Page 9 of Demons of Eden

I slowly walk past a desk near the main door, noticing the computer’s keyboard is so dusty I doubt anyone uses the supposed workspace. To the right of the room is a tall, large empty table; the sides of it reach all the way down to the floor, meaning that even if it did have chairs around it, you wouldn’t be able to put your legs underneath. It’s a little strange, honestly. The only part of the room which looks used is the centre of it. There’s a coffee table, surrounded by a black sofa on one side and two matching chairs at each of the shorter ends of the table, leaving the other longer side empty and open to the space.

I glance around again unsurely, making sure I haven’t missed anything, because where’s all the demon-hunting stuff?I can’t believe there’s not even one little sword displayed on a wall or something. Did I get the right address? Feeling a little paranoid I’ve walked into the wrong building, I double-check the address on the message Suvi sent earlier, but it’s definitely the right place.

Shrugging off my concerns, I cross the room and pop my head around the open corner, immediately spotting the back of a tall blond-haired man standing in the room at the end of the hallway thanks to the lack of a door between us. He’s clearly too preoccupied with whatever it is he’s doing to have noticed my arrival, but if he’s back here alone, then surely he must be one of the demon hunters?

Here goes nothing…

“Um, excuse me?” I call out to him, trying not to sound as frightened as I feel while taking a small step closer.

“Just a moment?—”

He snaps his head around suddenly, cutting off his words as he glares in my direction with a bizarre intensity considering we’re total strangers. Before I can question it, he’s already moving, quickly pulling a short sword with a black blade from his hip as he lunges at me, aiming right for my neck.

Naturally, I respond to the action as any reasonable person would. I fucking scream at the top of my lungs.

Startled and now fully in panic mode, I throw my hands up and send a strong wave of raw power at him. It’s energy I really shouldn’t be expending right now considering my condition, but it sends him back a few feet, buying me precious time. I take the opportunity to dash back into the main room, my mind racing as it tries to figure out what the hell is going on.

Can he sense the baby!?

Even if he can sense them, why would he attack me? An unborn baby, demon or not, clearly wouldn’t have made any official lists that would give him the right. I mentally take my earlier complaints back; I preferred this office when there weren’t any swords in sight.

He whirls around the corner, and I place a protective hand over my belly, my other hand reaching for a heavy-looking object on the bookshelf beside me. I toss it at him, aiming straight for his face, expending more magic to try and make sure it connects.

Unfortunately for me, the shady fuck is fast and filled with magic of his own. He easily dodges the attack as I keep rushing across the room, trying to keep various bits of furniture between us as I make my escape. I’m watching him carefully, waiting for the right moment to bolt back outside and to my car, when the fucking psycho lifts the couch separating us one-handed like a freaking bridge troll. He tosses the piece of furniture to theside as if it weighs nothing, sending it crashing into one of its matching chairs. Then he’s stalking toward me slowly, like he knows he’s got me cornered now and doesn’t need to rush.

“Succubus,” he snarls, the sheer hatred in his voice causing my eyes to widen and my heart to race even faster than it already was.

A succubus is a kind of demon, so that definitely means he can sense the baby…or at least, the baby’s demon-ness. Unfortunately, he seems to be under the impression it’smehe’s sensing. Apparently the sight of what he thinks is a demon in his office is enough for him to attack like a damn unhinged maniac.

“Look, buddy, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but?—”

“Shut up!”

“I’ll leave!” I shout back at him, feeling desperate. “I’ll go, and I won’t come back. Please, just let me go,” I plead, throwing my hands back up in a pose of surrender. Despite my plea, I’m still internally preparing to use whatever’s left of my magic to fight this guy if I have to. I’m torn between trying a quick-cast spell or simply flinging more raw energy at him again in order to save time. The latter is probably a bad plan considering the little energy-sucker growing inside of me. The blond man shifts his body as if to move and attack me despite my pleading, so I grit my teeth and reach for my power.

“Rio!” a furious voice shouts as another man hustles into the room, using the moment of surprise to step between me and the angry psycho.

While I appreciate the newcomer’s interference, I still keep hold of the energy I’d reached for, despite the strain and discomfort it causes. Just in case he suddenly switches sides. It feels like the mental equivalent of drawing back the string of a large bow and holding it there for so long your arms begin to ache with the effort, but the string’s also a part of me too, leaving me feeling weirdly stretched in a metaphysical sense.Ugh.

“Why the fuck are you defending her, Daion? You’ve lost your mind putting your back to that thing. She’s a goddamn succubus!” Rio rages at the man standing between us.

“I’m a witch, you neanderthal,” I hiss furiously.

“She’s not a succubus,” Daion says at the same time.

I throw my hands up higher, feeling both exasperated and vindicated all at once.No shit, genius.Thank whatever deity’s listening that this guy isn’t a total psychotic moron like the first one.

“The fuck she’s not?—”

“She’s pregnant. That’s what’s causing the energy you’re sensing. This womanisa witch; she just happens to be carrying a demon’s child,” Daion explains calmly but firmly, clearly cementing himself in my mind as the brains of this operation. Though, he seems to have plenty of brawn going for him too. I’m pretty sure those arms could snap me in half like a twig.

I peer around his large arm to get my eyes on Rio and see his reaction to the news. He still looks murderous, cold blue eyes instantly on me as he notices I’m sneaking a look from behind his friend. It doesn’t take a lot of thought to decide I don’t trust this guy one damn bit. So much so, I consider using this as an opportunity to sneak off while they argue between themselves, but I’m here for a reason. I need a demon hunter’s help, and even if Rio’s clearly insane, perhaps Daion could be reasonable enough to work with?

Suvi did seem sure this was the place to come…

“How can you be so calm about such an abomination?” Rio questions, causing my back to stiffen. “We should kill them both before that—that thingpoisons this world with its existence.”

If I wasn’t standing so close to Daion, I probably would have missed the tiny flinch he gives at his friend's words or the way his shoulders flex with tension. He doesn’t move from his place between us, obviously choosing to keep protecting me.His reaction, which can only be honest for how instinctive yet repressed it is, allows me to finally release my hold on the magic I’ve been struggling to cling to. He knows what’s happening, and he doesn’t want to hurt us. He’s seemingly offended by the mere idea of attacking me and the demon growing inside of my body. Not a common response among witchkind, but I’m grateful to have found it. Maybe my bestie did know what she was talking about when sending me here.

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