Alexia storms out of the Alien Department, her fists clenched and jaw tight.

  Every step echoes with frustration. Her father, her team, the choices made inside that building—none of it sits right.

  And Markus… what is he thinking? One moment he’s calm, the next, he just snaps.

  She doesn’t know where she’s going—only that she needs air, space, and someone who won’t try to lecture her or make everything worse.

  The park is too peaceful.

  Sunlight filters through the trees in soft golden streaks, and the air smells faintly of grass and warm pavement. Children laugh in the distance. A dog barks happily at nothing.

  It’s the kind of quiet that feels wrong after everything.

  Alexia slows her pace, arms still crossed tightly over her chest. The world keeps spinning like nothing has happened.

  Looking around, she spots Sid sitting cross-legged on the grass, completely absorbed in something small and moving.

  Without thinking, she walks toward him, her boots crunching softly on the path.

  “Sid, what’cha doing?” she asks.

  He looks up and holds out his hand. A small caterpillar crawls across his finger.

  “What’s it look like?” he says with a calm smile.

  Alexia squints. “It’s a bug. I didn’t know you were into bugs.”

  She waves her hands quickly. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that! I just… didn’t know.”

  Sid chuckles. “It’s small. Fragile. Easy to crush if you’re not careful.”

  He gently places the caterpillar on a nearby leaf and watches it crawl for a moment. Then, without a word, he holds out his other hand—a butterfly perched lightly on his fingers.

  “But if it’s nurtured,” he says softly, “it becomes something beautiful.”

  “I never thought of it like that… Sid, you’re so caring,” Alexia says, her eyes fixed on the delicate wings.

  Alexia lets out a breath, almost a laugh. “I can’t hide anything from you, can I? You always see right through me.”

  Her voice drops as she looks down at the ground. She takes a breath.

  “My father tried to shoot my best friend.”

  Sid blinks, then nods slowly. “That’s rough.”

  “Markus was horrified by what we do,” Alexia says quietly, still watching the butterfly.

  “But if only he knew… we’re trying to help. That rat—it was dangerous. We stopped it from killing people.

  That should be good… right?”

  “Um.” Sid pauses, thinking before he speaks. “See that bee over there?”

  “Yeah,” Alexia says softly. “I love bees. And honey’s amusing.”

  “If I were to crush it to stop you from getting stung… how would you feel?”

  Alexia freezes, her expression softening.

  “I’d feel… mixed. I’d be thankful I was safe, sure, but…”

  She lowers her gaze.

  “I think I get what you’re saying. It wouldn’t feel right, not while looking down at a body that never had a chance.”

  When she looks back up at him, her eyes are a little clearer.

  “I get it now. Thank you.”

  A small smile tugs at her lips. “Sid, you’re… amusing.”

  Before he can respond, she steps forward and hugs him, planting a quick kiss on his cheek.

  “I’m really glad I have you.”

  “Yep, that’s what I’m here for,” Sid says with a small smile.

  “I have to go now,” Alexia says, stepping back. “Call me, okay? We should go out for pancakes later.”

  She gives him another quick kiss—this one lighter, almost teasing—before turning and running off toward her house.

  The street feels empty—nothing between her and her goal. Every step sharpens the rush of thoughts crowding her head, every word she wants to say to Markus tumbling over the next. Before she knows it, she’s at the door.

  She stops.

  Draws a breath.

  This is it.

  Liddle slips out of the room just as Alexia storms in.

  She barely notices the door close behind her.

  “Markus, I’m so sorry,” Alexia blurts, her voice already trembling. “I never should have made you—”

  Before she can finish, Markus pulls her into a hug.

  “It’s okay,” he says quietly. “I know you were just doing what you thought you had to. I just… I don’t have the stomach for it.”

  She clings to him for a heartbeat longer before pulling back, eyes searching his.

  “You don’t hate me?”

  Markus manages a tired smile. “I could ask you the same.”

  Alexia blinks fast, fighting back a tear. “How are you holding up?”

  Markus exhales, the sound heavy, dragging from his chest. He stares down at his hands like the answer is carved there.

  “Not great,” he admits.

  “Every time I close my eyes, I still see its body. Just… lying there. Limp. And I was the one who—” His jaw locks, words catching in his throat.

  “I know it was dangerous. I know it wasn’t human. But it still looked at me like it didn’t understand. Like it was scared.”

  He runs a shaky hand through his hair.

  “And now everyone’s acting like I should just move on. Like we did the right thing. But if that’s right…” her voice cracks, thin and unsteady. “Then why do I feel like the bad guy?”

  Alexia steps closer again, her arms tightening around him by the door.

  “I shouldn’t have dragged you into that,” she whispers. “I should’ve handled it on my own. But even I didn’t think Dad would go that far.”

  “What your dad did isn’t your fault,” Markus says gently.

  The bedroom door creaks open.

  “Is it safe to come out?” Liddle asks, her voice small.

  Markus turns and gives a slight wave. “Yeah. It’s fine.”

  She steps out hesitantly, hugging her arms.

  “So…” Markus says, rubbing the back of his neck. “Do I have to worry about your dad trying to kill me again?”

  Alexia winces. “I’ll tell Aunt Linda what happened. Hopefully that’ll keep things under control.”

  Markus nods. “Yeah... but in the meantime—”

  The front door slams open.

  “Alien Department! Nobody move!”

  Officer Robert storms in, gun raised—its black muzzle aimed straight at Markus.

  “Robert?” Alexia freezes, her voice breaking.

  “Oh, hi Alexia,” he says casually, as if he’s just stopped by for coffee.

  “Your father sent me to collect Markus. But…” His eyes shift. “…looks like I just found the second demon.”

  Alexia frowns. “Second demon? What are you talking about?”

  Robert doesn’t answer. He grabs Liddle and yanks her forward. With one sharp pull, he rips the bun loose from her hair—

  —horns slip free.

  The room goes still.

  Alexia’s eyes go wide, her breath catching in her throat.

  “Liddle… you’re a—” Her voice cracks. She turns away, stunned. Not her. It can’t be her.

  Liddle trembles, silent, frozen in place.

  Markus moves.

  The Mahoishi snaps out in a sharp crack, lashing for Robert’s gun—

  Bang!

  The shot thunders through the room.

  Markus slams against the wall, clutching his shoulder as white-hot pain rips through him. His breath hitches, his knees buckle, and he collapses to the floor.

  Blood pours between Markus’s fingers.

  Robert doesn’t even blink. He shoves Liddle toward the exit.

  “Stop!” Markus yells, struggling to rise.

  He staggers after them, pushing off the wall, but his legs buckle.

  Alexia grabs his arm, forcing him down.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “You’re insane if you think you can stop them like this,” she snaps, already summoning her Mahoishi.

  Her hands glow with soft light as she presses them against his bleeding shoulder. A pulse of healing energy surges through the wound—hot, burning, mending all at once.

  Markus winces but doesn’t stop. He pushes past her touch, his voice low and steady.

  “You can be mad at me. You can even hate me. But right now, Liddle needs us.”

  He meets her eyes, sharp and unyielding.

  “Please, Alexia. Look past the demon… and see our friend in her.”

  Alexia hesitates. The fight drains from her shoulders, and she lets out a long sigh, rubbing her forehead.

  “I’m seriously kicking your butt after this,” she mutters.

  “But fine. I’ll trust you. Liddle’s… a good person. And I guess that matters more right now.”

  Relief washes over Markus. “Thank you.”

  “You must be out of your mind,” Alexia snaps suddenly, throwing her arms up.

  “Breaking into the Alien Department? You’ll get yourself killed!”

  Markus steadies himself, gaze firm, jaw set.

  “I have to try.”

  Another knock comes on the already half-open door.

  A figure steps inside.

  “Oh—you’re Markus’s friend,” Alexia says, turning. “Lemres, right?”

  Lemres gives a small nod.

  By the front door, Markus is already slipping on his jacket.

  “Sorry, man,” he says. “Something came up. I need to go save someone.”

  “The Alien Department?” Lemres asks.

  Markus freezes mid-step, back still turned.

  “Yeah. They took Liddle.”

  Lemres’s jaw tightens.

  “I know. They got Demono too.”

  That pulls Markus around fast, eyes wide.

  “They got her too?”

  “Yup,” Lemres says grimly. “I know this is crazy—and scarier than what you’re used to—but the three of us should be enough. In and out.”

  Alexia crosses her arms, glaring.

  “Do I have to help save that demon?”

  Her gaze flicks to Markus’s shoulder, still raw from the bullet wound, then back to his face. She sighs.

  “Ugh, I know, I know… fine. Care to explain how we’re pulling off a break-in at the Alien Department, smart guy?”

  Lemres smirks.

  “Glad you asked.”

  He pulls out a crude sketch of the building, running his finger along the lines as he explains. Alexia blinks.

  “…That might actually work.”

  Markus straightens, his voice low but steady.

  “I don’t care if it kills me. I’m not letting them take her.”

  Lemres lifts his Mahoishi. Its tip etches glowing symbols into the air, one after another. Heat ripples across the room. The symbols flare—then explode outward into a swirling portal, fire and light roaring at the edges.

  The strain flickers across Lemres’s face, sweat beading at his temple.

  “Time to go,” Lemres says, his voice low and steady. “Portal’s ready,”

  He turns to the others. “Once we step through, we won’t get a second chance. This is it.”

  Markus stares at the swirling light. His hand drifts to his shoulder—the place the bullet tore through. The sting is still there. But sharper than the pain is the memory of Liddle’s face as they dragged her away.

  He clenches his fists.

  “I’m not leaving without her,” he says.

  Alexia exhales slowly, then nods.

  “Okay. Just—don’t die, alright?”

  She gives his arm a light punch. “You wouldn’t hear the end of it if you did.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it.” Markus smirks, but there’s a crack in his voice.

  One by one, they step into the circle.

  Light surges around them, warping the air with a low, vibrating hum. Markus feels the pull—like his whole body is being turned inside out, twisted through space—

  And then: silence.

  They’re standing right in front of the Alien Department. There’s no turning back now.

  Alexia takes the lead, marching up to the front desk with Markus and Lemres trailing behind. Her scowl is sharp, her annoyance perfectly rehearsed.

  “These two,” she snaps at the officer behind the counter, “have been working with demons—helping them hide from us.”

  The officer raises an eyebrow, but Alexia is faster. She flips her badge open with a sharp flick of her hand.

  “I’m just taking them to processing,” she adds, tilting her head toward the hallway that leads straight to the kill room.

  Without waiting for approval, she pushes forward, dragging Markus and Lemres with her.

  The moment they clear the desk, Alexia hisses, “Go. Now.”

  Lemres’s hand snaps forward.

  “Mahoishi—on!” he barks.

  The door blasts open.

  The kill room sprawls before them—cold, sterile, merciless.

  Two guards stand ready, weapons already raised.

  Behind reinforced glass, Demono and Liddle huddle together, eyes wide, faces drained of color.

  Bodies—three, maybe four—are scattered across the floor. Guards. Demons. It doesn’t matter now.

  The guards pivot at the intrusion.

  “We’ve got intru—”

  “Shield!” Lemres shouts.

  A blinding flash explodes as a barrier shimmers into being, bullets hammering against it in a deafening storm.

  Alexia moves first.

  She tears her staff free and hurls it across the room, a blur of silver slicing the air.

  Markus catches it mid-spin. His momentum carries him forward—boots skidding across polished floor as he drives upward, vaulting into the air.

  Mid-jump, he twists.

  The whip cracks from his Mahoishi, wrapping tight around the first guard’s throat. A sharp yank jerks the man off balance, legs flailing.

  The second guard lifts his gun—too slow.

  Markus whirls, swinging the first guard’s limp body into him like a battering ram. Bone and steel collide. The second guard crumples, his weapon clattering across the floor.

  Another flick of the whip. It coils around the second guard’s legs—yank. He slams face-first into the floor.

  Both men groan once… and go still.

  Markus stands over them, chest heaving, focus locked. Alive, but out cold.

  “Demono, Liddle—together. Hit the glass.”

  Demono steps forward first. Flames roar across her palms, pressing against the reinforced pane. The surface glows red-hot, cracks spidering outward.

  Beside her, Liddle raises trembling hands. Frost races over the same spot, sharp and sudden, the glass groaning under the stress of heat and cold.

  Markus steps up, whip taut in his hand.

  Two lashes—crack, crack.

  A third. Nothing.

  He exhales, teeth bared. Then—

  With a roar, he slams his fist into the weakened center.

  The pane erupts—not a clean break but a violent explosion of jagged shards. Glass rips into his knuckles, wrist, forearm—blood streaking crimson across his skin.

  He staggers back a step but doesn’t stop.

  Not even for a heartbeat.

  Through the pain, through the blood, Markus shoves his arm into the opening—hand outstretched. His grip is steady, even as his fingers tremble.

  Liddle seizes it, clutching tight. Her voice is a whisper, thick with relief.

  “I knew you’d come for me.”

  She leans in close, eyes glistening.

  “I didn’t,” Demono mutters, climbing through the wreckage, “but hey—thanks anyway.”

  “You kids.”

  His voice slithers through the noise.

  Alexia’s father steps into the room, slow and deliberate, the polished barrel of his pistol catching the light. His coat is crisp. His expression unreadable.

  But his eyes—those sharp, merciless eyes—burn straight through them.

  “The moment you ran into that fire, I knew,” he says, voice low and calm.

  “That was the moment I saw it—you weren’t ordinary. You were something more. Something dangerous.”

  He raises the gun.

  “It’s a shame. But I’ll put you down with the rest of the monsters.”

  Alexia reacts instantly, stepping between him and Markus.

  “Dad, please—don’t do this.”

  He doesn’t blink.

  He doesn’t hesitate.

  His finger grazes the trigger.

  Crack—

  Markus’s whip lashes out like lightning, ripping the gun from his grip.

  A heartbeat later, Markus catches it, ejects the magazine, and fires the last round into the floor with cold finality.

  Alexia turns, shielding Markus again. Her voice shakes with anger, but her words are steady.

  “This isn’t saving the world.”

  Her father advances slowly, measured steps on blood-slick tile.

  “You trust that demon?”

  The way he says demon feels like a curse.

  Alexia meets his eyes.

  “I trust Markus.”

  No plea.

  No hesitation.

  Just truth—quiet, unshakable, and enough to make the air shift around them.

  “He ran into a fire to save me. I’ve seen him risk everything for people—again and again. That’s what a hero is. Not someone who kills and calls it mercy.”

  His lips curl into a quiet snarl.

  “The Morgi Rat would’ve ripped through a dozen people if we hadn’t neutralized it. Do you think your mercy makes you righteous?”

  Alexia’s fists clench.

  “No. But killing everything we fear doesn’t make us righteous either.”

  She looks back at Markus, then at Liddle and Demono behind the broken glass.

  “They’re not just demons. They’re people. And if Markus sees something worth saving in them, I believe him.”

  Her father goes still, staring at her like she’s just betrayed everything he ever taught her.

  Then he steps forward, voice dropping into something cold and bitter.

  “You’re not going to tell me you believed them.”

  He gestures sharply toward Liddle and Demono.

  “You know how those things lie. It’s in them. Born in them. You don’t need proof, you don’t need a reason—they’ll kill you soon as look at you.”

  He begins to pace slowly, forgotten but dangerous just the same.

  “They don’t know what truth is. They don’t care. And nobody holds them accountable. One minute they’re walking beside you, the next—someone’s bleeding in the street. That’s their nature.”

  He spits on the ground.

  “Sure, maybe there’s a good one here and there—fine. But don’t you dare look me in the eye and pretend they’re like us.”

  He points straight at Alexia.

  “Don’t tell me you forgot who the enemy is. Why wouldn’t you listen to me?”

  “I’ve listened to you my whole life,” Alexia says, her voice rising, cracking with anger. “But right now? Just shut up. You’re not saving anyone. You’re just making more monsters.”

  Alexia’s father spits venom as they turn their backs on him, hurling every cruel thing he can think of.

  “All I raised you for, and you throw it away to worship demons? You’re no daughter of mine. Alexia.”

  His voice follows them down the hall like a curse.

  Alexia keeps her eyes forward, jaw tight, pretending the words don’t dig into her.

  The group slips out of the building, breaths ragged, hearts pounding.

  Outside, Alexia exhales hard. Her hand trembles as she wipes it quickly across her eyes, as if brushing away sweat, not tears.

  Behind them, smoke billows and shards of glass crunch underfoot.

  Demono lingers at the edge of the lot, sparks dancing in her palm. A flame curls upward, small but hungry, as she points her hand toward the Alien Department’s walls.

  What are you doing?” Alexia demands, stepping between her and the building, staff raised.

  Demono doesn’t flinch.

  “Our lives would be a lot easier if that place wasn’t standing.”

  Her eyes burn—wounded, tired, furious.

  Alexia’s stance holds, though her voice softens.

  “I can’t let you do that.”

  She glances back at the building, her grip tightening.

  “They’re still my family…even after all of this.”

  For a long beat, Demono stares into her eyes. Then she closes her fist. The flame snuffs out with a sharp hiss.

  “Fine.”

  A ripple of light blooms as Lemres opens a portal. He tosses each of them a small envelope.

  “Alright, everyone in. Can’t exactly keep you safe in Ohio City anymore—so we’re relocating to Dever, Delaware.”

  He gives a crooked half-smile.

  “Five grand each. And a candy bar. That should last the week.”

  He glances at Markus, Liddle, and Alexia in turn.

  “Lay low, keep your heads down. I’ll talk to your Aunt and see if we can smooth this mess out.”

  Alexia freezes.

  “…You know Aunt Linda?”

  Lemres chuckles.

  “Oh yeah. That’s a long story. Another time.”

  He gestures to the portal.

  “Now go. Try to have just the right amount of fun while Demono and I clean up.”

  Markus steps through first, Liddle close behind.

  Alexia lingers a second longer, eyes still wide from the revelation, before diving in after them.

  Crickets chirp. A soda machine buzzes in the distance. The world feels strangely still again.

  Alexia rubs her arms, shivering despite the summer air.

  Markus says nothing, staring up at the faded motel sign like it might hold answers.

  Liddle edges closer to him—closer than before.

  A long silence hangs between them, until Alexia finally speaks.

  “This isn’t how I pictured the end of the day.”

  “It’s not the end,” Markus replies quietly.

  “It’s just… a break.”

  Together, they move inside, hearts still racing.

  No one says it out loud.

  But they all feel it.

  Whatever comes next—

  They’ll face it together.