Page 18 of Under Dark Skies

Seventeen

Layla

They made their way to a secluded park, away from all the media attention. Everyone seemed to be watching the news from inside a cafe, on their phones, or simply screaming it to one another in the streets. Layla kept her head down, imitating Rafe as they speed walked away from crowds that had started gather—humans seemingly at first—to scream about violence perpetrated by the wolves.

It was only a matter of time before a protest occurred, and worse, a full-blown riot. No one really knew the truth, and Gideon’s Torch made sure to take advantage of that. Wolves who hated humans now had a reason to commit violence, and humans had a reason to punish them for it.

The city was becoming increasingly dangerous, and Layla knew they had to get out. Rafe stopped at a park bench just inside a small park. There were slides and swings for children, but they sat empty, swaying sadly in the wind.

“Let’s sit for a minute.”

“Do we really have time for that Rafe?”

“I need to think.” Rafe sat down with his hands in his pockets. Layla looked around. They were far away from the streets, but she could still hear yelling and screaming. Soon enough someone was going to do something stupid.

She sat down next to him with her arms folded, but staying vigilant to any change in the brief serenity.

“So Crescent City then?”

Rafe nodded, staring down at the ground. “Its the only place where I feel we can comfortable talk to Griffen. He needs to know who he can trust. Or he may be next on the their list.”

“Their kill list?” Layla said.

Rafe nodded again.

Layla’s new coat was warm, but she was still feeling a chill. The sun had crept behind dark clouds the colour of bruises. She looked at Rafe, who still seemed to be mentally scanning something. She wished that he would think out loud rather than forcing her to ask questions all the time.

She tried to mask the irritation she felt. “But how are we going to get there? I know that the streets are more crowded and we’ve having an easy time moving through them now, but I don’t think flying really is an option right now.”

Rafe shook his head side-to-side. Layla felt her annoyance flailing up. Her entire life was in shambles, she needed more than just some head nod.

“I’m going to need more from you than just shaking your head Rafe.”

Rafe looked up from the ground. His dark eyes were wide, then he quickly lowered the lids. She hoped she hadn’t enflamed his own annoyance. “Sorry, I’m just used to working on my own. You’re right though, flying wouldn’t make sense right now.”

He sighed heavily. She wished that there was a way she could help, but this was his world. She could try to help with the humans, but even PEACE wasn’t on her side anymore.

Stress moved through her body like a snake. It started in her gut, then slithered up her arms and legs. It made her want to move inward, to curl into a ball and just wait for the war to end. But she was in the middle of the crossfire right now. That was no time to give in.

She started breathing deeply to bring herself into the present. Rafe reached out and rubbed her arm, the same way he had when he had waved her from that terrifying wolf. It helped her come back to that moment, and in that moment, he was looking at her with adoring eyes.

She looked back, and did not look away. She thought about hopping onto his back and having his gallop away into some metaphysical sunset. But that isn’t possible when there are both lycans and humans after you.

“I know this isn’t easy, Layla. I want you to know I haven’t lost sight of that. This isn’t your world. It must be scary.”

“It is. But I’m ok as long as you keep me privy to everything that’s going on. Even if I don’t understand it, I want to.”

Rafe smiled like they were somewhere else, on a date perhaps, and she had asked him back to her apartment. If only they had met before all of this mess had ensued.

“I will definitely do that, Layla.”

She wanted to kiss him again, but it wasn’t the time nor the place.

Rafe removed his arm from hers and stood up. She stood up too. They both shook when the sound of breaking glass woke them from their romantic daze.

“It might not work, but I’m curious about how far the cab can take us. It’s a long fucking way, but you never know. It’s all I can think of at the time being.”

Layla nodded. It sounded absurd, but everything going on around them was feeling absurd. “Do you have any money? I lost my purse the other night.”

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