Blue Flames

Chapter 8

"I thought he might be useful," I said, looking back at the demon.

"What ... are...you?" the creature croaked out, the words foreign in his mouth.

I showed him my teeth in a feral smile. I really wanted to use him as a punching bag. All the frustration, the guilt and the desperation of the past couple of days had made me furious, and now that fury found an aim.

"Good call," Charles looked around, then pulled out a phone from his pocket, "where the hell is back up?"

"I called them before I jumped out of the car," Irene replied, her eyes narrowed on the demon on the ground, "they should've been here by now."

The windows and glass doors of the shops and houses around all had humans plastered against them with curious and fearful faces. Fortunately, the demons hadn't decided to take one of them and went after me. Now that I knew how they chose their victims, it made perfect sense.

I just had to find a way to make the others come to the same conclusion. If I told them, it would give away the fact that I could sense other people's magical auras, which was not something a human could do. To sense magic, you need to have a considerable amount of it.

Before I could come up with a solution, a black van turned the corner and drove up the street, screeching to a stop right next to us.

The doors of the car opened letting out six men. All of them dressed in black t-shirts, cargo pants and combat boots. All of them well built, walking with assured steps. Only one of the men was wearing a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes. But even without the cap, I could tell it was him.

I didn't know who he was trying to fool in his silly attempt to blend in, but I could never mistake that presence for anyone else's even if his magic was still cloaked.

"What is he doing here?" Irene asked, speaking more to herself than to me, her eyes wide open in wonder trained on Arthur.

Charles met Arthur halfway, the two of them speaking in low voices. Even from a distance, Arthur's eyes were as intense as I recalled them to be. His face still sported a five oclock shadow and his skin, under the sunlight, looked even more golden.

His eyes suddenly shifted to meet mine. He said something to Charles then the two men walked toward us. The five others following close behind.

As soon as the demon caught a glimpse of Arthur, he choked on his own breath and tried getting away even with the threat of my knife on his heart. In a heartbeat, Arthur was crouching next to me, his hand on the demon's chest making him stay in place. I could tell Arthur wasn't even putting pressure with his hand, but the demon stayed put, his body trembling and silver eyes wide open.

"Keep still," The timber of Arthur's voice made my body tense involuntarily. His voice was calm and almost soothing, but no one with a sane mind would mistake the danger he presented.

I straightened and put my blade back in its sheath. Apparently, my death threat was no longer needed.

Arthur straightened up, gesturing for two of the men who came with him. They pulled the demon to his feet and dragged him to the van.

"He can make himself invisible," I said, worried he would slip out.

"He won't."

Arthur's eyes fell on me. I resisted the urge to take a step back just in time.

His lips twitched up, as if he knew what I was thinking. I remembered what he did the night before and immediately checked my mental shields for any intruder. Nothing. Then I remembered what he said about me being easy to read and I scowled at him. There, if kept scowling he wouldn't be able to tell what I was thinking.