A man stood between two trees, eerily still. The first thing I noticed was the outline of his small horns. Here was Vasilios. The demon who’d been terrorising us for weeks. He took several steps forward until I could finally see his face. My mind had conjured shadowy, monstrous images, but that wasn’t how he looked. Aside from his horns and yellow eyes, his appearance was unsettlingly normal. He didn’t appear any older than twenty, with dark blond hair, wearing jeans and a black jacket.
“Vasilios?” I asked, and those preternaturally yellow eyes met mine. In them, I saw determination but no ill will. I didn’t get the sense that he wanted to hurt me, but then, such intentions could be easily masked.
He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter a word, all hell broke loose. The Guard descended from the shadows, surrounding Vasilios while my mother and Rita worked as a team. They cast a spell creating magical bonds to secure the demon warlock in place.
I studied him as he continued to stare at me. He didn’t fight or resist arrest, nor did he appear angry or betrayed. He seemed oddly resigned. Had he known all along that this would happen? Did he, for some reason, want to be arrested? It didn’t make sense.
“Wait!” I said, running forward as the Guard prepared to transport Vasilios to one of their vans. He would be held and interrogated at their headquarters before they decided how to charge him. The building was surrounded by magical wards, preventing arrested individuals from using their supernatural abilities to break free.
They all paused when I reached them. I levelled my attention on Vasilios. “In your note, you said you wanted to explain yourself, that you meant me no harm.”
His eyes were so yellow they practically glowed. Those eyes let you know he wasn’t of this world.
“It was a trap, I’m afraid,” he said, and hearing him speak, the cadence of his words sparked something in me. His accent was unlike any I’d heard before, and yet, there was something familiar about it. “But, alas, it appears I’ve been bested.”
With that, The Guard led him away. Moments later, my parents were by my side, checking to ensure I was all right.
“I’m fine,” I said as they fussed over me. “Don’t you think this was all a little too easy?” I met my mother’s gaze. “If he was powerful enough to evade both you and Rita for so long, then why would he allow himself to be trapped like this now?”
I knew I’d aroused their suspicions when they shared an intense look. “He’ll be questioned thoroughly,” Mum finally replied. “If he has an ulterior motive, we’ll weed it out.”
“Come on,” Dad said, throwing his arm around my shoulders. “I promised I’d take you to visit Angela.”
I allowed my father to lead me away from the scene, but as I went, I turned back one last time. Vasilios was being led away by several members of the Guard. He saw me watching him, but his face was devoid of expression. Some deep instinct told me this whole thing was far from over.
15.
“I can’t believe you did that,” Grace exclaimed. “I also can’t believe your parents condoned it.”
I’d just finished recounting the events of last night to her. How I met with Vasilios in the woods before the Guard closed in and arrested him. Grace was flabbergasted by the whole thing, and honestly, so was I. It had all happened so fast, and I was still getting my head around the fact that we’d caught him. The worrier in me remained sceptical about how easy it was. I was convinced there was something else going on, and I wouldn’t be able to rest until I figured it out.
Right now, I was driving to the Guard’s headquarters, where Angela would be asked to identify her attacker out of a line-up. Now that the demon warlock was in custody, my parents had allowed me most of my freedoms back. I’d visited Angela at the hospital last night, and we’d talked for hours. It was so good to see her awake and recovering. Now she just had to confirm that Vasilios was the one who attacked her so that he could be formally charged. She’d asked if I’d be there for her during the line-up, and I’d readily agreed. Grace was tagging along mainly out of curiosity.
I’d also filled Peter in on everything that happened, just like I promised I would. He sounded relieved that Vasilios was caught, though I hadn’t heard anything from him since.
A few minutes later, I pulled into a parking spot outside the Guard Headquarters. It was a non-descript grey building, four storeys high with few standout features. I supposed that was the point. This place was meant to go unnoticed. You’d never guess that the building was surrounded by intricate magical wards and protection spells.