017 Runaway

"I'm going up there!" Themis stormed towards the door.

"Themis, wait!" This time it was Menoetius who stopped her.

"Why are you stopping me!" Themis tossed his hand off her arm, "I know you are happy to see the Lord marking someone else so I will give up, but I won't! I love him! And I won't let some spy he picked up from the street to hurt him!"

"..." Shocked, Menoetius didn't reply. He just turned to Metis, looking for support.

Like knowing Themis had a thing for Erebus, they all were aware that Menoetius had Themis in his heart, if not more obvious. But Themis had been silent on that, never admitting her acknowledge on his feelings, until now.

"What's gotten into you, Themis?!" Metis shouted and dragged Themis herself, "Even if she was a spy, this is not the right way to do it!"

"What's your plan then?! Go up and serve her dinner pretending everything is alright?!" Themis yelled with shrill voice, her hands shaking with fury.

Even if it WAS Metis's plan, it wouldn't have worked by now, because even the next building heard Themis's outbreak.

"Menoetius, call Iapetus. He has been looking into the village, too. Gather all the information you and Themis have collected so far and give it to Iapetus, see if there's any connection." Metis said without letting Themis go, and Menoetius left the room without any delay.

"You and me, we will go up there to talk to her first. I'll do all the talking." Metis turned to Themis, and added the second sentence when she saw the wrath on Themis's face.

"Fine." Themis turned again and headed to the stairs.

Metis followed her to the end of the second floor, and knocked on the door lightly three times, ignoring Themis rolling her eyes beside her.

"Kitty, are you in there? Dinner is ready. Would you like to come and eat with us?" Metis asked in a higher voice after she knocked on the door again and got no response.

Good question.

Because Themis kicked down the door the next second before Metis could stop her, and there was no one in the room, just wind, lifting the curtain.

"See?! She ran away! Still think she's innocent?!" Themis turned and yelled at Metis, who looked shocked too, but was thinking instead of panicking.

"I didn't hear a thing..." Metis murmured, and this was when Themis realized it was her that lost Kitty! When Metis and Menoetius went out, Kitty left the bar from her window...

"I'll go catch her!" Themis yelled and headed to the window.

"Catch her for what?! She didn't do anything!" Metis pulled her on her arm, and before Themis could say anything, she kept on: "Nothing is confirmed yet! You should think about how to tell the Lord you lost her!"

Themis was now really scared. Erebus had always been nice to his people, but it wasn't fun either to cross him: "I... I..." She looked as if she was about to cry again.

"You stay here." Metis said, and pulled out her phone before Themis could say anything and dialed a number: "Yes, we need you here. Get your men ready."

The remaining Dim Patronus assembled fast in the bar. Erebus took three with him, and four of them were assigned apanage of their own to protect, only the five of them were there in the city by that time.

Tartarus.

"How is it going?" Metis asked the moment Tartarus entered the bar. With the "Closed" sign on the door, they were not to be disturbed.

"They are out there looking for her now." Theia answered for him instead, "What happened?"

Metis shook her head. There were too many questions popping up for one night, and she had no energy left to repeat it again.

"I went there and check the shop myself before I came." Tartarus said, "It was a shoe store, and the owner was a man. I don't doubt what you saw in the video, but we don't trust human's tech all that much either. Witchcraft is not new to us."

"Of course. The top priority is to find Kitty, and we will sort out the rest." Metis nodded.

"I'll stay on the investigation." Themis murmured. She was not really eager to find Kitty. Finding out what she was up to was more important to her.

"You have no idea how much pain it would be for Erebus if he came back only to find that he lost her." Tartarus stopped and turned to Themis on his way out.

And then he left without another word.

Themis just kept on typing on her computer, but Metis didn't add anything, because she could see Themis's hands shaking.

"We still have two days, and Kitty JUST left about an hour or two. It will be okay." Menoetius was by the door when he said that, and after that he just left without waiting for an answer.

While Themis being left at the bar, and the rest of the Dim Patronus out looking for her, Kitty was wandering on the street without a clue of where she could go to.

She had a home, better than that, she had a family, for fourteen happy years before she lost it. Then she built one with some orphans she saved from the horrible orphanage and the street, and she lost that too after three hard but meaningful years. And then she was given one, out of nowhere, and she lost it again, in just three days.

It was getting shorter, she thought to herself.

It would be hard to top the last one, even with her bad luck.

She stared at her hand, the one the stone disappeared to. Could it be? That she was a witch and all she needed was a chance to break a spell before she can use magic? Or it was just a mistake made by a cursed stone? Will they be looking for her? Maybe not. It was not like she hurt anyone, even if they believed she lied.

But she still didn't take the credit card Erebus left her. It didn't feel right to take his money, or anything from him. Besides, she didn't want to be tracked with it, even though she didn't think there would be people on her tail.

So, after she lost a witch mom and a pair of parents that were still alive a month ago in one day, she got right back where she was when she lost her parents for the first time:

On the street, all alone.

Kitty was avoiding THE three places in the city that meant something to her: the meadow Erebus took her to, the bar, and the magic shop. Sure the city was still big with these places excluded, but somehow she felt like there was no place for her anywhere.

She needed a place to lay her head for the night.

No way she would go to a church or an orphanage, but she didn't even have an identification here. She lost her legal citizenship when she ran from the first orphanage she was put in. But it didn't kill her before, and like what they say, it only makes you stronger.

Stood in front of an art museum, Kitty took a deep breath and headed to the door. She had always wanted to try her luck with an art museum, but she had responsibility before. Three kid were depending on her, but not anymore, thanks to the devil Perses. She lifted her legs and landed a foot on the stairs when all of a sudden--

"Found you." A voice rose from behind her.