After leaving the garden, the first thing Renny needed to do was check on Kev. The man had been calling and texting him all throughout his time in the Garden, but the messages had stopped abruptly. That silence worried him.
It was already January 2nd, he had missed Christmas and New Year's, but at least he was still in time to secure a new contract. Among the pile of unread messages from Kev, one in particular caught his eye: a summons from the Council. They'd given him a role at the inauguration ceremony for the new Grade 1 demons. His duty was to usher them to the venue. Renny immediately knew what that meant. This wasn't just a role, it was a ploy to drag him back within their reach. Still, he'd think about that later. For now, Kev came first.
He made his way toward Kev's apartment, but this time he avoided the demon taxis. After last year's incident, he didn't want to risk running into another situation that could trace back to him. Who knew if they had discovered the driver's body and pinned it on him? There was enough mess on his hands already.
Instead, he took a regular human bus. It was slower, but safer. Surrounded by civilians, he felt more shielded from open attacks. Demons rarely went that far in public, though if they did, he could always use the crowd as cover. Fortunately, no one came for him on the ride.
But as soon as he stepped into Kev's apartment building, the air shifted. Eyes locked on him from every corner, the way they always did. Yet this time, the stares were different. Gone was the mocking amusement. What he saw instead was wariness, and under it, something sharper, aggravation. As though the demons were one wrong move away from pouncing.
By the time Renny reached Kev's building and got to his floor, he ran into Amorette, just stepping out of Kev's room.
He greeted her. She frowned, irritation flaring. "What are you doing here, Ezraphor? And where have you been all this while? Everyone's been looking for you."
Renny raised a brow. "Everybody? What do you mean?"
"For some reason, people care about your whereabouts," she snapped, rolling her eyes. "Not that I care." She shifted as if ready to bolt.
"Wait... where's Kev?" Renny asked.
She sighed. "Hospital."
Renny stiffened. "Hospital? Why?"
"He got beat up by a Damaruk in my grade."
Renny's eyes narrowed. "Let me guess, one of the Damaruk brothers?"
"Yeah." She folded her arms, clearly itching to leave.
"You going there now?" Renny pressed.
"No. I'm going home. And even if I was, I wouldn't go with you." She shot him a sharp look.
"Fine by me."
They took the elevator together. Amorette acted as though standing near him risked catching a plague. The second the doors opened, she bolted.
Renny shook his head, then hurried off. With taxis out of the question, his movement was slowed to public buses. He thought about speed-running to the hospital, but that would drain energy he couldn't afford to waste. With enemies who could strike at any moment, he needed every bit of strength. So, sluggishly, he boarded another bus to the demon hospital.
***
After arriving, Renny pushed into Kev's room and found him lying on the hospital bed. He didn't look too bad, just bruised up.
"What happened to you, man?" Renny asked.
Kev shifted his head and squinted at him. "Homie, where in hell you been? Folks been lookin' for you everywhere."
"Yeah, I heard. Your girlfriend told me."
Kev's brow rose. "Wait, you seen Ammy?"
"Yeah," Renny nodded. "She was leaving your place when I got there."
Kev exhaled and shook his head. "Damn. Aight… but nah, for real, where you been? You just vanished the whole damn December."
Renny crossed his arms. "I got into some intense training. Found a spot, stayed there, and locked in."
Kev looked at him long, then sighed. "Man, you coulda at least hit me up. Left me hangin' out here."
"My bad," Renny muttered. "Things happened fast." He gestured toward Kev's bruises. "So, what about you? Who did this?"
Kev's jaw flexed. "Who else, man? The Damaruks. Avradren, the big one."
Renny's eyes widened. "Wait... Avradren did this to you? Why the hell would he come after you?"
Kev let out a rough laugh that turned into a wince. "Man, it ain't even that deep. Dude just wanted to prove a point." He shook his head and told Renny the whole story, everything that went down.
Renny's fists clenched. "That bastard… we can't let that slide. We gotta get him back... "
Kev cut him off with a sharp look. "Nah, homie. Not yet. That demon's way too strong. If I'm strugglin' with him, imagine the other two brothers. You charge in now, they could all come after us, and that'd be a way bigger mess for us to handle right now."