The day before the fair, tourists started turning up from the moment the pub opened at eleven. Tom decided to return to work now that his face didn't hurt as much. Ezra had been called on soul stripper duties during the night and returned only thirty minutes ago, so he was in the bedroom, catching up on sleep in preparation for his shift that evening.
Cal sat in front of him at the bar, stirring a spoon mindlessly around his coffee. He looked tired, run down, and was far too quiet.
"Have you heard anything from Harper?" Tom asked.
"No." Cal rested his chin on his palm. "I miss her."
Tom chucked him a packet of crisps. "You were good together. It's a shame she's being like this." He wanted to talk to Cal about the demon meetings, and how they think that maybe the angels are up to something with the rise in violence, but Cal had a lot going on. His dad got his car and driver's licence taken away. His girlfriend had broken up with him, and locals in the village are being weird with him too.
"It's not her. I know it's not. But I just . . . I feel like I've lost her."
Tom pursed his lips and patted his arm. "Maybe she'll come around and realise how horrible she's being. Maybe I should talk to her?"
"Or maybe she won't. I doubt she'll want to listen to you."
Tom hated seeing his best friend so glum, but he had nothing useful to offer him, so all he could do was listen and be there for him.
The pub filled up with an equal mix of regulars and tourists. He offered them flyers for the fair with a list of what stalls would be on, and the events through the day. The angel's choir seemed to be an exciting topic for the older tourists. The food stalls were popular among everyone.
As Tom talked to a couple about the history of the pub, Ezra surfaced, freshly showered with damp black hair, a black t-shirt that showed his demon mark, and two plates of pie and chips for Tom and Cal's dinner.
The couple suddenly stopped listening to Tom and widened their eyes when he felt Ezra's hand brushing the space between his shoulder blades.
"From your mum," Ezra said quietly, giving him the food. Declan had followed him down, ready to take over while Tom had a break.
"Thank you, Ez," he said with a smile, ignoring the way the tourists snatched their pints and sat as far away from the bar as possible. "Have you eaten?"
"I have." Ezra sat next to Cal, anxiously glancing around at the new faces who were judging him.
The shift in atmosphere was noticeable. Tom stayed behind the bar, holding his plate and cramming in his food, making sure to stare out those who were glaring at Ezra. After months, the locals were only just warming to him, and now he had to deal with it all over again with people who didn't even live in the area.
The woman who had been talking to Tom about the pub's history returned to the bar. "Is this a demon friendly pub?" she asked with a tight lip and narrowed eyes.
"Yes," Tom and Declan said in unison.
"Right . . . " she tapped her fingers against the bar. "It's just that we feel a little uncomfortable."
"Well-" Declan crossed arms over his chest. "There's a pub ten miles from here, they've banned demons. Go there."
The woman gawked as if she had expected Declan to ask Ezra to leave. "Ten miles? We travelled here by train. Is there a bus?"
"No," Declan said, knowing there was one, but it was every hour, and the next bus stop was half a mile away. "You can walk, or deal with demons being in here."
"There's no need to speak to me with that attitude."
Tom scoffed and started coughing on his chips. Cal laughed at him, and Declan patted his back, grinning. "I'd say the same to you. Ez is sitting right there and you're talking to us about how he makes you feel uncomfortable. If anything, you're making him uncomfortable."
"This is just ridiculous." The woman glanced back to her boyfriend who stayed in his seat. He shrugged, so she gave up, but Ezra had a frown on his face and a dullness to his eyes that didn't go away.
When he changed into his bouncer uniform and stood next to their table, the boyfriend was enough pints deep to think his opinion mattered. "This is outrageous!" he yelled, pointing a finger at the demon. "He works here?"
"Yes," Declan said bluntly. "You don't like it? Leave. If you cause a scene, he will kick you out."
Farmer Joel and Finn entered when the couple stood up to start arguing. "Woah, woah, woah!" Finn yelled when they almost barged into him, flinging his arms up into the air. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked the couple.
"It's not right having a demon working in a pub!" the woman complained, looking around to see if anyone else agreed.
Farmer Joel looked her up and down. "And who are you?"
"We are-"
"Actually, I don't care," he interrupted. "You're not from around here, you don't get to come into our local pub and start thinking that you know best. Now drink up and piss off, or you'll have the rest of the townsfolk after you. We respect Ez, he respects us, end of discussion."
As Farmer Joel spoke, a few regulars had stood up, crossed arms over their chests, and nodded along with them. The couple could see that they were outnumbered and decided to make the better choice. They left their drinks and stormed out.
Ezra relaxed when the door swung shut behind them. "Thank you," he said to Farmer Joel.
"No, thank you for todays work on the fair stalls. People have been nothing but unkind to you here. I have been a little hesitant of your stay, but after talking to you yesterday, I realised that everyone has their own shit going on. You've done well coming back here after all that happened. Good work."
Tom raised his brows. Farmer Joel hated everyone, any form of praise coming from him was big news. He was a valued figure in their community, and Ezra knew that.
After closing time, and after Tom's parents had gone to bed, Tom and Ezra sat next to each other at the table closest to the door. They waited for the demons, who were due any moment. "Joel doesn't have much family left. He must have loved talking about what his family's farm was like back then."
"He's an interesting man, but his family have always been fiercely loyal to the land, and to this area."
Tom nodded. "Our families have been loyal to each other . . . in interesting ways."
Ezra then grinned, a sight Tom could only marvel at. The way his eyes scrunched together, and the shape of his mouth that lit up his entire face had an affect on Tom that made him want to take a picture, and stare at his smile every night before going to sleep.
"The feud between your families was the same when I was here all those years ago," Ezra explained. "When the bull smashed the door window, Joel's ancestors brought the bull to the edge of the field, closest to the pub, every day for almost a month. They claimed that the bull was proud of its artwork and wanted to look at it. They helped fix the door, of course. And paid for the damages."
Tom chuckled, shaking his head. "Some things never change." He rested his head on Ezra's shoulder, feeling too tired for the meeting, but he was too curious to hear what the demons had to say. They were a little late, and Tom couldn't stop yawning.
When they finally showed up, Kie had recruited three more demons. With so many in one space, Tom shivered, and was suddenly a little more alert. The new demons stared curiously at Ezra, but nobody questioned his innocence this time. Nobody stared at Tom as though they were sure he was setting them up, or leading them towards a trap.
"So, our source said to watch out for disturbances at the fair tomorrow. They said that there's talk of demons causing a scene when the angel's choir is on," Kie said, looking around with a serious frown. "There has also been talk of backlash towards Othrowan. Some are calling for him to be punished for what he has done to Ezra."
Ezra looked down to his hands when all eyes glanced to him.
"We also heard people questioning the angel's faith yesterday. Othrowan is not very popular right now. Should we be worried about that?" Tom asked.
"I'm not sure. It's clear he'll go to extreme lengths to keep the power. So, who knows what else he would do to gain the public's trust." Kie tapped the table. "We should all be on high alert tomorrow. If demons are going to storm the fair, we should be close to hold them back. They might attack the angels."
Everyone agreed, and Tom went to bed that night with anxiety clawing at his chest.