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Zoe cleaned the dried blood and dirt from Enid's tanned skin. She and Jake tried asking the girl whether there were any other kids who ran from the Nosferatu or if she knew anything about the lab she'd been in, but the girl didn't answer; she was evidently nervous, and Elijah knew that it was better to wait to ask her his questions.

"Are you hungry?" Zoe asked her.

Enid nodded.

"We could pick something up on the road," Jake suggested. "There's probably a Slappy's or something."

"Yeah, we can do that," Zoe agreed as she took some of her clothes out of her bag. She gave them to Enid. "You can change into these."

Enid nodded and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Zoe then looked at Elijah. She was clearly going to ask him something, but she changed her mind and shifted her sights to Jake. "Do we need to get gas for the jeep?"

"Uh..." he drawled. "I think so, yeah."

"We can find a gas station; there's likely gonna be some kinda food place near it."

Elijah zoned out as he took his leather-bound book from his ammo tin and flipped to a blank page. He updated it with everything he'd learned, including what Luell and Zoe had told him about the Ancients and True Speech. He didn't feel like he was any closer to finding out who or what he was, but at least he knew that it was possible that he was related to the sangdevoro Ancient—either that or the other half of him was an asmodi demon—and the only way he'd find out was through his Lyca Corp. file. To get that, though, he needed to access the main system inside a lab.

"Oh, good," came Zoe's voice. "They fit."

The demon looked up from his book and watched Zoe tidy Enid's ratty hair. He then finished writing, put his book and ammo tin away, and zipped up both his duffel bags. It was time to go.

"Let's go," he said, standing up.

Zoe and Jake packed their things up, and once the girl put her rat-dog into her bag again, she took Enid's hand and headed towards the door.

Jake led the way to the jeep. Once they put their bags in the trunk, thought, Elijah went through his bag and took out the licence plate he'd taken off the car they'd left in Little Herring.

"What are you doing?" Zoe questioned.

Elijah used one of his knives to screw the jeep's licence plate off and then screwed on the other one. "Making sure we don't get caught driving a stolen jeep; this'll buy us enough time to get a new car," he said as he put the plate into his bag.

The four of them then climbed into the car.

Elijah had no choice but to sit in the front this time; Enid wanted to sit with Zoe, and as irritated as he was to lose all the extra space, he wouldn't want to take away the child's comfort—he knew far too well what the first few hours back in the outside world after so long did to a person.

"So, Ukinas, yeah?" Jake asked as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"Yeah," Zoe confirmed.

Elijah leaned back in his seat as comfortably as he could. He stared out of the window, watching the desert pass by. The road seemed to go on forever; the only scenery was the mountains in the distance and the occasional decrepit building.

As the morning got later, they passed a sign that said they were entering Ukinas, and the empty, lonely dry wasteland started to brighten up. Instead of huts and shacks, there were brick houses and cottages. The first gas station they passed was filled with truck drivers, and afraid for their safety, they chose to stop at the next, which was empty apart from one rusty car and a motorbike. A small café sat to the right, and a fast-food restaurant—Slappy's—sat to the left.

Jake took them through the drive-through first, ordering each of them something to eat and drink, and then he parked by one of the gas pumps.

"I'll deal with this," the pardus said as he got out of the jeep.

Elijah picked at his food; he didn't feel very hungry. He just wanted to get to East Coast and find Ronan.

"How long...until safe place?" Enid asked Zoe.

"Uh...well, we're not far from the city," the girl answered. "Maybe another few hours."

The demon rolled his eyes. If he was travelling alone, he'd already be in East Coast—he'd already have Haru's location and be well on his way to finding him. But Zoe and Jake knew too much; he had no choice but to keep them close.

"Elijah, you doing okay?" Zoe asked.

He glanced at her in the rear-view mirror, and when he saw Enid scoffing down her burger like a rabid animal, he grimaced and looked down at his own food. "Fine," he muttered and ate a single fry. "How do you know this Hannah will even take her in?"

"Because it's what she does. Don't worry, it'll be fine," she assured him.

"We go to Reepver," Enid said.

"Reepver?" Zoe asked with a frown.

"We're going to Ukinas," Elijah said firmly.

Enid shook her head. "Reepver. Family."

"Your family are in Reepver?" Zoe questioned.

She nodded.

Elijah scowled irritably and looked over his shoulder at them. "We're not going to Reepver. That's on the other side of the fucking country."

"Don't swear!" Zoe exclaimed, holding her hands over Enid's ears.

"Reepver!" Enid insisted loudly.

"No," Elijah growled.

"Calm down, it's okay," Zoe said softly, placing her hand on Enid's shoulder. "My friend Hannah gets people home to their families all the time, okay? Once we get you to her, we can tell her that your family are in Reepver, and she'll get you to them."

Enid huffed and pouted.

"Finish your food. You need to eat," the girl continued. She then looked at Elijah. "You should eat, too."

Elijah rolled his eyes and glared out the window, watching as Jake walked back from the payment kiosk.

But his eyes locked with something else.

Something standing with half its body hidden behind the kiosk.

A man.

A man with eyes as red as blood and hair as black as the night.

He stared at Elijah, his face hauntingly familiar, but he couldn't work out where he'd seen it before.

The sight sent a cold chill down the demon's spine, making him tense up, causing his heart to race a little faster.

And then came the voice.

That voice.

"Eli..." it called, disembodied and echoing.

The red-eyed man's mouth didn't move, but it sounded like the voice came from his direction.

"Elijah?" came Zoe's voice, snatching his focus.

Elijah sharply turned his head to look at the girl, who was staring at him with a confused frown. Jake was also gawping at him—Elijah hadn't even noticed that he'd gotten back in the jeep. But he didn't care about either of them. He turned his head back towards the kiosk, but the man was gone.

"What's wrong, man?" Jake asked.

The demon snarled irritably and shoved several fries in his mouth.

"Let's get going," Zoe then said.

Elijah glared out the window, keeping his eyes on the kiosk as Jake drove them away. He didn't see the black-haired man again, and the voice was silent. He had no idea who he was or what any of this meant, but...as it always did, his mind started wandering. For some reason, that face felt familiar, and he couldn't help but wonder if it could be Haru. There was no telling what the people in whichever lab he'd been sent to were doing to him. They could have warped his face, turning him into someone else—something else. The thought made him feel sick.

Could it be Haru? Was Haru somehow reaching out to him from wherever he was being held? Desperation filled Elijah quicker than it ever had. But before he could act upon it and insist that Jake drove straight to East Coast, sense struck him. He knew what Haru looked like, and he knew Haru's voice. And he also knew that there was no way that he could reach out to him. Lyca Corp.'s labs were full of silver, vendite, rhodium, platinum, and wolfsbane, all the things that would keep any Caeleste's telepathic abilities from reaching the outside.

That man wasn't Haru.

So who was he? Why did he know Elijah's name? And why was he calling to him, telling him to find him?

"When was the last time you even talked to Hannah?" Jake asked Zoe.

The girl shrugged as she gave her rat-dog a fry. "I don't know. We text sometimes. She's been asking me to do a video about her organization, but I've never really had the time."

"Shame you can't do one now that we're actually going to see her," the pardus said with an amused scoff.

"Yeah," she mumbled. "I mean I could still record one—I still have my phone—I just can't send anything or upload stuff to the internet."

Elijah rolled his eyes and said, "We don't have time for you to stand around making videos. We're dropping the kid off and then we're heading to East Coast."

"Reepver," Enid said.

"Hannah will get you to Reepver, Enid," Zoe replied.

Enid shook her head. "We go to Reepver now!"

Zoe sighed and looked to Elijah for help.

The demon huffed irritably and turned in his seat a little so that he could face the kid. "It's not safe to take you to Reepver right now," he started. "Lyca Corp. knows that your family live there, and it's the first place they're going to look for you. The best thing to do is to stay with Hannah for a few weeks until Lyca Corp. give up searching for you. Understand?"

Enid looked distressed; she huffed and pouted again, and then she looked away from him.

"Don't worry," Zoe assured her. "You'll see your family really soon."

"How soon?"

"Just...very soon, okay? You don't have to worry about Lyca Corp. anymore. You're safe. We just have to take you to a safe place to wait for a little bit."

Enid frowned sadly, looking down at her lap. "Family...safe?"

Zoe looked a little stumped. "I...I'm sure they are," she said, glancing at Elijah as if to say that she wasn't actually sure.

Elijah couldn't know, either, but from his experience, judging by some of the stories he'd heard from other kids when he was trapped, their families were collateral damage. There were only a few kids he'd heard say that their families were still alive, but that was all just speculation.

The demon scowled despondently. Was his family still out there? He'd avoided thinking about it until now. Lyca Corp. stole him when he was just five years old. He didn't even remember what his family looked like—not really. All he had were a few blurred memories and distorted voices, but he couldn't ever make out faces or any distinguishing traits. It was all just...grey.

Were they looking for him? If his family was alive, could they have scoured the world in search of their son? Could they still be trying to find him? He let himself wish that they were...but deep down inside, a part of him knew that they were dead. Lyca Corp. never left any loose ends, and the families of the kids they took were exactly that.

"Are your family caracal shifters, too?" Jake asked curiously.

Enid nodded. "All caracal."

"Cool," he said. "Never thought I'd see one of you."

"You...shifter?"

"Muto pardus," he answered with a nod. "Leopard."

Enid looked curious. "Like...with big spots?"

"Yeah, exactly."

"You have...family, too? In Reepver?"

Jake saddened. "Uh...nah, my family is gone. Zoe's my family now."

Enid shifted her sights to Zoe. "You leopard?"

The girl laughed. "No, I'm a demon, and so is Elijah."

With a slight frown, Enid looked at Elijah in the rear-view mirror. "They kept you in lab, too?"

"I got out," Elijah mumbled.

"How?"

"I don't know. The Nosferatu or something."

"Nosferatu...good?"

"Yeah," Zoe answered. "They're helping people like you, people who Lyca Corp. have captured."

Enid's eyes widened. "They help my family?"

Zoe looked conflicted. "Help them how?"

"Hiding," Enid said quietly. "Hunted."

The girl adorned a sympathetic expression. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Caracal shifters are really rare."

"Help us?" Enid asked again.

Zoe nodded. "Yeah, the Nosferatu can help—"

"If you call Lucian again so soon, he's gonna scream at you," Jake interjected, sounding amused and concerned.

"I know," she said anxiously. "I'll call him when we next stop."

Elijah frowned irritably. "Next stop?"

"Well, yeah..." Jake replied. "We're gonna have to stop for lunch at some point, and to stretch our legs. You don't want blood clots, do you?"

The demon rolled his eyes.

"Antonio's going to need to go to the bathroom eventually, too," Zoe added.

He rolled his eyes even harder.

"Help family?" Enid asked again.

Zoe nodded. "When we next stop to rest, I'm going to call my cousin. He'll get a message to the Nosferatu."

Enid looked relieved. "And...my family will be okay? You take me to them?"

"Well, if Lucian can get someone out there to find them, then I suppose they could also pick you up from Hannah's place."

"Where even are they?" Jake asked.

Enid looked like she was pondering. "Big forest."

"Well, that about sums it up," Elijah muttered sarcastically.

"Don't be rude," Zoe snapped at him. She then shifted her gaze to Enid. "Do you know the forest's name? Did you have a house in the forest? Or maybe a nearby landmark?"

The kid twiddled her fingers as she thought to herself. "Cyain Woods," she answered. "Number...is 233. Cottage."

Zoe nodded and said, "Okay, don't worry. Once I tell my cousin, he'll get someone to help them."

Enid smiled in response.

Elijah finished his food and put all the wrappers into the bag, which he handed to Zoe. He then sighed deeply and stared out the window. He wanted to complain that things were taking longer than they needed to, but the fact was that it would have taken the same amount of time to go through Pristead than it was heading through Ukinas, stops included.

The demon closed his eyes and tried to relax. Zoe had said that it would still be a few hours until they reached Hannah's place, and there wasn't really much else he could do but stare or sleep. Neither were things he wanted to do, though. If he slept, the memories of his past would haunt him—or he'd dream of being in that hall full of ooze-filled chambers again. But if he stayed awake, he'd sink into his thoughts; he'd start overthinking, panicking, and stressing out about things he couldn't do shit about—not yet, anyway.

He watched the world pass by outside, observing as it became more populated the further from the desert they got. He didn't want to be morbid and steal away Enid's hope, but he was almost certain that her family were dead...just like everyone else's. But she wouldn't be their burden for much longer; once she was dropped off at Hannah's she would be her responsibility and that of whoever the Nosferatu sent.

With a quiet sigh, he closed his eyes again and tried to rest. But all he could think about now was his family. Could they be out there? Did he even have a family? Were the blurred memories just people who'd been around him when he was much younger? He didn't know, and he wouldn't let himself hope, either. His parents, whoever and whatever they were, were dead.

The only family he had was Haru, and he wouldn't let Lyca Corp. take him away, too.

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