Chapter Two #3
“I bought her that ring she wanted,” a demon said as he stopped a few feet away from Tex. Tex had to strain to hear what the demon was saying, but he didn’t dare move closer.
“I bet she was happy,” someone else said.
“Yeah, although she asked me where I got the money. I couldn’t exactly tell her.”
The other demon laughed. “Yeah, I don’t think she would’ve been happy with you selling your magic to humans.”
“Look, it’s mine to do what I want with, and it’s not like I’m doing anything others aren’t doing, too.”
“Remind me how it works again?”
“Have you been thinking about it? Because it’s really fucking easy. I can put you in contact with the guy I’m working with. He’ll give you the assignments, and you’ll just have to follow his orders. They pay very well.”
“I haven’t made my decision yet, but it does sound interesting. I guess I’m a bit hesitant about working with humans.”
“It’s not only humans. I’ve worked with at least one shifter.”
“How did that go?”
“She wanted something different. I said no, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d found someone else to kill her husband.”
“I thought shifters had mates?”
“If she did, she didn’t seem to care much about him.”
Tex had an idea of what was happening, and it wasn’t good. He could be wrong, of course, but just in case, he leaned forward into the bushes to try to get a good look at the demons.
They were both male, both dressed casually. One wore a green jacket, while the other was only wearing a gray sweater. That one had his phone out and was typing something on the screen.
“Look, I’ll give you my contact’s number, all right?” he asked. “You call him whenever you’re ready.”
“It’s not dangerous, right?”
“You might not even have to leave town. It depends on what the client wants.”
“Leave town? Don’t tell me you’ve been leaving Starhaven.”
The demon with the sweater looked around and leaned closer. Tex did the same thing, making sure not to lean too much. The last thing he needed was to fall on his face in front of these two, but he needed to hear what was being said.
“A few times,” the demon with the sweater confessed. “It’s the easiest way to make more money. From here, you can do a few small jobs, but the ones which you have to leave for are the ones that pay a lot.”
“How do you do it? We can’t leave.”
“My contact takes care of everything. He helps me get out and back in.”
“What if you get caught?”
Tex didn’t know the penalty for that, but he was curious. It felt like it would be excessive to punish every demon who left, but also like the leaders needed to find incentives to convince people not to. Clearly, those incentives weren’t working.
“Arkya,” someone called out, making both the demons jump. Tex quickly retreated deeper into the bushes and watched as a demon wearing a skirt rushed forward. She hooked her arm around the arm of the demon in the sweater and beamed. “What are you two talking about?” she asked.
Tex had enough. He didn’t have any proof of what was happening, but proof wasn’t why he’d been sent.
He was here to gather information and find out who was involved, and he had at least one name, and he’d recognize the two demons if he had to.
The town wasn’t that big. It probably had a few thousand inhabitants, if even that.
It should be fairly easy to find all the Arkyas here so that Tex could identify him, and someone could interrogate the demon to find out more about his contact and who else was involved.
Tex was sure that Gregory had people who could hack into databases and find everything they’d need now that they knew more.
Which meant that if he told Gregory about this, he might be told to leave, but he couldn’t. His mate was here, which meant he needed to stay. Maybe he could find more information and make this easier for everyone. Maybe he could even talk to his mate.
He hated having to choose between his job and his mate, but if he was forced to, it would be easy. Nymon would win every time.
* * * *
NYMON WALKED INTO THE forest and hesitated. Where had the wolf gone? How was he supposed to follow a wolf in a forest? Especially if that wolf didn’t want to be found and had human intelligence?
He looked around. He couldn’t see or hear anything, but the wolf seemed interested in Starhaven.
It was clear that the wolf was watching the town, which probably meant he’d found another spot to do just that.
Nymon wasn’t sure the wolf realized he’d been seen.
He hoped not. He definitely wouldn’t be able to find the wolf if they were trying to hide.
He had a decision to make and a fifty-fifty chance to make the wrong one. He looked left, then right, then shrugged and decided to go left. He might be wrong, and if he was, he wouldn’t find the wolf again, but that was okay. Something told him that he’d have another opportunity.
He still wanted to try to find the wolf today and talk to them.
Part of him hoped he’d be able to convince them to shift so they could talk.
He didn’t even know if the wolf was male or female, but that didn’t matter.
He was more curious about why the wolf was here.
How had they found Starhaven? Why were they hiding in the forest?
Nymon was sure that Kael would find a logical explanation for it.
Just like he was curious about the human world, it would make sense that humans and shifters would be curious about the demon towns. Maybe that was all there was to it.
Or maybe there was more. Whatever the case, Nymon was nosy, and he wanted to know.
He’d find out if he had the opportunity.
He just prayed that the wolf wasn’t here for bad reasons because he’d hate to tell Kael that he’d been right.
As much as he loved his best friend, he didn’t want anything bad to happen.
Nymon stayed in the forest, but he moved closer to town. He was pretty sure that the wolf was looking for something or someone, and he wanted to offer his help. Maybe if the wolf needed information, Nymon could give it to him. He knew a lot of people.
He wasn’t sure how long he walked, but he was careful because he was so close to the street.
He could hear people coming and going, children screeching, and many other sounds he was used to since he’d lived here all of his life.
This was what the town had always been like.
There was nothing exceptional or strange about it.
Nymon sucked in a breath when he noticed something fluffy hiding in the bushes. He’d found his prey.
He didn’t want to startle the wolf and get people’s attention, so he stopped moving.
He glanced around, trying to find a way to warn the wolf that he was there, but before he could, the wolf retreated and turned.
They froze when they saw Nymon standing there, and for a moment, the two of them stared at each other.
“You like my new ring?” a woman asked close by.
Nymon was tempted to peek and see the ring, but he kept his focus on the wolf.
“Arkya bought it for me,” the woman continued. “It has to have cost a fortune.”
“It was cheaper than you think,” a man mumbled, almost as if he didn’t want to confess how much he’d paid. Maybe he didn’t. Maybe it was a gift.
The wolf turned. Nymon opened his mouth to tell them to stop, but the people close by would hear him if he did that. He didn’t want them to. He couldn’t attract attention with the wolf shifter hanging around. When the wolf trotted away, Nymon had to make a decision.
It was an easy decision to make.
He followed the wolf into the forest. He had to be fast but also careful so he wouldn’t fall on his face or make too much noise, but to his surprise, he managed to keep up.
He wasn’t sure where the wolf was taking him, but he wasn’t surprised to see they were getting deeper into the forest. He was surprised when the wolf suddenly stopped walking and turned to face him again.
Nymon was panting slightly by the time he stopped.
He raised his hands, hoping to convey the fact that he wasn’t here to hurt the wolf.
“I’m just curious,” he said. “I’ve only told my best friend that you were here, and I told him that I’m not sure that you’re a shifter.
” Nymon snorted. “That’s because I’m not, I guess.
You could be a wolf, which would mean I’m talking to an animal, which is kind of stupid and embarrassing, but if you’re an animal, you don’t know that, so it’s fine.
If you’re a shifter, well, I’m rambling, and I’m sure you have better things to do than to listen to me. ”
Nymon snapped his mouth shut. If he continued talking, he’d spill his entire life history, and he doubted the wolf wanted to hear that, shifter or not.
He was nervous, and when he was nervous, he tended to talk as a distraction.
Usually it worked, but he could feel the wolf watching him, and it made him feel some kind of way.
He wasn’t sure what way that was other than confused.
He needed to reassure the wolf. The shifter probably thought that Nymon would call the authorities or something and get them dragged out of town, but that wasn’t why he was here.
He wasn’t entirely sure why he was here, but it wasn’t to give the wolf away.
“I promise I won’t tell anyone else that you’re here.
My best friend won’t tell anyone, either, so you don’t have to worry about that.
I know you’re not supposed to be here, but I don’t care about that. I think it’s stupid.”
The wolf huffed in a way that sounded like laughter. It made Nymon smile and relax, but the wolf was still just staring at him and not doing anything.
“Okay, so you’re not shifting. Does that mean you’re not a shifter? Because I’m going to feel like an idiot if you’re not. I’m also going to wonder if you’re planning to eat me. Are you planning to eat me?”
The wolf huffed again. They took a step forward, and Nymon told himself not to move.
If this was a real wolf, he doubted it would do him any good, and if this was a shifter, he didn’t think he had a reason to fear them.
He wasn’t sure why he felt that way, but he did.
He knew deep inside that this wolf wasn’t going to hurt him.
“It’s just that you have to be here for a reason, right?
” Nymon asked. “And I could help you. Maybe you’re looking for someone or something?
I know a lot of people in town. Well, I’m pretty sure I know everyone, but we live in a small town, so that makes sense.
Anyway, if you’re looking for someone, I can help you find them.
I guess you could be here for bad reasons, but I don’t think so, so I really want to help you.
It would be easier if you shifted, though.
Not that you have to,” Nymon quickly added.
“I get why you’d be uncomfortable. You guys are naked when you shift, right?
And you don’t know me, so it would be awkward.
I could close my eyes if you want? I could even give you my sweater, unless you have clothes stashed in the area.
I don’t know how long you’ve been hiding, but it doesn’t look very comfortable.
You couldn’t pay me to live in the forest, although I guess I don’t have fur, so maybe I just don’t understand.
I’m sure it’s more comfortable when you have four paws and everything else. ”
The shifter looked amused. It wasn’t an expression Nymon would have expected to see on an animal’s face, so he was ninety percent sure that he was in front of a shifter. He could still be wrong, but he’d never met an animal that was so intelligent.
He took a step forward. “I just want to talk,” he murmured. He didn’t know if any of what he was saying would help, but he had to try. He had to know why this shifter was here and why Nymon felt like if he didn’t talk to them, he’d die.