In mere ten minutes, Chase had shaken off the pursuit and plunged into the streets of the Brindle Row — the district where middle-class families lived to save their money.
The old car sped through the narrow streets like a serpent patrolling its den before finally stopping at the farthest edge.
The shimmering moonlight illuminated the cluster of tall trees.
This tiny forest right behind the Brindle Row had somehow managed to escape the disaster of urbanization.
This was the first reason why Eli preferred to live here. Not in a rented place like Chase. But a little cottage in the middle of this little forest.
Saxo VTS hummed like a restless dog waiting to bolt.
Chase was well aware of the habits of the lunatic sitting beside him. No matter how he tried to cajole, Eli would still take up the cases that had nothing to do with him.
Sometimes there wasn't even a reward, and worse yet, all of them would ultimately get him in trouble.
Just like this one.
Trying to save one child had nearly cost them their own lives. What a great best friend he had.
It wasn't the first time Chase had the urge to let his idiot suffer a bit, suffer enough so he wouldn't throw himself into the road of danger.
"It is only me who still came to save your ass."
Eli shrugged. "Thanks. Come again."
Chase tsked. "I seriously doubt you are using my pure heart, and of course," he patted the steering wheel before adding, "my little dove, too."
Eli stared at the young man under the dim light.
The strands of platinum blonde hair were sticking to his sweaty forehead. Coupled with his blue eyes and muscular build, Chase was one of the most recognizable faces on campus.
"Your little dove doesn't want to carry Glen on her seat. Not my fault," Eli joked.
Glen was Chase's recent girlfriend, or a fling. Eli wasn't sure.
"We broke up."
Oh, so she was indeed a girlfriend. Although only for a week.
"Why?" Eli asked, his fingertips rubbing the golden key where a familiar pattern was engraved. A seal that represented the spirit of a hungry goblin.
If fed and nourished, these goblins would share their strength with the humans, making them far stronger than their peers.
That was why Eli was impressed by whoever had killed Mr. Colton.
With Mr. Colton dead, the goblin would soon become free from restraint and come to hunt for the marked spirits, and Eli's mission was to save that marked child.
Funnily, such a scary being was now sitting right behind them, grinning with his jagged jaws, drooling in thick ropes that smoked in the air and yet Chase had no clue.
"Got fed up with her voice. Too shrill. I think I'ma hit her brother instead."
Eli silently glared at the entity trying to inch closer to the other living being in the confined space. But the green goblin, shrouded in dark mist, only cackled.
"She will kick up a fuss if you do that."
Any girl would, and wasn't Chase, a person with a lot of experience in this field, aware of it already?
"Who cares? I want to try guys' ass now."
Eli draped his arm behind Chase's seat. His spiritual energy was enough to keep this low-level, growling entity away from his friend without the need for any chants.
Chase looked at Eli and grimaced. "Not your ass."
Eli, "..."
As if the goblin understood, it cackled even more loudly. Mocking the pathetic human who dared to disrupt its meal time.
"Oh, and I brought a new sofa for you. Put it in the living room. Now you can do your mjo-jojo without getting your ass chill like a popsicle."
And whatever Chase lacked in his brain, he made up for with his muscles.
It was one of his redeeming qualities that managed to save him from getting kicked out.
Eli sighed lightly. He also didn't want to get a cold while meditating on the carpet, but the weather on this side of the country was very unpredictable.
One second it was sunny and the other it was raining.
Eli mumbled a quiet "Thanks."
"No prob. Get me a charm so I can seduce Glen's brother. Dude is hot af."
"No," Eli said, tapping on the side of Chase's temple, a silent way of putting a protective barrier around him.
"Why? I will pay you. 100 bucks."
"Still a no."
Eli was never interested in selling charms for this kind of use. Love that grew due to these things always resulted in a mess. A horrible tragedy.
Chaotic Chase himself was enough. He had no intention of getting his hands full of something else.
"Not even for 500?" Chase persisted.
When Eli shook his head again, Chase clicked his tongue. "1000 bucks for a fuck is too expensive."
Perhaps it was precisely because Chase was so open-minded about everything that the young man had accepted his identity as an exorcist without much trouble.
Eli was grateful for that. He would have been even more glad if Chase had a better vocabulary that didn't consist of throwing curse words every three sentences.
But one should not be too greedy.
So, for the rest of the ride, he had to bear Chase blabbing about some new professor and the love affairs of the entire university, filling him in on the things he had no desire to know.
Yet he listened until Chase maneuvered the car onto the dimly lit pathway flanked by the tall trees.
This place might have frightened anyone else with its eerie feeling, but both of them were used to it.
With his experience, Chase could drive with his eyes closed.
As soon as they reached the wooden gates, the young man shut the banshee-like engine off.
"So," he turned to the silent Eli. "Did you get it, or are we risking our lives one more time?"
Eli looked up, his stony grey eyes flickering with a smile. That tiny emotion was enough to light up his entire face.
"Here."
A long golden chain dangled from Eli's palm, and at the end was the tiny key.
Chase, with his eyebrow raised in interest, reached for the key.
"Why is it so long? It can circle your waist twice," he said, recalling how stressed Eli had been the past few weeks over this key.
This was their last hope, or that child would turn into a dark spirit, cutting his path to the heavenly realm. Or some religious shit, he couldn't care less.
"It was on his waist. And yes, I can now."
The hand about to reach for the key halted midair, before Chase yanked it back.
Blue eyes glared at Eli with revulsion as he cradled his palm over his chest like a treasure.
"How could you let me touch something so disgusting?"
The waist chain of a 60-something man would disgust anyone, especially when the person was a member of a syndicate and a pervert to boot.
"You are not my friend anymore. Get out."
Used to Chase being dramatic, Eli rolled his eyes.
"Don't bother picking me up later." With that, he pushed open the car door and stepped outside.
"Not attending the class tomorrow? I'll help you with the attendance. Just get some sleep."
"What about your practice?" Eli asked. "Not afraid to lose your guard?"
The main reason for Chase's popularity was his being the point guard on the basketball team.
Chase might joke about anything, but he never missed his training sessions, no matter how early or late they were.
The timing of early sessions was the same as that of his early lectures.
"Don't worry about it. I have connections." Chase flashed a bright grin.
That was enough to fade what little curiosity Eli had.
They were in a different major to begin with. So, how Chase, a finance student, managed to mark his present in the history department was something he didn't want to understand.
With Chase's usual means, Eli refused to listen to another of his epic love tales.
So, he opted to wave his hand in a goodbye.
"Not gonna invite me in? What a stone-hearted young man you are. But don't worry, I will keep you warm and cozy with my pure love."
Chase winked before dashing back into the dark streets. Both of their nights were truly starting now, for entirely different reasons.
Eli couldn't help but chuckle. The soft laughter soon dissolved into the foggy darkness.