Among Demons : A Siren's Voice

Ch. 4 : New Faces

When I was finished with the food I set the tray to the side and smiled at Nyla, watching her jump to her feet and begin moving towards the door. I followed close behind her, growing nervous about meeting a whole group of people that had apparently helped me.

We continued through a small hallway with large floor-to-ceiling windows that showed the large stretch of woodland facing the side of the building. There were mountains in the distance and a flock of birds shot up into the sky from the trees, creating a painting-like scenery with the still rising sun. It helped me relax and smile as Nyla slowed down and then stopped in front of a set of double doors.

Nyla smiled as she reached for the handles, giving me a second to collect myself before she pulled them open. I felt my eyes widen as I cautiously stepped inside the large space, looking around at everything inside.

To my immediate right there were a few bookshelves sitting against the wall with a loveseat nestled in between them. On the left wall was a whole speaker set up with a smaller shelf holding baskets filled with all kinds of wires and electronics. In the far right corner of the room a decent sized kitchenette sat with a very long dining table in front of it. A large bay window sat across from the dining table with a cozy, cushioned window seat built-in. To the left was a stage-like area with a long working desk stacked up with pages and three different mannequins covered in unique dresses. A large three-way mirror hugged the small circular stage next to those desks and another set of shelves with wicker baskets sat against that far left wall. In the middle of the room sat a long, curving sectional couch with a stained glass coffee table and massive T.V facing it all. Two tall shelving units leaned up against the support beams that stood on either side of the T.V stand, with a few shelves holding gaming systems while others held large stacked up photo albums. And behind the T.V stood a pool table with a wall mounted cue stick rack on the wall behind it with a few stools framing it on either side.

“Hey guys!” Nyla’s voice jolted me from my amazement at the large space we had just entered, my eyes finally taking note of the people milling around inside.

“Lora!” Devin called out to me, waving from the kitchen area with a cup in her hand. “How are you feeling?”

I smiled and nodded for a second before I noticed the Human man that stood behind her. I tensed when I saw him, my feet refusing to move. He was a large man with a lot of muscle packed all over his body and stern features that appeared soft as he watched Devin. His dark hair looked slightly damp, as if he’d just gotten out of a shower, and many tattoos covered his arms, adding an edge to his already imposing presence.

“That’s Marcus.” Nyla chimed in, popping up beside me with that same bright smile she greeted me with. “He’s Devins childhood friend and fiance.”

I jumped at this knowledge, looking at Nyla for a second before returning to Devin and the Human, watching as he wrapped his arms around her waist and whispered something into her ear that made her giggle.

“The Human pair over on the dining table is Izaak and his wife Sammy.” Nyla continued, waving towards the Humans I hadn’t noticed yet. “They’ve got the cutest little Elf children that join them every once in a while.” She gushed, nodding towards the two when they turned to face us.

The man had black hair with dark brown eyes and a kind smile. He also wasn’t as intimidating as the Human named Marcus that Devin was engaged to. Though I still felt anxious while looking at him. The dark blonde sitting beside him had very pretty dark blue eyes and stood up to wave back at us, muttering something to her husband.

“Here you are!” A loud voice startled me, entering the large space from the doors behind me.

I turned and watched a tall, muscly Human rush into the room and gather Nyla into his arms, making her squeal as he lifted her off the floor. His dark blond hair was an interesting blend of gold and brown that I hadn’t seen before. He also had a light dusting of freckles on his smiling face that somehow made him seem mischievous. Though the gleaming, playful look in his warm brown eyes added to that troublemaker attitude he gave off.

“That’s Danny.” A deep yet soft voice cut into the lovey-dovey murmuring that Nyla and the Human were sucked into. “They’re engaged too, and more than ready to tie the knot.”

I looked over to my left and found another Human man standing there. He was just as tall as the others, though not as big with muscle as the other three. His lean frame seemed to hide a lethal edge that he gave off, though it didn’t make me anxious at all. In fact, I felt rather relaxed and somewhat protected by the aura coming off of him. His dark blond hair was a few shades lighter than the Human holding Nyla, though his skin was tanner. And his eyes, a unique hazel swirl of green and soft brown, lit up with his friendly smile.

“I’m Nick, by the way.” He said, extending his hand out to me. “Devin’s my little sister.”

I nodded in acknowledgement and took his hand in mine, stunned for a second at how large and warm his hand was compared to mine.

“Her name is Loralyn.” Devin appeared from behind him, now holding a notepad and pen instead of a cup. “I’m glad to see you up and around now.” She added, extending the items she held to me. “Here. So you can communicate with us while you’re here.” I nodded again and mouthed out a ‘thank you’, quickly writing down a question, asking her about the potion I had taken. “I reached out to my friend and told her the details you gave me.” She continued, placing a hand on my shoulder and guiding me to the sectional. “We should hear back from her soon, so we just have to wait a bit, ok?”

Again, I nodded, smiling gratefully at her as I took a seat.

“Now that you’re feeling better and walking around,” Devin said, sounding a bit more serious as she sat on the corner of the coffee table. “You need to know a few things so you know exactly what it is that we do and why we do it.” She paused for a second, smiling lovingly at her fiance who approached her from behind, gently resting a hand on her shoulder. “You have every right to make the decision yourself on whether you should stay with us or go now that you’re better. But I think you should learn about us a bit more before you make that choice.”

I nodded along with her, feeling relieved that things were flowing this way.

My doubts were still circling my mind, though not as strongly as before. And though I wanted to trust these people readily, a large part of me was still struggling, since I didn’t know anything. Especially since they were all strangers to me. Strangers that blocked my attacker from getting his hands on me. Strangers that helped me heal and have so far treated me with kindness.

It was nice, knowing that there were people out in the world that were still simply kind just to be kind. But after everything I’d been through, it was hard to just accept someone's kindness without suspecting something, or assuming that they wanted something in return. So learning more about these people who all apparently worked for the Matron in some way was going to help me make up my mind on whether or not I should explain my situation to them and ask for their help.

"For starters, my brother Nick and I are Lieutenants that work directly with and for the Matron." She started, nodding to the Human who slowly took a seat to the right of me. "We run this building and help out our people as much as we can."

"We're also the first to respond when Hunters are spotted. Or when those bastards take our people from their homes." Her brother Nick added, glaring a bit at the ground before relaxing. “Confiscating dangerous items that can harm our people is another thing we do too. And we’ve even managed to punish a few Humans for hiding and collecting such things.”

Devin smiled and nodded at her brother as she said, “It's annoying to deal with since a lot of them scream about using those things for protection from us until we prove them wrong. But we handle it with care like we do all our other cases.” She moved on and looked towards her fiance still standing behind her, smiling brightly at him. "My fiance Marcus, along with Danny, run the Demon Protection Unit. It’s our Demon version of local law enforcement. And they run it just like a Human police station too. Helping to save and protect our people from wrongful convictions, as well as solving any and all criminal cases involving Demons.”

"We've got a background in how things run on the Human side, as well as connections that help us do our jobs right." Nylas fiance chimed in, still tightly holding her in his arms and making her squirm and giggle.

Devin nodded before continuing, looking over at the Human couple that took a seat on the other side of Nick.

"Izaak and Sammy run the educational front of things here." She explained, smiling at them warmly. "They help organize, lead and coordinate scholarships, intern programs and special summer activities for Demon kids of all ages."

"It's a bit selfish of us, since our kids benefit from all the programs too." Sammy muttered, making everyone chuckle or comment on how hard they work for all kids.

“My lovely Fay friend Nyla here is the Information highway of this building, as well as the direct Secretary and Financial coordinator of the Matron.” Nyla smiled and gave a little bow with her fiance’s arms still loosely holding her from behind. “She’s also the best designer we could ever ask for.”

“Speaking of designs,” Nyla suddenly turned serious, wagging a finger at Devin with a slight frown. “I need to do another touch-up on your wedding dress, so you HAVE to make time this week.” This made Devin smile and wave her off playfully, muttering something about having plenty of time for a fitting.

"That's just the main points of what we do here in this building…" I looked back at Devin, seeing the seriousness return to her ringed eyes. "We have also helped Demons that have escaped from Hunters… and those that are on the run and need a new identity to survive."

My eyes widened and I looked around at all of them. I took in how they all mirrored the stern look that Devin was showing me, adding weight to her words.

"We've done all kinds of things to help our people make it through an attack or k********g. Funding them, healing them, hiding them and everything in between." She continued, reaching out to touch my knee. "None of us are afraid to get our hands dirty. And we know our way around the legal system as well, so those responsible never coast through, unpunished." Her fingers squeezed my knee for a second, making me swallow hard as I heard the silent question she was asking me. "Nothing is impossible for us to do… if you want or need or hope for our help… we're more than ready."

I looked at everyone once more, seeing identical looks of determination and courage in them. It all made my stomach twist a bit as I thought it through. And when I looked back at Devin, raising my hand to write down my answer, she stopped me.

"Think it over." Her voice was soft and kind, showing me a great deal of understanding and patience. "Take as long as you need while you finish healing, ok?"

I smiled back at her, fighting back tears that burned with the weight of everything I had gone through finally melting away. I then nodded and bowed my head, using my hair as a shield to hide the overwhelming emotions hitting me all at once.

"Whatever you choose," I could see Nick reach out and softly pat my shoulder, helping me calm the chaotic feelings that threatened to spill from my eyes. "We're on your side."

I turned my head a bit and smiled at him before turning back to stare at my legs.

It was very overwhelming to hear that they were more than willing to jump into the chaos that had become my life, just for the sake of helping me. And the fact that no one added anything regarding price or some kind of exchange for getting involved, only made things feel even more unbelievable. In fact, I had heard that some Lieutenants from other parts of the country had asked for some form of trade or monetary benefit from those seeking help from Hunters. And some other places even claim that the local Matron or Patron just turned them away once they find out that Hunters are the reason behind their request for help.

Yet these people, who know nothing about me, are saying that they're ready to jump into the fire with me?

It was a struggle to simply accept such open-ended kindness without feeling either suspicion or hesitation… but I wanted to. I wanted to trust not only these people who were now going about the room doing menial things and happily chatting… but I also wanted to trust myself. I wanted to stop second-guessing my every choice and action since my sister first came home with my nephew. I wanted to trust my gut, my own intuition and my own abilities again. And I wanted to accept that, maybe this once, I could trust myself and my own instinct to open up to these people and tell them what had happened to me.

But that damned doubt continued to whisper to me….