The Demon Inheritance

TWENTY-FOUR

I hugged my duffel bag to my chest as I took a spot beside Oliver in a truck. I propped my chin on top of the bag, cowering down low enough to get head-level with my Apotropaic. We had made our ways into the storage part of a big truck under the driver's nose, dangerously. Sadly, Mun hadn't been able to get us a safe way out. So, we were grouped in the back of a transport truck owned by a company.

We had already crossed into California, according to Ace.

I took in a sharp breath. I thought of Mary Clarkson, and how there was a void in everything she would soon fill once again. She wasn't a very physical person, but there was even a gape in where she hadn't touched me in so long. Soon, everything would be filled again, not that we would immediately be in LA or anything. It excited me, and I wondered if I would end up dropping Oliver.

Never!

As the truck hit a bump, we were jolted up a bit and Oliver instinctively made a grab for my arm. I felt pain spike through my spine as I slammed against the metal and Oliver made an attempt to soften the landing. I gave him a glare, and he smiled apologetically.

Nahara lifted her head. Her appearance was darkened by the lack of light. "When do you think we will get off of the truck?"

"More importantly..." Fango included, "How do we get off without getting caught?"

Dillan shrugged. "Carter and Mun tried to get off at an earlier stop, and you saw the outcome of that... They were shot. We need to be careful, but also not get carried away to some place far away."

I titled by head. Great. More dead Apotropaic vessels, and I was just haveing a vision while it happened.

Ace sighed. "I hate to agree with him on this one. The Apotropaics... It doesn't matter if their vessel dies. But the Extants... That's an entirely different story. They were born on earth. They die... Except for Nahara, that is..." His black eyes went towards her in an emotion that was difficult to pick up, but looked like a mixture of sadness and longing and even a bit of hatred. I could tell that these emotions weren't exactly directed at her, but they still seemed as effective.

Delta hugged his knees to his chest. "I really am okay to agree! But we really do need to be careful. This isn't our stop. Not yet."

I leaned against Oliver, feeling impatience weaving over me. I couldn't wait much longer for Mary Clarkson to be saved. Each minute was lagging into an hour in my mind, each second a minute. My heart thudded as if in anticipation, even though I knew it would be a while before we got to LA itself.

Oliver hooked his arm around my shoulders, making me flinch away the smallest bit before he gave me an apologetic glance. "Sorry... And I know you can't wait much longer..." His tone lowered. "Is... something else wrong?"

"I just don't want you to touch me." A part of me wondered if when Mary was back, I would knock out the replacement, Oliver. When the black-haired faerie - Mary, of course - was once again in my arms, would it end up shoving the white-haired demon aside? Then, a larger part of me cared what happened to our relationship. He was merely a stand-in... I think. After this, surely he would return to simply training me? Surely he wouldn't really be hurt by that? But what did I know about the emotions of other people?

His eyebrows creased in worry. "Oh. Okay. Sorry..."

I suppressed comforting him and simply rolled my eyes. "It's fine." Without another word directed at him, I turned to face Dillan. "How will we know when to get off?"

Fango was the one who answered, "Leave it to me. I can use my element to find out what it's like around us. I will inform you when a good time to get off is..." He pressed his glasses back into place and muttered, "Even if the truck is moving..."