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Elijah followed the forest road in search of an exit for over an hour. When it finally forked, he turned right and soon found himself driving through a small village. Wolves lurked beyond the tree line, and the only light came from a few of the tiny houses. There was no sign of the police, though, which relieved him.

Once he drove out of the village, he took another right and followed the dark, forest-lined highway. In the silence, he dug through Ronan's knowledge, which was now his own; the man had never been to The Spear or the place beyond The Ice Wall, he only knew of it because he had to arrange transfers out there...including Haru's.

He searched for anything that Ronan might know about Haru, but there was nothing beyond the few simple lines that doctors used to describe all of Lyca Corp.'s subjects. Haru Okaminoou, Samayōnese, born Novem 27th 1317, okami otoko, transferred to The Spear on Tertium 2nd...six months ago.

The demon frowned despondently. He didn't know that Haru's birthday was in Novem; that was this month. Did Haru even know? Elijah didn't know his own birthdate, nor did he know where he came from or if his parents had tried to find him. He liked to pretend that he wasn't like the other kids, that he wasn't sitting around wondering if his mother and father were searching for him...but he was like them. He did wonder where they were, and he did wonder if they ever looked for him...or if they still were.

Was Haru wondering if he was looking for him?

"So, I was thinking," Jake said, leaning forward a little and poking his head between the driver and passenger seats. "We need a plane to get over the wall, right? And taking your dads' jet would be a bad idea because Lucian could go snooping and see we took it, and the pilot also has to report where he's going, right? So, what if we like...find an independent flier? There's a lot of people with planes and boats that'll take anything or anyone anywhere for money. And we're in East Coast right now, yeah? So, if we can get to the Citadel, there's a massive black market and off-the-books trade over there; we'll find a plane easy-peasy," he said confidently.

"But how many planes fly over like that, though? I doubt someone's going to agree to fly to this top-secret place that only exists in conspiracy theory blogs," Zoe said unsurely. "As far as the general public are aware, anyway. We'll probably just get laughed at by anyone we ask."

"Dude, we got the cash, that's all it takes," the pardus said with a shrug. "We might have to pay extra...maybe a whole lot extra, but we'll find someone who'll make the trip."

"And then how do we get back?" she questioned.

"We pay for a round trip," Jake answered.

Elijah didn't want to have to drag a third person around, but if it was the only way he'd get to The Spear, then he'd do it. "How far is the Citadel from here?"

"It's...at least a few days away," Zoe said. "But...if we don't need to be on the road anymore, we could take the jet. My dads already know I'm going to the Citadel, so they wouldn't be suspicious if I decided to give up driving there."

"We can't risk being seen," Elijah muttered, shaking his head. "An airport is too public."

"Oh, this isn't a public airport," Jake said with a smirk. "Completely private, man. Working for the government has its perks, right Zoe?"

She sighed a little and looked at Elijah. "There's a private airstrip in the Redwoods; my dads use it sometimes when they have meetings at the Caeleste Consulate in Cypress Forests. I can call them and ask them to send the jet over, and by the time we get there, the plane will be waiting. It'll get us to the Citadel in a few hours."

"And how long is it going to take us to get to the airstrip?" Elijah asked.

Zoe glanced out the window. "Well, by the looks of it, we're already close to the Redwoods, so...one sec." She switched her phone on and looked at a map app. "It's a three-hour drive."

Elijah thought about it. He wanted to get to The Spear as soon as possible, and taking Zoe's jet to the Citadel would cut days off the trip. If it really was private, and there was no risk of Lyca Corp. finding them there, then he'd do it...but he wanted to make sure. "Are there workers there? Cameras?"

The girl shook her head. "It'll just be us and the pilot. His name is Jerry—he's paid a lot for discretion, so you don't have to worry about him saying anything to anyone."

Lyca Corp. hadn't seen their current vehicle, either so there was no risk attached to driving it there.

"What about the Citadel?" he asked.

"That's private, too. Another airstrip just outside the city," Zoe replied.

"And we can just like...walk to the city from there," Jake said. "Unless we get someone to meet us with a car."

Elijah shook his head. "We'll walk."

"So...should I call my dads?" Zoe asked.

The demon nodded. He knew that he didn't have to remind her not to mention him or what they were doing; she'd done a good job of avoiding her dads' suspicion so far.

Zoe went into her contacts, found her father's number, and called. She held the phone to her ear, waiting, and when her father answered, she said, "Hi, Papa."

"How's the road trip going? Are you feeling better?" he asked.

"It's okay. I'm feeling better—well...I don't know, maybe the same. I'm not sure." She paused for a moment, looking like she was pondering. "I'm okay, though."

"That's good. Your father told me you called earlier while I was sleeping. Was that just to tell us you got a new phone?" He sounded worried, but not suspicious.

"Yeah, I got a new phone, and I was messaging Daddy, and he has my number now, too."

"Okay, good. Where are you now?"

"We're passing through East Coast right now. Actually, I was just wondering if I could use the jet to take me and Jake the rest of the way to the Citadel? We're kinda tired of driving," she said with a small laugh.

Before her father replied, Elijah heard Zoe's other dad in the background say, "Alucard."

"Mm-hmm?" her father replied to him. Evidently, Alucard was his name.

"Is that Zoe?" her other dad asked.

"Yes," Alucard confirmed.

Zoe adorned an anxious stare. "Uh...wait, Papa, I think my phone's dying. I'll call you back—"

"Zoe?" came her other dad's voice.

Her anxious stare got worse. "Hi, Daddy," she said, wide-eyed. "How are you?"

"What is going on with you right now?" he questioned.

"What do you mean?" she asked, trying to sound amused.

"Are you in danger?"

Elijah glanced at her. She better not fuck up; the last thing he needed was her parents interfering.

"No," she insisted.

"Then what is it? Because you don't normally act like this and it's very suspicious."

"Nothing, I'm just anxious."

"What are you asking your Papa out that you're too scared to ask me about?"

"Nothing," she said again, shaking her head.

Once Elijah turned left at a fork in the road, he looked at Zoe again and frowned expectantly. If he could speak, he'd tell her to hurry it up, but he couldn't, so he just had to hope that she understood.

"Do you know what she called you for?" her father asked.

And Alucard replied, "Just to tell me how the road trip was going and that she was going to get a new phone. She wants to take the jet the rest of the way to the Citadel."

"I just didn't want to bother you," Zoe said sadly. "I know you're very busy right now."

"We're both busy, though, Zoe," her father replied.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

Her father firmly said, "Zoe, I love you very much, but you're scaring me, and if something's going on, I need you to let us know, okay?"

"I'm okay, I promise. I'm sorry for upsetting you guys," she said despondently. "I love you, too."

He responded with a sigh and handed the phone back to Alucard.

"Where do you want me to send the jet?" Alucard asked.

Zoe pouted sullenly. "Is he mad at me?"

He exhaled deeply. "He's worried about you, and so am I. He's also tired from work; things have gotten hectic lately."

She started crying and sniffling.

Elijah rolled his eyes.

"Sorry, I'm not trying to make you mad," she said to her father.

"I'm not mad at you, Zoe. We're just worried that something's going on with you. Are you sure you're okay? You can talk to me."

Zoe looked at Elijah, teary-eyed. He knew that she wanted to tell her father what was going on, but he couldn't let her. He wasn't going to take that risk. So, he shook his head.

Jake then sighed loudly. "Just tell him, Zoe."

"Tell me what?"

Elijah sharply turned his head and glared back at the pardus. If he so much as said a single word about what they were really doing, he'd silence him—and he didn't care if that meant killing him. Haru was more important than anything, and he wouldn't let anyone take away his chance at finding him, least of all some brainless, spoiled kid.

"What?" Zoe snapped at Jake.

The pardus crossed his arms. "You broke up with Nathan. So what? He was a jerk anyway. This road trip is supposed to be fun, not depressing," he lied.

"Who's Nathan?" Alucard questioned.

"Stop," Zoe said to Jake, blushing.

Elijah set his eyes back on the road, listening.

"He's just...some guy," she said to her father.

"And he's the reason you decided to travel to the other side of the country? Zoe..." Alucard said with a deep sigh. "What happened?"

Zoe looked perplexed. "Uh...I don't really want to get into it too much, but he said that...Antonio was ugly...and then...he cheated on me with Juliet."

Elijah glanced at her dog. It was ugly.

"He cheated on you?" He sounded like he was getting angry.

"What?" came her other dad's voice.

"Uh...yeah, but it's okay Papa, don't worry," Zoe insisted. "I'm mostly over it now."

"Are you sure?"

"Who is Juliet?" her dad asked.

"Just some girl from some coffee shop," she said.

"What's Nathan's last name?" her dad questioned.

"My phone's dying, Papa," Zoe then lied. "But can you tell Jerry to meet us at the Redwoods airstrip and maybe text me when he's ready? Or whoever's available."

Zoe's dad kept asking questions in the background, but Alucard spoke over him, "I will send him. But Zoe, tell us if you need anything, okay? We're here for you always."

She nodded. "Okay, I will—I promise. I'll text you more, too. I love you."

"I love you, too. Tell me when you land in the Citadel."

"Okay," Zoe mumbled sadly. "Bye." The moment she hung up, she sharply turned her head and glared at Jake. "Jake, you're so dumb."

"What?" the pardus exclaimed. "I had to say something or they were gonna like...send search parties out for you or something, and we all know that Lucian would be a part of it."

"You embarrassed me, though," she complained. Her phone then pinged, and she looked down at it.

"What?" Elijah asked.

"It's just my dad telling me to come home soon."

"But they're not going to send people looking for you, are they?" the demon asked as he followed the road around a wide bend.

Zoe shrugged as she replied to her dad's message with a heart emoji. "Maybe, but I think my dad will yell at me first, though."

Elijah sighed deeply. "And how long does soon usually mean?"

"I can probably get us a week or two before I seem even more suspicious."

A week sounded like enough time. All he had to do was find someone to fly him over The Ice Wall, and then he had to find the lab that Haru was being held in. He just hoped that Jake and Zoe's little story worked and kept her dads off their asses for long enough.

He glanced back at Jake. "Do you know where to go once we get to the Citadel to find a pilot?"

The pardus shrugged. "I mean...sort of. These people used to leave little marks around the city for the people who knew what they were so they'd know how to find them. It kinda looks like a cat."

Elijah frowned irritably. "We don't have time to wander around the city looking for—"

"I know a place...I think," Zoe interjected. "Near the city square. A lot of people are always hanging around it in videos and telling stories about the kinds of people they've seen going in and out of there. I'll know it when I see it."

He had no choice but to trust her; he'd never been to the Citadel, and once he got there, he'd have no idea where to go. But one thing he knew for sure was that he was going to find a way to get to Haru no matter what. If they couldn't find a pilot, then he'd find a ship, and if he had to buy one himself...or steal one...then he would. Nothing was going to get in his way; not Zoe's suspicious parents, not Lyca Corp., and not the possible struggle to find a means of travel.

He was getting over that ice wall...one way or another.

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