Hidden Horns

You should've been more careful, My friend.

"Wait, hold on. You know her?" Chloe asked, looking at Nashly a bit confused then to Yohan, her annoying bodyguard.

"No time for explanation, but I'm glad to meet you again, Nathalie." Yohan said, the corner of her lips curves upward and she turns to Chloe, her face came back to being flat and without any emotions. "I'll be outside." She said and didn't wait for the brunette to say anything and Yohan walked out of the restaurant.

"They are really the meanest bodyguards I've ever met." Ivy said while scanning her bruise in her wrist that she got from Agma.

"I'm sorry about that, but they are really weird to be honest." Chloe said and even if she's really against of the idea having Yohan beside her, she couldn't do anything. "But wait, how did you know her?" The brunette asked again her friend who suddenly became silent after Yohan showed herself to their table.

Nathalie secretly put her shaking hands under the table and she smiled forcedly. It really surprised her to see the woman who killed her sister, the one she's been haunting down for five years and she only took a 3 years rest when she couldn't find Yohan.

She just decided to do some research about Yohan, and inside of those three years, she learned a lot. Not only about the Devil, but also to the person she needs to fulfill her desire. She found out about Chloe's dad, sold her daughter's soul way back 1996 when his business was facing bankruptcy.

Collin hid from Yohan after he took back everything, his power and his money. Yohan begun to lose her power when the soul that she needs was gone and she couldn't find it. It's really uncommon for a Devil to lose a connection from their prey and Yohan begun searching with the help of Agma and Jess.

Agma is a Demon and Jess is one powerful witch who helped Yohan to look for Collin Smith and when she did, the three of them decided to go after him. But what makes Nathalie confused was, if Yohan already found Chloe, why did she have to pretend as normal human and a driver? Unless Collin Smith have something in his possession that can control Yohan.

Whatever it is, Nathalie needs that to defeat Yohan, to get her revenge for her sister.

"Nath, are you deaf?" Charlene snapped her fingers in front of Nathalie's face and pulled her out of her trance. "We're asking you."

Nathalie blinks her eyes and shook her head. "I'm sorry, what was it?"

"I'm asking you if how'd you know my driver?" Chloe asked again.

"She's an old acquaintance." Nathalie replied and even if Chloe was not convinced, she still nodded her head. They know that if Nathalie answered their questions with doubtful answer, they know when they should stop. Nathalie became different after her sister died, her personality changed included her ability to fight. "So..uhm are you going to stay here for good?" Diverting the topic into someone else is what Nathalie needs as she saw how her friends exchange secret glances.

"Yes." It wasn't really Chloe's plan to stay for good if only Lev didn't die. She was planning to go back in New Zealand after her contract, but since Lev died, she could no longer return to the place where she had met him.

"That's great news!" Nathalie beams. She didn't notice how her friend's face became dimmed and sad because Chloe already told them the reason why she needs to stay. "So why do you call me for?"

"To find the person who killed Lev."

"Who's Lev? And what happen to him?" Nathalie asked curiously.

"He's my manager and was killed."

"By who? Do you have any suspect?" Nathalie asked again, though the thought of getting a job which is she really anticipate, makes her feel excited, she still couldn't erase the fact that the person she has been looking for was just outside.

"Actually, I do have two suspects." Chloe started and she looked behind her to see if there's a chance that Yohan might hear her, but when she made sure that the woman was not around the vicinity, she turned to face Nathalie and lean her body a bit closer. "I saw two women stalking me and kept tailing me before Lev died."

"Who might them be? Do you have any information about them?" Nathalie asked, she's starting to like the job even if she's still not know the whole story.

"I know them, actually, they are my bodyguards."

"Wait—what?" Nathalie's eyes widened and she leaned back in her chair. "You mean, you are suspecting your bodyguards that they killed that Lev guy?"

"Yes, I can't be wrong because I really saw them stalking me since I arrived here in New York." Chloe said with certainty in her voice.

Nathalie immediately have a hunch who might be her bodyguards, because if Yohan is here, there's a possibility that her two men was also here.

"What's their name?"

"I don't know because I wasn't listening when Yohan introduce them to me." Chloe sighs and she paused, as if she's recalling what are their names. "I think it sounds like Je—."

"Jess." Nathalie interrupts and Chloe snapped her fingers.

"Yes! That small girl named Jess and the other one is... Wait let me recall—."

"Agma." Nathalie said once again which earning a weird look from her friends.

"How do you know those women?" Ivy asked, she's starting to feel worried about Nathalie's relationship with Chloe's weird bodyguards.

"They were Yohan's friends." Nathalie replied. Her face started to darkened and her hands formed into a tight fist. "So they are really here."

"Do you have a beef with them?" Charlene asked cautiously.

"Not really." The woman next to her shrugs her shoulder and she smiled forcedly at them. "I'm going to investigate first, it's not good to accuse them right away just because you saw them, after all, they can deny the accusation and they will say that they can follow you because they are your bodyguards."

"But they are not even my bodyguards that time!" Chloe frustratingly exclaimed, she struck the table which cause some of the customer inside throw them dagger look but the brunette didn't give a care.

"How did Lev die?" Nathalie asked, she took out her small notepad from her bag and a pen.

"He was driving our family car and ran into a post."

"Isn't it just an accident?"

"That's what I'm telling her, Lev lose the control of the car and got into an accident that leads to his death." Charlene chimes in.

"That's not possible." Chloe refused to believe and she took out a photo from her bag. "Look at his throat, there was a cut in here and it's impossible that a shattered glass did it."

"It was an accident, there's a possibility that the shattered windshield cut his throat." Ivy said while staring at Lev's photo when he's in the morgue.

"Oh yeah? Well, how can you explain this." Chloe put Lev's phone in the middle of the table and she pressed the play button. The video that has secretly recorded inside a car, played.

"I do not know you, nor have any slightest idea why are you doing this." It was Lev's voice, he's talking to someone while driving. And Chloe was so sure that the video was taken the day before he died.

"I don't have explaining to do, the only reason I'm doing this is because I was told to kill you." A deep and husky voice said that, they couldn't identify if it's a woman or a man because of how deep it was, but for Nathalie, she already know who it was.

From that voice that she heard before, there's no way to deny that it was one of Yohan's men.

The next thing that happened in the video was the loud crashed of the car into the electric power pole. The phone fell on the car floor and since that Chloe had to stop the video on that part, they didn't see what Nathalie saw at the end of the video.

"I'm really sorry for what happen to your manager." Nathalie said sincerely, but her eyes still fixed at the phone in Chloe's hand.

"Do you believe in me now?"

"I do, but you can't still accuse your bodyguards, there will be lot of hole in your accusation." Nathalie said.

"Like what?"

"First, the person in the video was clearly sitting on the passenger's seat, and if it happens that she killed Lev before they ran into the power pole, there's a possibility that she'll die too."

"She's right, I would have seen the other person with him, just in case, but only Lev was in the car when the ambulance responded." Charlene said, she's sure that there's only one person in the car at the accident place because she was there.

"Then how could you explain the video?" Chloe asked, her voice is in the verge of snapping out because her friend doesn't want to believe her even if she already showed them the proof.

"Look, I came here to help you, right? Why don't you give me that phone and let me investigate on my own, then I'll let you know if I found something." Nathalie held out her hand to Chloe.

Chloe stares at the phone in her hand, she's hesitating to give the phone, not because she don't trust Nathalie with the strongest evidence she holds, it's just that. It was the only evidence that can prove that Lev was killed and didn't have an accident, and she's afraid that Nathalie might lose it.

"Chloe, give it to her. You know that she's the only one who has the potential to find out the truth." Ivy said to convince Chloe, as the brunette still not moving and just staring at the phone.

Chloe heaved a deep breath and exhales. "Please, money is not a problem,I will pay you no matter how much, as long as you catch the one who killed my friend."

"Don't worry." Nathalie said, the corner of her lips curved upward to form a smirk when Chloe handed her the phone and Nath immediately shoved it inside her pocket.

"Just give me the news if you have found some evidence to prove that they killed Lev." Chloe said as she resigned and leaned back in her chair with heavy heart.

"Just leave it to me." Nathalie assures her and smiled at her in return.

"So can we eat now?" Charlene chimes in. Her hand was ready to call the waiter to get their order and when Chloe nods at her, she raised her hand and the waiter who's been waiting for them to take order, immediately run to them with his small note and a pen in his hand.

After the four of them ordered their food and the waiter noted it all in his note pad before he went to the kitchen, Chloe noticed a man sitting behind Nathalie. Her back looks familiar which makes Chloe's eyebrows to connect to each other into one line.

"What's wrong?" Charlene asked when she noticed her cousin.

"Nothing." Chloe replied but eyes still on the guy behind Nathalie. She's certain that she have seen the guy's back but she couldn't remember where and when.

As their food arrived, Chloe keeps giving the guy secret glances from time to time. Still trying to remember where she seen him. Until the guy stood up and fixed his fedora hat and Chloe was waiting for the guy to face them and when he did, she could only see half of his face as his fedora hat covered the upper part of his face.

"Do you like him?" Ivy teased when she saw how Chloe staring at the guy intently, until he disappeared from Chloe's sight.

"I think I saw him before." Chloe said, trying to squeezed her brain where she met that guy.

"Well, don't bother yourself too much. It's normal to see people outside and thinks that you know them but the truth is, you just accidentally stared at them unconsciously." Charlene said and Chloe just sighs in resignation and lifted her glass of water.

She knew to herelf that she knew that guy, she has strong instinct that she had met him before.

Chloe didn't mean to look outside the restaurant through the glass window, but when she did, she saw a familiar car, then the guy appeared without his hat. Chloe's eyes widened upon seeing the guy's face clearly. The glass she was holding fell on the table and her friends got startled.

"Chloe, are you ok?" Ivy, who's sitting next to her, grabs the napkin to wipe Chloe's dress but the latter didn't react and she was just staring at the guy earlier, who's now looking back at her, smirking.

When the guy hopped in, Chloe snapped and she stood up. "Nath, quick! Get that guy!" Chloe said while pointing at the car outside the restaurant.

Chloe run out and she bumped into Yohan's body. "What happen?" Yohan asked while holding Chloe's hands.

"I need you to get that guy! Quick!" Chloe said. Agma and Jess, who are standing outside looked at Yohan and the latter took a glance at the car before shifting back her gaze to her friends.

"Go." Yohan said and the two quickly run to the car that is about to escape. Chloe shrugged off Yohan's hand but the latter didn't let go. "Don't go there, let them handle it."

"He's the guy who pretend to be my driver!" Chloe said which make Yohan to froze for one second but immediately picked up herself. "You need to catch him! Nath, please!"

The customers inside the restaurant felt disturbance in Chloe's sudden outburst, but they didn't try to stand up from their table, since the chaos is happening outside the restaurant.

Jess jumped on the hood of the car to block the guy's sight of the road, and Jess tried to open the driver's door, but the guy inside continue to drive away. And that leaves Agma no choice but to pull her gun and pointed it to the tire and pulled the trigger but she missed.

"Damn, I'm not really good at this shit." Agma hissed.

"Hold her." Yohan said as she pushed Chloe towards Ivy and Charlene before she run to the car that parked in the lot and immediately jumped inside. "Quick get in! We're going to run after him." Yohan said and Agma hopped in.

"But that guy is our friend!" Agma said when she shut the door beside her.

"I know, that's why we need to—." Yohan stopped from talking when she's about to maneuver the car and the door on the backseat opens and Nathalie get inside. "What are you doing?" Yohan asked but continue driving.

"Chloe asked me to go with you." Nathalie said, meeting Agma's dark eyes. "Long time no see."

"Yeah, it's been what? 8 years?" Agma said sarcastically and she was about to move the gun she was holding but Yohan stopped her from doing so.

"No, it's unnecessarily to kill her now. We need to get Justin." Yohan said and Agma scoffed before facing the road. "And it'll be more obvious if we killed her."

"Thank you." Nathalie said with full of sarcasm in her voice. "Just so you know, I can tell to Chloe that it is Agma the demon, who killed Lev."

"Then why don't you? What's stopping you if you already know who did it?" Yohan asked.

"Because I'm not after Agma, I'm after you. But because I know to myself that I have nothing against you, I still need to improve my skills so when the day arrives that I have to kill you, I'm already capable of doing that."

Yohan laugh dryly for Nathalie's confidence, but the woman was right. In just one snap, she could kill Nathalie. But since she don't need her soul, she doesn't have plan taking her life.

"You are too brave to go with us." Agma said.

"Aren't you glad that I'm helping you to catch that guy who turned to be one of Yohan's men? But the question, what will you do? Kill him to prevent him spilling your true identities or let him escape?"

"What do you think?" Yohan asked as she slowed down the car where Justin's car stopped, the hood is severely damage after hitting the barrier on the side of the road and Jess standing next to the driver's side with bruises. The three women step out of the car and Yohan shook her head. "What happen?"

"The moron panicked and got into an accident." Jess explained. She's holding her right arm that got broken.

Yohan breaks the window and reached for the lock to open it. Justin was drowning with his own blood coming from his head. Crowd of people started to mob them but Agma uses her strength to prevent them to get near the vehicle.

"You ok?" Yohan asked Justin, who's in the verge of dying after hitting his head badly.

"P-please help m-me. I don't w-wanna die." Justin struggling to speak while his face sank on the steering wheel.

"Why did you show yourself to her?" Yohan said, her face became darker as she leaned closer and which make Nathalie to step back. She's still not used seeing Yohan's real face. "I told you to be careful, right?"

"I'm s-sorry."

"Yohan, they're here." Agma shouted when she saw Ivy's car arrived.

"Tch!" Jess hissed and she looked at Yohan. "We're doomed if Chloe caught him."

"I know." Yohan said without tearing his gaze to Justin. "You should've been more careful, my friend." She whispered before she lean Justin's back and pierced her index finger into his chest and Justin didn't had the chance to react as Yohan took his soul and in front of Nathalie, she eat it.

"Did you catch him alive?!" Chloe, who just got arrived at their spot, asked.

"No, he badly got hurt and died on the spot." Yohan said, her body still leaning and when her face back to its normal form, she stood straight, taking a quick glance at Nathalie, seeing how terrified she is for what she witnessed with her two eyes.

"What happen?!" Chloe asked, a bit disappointed because she didn't had the chance to catch the guy that's one of her suspect in Lev's case. "Did you kill him?!"

"If you'll excuse me ma'am. I am badly hurt from stopping him to escape and you still accused me?" Jess asked in disbelief.

"Who knows?" Chloe said and she looked at Nathalie, who's still astounded. "Do you see what happen?"

"No, but I'm sure that he died because of the accident."

Chloe released a sigh of annoyance but she couldn't do anything as her friend proved that it was not killed but died in the accident.

Ambulance arrived at the incident and cops asked for Jess to get information about what happen while medic treating her wounds. They tell the cops everything, from Chloe being kidnapped and until they chased him and got into an accident which leads Justin to his death, except from the information that Yohan took his life to prevent him from speaking and reveal the truth.

As Jess was free to go, they all went home and Chloe been silent for the whole ride, she's disappointed and a bit worried because another life was taken. Though she don't need to feel the empathy for that guy, she still feels sorry for him. Another soul was taken by the Devil but wasn't enough to make Yohan feel satisfied.

"Are you ok?" Yohan asked.

"No." Chloe admits honestly.

"Why?"

"Why do you care? Just focus on the road and don't talk to me." Chloe snapped.

Yohan chuckle dryly and just focus on the road. She couldn't feel the remorse of killing one of her men, it's her job to prevent everyone from revealing the truth. And even if it happens that she needs to kill Agma and Jess, she will do it without a doubt.

There's no one can stop her from taking Chloe's soul, but first, she needs to break whatever sorcery Collin put to his daughter that preventing Yohan to take her soul.

But little did she know, Nathalie Colt also aiming for that reason, to defeat her. It's a big challenge for Yohan to find it first before Nathalie, because if it happen that Nathalie found it first. Yohan will leave no choice but to face her own death if she doesn't get the last soul she needed to get back in the place where she belongs.

_____