by Joshua Chou
The ice spirit stood with confidence in the pale moonlight and gazed upon everything before them. A sick kind of smile spread across his face, almost to spite Ethan’s frown.
“I had fun,” Ethan’s ice spirit mused.
“That makes two of us,” said Ethan aloud.
He made sure Gabriel was watching. Nora was listening, but she didn’t know the truth. She didn’t have to yet.
“We’ll catch him,” Ethan continued.
***
Cero held the Auto Injector in his hand.
It was a modified epi-pen filled with a formula that his boss needed him to test out. The pen was spring-loaded to pump its victim with the black goo within. Based on today’s test, the formula was quite potent.
The question was if the results would or wouldn’t aggravate the boss.
Fading overhead lights barely lit the hallway. This was one of many apartments in a no-name neighborhood across the East River. The boss said he had a few places he could meet with Cero personally, and this was one of many.
If the time came, they would burn it down and forget it existed. But for now, this was where Cero had to give his report.
He glanced at the door in front of him. It was in dire need of repainting, like the crumbling walls around him. No one would suspect that the mastermind behind his operation would be behind this door.
Cero knocked. No answer. He knocked again.
“The door is open.”
He entered the dark space. The room within was hidden in shadows. Curtained windows blocked all light from outside from entering in. Only the glow of a computer monitor lit this space.
Someone sat before the screen. This was the Unknown Man, as his codename was in his inner circle, at least that was the term Cero had to address him by. His features were too vague to be seen.
His skin, if one could call it that, were wrapped in dark vapor that Wraiths were made of. All that could be seen were the stone rings wrapped around all ten of his fingers.
If he turned around, Cero would see his unnaturally glowing yellow eyes. He hoped that this would not be one of those meetings.
“Speak,” said the Unknown Man.
Cero placed the Auto-Injector on his desk. He did everything he could to avoid eye contact. The man swiftly turned and tried to leave.
“What happened to the tip?” his boss asked coldly.
The Unknown Man held up the device. He held one spindly finger wrapped in gnarled charred skin to the needle. Cero dared to look past the badly shaped appendage to glance at the tip.
There was a piece missing. He never noticed because it was small, and Cero was not looking for damage. Chances were that he wouldn’t have seen it at all. Its stainless steel tip was broken at the very end, which meant that it was still somewhere that could be found.
“It broke,” Cero said as calmly as he could. “Nobody’s gonna miss it.”
“But they will find evidence.”
The air grew cold and stale. Cero had too many run-ins with the wrong kind of crowd to know when to run. The Unknown Man was itching to kill.
Cero had a feeling that he couldn’t outrun him, even if he tried. Even if the door was right behind him, the Unknown man had a few tricks up his sleeves.
“Shall I dose the others?” Cero suggested with a nervous smile.
“No,” said the Unknown Man with a great sigh. “The purpose of these tests is to make a perfect drug. I need to tweak the formula just right.”
“Got it, boss.”
The Unknown Man waved his hand away. Cero turned and briskly walked out of the door. He made sure to close it without slamming it needlessly. As he did, Cero peered through the closing doorway.
That was his mistake. The shadowy form of his boss finally turned its head. Sallow yellow eyes peered back and watched him leave.
These weren’t the eyes of any animal or man. This was a real demon. For the first time, Cero felt fear looking into the boss’ eyes for the first time.
“Get out,” he commanded.
Though it was for a brief moment, Cero felt like he couldn’t close the door fast enough without startling such an animal in the room. He turned and walked away.
They had grand plans in the near future. Cero hoped that he could carry them out without losing his life.
About the Author
Joshua Chou
Joshua is an NYU Grad with a focus on Screenwriting. He completed two novels before graduating high school, and penned four feature-length screenplays. Joshua has a soft spot for urban fantasy as well as transhumant themes, as well as fistfights in superhero movies. He hopes to write for a living, and that others will enjoy his work as well.
He lives on the West Coast and continues to write to this day. The biggest inspiration for his writing was the works of other novelists, such as James Patterson, J. K. Rowling, Rick Riordian, and George Orwell.
Joshua is currently working on a few different series, with two other books in the works and more to come. Please feel free to contact him with any of the links below.
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Author Website
https://jchouistaken.com/
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