Colin's posts

"Oh yeah?" the demon asked.

"That so." he said, before shrugging.

"Well, far be it for ME to tell you no to hide things from those that care about you." he told him.

"Have fun with your little life and your little secrets." he finished.

"...ungh..." Eke then heard Ryker groan.

"THAT'S a bit of a headache." he muttered.

"Thank you for the offer." Hal replied.

"And the same goes from my organisation to yours." he told her.

"Again, thank you for your cooperation." he continued.

"But be on the lookout for those that may be acting strange or off." he warned.

"If it happened HERE, it could have happened THERE."

"She did." Hal replied.

"We... had to coax it out of her, though." he said.

"I'll leave you to speak to her about it, yourself. But I suggest not doing so for at least another 5 hours or so." he then warned.

"Trust me on that." he added.

"Regardless, I shan't tie up your phone line any longer." he went on.

"I thank you and Phyra for your cooperation."

Hal bid them farewell, before thinking for a moment.

He then brought out his cell phone, and called Cassandra again.

"It's Agent Sharp." he said when she answered.

"I am calling to let you know that your hunter, Phyra, has proven to not be the source of our issues. Not only that, she has cleared up the issues my agents were experiencing." he went on.

"I just felt you should know that." he reasoned.

"You have some excellent hunters."

"..........." Ash was silent, before nodding.

"Fine." he said.

"Trust me, we did nothing that will hurt her." Hal told him.

"So just listen to her, let her lay down and get some sleep, and make sure she has a bottle of water handy." he advised.

"Er... right then." Ash responded.

"Ashley, you good to go?" he then asked her.

"Well, if you say so." Hal replied.

"And, actually, we're here now." he told her with a small laugh, as they stepped out into the security area, where Ash was waiting for her.

"....the hell happened?" he asked.

"What did you guys DO to her?" he then asked Hal, eyeing him suspiciously.

"You're better off not knowing the details." Hal responded, which seemed to stoke more of Ash's ire.

The demon narrowed his eyes.

"A demon lord's eyes see the soul." he said.

"And THAT is all I will say to that. Other than Ry-guy will soon be getting these eyes of mine, and there's not a lot he won't be able to see." he warned Eke.

"And did I love her?" he then asked.

"Of course I did!" he said emphatically.

"She was the best. She made it all worthwhile." he went on, seeming to get a bit wistful and nostalgic, with a hint of an undertone of sadness to his voice now.

Hal just sighed again.

"Something tells me he may already know." he said.

"And no, I don't have any reasons or evidence to back that claim up, I just... feel it." he told her.

He then looked at her as she winced, and looked concerned.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Effects from what you just went through?" he asked further.

Hal thought for a moment about her question, before sighing.

"...one." he said.

"You're going to be VERY lightheaded in about an hour." he told her.

"And you're going to experience some euphoric highs over the next few hours as well." he added.

"The thing about my mana is that it lingers. And it often mimics the effects of certain substances." he explained. "Nothing I can do about it, sadly." he lamented.

"...also, please keep this under your hat." he then told her.

"Only a very select few know what I am."

Hal just smiled.

"Let's go, then." he said.

"I'll make sure you get there." he told her.

She then received a text from Ash.

Be there in a few seconds. it read.

You already gonna be there?

Hal was silent, before sighing as well.

"Yes, I understand that." he said.

"Not only would the high altitude wreak havoc on your brain, with the spread of the movement, we don't know if you'll be attacked while flying." he reasoned.

"Would you care for an escort to the front door?" he asked.

"Or wherever you are getting him to meet you?" he asked further.

It was clear that Hal was feeling a little guilty over the state that Ashley was in, even though it had helped her in the long run. It had been necessary, but this was just the kind of man he was.

"Ahhh, so THAT'S what that call is." the demon replied.

"And YOU seem to know a little more about it than you're willing to let on." he then commented.

"Hiding your own little secrets?" he asked.

"And of course I had a wife." he then added.

"Every demon lord has a wife." he reasoned.

"Not sure if she's dead, alive, or been reborn or whatever." he muttered at the end with a sigh.

The demon just sighed.

"Don't shout. You'll wake up your girlfriend." he muttered.

"And yes, technically, I did." he said.

"I met him ONCE." he stressed. "You hear me? ONCE." he repeated.

"All that happened in that encounter was that I was prepared to fight, he said he didn't want to, the call was heard, and he muttered to himself about it." he explained.

"Trust me, little pup, considering it's beneficial for us to be on at least somewhat good terms, don't you think I would have told you if I knew more?" he then asked.

"Besides, my wife knew more about him than I did, and she never talked about him." he added with a shrug.

"...." Hal was silent, almost able to SEE the ire and venom in her words.

"....hm." he mumbled.

"I understand." he said. "Everyone deserves a chance to live, and children should never inherit the sins of their parents." he reasoned.

"However, it would seem that Cedric has chosen to willingly inherit those sins, through his own attitude and actions." he then went on.

"Regardless, thank you for the information, and I'm glad I was able to get that interfering mana out of you." he told her.

"I'll let you leave now, as I assume we both have things to do in regards to this new revelation." he then said, before pausing for a moment.

"Oh, would you care for some medicine?" he asked. "Odds are your head isn't doing so great, and we have special fast-acting meds for that."