ℤ𝕒𝕟𝕖
"Alright then," I say, turning to Ava. "You guys wanna head to dinner then?"
I do my best to keep a calm demeanor and expression, even as I feel my blood pressure rise. It's one thing to bring Ava into a situation with one might-be-rogue demon, it's another entirely to bring her into a bar full of demons.
Ava's eyes are wide and questioning, but she nods silently.
"Well, then, mate," Finn says with a surprisingly convincing air of calm. "I guess this is where we leave you, Kieran. Enjoy the rest of your night!"
Kieran says his goodbyes and I loop an arm around Ava, guiding her out.
"That phone thing is still on, right?" I ask.
"Yep," she says.
"Good."
If we have to be surrounded by demons, then I'm glad I at least have a way of keeping track of Ava in case we're separated. Just the thought of someone taking her anywhere away from me makes me sick.
We get to my car and I invite Finn to follow us to our place.
"Oh my god," Ava says after a few minutes of driving in silence. "Why were there so many demons at Pike's? Are they always there?"
"I have no idea," I say. "It's not always easy to tell if someone's Immortal, demon, or human. There are some tricks, some are better than others at detecting things like that, but Finn's gifts are the only ones that could hone in on that sort of thing so easily."
"So is it safe to say one of our new demon friends is behind these mysterious killings?" Finn's voice asks in my head.
"Okay, that's really freaky," Ava says. "You're driving another car for Christ sakes!"
Based on her reaction I take it he's talking to the both of us telepathically.
"Yeah," I say. "I think that's a safe assumption. Though I have no idea what kind of demons they are. But if there were that many, odds are at least one is an Incubus or Succubus."
"There are other kinds?" Ava asks.
"Oh sure... Ale, Shayatin, the Furies..."
Ava's eyes widen and her heart rate quickens.
Finn, God damn it, stop scaring her.
"Demons aren't all bad," Finn says. "It's just... that many in one room without any logic or reason... it's not a good sign."
"Can't be too careful," I add.
"Yeah..." she says softly.
****
Twenty minutes later we reach the penthouse and we bring Finn up in the elevator.
"Well, that was interesting," he says as we head inside the apartment. "Got to admit, that's not how I saw this expedition panning out. We come in with Kieran being our only lead, Ava gets an answer from Kieran out of the gate, and we find ourselves up to our feckin' eyeballs in demons. I don't know about you lot but I've got more questions now than when we started."
"Same," I say, tugging at my hair. "I don't know what to make of it. What the hell are so many demons doing in Port Charlotte?"
"I'm pretty sure they didn't come for the quality theater," Finn jokes.
I look to Ava, who has been suspiciously quiet for the last ten minutes or so.
"Are you alright, love?" I ask. Normally I would try to ask privately, but we all know there's no privacy when it comes to Finn.
"Yeah, I um..." she mutters. "My stomach is hurting. Would you mind?"
"Not at all," I say, putting my hand to her cheek. "Your stomach feels fine. Everything feels fine."
Her expression notably softens and her muscles seem to relax.
"Thanks," she says softly.
"Nifty use of your powers, there," Finn says.
I nod. We spend another few minutes discussing possible explanations as to why all these demons are in town. None of them really make sense. I finally decide to text the only person who might be able to make sense of this: Kami.
𝔸𝕧𝕒
I wake up to Zane's hand brushing hair out of my face. Nausea overwhelms me and my skin feels like it's on fire. The memory of last night hits me and thoughts of demons flood to the surface.
"Baby," Zane's voice says. "Are you sure you're okay alone today? I don't have to go to this appointment."
Appointment?
"My brain can't function this early," I say groggily. "What appointment?"
"It's 1 pm," he says with a chuckle. "I'm meeting with my accountant, remember? It's Friday."
"Oh yeah."
I totally don't remember.
"Go," I say. "I have work to do anyway so I'll be here all day. No demons followed us home, Zane."
He nods and I let my eyes close again.
After a few minutes, the loud buzzing of my phone wakes me up. I fumble aimlessly until my hand finds the source and I look at the screen.
It's Jen.
I raise the phone to my ear and answer the call.
"Hey," I say, my voice sounding faded and drowsy.
"Heyyyy," Jen's voice says over the line. "Where have you been? I've called you like eight times!"
I look at my phone again and sure enough, there are a bunch of missed calls from Jen.
"Shit, sorry, I slept in."
"Slept in?" she asks. "Geez, girl! It's 2 in the afternoon!"
I look at the time and, sure enough, it's 2:18 pm.
Crap.
So much for getting work done today.
"How are you liking the new place?" she asks.
I sit up in bed, rubbing my eyes, and I feel instantly woozy. The room spins and I find myself falling back onto the bed.
This is just great.
"What?" I ask. "Could you repeat the question?"
"Are you okay, hon?" she asks.
"I'm fine."
"Bullshit," she says. "Is Zane with you?"
"Uh, no... he's at a thing."
"Alright, I'm coming over," she says. "You sound like crap."
"Well, that's not a very nice thing to say," I whine.
"Don't sound like crap and I won't tell you that you sound like crap."
I grunt in frustration.
"Do you have the address?" I ask.
"Yeah, you sent it the other day, remember?"
"Okay, um," I say, trying to pull my focus off the spinning ceiling above me. "The front desk guy can show you how to get up here. Tell him you're here to visit me."
"Okay," she says. "Just take care of yourself and I'll be there soon."
With that, I end the call and my view of the ceiling blurs before fading to black.
ℤ𝕒𝕟𝕖
"So I need you to initial here," my accountant says.
I get it, okay. This is the fifteenth fucking thing you've needed me to initial.
My mind drifts back to the events of last night. If there are so many demons in town, why are they at Pike's? And what are they doing here in town in the first place?
I've always been terrified that pulling Ava into my world would put her in danger, but this was something I hadn't accounted for. If we had never met, she'd still be at risk just living in Port Charlotte, maybe even more at risk.
I'm wondering if I passed over the mark idea too quickly. With all the crime and subterfuge in this town, maybe it is the best way to keep her safe.
My phone vibrates and as I pull it from my pocket the accountant gives me a judgmental, side-eyed look.
So help me, I will break this wanker in half if he says a word about me answering my phone. I'm paying you to be here and bore me to death with your forms, you're going to give me a bloody hard time over taking a call?
The screen lights up with Jen's name.
What?
Last I heard Jen was still trying not to kick me in the bollocks every time she saw me. Now she's calling me for a chat?
If Jen's calling me...
My heart drops and I feel a violent gnawing in the pit of my stomach.
Something's wrong.
Something happened.
"Hello?" I answer, standing up out of my chair.
"Zane?" Jen asks. Her voice is high and breathy.
Fuck.
"What happened?" I ask, already assuming the worst.
"It's Ava," she says.
Her two words have me rushing for the door. The accountant is visibly flustered and attempts to follow me.
"Excuse me, Mr. Smith," he says. "You can't just le-"
A low rumbling growl erupts from my chest and my eyes must be flashing green because he stumbles backward in terror. I tear down the stairwell at full speed.
"Something's wrong with her," Jen says with a shaky voice. "When I showed up she didn't remember even inviting me over and she couldn't stay awake. We're at the hospital. They won't tell me what's going on they just took her back and now I'm just stuck in the waiting room and they're asking me all these questions and..."
"Which hospital?" I ask.
"Blackwell Memorial," she says.
My mind goes into a state of shock and it seems as if my body is operating on autopilot. I'm in my car before I know it and speeding to the hospital.
If the police want to ticket me for speeding, they'll have to follow me to the bloody hospital.
****
When I arrive Jen is clearly in the midst of an argument with the woman at the front desk.
"I know that's what her record says but I'm telling you it's an old record and you should under no circumstances call him," she says loudly. "I don't care if it's procedure, I..."
She spots me walking in and points to me.
"Actually, that's him right there," she says. "Mike, come over here."
I shudder upon being called by that scumbag's name.
What the fuck, Jen? I know she's still angry at me but that was uncalled for.
"Mike," Jen repeats as I walk up to the desk. "They were insisting on calling you because you're on record as her in case of emergency person and I was telling her that you and Ava broke up but they apparently won't tell me shit. They will only talk to you, Mike."
It bothers me to no end that he's still listed on her medical record, but I can hardly feel anything but panic right now. I reach across the desk and grab the woman's arm.
"Listen to me," I say before she can try to pull away. "You're going to tell me what's wrong with Ava and where she is. Right now."