A Minute of Your Time

[The Cedar Witch]

Zeus' brow furrowed, expression shifting from mild concern to something more serious.  He could only guess that Mr. Evans was in possession of some sort of magical artifact that Va'tamal once had.  Did that mean that he'd stolen from the demon?  Va'tamal was too careful a creature to allow an object of value slip through his fingers unintentionally.  Everything about the situation seemed peculiar and suspicious. 

"Surely a mere.. object is not worth the safety and well being of your family?"  He said quietly, with disbelief and confusion washing over his features.

[Saiketsu]

Damien bit his tongue, thinking. He didn't care much for Zeus' opinion of what was and was not important, but needed the demon to give proper information based on proper facts. Damien exhaled quietly through his nose again, clicking his tongue as he began speaking.

"This object is a member of my family." Surely that was enough to dissuade the demon from prying farther to see who exactly it was. "Giving up this person to Laurent would be an impossibility." He tried to see his own information out of an enemy's eyes to see if there was anything that Damien had given away that could come back to haunt either himself or Rachel. He believed that all was still safe on that front.

[The Cedar Witch]

A hum rumbled deeply in his chest, a tone of understanding.  The elaboration of the situation positioned the vampire in a more sympathetic light, even though he was technically one of McCloud's.  The fact that it was a person that Va'tamal lost brought more questions.  The only logical conclusion in Chtahzus'aak's mind was that this individual went back on a soul-deal with Va'tamal, and he was attempting to collect.  Or that this individual was marked for such an extraction and escaped his grasp before he could successfully pry the soul from the body.  But why continue to hunt something so well guarded when there were others to acquire souls from?  Was it a commissioned work? 

He would not press for these answers.  It was information that he did not need to have.  Evans came to him for advice, and it was convenient that he sought to put a stop to the same demon that Zeus no longer had a desire to deal with.

"I cannot advise you on how to find him," he spoke slowly, as though he were mid-thought.  His hand went back to the report, pulling it back toward him on the desk and flipping through the pages again.  "If he is as persistent as you've indicated - and from what I know of him in the past this comes as little surprise to me - then you cannot hope to evade him for long."  Zeus glanced up from the pages, letting them fall quietly back into place as he sought Damien's gaze. 

"Your best course of action would be to bait a trap."

[Saiketsu]

I already have, Damien thought to himself grimly. He had taken the role as campaign manager, hadn't he? He had made himself and his family more public and recognizable than ever before. He allowed Rachel to go out during the day with an escort.

"What do you suggest?"

[The Cedar Witch]

The irony of this meeting - Evans' question - was not lost on Chtahzus'aak.  One of McCloud's vampires asking him how to trap a demon, with the wounds of the West still fresh in many minds.  There were enchantments and magical trappings, detailing every weakness of his species and doing all but handing the keys to a cell meant for him directly into enemy hands.  What if this were McCloud's efforts for revenge?  Play on his sympathies of protecting family to devise a way to take him down? 

His expression became grave, eyes reflective.

"We are weakest when the thing we desire is nearly within grasp."

[Saiketsu]

Zeus' vague statement puzzled him and the change in his expression wasn't lost. Did he want Damien to hunt him down? There was no way he was going to dangle Rachel in front of Laurent like some kind of carrot - Rachel had been used enough in her life and Damien refused to participate in that as much as he possibly could. What was he supposed to do, leave Rachel unguarded during the day? Let her walk around town by herself? How would that bring him any closer to killing Laurent?

Damien kept his eyes on Zeus and said nothing for a long moment, chewing over thoughts and plans and all the information he had learned tonight. He was beginning to think that Laurent may have been too much for him to handle alone and he was thankful that there was such a large gap between the last Occurrence and now. He was woefully underprepared and the thoughts that ran through his head formed a lump in his throat.

"I cannot put this person in harm's way," Damien stated evenly, though there was a tension in his voice that he found unacceptable. He cleared his throat, releasing the lump as best he could. "I am already limited by the daytime and can offer only limited services as such. How do you suggest setting such a trap when there are only limited ways to spring it?"

[The Cedar Witch]

The tension in his voice stood out to Zeus, further highlighting the importance of this individual.  He gave a moment of time before responding, wary of Evans' next response, expecting further defensiveness.

With an unexpected tone of humility, he addressed the vampire.  "I understand your apprehension and mean no offense by what I suggest."  Zeus sought Damien's eye for a measure of acceptance before continuing.

"You have the upper hand," his tone was level, "You know what Va'tamal wants."  At face value, this seemed obvious information, but in terms of conquering an enemy it was the most valuable information one could possess.  He sighed slowly through his nose, hoping that Evans could set aside his personal emotions for what Zeus felt was the best approach.

"Instead of waiting for him to choose a place of capture, as this outcome seems inevitable, you must create an opportunity that he cannot resist."  It was a laughably obvious plan to him, one that could be applied to numerous scenarios.  "Control all the variables - but do so subtly - and make it so this person is safe.  Va'tamal will be blinded to your machinations by his own eagerness." 

[Saiketsu]

Damien stayed quiet for a long time, his eyes on the shadow demon before him as he spoke. His thoughts raced with half-considered plans of situating Rachel in some kind of trap home alone, memories lived through Rachel's recollection, and the frustration of the helplessness he felt through all of this. Worst yet was that emotional reaction to Zeus' words when he knew it would be smarter to take them as an outsider's opinion at best.

He couldn't put too much weight into Zeus' words, but his knowledge on shadow demons was severely lacking, having never know what Laurent was before.

"How do I protect myself and my kin from a blatant attack? He is a shadow demon who can use any manner of tricks against us." He wished he could have expected an answer from the former Oligarch but Damien was no fool. His kind were not welcome in the Block, nor amongst the demon population. And Zeus was a shadow demon while Damien worked for the man who invaded the west. He only hoped that his defensive stance against Laurent would act as a buffer between him and any perceptions of him trying to eradicate the demon race.

[The Cedar Witch]

He listened to Damien's question with gradually narrowing eyes.  Best case scenario, aside from the vampire having no ulterior motives, he was ignorant of the implications of this question.  Worst case scenario, he was fishing for information specifically for the designs of McCloud's revenge.  It left a bad taste in his mouth.

Chtahzus'aak was sorely tempted to reply, I am sure McCloud can advise you on that front, but held it back.

"I cannot speak to the soul he likely possesses,"  Zeus began slowly, maintaining steady eye contact as he crossed his arms over his chest.  "Generally speaking,"  he released a quiet, reluctant sigh through his nose.  "They are most invulnerable in their natural form."  Chtahzus'aak was unwilling to give much more than that. 

[Saiketsu]

He nodded slightly at the answer, noting the tone of aloofness finally coming out. Understandable, truly, and Damien was grateful for the bone that he was tossed, however small it may be. At least civility remained in the room. The feud between Jake in Central and Zeus in the West was the farthest thing from his concern at the moment, and it felt necessary to remind Zeus of that. He sat thinking of some way to keep getting information from Zeus without causing the demon to dismiss him and prematurely end their meeting for being too inquisitive.

"So the soul that he possesses will determine what powers he can wield?" He kept his tone conversational while inside dread balled up his stomach. If that were true, Laurent could have any number of powers, any of which could be deadly to vampires. And if Laurent were the kind of strategist that Damien knew him to be, most of these separate powers would be guaranteed to do damage to humans and vampires alike. When he would finally strike, he would be well armed.

He had heard of the mysticism of soul magic in passing long ago and unfortunately paid it little mind. Damien had no idea how any of these souls could be stored, let alone used. Kerr had suggested an artefact that enhanced his powers, but no one had noticed anything particular about the times in which Laurent had attacked. Were these souls single-use items? Were they batteries of powers that could be recharged? Was there anything that could be done to prevent Laurent from being able to use the souls?

"Are there limitations to using these souls?" There had to be - everything had a weakness.

[The Cedar Witch]

"Yes," he replied promptly to the first question, unblinking.  Why, again, did he feel obligated to relinquish this information?  How far did he need to go in order to distance himself from any suspicion of being affiliated with Va'tamal?

He studied Damien for a moment, assessing. 

"There are always limitations," he narrowed his eyes, "I imagine they are dependant on the soul itself and the one who possesses it." 

[Saiketsu]

Damn. He had persisted too far into the warzone with his questioning, the aloofness now a barrier between what Damien already knew and what he still needed to. It was a defeat in the making and to push anymore questions would be to both tarnish his own image in the District Leader's eyes and to promptly make him a suspicious energy. Best to quit with what has been given.

"Yes, I'd imagine so." Damien looked around at the room, noting its cleanliness and order while his mind was anywhere but in that moment. He waited a breath before speaking again. "You have given me a great deal to think about, District Leader," he wrapped up, passing along subtle cues that he understood the conversation to be coming to an end. He stood and buttoned his jacket, straightening himself out and reaching to shake the demon's hand, whether he stood or not. "I greatly appreciate your time and energy. Please let me know if there is anything I can do in return." Damien smirked at him, though his gaze remained softly distracted by his own thoughts.

[The Cedar Witch]

Standing, he took the vampire's hand to shake.  Internally the demon swallowed a mixture of apprehension and relief.  With any luck, Evans would heed his advice, Va'tamal would act too impulsively, and all loose ends would be dealt with - all without his direct involvement.

He gave Damien a perfunctory nod, stepping out from behind the desk to walk him to the door.  While the offer was customary, Zeus doubted he would call upon him for a favor should the need arise.  "If you should think of anything else, you know how to reach me."  Though Chtahzus'aak suspected that he would not hear from the vampire again.