Inner Demons

Chapter Four: Passing the Days

The noise of Vanth rustling upstairs brought Quinn back to consciousness. She slid out of bed, groggy, but she hated sleeping in. She paced up the stairs, only acutely aware of what was going on around her. She noticed Vanth pulling out various cooking utensils, looking confused. 

"Ah, Quinn. There you are...you don't happen to know how to cook do you?" Vanth asked, dressed in plaid pants and a loose white T-shirt, his hair a nest, he'd just woken up. 

"I can handle it..." she replied. Vanth looked bewildered as she cruised around the kitchen almost as if it was her own. 

"By the way, let the kid out." And with that Vanth went outside for some fresh air, leaving the food to Quinn. She was left with her thoughts as she stared at the eggs jumping on the pan. 

She left the food for a moment to run downstairs and see if Jamie was up, sure enough, the blonde was shaking himself awake. The lack of space and windows caused him to pace the room restlessly. Quinn's arrival sent him to the bars. 

"I'm going stir crazy here Quinn...help a guy out..." he mumbled, leaning dramatically against the bars. She took the keys and unlocked the padlock once again, no hesitation this time. 

"Vanth said it's fine if I let you out." she answered to his questioning gaze. 

One twitch of his nose and he was halfway up the stairs, she chuckled as she sprinted after him.

The next three days they spent at the safe house, dubbed by Vanth. To Quinn, it didn't feel very safe at all, with it's menacing iron bars tucked in behind every wall. The house was clearly old, the floors looked like they should've been redone several years prior, but no one ever got around to it. The wallpaper looked like it was half a century old and all the appliances needed to be upgraded. 

Most of the time there was spent with Vanth doing secretive things on the laptop he always kept close at hand, either that or whispering on the phone. If he wasn't doing either of those things then he was watching TV with a beer in his hand. Quinn passed the days chatting with Jamie, brainstorming where they would be eventually be going. 

It was clear Vanth wasn't fond of the furniture-lacking, decades-old house, and once he'd said he would be glad when they could finally get on the road again. The two teenagers had a field day imagining where they were going, what would happen, and further still who this Nova character was. 

Quinn once worked up the guts to ask Vanth a question about her, he responded with a chuckle, "She'd get mad at me if I told you." he had said. Still this Nova character remained elusive, but the older demon wasn't entirely secretive. Through Quinn's many question drilling sprees. He eventually caved and told them about a friend of his to sate their curiosity. 

A demon by the name of Abaddon. Leader of the clan of demons where they would be going- Quinn got bragging rights for that bit of info afterwards. Anyways, Vanth claimed that Abaddon was the most intimidating person he'd ever met, demon or otherwise. Seven feet tall at the tip of his horns and over three hundred pounds of muscle. Jamie scoffed at this and that was all they got from Vanth that day. Vanth remained stalwart after that, not one hint slipped from his carefully chosen words. It drove Quinn and Jamie crazy, almost literally in Jamie's case, until finally, Vanth told them to pack their bags. 

"W-What do you mean?" Quinn stammered after supper, their plates were empty and Quinn was just about to start the dishes, a regular chore at the orphanage. Vanth downed what was left of his bottle of pop and looked them in the eyes. 

"Just like I said. Get your stuff, we leave tonight." with that he dumped the dishes in the sink and strolled off to his room. 

Jamie blinked, "Was he serious?" he inquired. 

"Seems like it..." Quinn rose up and collected the rest of the dishes, she cranked the leaky tap and let the sink fill up. She had gotten more used to exposing her legs and now she wore a pair of shorts that Vanth had mysteriously gotten a hold of after a short expedition in the middle of the night. Jamie was dressed in a pair of camouflage cargo shorts and a white T-shirt. He had been taking his meds but showed no improvement with his sudden minor mood swings and inexplicable fear of mirrors, but he had no more fits of violence.

"So...we going to that demon clan?" Quinn asked. Jamie shrugged as Quinn began to wash the plates. 

"Guess so..." he mumbled as he rose up and began to head down the stairs. Shying away from the mirror hanging above the door to the basement. Quinn wasn't sure what he had against mirrors but he definitely didn't like them. After quickly finishing up the dishes, she piled them up in the cupboards and sprinted downstairs after him.

Quinn sat in the back seat of Vanth's car, her bag of belongings a bit more full now as the car pulled out of the driveway. Despite only being there a few days, she felt a little sad at leaving, the rugged place held many memories for her. Jamie sat one seat over, one foot propped up on his leg, his claws grinding against one another, a nervous habit she'd guessed. Vanth pulled out of the driveway and slid out onto the road, she watched the small house nestled in the woods until it was out of sight. She sagged into her seat as she watched the scenery roll by.

 "Listen you two..." Vanth started, Quinn looked up. 

"You're gonna be seeing some weird things from now on. Just remember to keep a clear head and you'll be fine." he said, Quinn and Jamie exchanged confused looks, but nodded.

"Good. Just hang in there. We'll arrive at our destination in a few days." he added, Jamie groaned at this.

 "We have to sleep in the car don't we?" he asked. Vanth nodded. 

With Quinn's mood dampened, Vanth slid out onto the highway that would be their home for the next three days and two nights.