*-*-*-*-*-*SlightlyEvilMagnusUniverse*-*-*-*-*-*
Chapter 2-
The Lesser Of Two Evils
***Chapter Complete!***
*~********~*~********~* Magnus-Magnus-Magnus-Magnus-Magnus *~********~*~********~*Ugh, what the hell was that?
Magnus groaned, rolling over, glaring at the blaring phone on his night stand, catching sight of the clock…
Who the hell was calling him at 8am?!
He'd just got to bed at 5…
He snapped his fingers, summoning it.
"This had better be important," he snapped, not even bothering looking at the contact information.
There was a slight pause on the other end of the line.
"Umm…h-sorry…This is Detective Lewis, from yesterday? Did I wake you?" the voice asked hesitantly
Magnus sighed, instantly regretting snapping at the boy…even if it was unbearably early…
It was like yelling at a puppy.
"Yes darling, you did…sorry for being so abrupt, had a rather late night. I'm usually not up until far later…you know, with the club and everything."
"Oh, yeah, sorry about that; I didn't even think of it."
"It's no problem dear…so why exactly are you calling me so very early?"
On the other side of the phone Magnus heard a faint sigh,
"Yeah, sorry about that, but since you're working the case too I thought we should all stay on the same page, you know; be honest, share information?
We have another victim. They were found about half an hour ago, in an alley on Rocklin Way. We're heading to the scene now, thought you might want to meet us there?"
Magnus pushed back the covers, already beginning to get out of bed, striding across the room.
"Yes, of course I will. Thank you for letting me know. What's the address?"
"It's the alley beside Dixon's Florists, 1098 Rocklin Way."
Magnus nodded, snapping his fingers, instantly clean and freshly showered, changing into his outfit for the day; a deep violet shirt, with black leather pants, and boots that were nearly black, but in actually a very deep purple, with a faintly scaled pattern (Okay, not so much 'patterned' as dragon skin…they were one of his favorites).
"It'll just take me a few moments to get ready,. I'm afraid Raph won't be able to meet us yet. He had some rather pressing business, and a few meetings he can't get out of. He should be free about five."
"Oh, okay…that's fine, but you'll meet us?"
Magnus nodded, reaching up, quickly running his free hand through his hair, Magic shimmering and sparkling, instantly transforming the tangled birds nest into a perfectly upswept style, leaving just a bit of an iridescent shimmer that'd catch just so in the light.
"Yes, and thanks again for keeping me in the loop, I do appreciate it sweetheart."
Simon gave a bit of a mirthless laugh that turned into a sigh,
"No, thank you, Magnus. This is the second death in as many days, that's a lot quicker than any of the others…I think we need all the help we can get with this. I don't know what it is, or who's behind it, but it needs to be stopped."
"You are absolutely right darling; I'll meet you guys there. We will figure it out. See you soon sweetheart."
"See you Magnus."
He slipped the phone into his pocket, flickering his fingers once more, his usual assortment of necklaces and rings appearing. Walking over to his vanity he picked up his favorite earcuff, the antique silver dragon one, slipping it on, quickly summoning a black kohl eyeliner, applying it with a practiced, steady hand. This is one thing he never used Magic for; it was always calming, kind of centered him.
He had a feeling for today he'd really need that.
Yesterday he'd been far too over the top with the detective, got too caught up in the pretty, oh so enticing man, all but forgetting the case. He really couldn't have that happen again. Alec was quite addicting, almost intoxicating…he'd been nearly struck dumb by their first encounter (Well…not so much 'dumb' and embarrassingly desperate), but that really would have to wait until later.
There was a demon hunting humans. If it was a fevered rash of killings it could be some kind of aberration or a sickness. There were a few he knew that could affect lesser demons, cause them to become feral, lose their higher functioning abilities, rendering them little more than beasts, cause them to feed on humans as well as weaker Supernaturals.
He's seen it before, dealt with it. But this? This was different. The killings weren't rash, they weren't bloody or gory. From what Simon had said they couldn't even tell what killed the victims, they just looked like they'd sat down to take a bit of a rest.
No visible signs of a struggle, no marks (save the brands) or bruising would indicate it wasn't motivated by hunger…at least not for food.
The way it was described, as well as his inability to sense anything at the site without the added spell, hit a chord with him, bringing back a LONG forgotten chapter of his lessons, when Declan taught him about hanfod lladrata demons.
They were mid-level demons. A hanfod lladrata didn't normally have a physical form, at least not one they could manifest in the human world right away.
They didn't live in the human world, banished to Calon tywyll with the rest of the things deemed too much of a threat to humanity and the Supernatural world…however, one of their natural forms was an ephemera smoke, fog type vapor. They can't travel across to the human world on their own, but can be summoned.
When this happens the demon attaches to the one who summoned them. It works similar to a Djinn; granting 'wishes' promising to fulfill whatever desire the summonor has (which is generally something greedy and materialistic, or just plain evil…you don't exactly summon a demon to help you ace a math test). In return for the 'wishes' the demon asks for sacrifices, until it absorbs enough strength to manifest it's physical form it can't interact with any other human save the one they are tethered to.
Declan had told him a great deal about demons; wanting him to understand that side. He was always very kind, and knew that Magnus saw that part of himself as evil, dark, wrong…that he saw his demon mark as shameful. He'd assured him it wasn't, that what he was and where he came from- where his powers come from- didn't matter, it was what you did with them.
He'd stressed what a being was said nothing about who they were.
Declan was always a bit of an odd one so far as demons go.
Still, Declan himself probably proved his point better than any words or lessons ever could have. He was- and still is- one of the best people Magnus has ever known.
Magnus had always been grateful for the man…and really, if you're learning about demonic beings, creatures and linguistics, what better teacher than an actual demon?
He taught him the different levels of demons, everything from greater demons like his father, which were (Thankfully) exceedingly rare and near unimaginably powerful, all the way down to lesser demons, the most common type, who in general aren't much different than any other Supernatural; most just trying to live their lives same as anyone else. He'd even taught him about anifail, basically demonic animals from Calon tywyll- essentially their version of a dog, cat, and so on. Domesticated animals kept for protection or as pets. He tried to teach Magnus everything he knew (and the man knew a lot), and he never stopped trying to teach Magnus more.
Centuries of lessons have pretty well resulted in most of it becoming little more than a jumbled mess to Magnus, but this did spring back to mind.
Hanfod lladrata were thought to be very powerful and extremely dangerous once manifested in the human world. There are only two known ways to banish them. One is for the one who summoned it to send it back voluntarily. The other is for the human attached to the demon to be killed; this breaks the connection to this world and sends the demon back.
Hopefully that isn't what this is…it's possible he's misread it…he hopes that's the case...
One thing is for sure; if it is in fact a Hanfod lladrata they are dealing with this most definitely needs to be dealt with quickly.
Once the demon is fully manifested it no longer needs the human to gain access to victims. A midlevel demon on the loose would make this little spurt of six deaths look like nothing, and it wouldn't just be humans that were in danger.
Alec was intoxicating, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to seeing the man again,
But he needed to stay focused today…
A midlevel demon crossing over and wreaking havoc is slightly more important than flirting with a gorgeous detective with an insanely sexy voice…
He just needed to remember that.
*~********~*~********~* Alec-Alec-Alec-Alec-Alec *~********~*~********~*"I can't believe you actually called him…" Alec muttered shaking his head faintly
Simon gave a bit of a careless, somewhat frustrated wave,
"Hey, I know you have doubts about the dude, but he found something we didn't at the last scene. I kind of get the feeling he's not really the type to back down or just let something go-"
Alec gave a sharp laugh, nodding quickly
"Uh yeah…I don't really see him backing down from anything."
Simon smirked, shrugging,
"Right? So if that's the case he's going to be working this either way; may as well have him with us so we can get whatever info he finds. I doubt there's a way having him working the case can make it any worse, and hopefully, if we are honest and upfront, he will be as well.
At this point I don't really care who finds what, so long as it leads to us finding whoever is behind this and stopping them."
Alec sighed, nodding faintly
"Yeah…just how he found that evidence still kinda bugs me… I really think if anything he had to at the very least have some clue what he was looking for; but you're right. If he could find it once-through whatever way he did- hopefully he can do it again.
None of the other killings were this close together, that kind of acceleration is nerve-wracking. We need to get this solved as soon as possible, and if, in order to do that we need to team up with an odd, morally ambiguous, almost-certainly-some-kind-of-criminal who flirts WAY too much and seems to see near everything as a game;
Well, than that's just what we have to do.
If it means no more lives lost to this, stopping the killings- if it means the public is safe- than it's most definitely worth it. No question."
Simon nodded in agreement, before settling back in the seat, absently flicking through something on his phone.
Alec stared out the windshield, letting his mind wander…Simon did make a good point; even though he didn't know how the hell Magnus found the marks, it really was a good catch, and it was something that every actual trained investigator had missed.
Maybe he did have some kind of insider knowledge or the like, but, at this point, so long as the knowledge wasn't because he was in actuality behind it, he didn't really care how he got it. And it might not be so bad working with the man.
He'd been annoying yesterday; no question…the constant flirting was just baffling to Alec. He'd really been convinced that it was a way to distract him from the case. Was near certain. However after Magnus left and he'd had a bit of time to cool down (And the embarrassing talk with Simon) he realized Magnus had seemed genuinely bewildered when Alec told him to drop the flirting act.
When he'd said he'd just been flirting with Alec because 'he was hot and had a sexy voice' (and no...he most definitely didn't have that replaying in his head all night…or the flirting…or that distracting, addicting, breathless, giddy feeling that indescribable 'thing' in his eyes caused).
He may not know this Magnus very well- or really at all- but he's always had a knack for reading people.
When Magnus had said he was flirting just because Alec was 'Gorgeous'…everything he saw in his expression, body language and all the rest, said he was telling the truth.
Which kinda threw Alec…
I mean, not that it changed anything…
He was sure the man was into something dangerous- that he WAS something dangerous. The man sat off every alarm he had…nothing was going to happen between them…
Even if the man was surprisingly intelligent, and witty…and pretty entertaining when he wasn't spouting truly abysmal pickup lines…and attractive…really attractive…okay so the man was without a doubt the single most beautiful person he'd ever seen.
Still; danger, alarms, heavily involved in something almost unquestionably criminal…
Not happening…
It wasn't…
He'd be lying if he said the man's attention wasn't a bit of a thrill though…
Umm…but…that wasn't important now.
It didn't matter how gorgeous the man was…or how confusing, irritating, stimulating, and thrilling…
They had a case to solve- now six to solve, it needed to stop. Surely they could be mature and put aside whatever personal issues they had for that.
But Simon did have a point yesterday…he was totally unprofessional in the interview. He'd been rude, sharp and even purposefully baited the man more than once…not that Magnus really seemed to mind…actually he seemed to kind of get a kick out of it…which…umm…uh-not important-
Still, he's the head detective of the BPD; he should have more self control than that.
Whatever else he might be (and Alec got the feeling that was a lot) Magnus seemed a very intelligent, unnervingly fearless man who didn't back down and likely knew his way around the criminal elements. That could definitely come in handy.
If they were going to be working together on this case, it couldn't be like yesterday. They both needed to stay levelheaded and focused.
Alec nodded to himself.
Today was going to be different,
He would be sure of it.
*~********~*~********~* _End Of Chapter Notes_ *~********~*~********~*hanfod lladrata =essence stealing
Declan= Man Of Prayer, full of goodness
As you can tell I'm kinda going with something a bit untraditional for the demons in this verse. I never like it when it's so cut and dry- this is this so it's automatically bad...
That's just boring to me. I always like mixing it up a bit…
It's kinda different, but I think it'll make the stories more interesting.
Okay, so the second part was pretty short and it's mainly just Alec thinking, but I wanted to see both their views.
I like them both deciding they need to be more mature this time…
Don't know how well they'll execute it…
But it's nice they're going into on the same page.
Anyways, what do you guys think?
*-*-*-*-*-*SlightlyEvilMagnusUniverse*-*-*-*-*-*
* 15 *