Page 31 of Two Who Live On

Milo read files on all the enchanters and acolytes at Cerberus Guild, annoyed he was limited to his own guild’s magics since therewere a few witches at Kraken and Vixen that’d make this investigation smoother. He had no clarity on the type of demons he’d encounter and wanted certainty.

Enchanter Campbell stepped into his office. “Have you made a decision, or do I need to put together my own team?”

“Unnecessary.” Milo placed two files at the edge of his desk, separating them from the large stack. “I’d like to work with these two acolytes.”

“You’ll want another enchanter,” Campbell said, grabbing the files and reading them over.

“Trust me, I really won’t.”

I wrinkled my brow, pausing during instruction. Milo really only wanted two acolytes for a demon investigation? Reckless. Dangerous.

“Is he okay?” A thought that bubbled on the few minds still paying attention to my lecture. I continued while more fixated on the discussion in Milo’s office and his plans.

“After reviewing their files, both are incredibly skilled, hyper-focused, and more than capable of handling this investigation alongside me.” Milo strummed his fingers on his desk, drawing me back in and painting a scene of his office through the vibrations.

“Weren’t you the one complaining an acolyte dropped the ball on a case you’d handed them on a platter?”

Our day date, which was true since he’d ended up dealing with the fiends himself. The dominos fell in an unexpected direction. He had hoped for something fun and light that Sunday, knowing his upcoming Global Ranking’s Ceremony might’ve put me in a mood or questionable state. Though, considering how it resolved itself, he didn’t seem upset. I’d gone to show support and openly address our relationship, the absolute smallest of possible variables. He wondered if he was losing his touch at predictions or if he didn’t know me as well as he believed.

“The point stands. This’ll be a complex case, and based on the victims, I’d prefer talented and low-profile witches.”

“Acolyte Novak is hardly low profile.”

A Novak? Surprising someone from that family would work at a Whitlock-owned guild, not that there were many other reputable ones to choose from in the state, but given the spite Jamie held for Tara purely based on her name, I could only imagine what resentment this Acolyte Novak held.

“You want this done quickly or correctly?” Milo stood up and straightened his jacket.

“Both.”

“Then those acolytes are our best bet.” Milo strutted toward his door.

“Where are you going?”

“Got a lead to follow up. Doing my part to be efficient.”

Enchanter Campbell gagged at Milo’s minxy wink.

Jamie walked faster, attempting to cut Tara off at the doorway to the classroom.

“Ba-ba-ba!” King Clucks furiously flapped his wings, sidestepping between the pair, his clawed feet click-clacked against the floor. His comb jiggled as he tilted his head and pecked the air, forcing Jamie to backstep.

Jamie continued being a thorn in my side, taking any and every opportunity to bully Tara through any tactics possible.

It took all I had to muster even a modicum of enthusiasm for this class as I buried a dozen different thoughts and the waning thread of Milo’s mind.

“Today, we’re going to discuss demon classifications and the types which present themselves when a fiend fully ascends.” I talked on autopilot, regurgitating information I’d already said verbatim for the most part to three earlier classes.

Lessons often started the same way, but when my mind was more my own, I’d steer discussion toward student interests and heighten conversation in areas that needed more elaboration to increase their understanding while also keeping lectures from wandering too far off-topic. This wasn’t one of those days.

“A fully ascended demon is considered a high-tier threat as it feeds on more and more magic to sustain its demonic energy. The most important role guilds play is disrupting and banishing demonic energy before a fiend gathers and absorbs enough magic to transcend into a fully sentient demon. We’ve discussed how cities have become overrun in the past—”

“We should be talking about how it’s happening again,” Jamie interjected because of course he fucking did.

“Meaning?” I fought the snarl building in my throat as I attempted to allow a bit of civil discussion since nothing bubbling in his head seemed like it’d lead to a carefully crafted insult toward Tara.

“Just that Chicago’s currently crawling with demons. Next thing you know—”

“We’re not crawling with demons,” Gael blurted.

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