Warlock

Dragon Keys

As always, the few who strayed outdoors during the city's terribly long winter were not afraid to invade his privacy. He had seen at least five people snap pictures of him, and one had started to ask him questions about the attack he had been so lucky to survive. The public interest lessened as time passed, but he still gained far more attention than he preferred. At least enough time had passed that he was able to completely heal the wound on his cheek without suspicion.

A hush came through the door along with him as he entered the café. Not only was the old building much fuller than usual, but the only customers today were Others. They were having a discussion, and the short pixie Trinity appeared to be leading it alongside the vampire that had covered the other half of the lycanthrope cop's shift. Loch was saved from more stares when Skye emerged from the kitchen with two hot chocolates. "Good afternoon. They're having a meeting, so we'll have to sit out in the cold." The waiter smiled and nodded at the pixie. She was sitting on a table rather than a chair to rise herself to the height of the majority.

Loch nodded and stepped back into the cold. He waited for the door to shut behind them before speaking. "What are they discussing?"

"A group of humans has started to hunt us. They think we're the ones responsible for those killings. They're actually successful, by the sounds of it. Some of them have started researching us and learning our weaknesses. They figured out already that naiads are only killed by poison, and they figured out that you need to burn dryads. They haven't figured out the draconem method of death yet, but I imagine they will soon. It's strange to think that I could die." Skye pulled out a chair next to Loch's. He was too close. Loch usually remembered to sit down last so that he could create a certain amount of personal space.

"I added a bit to your shadow bracelet. Even their technology isn't advanced enough to see you as anything but human. I've been keeping an eye on their organization for weeks, but I did not expect them to grow so quickly."

"You should talk to them." Skye threw an arm around his shoulder without warning. Loch barely managed to hold back a wince. At least it was warm.

He took a moment to recover from the movement and remember what the naiad had just said. "What? Why?"

"They think you're a human, and they know you were almost killed by whatever killed their friends. You can convince them that they need to help us hunt the demons, rather than working against us." He had a point, but Loch had been so noncommittal for so long that he did not want to become involved again. Admittedly, he was growing bored of simply listening to conversations every day at the soup kitchen. They had begun to treat him like a legend there, as well, which made things much worse when Darcy forced him to dish out the food in front of the crowds rather than clean the dishes and the kitchen.

He glanced over at the naiad. Having someone trust him and speak honestly with him was terrible. Skye made him feel like he was the villain when he was really just the bystander. He made a mental note to avoid talking to good people. Before he started speaking, he made sure to block out any wandering minds such as that of the demonic woman. "I know who is controlling the demons. I made a deal with her a couple of weeks ago. She was in pain, so I took away her pain. Now she owes me, but I'm still thinking about how to use this debt." Loch avoided watching Skelly's reaction.

"In the future, can you tell me when you do something like that? I know sometimes you don't care enough about the Other side of society to act on what you know, but I care and if I can save my friends' lives by learning about the human organization a few weeks earlier or by telling Trinity who to look for to prevent more killings, then I will help them." Skye forcibly turned his head to face him as he spoke. Usually he was cheerful, and everything he talked about was in a casual tone, but on this subject he was dead serious.