"Wow, Cat, that was incredible!"
"How did you do that?"
"That was amazing!"
That was the chorus with which the boys swarmed Cat upon returning to reality.
"It was nothing, really," she said with false modesty. "What matters now is that we know this isn't just a game."
"Who would've thought you were right?" Hugo remarked. "Mica, you can't say we don't live adventures anymore. We just fought a Dragon! And it was real! Well... technically real."
Despite the evidence, Mica's logic still resisted. It was too far-fetched. He avoided making any comment, although it wasn't as if he had anything to object to.
Besides, that wasn't what his mind was focused on now. Instead, he watched Cat, standing there in the alley, cheerful and smiling, when only seconds earlier he had seen her overflowing with power, displaying a confidence and determination worthy only of the most iconic heroines in fantasy.
He wanted to say something special, to get closer to her somehow, but apart from not knowing how to do it, Jacob chose that exact moment to put an arm around her shoulders and say with a smile:
"You saved me. I guess I owe you one now."
"Like I said, Jacob, it was nothing. It was what we had to do," she replied in a formal tone, but rather than disappearing, her smile widened, accompanied by a slight blush.
"Guys, what about Sarah?" Tomás asked.
The celebration came to a halt. Once again, someone was missing.
"The last time I saw her, she was fighting to free me. Then she disappeared," Jacob reported. "I don't think anything happened to her. Maybe she's in the basement."
Without waiting for anyone to comment, he approached Tavern's back door to test his theory. When he opened it, they came face-to-face with the short, plump woman who had thrown them out of Tavern earlier, just as she was reaching for the doorknob.
"What are you doing here?" the woman asked, surprised. "Rafael was supposed to guard the alley so you couldn't get in. Rafael! Why did you let these brats through?"
The lack of an answer reminded the group that Sarah wasn't the only one who hadn't returned. Mr. No had been left crystallized at the bottom of a flooded room.
"Rafael? Where could he have gone? Rafael!"
The woman stepped into the alley, but without moving away from the doorway, keeping it guarded.
"And you? Are you going to keep standing here? Get out! I already told you I didn't want to see you around here again."
"But, ma'am, your daughter..." Cat began.
"I said get out! Leave, or I'll call the police!"
After the threat, the teenagers had no choice but to leave.
As they turned the corner, Hugo nearly tripped over a man leaning against the wall of the neighboring building. The collision made Mica bump into him as well, and he almost ended up on the ground. The man didn't even flinch.
"Sorry," Hugo said loudly before stepping around him and muttering for himself, "No, excuse
you
, sir. You shouldn't be standing in the middle of the sidewalk as if you owned it."
Mica, meanwhile, said nothing. He studied the man and could have almost sworn he recognized him. Sunglasses, a sports cap, a Hawaiian shirt over a black T-shirt, blond hair, and a cigarette between his lips. He was more focused on the horizon than on the group filing past him after nearly knocking him over.
Although the man hadn't reacted at any point, Mica had a bad feeling about him. But he stopped thinking about it as they walked away and heard Jacob say:
"Don't worry, Cat. I'll find a way to get in later and see if Sarah's okay."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"All I want is to feel your fear," said the dark figure that had been tormenting her for several minutes now.
Sarah had tried to return to her world several times, but every time, something expelled her the moment she managed to enter it. Andros, for his part, could offer only one explanation: she needed greater willpower to keep the other Master from subjugating her.
Another Master? Was she already in that situation? She thought she had more time. She thought she was strong.
"Come now. There's no point in a hunt when the prey won't even try to beg for its life."
On her latest attempt to return, she had ended up transported to a dark place with blue stone walls that reflected ripples of water. There was no water anywhere, and the only source of light fell upon her from nowhere, like a supernatural spotlight.
Thinking she had finally returned to her world, she snapped her fingers to regain her power, only to realize two things. Nothing happened, and her hands and feet were still bound behind her back.
Trying to remain calm, she attempted to reshape reality without success. Little by little, she came to accept that this wasn't her world. But it wasn't the real world either, so...
Just as she reached that conclusion, the figure wrapped in the dark cloak appeared several meters in front of her.
At first, it neither moved nor said anything, frightening her even more through its complete lack of action. After several minutes, it finally spoke. And when it did, the voice was strange, distorted, disturbing.
Although she didn't show it—or at least wanted to believe she didn't—Sarah was terrified. She felt tiny, overwhelmed, helpless.
Only minutes earlier, she had believed she was in control of the situation, but suddenly, the owner of that strange voice had been able to do whatever he wanted with her. She was completely at his mercy.
"So? Are you going to ruin my game?"
Sarah didn't answer, but at the same time, she looked away. It was becoming almost impossible for her to hide her fear and continue looking at her captor.
"You cannot imagine my disappointment," the figure continued, now slowly walking around her. "I've come from very far away for this. I was sent specifically to finish you. I expected a little more excitement."
"Who sent you?" Sarah asked, the only worthwhile question she could think of—the kind of thing heroes normally asked in stories.
"Oh, so you haven't gone mute, huh? It doesn't matter if I answer that. You wouldn't know. I've been watching you, and all I've discovered is your ignorance, your naivety. Do you think that by ignoring the war you're a part of, you'll be spared from it?"
The war.
Andros had warned her about it, and that was precisely why she had been looking for squires, why she had been training, but... She had never thought that... What hadn't she thought? Had she ever really taken it seriously?
"I don't know why my boss fears you so much. No, perhaps fear isn't the right word. Respect, maybe?"
"If he fears me, then he knows me, and I know him. Tell me who he is," Sarah said, trying to keep up her act of being tough and self-assured. Even though she knew she had no chance, and that was exactly why fear had its claws around her. The fact that her captor did nothing but talk calmed her a little, allowing her to keep up the façade.
"Not you. Your Angelino."
"Andros? What does Andros have to do with any of this?"
The captor growled in frustration.
"Your ignorance is starting to irritate me. This feels like a joke. This entire hunt is pointless if you have no idea you're being hunted. I should just finish this once and for all. If only I didn't still have to..."
Ignoring how, Sarah sensed a third presence. An incredibly powerful one. If identifying her captor's strength was like feeling a tennis ball beneath a mattress, the newcomer's was like feeling an elephant. The difference was absurd.
Without a word, her captor disappeared, and the world around her collapsed, leaving her alone in Tavern's basement once again.
Nervous, Sarah tried to free herself once more with all her strength. She was drenched in sweat, and her heart felt as if it were about to explode.
The basement door creaked open, and Sarah thought she was going to faint.
"Darling! Sarah! What happened?!" her mother shouted when she found her in that state, rushing down the stairs to help her.
The fear didn't leave her, but hearing her mother's voice brought her some relief. Still, as her mother struggled with the restraints the only thing Sarah could do was cry.