Chapter 32 Chapter 32
“Do you have a new pet?” Hope asked, prompting Valerie to smile and nod.
“Huh?” Naomi said, surprised.
“It’s a cat called Mochi,” Valerie replied. “I haven’t had it for long, though.”
“You should show me sometime,” Naomi grinned, and Valerie held back a cringe.
“Maybe,” she said and laughed nervously.
The three friends left the ice cream parlor soon after, strolling down the streets of New York. Since the area was crowded, they needed to be careful not to lose each other in the chaos.
“By the way, some of our fellow students in university had a funny idea for the weekend,” Naomi said, gaining Valerie’s interest, while Hope’s face fell.
“Naomi, I’m not sure if Valerie wants this right now. She’s probably busy with other things. Did you forget that she only just got a new housemate?” she said, glaring at her friend who didn’t get the message.
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous. It’s going to be fun. A friend of mine recently found this old abandoned property in the middle of the woods, and she asked if we were up for a little dare. She wants to visit it in the middle of the night,” Naomi explained with too much enthusiasm in Valerie’s opinion. “You know, for a ghost hunt.”
Valerie visibly shuddered and was quick to decline. “No thanks,” she said, exchanging a glance with Hope, who shared her opinion.
“See, I told you,” Hope added, earning a dark look from Naomi. “Neither Valerie nor I will accompany you, and I advise you to reconsider this. It’s dangerous to enter an old building at night. It might collapse… and maybe you will experience something terrible.”
“You two are such killjoys,” Naomi frowned, but she accepted their decision.
—
It was past nine PM when they decided to go home and separated at an intersection, each heading in a different direction. The walk to the subway station was spent in silence since Mochi obviously couldn’t talk to Valerie.
The night was cool, and her summer dress did little to protect her from the cold wind. She hugged her shivering form and quickened her steps. If she hurried a little, she would reach the station within the next five minutes or so.
Suddenly, the crest on her wrist pulsed. A shard of fear pierced Valerie’s heart. She turned her wrist to look at it. The mark still appeared like a regular tattoo, but the way it ached wasn’t a good sign.
Valerie straightened her back and looked around, trying to see if anyone was nearby, but it was too dark to tell. Gripped by fear, she walked faster, Mochi next to her growling distortedly. She had never heard such a terrifying sound from the cat.
Valerie was surprised when the demon changed its form, growing taller. Now it wasn’t a little kitty anymore; it resembled a cheetah, its back being the same height as Valerie’s thigh.
Its body remained translucent and shimmered golden, but the fangs had elongated, and the eyes looked bloodthirsty. She shivered—something was very wrong. Looking behind her in the same direction as Mochi, she spotted the dark outline of a person following her.
Cursing, she sprinted to the subway station, hoping to catch the next train to get away from her pursuer. Mochi followed her closely, all the while growling. Valerie was scared, but she knew it wouldn’t leave her hanging if the creep behind her decided to hurt her.
Nonetheless, she didn’t take chances and ran faster than before, breathing unevenly in panic. Her heart pounded hard in her chest as fear streamed through her. The person following her had to be the very same person responsible for the kidnappings; the last thing she wanted was to become one of his victims, too. She cursed Maxwell for leaving her alone at a time like this. What had he been thinking?
She took the stairs leading underground to the subway station and hurried on. Only a few people were around, and they hardly paid attention to her, not noticing the fear in her eyes. Valerie couldn’t believe her luck when a train arrived just in time for her to get on.
She jumped in, the doors closing behind her. She stared out the window with heaving shoulders, keeping an eye on the stairs. The man descended them slowly and without a care. It seemed like he was mocking her.
His face was shrouded in darkness, but his red eyes were clearly focused on her. As the train drove off, she lost sight of him, and the warning pulses of her mark stopped.
He was gone. Letting out a breath, took a seat and hid her face in her hands. Now back in its usual small form, Mochi jumped on her lap and purred quietly, attempting to comfort her. She sighed and petted its back. “Thank you,” she uttered.
After twenty minutes, she finally reached her stop and left the train to walk home. The darkness was unsettling. However, knowing the mark would warn her if something was wrong calmed her.
When Valerie entered her apartment building, she climbed up the stairs and unlocked her door to enter her apartment. Inside, she was greeted by the sight of Maxwell restlessly walking back and forth in the living room, turning around when he heard her. She saw red in his eyes, but it vanished in a blink.
“Good job, demon,” he muttered, directed at the cat that blinked at him before scurrying off into the bedroom.
“He followed me to the subway station. I saw him. He wasn’t trying to hide at all,” Valerie explained nervously. “I wasn’t even anywhere near Manhattan. Why did he suddenly change his habit?”
“How should I know?” Maxwell replied aggressively, regret flickering through his eyes when she flinched. He ran his hand through his hair and cursed. “If only I had known he would show himself today…”
“It’s too late. He’s gone now,” Valerie mumbled. This could have ended differently if Maxwell had accompanied her, and judging by the pissed-off look on his face, he knew it, too.