by Izzy Shows
The silence in the living room was deafening. Neither Mal nor Emily were making an effort to talk to one another, which was a little disappointing. I had hoped that they might find some way to get along, but it looked like the most I was going to get from them was coexistence.
"You all doing OK?" I spoke up as I entered the room, announcing myself so that no one would get jumpy. Maybe that was a me thing, I didn't like to be surprised by the sudden appearance of anyone.
"We're fine," Emily said with a tight smile. "Are you all right?"
"Better, now," I said. I walked over to the coffee table and grabbed my phone up again. "Go stand in the kitchen." I told Mal with narrowed eyes. I didn't want to buy another phone just yet. I liked to get as much time out of them before they blew up, but that didn't always work out for me.
He smirked and walked away without a word.
I punched the buttons on the dial pad until the phone called Finn.
"O'Malley."
"Hey, it's me. I need you to come by, we've got shit to do."
"Got it. I'll be there in five."
The phone clicked as he hung up. I always appreciated how straight and to the point Finn was, there was no room for frills in our friendship, and that was exactly the way I liked it.
Shawn's number was the next one I punched in.
"Hello." His voice was husky, the exact right pitch to make a girl's knees weak. I smiled as soon as I heard it.
"Hey, you have time to come by? I want another head to bounce ideas around, and I figured yours would be a good one."
"Are you saying I'm good for something other than emergencies and sex? I'm touched."
"Shut up, dork. Can you come or not?"
"Yeah, I can come," he said, emphasising the last word.
I blushed. "Stop it," I said, though I was laughing.
"All right, all right. Are you at your house?"
"Yeah. When do you think you'll get there?"
"Mmm, a few minutes, I'd say."
"OK, thanks."
"Bye."
"Bye," I said and hung up the phone. Putting it down on the coffee table again, I walked the few steps it took to sit on the couch. "So, have you two been getting up to anything fun while I was away?" I raised my voice a bit so that Mal could hear me and know that it was OK to come back into the room.
He entered a moment later, a drink in each hand.
I smiled when he handed one to me, but was surprised when he walked over to Emily and held out the glass for her. I had thought they were going to ignore each other as much as was possible.
She took the glass with narrowed eyes, watching him the entire time. "What did you put in it?"
"Nothing, I swear," he said with a grin. "I only thought you would enjoy the drink while we waited."
She glanced at me, then back at Mal, then took a sip of the drink. Her eyes never left his the entire time.
"You should be more trusting."
"Of a Fallen? Never."
He inhaled, somehow making it sound appreciative. "You are everything I did not expect."
"And what did you expect?"
"Someone boring," he said with a wink.
She glared at him over her glass, took another sip, and then set it down on the side table.
I was honestly surprised that she had taken the drink from him to begin with. It didn't seem like something she would do, but who was I to judge? I had a brand on my wrist that gave me far too much power for my own good, and inspired thoughts of rage any time anything happened.
“You didn't tell me she was gorgeous.” Mal's thoughts reached my mind a moment later.
I arched an eyebrow. “I didn't think you would be able to tell. Her being a Warrior of the Lord and all.”
“You think I cannot appreciate the beauty of a chosen one? She shines with a light I have not seen in a long time.”
Somehow, I managed not to tilt my head to the side. I didn't want Emily to know that we were talking about her, it was rude, but I couldn't stop my curiosity.
“Do you miss it?”
“My friends? I miss them every day. I do not miss the orders and the senseless obedience.”
Frowning, I thought about that. I disliked it when Mal made sense in situations like this; I couldn't understand anyone just doing what they were told because they were told by someone all powerful. It was dangerous, and it only fed into the arrogance and power of the being. If you never had someone say no to you, why would you ever have a concept of consequences?
We waited in silence for a few more minutes before the first knock sounded at the door. I put my glass on the coffee table and walked over, opening it. Finn and Shawn stood on the other side, both grinning.
"Looks like we got here at the same time," Shawn said.
"How convenient," I said. "I didn't want to have to do much more waiting."
I stepped back so that they could walk inside—keeping a careful eye on them as they crossed the threshold. One grimace, and I would suspect the worst. There was nothing to notice, though, as they filed into the room.
"So, what are we here for?" Finn spoke this time.
"Well, I wanted you all here so that we could have a variety of different opinions, and hopefully come to an agreement on the best course of action," I said. "The succubus attacked today. Attacked me. We're clearly not making any headway on finding her, so we need a new plan."
"Finally," Finn said. "I was wondering if you were ever going to call me in."
I glared at him. "You know I don't like involving you in things like this, but in this particular instance, I thought your skills could come in handy. You have to have been in a situation like this before. What did you do?"
"Hm," he said, tapping a finger against his chin. "It's difficult, there are a multitude of different avenues you could go down."
"We should set up a trap," Mal said from the corner he was leaning in.
My eyes snapped to his, furious. "What?"
"I said, we should—"
"No, I heard you. I know what you said. Why would you think that's an OK idea at all?"
"Because it's the only way of guaranteeing that the succubus we're after is the one we're going to get. No other succubus is going to show up for a buffet of magic users. But this one will, and she'll be frothing at the bit if she sees a lot of them in one place. You know I'm right, Blair, you just don't like it."
Damn him, he was right. I glowered at him, unwilling to admit it. I couldn't do something like that, it was a horrible idea, and I wasn't going to turn around and say it was a good one.
The problem was, I couldn't see any other plan that would work.
"Emily?" I turned to her, hoping that she would have something.
"I don't like it," she said. "We are not sacrificing innocents so that you can catch a demon. It's not an option in the slightest."
"Thank you," I said with a sigh of relief. "At least someone is making sense." I turned to look at Shawn and Finn, eyebrows raised, waiting for them to chime in on my side.
Finn looked at Emily and me, and then over to Mal, and then down at the floor.
"Sorry, Blair, but I think he has a point. The other options involve trying to figure out the pattern as quickly as possible, and hoping that you can get to the next location before a victim falls...and, actually I think that's about it for what you can do. You can't track them down, you can't ask around for people to describe the person you're looking for, and you can't put up any kind of posters alerting the community for who to look for. So, you've got two options, and they both may involve people getting hurt."
I gaped at him, furious. I pivoted to look at Shawn, my eyes heavy with expectation.
He shrugged his shoulders. "From a strictly logical and strategical point of view, that guy's option is the best," he said, hooking a thumb over at Mal.
I never introduced them, the random thought popped into my head unwarranted. It didn't matter, because they weren't going to spend any time together if they kept
agreeing on shitty ideas.
"No, no way, I don't like it. We're not doing it."
I heard Emily's breath of relief behind me. I turned to look at her, a little surprised that she would have cause to be relieved. That would mean she had thought I would change my mind on this, come around to the idea of using people like that. She thought so little of me?
"I'm sorry, Blair, but after learning who you are spending your time with...you cannot be surprised that I would question you in this regard."
"Actually, yes, I can be surprised. I'm very surprised. I would never have thought that you would...that you would think I could do something like that," I said, trying and failing to keep the hurt from my voice.
She stood, walking towards me as if she might hug me or something, but I shied away. She halted, biting her lip.
"If it helps at all, I can assure you that she is never on board with any of my plans. She fights me with everything," Mal said, smiling.
"Shut up," I said, glaring at him.
"That does help, actually. I don't like the idea of you working with a demon, Blair. You have to know that."
"Whoa, what, demon?" Shawn's eyes widened. He stared at Mal, his jaw dropping like a comic book character. "You're like, an actual demon? Where are your horns?"
"I prefer Fallen," Mal said lazily, smirking. "The demons are my offspring."
"What?" Shawn looked at me, then Mal, then back to me. "You've had a demon in your pocket and you never mentioned that?"
I shrugged. "It never seemed relevant."
"Do not be so excited," Emily said, a note of warning in her voice. "He will harm you if given the opportunity."
"Now that is just not true. That's a stereotype, and I would expect more from a learned woman such as yourself. I am in full control of myself, and I will not attack anyone like some rabid animal."
Emily lifted her chin, glaring at him. "Yes, you are in control of yourself, but I would not put it past you to want to hurt someone."
His smile fell from his face. "Do not."
"The fuck, guys?" I interrupted them, gesturing with my hands in the air. "We have more important shit to be dealing with right now then some pissing contest between you two."
"I thought we had already agreed what was the best course of action," Mal said, frowning. "Isn't it three to one?"
"This is not a majority rules situation!" I glared at him. "You have not convinced me that this is anywhere near a good idea. I'm not endangering people."
"What if they knew?" He took a step forward. "Would that be different?"
I glanced at Emily, needing her advice on this.
She sighed. "I do not like the idea of bait. But if someone were to give informed consent...I cannot stop someone from risking their lives if they know the consequences."
I felt helpless then, torn at what to do. I didn't want to do this, I didn't like this idea, but it seemed that everyone except for me was getting on board. Finally, I turned to look at Mal.
"Good luck getting a bunch of mages on board with being demon chow."
30
I woke up a grumpy goose the next morning. Last night hadn't gone at all how I had wanted it do, and we had a plan now that I didn't believe in. What was worse, I was the one who had to execute it. I'd tried at first to foist it off on Mal, since it was his idea, but it made no sense to send a demon to a bunch of mages to ask them to get in line for another demon to eat them.
It made sense to send a mage to beg a bunch of mages to help her help them. I didn't want to do it, mostly because it meant talking to Lillai again, and I could just guess how well that was going to go.
Not, was the answer, in case you were wondering.
I dragged myself out of bed, threw on some clothes, and trudged out the door to my car.
Skipping breakfast was probably not the smartest idea—most important meal of the day and all that—but I was too much of a zombie to care about it. The more I put this off, the harder it was going to be to get through. I had to get it out of the way so that I could move on to the rest of the day; which wasn't going to be much fun either.
If Lillai agreed with the plan, and I didn't expect her to, then we were going to execute it as quickly as possible. Which meant the whole thing might be going down tonight.
Maybe I should have eaten breakfast after all, bulked up.
I shook the thought away and stuck my keys in, cranking the engine. It turned over, and then nothing.
"No, no, no." I groaned, hitting my head on the steering wheel with a resounding thunk. "Do not do this to me."
I tried it again, but it didn't start, and I knew better than to do it a third time. I would run out of petrol trying to get the car to start, and then when I gave up and got someone over here to jump it for me, I would also need them to bring me petrol.
Ugh, it all sucked.
I clambered back out of the car and shoved my hand in my jacket pocket to pull out my cell phone. I dialled Shawn's number without putting too much thought into it.
"Hello?" He answered on the third ring.
"Hey, it's Blair. Listen...are you busy?"
"Two days in a row? I must be something special."
"Oh, hush. I need a ride, my car's broken down. Won't start. I hate it. I hate everything. The world sucks."
"Calm down, Blair. It's just morning, not the end of the world."
"Says you!"
He chuckled. "I guess you need me right now, huh?"
I sighed. "Yeah, I do. I need to get on the ball with this thing."
"All right, I'll be there in a minute. Keep your pants on."
I rolled my eyes and hung up the phone. Fishing in my other jacket pocket, I pulled out my pack of cigarettes and lighter. Never doubt the power of nicotine to wake a girl up. I shoved a cigarette between my lips and lit it, sucking on it like my life depended on it.
I exhaled the puff of smoke, watching it spread out into the chilly air. It didn't take long, three more puffs, before the nicotine hit my head and I began to feel like a normal human being again.
A few more minutes and I had finished the cigarette, right as Shawn pulled up beside me.
"My lady called," he said with a grin once he'd rolled his window down.
"Why are you such a dork?" I was smiling as I said it, because I genuinely enjoyed his company and his nature. He was one of the best men I had ever slept with, he didn't expect more from me than I was willing to give him, and he knew when to give me my space. That was a rarity; usually I had to deal with men that were either complete and total scumbags, in which case I did not sleep with them, or they were the type that wanted to explore a relationship.
Shawn was a rare find, so much so that I continuously worried that something was going to crop up and ruin it. I didn't want to lose him as a friend, but it was a little too late to back track on what we had started. I knew it was going to end someday, but I hoped that when that day came, he would stay my friend and it wouldn't be too awkward.
"So, how are you feeling?" We pulled away from the curb as he spoke.
"Eh. Apprehensive. I don't think this conversation is going to go well, and I don't think she's going to agree with the plan. But I was out numbered," I said, glaring at him.
"Hey, don't look at me like that. You asked me there to give my opinion on it, because you wanted to know what I would think. If you had wanted an echo chamber, you shouldn't have called. You know I have military experience, you know I'm capable of looking at things in sums and zeroes."
"I didn't think you would be OK with something like that."
"You have no idea what I can be OK with," he said, his voice quiet.
I stared at him, wanting, and not wanting to ask at the same time. I felt like it was something that would change the nature of our relationship if I found out; I didn't want to do that. Maybe it was the coward's way out, but if he had secrets like that, I didn't want to know them. I knew that military men had to make tough decisions.
Maybe I had called hi
m in because I wanted someone to give an opinion based on experience like that. Maybe I had wanted someone to make the tough call.
At the end of the day, though, it had still been my call. No one but me could have this conversation with Lillai, which meant that if I hadn't agreed to it, it wouldn't be happening. I knew I shouldn't have agreed, but there was no stopping it now.
I had to see it through.
31
The car ride had been companionable enough, yet tense after Shawn's statement. I hoped we could forget it and just move on, but I doubted that was going to be an option. We were going to have to address this sooner or later.
Shawn pulled into the carpark beside Lillai's shop, a communal space that the shops in the area shared. It was usually packed, but this early in the morning it wasn't too bad.
"I'll be just a few minutes," I said as I started to get out of the car.
"I'm coming with you."
"What? No, you can't."
"And why not? You've said yourself you don't think this conversation is going to go well. I want to come, in case it goes south." He got out of the car without giving me an opportunity to argue further.
"Shawn, this isn't that type of conversation. And for the last bloody time, I can take care of myself! Why does everyone insist on taking care of me?" I huffed out a sigh, slamming his car door.
His car chirped as he locked it.
"I know you can take care of yourself, Blair. I'm not saying you can't. I'm also saying every guy I've known who could take care of himself could also benefit from having back up around."
I glowered at him. I hated that he made sense.
I stomped away from him, into Lillai's shop, without another word. I heard him following behind me, no complaints on his end, which only irked me further.
Lillai was behind the counter, her head snapped up as soon as she heard the door open, and her eyes narrowed as soon as they landed on me.
"I thought I was done with you," she said.
"Not just yet," I said, forcing a smile to my lips. "And you're going to keep seeing me, you know, so you might as well get used to it sooner or later."
