by L. L. McNeil
Damon needed to try four times before the engine would start, and Seila sucked in a breath to steady her sudden nerves. It would be an interesting journey.
Fernhampton was actually very pleasant in the day. Seila stared out the window as they drove along, looking for any signs of demonic activity. She’d heard so many voices on her approach that she half-expected to see them lingering on street corners, but she couldn’t even smell the faintest bonfire stink. Though it was a small town, it was busy. There were many people on the road and on the pavement, shops were full and bustling, and there was plenty of noise and activity. All things that most demons avoided.
Demons hunted the weak or injured. Those who lived alone, away from others. Who couldn’t easily be defended. It was in their nature, and it was why most demon attacks took place in remote villages or tiny hamlets. They were hardly ever seen in towns or cities. Especially when they were fended off by employed, organised demon hunters.
So why were there so many demons here? And where were they all?
It was as if they were all hidden under some great cloak of invisibility.
Although Damon’s car—Mathilda, she remembered—sputtered several times, it didn’t cut out, as she’d thought it would. Damon chatted away as he drove along, telling her all about Fernhampton; about the school he and Amber had gone to; the area they’d grown up in; where they went out for a fancy dinner when she’d been accepted onto her Bioengineering course at Imperial College London; how his job as a welder was going; when he’d passed his exams, and that he’d passed them with flying colours.
Seila listened with half an ear and drowned most of it out. It had nothing to do with her quest, nothing to do with tracking demons down. Damon seemed happy enough to talk without much of a response from her, which suited her well enough.
He said nothing about fire, powers, or being an Elemental. Either he was absolutely stupid, or he really had no idea. She didn’t know whether ignorance was worse.
After they’d been on the road for a little while, he pulled down a side street and into an industrial estate. They drove past several units before he turned into a large garage at the end of the road. Seila sat up, immediately recognising the car that had driven Amber home last night was parked out front. ‘That car!’
Damon parked Mathilda beside it. ‘This is the place. Tej is a mechanic. It’s his family’s garage.’
Seila didn’t need to know those details, hadn’t asked any questions, but Damon seemed keen to tell her, anyway. She got out of the car and almost flew into the garage. Concealing her true self led to fewer questions, and Damon hadn’t seen her wings or sword. Yet. She took a breath to calm down, then walked into the garage, bracing herself to meet a new demon hunter face-to-face.
She’d avoided them for so long that she wasn't sure she’d recognise one unless they overtly displayed their powers—like Amber with her fire.
The scent of rubber and oil filled her nose, and she wrinkled it. Damon walked past her and up to a man in dirty blue overalls at the far end of the workshop—the only person inside that Seila could see. The two clasped hands and slapped each other heavily on the shoulder.
While they greeted one another, Seila walked through the workshop. Two cars were in pieces, one of which was high on a ramp, and an array of parts, equipment, tools, and boxes littered the floor and sides. Storage shelves had been stacked almost to the ceiling, and Seila wondered how Tej reached anything at the top.
‘Seila! This is Tej!’ Damon called. ‘Tej has kept Mathilda running through the impossible. Known him since I was five. My absolute best mate.’
At his call, she made her way over to them. He was definitely the same man who’d dropped Amber off at her apartment the night before. He was leaner than she’d realised, with two gold hoops in his ears, and a bigger smile than Damon’s.
She wondered, if he was a great demon hunter, why he’d not done anything about the Soul Eater after Amber. Hadn’t he known?
Tej extended a hand, and Seila took it, despite the grease on his gloves. ‘Pleased to meet you.’
‘Is that your car?’ She pointed to the one outside. ‘The loud one?’
Tej’s face split into a grin, his white teeth bright. ‘It was my uncle’s pride and joy, but I inherited it last year. So, yeah, it’s mine now.’
‘It sounds like a demon.’
Tej laughed and walked over to it, capitalising on his car’s attention. Damon and Seila followed, though Seila didn’t know what was so amusing. Tej opened the bonnet to show off the car’s engine. ‘It’s a ‘69 Fastback. Had it in the family for about twenty years or so? Repainted just six months ago in black jade green. 428 cobra jet engine gives it that beautiful gurgle. Can’t beat the sound of a V8.’
He continued to explain about the car, the engine, the power. About how rare it was, what he and his uncle had done to it. What they’d built, what they’d bought, and everything in between.
They were just words and numbers to Seila, and she didn’t care. She’d have been more interested if he’d said the car ran on captured demons. She glanced around as Tej continued on, with Damon interjecting every so often, and noticed a barn owl sat on the wall looking down at them.
Seila tilted her head, watching as it fluffed its white feathers up. She’d always thought they were nocturnal.
When it became apparent than neither Tej nor Damon were going to stop talking about the car, Seila interrupted. ‘So, what do you kill demons with, if not the car?’ She cut into his enthusiasm about his Mustang, getting to the real reason she’d travelled with Damon to see him.
‘Excuse me?’ Tej asked.
Damon scratched his head. ‘Oh, yeah. I meant to say…’
‘Say what?’
Damon coughed. ‘After you dropped Amber home last night, she called me and I went round there. She said...there was...there’d been...a demon in her apartment.’
Tej’s eyes went wide. ‘What! Why didn’t you call me?’
‘It was one in the morning! I ain’t waking you after you’d just driven three hours to pick Amber up from uni!’ Damon’s voice pitched high, defensive.
‘What the hell happened?’ Tej asked, glancing between Damon and Seila.
Seila spoke calmly. ‘I killed it. That’s what I do. Amber and Damon said they knew other people like me. Other demon hunters. Damon mentioned your name, so we came here. I want to know more.’
Damon laughed, then hid it with a cough. ‘Yeah. Seila’s...not one for small talk.’
‘You don’t say.’ Tej lowered his eyebrows. ‘Thank you for saving Amber. Damon, you gotta tell me stuff like that. That’s big!’
‘Show me your weapon,’ Seila repeated. ‘You don’t look like an Elemental. And you aren’t a Phantom, either. So, how do you fight them?’
‘Phantom? I ain’t even heard of one of those.’ Tej shook his head, but a little of his smile returned. He hesitated for a moment before saying, ‘Come with me.’
Seila realised then that Tej was something of a show off. Ask about something he cared for, and he’d talk all day about it. A silly flaw, perhaps, but one she was happy to exploit to learn more.
Tej led Seila and Damon to the back of his workshop and through a door to a small office. It had a single, narrow window, a desk with an ancient computer, and two chairs. Tej sat on the chair behind the desk then reached under it, pulling out a heavy metal box. When he slammed it on the desk, a fine cloud of dust rose from the edges. He fiddled with the combination lock, and lifted the lid when it clicked open.
Seila hurried around to Tej’s side and gasped. ‘A crossbow? That’s what you use?’
Damon grinned. ‘Told ya. Rips demons apart!’
Seila scowled. Damon really was stupid. ‘But that won’t do anything to a demon. Even a shotgun won’t kill them. How in the world have you killed demons with a crossbow?’
‘The crossbow is decent enough. But it’s these that keep the demons away.’ Tej tapped a black box beside the cro
ssbow. He opened it to show off the line of bolts and their wicked-looking points.
Seila touched the bolts, then recoiled.
Her skin burned where her fingers had brushed them, and she leapt back from the desk, squeezing her wrist against the shooting pain. ‘That’s...they aren’t normal metal, are they?’
‘Course they ain’t. Wouldn’t be much good against demons otherwise, would they?’ Tej said. ‘This stuff is hard to get hold of, let me tell you. We’ve had these in the family for...probably longer than we’ve had the Mustang, actually. But since I last used them, there haven’t been demons anywhere near my shop.’
Damon put his hands on his hips. ‘You happy now, Seila?’
She stared at the bolts, the pain in her hand finally receding. When she peered closely, she saw a pale halo of light around them.
‘I’m here, waiting for you…’
It was a voice. Faint. She leaned forward and closed her eyes, tried to listen. ‘There’s demonic energy here.’
‘What you talking about?’ Tej asked, closing the lid to the ammunition box. ‘Demonic? Don’t be stupid. These things kill demons!’
‘Sshh.’ Seila pressed her ear to the box, where she thought the voice was coming from, but there was nothing. Echoes of the words drifted away, as if taken by the wind. ‘It was here.’ She supposed it was a demon who moved quickly. Perhaps a Dragora? The damned Blood Thieves could fly and were always getting away from her.
‘The bolts are made right here in Fernhampton,’ Tej said, as though insulted by Seila’s suggestion of demonic energy. ‘See the logo?’ He pointed to the seal on the bottom-left of the box. ‘Caramond House. It’s a big estate on the edge of town. These come from there. Damned hard to get hold of, though. I haven’t been able to order more since I killed the demons.’
Seila wasn’t surprised. Perhaps they’d belonged to an old demon hunter who’d sold off their ammunition before passing away. Or perhaps thieves had stolen the bolts and sold them on.
Who knew.
Demon hunters were rare enough, and their weapons were even rarer. She shuddered at the thought of some random human wielding her Sieken Blade.
She had to give Tej credit. Most people fled during a demon attack. Or were killed and eaten. For him to take a stand and fight back, for him to know to use the crossbow. Perhaps Tej had descended from other demon hunters.
She really couldn’t say. It wasn’t as if she was on first-name terms with all the other demon hunters in England.
‘How long ago was the attack?’ Seila asked.
Tej licked his lips and looked out the window, the whites of his eyes reddening slightly. ‘Eleven months ago. Eleven months since I lost my uncle.’
It was rare to find someone who hadn’t lost a friend or relative to demons. Seila knew Tej was hiding his grief. ‘Were demons common before then?’
‘You’d see ‘em on the edge of town every so often. But no, they didn’t appear much.’
Seila frowned. Perhaps the infestation of demons was a more recent thing.
‘But I got the Mustang. I got the shop.’ Tej opened his arms, gesturing to the office space and workshop beyond. ‘I got to make damned sure no demon ever harms me again, or anyone I care about. And touch wood, no more have tried their luck since.’ He tapped the desk as he spoke.
‘I’m waiting. Come here…’
Goosebumps rose along Seila’s arms at the demonic voice echoing in her mind. She didn’t know where it was coming from, couldn’t see it, couldn’t smell it. The voice unnerved her. It was calm and confident, and clear in what it wanted, unlike most demons who would only feed or flee.
‘I’ve seen enough,’ she said. Tej was simply a human with some initiative, who’d taken steps to defend himself against demons. He didn’t actively hunt them down, he only protected his home.
She supposed that’s what the Kouzlo were for, in towns. And outside of the bigger cities, it was why mercenary demon hunters were hired.
She sighed. It wasn’t the same as what she did.
She’d wasted her time.
Perhaps she needed to head deeper into town, track down this new demon, the one who spoke calmly, and get rid of it. Every demon she killed was one step closer to a soul, after all. At least, that’s what she told herself to keep going.
Tej ruffled around in the desk drawer and pulled out a small jewellery box. ‘Oh, look here, Damon. I wasn’t gonna see you till later, but since you’re here, I’ll show you now. A gift for Amber. Nothing major, but…’
‘I’m here. Come to me, now.’
Seila froze. The voice practically boomed.
Tej opened the box to reveal a bracelet of dark silver, with tiny, coloured jewels studded it.
‘That’s it!’ She yelled.
‘What’s it?’ Tej put a hand protectively over the bracelet.
‘That’s the demonic energy.’ Seila marched over to him. ‘It’s there!’
‘I’m here. I’m waiting here.’
She narrowed her eyes. There was no doubt about it. The voice came from the bracelet. But neither Damon nor Tej could hear it. She pursed her lips. She couldn’t see a demon. Couldn’t see any smoke, couldn’t feel anything, but she could hear it loud and clear. As if it was standing right beside them. There was nothing for her to grab onto and pull out, like she did with Soul Eaters.
This was something she’d never seen before.
‘What are you talking about?’ Damon asked, standing with Tej, his body defensively across his friend’s. ‘It’s just a pretty bracelet, that’s all. Tej, I think Amber’ll love it. Good choice.’
Their stupidity angered Seila. ‘Don’t even touch it!’ She bristled.
Tej closed the lid, hiding the bracelet from view, and Seila’s rage at their ignorance subsided a little. ‘Seila, maybe you’re still worked up about the demon attack last night. This is just a regular bracelet. Bought it from a jewellers in town myself. Nothing online, nothing dodgy!’
He didn’t understand. Seila shook her head in frustration, the demon’s voice still rattling around in her head. ‘How can you be so blind?’
Damon and Tej shared a look. Damon lifted his hands as if in surrender and huffed. ‘It’s fine, Seila. Calm down.’
‘Calm down?’ Seila snapped, mind reeling at the endless possibilities a floating demonic voice could have. ‘How can I calm down when you’re carrying that thing around? You’re going to bring scores of demons upon you!’
Tej shook his head. ‘Jeez, I think you’re overreacting.’
She glared at him. ‘I’m the demon hunter. I’m the one who crosses the country, who follows them, hunts them. I know demonic energy.’
Those words seemed to sink in, because for once, Tej didn’t have a quick comeback. He rubbed the back of his neck. ‘All right, my workshop’s quiet this morning. You wanna come to the jewellers and see for yourself?’ He was already stripping out of his overalls, revealing a plain black t-shirt and jeans underneath. ‘Once you see it’s fine, you’ll chill out, right? Nothing bad’ll happen. I can’t stand demons, why d’you think I keep that crossbow?’
Seila scowled. She didn’t like being spoken down to. She wasn’t a child.
But his suggestion was a good one.
At least that way she could see for herself, and destroy the source of the demonic bracelet.
4
Seila didn’t care about Damon’s rusted, rattling car this time around. She was too eager to see the jeweller for herself, and get to the bottom of the demonic voice mystery. Mathilda got them across town safely, and Seila ignored Damon and Tej’s constant conversation, her mind racing over the possibilities of a new demon just out of her grasp.
Did the voice have something to do with the high number of demons surrounding the town? Or was it just a coincidence?
Perhaps now, she’d get her soul. She’d been doing the same thing for years and hadn’t made any progress, other than not dying. This was different. And the change brought new pos
sibilities and opportunities.
Thankfully, Tej had left the bracelet at his office, but having heard the demonic voice once, Seila couldn't block it out. It called to her even as they drove further and further away. Her skin crawled, but without seeing an actual demon, there wasn’t much she could do to drown it out.
She’d never experienced that before. Normally, their voices grew louder the closer she was to them. For this voice to stay with her, rattling around in her head, never giving her respite...
She balled her fists.
‘Place looks shut?’ Damon snapped her out of her thoughts as he pulled over and cut the engine.
Seila squinted through Mathilda’s window to a boarded up shop at the end of the empty highstreet. A “closed” sign had been draped across the front door, where it hung at an angle. ‘Let’s take a closer look.’
The three of them exited and cautiously approached the shop front.
Tej peered through the door, hands cupped either side of his face to block the sunlight. ‘I don’t get it. I only bought the bracelet yesterday.’ He ran his hand over his chin where stubble grew. ‘His shop was full! How could it be closed already? It’s Thursday! Middle of the week!’
Seila didn’t like anything about the situation. The convenience of the shop being closed, the emptiness of the building, how it sat half-hidden, tucked away in the quiet part of town. She thought she could smell smoke, but wasn’t sure if that was her nose giving her the wrong signal after hearing the demonic voice back at Tej’s workshop.
Leaving Tej and Damon to try and peer through wooden boards that blocked the glass shop front, Seila walked down the alley to the side, where large waste and recycling bins had been shoved up against a brick wall, and tried to look for a back way in.
A barn owl sat in a tree behind the wall, watching them with dark, unblinking eyes. She wondered if it was the same one from Tej’s workshop. It was surely too much of a coincidence that two separate owls were awake in the day. ‘I thought owls were nocturnal?’
‘Wassat?’ Damon said, hurrying down the alley to her.
