Amos peered at the soldiers below with an irreverent indifference. The shifters rallying at the pits were no different to the angels banished from heaven.
Beneath a sky stained with crimson and smoke, the dealer stayed perched like an eagle on the edge of the wall by the pits, invisible to the naked eye, watching the pitiful creatures whisper amongst themselves... he didn't need to hear to know what they spoke about.
They knew. Despite the lack of evidence, deep down they all knew that Aura was not from this world. To them, she didn't belong here. And even if she wasn't the angel the flames had asked for, they didn't care. They were afraid of the unknown and what terrors might come after it.
And yet... for reasons he couldn't begin to fathomshe still wanted to help them.
He wouldn't have thought twice about personally delivering their souls into the underworld and leaving them stranded in the lakes of limbo to drown for eternity.
Loathing had settled in his heart, he had seen this same pattern for over a millennia. The outcome was always the same. History had a tendency to repeat itself. But some things had to be learned.
So far, Aura hadn't had to expose herself to anyone at all. They were already gathered at the fighting pits, Amber at the head rallying the shifters. They appeared, to Amos, like worker bees surrounding the queen, swarming the beige coloured dust of the pits and filling the vast area with their numbers.
"There are MONSTERS, holding US prisoners within our own home!" She cried, her face contorted with rage. On a raised platform, she could just about be seen by the masses despite her short frame, that bone straight honey blonde hair tied into a tight ponytail behind her head.
"Maiming OUR BRETHREN, BURNING OUR TERRITORY TO THE GROUND AND WE ARE LETTING THIS HAPPEN?"
The majority of the shifters around her roared in agreement, the rest stayed quiet as though uncomfortable. Despite their numbers, they were too afraid of Aura to act out.
"IN A PRIDE OF LIONS, if ONE ENDANGERS THE REST OF THE PRIDE? WE GET RID OF THEM!" She screamed, voice carrying an echoe. "I SAY WE FIND THE BITCH AND THROW HER OVER THE WALL."
The shifters roared, overstimulated and afraid, but agreeable.
He fought the urge to tear into every single one of them.
Amidst his fury, Amos noticed something, so tiny the dealer wouldn't have seen it if he hadn't been looking in that direction.
He recognised that buzzcut anywhere.
He was not, however, familiar with the wolves holding that owner of the buzzcut back. Curiously, Amos peered at Markus' top fighters restraining Hayden between them as he bunched his fists, all of them watching from a distance, expressionless and apart from the crowds. He wondered if these years Aura had fought with them had developed a sense of loyalty towards her, if their distaste and hostility for the crowds meant anything.
"FIND THE FREAK AND SEND HER BACK!" The lion roared.
The instructors were nowhere to be seen.
Suddenly, before the people could react, there was the subtle shifting between them.
Amos readied himself.
YOU ARE READING
Don't Let Them Catch You
Paranormal"When the stars retreat, and the moon bleeds blue. When love bows to a pure soul, free of vengeance, and hatred and sorrow," his words were ushered, as if he were telling her a secret, "Is when I'll be with you." At the time, Aura didn't understand...
