Baia, the Reptilian celebrity, has trapped us in her dressing room with two navy blue wolves. Right at this moment they are advancing on us and their warning growls are making my skin crawl. My heart is beating so fast, it feels like it will burst out of my chest.

  Why are wolves here? How did they even get them in the dressing room?!

  Baia’s hand slides to her belt, pressing the buckle, which immediately starts blinking in green.

  “I think she just called backup.” Manuchar tells me, wearily.

  They are coming for us and the wolves are here to ensure that we don’t run away.

  “Listen, we are your fans, just some kids who are trying to meet our idol…”

  “Cut the bullshit. I know who you are, Nia and Manuchar from The Order of the Crux. I have direct orders to trap you here until they arrive.”

  “Nia and who? Order of what?! I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

  Give me an Oscar right now.

  Manuchar spins around and grabs a chair, holding it out in front of him like a weapon.

  “Nia… get behind me and stay by the wall.” He says to me in a determined voice. I think it’s cute and a little sad that he thinks he can hold the wolves off with the piece of wood. It will only delay the inevitable for five more seconds.

  Am I ready to be torn apart by blue wolves? No. When I left the house in the morning I had no idea what a crazy day I was going to have - being attacked by the Atlantean girl again, remembering my past life, measuring my Energolight in the Spirit Cabinet, initiation ritual into the Order and having my skin branded… and finally, it would all end in being eaten alive by some beasts in a famous singer’s dressing room.

  I’m not built for this. I can’t handle the stress, I should have stayed at the concert hall and waited for the situation to resolve itself. Just why did I have to go looking for trouble?! Am I going to die? Is this it?

  “Please…” I whimper, “don’t kill us!”

  I sound pathetic to my ears. I wish I could go out like a hero, not like a loser begging for her life.

  Baia discards her tiny towel on the floor and walks over to the well-lit dressing table, equipped with the highest quality makeup set, and sits down.

  “Don’t worry, you won’t die, I think…” She adds to herself.

  Manuchar and I share a look and then we both glance at the door. I know what he’s thinking, because I’m also thinking it… We need to get the hell out of here.

  Maybe I can make it to the door before the wolves realize what I’m doing? Manuchar nods at me, grabbing the chair tighter.

  Well, there’s no time to waste, then.

  I dash to the door and start looking for the handle or even a lock of some sort, but the surface is completely smooth. I push it with all my might, but it won’t budge under my weight. I start to panic. I’m sure there was a doorknob here. Where did it go?!

  I feel like Alice, having an exceptionally bad trip in Wonderland.

  I hear a deep growl behind me. It was expected, but my mouth still goes dry and my knees go weak. I turn my head and see the terrifying sight of a huge, blue wolf leaping into the air, coming directly towards me, determined to bite my head off.

  Time slows down, I scream and jump out of the way, crashing into the wall.

  The wolf turns and jumps onto me again. Manuchar, miraculously, fends him off by throwing the chair onto the wolf who cries out in pain.

  He shouldn’t have done that.

  The second wolf howls in rage. I’m sure half of the neighborhood heard it. But I doubt anyone will come running to check if someone needs help fighting a wolf.

  “Wolves, halt!” Orders Baia. “Don’t bite them in the wrong place, or the Desolation won’t be precise.”

  Can the wolves understand her? They look like they do. I have no idea what the Desolation is, but I’m hopeful this will stop the wolves.

  But the beasts don’t seem too happy to be ordered around by her. The wolf with the crooked ear, the one that attacked me, lets out an annoyed huff and switches the targets from me to Manuchar, jumping on top of him at lightning speed, knocking him to the ground.

  “NO!” I scream. This is it. Manuchar is going to die a gruesome death in front of my eyes.

  The wolf bares its teeth and sinks them into the air above Manuchar’s shoulder. Manuchar howls in pain and tears trickle down his cheeks. I feel like fainting. I’m waiting for the blood to burst out at any second, but it’s not coming. His sweater doesn’t seem torn either.

  It is a peculiar sight.

  Manuchar keeps lying on the floor, breathing hard with his eyes closed. I cautiously approach and kneel beside him.

  “Manuchar, I think It didn’t bite your shoulder at all, it bit the space around it.”

  Manuchar furrows his brows and his eyes shoot open.

  “What do you mean? It felt like the meat separated from the bone. I even heard a crunchy sound. I’m gonna bleed out and die.”

  “You’re not bleeding!” I try to reason with him.

  Manuchar rolls up his sleeve to see the terrible bite mark… but his skin is intact.

  “Huginn bit your astral-shoulder.” Says Baia and then, seeing our lost expressions adds, “astral body surrounds your physical body and protects it. Biting your astral shoulder completely immobilized its physical counterpart. They are no ordinary wolves, they are the Teja wolves, a.k.a the Wolves of Radiance. They can interact with non-psychical matter, they can touch and harm it. Their teeth are worth millions.”

  “So you’re telling us that… I’m so confused.” I shake my head and lean my back to the wall.

  Manuchar finally sits up and tries to move his arm but it is not cooperating.

  “It doesn’t hurt anymore, but my whole arm is numb, It’s like a dead weight!”

  I lean towards him and touch his shoulder. The skin is surprisingly hot and I immediately get shocked by static.

  “The feeling will eventually come back, but it’s a slow process.” Says Baia. “Just don’t get close to the door and the wolves will leave you alone.”

  “I swear, I won’t do that ever again,” Manuchar raises his healthy hand in surrender.

  The wolves calm down and sit down on the floor.

  “Well, at least it’s better than actually getting bitten, no?” I say encouragingly.

  “It’s like dead meat, though.” He tries to move his arm. It flaps like a fish. It even sounds like a flapping fish…

  “We need to get the hell out of here.” I whisper in his ear.

  “The Revelation Bombs. Grab them.”

  I nod.

  “And call Seraphim with your Order coin. I stupidly left mine at the library.”

  “What are you kids whispering about?” Baia narrows her eyes in suspicion.

  “I’m just asking how he is…”

  ““Hand over your phones right now! Take them out and put them on the ground in front of you!” She folds her arms in front of her chest. She doesn’t trust us at all.

  We do as asked.

  “There’s no signal, anyway. It’s disabled in this room.” Baia picks up the phones and puts them on the table.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  We don’t need the phones, my silver coin can easily contact Father Seraphim if I get a chance of holding it in my hand for several seconds.

  “I’ll get tissues.” I mumble to myself and walk over to my backpack, trying to act super casual.

  Baia returns to her dressing table.

  I grab the bag from the floor and slowly open it. I see her follow my movement from the mirror.

  I need to distract her.

  “Why are the wolves here? Is there a reason you specifically brought these supernatural beings to attack us?” I ask her. “Why not use a gun like a normal person?”

  She sighs, as if she’s too bothered by our annoying questions.

  “Hello? At least talk to us.”

  Manuchar walks to the window and looks down.

  One of the wolves lets out a warning growl but doesn’t budge.

  “It’s too high, we’re trapped here.” Says Manuchar.

  “Listen kids, there’s nothing you can do now. You’re not getting through that door. Just sit down and wait, okay? Demetrikus is already on his way. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be afraid of dying… he will only erase your minds.” Baia whispers the last sentence but we hear her pretty well.

  She turns into a human again. It’s a fascinating sight. Even though my mind is preoccupied with what she just said, I can’t help but stare.

  “Umm excuse me, can you repeat the last part?” I ask her.

  “What do you mean erase our minds?!” Manuchar laughs nervously.

  Baia grabs a make-up cleanser, pours it onto a cotton pad and starts aggressively wiping her face with it.

  “We’re just rookies. This is our first mission. You’re not gonna achieve anything by harming us…”

  Thanks to my special sight, I can see Baia’s Reptilian and then a human face appearing in the mirror, alternating between each other. It’s nauseating. My brain is confused. It probably doesn’t know how to process two images at the same time, so it shows me the images one by one. But if I focus even harder, I can see both faces, Reptilian and human, occupying the same space at the same time.

  “Wow…” I say, stepping closer to Baia.

  “What’re you looking at, kid?” She says bitterly. “Is my real face too ugly for you?”

  “No, I think it’s amazing how you can change appearance like that…”

  “Yes, it’s a pretty good illusion, right? Even I get fooled sometimes… makes me think I’m not some freak from a spaceship… that I’m really a singer, not some spy sent to destroy. ”

  Baia grabs another cotton pad and starts wiping off the remaining makeup with full force. A reflection of the beautiful, famous singer is looking at us through the mirror. A normal human would never guess a Reptilian is hiding underneath. Existential dread tries to fight its way up but I squash it down. There’s no time for that.

  My hand sneaks deeper inside my bag and I finally locate my magical silver coin made out of Ether by none other than Father Seraphim himself. I clutch it in my hand and focus all my attention on it, begging it to contact Seraphim and let him know our location ASAP.

  After several seconds, I feel like the job is done. Seraphim will know where we are and will come and save us… I think.

  Now my hand drifts to the Revelation Bomb, clutching it with all my might. My heartbeat increases, it’s harder to breathe, I don’t know if I’m ready to throw it at her, so I’m stalling.

  Beso told me Reptilians apply their fake faces to their energy fields… If I throw the bomb at her, the human skin will burn off.

  Unfortunately, the bombs most likely won’t work on the wolves, but I’ll still try.

  “Is it a hologram? Or real skin?” I ask Baia.

  I’m stalling. Now that I think about it, it’s hard to throw a bomb at a person. It requires a level of cruelty I’m not sure I possess.

  “Yes, it’s real in a way, just lighter. I don’t know the exact details myself, but it’s not as solid as real human skin. Here, you can touch.”

  She holds out her hand to me.

  I hastily let go of the bomb in the bag and touch her hand.

  The human skin seems pretty real to me.

  “It seems real because it’s overlaid on my real hand. But the fake skin is softer, made out of Ether. You can feel it, right?” She asks.

  I nod.

  Father Seraphim can conjure things from Ether. He’s a Magicker, materializing things from a higher dimension.

  I greatly envy this power by the way.

  I let Baia’s hand go and clutch the bomb again, hoping Baia won’t ask me why my right hand is resting inside my backpack for so long.

  “Can’t you just let us go?” Manuchar asks her.

  “I wish I could, I’m so tired, I want to go home and sleep. I have an early flight tomorrow. But I don’t have a say in anything! You think I like this shit? I just want to sing! I wish they left me the fuck alone!” Baia spits out. “We’re bound to do anything they say, for the survival of our race.”

  “That Demetrikus, is he your boss? He sent the demon after me, didn’t he?” Asks Manuchar.

  I think he’s helping me distract her so I can throw the bomb.

  “So many questions… Take that up with Demetrikus, he will arrive soon. I don’t have time for that nonsense.”

  “It’s nonsense to you but it’s important to us, it’s our lives!” Manuchar raises his voice.

  “Why should I care?!” Baia turns around, her eyes are blazing, “why should I care about humans?! I’m a Reptilian, a corrupted, genetically fucked-up monstrosity who can’t even produce its own Energolight and has to rely on humans to survive!”

  “I thought you fed on our negative emotions, not Energolight.” I say, surprised.

  “Experiencing negative emotions burns up your Energolight. It releases in the air and we collect this second-hand Energolight and eat it. We can’t survive otherwise.”

  So Reptilians eat the burnt up Energolight we emit into the atmosphere, because they can’t create their own.

  It sounds super interesting and I file the information in my mind for later research.

  After we get out of this mess, of course.

  “By the way, we always try to take as little as we can, so that it doesn’t kill you.” Says Baia.

  “Because you worry about the future. If humans die out, there will be no one left to feed upon, right? You keep us alive, but just barely.” Manuchar says, disgusted. “So, don’t act like you feel bad for us.”

  Baia slams the cotton pad on the table and turns around to face us.

  “Whatever! At least we are not in cahoots with Atlanteans! Your evil order is helping those freaks! How can you do that?!”

  I really don’t want to throw the bomb at her, I just want to get out of here and have a nice dinner. I close my eyes, imagining a nice bowl of rice with vegetables.

  But if I want to reach the bowl, I need to escape.

  If Father Seraphim hasn’t received my distress call, I need to take out Baia and the wolves, then call Beso and Salome and tell them to break down the door until Demetrikus arrives.

  If asking nicely doesn’t work, then maybe violence is the answer.

  I look down at the bomb. It is a transparent sphere, a white mist is steadily swirling inside. It looks beautiful but deadly. Will it hurt Baia? Am I ready to harm another being?

  Manuchar softly nudges my shoulder from behind.

  “Nia, do it.” He whispers.

  I nod and take a deep breath.

  I throw the first Revelation Bomb at her. It explodes under her feet. There’s a loud bang and white smoke fills the whole room.

  Baia shrieks like a banshee and falls to the floor.

  I throw the other one at the wolves.

  The smoke burns my throat and my eyes start to water.

  I panic, I wasn’t really expecting it to work. I run to her and kneel down.

  To my horror, Baia’s human skin starts melting off. She’s screaming at the top of her lungs, while the sickly grey skin of the Reptilian creature underneath is slowly revealed to us.

  It’s a gruesome sight. I feel sick.

  Surprisingly, the wolves don’t even care. I can make out their unharmed silhouettes in the fog.

  One of them even yawns.

  Baia starts to cough like crazy, scratching the floor with her long nails.

  “Manuchar! Help!” I yell at him.

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “Fetch me the water bottle from my bag.”

  Manuchar hands the bottle to me. I quickly open it and pour the water on her face, then let her take a sip.

  Baia stops thrashing around and calms down a little.

  I feel terrible, but I am doing what I can to survive. I have to get us out of here.

  I’m not sure how melting Baia’s face off will help us escape, but still…

  I leave her on the floor. She’s quietly sobbing, while I awkwardly retreat to the other side of the room and sit down next to the wolves.

  “What did you achieve by this?! How the hell is this freeing you?!” She cries out. “My face… how am I going to perform now?”

  “I’m still hoping that you will open the door and let us out, or I’ll throw another bomb.” I lie to her.

  My shaky voice doesn’t sound very convincing to my ears.

  “I told you I can’t! We are all locked inside! They don’t trust me either! I hate them! I hate them! I hate you too! I hate everyone!”

  Manuchar and I share a look. He shrugs.

  “Listen, you were harming people with your songs. I’m sorry your career is over, but you need to be stopped, okay?!”

  “I just wanted to sing. They made me harm you. They forced me… I just wanted to sing… My fans are waiting for me…”

  A long, uncomfortable silence descends upon the room.

  “You’re a Seer, aren’t you?” Baia asks me out of the blue. “It means that you see the truth, see what others can’t. Seeing is a very rare gift in humans, it’s a pity you won’t have time to use it…”

  “You’re happy I will be harmed soon, right? Since I hurt you too… Eye for an eye.” I tell her.

  “You’re wrong.” She whispers to herself.

  “Who the hell is this Demetrikus, anyway? What’s his problem with us?” I ask Baia.

  “He's an army lieutenant. We’re under a military regime, as you know, and we’re supposed to obey their every order. He’s been assigned to me, controlling my every step. Has been telling me what to sing about, how to dress, what to say in the interviews.”

  “What exactly is he going to do to us?”

  “All I can promise you is that you will live. If you could call that life, that is...”

  “You mentioned erasing our minds. What does that even mean?”

  “It means what it literally means. Your minds will be erased by these wolves here. They will bite your energetic centres one by one from the lowest point to the highest, until they disable them all, finally reaching your heads. When they take the last bite of your head-centre, it’s done. Your mind is completely gone and you’ll become a walking shadow of yourself.”

  I feel hollow inside. If help doesn’t come soon, we’re going to meet the worst fate imaginable.

  I slide closer to Manuchar and rest my head on his healthy shoulder, desperately clinging to some human warmth in my last moments.

  Without saying a word, Manuchar also rests his head on top of mine.

  What do you say to your friend whose mind is going to be erased?

  Maybe I can make him smile?..

  “Hey, Manuchar?”

  “Yeah?”

  “If we get out of this with our brains intact, will you let me call you Manu?”

  “Not a chance.”

  We both giggle.

  “That’s the thing I’ve always envied about humans. Humor… Being able to joke during the darkest times.” Baia tells us in a broken voice.

  She seems so small sitting on the cold floor…

  “I’m truly sorry for burning your human mask, Baia. It wasn’t personal. You have some really cool songs, I used to listen to your album last year on loop.” I tell her.

  She smiles to herself.

  “I was really good, wasn’t I?”

  Suddenly, there is a faint thrum, the windows and the furniture in the room vibrate, Baia’s make-up products clink together and goosebumps cover my body, warning me that a threat is near.

  “He’s here…” Whispers Baia. “Demetrikus.”