Narsun was grinning like a Cheshire cat as soon as Eliza  told him to run. Finally things were turning out the way he wanted. Granted, he could have handled the situation better but she made him nervous. The power she radiated, even with the silpnas around her neck, reminded him how important this mission was. He tightened his grip on her hand and took a step backwards from Mr. Jones. Much to his annoyance, Mr. Jones noticed it and shouted even further.

" And where do you think you're going -"

He never let him finish his sentence as he suddenly started running, dragging Eliza along with him. He barely registered Mr. Jones trailing after them but he doubted he could catch them when he was so physically unfit. Much to his surprise, Eliza outran him and it looked like she was dragging him than the other way around. They both didn't slow down a bit even when Mr. Jones started shouting so fiercely that all the other teachers in the classes peeked out to see what the commotion was about. Before any of them could react, they were already climbing over the school wall and leaping into freedom.

They both had been running for 5 minutes before they realized they had put enough distance between them and the school. Eliza leaned back on the wall trying to catch her breath while Narsun stood opposite her at a safe distance. He didn't like the way she looked at him with those intense blue eyes of hers. He forced himself to remain calm and be devoid of any emotions . He still couldn't get over the fact that she could sense other's emotions. He eyed the pendant around her neck once again. He imagined what would happen if she were to remove it...he was sure she would be twice as powerful than she was now. Just harbouring that thought made him jealous. He immediately fisted his hands and shook away the thoughts. He would not let her read his emotions like he was a damn book.

" Now  we must leave before-"

" Hold on", Eliza said, " You said my father was in danger", she balled her fists and stepped towards him. Her whole body tense as if she was required to fight any second. She is very defensive, Narsun thought, Didus must have prepared her for the worst.

" Yes I'm aware of that but he can handle himself. You, on the other hand, need to be-"

He was rudely interrupted when Eliza suddenly punched him in the face. He staggered a bit by the ferocity of her punch. He widened his eyes and before he could comprehend what was happening, she kicked him in the gut and this time he took a few steps back. His stomach was paining from where she kicked him but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. He was a warrior after all. He saw her next move coming before she even did it but strangely, he didn't want to stop her. And so he stood standing without a word when she slightly turned to the side and raised her leg to kick him in the side of his face. He almost fell to the ground but managed to stand straight. He didn't think he would ever take a beating from anyone so willingly. He kneeled over in pain when she again kicked him in the gut and this time it hurt so bad that he was almost angry. Almost.

Since he was bending over and clutching at his stomach, he didn't see her elbowing him at the base of his neck. He fell to the ground in a heap and groaned. Damn, she knew all the pressure points. He barely had time to recover when suddenly she climbed on top of him, straddling him. He could swear her blue eyes darkened dangerously and before he knew it, she was punching him repeatedly in the face. He forced his hands to remain limp by his side even though his instincts were telling him to fight back. She delivered him a left hook and right hook simultaneously while muttering profanities under her breath. She finally stopped after some 6 or 7 punches and growled at him ," I should've never trusted you ! "

" Are you do- oof !", he cried out in pain when she suddenly stood up and kicked him in the stomach again. Now, he was angry. Before he could stand up and confront her, she started running. He barely managed to lift his head before she was out of his sight. Rubbing his hand over his stomach, he got up slowly. He didn't see which way she went but he had a good idea where she was going. Didus has a lot of explaining to do.

                                        
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Eliza didn't stop running till she caught sight of her apartment. She slowed down to a stop once she was standing before her apartment door. She scanned the street to make sure he didn't follow her. She felt a little guilty for hitting him like that but  that was the only thing she could think of doing at that time. He was playing with her, whoever he was, pulled a prank on her and she was furious. This had to be the first time her instincts were wrong. Nevertheless, she wanted assurance and she knew the only way she could get that was seeing her father now. So she sprinted up the stairs  and came to a halt before her Flat door. She pressed her ear to the door and listened for any unusual sounds. Nothing. If everything was normal, then her father would be sleeping, exhausted from his work the night before. She carefully took out her keys from her backpack and unlocked the door as quietly as she could. Her father was a very light sleeper and she didn't want to wake him, if  he was sleeping.

The first thing she noticed when she entered, was the weapons. There were so many types of guns scattered on the coffee table and many strange looking...were those swords?. She wasn't new to having guns in her house, her father was a federally licensed firearms dealer after all. But what she found strange were the swords and the fact that all the weapons were left out in the open. Her father was never this careless. She mentally counted the weapons and realized that there were more than the number her father supposedly owned.  She noticed a duffel bag at the side of the table and wondered if the weapons were meant to  be put in that. She is suddenly pulled out of her thoughts when she hears a slight shuffling noise coming from her father's bedroom. She is immediately tempted to call for her father but refrains herself from doing so. Her father had drilled into her head some protocols in a suspicious situation and she intended to follow them. Her father was a paranoid man and when her mother was murdered when Eliza was just a baby, he had become extra cautious. Eliza had never once  complained about his over protective nature because all they had was each other.

Picking up a Kel - Tec P3AT gun from the table, she slowly made her way towards her father's bedroom. Careful to not make any noise, she peeked into the room, only to see the room was empty. That's strange, I thought I..., her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when she saw movement in her peripheral vision. She whirled her body to the right and raised the gun infront of her, only to lower it hastily when she saw her father watching her with amused brown eyes. He was leaning on the wall beside the bedroom door, which was why she didn't notice him at first.

" Dad", she sighed in relief.

" Your senses aren't sharp enough Liz ", her father said shaking his head. She could hear the slight tinge of disappointment mixed with worry in his voice," I could hear you coming. You weren't quite enough."  She frowned at him.

" What's with the weapons Dad?", she asked choosing to ignore his statement and pointing her thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the living room. Even though she was relieved that her father was safe, she could sense something was wrong. The clothes her father had on was a dead giveaway. At this time of the day, he was usually dressed in sweatpants  but now he was dressed in all black with  his black leather jacket and black denim jeans with black boots. He is dressed just like Narsun, she couldn't help but wonder. Remembering about him made her grit in teeth in annoyance. He lied. Her father was safe. And if he were here right now she was sure she wouldn't feel guilty for smashing his face again.

" What are you doing here Liz? You're supposed to be somewhere else ", her father said frowning,  straightening from his position on the wall. He walked past her in to the living room. Eliza frowned too as she followed him. She sensed nervousness from him. She watched as he filled the duffel bag she noticed earlier with the weapons. She made her way over to him and stood beside him.

" I wasn't feeling well so I decided to skip the afternoon classes," she said carefully hoping her father would buy her lie. She added quickly when she saw her father raise his eyebrows, " There weren't any important classes anyway."

She pulled a innocent look on her face when her father narrowed her eyes at her. After some seconds of staring, he sighed and ran his hand through his blonde hair. For the hundredth time, Eliza couldn't help but notice the differences between her and her father. Where she was a brunette, her father was a blonde. Where she had electric blue eyes, he had warm brown ones. For the hundredth time too, she wished she could see her mother. Her father claimed she was the splitting image of her mother but there weren't any pictures of her to satisfy her curiosity.

" I didn't ask about school Liz, Didn't anyone-" , He suddenly stopped mid sentence and he glanced over his shoulder to look at the closed apartment door. He looked back down at his daughter and smiled almost a nervous smile at her and said, " Sweetie, could you get the door?"

" But no one rang the bell-"

" Yes, I'm aware of that Liz but please just open the door."

Eliza stared at her father for a long second before she hesitantly made her way to open the door. What's gotten into him? . She opened the door and almost recoiled back in shock. There standing at her doorway was the last person she expected to see.

Narsun stood glaring at her with his fists clenched by his side. She didn't need to sense his feelings to know that he wasn't happy with her. She gulped nervously at his murderous expression and stood straighter and glared right  back at him.

" What the hell are you doing here ?! "

Somehow her question seemed to irk him  more and he opened his mouth to answer her only to be cut off by her dad.

" Let him in Liz," her father said calmly and she whirled around to find her father looking at Narsun with an unreadable expression.

" Y-you know him?", Eliza widened her eyes in shock.

Before her father could say anything, Narsun pushed past her, deliberately nudging his shoulder with hers. She scowled at the back of his head as he almost made her lose her balance. She watched with barely contained annoyance as he sat down in their couch and placed his feet among the weapons on the coffee table as if he owned the place.

"Narsun, what is she still doing here? I thought that by now you would have taken her out of the city"

It took a moment to let her father's words register in her head. When she realized that they were talking about her, she scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. What were they talking about? . She was going to ask before Narsun cut in, " Why don't you ask her that? She's the one who kicked me and ran away." He turned his accusing glare to her and she scowled more. What the hell is going on?!

" I thought you could handle her Narsun. "

" And I thought you would have told her the whole truth Didus ! But clearly we both aren't doing what we're supposed to do ! "

Eliza whipped her head  to look at her father. Didus?. She didn't understand the sheepish expression her father had. She watched as he opened his mouth to answer Narsun but she cut in quickly, " Dad would you explain to me what is going on ?! ", she pulled the sleeve of his jacket slightly to get his attention. She was getting frustrated by the second by the way things were turning out and she hated not knowing. All she could gather by now that her father and Narsun somehow knew each other and they were both under the impression that she was in danger.

" Liz, now is not the time to explain. I'll explain everything on the way. We have to leave now. So I want you to -"

" And where are we going ?! You can't just expect me to come without giving me a heads up ! ", she almost shouted at her father and winced as she saw his eyebrows raise at the tone of her voice. But she didn't care and she wanted some answers. It had  been a hell of a confusing day . She added in a slightly softer tone, " I'm confused Dad. How do you know him?", she pointed to Narsun before continuing, " Who is he ? And why is he calling you Didus? And he said I was in danger -"

" You want to know who I am?", Narsun interrupted smiling mischievously. Eliza narrowed her eyes at him. She was about to retort when he suddenly picked up a Glock pistol and threw it in the air. She watched in horror as the pistol hovered in mid-air as if it was being held by an invisible string. She heard her father's warning voice beside her, " Narsun, stop"

But she was completely transfixed by what she was seeing. Narsun's right hand was hovering just below the gun as if he was the one who was supporting the gun in mid-air. Her brain tried to comprehend what she was seeing, but it didn't make any sense.

" H-how..."

She was still staring at the gun but she did not miss the triumphant smirk on Narsun's face. She decided to ignore it and she took a step carefully towards it, glancing at her father, who, to her confusion was staring at the gun as if it was the most natural thing in the world. She was now close enough to touch the gun but before she could do so, Narsun interrupted her, " Watch this."

Her eyes widened even more when she saw the gun literally explode into pieces. No, not explode, it was as if the gun separated into little parts that it was made of. She recognized the barrel, slide, firing pin, blocking lock pin, trigger pin and many more small parts floating around each other . She was so mesmerized by the beauty of it that it took a moment for her to see that Narsun was guiding the parts with small flicks of his wrist. She stared at him in awe , " Are you doing this?". His mocking smirk was enough answer for her . But suddenly with a sudden flick of his wrist , the gun magically attached itself together and dropped with a thud on the table. Eliza immediately picked it up and inspected it. It looked perfectly intact. She raised her eyes to Narsun who was watching her with a smug look. She didn't even bother to sense his feelings to know what he was feeling.

" So....I take that you're a magician? But how did you do that? I mean-"

" What ?! ", She almost backed away at Narsun's outburst. His eyes were widened in disbelief as if he couldn't believe what she said . He looked offended and angry at the same time. He stood up and continued in an angry tone, " You think that I'm an ordinary magician who does tricks?! If you knew-"

He stopped mid sentence when Aaron cleared his throat. Eliza glanced at her father to see that he was clearly amused by what was happening, though she couldn't understand what was so funny. He looked once at Narsun with a warning in his warm brown eyes and then turned his attention to her. He was still clearly trying to hide his smile but he said, " Liz, I promise I will explain everything to you on the way. Now go to your room and pack a small backpack only for necessities. Oh, and also change your clothes. Dress in black. And-"

" Why black?"

" Because I said so," her father said and she rolled her eyes. " And meet us  downstairs when you're finished. Hurry up now, we don't have much time."

She made a noise of protest but her father pushed her towards her room. She looked back to see Narsun looking at her with a bored expression so she slammed the door shut with more force than necessary. Sighing, she opened her closet to pull out some clothes and dumped them in her beige coloured backpack. After finishing her packing, she quickly changed into her black attire. She was just pulling her black leather jacket over her black lace top when she heard the distinctive engine roar of her father's Cherokee. She pulled open her bedroom door to  see that all the weapons on the table were gone . She locked the Flat door and made her way downstairs and out into the open. There, pulled  beside the curb was her father's Suv. Her father was just climbing into the driver's seat while Narsun stood staring at the pavement as if in deep thought. He lifted his head when she was close enough and the way he looked at her made her flatter in her steps. His eyes raked over her body and his lips held a ghost of a smile as if he was pleased by what she wore. She blushed a bright red despite being annoyed at the way he was checking her out.

She slid into the passengers seat while Narsun quietly sat at the back. She looked at her father to find him smiling at her.

" So where are we going ? ", she asked her father.

" Dirva", it wasn't her father who answered her but Narsun. She turned around and her heart lurched against her chest when he winked slyly at her. She turned red again and quickly spun to face forward. She  glanced at her father to see him staring straight forward with his jaw clenched .

" And where is this Dirva ? "

" Oh, trust me you won't find it on any map ", Narsun said simply but Eliza decided to not turn towards him again. She didn't want any reasons to blush again. She was confused by what he said  but decided to let it drop . She sunk back into her seat and stared ahead as her father drove away.

She had a feeling that her life was about to change, but how much, she had no idea.

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My new cover is done by Skygazer1 !

Thank you sooo much for the amazing cover !

Xoxo.