268. Devin stared hard at the Mayor, waiting for more. "I'm not with you right now, what does that even mean?" Devin finally snapped. "A vessel for what? Why are you speaking in riddles at a time like this?" The old Mayor laughed, shaking his head. "Oh, my dear friend. There is so much that you don't know, even while knowing so much. I was speaking literally, not in riddles." "A vessel..." The man said. "Is more like a shell. A body that was stolen, filled and corrupted, removing the original soul. That thing parading as the new Mayor is actually inhabited by an ancient spirit, a very dangerous one that is even much more older than the city itself." Devin couldn't believe his ears. "An ancient spirit?" "Yes." The Mayor sighed. "It feeds on conflict, chaos, ruins, destruction, violence, disasters, that sort of thing. That is its food. And Gloria had made sure that he has the perfect front to do that." Devin raked a hand through his hair, pacing. "Let me get this

270. Petra had been trying her best to stay strong with her pregnancy, but a lot of things weighed her down. She needed to feel in control of her own body, so she kept up with the gentle pregnancy workouts that her doctor had suggested as they told her that her baby was growing rapidly and was much bigger than a lot of foetuses in the same age range. The exercises would help her carry easier and increase the chances of a successful delivery. That evening, the apartment was quiet. The curtains had been drawn shut and she had soft, motivational workout music played in the background, and Petra stood on her yoga mat in leggings and a loose tank top. The sweat glistened on her forehead as she stretched carefully, rolling her shoulders. “Breathe in… breathe out…” She muttered to herself, mimicking the trainer from the video she had half-watched earlier. For a moment, it felt almost normal. Just her, the steady flow of her breathing, and the little fluttering movements of the baby in

272. "Devin..." "Devin, wake up..." Devin lazily opened his eyes to find Amanda staring at him with her hands on his shoulders, eyes wide. He pushed her off him immediately, pushing himself up. "What happened?" Max hurried to him. "I think you should sit down for a while, boss. That was quite... something." Devin looked at Max in confusion until the memories came rushing back to him. He had lost control due to the pain. He could even feel the strains of the mark on his arms and chest, but it had become fairly bearable. He got up and looked around warily. They were in a large, open building that had a golden colour with different statues all around, including one of a large bronzed bull behind his back. Devin turned to Amanda. "What is this place?" "Well..." Amanda folder her arms in annoyance, looking at him. "After you nearly killed us all, I managed to get us out of the car and stay here to rest. You're welcome." Devin nodded. "How did you know this wou

274. Petra’s eyes opened to nothing but darkness. Her head throbbed like it’d been smashed against stone, and for a moment, she couldn’t tell where she was or how she had gotten there. And then she remembered those men and started to scream, only, when she tried to move, her wrists jerked back with a clanging sound. “What the hell?” She tugged her wrist and the rattle of the metal told her the reality. She had been chained up. Her wrists and ankles were chained to the stone floor. And not just any chains, she noticed, as these ones had a weird glow and burned her as she moved. “Shit.” She whispered, yanking again, trying to ignore the pain she felt. “Just my luck.” Her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she saw that she was alone now. “Hello?” She called out. “Kidnappers?” Petra sighed. “Okay, Petra. Calm down, you’re fine. You just got kidnapped by psychos, again. Just breathe.” But her throat tightened the moment she thought of her baby. She looked down at her sto

276. Devin heard the call cut and groaned. "What the fuck?" Amanda took the phone. "What? She hung up?" "Yes." Devin muttered, gripping the steering wheel hard enough that his knuckles went white. "She could have given me more information, at least." Amanda tried calling back but the response was "Switched off". "Do you think it's real? She could be setting you up." "She told me where Petra is, and if she's lying, she's dead. But if she's not, then Petra's running out of time." Max, sitting at the back, sighed. "We're not even close yet, and you can't just drive straight into the lion's den without thinking this through." "I've done dangerous things for less." Devin said, speeding up. Amanda leaned back, her eyes flicking over the marks glowing under Devin's sleeve. "Well, good news at least, the marks were all on point. You were heading in the right direction." "Yeah, but we're still as far as hell." Max muttered. Devin's gripped the wheel tighter