Chapter 148A Path that Leads

Nuru's calmness was a perfect contrast to our own agitated state. Almost like a scene from an old movie she sat there in the dress that Faith gave her. I made a mental note to ask Hitori to go buy clothes for her later. She didn't have anything. Just us.

I had a lot of worries what we were going to do once we were in town. I wanted to look up the others, but they had left the safe-house. Would I even be able to find them? Maybe I could stay with Hitori... For the time being.

No, I shouldn't ask that of him. Maybe if he offers it himself...

I tried to get my head together. "Nuru, do you know what's going on?"

She shook her head. "No, Miss Amy, but I felt the commotion. It felt like it was time to go."

I looked sideways at Hitori, he nodded. "There is a burning cross outside, Afentis thinks they're looking for you so we'll go back to hide in the city. Faith and Afentis will stay here to find out what's going on."

Nuru smiled. "Thank you for taking me with you, Miss Amy."

I blushed, that was one way to look at it. But I didn't like to run from a situation like this, I wanted to know what was going on. But... Something in Afentis's actions reminded me that some things go beyond my capabilities, I was probably still fragile. Somehow I felt I was missing an adventure...

We returned to the living-room and found only Faith sitting there, she held a big bag with something heavy in it. She looked at us as we walked in and smiled kindly. Everything looked a little surreal now... I wondered why.

"I've got something for you, Amy. It wouldn't be fair to keep this here." Faith handed the bag to me.

I looked inside and found something I wasn't expecting but shouldn't have forgotten.

The stuff from the Abbey.

I gave her a quick hug. "Thank you."

She walked to Hitori and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek, his expression of surprise was priceless. "Keep her safe, Hitori."

He blushed. I couldn't help but smile at the display. It was so rare to see him this vulnerable for once. I wondered why this touched him so much. I didn't hear her whisper anything in his ears or anything.

She did the same to Nuru, a friendly kiss. "Take good care of yourself."

Nuru didn't blush, or if she did it was hard to tell. She bowed politely. "Thank you, Lady Faith."

So, this was goodbye then. But... "Where is Afentis?"

Faith smiled. "He's taking down the cross, which isn't easy while it's burning. But he'll figure something out."

A car horn outside made us all look up. Faith responded. "The taxi is here, let's go outside."

We walked outside quickly and I was surprised to find the taxi wasn't what I expected. It was just a subtle manager car without even a sign on it. Now that I thought on it, it was a smart move. It made us a lot less easy to follow and it didn't look like we were taking a taxi, just a ride. Very good.

Afentis was talking to the driver, I wondered what he said. I saw some money change hands and a handshake. He was acting quite friendly but they didn't look like they really knew each other. My eyes were really trying to take on everything all at once.

The cross was down in the mud, still glowing a little in places. Afentis probably decided it was faster to pull it down, as the mud would douse it partially and it would be easier to throw some water over the rest. At least the fire was out, but there was still some heat being felt from it. I looked up at the sky, glad it wasn't raining now, it's dark clouds promised a hefty shower later. Nuru got in the car first, Hitori held the door open for her and kept it open while he looked at me.

But I hadn't spoken to Afentis yet.

"Amy, I'm not sure how long this will take, but I don't expect it to be more than a few days. Keep Nuru safe." His warm voice so commanding.

I nodded. "I will."

"Also... Keep her away from Isabel."

I blinked. "Why?"

"It simply doesn't feel right." He looked slightly disconcerted, an odd change in his face.

"Alright, I'll try to hide her."

He put his hand on my shoulder and smiled, I had missed that smile. "We'll meet again, Amy."

I got into the taxi and sat down next to Nuru. I smiled as Hitori closed the door behind me gently and got in the passenger seat. The driver looked a bit old, maybe around forty, but friendly and well dressed. Much better than past experiences with taxis.

With Faith and Afentis staying behind, we drove off.

Back to the city.