Chapter 26: Gone

Earlier…

"Lea?" Mai called out as she walked through the stairs carefully, "Lea?"

A hand pushed Mai down the stairs and luckily, Mai reacted fast enough to take out her wings and hover slightly before getting injured. Mai heard a footstep and she quickly hid in the shadows.

"John?"

"Mai," John smiled. "What happened? Where's Lea?"

Mai stepped out of the shadow, "I haven't seen her yet, something pushed me down the stairs so I had to protect myself. Is there anyone home other than us?"

"No, I heard from the maids that Mr. Goutokuji and Mr. Takeshi went out to take care of some business," John informed her. "Mrs. Reila went out to have a check-up and her husband came with her. Apparently they're expecting a child."

"And they think staying in the mansion is safe?" Mai flatly said, shaking her head. "The more we need to exorcise the spirit."

"We still don't know if it's a spirit," John said.

"Yeah…" Mai said, looking around, just in case she does see Lea, "So…"

"Mai, aren't you going to put your hair up?" Mai's hair was down and John recalled the dangers of having a long hair.

"Oh, it must've fallen when I fell," she brought her hand up to her hair, searching for the elastic. When she didn't feel them, she looked around her before shaking her head in defeat. "I lost the band, so I can't tie my hair up."

A sharp thing passed by the two of them and Mai yelped, "What was that?"

"Mama!" Lea's faint voice reached Mai's sensitive ears.

"John! I hear her!" Mai passed by John in a blink of an eye.

Mai was flying so fast that she almost didn't notice that her surroundings had changed. It was now a dark, corridor-less place. Mai halted when Lea's voice stopped. It was only faint, no matter how fast she flew. Mai, then, realized that it was a trap.

Before she could escape, the room shrunk and she was like being squished. Her lungs were like they were deprived of air and full of water.

'Murderer!'

Mai screamed.

John had seen all this and immediately started a prayer the moment his companion shot off the hallway and the room returned to normal.

"Mai!" John finally caught up to her, and he found her on the floor, unconscious. Her white wings was still out and some feathers had fallen. Not that it mattered, an angel's wings can never have less than a thousand feathers on a single wing.

"Mai," John repeated, trying to wake her. The brunette didn't budge, so John did as he and Mai promised earlier.

John was not ordinary, but he wasn't extraordinary either. He wasn't an angel like Mai.

John, ever since he was small, was born into a family who worshiped angels more than they did to a God. When he turned 3, he died as a sacrifice to call an Angel, in the end of the ceremony the angel pitied the little boy and revived him. John accepted the life the Angel gave him and ever since then, he lived his life as someone who assists angels with a bond; A bond that John was living on.

His bond with the angel who saved him was broken when that angel died, exactly a week after SPR broke off. John was devastated and he was dying. When he found out Mai was an angel, he and she formed a bond.

A feather marking that symbolizes their bond was in between his shoulder blade running towards his collar bone on the left side.

The moment John lifted Mai, her wings shone and it disappeared.

He went straight into the base, not wasting even a second.

"There's another spirit," John said after his carefully-thought explanation.

"Oh, that must be good ol' Bill. He was always a soapy guy," the man grinned. "Hullo there, how's the an-"

John prohibited the man to say the word. The purpose of bonds is to keep the secret of the angel they are bonded with.

"Ah, she has a knight?" the man said and turned to John, "Ooh so how did you die?"

The room went silent, not like it was noisy before, "What do you mean how did he die?"

"Before that, what do you mean by knight?" Ayako said annoyed.

Mai stirred awake and she sat up tensely, "Where's Lea?"

"It was a trap," John smiled at her reassuringly and immediately, she relaxed.

"Hello little angel" the man smiled at her.

"It's Mai, Finn." She glared, emphasizing his name in a tone of anger and disgust.

"Finn?!" Monk, Ayako and Yasuhara said altogether. The man was wrinkly and old, almost decaying. His body was hidden completely by his tail coat, trousers and gloves, "I thought he'd be younger?"

"He is," Kyle said, stepping in, "Young, I meant."

"Ah, little reaper," the man called Finn, smiled. "Glad to know someone's still smart these days/"

Everyone watched as Finn removed several layers of clay-like masks in his face, revealing a younger, handsome and freckled man, "Surprise!"

"How are you still alive?" Naru asked, ignoring Finn's happy greeting.

"I came from a special family. They have their ways, and it passed down to me. Believe me when I say my mother just passed away a year ago."

"Like Harry Potter?" Monk asked, "You're telling us you're from Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry?"

Ayako hit him on the head.

"Are you serious right now? You expect us to believe that?"

"If someone can revive from death, why can't you run away from death?" Finn smiled creepily, "Am I not correct, little reaper?"

Kyle gritted his teeth. He can't attack him now. He needed someone to divert the rests' attention. Mai saw his worry and willed for the objects upstairs to crash and move. Immediately, everyone's attention turned to the noise. Naru moved to the monitor and quickly went out, everyone followed.

Mai glanced back at Kyle before following the rest of her team outside.

Kyle automatically changed into his uniform and stretched his wings out, he smiled at Finn, "Hello there little one, how about a game of catch?"

"You'll never catch me," Finn smiled, "I've escaped from the fastest, from the fiercest. You look far from their level."

"But that's where you're wrong," Kyle's golden eyes turned red. "I'm not completely angel."

Finn paled. He tried to run away but he was too slow. He moved to the left and Kyle was already in front of him, "W-what are you?!"

"A dangerous being." Kyle smiled, "but I'm not the only one."

Laughter erupted in the room and SPR stopped as the door banged shut.

"Elizabeth! Elizabeth!" a slurred voice said. Masako clutched Mai's arms worriedly, and Mai held her back. Everyone else stepped in front of the two to shield them just in case.

"Lin!" Naru warned as soon as the outline of Stanley appeared. Lin called his shiki but the spirit disappeared again. John started his prayer and Monk started his chant just in case.

"Elizabeth!" A hand trailed on Mai's and Masako's joint arms. Masako's nails dug deeper on Mai's arms and Mai held on Masako tightly. "Don't let go Mai," Masako said, tears on the rims of her eyes.

"I won't," Mai said as a force came in between them like it was ripping both their joint arms. Mai felt heavy hand tug on her back and that was all it took for them to fly into opposite walls. Masako cried in pain and so did Mai.

"You think you could get away with it?"

Mai's eyes grew wide in confusion. That wasn't the voice that called her a murderer, this voice was a female.

"Masako!" Mai ignored the pain on her back and the voice altogether. The hand holding her back was as cold as ice and it was just as sharp. Mai shut her eyes tightly, feeling the hand tighten on her, expecting a hard blow.

"What is your problem!" Stanley said.

Mai opened her eyes and saw Masako on the floor, huffing hard. Ayako and Monk was attending to her. Apparently, the voice wasn't targeting Mai. It was Stanley she was targeting.

"Do it now!" the voice said.

John started his prayer and Stanley struggled in invisible force. Stanley sent wafts of sharp air, cutting John's clothes mildly and his face, but he ignored it.

When John finished his prayer, Stanley disappeared.

"Was it always that easy?" Monk asked, confused.

"Let's just head back to the base," Ayako said, "John is wounded and the girls are hurt."

They all headed back to the base with tired and aching all over. Kyle was sitting on the couch, calm and silent. Mai sent him a look and he nodded in reply.

"How did you do it?" Mai asked.

"I have my ways," Kyle winced as he stood up. Mai's eyes widened and a wave of panic ran in her body as she rushed over to him, "Again?" She gave him a disapproving look as she supported him.

For some strange reasons (Mai did not know), Kyle would end up really tired as if he has no energy left in him. His body becomes cold and he wouldn't be able to fly much less control his powers.

"I'm sorry Naru, I have to go with Kyle," Mai said, trying to hold Kyle up.

Naru moved to help her but Kyle stepped back. "Mai can do it alone," he said weakly.

"Someone's jealous," a voice whispered in his ears. Naru turned around swiftly.

"They could be doing anything right now," the voice said again, "That wench is a manipulator. All she needs to do is strip."

"I'd be an idiot if I'd be bothered," Naru said.

"Oh, but they really are doing it" the voice said. The room went dark and Naru saw an image. It was Mai and Kyle. Naru gritted his teeth in annoyance.

"Finally understood?" the voice sounded like it was smiling, "We don't need that girl"

Naru kept watching.

"She has to disappear."

Naru's fist was clenched tightly until it went white and it was shaking.

"She deserves to-"

The room went cold and objects started shaking. Naru used his PK and the voice disappeared. He walked on the hallway and each time he passed by a door, it opened with a loud noise. He didn't stop even when he felt himself draining of energy an slowly falling unconscious.

By the time he checked the last door, his worries was gone and he fell on the floor.

"Naru!" Mai said, worriedly. Kyle was resting like a corpse and now, so was Naru.

Edited 07/08/16.