by Trudi Jaye
Blade immediately sits down next to me. “Tell me. Why are you so upset?”
I shake my head, trying to keep my emotions inside, but they just keep leaking out. “I’m all alone, and I’m used to it. I’m so horrible that I get angry over cookies.” A sob works its way up my throat, and I battle with it for a few seconds before letting it escape.
Blade pulls me toward him and hugs me against his chest. His affection tips me over the edge. He makes soothing noises as I cry noisily against him.
It’s only when there’s a knock at the door that I start to think about what I’m doing.
I never cry.
I’ve long since come to terms with my life.
I’m not into pity parties.
What the hell?
The damn demon is turning me into a watering pot. Pulling back from Blade, I wipe a hand over my face. “Better get that,” I mumble, before standing up and putting as much distance between us as I can.
I stand in front of the door and take a deep breath before opening it.
Damien Walker is standing on the other side, his face grim. He stalks past me, without waiting to be invited in, and starts speaking. “Blade tells me you tried to take on a couple of demons by yourself last night.”
I scowl in his direction, not willing to talk with him about my overly enthusiastic demon hunt. He’s not the boss of me.
He glances down at my hand and then at Blade over my shoulder. “How long has she been glowing?” he asks.
I lift my hand. The blue glow that’s been accompanying me around all day is even brighter now. I shove it behind my back, but it’s just an instinctive reaction. They’ve both seen it.
“Ever since yesterday,” Blade surprises me by answering.
“It’s the demon that’s possessing you. It’s getting stronger. Figuring out how you work.” Damien walks calmly over to where Blade is still sitting. “You feeling better?” he asks Blade.
“I’m good,” says Blade. He nods to me. “I think the demon is starting to affect her emotions.”
I flinch. I’m a freaking open book for Blade.
“Then it won’t be long before it figures out how to control her completely,” says Damien calmly.
27
“What are you talking about?” Panic stiffens my limbs. I glance at Blade, wondering if he’s already planning how he’s going to kill me. “I thought you said it might not take control? That it would be fine?”
But Blade just gives me his bland stare, his green eyes giving nothing away.
Damien raises his hands palms up in a placating gesture. “Don’t worry, I don’t think it will be able to take over. At least, not now that I’m here to help you.”
“Can you make it stop glowing?” I say, holding my hand up.
“I can do better than that. I can help you control it, so that it only glows when you want it to glow.”
I look at him suspiciously, but I need his help. I don’t want to glow for the rest of my life. “How?”
“Take a deep breath. Now hold it. Watch what happens to your hand.”
I do as he says, and the glow starts to disappear. “That’s all it takes?” I blurt. As soon as I start breathing again, the glow returns. “I can’t hold my breath all day,” I say, disappointed.
“It’s just a little trick you can use, until you can control it better. Come here and sit next to Blade.”
Reluctantly I do as he says, perching as far away from Blade as I can. I try not to think about my outburst of a few minutes before, but I’m pretty sure I’m blushing. My hands curl into fists next to my legs, and I give Damien all my attention.
“The demon is looking for ways to affect you. That’s the overly emotional aspect of it that Blade is talking about.” Damien paces in front of the sofa. “Until you get the demon out, there’s not much you can do about that.”
“There’s a way to get the demon out?” I ask, suddenly all attention. I lean forward.
“There might be. I’m looking into it,” Damien waves a hand in front of him, like that’s beside the point.
I’m not willing to let it go. “What is it? How?”
“I’m not going to tell you yet,” he says drily. “You’ve shown that you’re ridiculously impetuous. You might try something before we have all the facts.”
“You can’t keep something like that from me,” I say angrily. “It’s not fair.” Tears start to leak down my face again.
“Exhibit A,” says Damien, gesturing in my direction. “You’re emotional and impetuous. There’s no way I’m telling you anything until I know for sure.”
“So I have to put up with crying and getting angry all the time?” Sadness is sucking at my insides, and I have to put one hand on my stomach to control it.
“For now. It won’t be long. But in the meantime, you can practice a couple old tricks to help keep the demon in line.”
“But—”
Damien speaks over my objection. “First, take a deep breath, slowly and carefully, until you feel like your lungs are filled to the brim.”
I hesitate, torn between having a tantrum and learning how to control the demon. I take a deep breath, just like he asks.
“No, no! Too fast. Slow and steady, kind of like you’re breathing through the back of your throat.”
I try again, and this time slow down, trying to keep it even.
“Better. But do it again and make it even slower. And this time let the breath out just as slowly.”
Soon he has me breathing long, slow breaths in and out. It’s actually quite relaxing, and I’m feeling steady and calm.
“Now close your eyes.”
I close my eyes and, instead of the black I normally see when I close my eyes, all I can see is the glowing blue of the demon. I flick open my eyes. My breath is coming in quick gasps, and my heart is pounding in my chest. “It’s glowing. Inside my head. It’s worse,” I manage to get out.
Damien halts in front of me. “Calm down, Hazel. That’s what I was trying to show you. That’s what was supposed to happen.”
“You were trying to let it take me over?”
“It wasn’t taking you over. It can’t, not yet. Now close your eyes again and listen to my instructions.”
I glare at Damien. It’s like he’s testing me. But I close my eyes.
“Imagine you’re able to grasp the blue light in your hands. I want you to take as much as you can hold in one hand and squeeze it tight. Really squeeze it.”
Following his instructions, I attempt to grab the demon light inside my head. “I’m doing it,” I say.
“No, you’re not. You’re not really trying. Do it again.”
Anger growls in the back of my throat.
“Just focus on what you’re doing,” says Damien.
I feel fingers cover mine, and I open my eyes again, surprised. Blade has taken my hands in his. He’s looking at me impassively, but the warmth of his skin seeps into mine, helping me concentrate. I close my eyes again and focus on grabbing the blue demon light. This time, I imagine I’m grasping it like it’s real.
“Now what?”
“Scrunch it up into a little ball and shove it back down inside you. Easy as that.”
I want to growl at him again for his assumption that this is easy, but I manage to keep my focus steady. Scrunching up the light is a strange way to explain what I’m doing, but eventually I get it into a little ball and push it deep down inside. The glow is mostly gone now.
The ringing of a cell phone makes me jump, and it’s only Blade’s hands on mine that keep me sitting where I am. Damien answers the call, and I open my eyes to see him standing still, his brows furrowed. He looks upset.
“What the hell are you talking about?” he says, his face going pale. “Where’s Mei?”
I glance at Blade, but he doesn’t seem to know any more than I do about what’s going on.
“Okay, okay. Yes. I’ll be there. Just find her before they do.” Damien presses a button on the phone a
nd puts it back in his pocket. “Something’s come up. An emergency. I have to go.”
“Is everything okay?” I ask hesitantly.
Damien looks at me, and it feels like an unshuttered moment. I’m seeing the real man beneath, and he’s worried. “Not really. I shouldn’t have left it up to them. I should have organized it myself.”
“Organized what?”
He stares blankly at me for a second and then shakes his head. “Sorry, nothing. I have to go.” He starts patting his pockets and looking around the room, as if he’s looking for belongings to take with him.
Beside me, Blade shuffles as if he’s trying to control a larger movement. “What about Hazel’s training?”
“You’ll have to help her with what you know in the meantime,” says Damien.
“Which is pretty much nothing about demons,” says Blade tightly.
Damien pauses to glare at Blade. “I’ll be back in a couple days’ time. Just practice what I taught you, get so good at it, you can do it without thinking. Don’t go out, don’t try to fight any demons, and don’t draw attention to yourselves.”
Blade nods like he understands the instructions.
“What do you mean, don’t draw attention to ourselves?” Is there something I should be worried about?
“There are people who would use your powers for their own profit.”
“Isn’t that what you want to do?” I say tensely.
“But I’m doing it with a government mandate.”
I shake my head. I don’t have a reply for that. I just wish Damien wasn’t disappearing. He’s the only person I’ve ever met who’s been able to teach me anything about demons. Damien leaving feels a lot like I’m being deserted. Blade’s fingers curl around mine, as if he knows what I’m thinking.
Damien hesitates at the front entrance. “I have to go, I have no choice,” he says.
“Fine, whatever. Go.” I know I’m being petulant, but I can’t help it. It feels like I’m being abandoned.
“I’ll be back.” Damien is out the door before I can think of any more questions to ask him.
28
“He’s an ass,” I say grumpily.
“He genuinely seemed upset when he left.”
“What could it possibly have been that would cause him to leave?” I ask, still feeling a little hurt. “He’s not testing me somehow… is he?”
Blade shakes his head. “You need to listen to him. He knows how to control this demon.”
I reluctantly untangle my fingers from his and stand up. My hand is no longer glowing, but it’s not the huge relief I thought it would be. “What are we supposed to do until he gets back?” I start pacing in the exact spot Damien was pacing only minutes before. What if something happens before then? I’m only just realizing how much I was relying on Damien to fill in the gaps.
“Nothing. You go to work. I recuperate.”
“What if I accidentally see a demon?” I twist my hands together. A week ago, I would have been excited to see a demon. Now I’m a bundle of nerves over the idea. Is this the demon making me over-emotional again?
“Avoid it.”
I let out a breath. “This is really frustrating.”
“He wouldn’t have left unless it was important.” Blade stands up, but instead of coming closer to me, he heads to the kitchen. He switches on the kettle to make a cup of coffee and then leans against the bench. “What made you decide to go demon hunting last night?” he asks suddenly.
I blink, feeling like the question has come out of nowhere, even though I should have expected it. “I don’t know. Maybe the demon was pushing me? I’d just had a realization about the demons I saw when I was younger, and I was desperate to test it out.”
“You wanted to see if you could figure out your powers,” says Blade.
I nod gratefully. “Yes.”
“And what did you learn?”
I take a breath and think back to my interaction with the demons yesterday. “They tried to use sound against me. The scream, it hurt me. But then… I-I screamed back. And it messed with the demon. It was shocked that I’d done it.”
“What happened then?”
“You arrived, knives blazing, and killed it.” I nod to where I’m sure the knife is safely belted onto his leg again. “What kind of knife is that?”
“It’s a special kind of blade for killing demons.”
I want one. “Is it common to have something like that?” I ask, trying for a casual tone.
Blade shakes his head. “I’ve only ever seen one. Mine.”
“Where did you get it?” And can I replicate it?
“It was given to me by my grandfather before he died. It’s passed down through my family. We’re the only ones who can use it.”
“Would you mind if I had a closer look at it? Maybe put it under the microscope?”
He hesitates, clearly reluctant.
“Please? Perhaps there’s something about the knife that will help me.”
He sighs and leans down to undo the knife from his leg. In the light, it’s different from how I remember it. It has a detailed bone hilt, an ornately decorated guard, and an etched blade that looks deadly sharp in the daylight. It’s both beautiful and dangerous at the same time.
“I have a small set up here. We can look right now.”
I rush into my spare room, to the mini lab. The metallurgical microscope is sitting along the back wall, just waiting for this opportunity.
Blade is right behind me, and when I turn, I bump into him. I grab at his muscled arms, and he huffs out a pain-filled breath.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. Did that hurt? Are you okay?” I look down at his waist anxiously.
He shakes his head and hands me the knife without a word. As soon as it touches my hand it starts glowing.
“What’s happening? Why is it glowing like that?”
“It senses the demon inside you. It wants to kill you.”
I can’t help it. I drop the knife.
Luckily for me, Blade has the reflexes of a cat and catches the handle of the knife in midair.
“I’m sorry. I—”
“It can’t kill you. Not unless someone stabs you with it, like a real knife,” he says, his eyes glinting with amusement.
“It felt weird. It was vibrating.”
“That’s the demon-killing part of it. I still have to stab the demon like I would with a normal knife. But a normal knife would just go through the demon. They wouldn’t be affected. My knife kills them and absorbs their energy.”
“Using special vibrations?”
“I don’t know precisely what it is that does it. I didn’t make the knife. It was handed down through my family.”
“Why?”
“We’ve been hunting demons for a long time, father to son.”
I blink. “You have?”
“Did you think you were the only one?”
I shrug, not wanting to admit to him I’d thought exactly that. “Does it vibrate against you all day long?”
“Only when there’s a demon around. It’s an early warning device.”
“So it’s vibrating all the time at the moment?”
“Only when you’re around.”
I wince. So he’s not going to just forget I have a demon inside me. “Does it hurt?”
“No. It’s fine.” He extends the knife to me again, handle first.
I hesitate for a moment, not really wanting to take it. But I also really want to know what it’s made of, to understand the knife, to study it and see if I can replicate it. “Does anyone else in your family know more about the knife?” I ask to avoid taking it a moment longer.
“My grandmother might know more.”
“Can we go talk to her?“ I ask, my eyes alight at the idea.
“Maybe. But not today.”
I nod. Tomorrow is Friday, so maybe I’ll be able to convince him on the weekend.
“You don’t want to touch it now?”
I take a deep breath
and reach for the knife. He places it carefully in my outreached hand. It’s cold, but the vibrations hum against my skin and send weird signals down my body. It immediately starts glowing again. I shudder, but I don’t let go. I turn to the black and white microscope sitting on my desk.
“What do you think you’ll be able to see?” he asks as I set the knife up under the microscope.
“This is a special microscope that helps me see the surface of metals. A professor at the university was throwing it out because one of the glass surfaces was broken and they didn’t know how to fix it.” I focus on adjusting the microscope as I speak, trying not to touch the knife too much. “I brought it home, figured it out, fixed it, and now I can study different types of metal and what they look like under the microscope. I used it to help create the demon-calling device.”
I glance back at him.
He’s listening carefully, a small half smile on his lips. “You just fixed a highly technical research device?”
I nod. “It wasn’t so hard, once I figured out what the problem was.”
“You do that often?”
“Sure. You just work through a series of logical processes. Most people just don’t have the patience for it.”
“Hence the professor who would rather throw out a microscope and buy a new one than understand and fix it.”
“Yeah. But the people who tend to use these kinds of microscopes are researching areas that often get more funding. Metals are more interesting to investors than paranormal research.”
Settling the ornate knife in position across the flat bed of the microscope, I lean in and look through the lenses, moving the dial back and forth until I have a clear picture of the metal beneath.
I gasp.
29
It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before.
Bright colors and little moving parts are all layered over top of the usual patterns of steel. It’s amazing.
“It’s moving. I don’t understand how it can be moving like that. Like it’s organic.” My voice is low and awed.
“Maybe it’s the magic?” says Blade.
“There’s magic?” I say, my voice almost a squeak.
