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Chapter 14: Barriers And Bargaining

"We're trapped! What do we do?" Sean asked as he continued to feel the barriers, hoping one would open and let him out. His body shaking in terror, as I calmly watched him panic. I put a hand on his shoulder and clamped down. 

"Contract buddy?" Sean focused on me. "Sit down and breathe. I got this." He then followed my order as he got on the ground and wrapped his arms around himself. A pair passed through the door. I put on a smile and waved to them. 

Ok, get him to underestimate you.

"Hello, you must be Alden and Tate's uncle?" I said as I looked at the paper and matched him to the sheet. "You're Silas Martin, the line chief of the factory, correct?" The man seemed surprised at my words. I let out a quick laugh, "Oh, where are my manners? I'm Vincent Balcom." I reached my hand out, then stopped when it hits the barrier. "Whoops forgot about that." Another laugh to complete the facade.

Keep playing dumb. Sure, I devoured his subordinate, but maybe he didn't like him? I can't say I cared for him, so maybe fifty years of entrapment with that prick will work out for me.

The man finally spoke.

"Alden, what happened to Luke?"

He asked like a parent questioning their child. Alden rose from the floor, then said. 

"He killed him! Somehow, he could hit him with his bat and then he ate him like Harvin did to the others." He said leaving out the part where I saved him.

Is there another demon named Harvin? The fuck happened here after the fire?

"Hey." I said. "Is Harvin a demon like me? Can he do this with his eyes? If so what color are they?" Entering soul sight, I looked at the barrier first and see the walls covered in markings.

Wait, these kinds of markings are common with ghosts worth over 12 souls. I looked to the trio and saw the two heaven bound souls had a line connected to the radiant soul of Silas.

Abnormal type, soul tether. The boys can transfer their soul energy to Silas and make him more powerful. The downside is that whatever energy they lend leaves them weaker. If the barrier is anything to go off, they're both giving him all they can and are equal to Greta currently. I must have been too far from them to see the tether before. Though it would explain why Alden went down and seemed stunned by one hit. A one soul ghost vs a six soul will get destroyed easily.

"You're what?" Silas asked.

"A demon, I devour the wicked souls like Luke. Oh, he said something about throwing himself at Harvin, but then he went nuts and declared he'd sacrifice us to Harvin instead, so I saved us both from him." I answered, making sure that key part of saving us was included. The man turned his glance to Alden.

"Is this true?"He asked.

"Yes, sir!" He said, finally being useful to me.

"See? I helped him out, and just want to say again, I only devour the bad ones. You're all heaven bound. I die if I try to do that to any of you."I smiled as I put my hands behind my back, then lean towards the barrier. "So you want to let us out? I can help you move on. Unless you want to be here forever?" I then stood there and waited for a response from him.

"What about him?" Silas gestured to Sean, causing him to freeze up. I look at Sean then back to Silas, 

"Respectfully, does he look like a threat?" I tilted my head and pursed my lips, only adding to the pose I was in. He sighed before moving his hand. The barrier vanished, Sean exhaled, and I straightened back up.

"Oh, thank god," Sean said. I approached the man, then held out my hand again. He shook it, then asked. 

"So what exactly happened to Luke?" He asked.