(BLAINE)
Five demons scurry around the loading dock, their bodies appearing like swirling dark smoke and their faces drained of all colour. Their eyes are empty pits. We call them shades. They only ever come out at night, making sure to keep to the shadows to avoid direct light.
They are mindless creatures. Well, for the most part. All they know how to do I kill.
"Thereon said the group he and Zane had killed were over this area too." Kian says, his blue eyes pinned on the shades.
I take in the harbour. The baits are all docked on one side and there is a small cargo ship in the distance. A few of the surrounding buildings have the windows knocked out and are marked with graffiti, though there are a few nearby businesses that remain open.
"Not much there." I say.
"Exactly." Kian furrows his brow, watching as one of the shades swats the other. That animalistic behaviour is typical for their kind, like some feral dogs on the prowl. "I found out that the crates were recently unloaded. The items were purchased by an auction house."
"You think it is all connected?"
"I don't think it, I know it."
I grind my teeth together, trying to keep myself from sprouting off at him. He can't control his superiority complex, yet that does nothing to make him less annoying.
"So, we need to find out what was sold out at the auction."
Kian nods. "They are after something. Whatever it is, I am sure that we can find the answers we want there."
I shift my focus back to the shades who are creeping closer to the abandoned warehouses beside the dock. "Can we kill them now?"
Kian withdraws two daggers and smirks at me. "After you, Wrath."
I jump down from the ledge and land right in front of them. One of them snaps its head towards me, its unnaturally droopy mouth widening to show the sharp rows of its teeth.
"Hey ugly."
It leaps towards me, but I grab it by the throat and slam it to the ground before shoving my dagger to its chest. The black smoke swirls around its body blazes into a bright orange before disintegrating, leaving behind nothing but ash.
Kian lands beside me, slashing off one of their heads before thrusting a dagger into the neck of the other. None of us broke even a sweat before all the five are piles of ash at our feet. Not all demons can be disposed of that easily. Shades are just the lowliest. The weakest.
It is the upper level ones that give us trouble.
"I'm thinking of shopping by the club before I head back." I say, wiping the blade before holstering it. "You want to come?"
A pained look gleams in Kian's eyes. "No. I have other plans."
"I figured as much." I tap his shoulder. "The offer still stands if you change your mind."
"I won't." he says.
I spread out my wings and take off to the sky. The wind rustles through my feathers and I breathe a sigh of relief at the freedom of being high in the air. But the slight moment of joy fades when I remember the look on my brother's eyes.
I know exactly where he is planning to go.
The club offers me the distraction that I very much need and gives me an outlet to blow off some sexual tension. I barely even remember the man's face after I fuck them in the backroom of the club and take off back into the night.
Not that their faces matter anyway. It's not like I plan to see the men that I fuck again. They are nothing but a warm body to sink in and a way to pass time. And as an immortal, I have an infinite amount of time.
I pass through the magical barrier around our property and fly over the dark water, then I drop down on the steps of the front porch of the mansion.
Kaiser and Thereon are playing pool in the game room. The sound of the billiards clashing together startles Loki who is napping on a chaise lounge near the window. He sleepily mumbles at them before pulling a blanket over his head and curling into a little ball.
"Kian and I found mire shades by the dock."
"Close to where Zane and I found them earlier, then." Thereon says, bending forward to line up a shot. His shoulder length fire red engine hair complements his alabaster skin. Silver studs line the curve of both his ears, and his right nostril is pierced, along with his left eyebrow.
"Yes." I say, leaning back against the wall and cross my arms, watching them play. "Kian says the crates for the auction house came recently. He thinks that the shades are after something in one of the crates."
"Like what?" Kaiser asks, chalking the top of his pool stick before pocketing a stripe. A piece of jerky beef sticks from the corner of his mouth.
I shrug. "I don't know. Could be another cursed object like the last time."
Many years back, an amulet had been found at an archaeological site. It was used in the ancient times to spread fear and chaos instead of protecting people against it. The negative energy on the amulet drew demons and they swarmed the area, feeding off of the peoples' fear. We had to retrieve the object to destroy it.
"Oh." Thereon peeks up at that. "I bet the amulet would fetch some nice penny."
"You already have enough money."
"You can never have enough." Thereon winks at me.
I suppress a sigh and head over to pick Loki from the couch and cradle him in my arms. He links his hands behind my neck and nuzzles into my chest as I carry him up to the bedroom on the second floor. Once I tuck him in his bed, I go into my room and step out onto the balcony.
The storm has cleared, taking all the clouds with it. I stare up at the sea of glimmering stars, my mind far away. A memory of an orchard and a small home sitting beside it comes to me. The dark brown eyes, the bronze skin that warmed mine as our bodies intertwined.
But I chase it away. The past is too painful.
Kian doesn't return until the early hours of the morning. The sun has already risen when I sense him enter the veil in our land. He heads straight for his bedroom and locks himself inside, not saying a word to anyone.
That kind of pain?
That is the reason why I keep as much distance as I can between me and humans.
I only use them for sex. Anything more than that is just a recipe for sorrow.