My Demonic Ghost: Banished Spirits by Jacinta Maree Page A

swiftly on his heel, unimpressed. As he walked back into the trees, his eyes rolled upward as the light skimmed along the branches arching and sheltering him into the shade; his skin, eyes, and hair slipping away from its angelic glow and back into normal.
    “Right.” Gargoyle glanced over his shoulder, “My debt has been repaid for now, you’d best pray I never come across you again. Next time I won’t be so kind...”
    Lock tilted his head in question, but Gargoyle had already stepped back into the passing breeze, shattering into white sparks. Under the soft light you could hardly see the last vestiges flickering away in the breeze.
    I waited for Lock to speak but he stood completely still, face turned away, watching. My fingers twitched with eagerness, a driving force that made me want to usher Lock back indoors.
    “Lock, I think you should come back inside,” I suggested. But Lock didn’t react to my warnings and instead kept completely still. Then, he turned to face me once more, moving ever so delicately like he was stepping on brittle egg shells.
    “I think they’re distracted…”
    “Who’s distracted?”
    “They are, the Hunters, they can’t get me because… something else is happening… they’re distracted.”
    “How do you know that?”
    “Because of what that stupid Hunter just did. I don’t know why, but he showed it to me…Hunters don’t usually stay on the surface because they can’t hide like we do. They are too obvious and stand out from all the other humans. So, when he stepped into the sun light and revealed what he really was, the other Hunters didn’t teleport him back; they didn’t hide him from you… They’re not watching the daylight…”
    That’s right! Just like how everyone turned and watched Gargoyle at the market place; having that type of attention all the time would be too risky.
    “I don’t know how long this will last for. We need to start moving now.”
    “But what will that do?”
    “They know where I am, where your house is, and how to find us. If we move, if we run far away from here, then they wouldn’t be able to track us.” With his mind made up, Lock grabbed my hand, pulling me forward. I tripped over myself as Lock bounded through the front door and into the open parking space. The cool breeze was lost behind the vise-like grip of Lock’s icy hands.
    The sun was chequered by clouds, which were crawling sideways allowing small patches of radiance to spill out the gaps. I watched the soft shaft of light breaking through the holes and cutting out, like the flickering of a faulty light, as Lock moved obliviously onwards. I started to pull back, nearing the end of the driveway and Lock slowed in reaction, feeling the backwards protest of my weight.
    He slowed, tossed his head over his shoulder, and glanced towards me questionably.
    “Lock we can’t…” I trailed off, not knowing what fury may burst through him if I spoke. He was like a game of Russian roulette, never knowing which cylinder had the bullet until you held it to your head and pulled the trigger. I couldn’t just run off, it was stupid and idiotic and could only cause further problems. What would we do? Where would we go? And Mum, how would that look? She’ll panic, she’ll hire the entire police force and detective squad to track me down, and when they do find me, what would I say? Sorry Mum, but I had to run away with this strange boy because of reasons that I cannot tell you, hope that’s okay.
    Lock paused and nodded, frustrated but understanding.
    “When that woman gets back tell her you need to go somewhere. That it’s ‘important’ and you can’t miss it,” he ordered.
    I felt unsure. Would she let me go? Probably. She did allow me to come here on my own, but then what? Sit underneath a bridge, waiting for the Staff to find us along with food and water?
    “We can stay at the house back in the city.”
    It was weird how different these two worlds were, the city and