Here Comes The Son (Ghost Band / Papa Emeritus fic)

Vile Incarnation

Back in Phantom's room, Cirrus threw her arms out away from her side as Phantom finally released his quintessence hold around her.

"I'm sorry, but he was goading you so much! I couldn't risk you reacting to him and getting banished."

Phantom paused, expecting a furious retort but instead only receiving a nod of, not just understanding, but thankfulness.

"I know," she replied with quiet appreciation. "I definitely would have lost it. It's like he knew how to get to me. I mean exactly how. But, never mind that. What did you see? Or hear? I saw something in your eyes."

Phantom nodded, even the memory of it still shocked him.

"A few things," he paused, ordering his memories. "Firstly, while he was concentrating on you, I managed to use my quintessence to reach over to that table. I don't know specifically what he was using it for, but he had a scrying dish under that cloth."
"Do you think he's got Papa?" Cirrus asked.
"In the dish?" Phantom asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.
"No! Not in the dish!" Cirrus shook her head, rolling her eyes at the misunderstanding. "I mean somewhere, but he can view him using the dish."

Phantom nodded; there seemed to him to be no question now about Saltarian's guilt. He was certain he had definitely arranged for Copia to be kidnapped. He had the connections, power and wealth if necessary, as Imperator had suggested.

"But that's not the only thing," he continued. "He referred to four humans having taken him. How would he know how many if he hadn't organised it?"

Cirrus frowned, remembering the words he had spoken. Suddenly, it combined with something she had noticed but in her anger had forgotten.

"He said humans."
"He specifically said four," Phantom corrected.
"Oh, I know, you're right. I'm not arguing that point. But he said humans. Why would a human call other humans, human? We might, other demons might. There's something else. I tried to gauge his aura when we arrived. He doesn't have one."
"So, he's not human?" Phantom drew the unexpected conclusion.
"No, he isn't," Cirrus agreed. "He can't be, but he should be, shouldn't he? I've never tried to check before."
"We need to ask Imperator or Nihil," Phantom nodded. "They'll know for sure."

*

Opening the door to his apartment, Ethan stared briefly at the tall, casually dressed, brunette woman standing outside the door. Opening his mouth to speak, he found the words dying on his lips as he tried to explain the situation she was walking into. Eventually deciding it safer, for him, not to explain until she was well and truly inside, Ethan took her arm and pulled her in.

"What the hell is going on, Ethan?" She shook her head in confusion at his response to her.

Ethan sighed and shrugged.

"I couldn't have put it better myself," he finally spoke. "Look, I'm going to introduce you to four... er... and they want you to use your hacking skills to get into the street surveillance cameras to find their friend."
"Why are you so nervous?" She asked. "Are they threatening you?"
"Well..."
"So now they're going to threaten me?" She gasped at the desperate selfishness of someone she believed was a friend. "Well, thanks! I'm outta here, Ethan. You're on your own with this one."

As she turned back to the door, both were confronted by Rain standing in the doorway, blocking their exit, and back to using his glamour to appear in his band member form. Ethan yelped in fear at the suddenness of the appearance, and how he had managed such speed as to leave the living room and move past them without being seen. The response from the newly arrived woman, on the other hand, was quite different.