Cyra shielded his face from the bright glow. He grabbed Clara's arm and all but threw her into the passenger side of his convertible and drove directly towards the blinded thugs. When he was right in front of them he suddenly leaped out.
"What are you doing?!" Clara panicked.
Before she could say another word Cyra was back in the driver's seat and going faster than what seemed humanly possible.
Clara clenched the side of her seat as the speedometer reached 112 miles per hour and kept rising.
Cyra tossed something hard into her lap. It was the moon gem.
So that's what he went back for.
The moon gem was back to it's original black, oil slick color. Not a single centimeter of it was red anymore. It looked dormant, like it was resting and waiting to return to power soon.
"Where are we going?" Clara said through clenched teeth, her nails were digging into the seat as Cyra pushed the gas pedal even further and the car sped to a blur.
Once there was enough distance between them and the warehouse, Cyra slowed down and Clara relaxed a little in her seat.
"It's not safe for you to go home yet. Those two will most likely try to follow us, it's too dangerous." He tapped on the steering wheel, pondering impatiently.
"Hmm… oh I know, pull into this dirt road right here off the highway." Clara pointed to a barely visible exit. "It leads to an overpass under the same highway we just came from. We can wait for them to pass over us, we just have to park the car right under it so it's hidden."
"Clever girl." He followed her suggestion and parked the car out of sight. He watched Clara who was examining the moon gem intensely.
'She's probably in shock. Poor little dove', Cyra thought.
"I can't really see any cars passing by from here. I think there's a better view from those rocks over there. You can stay in the car if you wish, I know this is probably a lot for you."
Cyra reached for his door handle to exit the car and surprisingly saw Clara do the same.
The off-ramp of the highway above them didn't have many passerby's at this hour. Most of the travelers that use it only do so to drive to and from work since there's nothing in that direction but more warehouses and industrial buildings. Besides the occasional headlights from lonely cargo trucks, the night was dark and quiet.
Clara stood before a stream of storm water and watched the rippling moon sparkle in it. There were a few lone clouds in the otherwise clear night sky.
Being this far out from the city, the stars were actually visible to her pleasant surprise, and Clara took the opportunity to soak in the starlight.
The moon looked as if it was dancing in the reflection of the water. Cyra's rippled face appeared beside her's but he wasn't watching the moon. He was watching her and it made Clara shift and quickly look away.
There were multiple large rocks and boulders scattered around the under-pass and Clara found herself a smooth one to climb up on. She tilted her face towards the sky and closed her eyes, letting the moonlight kiss her face.
"Doesn't it feel nice?" She asked,mostly to herself. Her eyes still closed. A content smile on her face.
"Does what feel nice?" Cyra questioned. He was still standing by the storm water. He looked up when he seen the gleam of headlights but it was only a eight wheeler truck.
"The moon" Clara answered. She opened one eye then shut it again, also alerted momentarily by the truck.
"I think I've always felt a connection to the moon but now that I have... I don't know exactly what it is that I have... powers? I mean, I guess that's what you would call it. Now that I have powers it feels amazing to bask in the moonlight. I feel like I'm… charging or something. Especially after such a wild night, it feels good to sit under the moonlight and let your nerves reset, don't you think?"
She laughed softly but when she looked at Cyra he wasn't laughing. He wasn't even smiling. He looked... sad.
"I'm so sorry you were put into the middle of all this, Clara." His eyes were heavy and regret laced his gentle words.
Clara's eyes widened and she shallowed softly. She wasn't expecting that. She also wasn't expecting the flush she would get when his accent said her real name.
"It's— it's fine" her voice shook slightly.
"Are you cold?" Cyra was already walking towards her.
"Here." He draped his leather jacket over her shoulders. She wasn't cold but she didn't dare let Cyra know that his words affected her in anyway, so she didn't fight him. The jacket smelled like the now-familiar maple leaves and cedar scent and she dipped into it further and Cyra took a seat next to her on the boulder. She folded her legs on top the giant rock.
"I need you to know that I really wasn't trying to use you Clara. Well, I was... a little. But that was before. I know that's not any justification but seeing you light up at the museum when you see something that interests you and stick up for the jerk who I stole the coffee from and now…" he leaned closer to Clara.
"—Saving me." His fierce eyes burned through her.
"— Well, a lot that I thought I knew about you was wrong." Cyra paused, articulating the words in his mind.
She paused for a moment, refusing to let her armor slip. "That's what I've been trying to tell you." Clara rolled her eyes teasingly.
"You're right. You were right about everything. My original plan was to leave town after the robbery but I stayed, mainly because of you. You fascinated me and you still do. And now I have way too many questions to leave. And one question in particular is weighing on me. How on earth did you find me?"
Clara's cheeks sunk even deeper into the jacket, too embarrassed to speak right away. She decided to only acknowledge the last part.
"It's the… anxiety."
Cyra furrowed his brows in confusion. "I'm sorry love, I'm unsure what you mean."
"Remember at school when I told you that I felt nauseous and that my hands tingled and you said it was anxiety?"
"I recall."
"Well it looks like that anxiety, and actually any form of emotion, activates the moon gem's power. And strangely enough I felt your emotions too. When you were in trouble my whole body was fully charged and then a force pulled me towards you. I didn't know what it was at first. I only knew I had to keep going until I got to the warehouse and seen you tied up.
Cyra thought over the series of events in his head. "I recall my hands getting tingly when I was tied up, now that you mentioned it."
"That's because you touched it as well. The moon gem had already been under cataclysmic energies and three separate atmospheric pressures. Any additional pressure could render a whole new byproduct of elements, like how coal turns into a diamond under pressure." Clara hypothesized.
"Hmm. That does make sense." Cyra took a turn looking up at the moon. It didn't last, he found himself almost immediately looking at Clara again. Her hair was wild from the ride in the convertible and for some reason Cyra found it even more attractive than her usual perfect, curling -ironed waves.
"Cyra? —Why did your buyers tie you up?" Clara cautiously asked.
"Those were not the buyers." His anger bubbled through the surface. "I was supposed to sell this thing to this kingpin named Emor but these two showed up instead and blind-sighted me." Cyra clenched his jaw as he spoke.
"You know Emor? The drug lord and arms dealer that's basically known all around our city?" Clara was now fully facing Cyra.
"Not him no, but I have connections to plenty of people that do." Cyra answered.
"Cyra, are you a crime boss?" Clara was afraid to ask but knew she must.
"No Princess, I'm not a crime boss." He irately answered. "I'm more like a trusted mercenary. A good old fashioned villain if you may." He grinned a toothy half smile.
"I mean, you're technically more of an antagonist..."
"Semantics" he dismissed.
"Ok but... why?" Clara asked sincerely.
Cyra shrugged. He kicked a pebble and watched it bounce into the darkness. "I never thought about that—. I guess I'm just good at it that's all."
"What?! What the hell kind of answer is that!?"