“Did you see Simon?” Natsuki asked quickly, half hoping Macaria had imagined it. Macaria nodded, her eyes wide. Relief hit her like a breath she didn’t know she was holding. At least someone they trusted saw them. Maybe—just maybe—Simon could do something miraculous.
But that hope died the second frost began to crawl over the passenger-side window like a death omen.
Natsuki tensed. “What the hell is that?!”
Renley shrank an inch into her seat. “Frosty psycho alert. He’s... kind of terrifying. And he usually brings his equally unhinged assistant.”
“Wonderful,” Natsuki muttered. “Why not throw a clown car of murderers after us while we’re at it?”
“We’re going to be cornered the second we stop,” Hoshiko said. “We need a pn. A real one.”
The pn, apparently, did not include Renley’s driving. She swerved violently to dodge a pedestrian, unching Natsuki against the freezing window while Macaria, who thankfully had her seatbelt on, stayed glued to her seat.
The driver’s mirror sheared off as Renley sideswiped a passing car. It cttered onto the pavement behind them.
“That’s it! I am not dying like this!” Natsuki screamed, hauling herself into the front seat like a woman possessed. She fought Renley for the wheel.
"RENLEY, WHO is after you?!" Macaria shouted, her mind buzzing with half-formed questions.
"SHADOW DAWN! I said that already!" Renley barked back, wrestling for control.
"I KNOW THAT. I MEAN WHO SPECIFICALLY?!"
"Two psycho assistants from Luxtra! They were tailing me, and now Vincent and Felix have joined the chase because SOMEHOW we drove past them and now there are FOUR PEOPLE after us!"
Macaria and Natsuki yelled in unison, “FOUR?!”
Just ahead, a girl with stark white hair stood on the sidewalk—Renley’s almost-victim from earlier. A dark orb formed in her palm.
"Is that revenge magic?" Natsuki asked, stunned.
Renley, noticing her, steered directly toward the girl.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Natsuki tried to wrench the wheel away, but Renley’s grip was iron.
The girl’s face went pale. She stood frozen.
Then, like magic—because it was—Simon appeared in a fsh of pale-yellow light, grabbing the girl’s arm and yanking her out of the way. Both of them tumbled to the concrete.
Crowds screamed. Pedestrians scattered. Renley veered right and barreled back into her ne.
“D-did you almost hit someone?!” Macaria stammered.
“She was technically in my way,” Renley muttered.
“PULL OVER!” Natsuki shrieked.
“There’s nowhere to go without getting grabbed!”
“I have an idea,” Hoshiko said calmly. “It might be crazy.”
“More than this?” Macaria replied, ducking as a mppost whipped by.
A loud POP shattered their argument. The car jolted. Natsuki looked into the rearview mirror.
The tire was gone.
“Great,” she muttered. “We’ve got company. That was electric magic.”
She scanned the sidewalk—and sure enough, Simon was sprinting alongside the car, waving frantically.
Natsuki banged on the locked window. “Unlock it, Renley!”
“I DON’T KNOW HOW!”
“Yes, you DO!”
A CRACK burst from the back seat.
They turned to see Macaria gring, arm raised. She’d shattered the frozen window with wind magic. Gss glistened like snowfkes.
Simon’s voice came through, but between the honking, yelling, and hurricane-grade wind, it was nonsense.
Natsuki leaned close to hear him—then shrieked.
Ice coated the sidewalk. Simon slipped, skidding like a cartoon across the sheet before vanishing into a portal.
“Simon!” Natsuki gasped.
A thud hit the roof. Scratching followed.
“What NOW?!” Macaria shouted.
“Don’t panic!” Renley said with forced cheer as she turned down a narrow side street.
Everyone panicked.
Then two white paws gripped the broken window’s edge—and Mochi the cat popped her head inside.
“MOCHI?!” Macaria excimed.
The cat blinked, scanned the chaos inside the car, and narrowed her eyes toward the back.
A white dog with glowing red eyes was sprinting after them.
“Anyone own a demonic dog?” Macaria asked nervously.
Mochi hissed. Then—with feline vengeance—she climbed back on the roof, summoned a glowing fireball, and hurled it at the beast.
The fireball exploded against its face. It yelped, slowed, and staggered.
Mochi climbed back in through the window and settled on the seat—soot-streaked, scratched, and slightly bloodied. She shook out her fur, sending ash everywhere.
Macaria spotted a phone strapped to her back. The lock screen showed Simon and two adults—his parents, presumably.
“Renley, LEFT!” Natsuki shouted.
Renley jerked the car onto a road hugging the ke. One wrong move and they’d take a moonlit dive.
Macaria unbuckled. Mochi looked up.
“Hold on,” she whispered. The cat obediently cwed into her shoulder.
Macaria lunged forward, gripped the wheel, and yanked.
“What the hell?!” Renley cried.
“Just trust me!” Macaria shouted.
The car darted through traffic like a silver bullet. Macaria closed her eyes.
Then—CRASH.
The guardrail split open.
Metal shrieked.
And they flew.
Moonlight hit the windshield.
And then: water.
Cold, deep, and endless.
