Koya made a silent vow to do whatever it took to keep Belicia safe. She had been unwittingly caught in an ancient battle that she knew nothing about. The stars had not been in Koya's favor because of it but what could he do about that? As he trotted down the hill to the parking area below he caught a glimpse of some metallic glinting off the array of string lights in the trees. He went to inspect it. It was Bel's phone. He picked it up and shoved it in his back pocket now more worried than ever.

The first thing he noticed upon reaching the parking lot at Noah's party, was Tuto's missing car. That meant he had spirited Bel off in the midst of a terrible misdeed he and Desiree had likely concocted together. Tuto was a coward, and Koya had never been more sure of something in his life.

He truly loved Belicia Brooks, but their fated relationship began in turmoil as a result of greed. He headed straight for Tuto's house, knowing he had probably taken her there.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Sounds of angry shouting and loud crashes like thunder jerked Belicia from sleep and she sat straight up, looking around in dazed confusion momentarily forgetting where she was. It sounded like it was storming. She looked around the strange room and her breath caught in her throat. The walls seemed to pulsate and a strange aura emanated into the room from the crack of the door. She pushed the quilted blanket that was over her legs aside and swung her legs off the side of the bed. Memories flooded back as her sleep fogged mind cleared. A hitched gasp surfaced from somewhere deep inside her pounding heart as she remembered that she was at Tuto's and had likely fallen asleep from the exhaustion of anger laced turmoil brought on by images of Koya, locked in the arms of Desiree, and not because she had any desire for him.

No, Belicia had realized Desiree wanted her. She should have known all along! There could be no other reason for her strange behavior last night and the memory of her in the corner with the Olivia, it was like she had want to be seen. Bel touched her lips. Desiree had kissed her, right in front of Koya. Bel squeezed her eyes shut trying to forget the crazy incident but she couldn't unsee what had happened.

All Desiree's actions led to the fact she had never even cared for Tuto, she had only used him to become an avenue to her goal of getting closer to me, Belicia concluded. She rubbed her temples and shook her head. The whole night had been trippy and now the sounds of a huge fight somewhere in the house resonated, jarring her to back into the moment. Bel quickly got up and went to the door, peeking out.

She was upstairs, she remembered. Creeping out, she crossed the small sitting area and stopped to peek over the edge of the railing. From here she could only see the foyer so she went to the edge of the staircase and listened.

What she was hearing from down there was ghostly, but the crashing of human bodies with grunts of pain mixed with the thud of fists and the crazy screeches of some animal were real and filled her overwrought senses with fear and trepidation.

Belicia grabbed the handrail and forced herself to descend. She had to.

The house shook around her like it was being plummeted by high winds and a booming voice cracked through the racket of chaos and seized her, freezing in her tracks. With a lump of fear in her throat forced herself to the edge of the stairs and hurried down the steps, just to where the wall ended below and she could see out into the historic mansion.

The sight that greeted her wide amber eyes, was so surreal she could not have dreamed it up in the most fantastical of her imaginations.

A great bearded dragon-like dog with flashing eyes and bared teeth flitted in the air, with flashing tails it swooped through the air like a wraith dipping and riding an invisible gale of wind. Belicia stared transfixed at the sight, her fight or flight instincts telling her this was a run for your life situation.

From the shadowy edges of the room, others of these ghostlike creatures clashed against the one and they fought, screaming and striking each other with great clawed hands.

They parried and thrust at one another howling with painful shrieks and slashing streaks of blood across each other.

Bel watched, horrified as furniture was tossed about like toys, glass flew, exploding with fury against walls, and when the bearded one opened its mouth and spoke, its haunting, deep voice resonated in angry malice, sounding like it came from another dimension entirely.

Belicia snapped.

Holding her breath to keep from screaming she bolted down the remaining stairs and ran for the front door, slamming into it. She fumbled with the handle, her breaths coming in short gasping huffs. When she finally unlatched the door she threw it open, fleeing into the night.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Belicia cried as she ran, her tears a mixture of fear and anger. She hit the road and headed toward the entrance of the luxury subdivision where Tuto's family lived. She was trembling in shock and confusion. What had happened to Tuto, and where had he gone? And his family? Had they run as well, leaving her alone to fend for herself? They probably had no idea she was there but why had Tuto abandoned her?

She could not begin to comprehend what she had just seen and she furiously wiped tears from her eyes as she fled, her terror pushing her on. By the time she reached the ingress of the historic neighborhood where Tuto lived Bel had walked off her fear and now all that was left was the anger and feelings of betrayal.

Her steps became measured as her initial shock subsided and her ROTC training kicked in. She crossed the boulevard at a trot, moving into the suburbs that would take her to the park near her own neighborhood.

She had no idea what time it was because sometime between the moments when she ran from Noah's and Tuto grabbed her, she had lost her phone and she didn't care. She didn't want to talk to anyone anyway.

Her only desire now was to get home and wait for Ava. A light mist fell and the damp chill made her shiver.

Or was it the subtle feeling that Koya was sending her his thoughts. Maybe she was just feeling his inner turmoil. Maybe it was her own distress. She just couldn't tell. She had seen so much strangeness tonight, a fresh round of tears burned in her eyes.

Her life had become a storm of mixed emotions and unusual occurrences that Koya said were gifts. Gifts of what, she still had no idea.