Demons' Home Ch. 01-06

I barely looked at him, "Yes?"

He eyed me cautiously, "Ready?"

"Yes."

Taurin grasped my hand and brought it up to his lips, his cool tongue dancing over my knuckles. I was led into the building successfully, even as I was completely distracted. Inside there were more guards and not a civilian worker in sight. An eerie silence permeated the air and the burnt, sweet smell of too much magic assailed my nose.

"It doesn't feel good in here." I said

"No," Ezra agreed. "Fear will do that to a place."

I looked around suspiciously, "Aren't they going to stop us and search for weapons."

"No. Shorn still has influence and ordered them to let us in as is. Then again, he knows our greatest weapons are not external." Ezra continued guiding us in a brisk manner towards the elevators. "Eventually the Affairs' Office will realize the only people they leave open to attack here are the ones who they can take their weapons away from."

The elevator doors seemed to magically open the moment we stepped in front of them. "That was weird," I commented.

Ezra didn't glance at me as he said, "Take nothing for coincidence."

Taurin placed a hand on the small of my back and left it there as we stepped into the third floor given over to the supernatural. I had never been on this floor. I felt Taurin and Ezra harden their demeanor and power. Everything about them was on alert. Ezra stayed a step in front and to my right, whereas Taurin stood a step behind and to my left. I started to realize that maybe I hadn't fully understood the predicament I put us in with my successful trap and subdue warrant and with coming here.

In front of us was a busy wide open space with so much energy that I felt like I put my finger in a live socket. There were supes everywhere talking and acting like every day people working in an office, even if some didn't look human. To our right and left were hallways with offices that I assumed circled around the wide open space. We walked right through the middle. There was a hush and every eye was on us. Demons and demon hunters were on a cusp of a war and I was on both sides. Maybe all three of us were.

We turned to the right and walked through the first open door on the left. I caught sight of an office, then quickly honed in on the fact that Oldavai was standing next to the desk Shorn was sitting behind. I heard Shorn say, "That will be all."

Oldavai walked towards us, but his eyes were only for me. His complex smell of flowers and incense seared into my nose. Immediately jolting flares of recognition inside my body. Without thinking, I pulled away from Taurin's touch and took a step towards him. From one confident step to the next Oldavai's mundane body swirled and changed into the unconventional beauty that was all incubus. His face remained severely formal despite his golden, knee length hair flaring around him like a photographer's dream model. It was the fleeting touch of his luminous fingers caressing my check and chin that had Taurin reaching out to strangle him. But he was gone. Incubi are the quickest of demons and all that remained was a trail of gold sparkles.

Taurin growled and swiped his hand down my face, "Damn incubi dust."

I stared at the gold glitter on his hand and put my own to my cheek, as if my own hand colored gold was more convincing. I brooded over the fact that maybe some of Oldavai's magic remained in me and what the implications of his gold dust were. All I could figure was that he covered me with the aim to throw down the gauntlet and declare, at the very least, a personal war between us. After all, I was the one who dealt the final blow that put him in Shorn's power.

Ezra rumbled somewhere in his chest and placed his own hand on my hair. It too came away golden. "You could not resist, could you Shorn."

I wondered how completely covered I was as Shorn acknowledged his maneuvering of Oldavai and me, "Oldavai controlled himself."

I finally looked up at the demon behind the desk with his proliferate smell of brimstone assaulting my nostrils. I needed to quickly close my eyes to brace myself for Shorn's physical presence. Shorn's eyes were bleeding today and this time the red dripped all the way under his collar. A thin tail whipped back and forth around his neck in agitation. He had two right hands, one of which had claws, both doing separate tasks. His left one had more than five fingers. Something seemed to form ridges across his chest, thankfully it was covered by his suit. Nice to know we were all professionally dressed.

He slammed his hands on the desk and barked, "Dove!"

I jumped and spoke at the same time he continued, "Yes?!"

"I suggest you talk to Ila in the next office over and figure out a way to control something that is out of control." His left hand came up to flick blood off his face, causing him to look even more horrific as it smeared across his cheekbones.

"As you can see I am highly unsettled over the continual foolishness of these morons. Regardless that I want us to remain part of the Affairs' Office you and I both know that a successful trap and subdue warrant can never happen again." He paused and I gave a little head bob towards him, his bark forestalled me from leaving though. "Wait! Unless I personally decree it to happen again, regardless of what the warrant says."

I blanched. The thought of willingly pulling out more of my soul was appalling, but before I could respond with some insolent remark, he opened his mouth wide. The room was filled with sounds of crows cawing. Shorn was laughing. I didn't think it was possible to feel more blood drain away from my face, but Taurin's look of concern confirmed it.

"I swear she is more afraid of me then you, Ezra. You have my respect, brother."

I felt Ezra's spiritual manifestation of his dragon tail slam back and forth. I shuddered as it seemed to whip through me. Books fell off the shelves and Shorn's desk rattled.

"Enough," Ezra growled as he turned to me, then in a softer voice that belied his blazing eyes, "Dove, go."

I breathed deep and put a finger to my lips. I was afraid of both of them for the moment and that always meant mindless, vocal bravado. I turned sharply on my heel and slammed the door behind me. Outside the office was a strangely quiet room unlike when we first stepped out of the elevator. It was my personal opinion that Shorn scared the shit out of every supe on the third floor and that they were all rooting for demons to be publicly ostracized. The thing was, they weren't going to be the ones on the front lines of the assault, demon hunters were and that made me more uneasy than Shorn's presence did.