My rebuttal was put on hold when Mags placed the three steaming bowls of clam chowder on the table. I inhaled deeply, breathing in the delicious mouthwatering scent wafting up from the bowls.
"You sure you don't want anything, hun?" she asked Emrys, placing the napkin-lined basket heaped with bread in the center of the table.
"I ate a big lunch," he answered, rubbing his flat stomach for emphasis.
She nodded, still looking skeptical.
"She's gonna think you're some kind of weirdo," Lynn chimed in, dipping her spoon into her soup.
"That's nothing new," Emrys stated, winking at me.
My retort froze in my throat when the air around me sparked to life with anticipation. Everything inside me centered into high alert as the hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and my pulse thrummed through my body. Lynn and I whipped around at the same time, both of us sensing the Daemons at the same exact moment.
"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.
I dropped the head to the floor as the Daemon's remains disappeared in a ball of fire. I spared a glance at the human host on the floor. He'd have a hell of a headache and a bruise in the morning, but he'd have no recollection of the events that had transpired this evening. Turning from his prone body, I appraised the situation in front of me. Emrys had joined Robert in trying to incapacitate the other two Daemons. Robert seemed to have the upper hand in his battle, but Emrys was struggling more than I liked to see. He took a blow to the cheek, causing a rage-filled eruption in my head. Without hesitation, I vaulted over one of the tables that stood between us, passing Robert along the way. I paused only long enough to eliminate his Daemon which was in the process of leaving his host when I approached from behind. I grabbed his head between my hands, leaving the Daemon engulfed in flames, screaming in agony. He was just an obstacle that was separating me from the most important thing to me—Emrys.
Anger fueled me forward, but the Daemon Emrys wrestled with still occupied its human host. I was forced to gather myself, remembering that I couldn't crack its spine in half like I wanted without permanently harming the poor human sap the Daemon had possessed.
Instead, I spun with a full wheelhouse kick that caught the Daemon in the chin before his next punch could touch Emrys again. I smiled grimly as the Daemon's teeth came together with a deafening snap. He whirled around in front of me, spitting broken pieces of teeth from the host's mouth. Shit, so much for not harming the host. Missing teeth would be hard for the guy to explain in the morning, but hey, he was alive.
"How about you stop being a chickenshit and show your true self," I said, knowing that my goading would shake him up. Daemons were mindless buffoons that hated being taunted.
"Who you calling a chickenshit?" the Daemon said, letting his human host drop at his feet like a discarded pile of clothes.
"Enough," a nasally voice bellowed, stepping through the swinging doors.