"There's no sign of demons around here."

Clio's voice rang in Lorcan's ear. A chill ran down his spine, he still hadn't gotten used to the headphones and microphone that Demir prepared for them.

"All clear around here too," he replied. "Flora?"

"Nothing on my end. Petal is almost done."

The young man looked at his watch, the clock hands almost marked midnight. The demons' favorite time to go hunting, despite the fact that in recent weeks they would go out to kill humans even in broad daylight.

Midnight, on a crossroad. Sometimes the classic works better than trying to be creative, and the demons seemed to be the type of creatures that respected traditions.

The streets were empty at that time of night, the humid wind was the only one that kept them company. From his position behind the billboard, Lorcan could see everything, which was almost the same as seeing nothing.

The starry sky, the road and the field that stretched out around them. There was nothing else.

"I can speak for myself," Aífe complained. "And I told you a million times that I have a name."

"It's a code name," Flora defended herself.

"Then why don't you have your own code name?"

"Because you are our special guest, the demons already know us, but your case is different. It's to keep your identity a secret."

"Flo, we can smell your lie even from this distance," Clio interrupted the conversation.

"I set up the equipment to facilitate the mission, not for you to play with it," Demir said, his irritation clear in his tone. "I'm here for Agatha, try not to mess up the plan."

"We are all for Agatha." Lorcan directed his gaze to the area where the three streets intersected. "I think it's time for Aífe to come out. If you see anything strange, just give the signal and we'll be with you right away."

"I'll take your word for it, don't let me turn into demon food," Aífe replied.

"I wouldn't dare let them scratch you, you're safe with me," Flora assured him. "And with the other three too, but they're not as cool as me."

"Thanks for doing this," Lorcan let his vulnerability out for a second. "Not everyone would accept being baited to catch a demon. I owe you a big one."

"I'll add it to my list, along with what Wonder Woman, defender of the ladies, owes me for breaking a big part of my shop."

Silence took over the atmosphere, they no longer had anything else to say. Or perhaps it was the nerves that stole their words.

Lorcan's hands trembled in his pants pockets. He wished he had taken more time to plan the mission that might bring Agatha back to him. A couple of hours after the encounter with the young woman was all he had, not enough time to pay attention to details or to do the correct research.

The only thing left for him was to trust in the abilities of his friends.

He followed Aífe's figure with his eyes, her timid steps taking her to the center of the crossroads. Although the distance prevented him from recognizing the young woman's expression, it was clear to him that she was nervous. Her body trembled as if it were a winter night and every time the wind blew, she turned to look for the source of the sound.

The more time passed, the greater Aífe's sway became. She pretended to be waiting for someone, from time to time taking her cell phone out of her bag and taking a look at it.

"I think I can hear something," Clio announced. "They sound like steps."

"I can't hear anything," Demir replied. "They must come from your side."

"If Clio says so it must be so, she has great hearing," Flora said.

"They're getting louder," Clio whispered, she remained silent for a few minutes before speaking again. "I can see them, four figures approaching, I can't confirm if they are demons yet." 

"Don't move until they reach the center of the crossroads," Lorcan ordered them.

He changed his posture, stretching his back, and materialized two short swords.

"They're demons," Clio confirmed.

Just as the young woman said, four demons approached the fragile human. Aífe looked like a small animal about to be hunted by giants.

One of them stepped forward, it was a woman with black hair that fell to the floor. She tilted her head down and sniffed the air.

"I can smell a human," she said with a smile present on her face. "I love when food comes looking for us."

"I see her." Her partner walked over to her and placed his blue hand on her shoulder. "Right in front of us, a little girl."

"It's not much, but she can serve as a snack," another demon said. His head was surrounded by beetles and a swarm of bees flew around his body.

The last one said nothing, instead he scratched his bald head and walked to the side of the road.

"Let's get started, then," the woman ordered. Her hair came to life, detaching from the ground and flying towards Aife. "You must not be very smart to be alone at night in a place like this."

The young woman took a few steps back. Lorcan clenched his swords as Aife's wobbly legs led her away from the demons. Little by little she got closer to the point where she had to attract them so they could start the attack as they had planned.

Aífe walked blindly. Her gaze didn't leave the monsters that sought to devour her, making it impossible for her to see where she was stepping.

Two more steps to fulfill her part of the mission.

She took the first one with no problem.

She moved her foot one last time and stumbled. Her body fell to the ground and the blue demon jumped toward her.

A wall of vines grew in front of Aífe. Flora ran to her and offered her a hand to get up.

"Are you ok?" she asked, her voice thick with concern.

"Not a single scratch, thanks to you." Aífe got up, accepting the help.

"Come on, the wall isn't going to hold much longer," Flora said.

The sound of a loud bang confirmed the young woman's words. She grabbed Aífe's hand and they began to walk away from the center of the road.

The decisive moments had arrived. They were so close to getting Agatha back, but one wrong move could ruin everything. And they already started with a mistake.

Lorcan was willing to do whatever it took to ensure the success of the mission. He couldn't stand living on the edge anymore, feeling her presence but not being able to see her.

He needed to find her, he was going to bring her back home.

"Demir, take care of the blue one," he gave the order as he approached the wall.

"Got it," answered Demir, taking out a gun.

"Flora, can you take this down?" Asked Lorcan, pointing at the vines that kept growing every time the demon made a hole with his fist.

The young woman raised her hand and the wall crumbled down.

They came face to face with demons. Side by side, the enemies formed a line, their red eyes gleamed brightly once they saw the humans.

"It took you too long to show their faces, I was getting bored," the woman complained.

"We're not here to entertain you," Clio replied, coming to stand next to her friend.

"I like this one." The demon smiled even though she had just been challenged. "I'll take care of her."

"Do whatever you want, just don't get in the middle," said the bald demon.

He brought his hand to his mouth and pulled out a large sword from his body. Then he jumped at the person in front of him trying to land a blow.

Flora reacted quickly, she sent a vine towards the attacker's arm, stopping the movement.

"Good luck with the rest," she said before she walked away from the group, dragging the demon behind her.

Demir wasted no time shooting his opponent. The blue man dodged the bullet and pounced on the young man. Their bodies collided, causing both of them to roll on the asphalt.

"That leaves the two of us," said the last demon.

The bees that covered his head flew towards Lorcan. The swarm surrounded him. His vision went black. The buzzing stunned him, slowing his thinking.

The first sting left a burning sensation on his neck. The pain brought a memory to his mind. Lorcan remembered his grandfather and his bees. A smoker materialized in his hand. Soon the smoke surrounded it and the bees began to fall to the ground.

Before the cloud of insects dissipated, Lorcan used it as a diversion. He created a pistol and aimed it at the demon's chest. The bullet came into contact with the body of the enemy and the remaining bees fell to the ground, lifeless.

"Interesting power you have," the demon said, reaching a hand to the wound.

Lorcan didn't respond, instead firing once more towards his opponent's head. The man moved to the side, dodging the bullet, and with a flick of his hands sent black and yellow beetles towards the young man.

"If I was you, I wouldn't let them touch me," sang the demon.

It could be a lie to distract him, still, Lorcan wasn't going to risk it. He disintegrated the smoker and materialized a fan. Soon strong gusts of wind got in the way of the beetles' flight, giving Lorcan the chance to point his gun at the demon.

With his gaze on the enemy's head, he took a deep breath and moved his fingers to pull the trigger.

The sound of a gunshot interrupted him.

The demon fell to the ground. Behind him, Demir still held his gun up.

"And the last one is down," he said before moving closer.

"Did you shoot him in the back?" Lorcan asked.

"Of course, he's a demon. I'm not going to give him a warning. Besides, as you can see he's still alive, I just put him to sleep. Do we take this one with us too?"

"No, it's going to be a lot of trouble to take two demons with us. We left this one here, he can tell Zagar what happened. The message?"

Demir nodded. "Clio took care of it."

"Good, now it's time to wait."