Taken by Karice Bolton

up soon too.”
    “I hope so. I hope none of us ever have to go through the Awakening process, but I can say if anyone does they certainly have my sympathies.” I rubbed my temple. “I’ve heard it’s ten times as bad this .”
    “I think it depends on how long the white demon has been a way as a mortal,” Arie piped up from down the hall.
    “That makes sense I guess, ” I replied , turning around . “How are you feeling?”
    “About as good as you, but I think I’ll be ready to go soon.”
    I gave her a quick hug , and we both made our way to crash on the kitchen chairs.
    “What’s your thought on everything?” She turned to Cyril who wa s grinning at her . The love those two shared was so sweet to see. I glanced at Athen and he nodded, thinking the same thing. We were all very lucky.
    “We should probably go in there tonight,” Cyril replied. “If you guys are up for it.”
    I nodded and glanced at Arie. “I think we will be.”
    “Did Arie tell you anything yet?”
    Cyril shook his head.
    “Well that makes two of you,” I said laughing.
    Athen set down water for us all and had a seat.
    “So you know how you felt some sort of movement under the town?” I asked Athen.
    “Yeah?” he asked.
    “There’s a huge tunnel system that they’ve got going. The tunnels start in the basement of the hospital and from what I could tell they are going in all directions. I happened to pick correctly and went down the tunnel that led to a bunch of dark demons chanting. They saw me and I took off, but not before I spotted the layout. From what I can tel l the J ikininki never came while Arie and I were there, which means that they aren’t always there nightly . It certainly would work to our favor if they didn’t show up when we go in, but I don’t think we should count them out as a possibility. They’ll be more of a nuisance than anything, but I have a feeling we might not be able to afford a nuisance in this situation.”
    “Couldn’t agree more,” Cyril replied, nervously glancing at Athen.
    “What?” I asked.
    “Athen mentioned the vision you had about Arie,” Cyril began .
    “Yeah?” I asked.
    “What vision?” Arie piped in.
    “I don’t think she should go in with us tonight.” Cyril looked at Arie and then at me.
    “Whoa. That would leave us one down.” I sighed. “Three of us going in would be pretty tight, but I completely understand.”
    “ That’s a pretty big risk to take,” Arie objected. “And what are you talking about?”
    “I had a vision that you might be in harm’s way, but what was odd about it was that I was in the mortal state still.”
    “You had a vision in your mortal state?” Arie questioned.
    I nodded.
    “I completely respect what you’re saying, Cy,” Arie replied, as she grabbed his hand. “But I won’t stand on the outside while you all are in there. Just knowing that I need t o be extra cautious is good enough. Besides, what if they planted that image so I was left here and they came for me whi le you guys are at the hospital? ”
    I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my lips. She was right and Cyril knew it too.
    “My sister’s got a point,” Athen replied, his lips pressed together in a firm line. He didn’t like it anymore than Cyril.
    Cyril started shaking his head, but not before Arie popped up and sat o n his lap.
    “I’ll be fine . We’ll all be fine. As a team,” she insisted. “ W here I come from evil doesn’t win.” She winked at Cyril and nuzzled into him. She knew how to get her way.
    “All right,” Cyril replied, but there wasn’t even a trace of a smile on his lips. Instead, worry framed his bro w and his eyes carried a burden that was impossible to ignore.
    “We ’ll be extra vigilant, Cy ,” I replied, grabbing a piece of paper. “ And you know you won’t be able to keep her out of there.”
    “That I do,” Cyril replied, a hint of a grin began to surface.
    “Okay , so here’s the plan from what I was