebrow at him but didn't say anything. 

Hunter Liam nodded. "I know which place you're talking about. Tomorrow's the camp's anniversary, correct? That means you'll be off duty around dusk so I'll try to be there by eight, once it is dark outside." Mark nodded his head in agreement. 

"Thank you for doing this, Hunter Liam," I said with a small smile. Mark and I headed towards the exit and gave the older Hunter one last look before disappearing outside. It was fully dark out now, and the only sounds that could be heard were the chirping of the crickets. 

"I think that went well," I whispered, trying to make small talk as we reached our bikes. 

Mark shrugged, "yeah well, I just hope he shows up." 

"Why wouldn't he?" I asked in confusion as I put on my helmet. I heard Mark sigh through the communication system integrated on our helmets. 

"He hasn't been around for years, I think the last thing he wants is to get involved with Hunter Laws and problems. The only reason he agreed in the first place is because Blair is involved and he does care about her." 

I frowned and didn't say anything for a moment. We turned the bikes on and then I heard Mark's voice in my ear. "Now, where to next?" I looked at him with a gleam of excitement and anticipation in his eyes. 

"Follow me," was all I said before speeding away into the dark night.

...

"What is this place?" I couldn't tell if Mark was more amazed or bewildered by what he was seeing. 

"You've never been to a bowling alley before?" I asked in surprise and I saw him shake his head slowly. "Well then, you're in for a treat." The music was loud inside and you could hear the yells and loud voices of the people playing at the alley, while other adults were having a beer and eating at the bar at the other side of the building.

Mark smiled and followed me to get our bowling shoes. At first he looked uncomfortable to leave his shoes behind but he kept his worries to himself. After we had our bowling shoes on Mark looked at me with curiosity as he watched the other rows that were occupied by families and couples. "What do we do now?"

I took his hand in mine and led him towards our assigned row. When our hands met, I felt him stiffen by my touch but then he relaxed and gripped my hand firmly and yet at the same time softly. I couldn't stop smiling, this felt good, this felt normal. 

"Now, this part is simple," I began explaining, "all you have to do is choose a bowling ball. Take one that feels right on you and make sure your fingers can fit through the holes. Then, you take the ball, aim at your target, and finally, throw," I said as I demonstrated and we both watched as the bowling ball struck the pins at the middle and every pin was knocked down. I jumped in excitement and turned to face Mark. "See? Now it's your turn. This should be easy for you, you're a Hunter after all," I teased and Mark raised an eyebrow at my cockiness. I got off the platform and watched him.

Mark grabbed a green bowling ball and tried to mimic what I had done moments before. I saw him let out a deep breath before he threw the ball. He threw the ball a with much force, too much that it slid to the side and went through the tubes and passed the pins without touching them. I let out a chuckle as I saw Mark's shocked expression. "But I did everything you said," the started to say. 

"Don't worry, you get another try, just try not to throw it too hard this time," I said encouragingly. Mark nodded and did like I suggested, this time, he knocked all the pins down. 

...

An hour flew by and the score ended with me winning by only a couple of points, if Mark had knocked all the pins on his first try we would have both tied. "I guess it was like cheating coming here since we're Hunters and we are trained to aim and hit the target," I said playfully as I took one of the fries from a basket we had ordered. We had also ordered a pizza and boneless to go with that. 

I heard Mark's chuckle, "nah, I think it was fun. They should totally include this sport in the training program back at camp." I couldn't help but laugh at his comment. After a couple more moments he looked at me in awe. "You really are hungry." 

I blushed as I put the slice of pizza down on my plate, a long string of cheese ran from my mouth to the pizza until I pulled it apart. "Yeah, I didn't eat this afternoon. I felt too sick." 

I saw concern grow on his face as he waited for me to continue. "Why? Are you feeling okay?" 

I quickly nodded and waved him off, "yes, I'm not sick if that's what you mean. I just felt a bit nauseous after my walk." Mark didn't look convinced.  

"Do you want to talk about what made you upset this afternoon?" he asked slowly and my body instantly stiffened. 

“I felt overwhelmed by everything that is going on and even more so now that I think we have less time than we originally thought to end this,” I whispered, and I stared at my plate.

“Why do you say so? Did you see something?” Mark asked slowly, he looked genuinely interested.

I nodded my head and took a drink from my glass before saying anything, “I did. I saw Devion Royale.” Mark turned his head to the side, questioningly. “At first, I saw Hunter Richard pushing a bed through the corridor, I didn’t think anything of it at first, I just saw that whatever he was pushing, was covered with a white sheet from head to toe. I followed him until he stopped at a very guarded door. The Hunters standing watch asked him to go through a security protocol and they uncovered the body that was laying on the bed. It was Devion.”

Mark’s eyes widened and confusion ran over his face, “Devion? Is he dead?”

I shook my head, “no, he was still breathing, but he was unconscious and there were signs on torture from what I could see. He was too pale, too thin and… vulnerable. It shocked me to see him like that and I’m afraid that anything they do to him, affects Emma.”

He nodded in understanding and remained quiet for a couple of moments. “Devion is alive, we know that Elda needs him. I don’t think she will order her followers to hurt him so badly that’d it would affect your sister.”

“I don’t know, I’m not comfortable knowing that my sister could possibly be in danger, if they were to find out they were beloveds, my sister would never be safe. I need her to take the antidote,” I said with urgency.

“Calm down, Sky. You must respect your sister’s wishes, there is a reason why she refused to take the serum. She doesn’t want to be unbonded like you, at least not yet.” Mark had a point, at one point, Emma had been deeply in love with Devion and for years she had lived with him, surely, she did feel some kind of connection to her beloved.

“I still don’t like it,” I murmured under my breath. Mark placed a gentle hand on my back and ran soothing circles over it.

“We should tell the others tomorrow, about Devion. Maybe Gideon could get us access to get into that room and find out what they’re doing to Devion. Maybe it’s not just him, maybe there’s more supernatural creatures in there.”

I sighed, “I think there is and I don’t think even Gideon has the clearance to go in. Either way, I’m just generally worried, I feel as if a huge weight has been thrown on our backs, I mean, we’re trying to save the world and all.”

Mark chuckled and agreed, “I can see us coming out of this alive. I’m sure we’ll stop Elda. Let’s take things with an open mind and a clear view, alright?” I nodded my head and he smiled at me. “Good, now, I want to take your mind off your worries. I already know you’re Blair’s age, your parents were killed a couple of years ago and you went to live with your aunt and just last year, you found out your sister was alive. Then you decided to become a Huntress and now you’re the best one at camp. Tell me something I don’t know,” he raised his eyebrows playfully and I chuckled while thinking about what I could tell him.

“I don’t know, I guess… I don't know. My favorite cuisine is Mexican and the food that I least like is Chinese," I said nervously and he smiled warmly at me.

"Really? Why not Chinese?" he asked and I shrugged.

"I only tried it once but it tasted... too sweet for my liking," I said sheepishly as I finished eating my meal. 

"Makes sense, Mexican is spicy," he agreed and I nodded.

"How about you? I barely know anything about you. Actually, I'm pretty sure you know me more than I know you," I said as I leaned in closer to him. 

Mark smiled and hesitated, "there's not much to tell, you know Hunter Richard is my father and Camp Leader Elda is my mother. Whereas Gideon was the favorite son, I preferred to be on my own. Since I was a child, I enjoyed exploring. Sometimes I would sneak deep inside the woods to see what I could find, that usually got me into a lot of trouble. It wasn't until I became a Trainee that I started to go further into the forest, I discovered the Cave of Answers on my own, I even went inside once but I never experienced the magic that other Hunters claimed there was. I took every chance I could to get out of our territory. One day, I decided to sneak out of the camp at night and I just walked until I was too tired to go on, that's when I saw a small cottage right a couple of meters away. It was abandoned and I claimed it as my own that night, on the really tough days, I would go there to relax and clear my mind, it was worth every punishment I received for sneaking out of camp alone. The Council of Elders had even considered holding me back and preventing me from becoming a Hunter until I learnt to follow orders. It was then that Elda intervened and ordered my father to spend more time with me and keep me busy. He's the reason I got so good at fighting, he never went easy on me. But fighting had never interested me much, I liked to build things and make new things, I even declined every mission offered to me, I preferred to spend time in the lab, watching the researchers working on new weapons and coming up with new technologies. Since then, I barely sneaked out of camp to go to the cottage, I felt comfortable and happy for the first time at camp. So when Hunter Liam showed up, I didn't hesitate to show him a place where he could lay low. I knew it was deserted and it was far enough away that other curious Hunters wouldn't run into it."

I nodded and smiled, "I can see you haven't changed a bit. I mean, your curiosity and excitement for knowledge is still inside of you." 

Mark blushed slightly and he smiled, "I don't think that will ever go away. I don't think people change, not completely." 

"I think I am a very clear example that people can and do," I said uncomfortably. 

"You're still you, the only difference is that now you are very guarded and you keep your distance from everyone," he said honestly and his hand that had been on my back, trailed down my arm and his hands gently grasped mine. 

I looked at Mark's dark eyes and time seemed to stop. It was like he could see right through me, just like people said, the eyes are the window to the soul. For the first time, I believed it. 

Someone cleared their throat behind us and instinctively, we jumped apart and turned to look at the source of the sound. A waitress was standing there looking uncomfortable, "I'm sorry to bother you, but we need this table for people who are waiting. The bowling alley is beginning to fill." I nodded and turned to Mark.

"Are you ready to go?" I asked and he nodded his head. After paying for our food, we went to get our shoes  to leave. Outside, the air was starting to turn cold and I couldn't help but shiver. 

"Are you cold?" Mark asked, obviously noticing. 

"I'm alright, let's just get back to camp. It's getting dark and I don't want anyone to become suspicious," I said as I started to walk towards the motorcycles. 

"Wait," Mark spoke softly. His hand gently tugged my arm back and I turned to him with a puzzled expression. I walked back towards him.

"Is something wrong?" I asked softly. 

"There's just something I have wanted to do for a while now," he said with a smile and before I could ask anything else, his lips met mine. My eyes widened but after a couple of seconds my body relaxed into his. My arms unconsciously wrapped around his neck and pulled him closer as the kiss deepened. His lips were soft and tender on mine as he kissed me as if I were something fragile that would break with any rough movement. 

The cold air was forgotten and it was just the two of us, wrapped in each other's arms, on a date. Like a couple of normal teenagers. And I enjoyed every moment of it.