RD 5 Ch 46

Circe and I got closer to the Inn as we prepared to see if Kathy wanted to move to Vein City. Really, it was a safer option for Kathy, and I was hoping she would jump on the offer. But we had yet to see if there was anything tying her to the area.

Circe pulled herself even closer to me as we approached the door, hanging off of my arm possessively. I gave her a raised eyebrow.

“It’s so that she doesn’t get any funny ideas, just like you asked.” Circe told me with a mischievous glint.

I was fairly sure Circe was using this opportunity to have fun teasing me by rubbing her soft mounds against my bicep. I wasn’t going to complain, I enjoyed having her pressed up against me.

As we entered, Kathy seemed to take the hint. She walked up to get us seated, pointedly ignoring me as if paying too much attention would draw Circe’s ire.

Kathy didn’t inspect Circe to see her strength, but there was enough power in the way Circe moved that most people would hesitate to stand against the mythical nymph. She was actually a little scary. It wasn’t everyone who walked around in the apocalypse looking so put together. Somehow that was a warning to everyone that she had the time and strength to do as she pleased.

“So how are you, Kathy?” I asked, trying to make polite conversation as she sat us at the table.

“Just peachy,” she responded flatly. “Is your recruitment of the guy who lives in the alley going well enough for you?” She remembered us from last night and why we were here. That took more than a casual interest.

“I’d say so, though these things can take some time. People often have too many lingering attachments to where they live.” I said, laying the groundwork for a conversation later.

But if those words triggered anything for her, she didn’t show it. She only bobbed her head slightly and continued. “Can I convince you to have another one of those ales, or would you like something different today?”

“The ale will be fine,” I said quickly.

She scribbled that down, casting a questioning glance at Circe rather than actually asking her anything only to get a nod. Apparently they weren’t speaking to each other.

“That’ll be two. Coming right up,” Kathy said, and moved away to check on another table.

“Talkative, isn’t she?” Circe commented.

“Not everyone is interested in you, Circe.” I shrugged and decided to praise her. “Perhaps that’s for the better. Otherwise I could get jealous. You’re a little too eye catching sometimes.”

Her eyes crinkled at the corners and she gave me a half-lidded look that told me she liked the idea of me being jealous. It was always nice to be wanted.

While I was smiling at her, I did a sweep of the inn with soul gaze active. It was nearly compulsive at this point to scan my surroundings and assess any threats. One could never be too careful in a world where demons were possessing bodies and trying to destroy humanity.

As I scanned the room, my eyes flipped back and locked on someone.

Circe noticed the slight change in my focus, following my gaze and trying to determine what had gained my attention. “What?”

The man we had both locked on hadn’t so much as flinched. Then again, I was feeling no less than a dozen people inspecting me the second I walked through the door. I wasn’t the only one who liked to check my surroundings.

“He’s fine,” Circe continued.

“Try it again. Do you notice the information has an ever-so-slight delay?” I pressed.

She frowned, inspecting him again, brows pinching together. “Now that you mention it, it does feel a little sluggish.”

I nodded. “Remember that feeling, because that’s what it’s like when someone’s using something to fool inspect. There’s always that slight delay. The better they are, the more they can shrink that time, but if you’re paying close attention it sticks out like a sore thumb.”

Circe gave me a quizzical glance. “Please tell me you don’t always look for the delay.”

I shrugged. “It’s less directly looking for it and more that I have trained myself to notice when there is any delay. It just happens to stand out to me now and catch my attention.”

Her gaze told me she barely believed the excuse; she was looking at me like she thought I was paranoid. “So what do we do now?” She asked.

I kept the smile from creeping across my lips. “Now, I could throw my weight around a little bit. Thoughts?”

“Please, go right ahead,” she gestured.

I wasn’t one to disappoint my date. I let the full weight of Soul Gaze settle on the man and pushed hard through whatever he had hiding him from the world. The inspect panel that came up shook ever so slightly before it dissolved, revealing one behind it.

With that change, the man finally twitched and glanced around the room, but I had already looked away and begun grabbing at Circe’s hips, playing a pair of smitten lovers whose attention was only for the other as I couldn’t keep my hands off her.

Circe apparently knew the game and gave me a big smooch as the man scanned the room futilely for whoever had put such a heavy pressure on his identity, many such devices had a warning built into them.

“Is he done scanning?” I asked, pulling away.

“Perhaps we could do it just a little longer to be sure.” Circe murmured, her eyes hooded as with a little smile. 

I nearly snorted at the corny line and gave her another kiss. “Let’s call it good,” I chuckled, glancing up as Kathy returned to our table with two drinks.

“Drinks.” She offered, non-plussed at our brief makeout session in the middle of the inn.

“That guy looks a little paranoid,” I said, lifting my mug casually in the direction of the man, who was still glancing over his shoulder repeatedly.

He must have felt the tingle, or perhaps whatever he was using to hide himself had some built-in warning. He knew somebody knew his information, but he had yet to pinpoint us.

My eyes slid to the screen that had appeared and still floated in my peripheral. The man was a demon, doing his best to hide in plain sight.

“The sect bunch are a bit odd.” Kathy said. What she left unsaid was how much that displeased her.

“We've seen a few of those. Are they prominent here?” I asked.

Kathy shrugged. “If gossip's to be believed. They're a lot stronger than your average person. And anytime someone thinks they're hot stuff, they go looking for the couple that are supposedly nearby and come back wearing their robes like they are hot stuff.” She glanced at his robes. “I think he's from the Aldera. At least that's what his robes look like to me.”

“Oh, where are they?” I said, trying to keep my tone like it was casual conversation and not an investigation.

“North. Up in what most of us would have thought was no-man's land, except for the polar bears and penguins.” She told us.

Circe chuckled. “It's funny how much sects like penguins,” which caused Kathy to raise an eyebrow in question.

I waved it away. “Don't mind her. She has an active imagination.”

Kathy only nodded. “Well, regardless of your imagination, they do walk around like they're the hottest thing since sliced bread. So I'd be careful about provoking them. Those are the kind of people who have egos that pop violently.”

“Thanks for the tip,” I said, raising my stein of beer briefly before taking a sip. “We'll make sure to steer clear of people like that. By the way, Kathy, have you ever thought of going somewhere else?” I attempted to change the subject smoothly, but if we were honest, I was more of a direct type and it came across slightly choppy. Circe gave me a quiet, raised eyebrow, but I ignored her, waiting for Kathy’s answer.

“Why would I leave?” Kathy shrugged. “It's not like there's anywhere to go. The world's a total shit show and I don’t even know if civilization exists more than a few miles out.”

“What about one of these sects?” I said, trying to make a point, only for her to scoff. “Listen, I'm not the kind of person that's going to throw themselves out into the wilds and fight monsters. I'm afraid if your recruiting drive includes me, it's not going to end well. I know my place in the world and it's not running around adventuring or protecting.” She sounded almost a little forlorn at the admission. Though I could have very well projected that in hopes that she might change her mind.

“Well, if you are ever interested, we do recruit. And we are not just hiring those who can slice a monster. The world needs plenty of people who are happy to do far more mundane jobs. Hard working people are the world’s rarest resource now.”

She gave me a quizzical look, then a woman behind the counter shouted “Kathy!” at the top of her lungs and Kathy suddenly turned, barreling towards the voice.

“You could totally snag her if you flirted,” Circe said bluntly as soon as Kathy was away.

“Yeah, well, that wouldn’t go with what I ultimately need, which is our portal maker.” I told her, my concern quickly turning to the demon-possessed man. He couldn’t be after Ricky, could he?

I glanced back to see him trying to relax at his table, pretending someone hadn’t just pushed hard on his hidden identity. I did my best not to stare, but I imagined he was already trying to convince himself he wasn’t in any danger. He probably assumed that if someone had realized he was a demon, the whole tavern would have been in an uproar by now if that were true.

“So what’s his deal?” Circe asked as my attention returned to him.

“Demon,” I told her as quietly as possible.

“Really? What? Why here?” She froze and said in a hiss.

“I would very much like to know that, too.” I shrugged. “But even if you go and ask politely, I doubt he’s just going to tell you that information.”

Circe snorted. “You’d be surprised how convincing I could be.”

I gave her a long stare. Not that I was going to do anything, but I’d wait for her to back down.

She seemed to understand the look. “What are you going to do about the sudden demon you’ve found in our midst?”

“As much as I want to jump up and take him down,” I admitted, “the fact that a demon is here and apparently already involved with the surrounding sects is concerning enough. For now I think we would do better to not give away our knowledge and do more to understand what is happening.”

Circe pouted. “Well, that’s no fun.”

“Agreed. I’d rather eliminate this demon right here. But with the Demon King aware, we need every advantage we can get along the way. What I want to know is why he is here.” I took a sip of my ale, working to not give away any odd behavior.

“Any theories?” She asked.

“Nothing hard. But I do intend to find out.” My gaze flicked to him for a moment, then swept the rest of the room as naturally as I could. A demon here was worrying in its own right, and it could be a chance to get more insight into what the Demon King might be up to in this life. The realization that he, too, might be working off memories from my past life made me all the more keen to learn what he was up to at the present.