Page 2 of Demons Treasure Warlocks

“Dare…” Isaac shuffled into the cottage, shedding his coat and boots before making coffee for them. “He would have said please go. I’m spent.”

Darius snorted, proud of the ribald return. Caspian was a good influence on Isaac, bringing him out of his shell. “I’m glad you can tire him out like that.”

Isaac ignored the comment and stared hard at the recliner sitting in front of the back window. Darius had to rearrange a lot of furniture around to make it work, but he was happy.

“You’ve done some shifting. This is cool.”

Darius shrugged, though he was pleased Isaac noticed and commented. “Why are you here anyway?”

Isaac ducked his head and fiddled with the coffeemaker. Darius waited patiently for him to speak.

“Eye? Is it Caspian? Are you okay?” Darius shuffled closer to Isaac, slightly concerned now.

“No, it’s not that. We’re fine. I just thought I’d pop over before heading to the Centre.”

The Centre was Isaac and Adam’s brainstorm of getting cryptids and humans working together in ways that benefited both parties. It’d been a good solution, and everyone seemed happy with the end result. Darius was proud of their progress and often wished he could do more. Unfortunately, being in town made him squirrelly, and he could feel people staring at him all the time. His nerves refused to steady , pissing him off.

“Honestly, Isaac, I don’t need you coming by every morning to see how I am," Darius snapped. "I’m fine. Here I am living my old man life with the greatest of ease. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“It’s not that. I just… I miss doing this with you. We used to do it all the time.” Isaac might have fumbled with his words, but his honest warmth and longing pierced through Darius’s stubbornness. Isaac was right. It used to be that way. Either of them would drop by at all hours to touch base, connecting in those moments. It was a ritual and touchstone that had disappeared when the troubles began. Darius wasn’t sure when Isaac popping by began to feel like Isaac spying on him.

“I’m sorry, Eye. It’s been a very long year. I don’t know what happened.” Darius rolled his shoulders and gazed outside where there was a blanket of frost covering the ground. Many creatures peered over the palisade, peeping at him. “I think I’m being watched.”

“You do have an inordinate number of small cryptids hanging about. They like you.” Isaac leaned around Darius and peered out. “Is that garden all from Adam? He’s doing so well now. I’m glad he and Trey decided to take Caspian’s apartment.”

“How can you tell anything? There’s frost everywhere.” Darius wrinkled his nose. He could see some remnants of Adam’s magic as vines climbed the wooden wall. “He visited a lot in the fall to tend to it and to practice with his control. While he’s concentrating, he doesn’t see what he’s doing.”

“You like it when he comes over.” Isaac returned to his seat before taking a bite of toast. “However, I did notice something, and please don’t get mad, but have you lost weight again?”

Darius cleared his throat and sipped his coffee, hoping he could ignore Isaac’s line of questioning.

“Bale was over, and apparently he saw you, and he was concerned,” Isaac said softly. He gazed steadily at Darius and looked like he was bracing himself for a bad reaction.

“Fucking Bale. Who the hell does he think he is?” Darius closed his fists and opened them as he took in a slow breath of air. Bale wasn’t supposed to be anywhere around him. He had caused enough damage to Darius with his treacherous tendencies. People had almost died because he went to Hastur’s side of the table. He said it was to gather information, but Darius never trusted that excuse. It was too pat.

“He’s a friend, Dare. And he’s very worried about you. We all are. Can’t you talk to him? You haven’t said a word to him since… since that day, and he has a lot of good intel for us.” Isaac’s knuckles were white as he spoke, a distinct tell that this chat was making him nervous.

Darius didn’t want Isaac upset or anxious around him. “Bale hurt me, Eye. I can’t easily let it go. He helped the Yellow Bastard kidnap Adam and then he tried attacking Trey. It’s not a good look.”

“I get that. But he deserves a chance at some sort of forgiveness, right?”

Darius shook his head. He forgave Bale when he stepped back and allowed Hastur to torture him. He got that and even understood why Bale did it. But the memory was still there, and it haunted him every night. Now though, current events overlayed the past, and he couldn’t separate either. Bale stood with his hands around Trey’s neck while Hastur grinned in satisfaction as the portal opened. The putrid breath on Darius’s cheek as visions of the future ripped through his mind. Everything all at once.

“Darius? Darius?” Isaac’s strident tone brought Darius back to reality, and he pasted a fake smile on his face for Isaac’s benefit. “What happened?”

“I don’t want to trust him because he—just be careful around him, Isaac. He sells his honour to the highest bidder.”

“He mentioned that, but when Yellow Guy destroyed his horns and wings, Bale said it was because he returned the coin.”

“He what?” Darius exclaimed. The lights flickered dramatically, and his cats’ fur stood on end as Darius tried to process this new information. Bale believed in the power of the coin. It was his god, next to the stars. Bale’s sect of demons was mercenary in nature. Anyone who held their coin had the option of paying them to do any sort of tasks. To return a coin was to risk rejection from one’s people. “Why the hell would he do that? He’s a goddamn mercenary. That—”

A heavy hand, not Isaac’s, draped over his eyes while another clamped over his mouth , stopping the words. Darkness cradled Darius and supported him. Darius relaxed, and everything popped. Shards of glass rained down on them as lightbulbs shattered under the pressure of his magic.

“Shit,” he mumbled against the salty hand across his mouth. Exhaustion settled over his bones, and he passed out.

ChapterTwo

Bale carried Darius to the front room to the full-length couch. Blankets and throws were in disarray for the cats to enjoy, but now he needed the space for Darius. He gently set his precious cargo down and covered him with a blue blanket he knew to be Darius’s favourite. Bossy Cat jumped up and settled near the crook of Darius’s neck, giving Bale an imperious look.

---