Demon's Grace Ch. 18-20

She barred teeth at me. "See if you have the courage to find out."

I nodded sarcastically, "Thanks."

As I walked away I heard the male grunt that their affairs were not for humans. She agreed with him and told him to figure it out if he wanted to move up in rank. This made me turn to meet her blue eyes one last time. My thoughts stilled as I wondered what she implied.

When I got back to the booth it looked like a three against one argument. Vi, of course, being the one. I sighed and plopped down next to the demon. I ignored all of them and started to eat my hamburger. Eventually it registered that Regina was saying my name.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"How can you just sit there and eat your food right next to a demon. We hunt demons, isn't it going against our, I don't know, religion... nature?!"

"I'm sorry Regina, I don't have any insightful words. You'll have to ask someone else. I'm hungry. I don't have a warrant for Vi. He's not trying to kill me or anyone else right now. He's not my problem."

"What is your problem?" Vi asked in his whispery voice.

I took another bite of food to think about it and heard a familiar voice on my left.

"Hello, Dove."

I didn't turn, instead I watched Vi watch the demon coming closer to us, "Well, it just came through that door, Vi."

He spoke Taurin's name at the same time Shauna exclaimed, "That's not Ezra!" She would know, she met Ezra a few times. Even if she couldn't always remember his name he definitely looked nothing like Taurin.

Vi's eyes had faceted over and I felt like I was looking into a cut jewel. He inquired cooly, "Is that who I've been missing?"

"Eeeyeah," I said as I directed my gaze to Taurin. "Something I can do for you?" I paused in thought, "How'd you find me?!"

"I wanted to see what you were doing. Ezra's no help you know." He ignored the last question.

"He is when it matters." I said drolly, deciding to ignore him for the most part.

"True."

Taurin then proceeded to forcefully invade my personal space. He pushed me farther into Vi and the booth to make room for himself. He then turned his attention to Vi. He looked at him over the tops of his eyes. "Little demon, I have not seen you in a long time."

Suddenly, I felt the whole right side of my body crawling with that horrible bugs-all-over sensation again. Vi had some of the most disturbing demon magic I have ever encountered. I shook my hand out and stomped my foot on the ground. I scowled as I turned my attention to Taurin. "If you're going to piss off another of your kind could you do it when I'm not in the middle, you shit head." I turned to Vi. "And you! No wonder Regina's super pissed at you. If you give her this treatment I wouldn't want to be around you either! Dammit!" I knocked the back of my hand on the table to get it to stop tingling.

"I'm getting it too," came Michael's terse reply.

I couldn't stifle my sarcastic retort, "Well, aren't you better at hiding it."

"She is so cute!" Taurin grabbed me and pulled me in closer. I found myself squished into his body, his blond hair trailed over my shoulder. Thankfully Vi's effects stopped with Taurin's arms around me, probably why he did it.

"I think I'm going to another table to finish my dinner," I mumbled.

"Do not insult me!" Vi stated angrily at Taurin.

"You are not wise to be binding yourself to a demon hunter." Taurin replied.

"No? And what is this?" He forcefully gestured to me with his hand. I shrugged out of Taurin's hold and decided to ignore this fight too.

"None of your concern," Taurin replied calmly.

"What I do is none of your concern as well."

As I chewed on my food I caught the rest of the demon hunters looking askance at me from their vantage point at the table. I sighed inwardly when Shauna's mouth opened. I heard Vi tell Taurin that all he learned from him was hypocrisy.

"I don't understand. Is Ezra dead?" Shauna asked.

"Mmmm, no," I replied, eyes on my food again.

"You're still bonded to Ezra?"

"Eeeyeah." Chew, chew.

"And you're bonded to this one too?!"

Affirmative grunt and head shake. Chew, chew, chew. I heard Michael wonder out loud how that was possible.

Regina finally decided to yell in. "Are you out of your fucking mind?!"

I looked over to see the waitress looking in our direction. I glared at Regina as I wiped my mouth with a napkin.

"Well, I didn't really have much choice in the matter. You should be familiar with that."

She shut her mouth with an audible click, her cheeks flushing. Taurin and Vi continued to throw vicious insults at each other over my head.

"It's a small relief to hear you say that," Michael said gravely. "I came here to help Reggie and I should have been here to help you."

"Thanks, but I'm not sure that there would have been much you could have done. It was poor chess moves... on all our parts." As I said these words I looked up into Taurin's beautiful face. He looked down at me with intent icy eyes.

"That makes no sense." Regina said with frustration.

I waved my hand in agitation. "It doesn't matter."

"Why are you so comfortable around them?" Shauna genuinely inquired.

"I wouldn't say comfortable. You just can't be stressed 24,7." I directed my look to Regina.

"She enjoys our company." Taurin replied with a smile to the group. I snorted and swatted at his hand as he grabbed a french fry off my plate.

"I wouldn't place myself in that predicament," Vi said haughtily.

"You shouldn't be in half of that predicament," Taurin said sternly. He looked at Regina, "Kill him before he kills you."

Vi's voice lowered in tone, "You go too far." Vi reached for me. We ended up with my dagger digging its point under his chin and his left hand gripping my wrist.

"Regina, you can pull his power away from him the same way he does to you." My eyes never left Vi's as I said this.

"What?!" Her voice sounded far away to me as I stayed focused on Vi.

"You're too easy to bait Vi. You must be young if you let Taurin get to you," I chided.

Taurin made an injured noise, "I am just that good, Dove."

His voice turned seductive, "I would convince you if you would let me." I felt his finger trail down from my neck to the small of my back. I would never tell him that I immensely enjoyed the sensation.

Vi inhaled sharply. It made me think that Regina was trying to figure out her new leverage. He released me abruptly and waved his finger back and forth at Regina as he tskd her. While Vi was staring hard at Regina I dug out some money for my portion of the check. Taurin stood up and I slid out of the booth.

Michael looked at me and asked, "Will you be all right?"

I ignored the question and looked at Regina. "I have found that I can rely on Taurin's observations." I hoped Regina understood what I was saying, looking at Michael I knew he comprehended that I agreed that Vi should be killed.

"Anyway, maybe it's my time to die."

That caught their attention. I felt Taurin's cool hand on the back of my neck, his stare like a weight looming behind me. "Oh, it's not like we don't know that our lives are shorter than others. I'll see you all one way or another." I left them with our formal departure, meaning I'd see them alive or when we were all dead.