Golden light eclipsed Lucy's view as she felt her hands being ripped apart molecule by molecule and reformed just as fast in the attempt to escape. Her brother's voice echoed from all around her. He sounded frantic and scared. Lucy had to save him, and not all of Time would keep her contained.
Lucy pulled on the weak spot with all her might, but this time it wouldn't budge. Tears leaked down Lucy's face as she her arms began to shake and falter under the pressure. She was thrown back by a mysterious energy as Time fixed itself. She was trapped and began to scream. A sudden jolt of electricity hit her before she fell off the bed.
A dream, Lucy thought with a sigh of relief. Caan quickly glided back into the closet without a word; he must have sensed danger. It wasn't the kindest way to wake someone up, but Lucy was grateful. She pulled herself off the floor and walked to the bathroom with a slight stumble. The water from the faucet felt good on her face as she washed it. Looking into the mirror, she noted the bags under her eyes. Sleep was hard to come by these days. Being chased by creeps during the day and having nightmares at night had drained her of energy. Using a towel to wipe her face, she thought about her previous adventures and looked back into the mirror.
Out of the corner of her eye, Lucy noticed a shadow move in the mirror and turned quickly to see… nothing. Looking back into the mirror, she tried to find anything out of the ordinary. Nothing was out of place. With a sigh she left the bathroom and put on her running shoes and the hoodie; D'Artagnan looked up from the bed wearily. He had turned into a cat before they went to sleep. Now he stretched before jumping onto Lucy and turned into a scarf as Lucy walked toward the door.
Lucy turned to the closet with her hand on the doorknob and said, "I'm going for a walk, Caan. I'll be back soon."
There was no answer, but Lucy knew that he had heard her. She closed the door softly behind her. The motel here was a nicer one than Lucy was used to, but when they'd landed in Los Angeles, Lucy had immediately cashed in to the only motel nearby that was both private and accepting of cash. Sneaking Caan inside had been incredibly difficult with all of the people around. However, with a giant cardboard box and some ingenuity, Lucy had managed it.
The sound of waves hitting the shore drew Lucy toward the ocean. A walk might just be what she needed. D'Artagnan tightened around Lucy as she walked closer to the water, and Lucy touched him reassuringly. He relaxed with her touch. Lucy walked down the beach, careful not to get too close to the water. She took a seat on the sand and looked out into the ocean. It was still dark outside, but there was the faintest line of light over the horizon. Ghost crabs ran around the beach. Their white bodies almost blending in with the sand as they bolted around and tried to find their burrows before the sun came up. Lucy smiled at them, feeling a kinship with the odd critters. As soon as the sun was up, she'd retreat into her room for the day. Perhaps her dreams would be more pleasant during the day.
Lucy collapsed and laid on the beach. Even on the beach away from most of the city lights, she could barely make out a few of the brightest stars. With a loud sigh she closed her eyes. Sleeping on the beach wasn't the best of ideas, but she could at least rest her eyes for the moment. They'd been in this world for a couple of days now.
Caan's repair work was finished, but he still wasn't acting like his normal self. He was quiet most of the time. While he still came to her rescue when necessary, it wasn't the Leeroy Jinkins style that Lucy had become accustomed to. She had asked him but received no reply. Over the past months of them traveling from world to world, she had grown used to his presence, but now she wondered if he was having second thoughts. Maybe he didn't know where they were going anymore.
Quite frankly, Lucy was amazed at how much he had already known. They had been thrown into this odd adventure, and Caan had taken the lead and made sure that they got to the next place. Maybe they weren't headed in the right direction like Lucy had thought; maybe Caan had realized that they wouldn't make it home. Lucy quickly sat up and brushed the sand out of her hair. No, that couldn't be it. The Mistress had said that Lucy had met one of her previous incarnations. It had been the first time that The Master had met Lucy, and she had left a mark. She hadn't met him yet, so Lucy had to get back at some point.
She turned back toward the motel to see its lights shining in the distance. While she didn't normally spend this much money to get a nice place near the water, she was glad that she had. The ocean calmed her nerves as she stared at its glistening surface. The sun had just started to rise. Soon the streets would be bustling with people, and Lucy would head back to the motel and try to get some more sleep. Taking a deep breath of the ocean air, Lucy looked down the beach and saw something that made her pause.
Getting up slowly, she crept behind the lifeguard station to hide. A man and a woman were on the beach. They were arguing, but that wasn't what caught Lucy's attention. Bright white wings sprouted from the man's back, obscuring everything around them. Lucy's body felt almost numb with amazement and wonder. She couldn't explain why they were so radiant, but as he moved them, Lucy realized that they were without a doubt part of the man and not a costume. They moved like a bird's wing. The feathers were almost fluffed with irritation.
Lucy turned her attention to the woman. She was dressed in all black with sharp clothing, and even her body language seemed on edge as the man ordered her to do something. Suddenly, the woman took out a knife as the man turned his back to her. Lucy almost shouted out to warn him, but she noticed that he glanced at the knife with satisfaction on his face. The woman took a second to prepare herself.
Watching in horror and fascination, Lucy held back a gasp as the woman sliced off one of the man's wings. The man held back a cry of pain as Lucy stared unblinking in horror. Was this what the man was asking the woman to do? The woman seemed to take no pleasure in cutting off the wings; instead she looked at the cut-off wing with a tinge of sadness.
"The other one now, Maze," the wind carried the man's voice down the beach to Lucy. He had a British accent, which for some reason struck Lucy as odd before she remembered just how messed up the situation was.
The woman took a second to prepare herself to cut the next one off when Lucy's feet started to carry her away from the craziness. A quick look back told her that the woman had noticed but was distracted by something the man said. Lucy put all of her energy in running up the beach and onto the sidewalk. Once she gained traction from the concrete, she bolted as fast as she could. Reaching her room door, she looked back toward the beach. No one appeared to be following her.
The door stuck as she entered the key, so she hurriedly tried it again. This time the door opened. She tried closing the door as quietly as she could and took a second to catch her breath. A quick look out the window told her that no one had caught up to her yet. Lucy closed the blinds and breathed a sigh of relief. Kicking off her shoes, she walked over to the bed. D'Artagnan turned into a cat again and jumped onto the bed and underneath the covers. Lucy made sure to avoid him as she collapsed onto the bed.
After she briefly considering moving, she closed her eyes and tried to relax. That wouldn't be a smart plan at the second. She'd draw more attention if she tried to leave quickly, and neither of the people on the beach had seemed to be in a position to have followed her. The man, if that's really what he was, had one wing cut off and needed the woman to cut off the other. The woman, Maze, had definitely seen Lucy. That was worrying, but for now Lucy needed to rest.
Taking off the sweatshirt, she settled back into the bed. The run from the beach had depleted what little energy she had left. Her legs ached. The bed felt remarkably soft now, and her eyelids were so heavy. Part of her was afraid that they'd discover her room, but what could they do to her anyway? Death wasn't really much of a big deal for her anymore although she was afraid that one time she wouldn't be able to come back. One of them seemed to be an angel. Or at least this world's equivalent of an angel. The woman seemed more dangerous to Lucy.
Lucy let out a yawn and snuggled into the pillow. She'd deal with the angel and his accomplice tomorrow, but for now sleep took hold as the world went dark around her.