The empress might have been ignoring the worthless creatures around her, but needless to say, they were not ignoring her. They surrounded her. The hot steam rising from her skin kept them a few feet at bay, but they were just everywhere, pushing, shouting at her. It was annoying. She curled her lip in an irritated snarl, only to provoke more shrieks - her teeth were inhumanly misshaped and jagged. If they weren't going to get out of her way, she'd simply make them.
She rolled her shoulders back, pinching the metallic bundle hanging off her back between her shoulder blades. The bundles groaned and exploded outwards, throwing off any humans standing to either side of her and the force of which shattering the windows on both sides of the streets. On her back now rested a pair of mechanical wings, splintery fibers of iron holding together panes of yellowed glass.
Finally the creatures around her scrambled. She was no longer a mere curiosity, she was a threat. That was how she preferred it. With the damned creatures away from her, she could follow the trail. She stepped over a crack in the asphalt, and with a screeching of the metal on her, she lifted into the air, leaving footprints of melted tar where she just stood. The motion wasn't graceful. The wings were heavy and jerky, dropping her slightly with each flap. But it was just the aerial view she needed.
The sharp, clear scent was still around her. It hadn't fled, not completely anyway. The empress licked her lips. Still close by. The mist behind her hadn't impeded it, so it had to be forward. She flew forward, continually ignoring the panic on the ground. She should have been an angel. But to the average human, angels didn't have jagged teeth and splintery wings.
All of a sudden something gave her pause. The clear scent of the light became muddled. It was still there, but there was a faint smell of something warm, bitter, yeasty. Curious. The empress turned her attention to the sides of the road now below her. If the bearer was anywhere nearby, it wasn't out on the street. Perhaps the buildings needed a more thorough investigation.
She flew further, and as the smell of the light got stronger, oddly enough, so did that faint bitter smell. But in seconds, she could detect the scent was weaker. It was right there, at that peak of strength. With a twist of her body, the wings retracted in a snap, and she plummeted to the ground right next to the convenience store, breaking the asphalt deep into the dirt that lay below.
She rose from her knees to her feet without so much as a scratch and turned her attention to the shop beside her. It was definitely in here. In such a small space, there wouldn't be much room for the bearer to run. How kind of them to box themselves in for her convenience.
The empress walked towards the doors. Her feet still melted the ground she walked on, melted the asphalt, the concrete of the sidewalk, and, standing in the doorway, the metal embedded in the entrance began to glow orange.
"I'm looking for something," she purred. She spoke casually, too casually. Like this was all mere amusement to her.
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