The Map and the Message
Sophie stood in the training yard, bow steady, breath calm.
Thwip. Thwip. Thwip.
Bullseye. Every time.
She'd become a sniper in truth deadly, precise, unshaken.
Eve entered, boots crunching on gravel.
"Sophie. Conference room. Now."
Sophie nodded, set down her bow, and followed. Her heart quickened. Its Urgent.
They moved fast through the underground corridors. Sophie's mind raced. Something's wrong.
They entered the war room.
Blaze and Ace stood over a massive map of the world, thumbtacks scattered like blood drops each one marking a demon stronghold.
Too many to count.
Then flutter. A raven burst through the door.
"Caw caw! The demons are going north! Caw caw!"
Blaze turned. "From where?"
The raven had been Blaze's companion for years. It spoke, it scouted, it survived. No one knew where it came from. But with no Wi-Fi, no radios, no news it was everything.
"Caw caw! From Sodom!"
They all turned to the map.
The next city in the demons' path: Perfect City.
The untouchable.
Then slam.
Ice stormed in, half-limp, his body not fully revcovered from the tranquilizer.
"Ice!" Sophie shouted. "What happened?"
Blaze stepped forward. "Sit. Brother."
Everyone stared. Ice's body was wrecked but his eyes were sharp.
"The tranquilizer… still in my system. I can barely move."
He paused, breath ragged.
"They took Edwin."
Silence.