Among Demons : A Siren's Voice

Ch. 20 : Floral Ambush

For the next few days, Nick and Devin kept me in the loop with everything that was being done to monitor the three locations that possibly held my nephew. Even going so far as to include me during their short meetings with the scouts that checked in through video-call.

So far, they had spotted a few Hunters going in and out of the two warehouses and the dilapidated cabin that they were watching. Pictures showed us who was going in and out, with a couple vehicle plates getting looked at through Marcus and Danny’s connections. A few scouts managed to sneak closer to those buildings and snap some better pictures. But so far, there wasn’t any evidence that showed that someone was being held prisoner inside. And with the risk of losing my nephew once more if they break in or expose themselves, the scouts backed out.

Right now, I was enjoying some time out and about in the Village, keeping Nyla company.

She had asked me the night before if I’d like to tag along with her, since everyone else had work piling up that needed their attention. I agreed and thanked her for giving me the chance to step out and relax a little.

Devin and the guys had all agreed that my safety was also a great concern to them and had asked me not to leave the building without at least one of them beside me. So whenever anyone wanted to leave to go shopping, run a simple errand, or was rushing out to grab food they had ordered, I joined. It also helped me get a better look at the city, since I had never been outside Kenmore, Washington. My hometown, though beautiful and adorned by the northernmost corner of Lake Washington, was also a heavily Human populated place. Small neighborhoods kept the Demon population contained, though the heavy Human presence made it difficult to create any sense of kindness or community between Demon families. Yet here in Seattle, not only were there more Demons just walking around doing their own thing. But there wasn’t any tension between our own people. No silent judgment towards those being loud or using their vastly different abilities and gifts. No cruel admonishment aimed at the overly proud Demons that walked around displaying themselves and their Race in one way or another.

It was incredible to me, and filled me with my own little sense of pride too.

“You want to eat first?” Nyla asked me as we jumped back into her car.

We had gone out to check the venue for her wedding and reception which was being held within the Demon Village. It was a beautiful and large space within the Community Center that was used all the time for celebrations of every kind. And with Nyla’s wedding just days away now, she wanted to make sure everything was getting done and placed in the right place. The colors of her wedding were all warm, earthy tones with touches of light blue and deep yellow, which I had realized were the colors of both their eyes.

Nyla blushed when I pointed this out and quickly changed the subject, proving me right.

Looking closer at the colors as we left the building, I noted how she had made certain to match the shade of blue and yellow to the color of her ringed eyes. The unique blue tone, just a bit darker than the bright sky above us. And the brighter amber, much lighter than my own. Those two rings of color that represented Nyla looked great framed by the warm brown that I knew matched the shade of Danny’s eyes. And I couldn’t help but smile a little teasingly when she looked back at me as we left.

She blushed some more, seeing me smiling again before she put the car in reverse, backing out of the parking space.

“Food?” She pressed, visibly fighting to calm herself and stop blushing as she drove.

I nodded to her, giggling a little when she started to pout.

“It’s not like its weird or anything.” She grumbled, then sighed and shook her head. “Right?” Looking to me for reassurance.

I smiled and patted her hand, trying to calm her doubts.

It must have worked because she smiled and relaxed into her seat, pointing out a few places right outside the Village that we could eat at. We quickly picked a place, a cute little burger joint with tables outside for those that wanted to eat and look out at the woodsy horizon the restaurant faced. We ordered, ate inside and had a bit of fun people-watching from the window that faced outwards. Once we were done, we each paid for another drink, climbed back into her car, and drove off, ready to check on everything else Nyla wanted for her big day.

Her shoes had apparently been custom made and delivered to her favorite shoe store. She tried them on and gleefully smiled to herself as she twirled and walked all over the place. After grabbing the shoes, she headed to a craft store deeper into the city. Here, she showed me that the workers also took up special projects and that she had had them create all the center pieces for the tables at the reception.

Each piece was a tall chunk of wood that was hollowed out like a vase, with intricate designs cut into the sides. A thick strip at the top and bottom of the one and a half foot piece of wood held a burnt-on engraving with Nyla and Danny’s names, along with the date of their wedding. She showed me how flowers and feathers were going to be placed inside these pieces, with a few smaller and wider pieces made safe enough to hold candles. Thin, flat wooden bits were also carefully made as name cards for the tables as well. Though Nyla hadn’t wanted to, her entire family had insisted on traveling up to celebrate with her. So she was left with seating her family while also trying to keep the peace.

My eyes widened at this as she sighed, explaining that while most of her family got along perfectly fine, there were those that held some sort of hatred or rivalry against others. Even saying that some relatives would break out into fights if they spent too much time around each other. Simply unable to stand the presence of each other for too long. So planning the seating perfectly to avoid chaos had taken poor Nyla quite a long time.

“Both of my parents are Fay.” She continued, driving us to our final destination. “But my moms family is much more prestigious and well known, even before the Portals collapsed.” I blinked at this news and wondered just how old Nyla’s family was. “My dad, though, has more Human relatives than Fay ones and, well…” She sighed, parking in front of a huge warehouse type building. “They’re not bothered by my Danny being Human… but still have some sort of problem with my dads Human family… and others just have their own dramas with cousins, siblings or parents… it’s utter madness.” Frowning as she sat there, blankly staring at the steering wheel. “No one wants to tell me why though… about my moms hatred for my dads family… I don’t really care much about the others…But my parents…”

I placed a hand on her arm, smiling at her when she turned to look at me.

That snapped her out of her deep thoughts, bringing back the bright smile and bubbly personality that made me smile.

We stepped out of the car and walked into the large imposing building, learning quickly that it was a massive indoor flower shop. The scent of so many different flowers stunned me for a second when she pulled the doors open, making me a tiny bit dizzy. But once I pushed past it, I was amazed by the multitude of colors, types and options that sat in endless looking rows all through the building.

I followed Nyla deep into the unending garden, pausing a few times to smell, admire and touch some flowers I’d never seen before. I read their names and looked through the color options that were organized next to each other, enjoying their beauty.

Anthurium, Stephanotis, Cornflower, Lisianthus, Ranunculus and many others in so many different colors.

Nyla stopped at a large desk where a couple Humans were working, greeting them and proceeding to ask them about her orders. She turned a few times to me and nodded towards the deeper end of the building, smiling encouragingly at me. She had clearly seen me blissfully admiring the flowers, silently urging me to keep exploring through the endless aisles. I took her up on it, seeing her look over what looked like pictures and ribbons that I could hear would become the finishing touches to her bouquet and decorative vases.

I walked through more flower aisles, letting myself relax among the incredible colors.

Allium, Echium, Amaryllis, Pelargonium, Tuberose, Anemone, Wandflower.

So lost in learning the names of new flowers and appreciating their unique petals, I didn’t realize I was being followed. It wasn’t until I looked up, noticing the back emergency exit, that I looked back down the path I had taken. While slowly retracing my steps, amazed that I couldn’t hear Nyla’s voice anymore, I froze. There, just two aisles in front of me, a man in all black quickly crossed from one aisle to another. His head was turned away from me, head turned up to the ceiling with a large coat that hung past his hips… where a gun holster would normally sit.

My feet were suddenly rooted to the spot, my eyes wide as I stared right at where the guy had disappeared to. I glanced around after a few seconds, wondering where he had gone. My heart began to hammer loudly in my chest, echoing in my ears. Managing to free my feet from the floor, I took a wide step back, unsure on what I should do.

“Like a cornered cat.”

The voice, so familiar, spoke up from behind me, making me gasp. It still made me feel as though I was covered in insects and slime. A cold, claw-like grip took hold of my spine when the bastard grabbed my upper arms and started pulling, my mouth opening instantly to scream.

But nothing came out.

“Behave, like the good little pet you are.” He snarled into my ear, making me feel so much revulsion and disgust that I actually retched as I struggled.

In my periphery, I could see two other Hunters in similar dark outfits as I was dragged away, the fingers on my arms digging in painfully hard. I tried to kick and swing my body out of his hold, loathing his touch on my bare skin and hating the t-shirt I had on. I even tried to hook some of the taller shelves with my foot, hoping to stop him or at least make some noise. But one of the other Hunters hit my knee with something hard and cold when I tried, the tearing sound of my long skirt revealing a long bleeding wound over my knee. Right where the fucker struck me. Tears filled my eyes as the pain spread up my leg, but I continued to fight.

My heart dropped when I heard the loud metal clack of the emergency door behind me and started to panic even more, thrashing harder. But I was still being forced back, with the prick holding me stopping for just a moment to let go of one arm, then roughly gripping my hair.

“That’s enough!” He snapped, violently jerking my head back, catching sight of him upside down with how far he had pulled my head. “I told you to behave!”

I shook my head as much as I could, spilling more tears through the pain and glaring at him. The other Hunters laughed at me, seeming amused at my defiance, while the one to my right stepped closer, letting the heavy door behind us close again. But then, out of nowhere, the man to the left of us suddenly stiffened, his face contorting into something terrifying as he started to tremble. Then, shocking me, he dropped to the floor, groaning and twitching, revealing a pissed off Nyla who had hidden behind him.

With a cold and deadly smile, Nyla took advantage of the shock and jumped forward, grabbing hold of the other Hunter that moved to stand in front of me. The second her hand wrapped around his wrist, his face twisted up like the first man, his body locking up before trembling. She let go a second later, turning to the bastard still holding me while his last man dropped like a wet bag of sand.

“Fuck.” The man whose name I didn’t even want to think, hissed behind me, taking a step back to try and avoid Nyla.

But when she followed him, taking a step when he did, he cursed again, shoving me hard towards her, and ran. His boots thudded away from us as Nyla and I crashed to the ground. From the ground, I could hear him run around the aisle to the left of us, round the corner and bolt towards the front of the store.

“C’mon!” Nyla snapped at me, scrambling to her feet and pulling me with her. “They’re never completely alone!”

My heart, still thundering away in my chest, skipped a beat at her words and I rushed to follow her. I tripped up a few times while Nyla continued to pull my hand, struggling to make my body obey. But the fear was so very paralyzing and the ache in my arms and scalp from his grip along with the cut on my leg were all distracting me.

We skidded to a stop at the counter where the employees still stood, both of us nearly crashing into the side of said counter. I huffed and held myself up by the smooth black support, letting Nyla explain things to the Humans who sounded worried and began to make calls. As I stood there, suddenly feeling my ears ring painfully, making my head spin. My wounded leg also refused to allow any weight to sit on it, causing a severe limp as I continued to lean on the counter. My arms shook as the sweat that coated my body dried, making me feel cold. And with all the heavy panting and failed attempts to scream for help, my throat now felt like coarse sandpaper.

So, all in all, I felt like absolute s**t.

Runny, mashed up, s**t.