Warlock

Private Investigators of Demonic Affairs

"We can't take him to the police." Skye looked at his sister in surprise. "The Keepers need to interview him first." For a moment there he had thought she would actually show some compassion. The Keepers were essentially investigators, and they would do whatever it took to get the information they wanted. Lola stood and shoved him back into the armchair. "Your boyfriend's patched up. Keep an eye on him. The Keepers won't be here for another hour. Watch TV if you want."

Watching his face was all the entertainment he needed. Skye sighed, flicking one of Loch's loose curls of hair. He still hadn't asked him out. Sure, they had gone to the park, but the warlock had been reluctant to even accept that invitation. What if he asked too soon, and he said no? Throughout their walk, Loch had always kept his hands doing something, making it impossible to try and hold one of them. Skye had assumed it was because they were cold, but what if it was intentional?

"My hair is not a toy."

Skye nearly fell off of his seat in surprise. "I'm sorry. Sorry. Do you want some water? Or food? Painkillers, maybe?" A smile flickered across the warlock's face. His smiles never lasted long, but they were wonderful.

"I'm good. Lost too much blood by keeping my wounds open so I didn't have time to properly fix them." He sat up slightly and stared at the burns on his chest. "Did someone apply a healing potion?" Skye nodded. Before he could object, Loch tapped the edge of the burns, healing them completely. "Let's pretend potions work faster on humans." He fell back onto the bed and pulled a blanket over himself.

"Keepers are going to come and ask you questions soon. Lola called them without telling me. Sorry. They still think you're human, and there's a video of the attack on the news." Skye watched Loch's face carefully, but as always he did not express his inner emotions.

"Interesting." Loch yawned and pulled Skye's hand towards him. Skye's heart skipped a beat, but he quickly realized Loch was merely looking at his watch for the time. "I've only been out for an hour. Good." He crossed his arms, once again putting his hands out of reach. Skye sighed and stared at the wall beyond Loch's head. "What has your government been doing about the killings?"

Skye drew his eyes back to Loch's. "We elected Trinity as our leader again. She's a pixie. A clever one. She's been investigating the murders since before the elections, but she keeps it out of the news. She doesn't want to scare the public, I think. We all know that it's an Other, but nobody has been able to stop time before. Can you do that?" Loch shook his head. "Of course, thanks to you we know that whoever it is has control over High Demons, so they have to be a warlock of some kind. Maybe an ancient, like you."

"I hope not. They're grumpy. Look at how I act, and imagine it a thousand times worse. I would be worse if I weren't acting human."

"You're perfect, not grumpy." Skye winced at his choice of words, but as usual the warlock's expression gave away nothing. "Can I... can I ask you something?"

At this, Loch actually appeared worried. As with all of his emotions, it was fleeting before it was replaced with stoic boredom. "You just did, but go ahead."

Deep breaths. "Will you go ou – " two draconems, a vampire, and a pixie walked into the room without knocking. Behind them, a stone-faced Lola leaned against the doorframe to watch the proceedings. She did not like Loch, and she had not been afraid to point this out to Skye at every opportunity.

Immediately, Loch's face began to mold itself into confusion. He was surprisingly good at both acting and lying, but it was easy to tell the difference between a man who naturally showed only flickers of emotion, and one who showed them completely. It was eerie watching the transformation. "Do you have a little sister?" Loch stared at the pixie with his mask of confusion. He sat up in the bed and pulled the blanket around himself.