Young Writers Society

Ky flinched away instinctively, stopping and turning towards Quinn, but being sure that she backed until she was out of arm's reach. “Well he doesn’t need to be. I’m here because I want to be. And even if I didn’t, I can take care of myself.”

Quinn bit her lip.

"But you don't want to be here," she protested, "and you don't have the supplies to stay here on your own. We have all of the camping gear."

"This is hardly the worst thing I've been through," Ky huffed. "And I'd rather be here than with him."

She shouldn't have said that. Ky blushed and glanced away quickly, embarrassed. She'd said too much. All but admitted to the truth that they all apparently already suspected: that she was in trouble. So much for her denial.

"So you don't need to worry about me," she finished, then turned quickly and started down the path again. Her face was burning with embarrassment. But she needed to go. To get far away from Quinn and Pratik and especially Gabriel before they could put two-and-two together and link her to Aleth. She got the sense that they'd try to play the hero. Which would just result in them trying -- and failing -- to take on Aleth. Then she would get hurt doubly badly in Aleth's angry retaliation for her reaching out for help.

She should have just dawdled in the visitor center until the others had started out ahead of her. Taken this by herself. Sure, the ghost may have killed her that way. But at least she wouldn't be in this mess -- and in that moment, that's all she cared about. Getting out of this mess.

Quinn bit her lip even harder, so much so that it hurt.

"That just makes me even more worried," Quinn said. She was trying her best to understand Ky's reluctance, but she was struggling to put herself back in those shoes. She had been reluctant to go to anyone for help before meeting Gabriel because of her dad's power. Because she assumed if anyone tried helping her, her dad would somehow know and it would just make things worse.

Ky worked for someone important. She had said that earlier, back when they first met. Maybe that was why Ky was so eager to leave them all behind.

But she didn't need to worry about that. Gabriel operated on another side of the world that whoever Ky worked wouldn't be able to touch, and Quinn had been there ever since Gabriel and her had made that deal that fateful night.

"You don't need to worry about us getting hurt," Quinn said, hesitantly, since she wasn't entirely sure if that was what was making Ky so nervous. "Gabriel can protect. He's protected me, and I-"

She faltered, there. She wasn't sure she was ready to reveal that truth to Ky yet.

Ky glanced at her, waiting for her to finish. It wasn't the same. Nothing she said could possibly be similar to the situation that Ky was in. And there was nothing anyone could do to rescue her from Aleth. Even if Aleth died, he had a failsafe in place that would seal the coffin around her in his absence. No. Quinn didn't have any idea what she was talking about.

But even so, Ky was interested in what she had to say. So she stayed quiet and waited, looking at her expectantly.

Quinn took in a sharp, deep breath.

She was scared to tell the truth, but if it convinced Ky to stay...

"My full name is Quinn Holt," Quinn said, and she knew that name would carry a weight with it the moment it was dropped. Quinn could guess what Ky thought when she heard Quinn's full name. Quinn Holt was the daughter of a popular movie actress and an incredibly conservative politician. She had always been in the news—not because of anything she had done, but because her parents were always getting attention even after they divorced.

And then she had vanished. It had been less than a year ago, when Quinn thought back to it, but she still saw tabloid stories every so often at the cash registers in stores. Gabriel had promised that no one would be able to recognize her with her hair shorter and her outfits so much more her, but Quinn knew Ky would be able to see the resemblance now that Quinn had drawn her attention to it.

Ky stayed quiet a moment, assessing her. It was hard, given how distracted and upset she was by everything going on in her own life. But if nothing else, Aleth had given her the ability to function while extraordinarily distraught. In fact, it almost felt calming. Something to focus on to ground herself. A problem to be solved rather than a threat to run from. She had to be keyed in; on her game; ready to observe. It’s what Aleth would want.

She looked at Quinn calmly, waiting for her to continue. And when she didn’t, Ky hesitated a moment longer then nodded gently. Her voice was soft as she asked, “And… you consider yourself safe now?”

Quinn nodded.

"Gabriel and I made a deal," she said. She was still waiting to see what Gabriel's side of the deal was going to be. When he didn't know what he could get out of a person, he usually offered them a favor instead. They'd have to return it eventually.

Quinn was sure that, normally, her favor would have counted as quite a big one, and that he would have requested an equally big one in return. She was also sure that Gabriel had no plans to actually collect, and would only do so because that was how things were supposed to be. Whatever he was going to ask of her wasn't going to be bad at all.

She paused, then, realizing that it wouldn't really make sense for Gabriel to make deals like that when he was supposed to be her older brother. She was also pretty sure that if Ky knew anything about the Holts, she'd know that Quinn was their only child.

"...Gabriel's not actually my brother," she admitted.

“Yes,” Ky agreed quietly, nodding gently. Quinn Holt didn’t have a brother. The details of the case were trickling back into her memory. “…who is he, then? What sort of deal?”

Quinn knew exactly how Ky would react if she said the truth, but Quinn couldn't imagine saying anything other than the truth. Even the full truth might not have been comforting—the truth that Quinn wanted to say because it made things better, but couldn't because it wasn't her secret to tell. Only Gabriel had the right to share that one.

"He's a demon," Quinn said. And then, a little more quickly, she added, "But he doesn't make bad deals. My soul's not condemned. Demons can't do anything with souls. I just promised to owe him something if he helped me get away from my family."

The hairs on the back of Ky's neck stood on end and she sent a quick glance over her shoulder to be sure that he wasn't looming right behind her at the revelation of 'demon' before Quinn even finished. When Ky confirmed the guys were still nowhere close to them, she looked back at Quinn, laser-focused on her every word.

A few hours ago, Ky might not have believed it. But, well, she already believed in evil spirits -- one of the last lingering residues of the religion her father had engrained into her before his death -- and if ghosts were real, why not humanified demons?

And, well, even if he wasn't a demon -- if he thought he was, then he was clearly mentally unstable. Or a pathological liar. Or both. Probably both. If an evil spirit had manipulated a girl as down on her luck as Quinn into believing that he was the good guy, he must be a good liar indeed.

Ky was used to those.

Used to being threatened by powerful men who liked toying with people less privileged than themselves. Though Gabriel seemed even worse than usual, if he really was supernatural. That added in a whole extra layer of danger that she wasn't at all equipped to handle.

She needed to get away, and she needed to do it fast.

Ky took a step backward, then forced herself to hesitate. She couldn't just leave Quinn to take on a demon by herself... then again, Ky knew better than to interfere. Things always got far worse for her when people tried to meddle; Aleth would take out his frustration and annoyance about them, on her. Not to mention he wouldn't rest until he tracked her down if any of them had succeeded in taking her.

No. Ky wasn't interested in getting hunted by a demon for the rest of her life. Not to mention she couldn't actually help Quinn. Not really. When Ky got out of these woods, she'd go straight back to Aleth. Knowing Aleth, he'd just turn around and sell Quinn back to her parents if she emerged from Ky.

Best just to cut her losses and move on.

She whirled around on her heel and broke into a sprint.

Quinn should have known Ky would run.

Quinn frantically glanced between the direction Ky was running in, and the direction that Gabriel, Pratik and site was. She didn't know if it was better to get Gabriel or to go chasing after Ky herself. Gabriel was fast, but Ky already had a head start. She'd have even more of one if Quinn went back to the site now.

She bit her lip again.

And then she ran, because she knew it was the only real option she had right now. "Ky, wait!" she called out, not sure if Ky would actually stop if she realized she was being followed.

Back at the site, Gabriel studied where Quinn and Ky had gone off to.

"They're taking too long," Gabriel said.

Ky didn’t wait. Her heart was pounding in her chest so hard it made her stomach sick, but she didn’t slow down. She had to get as far away as possible. Quinn was probably going to go get Gabriel and Ky struggled to outrun grown men. She needed to get out of sight and up a tree or under a log or… or… somewhere that she could hide rather than run. That was her best bet.


“They are,” Pratik agreed with a frown. Then, in the distance, a faint “wait” that sounded worried. He sprang to his feet and broke into a sprint towards them in an instant.

It was at times like this that Gabriel really wished he still had wings. He could try making them with magic, but they were always clunky and hard to use for the first minute that followed their creation. They wouldn't be good for shooting above the tree line and then rushing after the others.

So he did the next best thing and ran after Pratik. When he finally caught up to him, Quinn was coming into view. She ran for another moment before skidding to a stop. Gabriel stopped, too. Ky was nowhere in sight.

"She-she ran off," Quinn said, clearly out of breath. She took in a gulp of air. "She was worried about us getting hurt, so I-"

She glanced over at Pratik.

"-told her the truth about me, and told her the truth about you," she said to Gabriel.

"Which is when she ran again," Gabriel guessed.

Quinn nodded.

Pratik looked between them warily. “…which is?”

Probably best to give Ky a few minutes anyhow. Let her think she got a head start so she’d slow down and hopefully hole up somewhere. She seemed more of the hiding type than the running type, and, luckily, Pratik was good at finding people. He’d give her a breather then go make sure nothing was coming after her.

After he determined how much of a threat these two were to himself and Ky. What truth could have made Ky bolt?