Kai spent the following day in his room, practicing with the VTuber modeling programs Nekoko suggested. It had been weeks since he had done anything creative with his art, and the practice had rekindled his passion for the work.
He became so obsessed with it that he had only taken a break when starvation hit him, and before he knew it, the day had gone by, and it was late evening.
As he finished his late meal and rose to put the dishes in the sink, there was a knock at the door. He washed his hands, dried them with a towel, and went to open it.
A large beast lunged on top of him, dropping him to the ground, its claws digging into his skin. Its maw opened, exposing sharp fangs, and its tongue lashed out at the Oathless, licking his face furiously.
He tried to fend her off, but she didn't give up easily, and he started giggling. "It's good to see you too, Bella," he sat up, rubbing her face.
"Hey there, son," John Isaacson stood at the doorway. "How're you doing?"
"I'm good, Mr. Isaacson," he said casually, then thought about it and found that it was true… he was doing fairly well, all things considered.
"Heard your father won't be paying your rent anymore," the old man said flatly. "Is that going to be a problem?"
The Oathless rose to his feet, and Bella rose with him, resting her forelegs on his torso and nudging her head under his arm for more pets. "No, no problem at all," he struggled to maintain a serious expression with the dog all over him.
John nodded. "Alright then, the lease is up this month. We should sign to renew whenever you have time."
"Sure, we can do that tomorrow if that works."
"Tomorrow, then," the old man's eyes rested on Bella, and he seemed to be considering something. "Do you have work during the weekends, son?"
"Ah… no. Why?"
"I've been looking for a dog walker. You interested?"
"Yeah, of course, I'd love to walk Bella again," the Oathless said as the dog leaped up to lick his face, drawing a chuckle from him. "Calm down." He ruffled her furry head and scratched behind her ear.
"Good," the old man gave a loud whistle, compelling the dog to return to his side. "It's supposed to rain tonight, and we have a harsh winter ahead of us, so if the roof is leaking or there's a problem with the heating, you let me—"
Kai's phone rang, cutting Mr. Isaacson off, and the Oathless gave him an apologetic shrug, then answered.
"Kai, help! Someone is—" Felicia's voice came through, along with the sound of shattering glass and a distant yelp. "Evelyn!"
"Felicia?" The Oathless's face contorted in confusion and worry. "What's going on?"
"I'm at Evelyn's, there's a guy here with a—Ugh!" She groaned, as if locked in a struggle.
"Put that down," a man's voice came through, cold and commanding.
"Get your hands off me!" Felicia hissed, and the guy grunted in pain. "And get the fuck out of—"
Her voice was cut off by a loud thud, then a muffled clanking as the phone fell to the ground.
"Felicia," Evelyn's voice came meek and distant.
"Be quiet," the man said with the same cold, definite tone.
All that Kai could hear after that was Evelyn's low whimpering.
"Felicia?" he said, a chill going down his spine and panic settling in. "Felicia!"
"What's going on, son?" Mr. Isaacson asked, his calm tone helping the Oathless regain some of his nerves.
"Felicia, I-I think someone broke into Evelyn's store and hurt a friend of mine, probably hurt Evelyn too."
The old man grimaced. "Grab your coat," he said. "We can take my car."
***
"Vira?" Kai whispered as they entered the old, rusty SUV.
"I'm here, Kai," she said, appearing as a small ball of red light over his shoulder. "I heard everything."
"You don't think… could this have something to do with—"
"The witch! I am sure of it. The timing is too suspicious."
"The timing? What about the timing?"
"It's late… almost midnight."
John Isaacson started the car and pulled out of the parking lot, while Kai checked his phone—10:34 PM. "We got over an hour, that's plenty of time—"
"Maybe if it were summer, but the days are shorter now; the sun has set a long time ago."
He clicked his tongue. Of course, midnight didn't mean exactly twelve o'clock. That would be too easy. "Okay, but she was a fairy too. Her magic wouldn't work after midnight either, right?"
"No, it's the opposite for witches, their power weakens between noon and sunset. She is at the prime of her power at this time of night."
The Oathless grimaced.
"Her store isn't far," John said reassuringly as he rushed the car down the empty road. "We should get there soon."
***
A few moments later, they parked by the store and left the vehicle in a hurry, Bella jumping from the rolled-down window in the back seat. The shop's glass door was shattered, and John approached slowly.
"Stay back, son," he blocked Kai's path with one arm and stepped inside, the crystal fragments crunching under his boots.
Bella followed him, her ears upright and alert.
Other than the glow coming from the streetlights, the store was dark, and lines of hanger stands filled with clothes made easy hiding spots for an ambush.
John moved further in until his shadow became completely swallowed by the darkness. With the dog by his side, he kept his fists clenched, ready to throw his bulk against whatever came at him.
Kai trailed his steps far behind, heart racing, but drew to a halt as his eyes caught droplets of blood on the floor.
"Evelyn?" John called into the darkness as he reached the middle of the store.
A movement at his side caused him to shift, fists ready, with Bella growling beside him.
"John?" Evelyn asked hoarsely, half lying on the ground, propping herself up with her hands.
The old man relaxed, unclenching his fists.
"Why…" she started, weak and confused. "How did you—"
"Never mind me," he crouched next to her. "What happened here?"
"Felicia—he took Felicia," she said frantically, holding her bruised right arm.
"Who did?"
"I don't know… he was tall, with a black coat and long dark hair. He broke in with a baseball bat and came at us. I don't know what he wanted, but he took Felicia with him."
"Did he hurt you?"
"Yes, but I'm fine… he hurt Felicia worse."
"Did you see where he went?"
She shook her head, her eyes red with dried tears.
"Did he have a car?"
"Yes, I heard him drive off."
Kai closed the distance, and his face darkened as he saw the beaten woman. He hesitated, then presented the symbol on his hand. "Did he have a tattoo that looked like this?"
Her eyes went wide. "Yes… how did you—do you know him?"
"No, not exactly."
The old man scowled and grabbed the Oathless by the collar. "If I find out you had anything to do with this—"
"I don't, I swear, I had no idea—" His phone rang, and they all fell silent.
The old man let him go, and—shakily—he answered.
"Kai Holloway," said a cold voice, which sent a shiver down the Oathless's spine.
"Y-yeah."
"I'm sending you an address. Come alone and unarmed, or the fox dies."
The call ended abruptly, and immediately after, Kai received a message with the location.
"Was it him?" the old man asked.
"Yeah…"
"And?"
"He said to meet him alone, or…" Kai choked. "Or…"
"What did you get yourself involved with, eh? Is it a gang? Is that how you're paying rent now? Dirty money?"
"What? No! It's just…" he stammered, not sure how to explain.
"Just what?"
"Punks, talking shit online, that's all," that was the closest he could come to the truth without sounding insane or homicidal. "I never meant for anyone to get hurt."
John grabbed the back of his neck and forced him to look down at Evelyn. "What does it look like to you, boy?"
"John—" the woman protested, but he ignored her.
"Does it look like someone got hurt?"
"Yes!" Kai yelled, fighting the old man's grip.
"Eh? What was that? I didn't hear you." The grip tightened.
"Yes! I said yes!" He pushed the old man off of him. "I'm sorry, okay? I… I didn't know… I didn't…" He rubbed his face. "I'm sorry."
Mr. Isaacson let out an angry sigh. "Call the police," he told the woman. "Tell them about the break-in and the kidnapping." He then turned to the Oathless. "And you… you are coming with me."
"Where are we going?" Kai asked, following the old man back to his car.
"You created this mess," he answered, opening the back door for Bella to enter. "And you are going to fix it—but I'm gonna help you, and hope to God I don't regret it."
"The guy on the phone…" Kai said as they both entered the car. "He said I should come alone."
The old man scoffed. "Do I look like I give a shit?" He started the car and drove off.
***
The SUV parked outside a construction site, and two men left the vehicle.
Bella barked and whimpered, wanting to go with them, but John had rolled up the window, leaving it only slightly open.
"Stay, girl," he commanded as she pushed her snout through the crack. "We'll be right back."
They pushed past the fence and slid their way into the construction site, pulling the hoods of their coats over their heads to protect themselves from the rain.
"I told you to come alone," a man in a long black coat said, and both looked up. He stood one floor above them, holding a baseball bat in one hand and a large sack in the other. The building had no outer walls or windows yet, and if he wanted to, the man could have jumped down to face them.
"He needed a ride," John answered flatly, squinting up through the rain.
"Who are you?"
"John Isaacson, and you?"
The punk sneered, blood trickling from the scratch mark on his cheek. "You can call me Frank."
"Good. Now, how's this gonna work? Are we going up, or are you coming down?"
"You aren't going anywhere," the punk pointed at the old man with his bat, then switched to Kai. "He is."
The Oathless felt as if the ground had fallen out from under him.
"That right?" John muttered. "Where's the girl?"
Frank lifted up the sack, which bulged at the bottom, as if it contained an animal or a small child. "The fox is here."
"Fox?" The old man shot Kai a confused glance.
"It's… complicated. She is important to me and to Evelyn."
The old man grimaced. All this over a damn fox? He turned his attention back up. "How do we know she's still alive?"
The punk lowered the sack back down, then took his bat in both hands and swung it at the bulge.
A pained yelp echoed through the building's empty halls.
"Felicia!" Kai screamed.
"You sick, twisted bastard! What's the matter with you?" John shouted, his face turning red with rage.
"No more games," Frank kept a stone-cold expression. "Go home, old man. This has nothing to do with—"
John did not wait for the man to finish. He had enough. No more games, eh? He thought as he dashed into the building. Fine, let's see what you're made of, punk!
"Stop!" the punk yelled, but the old man had already disappeared from view, heading toward the stairs, leaving Frank to stare aimlessly at the Oathless. Both were dumbfounded.
Cursing under his breath, the punk came to his senses and stepped away from the edge of the floor, carrying the sack with him. There was only one way up. He knew where the old man would be.
With both men gone from view, the Oathless stood alone, his heart beating faster and faster, and his head pounding.
If Hexaphalia was hiding somewhere in there, if she used her magic, there would be nothing they could do to stop her.
She is more powerful than I am… He recalled Vira saying. If we face her, even together… we could die.
Only they couldn't face her together, even if they wanted to—not without Vira's magic. Kai would have to face her alone.
He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. Felicia's yelp echoed in his mind, but what could he do? He felt so trapped, helpless.
"I know you are scared," Vira said. "But you can't let John do this on his own… Felicia needs you."
She is right, I don't know what I can do to help, but… he thought, then opened his eyes with a determined scowl. I can't just stand by and do nothing. He burst into a sprint, following John's muddy boot-prints. I am coming for you, Felicia!