He then left them with that and entertained the other customers after punching in their order. Valeriana was in a round of tic-tac-toe with Jareth who was glaring at her indignantly. For some reason, he could not beat his sister in this game no matter how hard he tried. Lily watched her children with a contented smile.

“Alright, I give up,” Valeriana said.

She set the crayon down and left him grunting in frustration. It was only a moment later that he took out his phone and started playing Minecraft in the highest volume.

Valeriana casually looked out the windows with a sigh as Lily scolded Jareth about turning down the sound. The sun was glaring outside and it was hot out. Despite the light being sharply reflected off the glass of the store across the street, Valeriana squinted and focused when she caught a familiar figure pass.

An eccentrically dressed blonde...holy crap. She braced herself in her seat and looked at her mother in alarm. They didn’t seem to notice her reaction. She tried to cover her face and seem inconspicuous, however, the woman suddenly looked over.

“Ugh. Why now of all times?” she muttered.

Valeriana hesitantly met her eyes. The woman beckoned her with her head to come. After that, she walked off.

She wanted to ignore it, but the feeling in her guts made her feel restless. Valeriana looked at her mother and brother. This was supposed to be a family day out. Why did she have to be disturbed now?

This was exactly why she didn’t want to leave the house!

“Mom, uh...” She tried to find a good excuse. “I’m sorry, something came up.”

Lily raised her brows. “What happened?”

“It’s...urgent, I think I’ll have to step out for a while.”

“What—”

“I’ll explain later. I’m so sorry, mom. I’ll text you.”

Before she could speak, Valeriana had slid off her seat and dashed for the door. Lily was dumbfounded as she watched her daughter run. Within moments, she was out of the restaurant and it was too late to stop her.

The woman saw Valeriana walk out of the restaurant and automatically followed. Valeriana crossed the street after which they started walking side by side.

“What are you doing?” she asked. “How did you even find me?”

“I did tell you we will meet again.”

“Why now?” Valeriana said, not bothering to slow down. “I was having lunch with my family.”

“I sincerely apologize for ruining your time, but this matter cannot wait. Now, listen to me,” the stranger told her, grabbing Valeriana by the arm and stopping her. “As you already know, demons have escaped into your city. If they are not caught soon, they may cause extensive damage and take the life of your people, just like what happened with you.”

“So what do you expect me to do?” Valeriana asked. “Help you kill those?”

“Just help me find them. You leave the battle to me,” she replied. “I lost sight of the others while in pursuit of one earlier. Even though I have managed to kill the first few, I am not very familiar with your city, so I'm in dire need of your help.”

The girl could only look at the stranger in disbelief. “Wait! No way am I going near those things again!” she exclaimed, pulling her limb free from the woman’s grip. “It almost cost me a foot last time.”

People shot glances their way.

Valeriana looked around consciously. She leaned forward and began to whisper. “This is not exactly the best place to talk about this. Besides, why exactly are you asking me? And those clothes! You're standing out too much!”

The woman looked at herself. “It cannot be helped,” she answered. “But you do not understand. You need to help me find those demons.”

Valeriana crossed her arms. “Demons. As in with s. You're saying there are more of these guys?”

“Like before, I had to hunt at least a dozen of them,” she answered. “But this time, I have no idea where to look.”

“Well, that's your problem and not mine. You managed to do it before, you can do it again,” Valeriana said. “I have my own problems I have to mind too, you know! My mom is gonna scold me so bad.” She sighed.

“Then, think of this as a means of repayment,” the lady offered.

“Repayment?”

“For saving your life.”

“Ah, damn it. Why can’t you go hunt your demons on your own?”

“I beg you, Valeriana. I swear upon the name of the first king, I will not let you get hurt,” she pleaded calmly. “On my own, I do not know how to navigate this complex maze you call a city. And my unfamiliarity with the surroundings makes it dangerous for me as well.”

Valeriana played the scenario in her head. “Okay. Fine. I'll help you. I don't want anyone freaking out seeing a woman randomly swinging a sword.”

Her face broke into a relieved smile. “You do not know how very grateful I am for this.”

“So um...what do I call you?”

“Seraphina,” she said. “My name is Seraphina.”

“Weird name. Alright, Seraphina. How exactly are we going to look for those things?” she asked.

“Demons feed on negative energies. My guess is they are somewhere where they have what they need.”

“What negative energies?”

“Energies caused by fear, panic, jealousy, and among other things,” Seraphina answered. “Mostly fear.”

Valeriana's face wrinkled as she wracked her mind for the right place. “Dude that’s actually everywhere.”

“But there should be some place they are most prevalent.”

“I can't think of anything...how about we walk around and see any possible places? It’ll give us time to think.”

“Alright.”