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I nodded to myself, suddenly understanding how there are myths about demons possessing people. All it took was a bad egg to make humans do bad things, and all the potentially good things another possession could do were suddenly erased in the history books.
"But what do you guys get out of it? Surely money is of no value to you. What do you get in return?"
"We don't get anything. Our fire is our curse and our prize. When its name is called, it has to heed it, and it has to fulfill the task assigned when called."
I shook my head, confused. "How do witches get your names, though? How do they know who to call?"
He shrugged. "That is a mystery. However, I do believe it is some kind of punishment issued by our leaders. Corrupted and uncorrupted. I was petitioning for more guards and was met with much resistance from the government. Next thing I knew, I was being summoned to Arabella." His expression darkened.
"That’s fucked up." And I meant it. Wholeheartedly.
"Indeed."
Clawdia asked, "You're like a local politician?"
"Of sorts. I look after my area and the people in it. It's mostly farming land, so it doesn't have a lot of money, but it's a beautiful landscape."
"We’ll have to come for a visit when we get you back there," she said as I pulled into the car park of the hotel.
He smiled widely as I cut the engine. “I’d like that.”
* * *
After asking at reception,we were led to a meeting room with a long table five people sat around.
"Ah. Charlie, I presume. Thank you for coming." A willowy, pale lady said as she stood to greet us. She offered her hand. "Marianne Liscovy, Supernatural Council, vampire."
"Vampire?" I asked, shaking her hand. She wasn't what I was expecting a vampire to look like.
It’s broad daylight. Aren’t they supposed to burst into flames if sunlight touches them?
"Akari," Zaide growled from behind me.
Isn’t that what Clawdia said Baelen is? He’s part vampire? It explains the drinking blood comment.
She inclined her head in acknowledgment but explained, "That was the name of our ancestors, but here in the human realm, we are vampires."
"I'm Charlie. This is my familiar, Clawdia, her soul pair and titan, Zaide, and this is Alcor, one of the demons who had his fire stolen by the witches." I pointed us all out.
There was an awkward silence as they absorbed my words.
"Firstly, let me introduce my colleagues. This is Samuel Butcher. He is the shifter representative of the council." She gestured to the man who looked the most casual in jeans and a t-shirt with a big grin on his face.
He stood with an animalistic grace that didn't surprise me, considering what he was. But I was surprised that shifters existed since neither Daithi nor Savida had mentioned a world of shifters. All I knew of so far were the faei world, the demon world, the titan world, and the Akari world.
"Nice to meet y'all," he said with an American drawl that was straight out of the deep south and reached over the table to shake our hands.
Marianne waved her hand at the next bloke. "This is Joseph Northrop, the faei representative. You spoke on the phone."
The gentleman in the shirt and waistcoat sitting next to Samuel smiled and nodded. “Thank you for coming. We appreciate your cooperation.”
“Glad to put a face to a name, Joe. Speaking of cooperation, how did you know to contact me, and how did you get Simon’s phone?”
“We have some council agents talking to all the witches in their rooms and taking their statements. Simon gave the agent his phone and told us to talk to you.” He held something out in his hand to me, saying, “He also gave us these.”
Car keys.
The ones that were taken from my pocket while I was imprisoned.
