Chapter 2:

[2] Ignorance, Death, or the Girl in the Chair

Demon Seer

"What am I? I'm the guy whose idiot friend Jake needed a wingman."

Rome's heart hammered against his ribs hard enough to hurt. "I'm the guy who spent three hours listening to wannabe YouTubers talk about EMF readers and cold spots and other bullshit. I'm just a guy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time because his friend wanted to get laid! That's what I am!"

The furnace of purple energy pressing against his skin retreated. Just enough that he could breathe without feeling his lungs were being crushed.

Amelia tilted her head, her white hair cascading over her shoulder.

"An interesting narrative. Walk me through what you did that afternoon, start from the beginning." She popped the rest of the takoyaki in her mouth.

"Alright," he swallowed hard. "It started at Java Junction. That shitty coffee shop on Fifth Street."

===

When Rome entered that café Jake was already there, talking ecstatically at a corner table. He'd actually dressed up in a button-down shirt that was either ironed (Unlikely), or just bought for this occasion.

Rome was surprised he didn't have a size sticker stuck on it.

Three girls sat across from Jake. Rome spotted the woman Jake was swooning over - the leader. She had her hair in a messy bun and looked like a former fortune teller.

"Rome! Dude, you made it!" Jake stood up to dap Rome up. "This is Chloe, she runs 'Spectral Seekers.' And that's Madison and Bree."

Madison looked bored, her fingers dancing across a laptop covered in paranormal stickers. Bree kept gasping softly every few seconds like she was in her own world.

"So you're the muscle?" Chloe's eyes raked over Rome.

"I'm the friend who has to work at six AM," he corrected, sliding into the booth. "What's this about?"

"It's about the Riverside Plant." Chloe leaned forward. "We've been investigating that area for weeks. Last night's reading peaked at an alarming rate."

Madison turned her laptop around.

"EMF spikes at 11:47 PM. Temperature drops of fifteen degrees. Multiple EVP recordings." She tapped the screen. "Something big is happening there."

Bree gasped again. "I can feel it. The veil is so thin there."

Rome gave Jake a sideways glance. Jake gave him his trademark puppydog expression.

"It'll be fun," Jake said weakly.

"You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means." Rome muttered back.

===

"See?" Rome looked at Amelia. "Normal, boring shit. No demons."

Amelia's expression hadn't changed. She set the empty container aside on what Rome now realized was a small table covered in files. His files, probably.

"Riveting," she said dryly. "And when you arrived at the warehouse? Describe the moment you walked inside."

Rome opened his mouth to answer and his head filled with static.

The warehouse door. Heavy metal. Jake pulled it open and...

A growl. Low and guttural, vibrating through the floor and up through his bones.

No. That's wrong. There wasn't...

That's not what happened. The warehouse was empty. Just dust and...

Rage.

Rome jerked back so hard the chair scraped against concrete. He shook his head trying to erase that image.

"I..." His voice cracked. "I don't remember. It's fuzzy."

Amelia straightened, crossing her arms.

"Fuzzy," she repeated.

"You... this has to be a prank." The words came out desperate. "Jake put you up to this. You drugged me for the video, that's it! What the hell did you give me? Because I am feeling very not sober right now."

"A drug that leaves a demonic signature capable of being tracked by the Four Great Clans?"

She shook her head. White hair caught the light like snow under moonlight.

"Your friend isn't that creative, Rome."

The chair groaned as he strained against the zip ties. His wrists burned.

"Then what happened to me?"

Amelia moved. One moment she was three feet away, the next she was leaning over him. The temperature around her felt wrong. Not hot or cold. Just dense, like gravity itself was heavier near her.

"Your mind built a wall to protect you." Her breath smelled like takoyaki sauce. "It's showing you a believable story that you wouldn't question."

Her eyes filled his vision. Twelve petals rotating in perfect synchronization. Purple light pulsed with his heartbeat.

"Because it knows you aren't strong enough to see what really happened in that warehouse."

"You have your story." Amelia whispered. "And I have the truth. Would you like me to fill in the blanks for you?"

"No."

"No? You'd rather cling to your version where you're just an innocent bystander?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I want!" His voice cracked. "Because the alternative is that I'm some kind of monster who killed three people and doesn't even remember doing it!"

"Monster is such a loaded term." Amelia straightened. "Demon, Shaman, Hybrid, Phantom. Any could view the others as monsters. It's perspective."

She walked slowly around his chair. Her footsteps echoed.

Click. Clack. Click. Clack.

"That necklace you wear. Do you know what it's for?"

"I don't."

"Do you want to?"

"Not really."

"Liar."

The word hit like a slap. Because she was right. Some sick part of him did want to know. Wanted to understand why he'd never fit anywhere. Why weird shit followed him. Why he always felt disconnected from other people.

"I see the hunger in your eyes," Amelia continued from behind him. "The same hunger I saw in that warehouse. You're starving for answers, Rome. For truth. For connection." Her hands landed on his shoulders. "For power."

"I don't want to be powerful, I just want a normal life."

"And how's that working out for you?" Her fingers squeezed. Almost comforting, which made it worse. "Fourteen foster homes. Constant rejection. Always on the outside. That's not a life. That's survival."

He hated that she was right.

"What do you want from me?" His voice came out small.

"Right now? I want to know if you're worth saving."

"What?"

"You're either a threat that needs eliminating, or a student who needs training." She pulled over a second chair, straddled it. "The evidence suggests you drained three people of their life force using an ability no human should possess. By rights, I should execute you now."

His stomach dropped.

"But." She held up one finger with a deep purple nail. "Your reaction suggests genuine ignorance and that seal..." Her eyes tracked to his chest where the obsidian pendant hung hidden. "That seal is from an ancient technique."

"So…?"

"So someone cared enough to lock away something dangerous." Her eyes met his. "The million dollar question is were they suppressing your aura, or are you a seal?"

Rome wanted to throw up.

"Just let me show you what happened," Amelia offered.

"What if I refuse?"

"Then I kill you and move on with my day."

"You're actually serious."

"Always am with potential threats, darling." She leaned forward. "So what's it going to be? Ignorance and death, or truth and the chance to live?"

Every fiber screamed to reject this. To cling to his safe version of events. To die not knowing what he really was.

But he'd never been good at taking the safe option.

"Please, show me the truth," he whispered.

Amelia's smile sent a shiver down his spine.

"Good boy."

She walked to the light switch he hadn't noticed. Her hand hovered over it.