I bit my lip and closed my eyes, taking a calming breath. Can't think about that right now. I need to focus.
"Do you need some help, Mako?"
A wave of relief hit me at Midnight's words. She was one of the five spirits that reside inside me. Though they also were dealing with their own levels of withdrawal and adaptation to our new lifestyle, Midnight seemed to be able to adjust very quickly.
Neither of us understood why, but she acted like my back up if I couldn't handle a situation or fight. She'd take charge and fight in my stead to ease the pain I was still going through after all this time.
Do you mind? I feel bad that I keep freezing up like this.
I had confidence that I could kill these pathetic shifters with ease, yet the mere glance at the marking on my hand left me in a bundle of worry. It was never good to have those emotions lingering in your mind when you needed to murder a group of people swiftly.
"I do not. It feels right to help when you need it. I'll make it quick so we can return to the others,"
Thanks, Midnight.
"My pleasure. Switch?"
Yes.
Just like that, we'd changed places; Midnight was now in control while I lingered in our mind to watch.
"Let's go, Nighty," Midnight stated in a monotone voice. She lifted our hand to the watch, her eyes also landing on the mark. She didn't waste any time like me. After pressing the start button of the timer, she made her way to the edge of the branch.
"Mew!" Nighty replied, and a bright light engulfed her body. Midnight reached out and grabbed the staff of the large scythe that emerged from the pink light, Nighty turning into our primary weapon.
Midnight took a deep inhale and lifted the hood of our cloak to hide our face. Let's begin.
We jumped off the branch, soaring in the air like our body weighed nothing, and our eyes darted between the eight men that ran down below. Once we had a final count, our eyes locked on the first victim at the back of the group.
We dropped down to the ground, right behind the target. Before he could let out a scream, the scythe silenced him, his head falling one way while his body toppled over the opposite direction.
The remaining seven men turned toward me, and their eyes grew wide with fear as they lowered to their fellow companion's headless corpse.
"It's the Starlight reaper!" The man at the front of the group paused for barely a moment before he screamed, "ATTACK HER!"
Midnight rolled our eyes, and I could feel her boredom as well as her irritation with the name. Since our team formed and began to kill rogues across the realms flawlessly, we'd somehow gained a name for ourselves: Starlight Reapers.
From the rumors, the gods had had enough of the acts of kidnapping, murder, and chaos that were caused by rogues and therefore had blessed us reapers with the power and confidence to hunt them all down.
We did our part in hunting them down, but we sure weren't blessed by the gods to do it. The silly rumor always made us roll our eyes and motivated us to get the deed done so we could go back to doing more important things.
Six of the men charged towards us, and Midnight twirled the scythe in her hands like it was lighter than a pencil.
The cries of agony echoed through the empty forest, and as their bodies fell, blood already seeped into the soil. We quickly scanned each one to ensure their wounds wouldn't heal, and we waited a full minute to listen to the last beat of the sixth person's heart before we lifted our gaze.
The last guy was far away at this point and Midnight groaned out loud, "Really?"
"You'd think he wouldn't be so petty," I replied.
"Dark Panther's lingo is rubbing off on you," Midnight commented. She pushed us off the ground and into the nearest tree before she started hopping from tree to tree with ease.
"He said he doesn't like being called that."
"Then Dark Vader."
"If I recall from Anna's classic movie collection, that's from a film too."
"We'll just call him by his name. So complicated," Midnight mumbled.
I snickered in our mind. "We can ask him when we finish the job what his new code name is."
"Dark Ranger."
"No."
"Bloody Butterfly, are you really having this conversation with one of your spirits, or are you talking out loud again while on the job?"
"It's Midnight, not Mako, and I vouch for Dark Ranger," Midnight stressed, not even a little threatened by Anna's commanding tone.
"Please don't tell me we're naming me after a power ranger."
"Ugh. Nick just come back to base, and Mako, I mean Midnight...UGH. Bloody Butterfly, finish up and get back here!"
"Uh-oh. Mako, I pissed off Anna," Midnight declared.
"CODE NAMES!" Anna snapped.
"Dark Dagger?" Midnight suggested again and was greeted by a low chuckle and Anna's frustrated groan.
"I give up."
"Dark Dagger is fine, Midnight. Thanks for the suggestion," Nikolai replied. His low voice was like adding honey to your tea to make the balanced blend of perfection.
Nikolai, or Nick for short, was our third partner in our small team. I'd been introduced to him after my first week on duty, and his voice still sent tingles through us. Midnight tried to deny the attraction, but after a week she gave up.
"Twenty seconds and Bloody Butterfly will finish the job, and we’ll make our way back to base," Midnight confirmed and grinned. "Would you like to finish this, Mako?"
"Sure."
We immediately switched, not missing a beat as I took control and twirled Nighty in my hand.
"Hit thy target and deliver justice to us all."
I felt the magic's call as it pooled into the large scythe that began to glow a bright pink. I lifted my hand up and swung the scythe, aiming for the last rogue who was running for his life.
I knew it was useless to escape the attack, and I landed on the next branch and stood tall, seeing no point to continue the chase.
"AH!" The man yelled out when he looked over his shoulder a second before my scythe went through his neck. The scythe did a U-turn like a boomerang and headed back to me, the rogue's head hitting the ground and rolling away as his body fell and twitched.
I caught the scythe easily. It pulsed a weak white light before the scythe began to fade. I lowered my arm and Nighty reappeared in my palm.
"Mew!" She looked up at me with excitement as her three tails glowed a vibrant gold. I grinned, reaching out to stroke her head with my free hand.
"Good work, Nighty," I praised.
I knew she was excited to go back to our little sanctuary. Neither of us liked the bloodshed that was involved with each job, but it was our duty as officers to rid the realms of these rogues, and if that meant getting blood on my hands, I'd do it without a second thought.
"Job is complete. Bloody Butterfly heading back," I announced.
"Excellent. See you in a few," Anna replied, and the speaker went off. I lowered my gaze to the dead body a few feet away and looked back at the path I had taken.
We aimed to deliver a clean kill, leaving no fingerprint evidence behind that could be used to track us. Abandoning the bodies to their fate was standard protocol. Using cloaks to hide our faces made it impossible for anyone to know who we were when we made our move.
I lowered the hood, revealing my now long pink hair. Anna explained for the sake of hiding my identity, it was good to change my hair from its normal dark brown color. The pastel pink held a level of brightness that grabbed your attention but didn't hurt your eyes like neon pink.
Anna thought it was a weird color for me to choose, but if I was going to do a new look and got a chance to dye my hair, pink would be the color I'd want. Not only because it was my favorite color, but it gave the appearance of innocence.
No one would think a shifter with pink hair that stood at 5'5 would cause any harm. Or that's what Nikolai stated. He said I looked too pure to hurt a fly.
Of course, I proved him wrong when I k
icked his ass in training, but seeing as no one at base thought I could hurt a fly it proved his point.
Nightmare moved up along my right arm and rested on my shoulder, wrapping her tails around my neck once more.
Midnight had retreated from my mind, and my other spirits Rose, Hopefilinia, Lilylusha, and Lexinalla still slept.
I wished we knew more than that, but the rogues who’d kidnapped and dumped me off somewhere wiped our memories. I guess we should have been grateful to remember that much.
Mako was my name, yet I felt it was missing something. Maybe it was a nickname, but every time I tried to think of more, all it led to was a dead end and an annoying headache.
My eyes darted up toward the sky once more, and I stared at the stars above. I didn’t pray as some of the other shifters at the base did because of my lack of belief in the gods, but I decided to give it a shot and called out to these supposed gods in my mind. If there's a Starlight god up there, can't you give me a sign to help trigger something from my past? Anything?
I didn't consider myself holy or pure, but if they were gods, they forgave the sins we committed daily, right?
I heard a crack from beneath me, and I lowered my gaze right when the branch that supported Nighty and me snapped. SHIT!
My hand immediately moved to hold onto Nighty who let out a mini mew, as my body plunged towards the ground, the branches somehow moving out of my way. Ah, this is gonna hurt!
I shut my eyes, realizing I wouldn't have time to launch a spell, but my anticipation of the impact turned to relief when strong arms caught me, stopping me from my descent.
A painful throb went through my head as I opened my eyes, looking up to meet the eyes of the person who stopped my fall.
My eyes grew wide for a second, feeling a wave of Deja vu. My mind expected to see bright green eyes that reminded me of emeralds and ash blonde hair that almost reminded me of a fairy.
Yet that vision was nothing compared to the familiar red eyes that greeted me and his long silver locks that hung loosely on one side, the rest those strands tied up in a ponytail.
"You're really clumsy, Mako. No wonder Anna teases you about falling to your demise."
I stared up at Nikolai who had a calm expression on his handsome face, his red eyes still locked onto my turquoise ones.
"Mako?" he asked again and frowned when I didn't respond. I had to blink a few times, and I shook my head real quick before I somewhat recovered from whatever I'd just envisioned.
"I'm not clumsy," I argued with a pout and Nikolai sighed in relief.
"You're clumsy and don't freak me out like that. You’re lucky I was watching from afar, or you and Nighty would have been one with the soil," Nikolai complained.
"Would not." I huffed.
"Are we going to argue about this? If so, I'll just agree with what you want to fight about."
Nikolai hated when we disagreed with practically anything. When it came to Anna, he'd fight until he got his way or stomp away in rage, but with me, he always backed down as if I were a tiger and he was but a kitten. Though kittens could be pretty scary.
"Sorry, I got caught up in my thoughts," I admitted. He nodded in understanding, and after he made sure I was securely in his arms, he took a quick look around us.
"People are coming."
"Far enough for us to escape?" I asked.
"Mew?" Nighty asked, wondering if she'd have to switch again.
"We'll be fine. Still too far out to do us harm, but if they get too close to our trail, we'll fly back to base."
He jumped off the branch and slowly glided down. I glanced at his feet. Little flaming wings extended on each side, which helped him stay afloat and control the speed as he descended.
"That's cheating," I grumbled.
"Okay, my clumsy partner."
"Fuck you."
"It's not nice to swear at your partner either."
"I don't care," I mumbled.
Nikolai just shook his head and chuckled. "I've known you for two rotations, but I can guarantee you're as stubborn as ever."
"I'm not ashamed of it," I whispered.
"I never said I wanted you to change." I looked up to see his small smile and those red eyes that displayed more than just compassion.
My heart skipped a beat, and I felt my cheeks grow hot, prompting me to look away. We're just partners. We can't be anything more...even though my heart wants to take a crash course in falling in love with your partner in stopping crime.
"Just admit you’ve already taken the crash course and have a diploma to show for it," Midnight commented.
Where do you even come from? I never sense you when you show up out of nowhere.
"I don't show up out of nowhere. I'm in your mind. Not like I can go anywhere else." Midnight huffed, and I could imagine her rolling her eyes.
Before I could even reply she was gone and I groaned. Fine, leave before I get the last laugh. Meanie.
"Are you talking to yourself?" Nikolai asked, and I returned my gaze to him.
"Um...no. Well, kinda. I mean. Hmm," I mumbled, trying to think of another excuse for my accidental talking out loud habit.
I didn't know if I always had it or if it was a side effect of my memory loss, but it left me feeling embarrassed, especially around Nikolai.
"Don't worry about it. I think it’s cute," he replied. I realized we'd landed on the ground and Nikolai was just staring down at me, but my head began to pound.
I did my best to mask my face as Nikolai helped me stand on my feet. "I'll report to Anna we're on our way back." I nodded as he took a few steps to the path and he took another assessment of the area.
"Mew!" Nighty hopped from my shoulder to the floor and moved to the base of the tree. She looked like she was ready to jump back up onto the tree, and I instinctively opened my mouth.
"Nightmare, that's enough climbing adventures for one night," I said with authority and a hint of annoyance. Nighty paused in her lowered position, her head slowly turning to look at me.
"Mew?" She looked confused, but I could tell she was in pain somehow.
It took me a few seconds to notice what I'd done, and I frowned, lifting my hand up to massage my right temple. What? Wait, Nightmare? Is that Nighty's full name?
I tried to keep my breaths even, and I closed my eyes for a moment. The vision of the blond, green-eyed male returned, but he wore a pair of familiar glasses that I could guarantee with my life weren’t his, but that didn't make sense to me.
How would I know those glasses belonged to someone else and not this person? In fact, who is this person?
Hands suddenly gripped my shoulders, and I opened my eyes and looked up to see Nikolai's worried expression. Huh?
I realized I had leaned back against Nikolai's broad chest, the scent of cinder engulfing my senses. I usually enjoyed the fire scent, yet I envisioned the smell of mint in its place and felt disappointed that it wasn't the aroma that hit my nose.
"Mako, what's wrong? You're pale as fuck." Nikolai's concerned voice seemed to pull me out of my weird funk.
"I don't feel good," I confessed. He lowered me to sit down, and I gripped my head, taking slow deep breaths. Isa said if I have problems to just remain calm. Breathing keeps me calm. I'll just breath in and out.
"Let me tell Anna you're not feeling well. We'll go see Isa instead of returning to base," Nikolai suggested, reaching out to press the button of his earpiece, but I place my hand on his.
"No. Please don't, Nick. She'll get all worried and won't want me on the field. Please?" I begged.
He gazed into my pleading eyes, his index finger just inches away from the button on the earpiece. With a sigh, he lowered his hand and glanced over his shoulder. When he looked back, he had a frown on his lips.
"How bad is your headache?" he asked.
"Throbbing like 'I got hit in the head' bad," I replied. He nodded and in seconds I was in his arms, princess style and he pushed off the ground and into the tree. He moved highe
r and higher until we were on the top branch.
"What triggered it?"
"Nick..."
"I need to know, Mako."
"When you caught me. It felt like Deja vu. Like it happened before. Then I told Nighty not to climb the tree, but I called her Nightmare. She responded which I think means it's her full name, but she looked confused after and even in a bit of pain."
"Mew Mew."
We glanced at the tree opposite us, and Nighty stood on a branch, her little body shivering as she looked down.
"Nightmare, you always do this. You climb all the way up to the top of the tree, and then you realize you're scared of heights. Nikolai isn't going to help you..." I trailed off as I realized what I was saying.
I turned my gaze back to Nikolai with a fearful look, and he guarded his face to hide what I assumed was his own worry.
"I'm taking you to Isa."
"Don't tell anyone else, Nick."
"Mako, we're supposed to report to Jeffrey if we don't feel-"
"Nikolai, please. My gut tells me we can't tell him. Or Anna...or just anyone in authority," I confessed. "My gut never steered me wrong on the job."
"But you’re fine with Isa?"
"Isa has an angel spirit. If I ask her to keep what I saw a secret, she'll do it. Remember, she agrees with all her clients to keep their information private. She can't even tell Jeffrey if she wanted to without going against her own morals," I argued.
Nikolai sighed. "You know I'm only agreeing to this because it's you."
"I know," I whispered, giving him a sympathetic look. He groaned and did something unexpected; he lowered his lips to mine.
It was a brief, tender kiss, but it was enough to help the throbbing in my head begin to decrease in intensity.
"Fine. I won't say anything to anyone. I'll tell Anna I have a stomach ache and I’m going to see Isa. I'll explain I took you along for moral support."
"She won't believe that," I mumbled. He grinned.
"Fine. I'll say you came along to laugh at me having diarrhea and shitting my pants."
"She'd totally believe that," I replied with a small smile.
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