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Elijah sat in silence for hours, staring out the window, watching as the sky got darker. He stopped trying to keep himself from sinking into dismay, and all he could think about was whether or not he had a family out there, people who cared that he'd been taken. But everything he'd learned was beginning to make him feel like he didn't, like he was alone in this world...apart from Haru. Haru was all he had. Haru was all he needed.

He waited for midnight, keeping watch while both Jake and Zoe dozed off. The stewardess came by a few times and offered him food, but he wasn't hungry, and even if he was, he couldn't eat; the despair was constricting him, getting tighter and tighter as the hours passed. However, he wasn't far away from getting to Haru now. Soon, he'd wake up Zoe and Jake, and they'd go and meet August. Then, they'd be on their way to The Spear.

With a quiet sigh, he reached over to the table and took Zoe's phone. He checked the time, and when he saw that it was 11:20 p.m., he got up and shook Zoe's arm.

The girl murmured sleepily as she woke. "Huh?"

"Get up. We're leaving," Elijah said.

"Oh, right," she said with a nod, sitting up.

Elijah then kicked Jake's shin. "Get up."

The pardus woke with a snort and a confused stare.

"Come on," Zoe mumbled to him.

"What? Oh...time to go?" Jake questioned.

"Yeah," she said as she put her dog into her bag and her phone in her pocket. "I'm just gonna tell Jerry we're leaving." She headed to the cockpit and knocked on the door.

Jake got up and stretched with a loud, dragged-out groan.

Elijah rolled his eyes as he checked everything in his bag before zipping it up and throwing it over his shoulder. He zipped his leather jacket up, and then he headed for the exit.

"Thanks, Jerry," Zoe said to the pilot, and then she followed Elijah and Jake out onto the runway.

The demon didn't waste any time. He started leading the way towards the forest path; in the dark, he could see as if it were day, and the fact that both Jake and Zoe were keeping up without complaint made it clear that they could see just as well—or well enough.

"So, where's this Lorell's Hardware?" Jake asked.

"I looked it up earlier," Zoe said, following Elijah as she took her phone out of her pocket. "We need to get to Westford Lane, which isn't too far from here, actually. It's near one of the city exits." She showed Elijah her phone. "Just a twenty-minute walk."

Jake groaned as they left the airstrip and followed the forest road. "Twenty minutes? Can't we just order a ride or—"

"No," Elijah snarled.

The pardus pouted and went silent.

They trailed the tree-lined passage until they reached the city. When they stepped out onto an empty sidewalk, they turned right, following the map Zoe brought up on her phone.

There weren't many people or cars around, but those that did pass, Elijah eyed cautiously. They were getting close to where August had said to meet them, and he didn't want anything to get in their way now or when they took off. Everyone he saw, though, were either people on their way home to work or drunks slowly lagging along the road.

Once they reached Westford Lane, they turned left down a narrow alley. It took them into a part of the city hidden behind and below the massive, towering buildings, and the series of lanes and passageways formed a labyrinth. Zoe kept leading the way, staring down at her phone, but she started to look a little confused.

"What?" Elijah asked her.

She stopped walking and tutted. "The signal's going in and out."

"Is the map still working?" Jake questioned.

Zoe started pacing around, trying to find a signal. "No. It won't work unless I have at least one bar." She held her phone up. "It's not working."

"Great," the pardus muttered.

Elijah sighed deeply and concentrated. There wasn't any vendite around here to block his senses, so he recalled August's aura—which he'd made sure to examine when they met him—and then he started searching for it. The guy said he'd meet them, so he had to either already be at the hardware store or nearby.

He focused, scouring the area around him, reaching out further every few seconds, and not long later, he located August's aura.

"This way," he said, heading forward.

"How do you know?" Zoe asked as she and Jake followed.

"I found his aura."

"August's?"

"How?" Jake questioned.

Zoe frowned. "Where is he?"

"A few minutes away," he said, turning left down another passage.

Jake scoffed amusedly. "You can sense someone from this far away? Zoe can only do it when they're in the same room."

She looked embarrassed. "Most demons can only do that," she corrected irritably.

Elijah concentrated on August's aura and navigated the maze-like streets until he stepped through an archway and emerged on a wide path lined with shutters and metal doors. At the very end, between where the path split into two, was Lorell's Hardware, and standing under the only dim, flickering streetlamp, was August. The violet-eyed man was smoking something, but it didn't smell like the cigarettes Elijah would often see the doctors smoking. It smelled...sweet.

"Yo, is he smoking a joint?" Jake questioned amusedly.

August raised his hand and waved at them as they approached.

"What's a joint?" Elijah questioned.

"Marijuana, man," the pardus answered.

"It's a drug," Zoe said with a sigh. "It's legal medically, but some people smoke it to get high."

Elijah frowned, and when they stopped in front of August, he looked the man up and down. Was he seriously smoking a drug? They were about to let this guy fly them over a wall of ice, and Elijah didn't feel confident enough to let him do so while he was high and out of it.

Before the demon could snap at him, though, Jake inhaled loudly and exclaimed pleasantly. "Dude, what the hell is that? Smells like...lemon and jasmine."

"Oh," August said and inhaled from the paper-wrapped yellow and green leaves. "This?" He exhaled deeply, filling the air with a strange but sweet aroma. "This is twilight lotus."

"Is that like...a special blend or something?" Jake asked.

August laughed a little. "This isn't weed, man. This stuff is native to my homeland. It's sacred, too."

"Is it drugs?" Zoe questioned skeptically.

"Uh...no," he chuckled. "It's uh...a component used in a fae ritual. Mix this with whispering thyme and stardust orchid, you got yourself a little human enchanter."

Elijah raised an eyebrow and scowled irritably. "And...you're smoking it?"

"Yeah," he said with a shrug. "Don't worry, it's not getting me high or anything. It just calms my nerves."

"Can you fly the plane safely?" Zoe asked.

"Yeah."

"Then what are you nervous about?" Elijah snarled.

August hesitated and sighed deeply. He dropped the finished cigarette and snuffed it out beneath his boot. "I've made myself some enemies in the Citadel, all right? I'm just a little anxious that they might still be out looking for me."

Elijah's scowl thickened with anger and aggravation. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"What enemies?" Zoe asked.

"The mob?" Jake suggested worriedly.

August shook his head. "No, nothing like that. Just some guys I owe a little money to. But don't worry," he insisted before Elijah could snap at him. "What you're paying me for this trip will clear all my debts."

Elijah gritted his teeth, but the guy wasn't lying.

"We should probably get a move on. My plane's all fuelled up and ready to go." August looked at Elijah. "You got the money?"

The demon nodded.

"Let me see it."

He pulled his bag off his back and unzipped it just enough for August to see the stacks of coronam inside. Then, he closed it and threw it over his shoulder. "Let's move."

With a nod, August led them down the left road.

"So, you're fae?" Jake asked as they followed the street.

August scoffed. "What gave me away?"

"The hair—"

"You thought he was an elf," Zoe interjected.

"No, I didn't. I said I'd think he was an elf if he had the ears; not that I could tell under the hat, anyway." He then frowned at August. "Don't fae have pointed ears?"

The violet-eyed man laughed again. "Only some."

"Why not you?" Elijah questioned.

"Because I'm a halfling—half fae, half human." He reached up to his head and pulled his beanie up and his blue-tinted hair away from his right ear. "They're pointed a little, but it's not really that noticeable."

Jake leaned closer. "Huh...yeah, I wouldn't have noticed if you didn't point it out."

"What are you doing in the Citadel?" Zoe asked him. "Aren't fae supposed to remain in the fae world?"

"Well, being a halfling has its perks," August said with a small smile. "I think the Court would rather me out here than back there, anyway."

"Because you're not full fae?" Jake asked with a frown. "Seems a little rude."

"That, and because I'm trans. That's two ticks on the 'why we all hate August' list."

"Oh," Zoe said sadly. "I'm sorry to hear that. That's not very fair."

August shrugged. "Eh, I got used to it." He turned right. "This way."

Elijah didn't know anything about fae, but everything that August was saying was the truth. However, he didn't care why he'd left his homeland; all he cared about was getting to The Spear. He kept his senses focused, listening for anything that might be a threat; the last thing he wanted was this guy's enemies turning up and hindering his progress even more.

"So, what's your story?" August asked Zoe.

"What?" she replied.

He chuckled and walked closer to her as he led the way towards the end of the narrow passage. "What's a pretty little thing like you doing researching dragons?"

Zoe blushed and looked down at the ground. "Oh...um...I just find them fascinating. I have ever since I was a kid."

"And what? Are these two your bodyguards?" he asked, glancing back at Jake and Elijah. "They don't look much like researchers."

"They dabble in research, too; we're all here because of our mutual interests," she answered.

August nodded in understanding as he turned left and led them out of the city through a cut wire fence. "Well, if this is your first time heading over The Ice Wall, there's a few things you should know."

"So, you have been over there before?" Jake asked.

"Yeah," he said with a shrug. "One: the snowstorms are deadly. The first sign of the falling snow picking up, you find shelter. Two: some of the creatures out there are so stealthy when they're on the hunt that you won't even know they're there until it's too late. I assume you demons have good enough senses to make sure that doesn't happen, right?"

Elijah nodded.

"Three: you're not going to be the only people out there. In my last few visits, I've seen helicopters and trucks. Someone's already set up shop, and they don't look friendly."

The demon frowned. "Where did you see these helicopters?"

"Don't worry, I've already drawn a map out for you guys so you know which parts to avoid," August said as they headed into the forest.

"Can't you like...guide us? You seem to know your shit," Jake asked.

August scoffed amusedly. "You paid me for a ride, not a guide."

If August knew where the lab was or at least where some of Lyca Corp was set up, then he wouldn't miss an opportunity to speed up finding Haru. "How much more to guide us?"

The fae man looked back at him. An intrigued expression appeared on his face, but instead of asking the questions he clearly wanted to, he replied, "Another fifty."

If he gave August another fifty coronam, that would only leave Elijah with seven to last him and Haru until he could find them someplace safe to lay low. "Twenty-five," he muttered.

August looked amused. "Thirty."

"Twenty," Elijah growled.

The man laughed and stared ahead. "All right, twenty-five."

A twig snapped to their right.

They all stopped walking when Elijah halted and turned to face the noise, focusing his senses.

"What was that?" Zoe panicked quietly.

Elijah glared into the trees, searching for whatever made the sound. He could feel auras all around him, and more were appearing with each passing moment. He heard August mutter in a language he didn't understand, and when he looked at the guy, he looked like he was going to piss himself.

Something moved through the gloom.

The demon sharply turned his head, catching a glimpse of something big diving behind a tree. And then he heard rustling behind him, so he turned and caught another glimpse of an animal moving behind the cover of the brush.

"What's out there?" Elijah growled, glancing at August.

"I, uh...think it might be Wes," he answered.

"Who's Wes?" Jake asked nervously.

A low growl cut through the quiet.

Elijah turned to face it, and when he set his eyes on the huge bipedal black wolf emerging from the cover of the trees, he scowled in hostility, ready to attack if he had to.

The huge wolf snarled, its gleaming yellow eyes shifting between the four of them before settling on August. "Fae Prince," it growled angrily with an audible voice, its mouth moving as it spoke. "Where do you think you're running to?"

August chuckled nervously. "I'm not running."

"No?" The wolf looked around. "Then is it just coincidence that you're on the way to your metal bird?"

The fae man shrugged. "Actually, I'm not running, I'm on a job...and I'm gonna get your money...so long as I do it, you know?"

"Are these the guys you owe a little money to?" Zoe questioned anxiously. "They're...wolf walkers?"

Every wolf both visible and hiding in the trees snarled in revolt.

"Uh, no...no, no, no," August said, shaking his head as he held his arms out, standing in front of Elijah. He laughed slightly and glanced back at the three of them. "No. These guys are, uh...werewolves."

Elijah frowned, waiting for someone to explain what that meant.

"But...yeah, these are the guys I owe." He looked up at the huge black wolf. "Wes, you know me, right? These people just wanna go collect some research data, and then I'll be bringing them right back here. I'll have your money, okay?"

The massive beast snarled quietly. "I do know you, Fae Prince, which is why I won't let you go. You won't come back—"

"What?" August exclaimed. "Of course I'll come back. You know I can't lie. And besides, you've still got my insurance."

With a quiet growl, the beast eyed Elijah, Zoe, and Jake, and then when it looked back down at August, it started snickering. "Dirty little faerie," it snarled and abruptly snatched August with its huge hand, lifting him up off his feet.

Elijah wasn't going to lose his shot at getting to The Spear, so he dropped his bag and reached into his jacket for his pistols—

"No, don't," August insisted, holding his hand back towards Elijah. "All right," he then said to Wes. "I can pay you now. All five hundred coronam. Sound good?"

Wes snarled as if he were thinking, and the surrounding wolves edged a little closer to them.

The demon watched them closely, his hands aching to grab his weapons.

August looked back at him. "Uh...Elijah, right? Could you, uh...pay the guy?"

Elijah scowled up at him. "How do I know you'll still take us?"

"I said it myself, man. I can't lie. I'll still take you. Just...give me the money upfront, yeah?"

He scowled skeptically and glanced at Zoe and Jake.

"Do it, dude," Jake insisted. "I'd rather not end up as werewolf chow."

Zoe looked hesitant, but after a few seconds, she nodded and whispered, "Just give it to him. If he goes back on his word, I'll get the money somehow."

Her parents did work for the government, and she was living in that cosy penthouse, so when she said she could get the money, he believed her. So, he snarled and slowly crouched beside his bag.

"Slower," Wes warned him.

Elijah gradually opened the bag, and when he pulled it apart to reveal the money, the huge wolf dropped August, who fell like a sack of potatoes, and reached into the bag. But Elijah saw the creature eyeing up what else was in there, so he snatched the beast's wrist and glared up at him as the surrounding wolves growled defensively. "Just the money."

Wes glared into his eyes for a moment, but then he laughed and grabbed some of the coronam stacks with his massive paw. Then, he held out his other, and Elijah counted and placed the rest in it.

"See?" August said with a nervous laugh.

With a hostile snarl, the beast glared down at the fae man. "Don't let me see you around here again, Fae Prince," he warned him, and then he turned around—

"Wait, what about my insurance?" August asked, sounding worried.

Wes didn't reply. He started walking back into the woods, and his pack followed.

"Wes!" August called, standing up. "Wes!"

The massive beast growled angrily and sharply turned to face them, but he didn't charge out of the trees. "You can count yourself lucky you're still alive. Get the fuck out of my city."

"But we had a deal!"

"Don't you fucking talk to me about deals," the monster growled, taking a few steps closer.

Elijah swiftly pulled one of his pistols from his jacket and pointed it at Wes. "Keep fucking moving."

The beast growled in response but looked down at the money that he was cradling against his chest like it were a child. Evidently, he didn't want to let go of his cash. He turned around and continued walking off.

"W—"

Elijah snatched August's collar. "It's done," he growled. "Now get us over that fucking wall."

August looked devastated. When Elijah let go, he flailed around like a drape in the wind, frustrated and holding back tears.

"What'd they take from you?" Jake asked.

Instead of answering, August dragged his hands over his face, huffed, and wiped the dirt from his clothes with his hands. Then, he moved past the three of them and started following the path again.

Elijah didn't care what those wolves had taken from August. He picked up his bag, closed it, and threw it over his shoulder, catching up with the fae man as Zoe and Jake stuck close. There was something that he wanted to know, though. "What's the difference between wolf walkers and werewolves?"

Zoe looked up at him. "Well...it's a long story. The short version is that wolf walkers were once always called werewolves. There was a war between humans and Caeleste a long time ago, and the Nosferatu managed to come to an agreement with the human government, but some of the wolf packs didn't agree with the peace. They broke off on their own, remaining werewolves...wolves who still hunt and kill humans. Those who agreed with the peace became wolf walkers, wolves who, under treaty law, no longer hunt or kill humans."

"Werewolves are basically outlaws," Jake added. "They're always wrapped up in some crime or other. I'm not surprised that there's a pack out here operating in the Citadel." He looked at Zoe. "You should probably tell your dads."

"I will when I get the chance," she mumbled.

"It's up here," August then called.

They followed him towards the tree line and out onto a large patch of empty land; it looked a lot like the runway that Zoe's jet had landed on. Up ahead, a shimmering silver aeroplane three times the size of the jet waited. Painted on the side was a single fire-ensnared birdwing; the cargo hatch on the back was open, and inside was what looked like a military-grade jeep.

Elijah scowled again. "Is this plane military?"

"Ex," August muttered. "I won it and its contents in a game of cards. She's been mine for three years now."

"You've...only been flying for three years?" Zoe asked nervously.

"Two and a half. I had to learn first." He pointed to the hatch. "Climb in and make yourselves comfortable. I'll prep for take-off. Once we're in the air, it's a twelve-ish hour flight, so you best get comfortable."

Twelve hours? Elijah stifled a snarl and instead clenched his jaw. Just twelve more hours...and then he'd be in the same place as Haru.

Jake seemed a little too confident as he hurried up the hatch and into the plane. "Woah," he drawled as he eyed the jeep and the inside of the aircraft.

"Don't touch anything. Sit down" Elijah muttered as he and Zoe found a row of seats to the left of the jeep.

With a roll of his eyes, Jake made his way over and sat down with them.

Elijah slid his bag under his seat and exhaled deeply. He watched as the hatch slowly closed, creaking loudly, and then the engines started. Twelve hours was a long time; he'd already wasted so much. The worry that Haru didn't have that long started to consume him, and his heart began racing a little faster. But panicking wouldn't do him any good, and he couldn't do anything to speed things up, either. All he could do...was sit there, wait...and hope that Haru was waiting for him.

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