In an office room surrounded by shelves, two men sat across from each other, a desk separating them. On it were books that smelled new and coffee on steaming cups, giving the office some life even though everything in it seemed old and inanimate.
There were hardly any personal effects in the office aside from the plaque on the table that read, "Councilor Hagen."
Daemon, seated across from the old man, smiled, his head tilted to his left at her. He observed the man, his eyes squinting slightly in amusement, but his long, silvery hair threatened to cover up his curious visage.
Suddenly straightening, he adjusted on his seat, his expression going impassive and his eyes stoic.
"I'm sorry for dropping by unannounced, I hope I didn't wake you up?" he started, taking the coffee from the desk for a sip.
Across the desk, Councillor Hagen shifted uncomfortably, his wary gaze fixed on the teenage boy.
"No, no, I've been up since before sunrise," he replied, smiling elaborately.
"I heard you came by the Orphanage" Daemon continued without skipping a beat as if the Councillor's reply meant nothing to him.
"I'm sorry I couldn't come see you" The Councilor shifted again and loosened his tie.
"It's okay. I take no offense" Daemon smiled widely for a moment and dipped his head to take another sip from the mug, his brows raised and his eyes fixed on Councilor Hagen.
Suddenly sighing, the Councilor took a deep breath and started.
"Listen, I'm sorry but I don't want to die. Okay? I don't want to die"
"Relax, don't get your knockers in a twist," Daemon grinned, slowly setting the cup back on the desk.
"I need the transfers done today. Mrs Vannesa's compensation, my inheritance, and the liquidation of all assets marked by my mother before her death. You can either choose to do it or be compelled to; it's up to you, but it must be done today." Rising, he straightened his shirt and took his coat from a hanger on the wall.
"You are worse than your mother" Councillor Hagen shook his head slowly from side to side with a low mutter escaping his lips.
"I warned her, she should never have had you. You will bring chaos to this world, I warned her, she wouldn't listen"
Ignoring the old man's mutterings, Daemon closed the office door behind him as he left, leaving the Councilor to his ramblings.
****
Meanwhile, back at the luxurious hotel suite, Vanessa remained at the table with her daughters as they played a card game.
"Is it true about Empaths?" Nisa started glancing up at her Mom for a moment before returning her gaze to her cards.
"What about Empaths?" Vannesa asked back, her eyes fixed on the cards in her hand.
Tapping on the desk as a signal to Dani, who slid a card over to her, she looked up at Nisa, who was now waiting for Ruby to play her turn.
"That they are the strongest of all hybrids?" Nisa asked.
"Mostly," Vannesa replied, shaking her head.
"They don't have any combat advantage, but they can destroy anyone in an infinite number of ways," Dani explained.
Ruby played her turn, then looked up at Nisa contemptuously. "Daemon is not an empath, he is a mind reader"
"What does that even mean? I've never heard about that branch of hybrids" Nisa raised her shoulders.
The table was silent for a while as Nisa considered her card. Vannesa's watched her play and then let out a sigh.
"Okay, time-out," Vannesa waved, and they all slowly put their cards face down on the table and stared at their mother.
"I'll tell you all what I know about Daemon. You deserve to know, but I won't be sharing his secrets. They are his to share or to keep, no one has any right to them. They are his, do you girls understand?" she asked, her forehead raised as she looked around her daughters.
They nodded and she swallowed before continuing.
"Okay, Daemon's father was a rare type of hybrid known only as Blanks. That's because, unlike any other hybrid, they are born without an ability of their own but instead can take up to three abilities of other hybrids. They can easily take or discard abilities and that makes them the most powerful and unpredictable of all known hybrids." she paused and watched their expressions to see if they followed before she continued.
"His mother on the other hand was born to the Lynch family like any other Lynch
She was a normal Empath but with an insanely high IQ and equal curiosity, she was different from her family. Instead of being satisfied, she started to study the brain, human behavior, and all things psychology-related. They'll teach you this later at the Academy. She proved that Hybrids can further mutate their abilities and that normal people like us can become hybrids. Aside from those two theories which she shared with the world, the rest of her research was private, so a lot of people were after her because they felt entitled to her knowledge."
"So what's the deal with Daemon?" Dani asked in a low tone when Vannesa paused.
"Well, his mother managed to mutate her abilities to become a Mind Reader and then she went on to marry a Blank. So Daemon is an Empath, a Mind Reader, and can absorb at least two other abilities. I know he controls vibrations, but I have no idea what the last ability is," Vannesa concluded.
"How powerful is he exactly?" Nisa squinted.
"In combat, I'm not sure. His mother never let me test him, but his abilities, umm. Well. . . " Vannesa sighed.
"We also study him at the Academy, did you know? I saw his name on the curriculum" Dani lowered her head slightly.
"Yeah?" Vannesa turned to her with wide eyes.
"Yeah," Dani confirmed.
"Mom, you didn't answer the question," Nisa groaned, lowering herself to the table.
"Okay, well, he is the most powerful hybrid I've ever worked on, but I haven't worked on all hybrids, and his mother was overly protective. I could barely run any tests on him. He wasn't even a subject, we were just playing around and he was much much younger then"
"So why does he wear that seal around his neck?" Ruby asked this time but Vannesa simply smiled back at her.
"You'll have to ask him"
Earning a glare from her daughter, Vannesa glanced awkwardly at Dani, then picked up her card to return to the game.