I looked into his brown eyes and I felt as if I was seeing a ghost. Why was he here?

"So I see that you have met Taylor," Tanya said as she moved past a random guy so she could stand next to us. 

I stared from my friend to the stranger I had met last night when taking photos. His eyes were locked on mine, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. He scratched his head, the short army like haircut did not move out of place. The thought that his hair probably never looked out of place flashed through my head. I found myself shaking my head slightly, trying to snap myself back into focus.

"Yes, we have met already," Taylor confirmed, conveniently leaving out that we had actually met the night before and not just now by the bar.

Tanya waved at one of the bartenders, turning away from us for a second to order. I stared at him, while she did so. He looked normal to me, I couldn't see any flashes of lightning or anything else that looked off. But I could feel it, the energy was radiating from him to me. It was the same sort of feeling I had had when I caught those two guys fighting in the hotel lobby. Only it was a lot more manageable now, it wasn't as overwhelming.

"Shall we?" Tanya smiled at me, handing me two bottles of beer.

"Sure," I managed to get out and followed her lead as she headed through the crowd and over to one of the tables.

"Thanks," Matthew said when I handed him the beer and sat down next to him. 

Tanya and Taylor took a seat on the opposite side of the table. When Taylor folded his tall frame onto one of the small chairs I thought I almost saw the shadow of a frown across his face.

"So you picked up a fourth?" Matthew asked Tanya.

"I'm Taylor," he reached his hand out to Matthew.

I had to hold myself back from instinctively wanting to shove Taylor's arm away, remembering what happened when that blonde haired guy had touched me. That sharp jolt of electricity that had run through my body. Matthew shook his hand as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world. I stared from Matthew and back to Taylor, feeling a tremor run through my fingers underneath the table.

"So how do you know each other?" Matthew asked.

"He just started working at The Royal Star," Tanya confirmed. 

I looked up at Taylor, he nodded in confirmation to her statement. I just couldn't picture him pouring a pint in the dingy pub where Tanya worked.

"When did you start?" I heard myself ask. Suddenly I felt the need to know as much about him as possible.

"I just started," he confirmed. 

I stared at him, having to try hard to not let the suspicion flash across my face. Clearly Matthew was fine, if he had felt what I had felt he would be freaking out right now. He would not be making small talk. 'I know what you are', his words rang in my ears. What I am? He had said what I am, not who I am... I'm clearly the only one at this table who is reacting to whatever waves of energy he is sending out. Does that mean there is something wrong with me? Nauseousness squeezed my throat and a I felt like someone had place a large rock on my chest.

"I have to go to the bathroom," I abruptly pushed into the conversation, pushing myself out of the chair and rushing towards the bathroom.

I rushed through the crowd of people and towards the ladies bathroom, pushing past a queue of girls lining up for the stalls.

"Sorry, I just have to wash my hands," I mumbled as I squeezed past the girl holding the door open. 

She threw me an annoyed look but let me pass. I found an empty sink and started to wash my hands, around me girls were flitting about fixing their hair in the mirror, a couple of them swapping gossip and the rest were keeping their eyes locked on the doors to the line of toilet cubicles waiting for the next opening.

I stared at myself in the mirror as I slowly lathered my hands with soap, trying to win some time. I tried to rationalise what had just happened. I had definitely felt some sort of strange energy coming from Taylor and it was not normal. Last night I had blamed my drink being spiked, but that logic did not seem to hold up anymore. But why was Tanya and Matthew not reacting to it? Was it just me? Is there something wrong with me? I shouldn't have gone out tonight, not after what happened this morning. The two men fighting in the lobby of that hotel, the rays of lightning they had shot all flashed through my mind. As my mind surged through the memories, I could almost feel the arms pulling me back in through the window. "Don't think you can run away from me, Vortex." The words bounced through my head. I suddenly felt as cold as ice. What if Taylor was one of them? I felt sick rise up in my throat, I had to get out of here.

I rushed out of the bathroom and through the crowd, making my way towards the exit. As I pushed my way past a group of people, I felt guilt rise up within me. Could I really leave Tanya and Matthew behind? I hesitated for a moment and then continued to weave past the people towards the exit. They had not noticed that Taylor was different, they hadn't seen the two guys fighting. They weren't a threat. I felt grim determination set in, I just knew I had to get out of here. I was the one they wanted. I pushed open the doors, the cold wind hit my face as I stepped out.

I felt a hand grabbing my shoulder and spinning me around, "Where do you think you're going?" Matthew's face looked both surprised and concerned.

"I'm sorry I don't feel well," I replied. I just wanted to leave as quickly as possible, being seen talking to Matthew would not be good if my guesses were right.

"Do you want me to come with you?" he asked.

"No, I'll manage. See you later," I turned on my heels and hastily walked away from him. I picked up speed so I was almost running. They must be after me, if I can just get far enough away maybe I'll loose them in the little side streets.

I turned abruptly down an alley and started running, my footsteps echoed up the walls of the tall building on each side. The streets were relatively dark, only a few streetlights casting small floods of warm yellow glow onto the pavement. As I ran, I felt how a faint energy was moving towards me. Good, I thought to myself. Come after me, chase me, I'm the one you want after all. I turned another corner and rushed down a small side street. I could feel the faint energy pick up in strength. He must be chasing me now.

I felt the hammering of my pulse in my ears, I ran as fast as my legs would take me. I needed to draw him away from the bar and away from my friends. I turned into a small alley, knowing it would cut across to a cluster of houses, the small maze of pathways in-between them would be a perfect place to loose him.

Suddenly, a man appeared in front of me far down the alleyway. I stopped dead in my tracks, he was far away but he was running towards me. I saw a flash of grey hair and his strong, short frame instantly told me that it wasn't Taylor. I felt frozen, watching him rush towards me.

His hand flew through the air and I saw, almost as if slow motion, how he released a small metal ball. I watched in horror as it flew so quickly through the air, it landed at my feet and I stared down at it. For a split second, amused by this small metal ball. I mean what did he think it would do? And then it opened.

The metal globe opened like a blooming flower, in an instant small chains of grey shadows snaked their way out of it. They moved so fast that my eyes barely could comprehend the movements, wrapping themselves around my legs. I felt a searing pain push through my body, the energy of the small shadowy chains pulled me down to my knees. I heard my voice echo, as I screamed out into the night.

The man with the silvery hair had caught up to me now, I looked up at him through the haze of pain.

"You stole power from the wrong warlock, Vortex," he spat out as a grin spread widely across his lips. His hands were absentmindedly playing with another metal ball. My mind started to feel foggy, as the chains pulled me further down, my hands were pressed against the concrete as I tried to keep myself up. The metal ball gleamed in a darker colour, it could almost see the cloud of dark energy within it, stirring around and waiting to be released.

"You have taken your last bit of power, Vortex," the man laughed coldly and released the grip of the dark metal ball.

It flew through the air, morphing into an arrow. It was moving towards me so quickly, I could feel the pull of its dark energy. The pain from the chains pulled me down further, causing me to collapse on the ground. I closed my eyes, waiting for the arrow to strike its mark.

Thank you so much for reading this chapter. Please do VOTE if you are enjoying this story. I do appreciate the support!

Song: Indian Summer -  Shiner feat. Ginger and the Ghost