As Zari made her way to the port, she was slowly able to piece together a plan. It should work perfectly as long as she didn’t panic.
Once she saw Miranda, she would do Step 1, which was to send a text to Rhapsody to get the enforcers to come here.
Step 2 would be to call Erou and set the phone to loudspeaker. He would be her witness to their conversation, and he would be able to prove that Rhapsody wasn’t the killer.
Step 3 was if Erou didn’t answer. That was the only time she would call…him.
Now, she only had to wait for—-
There.
From the opposite side of the road, Miranda was walking alone. Zari hid herself behind one of the trees as she watched the other student suddenly stop moving. She was visibly shaking, but her face was determined – it was the first time Zari saw the other girl without her Madonna-like smile.
A second later, thunder began to clap above Zari. She waited for it to rain, but none came, and yet thunder still roared above her. When she looked up, Zari realized in horror that what she had been hearing was actually a demon’s wings. They were dark and veined, vast and seemingly with sharp edges. The demon’s wings flapped over her, and then it was swooping towards Miranda. Caught between its vicious-looking jaws was a man, whom the demon held by his collar.
When the demon was flying right above Miranda, it dropped its burden.
The man screamed, first in fright at the thirty-foot drop, but soon the sound turned into one of agonizing pain, Zari hearing the bones on his back snapping as he hit the boardwalk.
You know what to do.
Zari quickly covered her mouth at the sound of the demon’s voice, not wanting to risk accidentally making a sound. Terror rose inside her because she knew that voice. It was the exact same voice she had heard in her vision.
The demon flew away, but Zari remained crouched behind the tree, fear making her extra vigilant and cautious.
Soon, the darkness had swallowed the sight of the demon, and even the thunderous sound of his flapping wings had faded. But even so, Zari couldn’t make herself move, was no longer sure if she really had it in her to face the demon again, if that was what it would come to.
From a distance, she heard something stir, and when she looked back at Miranda, she saw that the other girl was reaching for the man’s neck—-
Oh my God, this was not part of the plan!
Zari panicked. Her mind skipped the first steps and went directly to #3. She called her Master, set her phone to loudspeaker, and hurried to Miranda. “Wait!”
The other girl’s head jerked up.
Zari “accidentally” dropped her phone midway, not wanting the other girl to notice it and realize what she was planning.
“Step back!” Miranda screamed. The man on the ground didn’t stir, his injuries having rendered him unconscious.
Zari forced herself to a halt just a few feet away from the other girl. “Why are you even doing this?”
“Someone like you would never understand,” Miranda spat. “You don’t even know how lucky you are!” The girl’s eyes were crazed with despair and fear. “Everyone knows your Master will never replace you—-”
“I-is that what this is about?” Zari stammered. “Your Master?”
Miranda let out a wild laugh. “You idiot! You really don’t understand anything about being a pet, do you? Everything is about our Master. As it should be!”
“Make me understand then. Because I just don’t see why you’d ruin your life by killing someone—-”
“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” Hatred blazed in Miranda’s eyes. “You really are an idiot. A perfect life?” Her tone was harsh with irony. “My Master is being forced by his parents to replace me. I’ve tried so hard to be the perfect pet, but no matter what I do—-” She shook her head. “This is the only way.”
“How can killing someone be the answer?”
“Because I’ll be a demon. I’ll be the only demon pet in the world, an immortal. Someone who can feed my Master and make him powerful forever.”
Miranda’s plan actually made sense, Zari realized in dismay, but only in the most heinous, inhumane kind of way.
A cold light entered the other girl’s eyes. “And now you know too much.” Her voice was calm. “You have to die.”
Zari slowly took a step back. There was something menacing about the way Miranda sounded so calm and rational. Weren’t the craziest people like this? The calmer they were, the more dangerous they were because they were utterly convinced that they were sane and that everything they did was right?
“Miranda, stop.” But she could only back away more and more as the other girl moved towards her without stopping.
“Don’t do this—-” But even as she tried to reason with Miranda, Zari’s mind was already considering the alternative. Of fighting for her life. The girl was smaller, but there was no telling how strong she was. What if she lost? The thought had her speaking again, loudly, hopefully enough for Alexandru to hear her.