Blue Flames

Bonus Chapter 4

Charles handed me a towel. I shook my hands, demonic blood splattering the grass, and accepted the towel. Wiping down my arms only smeared the blood further, and the smell was unpleasant. I had to take a proper shower.

"Corry has the location," I told Charles. "Go with the team."

"Yes, Sire," Charles said. He hesitated. I raised my brow. Charles straightened. "I think agent Kim should come along. She deserves to be there as she's worked on the case from the beginning."

Hmm. "Very well. Take her along," I said. Charles nodded and turned to walk away. "And Charles?"

"Yes, Sire?"

"Tell agent Kim I'm offering her a position to work directly for me," I said. "Nine-tailed foxes are very resourceful and talented creatures. We'll best utilize her abilities if she works directly with us."

I might be mistaken, but Charles seemed to perk up. His eyes brightened. He gave a firm nod. "Yes, Sire."

I smiled, watching him rush back through the trees. Oh, yes. The little fox would be perfect for him.

I walked to my house, deliberately taking the long way back. It had been an interesting couple of days.

The demon was still alive in the cell, which was an interesting development, considering I thought he would be dead after I was done with him. I'd thought I wouldn't be able to control myself.

But I was. My magic had been surprisingly... collected. The darkness that lurked within was no longer pushing against my control.

Perhaps keeping busy with the Order and the soldiers was a good idea. But deep down, I knew it had something to do with Elle Sanders.

Elle sanders.

She was not a human, of that much I was certain. There were ways to make an immortal's outer aura simulate that of a human. But the question I kept coming back to was: why? Why would an immortal, a young one, choose to live as a human? It did not make sense.

After a couple of hours, I reached my house, glancing at the cabin next to it where she was being kept. The junior soldiers stationed outside looked like they had been in a fight. One of the senior soldiers was lecturing them. When he saw me, he headed my way.

"Sire. The human tried to escape."

My mood instantly lifted. Of course, she did. "And?"

"The juniors tried to stop her."

Since I could feel her inside that cabin, I assumed they succeeded. I waited for the soldier to continue. "She fought all of them on her own," he hesitated, "and she defeated them."

My gaze went to the cabin. Interesting. Very interesting. A human could never, under any circumstance, defeat a group of immortals in a hand-to-hand fight, no matter how young and inexperienced they were. Immortals were simply built differently. Our bodies, our reflexes, our senses, it made us superior to humans when it came to combat.

"Yet she's still here."

He cleared his throat. "She surrendered," he said.

"Surrendered?"

"Yes." He shifted on his feet. "Because she was trying not to kill any of them."

I laughed. Oh. That was just rich. The senior soldier gaped at me. He collected himself and stood straighter.

Ah, Elle, Elle, Elle. What a wonderful little mystery.

"Make sure she doesn't make another attempt," I told him before going to my house. I had to clean up and be presentable for the lady.