Page 56 of Demons Treasure Warlocks

“Calm down, Bale. You can’t let him get to you,” Hawk murmured.

“Stop telling me to fucking calm down, Hawk. I know what I’m supposed to do. This is fucking ridiculous,” Bale ground out between gritted teeth.

“He’s revealing his plan. It doesn’t mean you can do the same. Would Darius want you to get involved? No. Let Elijah continue to share, and we can go from there. Right now, we only have some of the information.”

Adam sidled up beside him, shaking a bit as he surveyed the room. Bale tugged him close, giving him shelter. “Did you see who’s here?”

“I saw. And I think he noticed you,” Bale said quietly. “We need to be extra careful.”

“Shit. Trey is going to be so mad!”

“Townsfolk!”

The man who had cornered Darius, Headmaster Jenkins, bellowed across the room, and immediately, silence whipped across the space. Jenkins smiled and ran his fingers up and down his suspenders as the audience focused their attention on him. Bale didn’t trust him in the slightest.

“Mayor Elijah has suffered enough for his town. He is ailing, and yet, here he stands, asking you to listen. What he desires is the betterment of Granite. Isn’t that true for all of you?”

A rumble of nods and yesses spread across the room.

“Don’t you wish to walk along the river at any time without being accosted by magic and monsters?”

“We are not monsters!” someone yelled, and Jenkins rubbed the back of his neck unabashedly.

“My apologies. I was thinking more of the dangerous magic and didn’t use appropriate words.” Jenkins pressed his lips together and searched the room until his beady eyes landed on Bale. “But there are monsters in our midst. You might not be able to see them in your quest to be on equal footing. Some people want to take advantage of your kindness. We have to root them out and return them to wherever they came from.”

No one cheered or jeered as Jenkins spoke. It worried Bale as the crowd shifted in their seats, uncomfortable with Jenkins’s speech.

Jenkins stepped aside, and Elijah spoke once more. Bale was sure he could see the underside of Elijah’s eyes and the blackness of Hastur beaming out. “The coming months are going to be very important for the health of this town. We need to stand up and be ready for whatever happens. Don’t believe that everyone has goodness in their heart. Especially ones who’ve caused so much damage already. Are your children safe around these people? Do you trust them with your best interests? Your personal comfort level is why I’m starting with the public spaces and making them safe for everyone. We’ll get rid of the magic, and we can be as we once were. Happy and safe. Headmaster Jenkins has the right of it, and I am proud to call him my friend. He has stepped up to the task of leading you through to the next stage of betterment for Granite while I take my leave. It’s been an honour serving as your mayor.” Elijah bowed once and met Bale’s eyes, smirking slightly before allowing Jenkins the centre stage.

“Mayor Elijah has done me a great honour, and I will do my best to follow in his considerable footsteps. Thank you for putting your trust in me.” Jenkins sat down while Elijah and Sawyer slipped out the side door. Sawyer gave Bale a two fingered wave as he followed his boss.

The room erupted into chaos as people began talking over one another. There wasn’t a lot of anger, but the tension was rising as everyone gathered into small groups to discuss what had happened. Bale tried to calm his breathing down while watching over Isaac as he stayed close to Hakko, who vibrated in emotional distress.

“The mayor’s plan is the exact opposite of what we want. He’s never listened to us, his constituents. And then choosing that blowhard Jenkins? Geeze, it seems we’re in for a few rough months,” an old man complained loudly to his companion as they exited. They didn’t acknowledge Bale with his wings and horns.

Hakko stopped beside Bale and didn’t speak. He only bristled. His eyes were diamond hard as he glared at the front stage where Jenkins glad handed a few citizens.

“Darius won’t let that happen,” Bale said. It was the first thing that popped into his mind as he tried to be positive.

“Darius needs to hurry up. I will not be responsible for my actions if he doesn’t take that creature out soon. I will not stand by and watch as my land gets shredded because some demonic asshole thing decided to have a temper tantrum.” Hakko didn’t mince his words, and some attendees gaped at him before they left. “Apologies.”

“So, we have some information now, right? An idea as to what might happen? We can have a talk then?” Isaac asked, his eyes hard on Bale.

“Darius is chafing at the bit just as much as you guys. You know that. But yeah, let’s get together and hash this all out.”

Darius’s house was lit up when Bale returned. He had taken the trails home. He had spent too much time in the confining space of an automobile.

Darius was reclining in the front room with Master Cat stretched down his legs. Bossy Cat was sitting in the window seat, watching the outside world. Darius smiled softly as Bale entered. He didn’t move but lifted his chin, asking for a kiss, which Bale gladly gave him.

What a difference a few days made. Darius was softer and willing to offer affection, warming Bale’s heart. The stress of the meeting slipped away with Darius’s proud smile.

“What happened?” Darius asked as Bale settled on the couch. A small glass of strong alcohol appeared on the coffee table near Bale’s elbow.

“What’s this?” Bale ignored the question and picked up the small tumbler, sniffing it. It was high-quality whiskey.

“I’ve been practicing calling stuff. I might have had the glass prepared over there, but I moved it to you!” Darius exclaimed, his cheeks flushed with pride.

“I see. That’s cool?” Bale congratulated Darius even if he was unsure of the point of the magic skill. “So. The meeting…”

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