"What is it?" Robert asked, instantly on edge by the sudden tension radiating off his Guide.
"Daemons," I answered for her, standing up without hesitation. The others climbed from the booth with me as we stood facing the three hijacked humans that had just entered the diner. "What the eff are they doing out in the open like this?" I asked. Daemons were sneaky bastards that preyed on humans in the dark. They didn't stroll into a lit-up restaurant with human bodies they had hijacked. Judging by their well-cut business suits, the Daemons had obviously snagged their human hosts from one of the bars downtown. They could have been triplets if not for their different hair color and skin tone.
"I don't know, but this isn't right," Lynn muttered, looking worried for the other patrons scattered around the restaurant. The strangers may have been dressed like humans, but their stature and menacing glares had doused the entire room with sudden unease.
Glancing at Lynn, I could tell she was trying to calm the emotions of everyone in the room. That was her job. To help humans when they were put to the test. Judging by the strained look on Lynn's face, it was obvious she had her hands full. Emrys stepped in, sweeping his eyes across the room of diners. Without sparing us a glance, they abruptly stood up and left the restaurant.
"Thanks," Lynn told him, breathing a sigh of relief.
"You guys lost?" I asked nonchalantly, carefully picking my way between the tables.
"Are you Jordyn?" the stranger standing in front snarled.
"Sure am," I answered, smiling confidently.
"Then we're not lost," he replied.
"You're making a mistake," Emrys said, approaching them with his palms up.
I smiled, liking that Emrys had confidence in my talents.
"Hey, as long as they're here…" I said, letting my voice trail off gleefully.
"Back off, Soul Trader. There won't be anything left for you to take this time," the Daemon growled.
"Did I miss the army you brought with you?" I mocked, making a show of looking behind them.
"We won't need any army."
"Riiiiiiiiight," I answered, stealing Emrys's favorite word.
If nothing else, Daemons were predictable and never lacked confidence. I had to give them that. Their attack came head-on and would have been well executed if I had not already worked out in my head how I would take him out. The first Daemon's own momentum worked against him. His wide undisciplined swing left him vulnerable to a strike to the temple. The force of my blow instantly knocked out the human host he was using. I stood over him as he crashed to the floor. Within moments, the Daemon appeared from his host, wrapping his massive arms around my shoulders. Not hesitating, I thrust my elbows up, releasing me from his hold. Before the Daemon could counter, I had already circled to his rear and reached up, gripping the horns on his head in my hands. With a twist of my body, I pulled down, using the torque I had generated to rip his head from his shoulders. >"What can I get you?" the perky concession clerk asked.
"What's your poison?" Emrys asked, pointing to the soda machine.
"Coke, please."
"What size?" she asked, still smiling like her life depended on it.
"Um, medium," I answered, eyeing the ginormous cups.
"For twenty-five cents more you can get a large," she chirped, holding up a cup that was big enough to swim in.
"Um, that's okay."
"It is only a quarter," Emrys said, smiling at me.
"Medium is fine," I clarified. "And a nachos."
"With nachosauce," Emrys and I both said loudly at the same time. Robert burst out laughing as Lynn glared at all of us.
"All of you are immaturesauce," she said, before turning around, heading for the theater.
The perky girl behind the counter lost her smile and looked at us like we had just escaped a mental facility when the three of us trailed behind Lynn, howling with laughter until we entered the packed theater. There was no way in hell we were going to find seats together.
"This is what we get for showing up five minutes before the movie is supposed to start," I griped, looking around at the sporadic single seats that were available.
"This blows," Robert grumbled. "Maybe we should see the later show."