by Sonia Harper
"He's dangerous to you guys? Why do you stay with him?" Adelyn asked.
"He recruited us to guard the gate," Pytho explained. "He's, well, I guess you could call him our ruler," he continued. "He's only recently acquired the position, and it hasn't really...gone well for him," he trailed off, glancing at Derion.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"We've only had one ruler before Cain. He disappeared some time ago and left the burden of ruling to Cain," Derion explained. "Cain had no choice in the matter. Once the right was transferred to Cain, an enormous amount of power was placed on him. He wasn't prepared for it, and it causes him to...lash out unexpectedly, which is why you shouldn't go anywhere near him," Derion's tone suddenly changed. "Do you understand?"
"Yeah, okay," Adelyn verbally agreed, but inwardly she was confused. Sure, he seemed angry and pissed off to find her in his room, but he didn't really hurt her...aside from scaring her senseless with that intense heat and his psychic commands. Pytho and Derion were acting as if she should have dropped dead from simply being in his presence. Shaking her head, she sighed. "I'm really having a hard time processing all of this."
"You should get some more sleep," Derion replied and stepped closer toward the door. "If you have any more questions, we can answer them later. For now, you should rest." He pulled on Pytho's sleeve, dragging him closer to the door. Adelyn heard him whisper something to Pytho, but she could only catch the word 'Donovan'. "If you don't feel up to working today, stay in bed. It's perfectly fine. We'll let Gregory know that you won't be in today."
"Work?" The word felt foreign on her lips. It felt as if it had been days since she stepped foot in that office downstairs, even though she knew it was only yesterday. Work certainly sounded appealing at the moment because it was something familiar, normal. She wouldn't have to think about anything but purchase orders and filing.
And Gregory, she sighed. He wasn't human, either. Adelyn felt her plate was full at the moment. She didn't want to have to deal with Gregory as well.
"Just get some rest," Pytho called out to her. "Don't bother working today. Take it easy. Just," he trailed off. "Don't try to leave the house, okay? It's not safe." He waited until she nodded before shutting the door behind him.
Yeah, Adelyn thought. Maybe she should just sleep. Maybe when she woke up later, she would find out this was all a dream. Clutching Sinatra to her chest, she settled back on her fluffy pillows.
"Damn," she said aloud. "I knew this job was too good to be true."
Sinatra whined, then crawled up her chest to lick her chin. Still, she thought, what other choice did she have? Even though the...daemons she lived with were still scary and unfamiliar, she didn't want to leave this place if it meant that she had a large target on her head for those guardians to find her. Shuddering at the thought of those grey things, she pushed the image firmly out of her mind.
Yes, she should stay here in a house full of monsters to protect herself from other, scarier monsters outside. That made perfect sense. Sighing in disgust, she turned onto her side. Sinatra climbed over her legs to find a warm spot to sleep.
So she had two options: go home broke, unable to pay for rent or food, and hope that those grey things weren't already sitting in her living room waiting for her to arrive, or stay here, make a ridiculous amount of money doing an easy job, and live with five men that referred to themselves as daemons. One of them with a serious anger management problem and one of them was practically a walking torch.
Yeah, maybe she should stay put. Adelyn sighed and wondered if it was possible to buy a gun online. She had a feeling she was going to need the protection if she was going to live here.
As the room grew lighter, Adelyn buried her head under the covers and surrendered to sleep once again.
Chapter Six
Adelyn was sure she had gone insane. Why else would she be walking down the staircase towards the office? At least she hadn't bothered to dress up like she usually did. She had slept until just past noon, and after lying in bed for ten minutes, she knew that she wasn't going to be able to sit around all day. She needed something to do to keep her occupied...to keep her mind off of last night. Besides, she had to leave her room at some point, right? After showering and changing into a comfortable shirt and jeans, she found her way downstairs.
Even though she felt safe leaving her room, she was still careful enough to keep her small pepper spray can in her back pocket just in case. Derion and Pytho made a point to make sure she felt safe around them, but that Gideon guy definitely did not look friendly. It was apparent that Donovan was the only one in the room last night capable of keeping him under control, and she definitely didn't want to run into him alone.
Adelyn stepped off the staircase and turned down the hallway. The office door was wide open, and she knew that Gregory must have been in there for hours already.
Stepping inside the doorway, she cautiously knocked on the door frame. "Hey," she called out cautiously.
Gregory looked up from behind his desk and smiled pleasantly, just like he did every morning. It was certainly a wonderful sight to see first thing in the morning, and especially on that day.
"Good afternoon," he greeted her as he lifted a box of papers from under his desk. Carefully setting them aside, he glanced back up at her and slid a pen behind one of his protruding ears. "I'm a little surprised to see you here today."
"Ah," Adelyn nodded and leaned heavily against the door frame. "So you know what happened last night?"
"Who do you think took care of the windows?" He tipped his head towards the front of the building as he began delicately running his fingers over the organized papers in the box.
"It's fixed already?" Adelyn took a step back into the hallway and peered into the parlour. The absence of glass on the entryway floor should have been her first indication when she had come down the stairs, but it had slipped her mind. "Wow, that was quick," she mumbled as she stepped back into the office.
"I see you were injured," Gregory glanced up at her forehead before turning back to his computer and sending an electronic payment to the glass contractors. "Would you like me to call for a doctor?"
"Can a doctor come here?" She asked before making her way over to her desk. Sitting down in her executive chair, she ran her hands over the plush armrests.
"Of course," Gregory replied as if it were obvious. "Only if you truly require it. We would, of course, have to ask that you do not divulge the true reason for your injury."
A sudden laugh pushed its way past Adelyn's lips. "I think if I did tell them the truth, they'd probably cart me away to a psychiatric hospital."
"And I'd hate to have to pay for those expenses," Gregory smiled, teasing. "I'd much rather you stayed here and continued helping me with my work."
"You would?" She asked, genuinely surprised. "I mean, well...after last night," she trailed off. "I'm surprised I'm still here, honestly," she sighed, squeezing the armrests.
"To be perfectly honest, quite a few people around here are surprised as well," He replied, walking over to the printer and grabbing a copy of the invoice to file. "I assumed they would have wiped your memory and sent you back home," he said as he gently eased the invoice into a file holder inside the box on his desk.
He said it so casually, Adelyn thought. It reminded her that he wasn't exactly human himself according to Pytho and Derion.
"So, has this sort of thing happened before?" She asked, trying to sound disinterested.
"No," he said, sitting back down at his desk. "You're the first person to work here. It was actually my suggestion that we hire a local to work here. It would not only alleviate my workload, but it would also create a presence in this household."
Local. He had called her a local. And person. Not human. It brought some sort of comfort to Adelyn that he didn't refer to her as a human.
"Are you," Adelyn started, then faltered off, staring intently at Gregory's desk instead of meeting his eyes. "Are you-,"
"Human?" He finished her sentence for her after it became obvious that she couldn't get the word out. "Not quite. Not anymore," he shook his head and straightened a few items on his desk. She waited for him to explain, but after a few minutes, it became clear that he wasn't going to.
"I'm sorry, but I really need to ask...not anymore?" She asked hesitantly, leaning forward in her chair slightly.
Sighing, Gregory's hand smoothed over a stack of papers in front of him. "I used to be human," he began. "I had a job, a woman I loved, and a fair amount of success running my father's business." He ran his hand over the papers once again. "Then one night, I had locked up the shop very late and walked home. It was a very safe neighbourhood, so I had no reason to believe anything would happen."
He paused and Adelyn saw that his eyes were no longer staring at the papers in front of him, but rather through them. "A group of people suddenly appeared in the street in front of me. I felt that something was wrong. There was something different about the way they walked and the way they were dressed. Before I knew it, one of them had grabbed me and forced me to the ground."
He paused, and she saw his eyebrows raise slightly as he gestured to himself for emphasis. "I'm not exactly a small man, so I knew right away that they were very powerful by how quickly they had overtaken me. I felt a sharp, intense pain, and I blacked out. When I woke, I was lying in a very strange place, and a woman was kneeling over me, sobbing. She kept saying that she was sorry, and she kept saying a name over and over again. When I asked her who she was, it was as if she had just realised that I wasn't the person she had been crying to. Her entire demeanour changed. She spat in my face and ran off."
Gregory sighed and shook his head slightly as if trying to shake off the memory. "It took me a few days to finally figure out what had happened. In the evenings, I would keep having these strange blackouts and would find myself in strange places in the morning. Derion – I believe you've met him – was the one who had explained it to me. I was killed by a daemon. The woman that was cried over me and apologised? It was one of her relatives who attacked me. After I was killed, a daemon mystic used some powerful magic to bring me back to life and bind my spiritual and physical form to another daemon."
"So you're half-daemon?" Adelyn asked, frowning in confusion.
"No, I'm just bound to one. During the daylight hours, my physical form takes over, and I'm free to move about and live as I wish. However, in the evening, the daemon's physical form takes over, and I have no memory of his comings or goings," Gregory explained.
"Oh," Adelyn said simply. It felt odd for her to just accept a story like that as true so quickly, but with everything that was happening...she sighed. "So how long have you been like this?"
"A little over two hundred years."
"What?" Adelyn exclaimed, smacking her hands against her desk in surprise. "Two hundred years? How can you live that long?"
"My life span has been lengthened because of the curse that was placed on the daemon. Daemons live for a very long time — certainly longer than two hundred years. I assume my life span will continue as long as the daemon is alive," Gregory replied, unfazed as he leaned back in his chair and calmly laced his fingers together above his green cashmere sweater.
"So, who is the other daemon? Does he live here in the Manor?"
"Oh, yes. I'm sure you'll see him around." A notification sound caught Gregory's attention, and he turned his attention back to his computer.
An uncomfortable silence settled over the office, and Adelyn wasn't sure what to do at that point. It seemed as though Gregory wasn't comfortable with talking about who the daemon was. As far as she knew, there were only five daemons in the Manor, not including Gregory.
"How many daemons are here guarding that gate thing?" She asked casually, picking at a stray thread in the seam of her armrest.
"Five," Gregory replied, confirming her suspicions. "I assume you met most of them last night?" He glanced over at her from behind his computer.
"Yeah, I guess," She trailed off. "I wasn't exactly introduced, but I'm pretty sure I saw all of them."
"I believe you've met Pytho," Gregory replied as he worked. "He's the youngest of the group. He was actually raised by humans, so I wasn't surprised that he sought you out without asking permission first."
"He was raised by humans? How did that happen?"
"I'm afraid you'll have to get the details from him personally," Gregory said shortly. "I'm not too comfortable divulging any more information without his permission."
“Oh.”
"Then there's Donovan," he continued after a pause. "He's in charge of the Manor and the business matters. Derion is a very good healer, so if you're not interested in a doctor, I would recommend you seek him out to change that bandage at least," Gregory glanced over at her forehead as Adelyn reached up to try and re-tape a corner to her skin. "Gideon is...well, he's not very personable. He's not fond of humans either, so I would stay away from him."
"Yeah, he made it pretty clear last night that he wasn't happy I was there," Adelyn agreed. "Will he hurt me?"
"No, Cain has spoken on the matter. Cain is their leader. I wouldn't advise going near him either," Gregory added. "He's a danger to anything that crosses his path, living or not. I can't tell you how much new furniture I've had to order for that cellar," he shook his head, looking slightly annoyed. "I'm a bit surprised that Cain made the decision for you to stay. He's not fond of humans either. It took quite a bit of convincing to get him to see the logic in having a human presence here."
"Okay, so stay away from two of the five," Adelyn tapped her fingers against her desk. "That's not so bad."
"No, not at all," Gregory smiled in amusement. "Especially considering how horrible other daemons can be. On the whole, they're a very aggressive and hostile species."
“Derion and Pytho said they leave humans alone,” Adelyn frowned.
“Oh, yes, for the most part, they do,” Gregory nodded. “My encounter was quite rare. But on the whole, to each other, they're quite aggressive.”
"Good to know," Adelyn replied sarcastically.
"Don't worry. You'll be quite safe here," Gregory picked up a file and held it up in the air. "Now since I assume you know where the kitchen pantry is, would you please go make a list of what needs to be stocked?"
Adelyn shook her head in amusement as Gregory gave her a teasing look. "Word travels fast around here," she said as she stood up and walked over to his desk. "I see you've heard about that particular incident as well."
"Oh, yes," Gregory smiled. "Donovan is very good at keeping me up-to-date with what goes on after I am no longer here."
She took the file from his hand and stole the pen from behind his ear. "I'll be back. Do you want me to check the other kitchen as well?" The other kitchen wasn't really a kitchen; it was more of a kitchenette off of the library that she had never seen anybody use, but it needed to be replenished with tea quite often.
"No, I just checked this morning," Gregory replied, waving her off. "Don't forget to add whatever you need to the list as well."
"I won't forget," Adelyn waved the folder at him before she left the office and began walking towards the kitchen. The Manor was silent, and it felt as though she and Gregory were the only ones there. The sound of her sneakers against the polished marble floor was an interesting change from the click of her work heels.
After a short walk, Adelyn reached out and opened the kitchen door. She placed her list on the island countertop in the centre of the room. She walked slowly to the pantry door, her fingers falling on the handle with trepidation. Taking a deep breath, she slowly opened the pantry door. Immediately, she noticed that the back of the pantry wall was shut, closing off the entrance to the basement. She reached up and yanked on the light cord, allowing more light to spill into the small space.
After quickly scanning the shelves, she noticed that they were practically empty. It wasn't unusual for food to disappear quickly in the Manor, so she
thought nothing of it. Now that she had seen who the owners were, it didn't surprise her that they ate quite a bit. She walked back to her list and wrote down everything that needed to be replaced.
She put her pen down and walked towards the refrigerator. As her hand fell on the door handle, she jumped involuntarily and jerked around as a loud crash came from the direction of the pantry.
No, Adelyn thought, it came from behind the pantry.
Frowning slightly, she walked back towards the open pantry door and peered around one of the shelves, looking for the seam in the wall. Finding nothing, she grasped the shelf with one hand and gently tugged on it. The wall opened a few inches, and she jerked involuntarily again as another crashing sound came from the basement, this time louder. It was quickly followed by what sounded like a cry of pain.
Briefly wondering if she had lost her mind, again, Adelyn pulled the wall back far enough to squeeze through it. The light from the pantry cast very little light on the stairs, so she reached out and put her palm to the wall for guidance as she descended a few steps.
"Hello?" She called out cautiously. "Is everything okay?"
After waiting several minutes for a reply, she thought about turning back around. She knew that she had been warned to stay away from Cain, but it really sounded as if he had hurt himself after that second crashing noise. Scary daemon or not, she couldn't leave someone alone knowing they were in pain if she was close by to help.
"Hello?" She tried again but remained within arm's reach of the pantry wall. "I thought I heard something fall, is everything okay?"
She blinked involuntarily as lights suddenly appeared and grew brighter down below. She wondered if the torches were lighting on their own again. She gasped as a large, dark figure stepped out behind the wall at the bottom of the stairs. The figure turned to face the staircase. Her eyes widened. She turned around to run back up the stairs, her hand outstretched before her to pass through the opening in the door.