Across the Veil: Open Eyes (Book 1)

Chapter 21: He puts the ass in astral projection

Willow watched as Moira slammed her cellphone down on the table. If anyone had been in the bar, the gesture surely would have drawn eyes. The Faerest had left a short message on someone's answering machine about what she had just witnessed. When she asked the Faerest if they should wait for help, Moira simply shook her head. They needed information, and fast. The sooner she could dig up anything that could help her and her colleagues find the Dragon, the better.

Despite everything that had happened, Willow, Rayne, and Savio still wanted to help with luring out the Hunters. Vilis and the others opted for more covert, research-focused methods to help Moira. Vilis had already tried making contact with some family back in Avalon to see if they could help out at all, though he'd had no luck so far.

Memphis sat up straight in one of the bar's booths. He had an idea. He leaned back, resting his head on the top edge of the booth's seat, an easy feat for someone as tall as he was. "Hey, keep an eye on my body, 'kay?" Memphis said, his eyelids drifting shut.

"What's he doing?" Willow asked, giving Savio and Rayne a curious look. Neither Fae knew what exactly their boss was doing.

After a few moments Memphis gave a soft exhale and went limp. Willow watched as Moira's eyes narrowed, the Faerest eyeing Memphis' body closely before wandering over. She placed a hand on Memphis' wrist, two fingers curling around and pressing the artery to check for a pulse.

"What are you doing...?" they all heard her mumble.

Slowly, a form materialized behind Moira, like someone had decided to project a hologram of Memphis. The Demon grinned as he leaned down and spoke in the Faerest's ear, "Boo."

Moira jumped slightly before shooting Memphis a sharp look. The Demon simply grinned more before turning to address everyone in the room, arms wide as if to display some impressive trick, "Not bad, eh?"

Willow blinked, "How'd you.... How'd you do that?"

Memphis chuckled, "This, my dear Human, is something Demons do. We project ourselves. I can't touch anything... But I don't need to to work my abilities."

"You look the same as your regular body." Savio commented, surprised but not exactly impressed.

Something in Memphis' eyes flickered. Slowly he turned to look at the shadow Fae, a smirk ghosting its way onto his face. "Now... Why would I show you my real form?" he tutted, wagging a finger, "I like to keep that a surprise. If you ever see what I really look like, you're either very lucky... or very unlucky." His voice took on a slightly feral tone.

"Menti." Moira cut in, drawing the attention of the Demon.

Memphis looked rather amused. If Willow had to guess, Moira was one of the few mortals who dared to challenge the Demon. The Demon grinned, sharp teeth flashing in the light before vanishing into the shadows with the promise of returning in no time.

Moira simply shook her head and took a seat beside Memphis' body. It looked like Memphis could separate from his body for a time, but Moira seemed concerned with making sure Memphis had a healthy body to come back to. She checked his pulse and breathing at regular intervals. Willow and the others could practically keep time with the regularity of it.

***

Almost twenty minutes passed before Memphis' body gave a slow, deep inhale. He sagged forward before opening his eyes and stretching. He grinned, a feral toothy grin. His voice was singsong, "I know where the Hunters are."

"Where?" Moira asked, voice sharp and eyes hard.

"They should be a few blocks away now. If you go by Main, you'd probably spot them in the distance." he explained, stretching again and flexing his digits.

Rayne stepped forward, looking at Moira, "What do you need us to do?"