(ZANE)
The first thing that I notice waking up is the soft bed beneath me. I know right away that I am not in my house because my firm, lumpy mattress, isn't that comfortable.
I open my eyes to the moon lit room. It is blurry without my glasses. I look around then spot them on the bed stand. After putting the glasses on, I study the room. The wide, open space has a door to the left, and another beside it. Both closed. The short hall seems to lead somewhere else. A closet? A bathroom maybe?
The wall in front of me is glass, showing a cliff in the distance, and dark water.
I am near the sea. Maybe in one of those fancy houses that I usually drive past wishing that I could live in. Whoever lives there must be rich.
Then the memory of charred meat and rot slams into me.
Gasping, I clutch my chest and my palm meets a bandage. There is another bandage on my left bicep. I raise the blanket and notice that my right leg is wrapped too. I ache a little but not so much.
Where the hell are my clothes? I have sweat pants on and the right leg is rolled up because of the wound. I am also shirtless. These pants aren't mine. They're definitely too big for me.
Then footsteps draw my attention to the door.
"You shouldn't have brought him here." A stern voice says from outside the room. Light filters in through the crack at the bottom, and I notice a shadow, as though someone is standing outside the door. "You know better, Blaine."
"Shades attacked him, Kian. What was I supposed to do?"
Now that voice is one that I recognize. It belongs to the man who cradled me in his arms. The same man who had broken into my shop earlier, pressed me against the wall and stole that creepy box with a ring in it.
Makes me wonder if this is their secret hideout.
"Take him to the hospital and leave him there." The other voice says. "You know that him being here is dangerous. For us and for him."
"But he needed our help. Isn't that our purpose? To save humans?"
"Our purpose is to kill demons. Not nurse humans back to health."
Demons?
"He would have died before the human doctors nursed him back to health."
"That's not our problem."
"And I believe that he is our problem. Because the demons targeted him specifically."
"Demons target humans all the time. He isn't special. What happens when he wakes up and starts asking questions? No one can know our location. Especially not a simple minded human. You realize you just put us all at risk—"
"Enough. What is done is done. I don't want to hear another word of it."
"You dare give me orders, wrath? You forgot your place?"
What follows is silence.
I have no idea what to do. My brain feels like it will short circuit if I replay their conversation in my head. Killing demons? Referring to me as a human? A simple minded one for that matter? Who the hell are these people?
The doorknob turns, and the sound pulls me away from my thoughts. A large figure stands on the doorway, and light filters into the room. My breath halts, and my hands can't stop trembling.
"You're awake?"
I sit higher up the bed, wincing when I move too quickly.
"Easy." He says, walking into the room. He left the door open. Is that supposed to make me feel safe? Less trapped? He flicks on a switch. The room remains dim in some places, creating a somewhat relaxing atmosphere. "I healed the worst of your injuries and patched up the rest. But you need to rest for a while."
Dressed in combat boots, black pants and a simple black t-shirt, he reminds me of a military operative. A ring stealing assassin. Someone dangerous.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Blaine."
"And where am I?"
"My home."
"Why?"
A tick works on his jaw. "Because."
"Because?" I ask with a scoff. That makes things crystal clear. Thanks for the elaboration."
He stares at me quietly.
"I'm going home." I say, trying to find the will to move. My muscles ache and weigh heavily..i feel like I have been run over by a car.
"No, you're not."
"I don't know whatever this is you dragged me into, I want no part in whatever illegal thing you got going on here. I'm leaving. Now."
"I'm afraid it's too late for that." Blaine says, stepping closer to the bed. "You are safer here."
"Your promises don't mean a thing to me. I don't know you from Adam, and I definitely don't trust the word of a criminal. Now take me home right this minute."
"No."
"You can't keep me here."
That's definitely the wrong thing to say. Then a challenge sparks in his eyes. "I'd like to see you try."
"God!" I squeeze my eyes shut and inhale deeply. "You're going to kill me, right?"
"If I wanted you dead, I'd have left you to bleed out instead of helping you."
"Fair enough. So what happened to my shop? I was attacked by something. Some sort of an animal."
"It wasn't an animal."
"Then what was it?"
"That is a lot for me to explain."
"Try." I say, a ball of worry knotting in my gut. "Because I'm kind of losing my mind here."
"Well then," Blaine says, coming closer to the bed. "If you must know, they were shades."
"Shades?"
"Low level demons."
"Demons? You must be joking."
"Do I look like I'm joking?" he says with a stern look on his face.
"Uh…" I clear my throat. "Not really."
Blaine's eyes narrow. "Do you find this funny?"
"Definitely not." I answer with an awkward short laugh. "Quite the opposite actually. This is crazy.Demons aren't real."
"Those marks say otherwise." He tips his head towards my bandaged arm.
Yeah. The pain of the bites feels real.
"So, why were they after me?"
"I'm not so sure. But I think the box has something to do with it. I'll make sure you're safe while you're here. You have my word."
I'm probably an idiot for this, but for some reason,I believe him. "Why were you in my shop? You showed up at the perfect time."
"We were hunting shades. We tracked them to your loft."
"You hunt shades?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
He sighs then brings his head forward, rubbing the back of his head frustratedly. Am I stressing him out? "Because killing demons is what we do. End of story."