“Not usually,” Blaine cuts in, but he doesn’t offer an explanation or go into detail about how they typically dispose of the bodies.
My guess is that’s always been Zeke’s job, and he’s never really shared what he does with them. It’s not likely he can simply say, “No worries, guys. I used my heavenly sword and disintegrated them.”
While they all fight about who’s going to clean up, I make the decision.
“Everyone out,” I yell. “We’re burning the place to the ground.”
Several sets of eyes turn to me in confusion.
“Won’t that draw unnecessary attention?”
“As opposed to?” I throw Blaine’s words back in his face. “This entire area is deserted. By the time the fire department arrives, the place will be toast. They’ll never uncover any of the demons’ remains.”
“What about the humans they killed here? Don’t their families deserve closure?” Maeve practically spits in anger.
“Have you gone upstairs or downstairs to see what’s left of those people?” She doesn’t answer, so I decide to fill her in. “You won’t find anything to determine who they were, and neither would the police. Demons devour every part.”
“They could case the place for fingerprints.”
I laugh bitterly. “I understand your need for closure, but sometimes people don’t get closure. What’s more important for the greater good? Identifying a dozen or so dead people, or keeping the human population in the dark about literal demons roaming among them? You open that Pandora’s box, and there will be much more bloodshed on your hands.”
Danny’s face pales and Maeve’s turns a bit green, but nobody argues with me past that.
“Out. I’ll take care of this,” I order, and they all obey.
We didn’t bring gas or anything else that could help to light this sucker on fire, so my power will be necessary. I call upon the wind and draw a storm to me. Within moments, lightning strikes overhead and thunder rolls. I throw my hands into the air and summon the energy down around me. A bolt strikes the house, and I direct the flames to encircle the room filled to the brim with the dead. In a matter of moments, the house is on fire and flames are licking at my legs.
I walk through the door just in time for the house to begin to crumble to the ground.
It’s all happening far faster than what’s humanly possible. Damage this great would result from something more in line with an explosion, but that’s exactly what my powers created.
How I’m going to explain this to Blaine, who seems too curious for his own good, is beyond me, but right now, that’s not my problem. I might be playing with fire, but I won’t be the one burned in the end.
BELIEVER
“What was that?” Blaine asks, gesturing to the crumbling house. “That’s not possible. You couldn’t have survived that.”
Just as I thought. Blaine can’t leave well enough alone.
“Did you search the place? Do you know what those demons had hiding within those walls?” I raise a brow and when he doesn’t answer, I continue. “Didn’t think so.”
“That storm came out of nowhere,” Blaine changes tack, but I stay right with him.
“What? Now I control the weather?” My hands fly up in the air. “It’s freaking New Orleans, Blaine. I don’t control the erratic weather patterns.”
“She’s right. Cut her some slack. She just cleaned up a mess you weren’t going to.” Zeke joins the conversation. Finally. “I, for one, am grateful for it. If not for that lightning strike, we’d have some explaining to do when people stumbled upon a house filled to the brim with corpses. Not all human, I might add.”
“Something is off.” Blaine hurls the accusation at me. “What you did in there”—he shakes his head—“something’s off.”
Zeke’s in Blaine’s face before I can even think about intervening. “Knock this shit off. Whatever you think is going on, it’s in your head. You can’t handle the fact that she’s more skilled than you.” Zeke shrugs. “Deal with it. We’re going home.”
Zeke grabs my hand and leads me away from the group. When we’re out of earshot, my head turns toward his. He doesn’t look at me. I’m trying to gauge just how pissed off he is. After that overshow of power, he’s going to have to do damage control. We can’t allow Blaine to go snooping around my business, and I know that’s just what he’ll do. He’s asking too many questions, and after tonight, he won’t stop unless Zeke steps in.
Using persuasion is dirty, but in times like these, it’s imperative. I put him in this position, and I wouldn’t blame him for being angry. We walk the whole way back to my house and not once does he look at me.
I sigh. “I’m sorry, Zeke, but what choice did I have? That place had to be destroyed.”
“It’s not just the house, Tori. You blatantly kicked that door down and incapacitated five demons before any of them could blink.”
