Following 'A Demon Walks into a Bar'. Reserved for Billy and Cedar.Damien reeled, his expression finally faltering after the demon slipped into shadows. He lurched forward in his chair but he could do nothing to prevent the monster from leaving, the table creating a significant obstacle between them - just as they all had intended when this meeting first began. He could feel the desire to wrap his hands around the demon's neck pulse beneath the surface of his fingers and, as promised, a buzzing of warning followed in his chest.
No one could be harmed within the White Rabbit. Not even the scum of the earth.
So Laurent had Sam, Jake's kidnapped fledge. He shouldn't have been surprised, and yet he remained stiff in the chair with the comprehension of it all. When he had first heard of Sam's kidnapping the night prior, he naturally assumed that Laurent had done it to get access to Rachel. But it never added up. Why would Laurent, one of the most wanted demons in the city, go as far as to kidnap Jake's fledge, whom he presumably had no prior contact with? Damien had left Jake, feeling confused and leery about the lack of answers and encounters. Now Laurent had both women and dangled that knowledge before them in the most sadistic of ways.
When he felt the presence of Va'tamal finally leave the room - leaving behind a hideous, sulfurous odor - he sagged in his chair, another ache climbing out of his temples and the exhaustion of maintaining such an impassable mask in front of his enemy taking their toll. If Jake reacted or said anything, he didn't hear, his thoughts turned inward. As he finally stood and faced the District Leader, pushing the chair out of his way, Damien felt lightheaded with everything that had occurred in the last 24 hours.
He needed Pierre now. He needed Rachel. He needed his people close and safe, out of harm's way. Wishful thinking now.
Damien sighed and straightened himself out, putting his tiredness and fear on the back burner for the sake of his hunt.
"He either has no ability to psychically attack or knows enough not to challenge me," Damien answered as if Jake had asked a question. As he spoke, he made his way to the door of the conference room and crossed the threshold into a hallway in the Warrens, expecting Jake to follow. "I've never attempted to read a shadow demon before, but they feel much different than reading a human - harder, like a sheer rock wall. Had I tried just then, I wasn't fully convinced that I would be able to reemerge."
