Anora stepped a bit further from the window as Darsby swung himself inside. A tinge of jealousy at his show of acrobatics flashed over her amethyst gaze. Even the noise of his landing was softer than hers. 
	Careful to keep her eyes averted from his, she crossed her arms as he began to straighten.
	“Took you long enough,” she jibed with a smirk. “So, there are a few food items in the pantry.” She stepped toward the floor’s opening. “I’ll shove some of those in my—”
	[b]“Stay still,”[/b] Darsby interrupted.
	Her foot froze mid-step. The hairs on the back of her neck rose at his tone. Gently placing her foot gently back to the floor to keep from losing her balance, she turned to look to him, a mix of panic and curiosity on her face. 
	When he continued with his orders, she gawked; he hadn’t spoken at all, yet the words were audible, not echoing around in her head. She blinked, her eyes trailing after him as he moved past her.
	“Can you get [i]any[/i] weirder?” she couldn’t help whispering beneath her breath. With a faint smile, she shook her head, then followed after him down the stairs.
	Despite the itch to ask how he knew something—some[i]thing,[/i] not some[i]one[/i], she noted—was in the house, she kept quiet. She flinched at each creak of the old stairs. Suddenly, all the noises of the settling house became indicators of potential threats.
	When they reached the bottom and entered the second-floor hall, she kept close and slightly to the side of Darsby to be capable of seeing in front of them. Noticing his trained protective movements, his hand ready to move her from harm’s way at the first sign of trouble, her brows rose.
	[i]What is he, some sort of Mars Secret Service?[/i] she wondered. Part of her felt grateful to have someone with his abilities and who knew what they were doing on her side. But the other, greater part was more annoyed than anything. She wasn’t helpless, after all.
	Occasionally casting his hand an annoyed glance when he held it at the ready to act, she kept her eyes open for anything out of place as they crept down the hall. Even the shadows could be an enemy.
	[b]“Wait.”[/b] 
	Her attention snapped to Darsby as they reached the set of stairs leading to the main level. Trying to figure out what the cause of the holdup was, she looked around him, but saw only the wall, the dust and dirt on the wallpaper outlining where a picture frame had once hung. Even the stairs looked clear of enemies to her.
	His movements caught her eye. She inhaled when she realized he had pointed his revolver behind him. Eyes widening, she staggered back.
	“What—?!”
	The earsplitting gunshot interrupted her, shattering the quiet they had maintained. In such small, close quarters as the hallway, it sounded even louder than it had at the hospital.
	Darsby’s voice broke through the ringing in her ears. Heart pounding in her chest, she could have melted in relief when she realized he hadn’t been aiming at her in some fit of insanity. Though she didn’t [i]believe[/i] he would hurt her, that possibility still nagged from a small, quiet corner in the back of her mind.
	The tone he took made her shudder. Her brows furrowed as the response of an unfamiliar voice filtered up to them through the new, small hole in the floor, followed by the sound of something falling.
	[i]Did he… just [u]kill[/u] someone?[/i] She glanced at Darsby, who seemed in no hurry to find out who he had just dropped, then to the bullet hole. Guessing the bullet would have hit somewhere in the general area of the living room, Anora hurried down the stairs.
	Conscious of Darsby springing into action and following after her, she led the way to the nearly barren living room. Eyes glowing and licks of purple mist crawling up her arms just in case, she slid to a stop outside the living room's doorless frame.
	Half expecting to see a murder scene—with how her day had gone, that really wouldn’t have surprised her—she quickly took in the man kneeling on the dusty floor. 
	Pale and even a bit shell-shocked, he looked like any well-off business man. Or would, if not for his unnerving eyes. Though he appeared very much like a ‘-one’ rather than a ‘-thing,’ if Anora had learned nothing else in the last few hours, it was that anything really [i]was[/i] possible. For all she knew, he could be an evil spirit in disguise come to suck out their souls.
	Anora inhaled, the mist and sparks at her fists pulsing readily. 
	[i][u]This[/u] is who was after us?[/i] She eyed him warily, trying to not show how much his gaze unsettled her.
	His smoldering shoe caught her attention, and Darsby’s comment clicked into place. She let out a low whistle and stepped slightly aside for Darsby.
	“Nice shootin’, Tex,” she complimented with a quick glance to him. She looked back to the intruder, her gaze hard.
	Whoever this was, he was bold enough to go after Darsby. Which could mean his surrender was a show, hiding who-knew-what kinds of powers. Keeping her guard up, she met the intruder’s eyes fiercely, ready to look away at the first indication it could prove unwise. 
	“Now. Who are you, and what do you want?” she asked, trying to make her voice sound as imposing as possible.
	Though, even she had to admit, compared to Darsby’s threat, she sounded more like a house cat mewling after a lion’s roar.