" So you're the kid, huh?" The demonologist, Royce, asked while crossing his arms. Cory looked at the man timidly and resisted the urge to turn to LJ. I glared at the man for a moment until Ms. McOlsen spoke up.

" Thank you for coming, Mr. Silverman." She said. " I appreciate this."

" No problem." Royce replied. " Once I heard about this I knew I couldn't pass this up for anything." I narrowed my eyes at his statement. Couldn't pass up what?

" Pass what up?" I asked, voicing my thoughts. Royce turned and looked at me with a dark glint in his eyes.

" To get rid of this demon, of course." He told me, turning to Cory. " So kid, what's this thing been telling you, huh?" Cory looked at me, brows furrowed and eyes widened. I looked at him before shrugging and nodding towards the 'demonologist'. The little boy turned back to the man.

" H-He doesn't really tell me anything." Cory replies finally, voice shaking. " He plays with me."

" Liar!" Ms. McOlsen snarled. " That cursed thing has attacked and harmed people in this house!"

" Excuse me, but the only person he 'harmed' was me." I butted in, glaring at her outburst and Cory shrank in fear. " And it wasn't even that bad." The old witch whirled around to face me, shoving a finger in my face.

" Stay out of this." She hissed.

" No, no," Royce interrupted, smiling pleasantly. " I want to hear what she has to say. After all, you've been through something like this before, haven't you?" I turned my glare towards Royce, snarling lowly. He merely chuckled at my response.

" You know, when Ms. McOlsen here called me and said that she had a demon here, I wasn't that intrigued." He stated. " But then she said that Valerie and her niece were causing trouble and I immediately recognized you. I just had to come here, not just to get rid of this spirit, but to find out what you lied about six years ago." I frowned at the man in front of me.

" Don't know what you're talking about." I muttered angrily.

" Oh, but you do." He pressed. " I could see that by the look in your eyes during the interview. You stared straight at the camera, lying to all the people watching that night." He laughed darkly. " So, what happened, hm? You two were missing for a week before suddenly appearing."

" Like I said," I hissed through clenched teeth. " It's none of your business." I could see Cory staring between the two of us with his brows furrowed. Royce continued to grin at me, as if knowing my answer before I even spoke.

" That may be true, but aren't you tired of keeping such a secret all to yourself?" He asked. I narrowed my eyes in thought. Sure, I never told anyone what really happened. It had been so traumatic for Rosemary that she didn't even remember it and I never trusted anyone else with such a horrific story. Besides, with everything that already happened, if anyone thought I was mentally unstable, they would've taken Rosemary away.

" Nothing I can't handle." I retorted heatedly. " I don't need some stuck up, glory hound to pour my heart out to." Royce chuckled and leaned back.

" That so?" He inquired. " Fine then." He turned his attention back to Cory, who looked back at the man in confusion.

" So, what's this demon of yours look like, kid?" He pressed, leering at the small boy. Cory furrowed his brows and looked towards LJ, as if trying to think of a way to describe the entity. I growled to myself, hoping that the little boy would refuse to describe him.

" He… uh…" Cory muttered, looking at his feet. " H-He's tall…" Royce narrows his eyes and nods, waiting for the boy to continue. Cory looked back up at LJ before staring at the demonologist again.

" He said I shouldn't talk to you." Cory said. Royce barked a laugh.

" Oh, did he now?" The man asked with amusement. " What, is he scared? He should be." I snorted and rolled my eyes, causing the others to look at me.

" Something you wanna say?" Royce asked with a raised brow.

" Nothing." I replied tartly. " Other than that your bark is worse than your bite." The man chuckled softly.

" Lemme guess, kid." Royce started, addressing Cory as he turned to face the boy. " He's tall, monochrome, and wears stripy clothing. How am I doing so far?" Cory's look of surprise was all the man needed for an answer as he stood to his feet, looking over to Ms. McOlsen.

" Is there a way that you can have everyone out of here tomorrow afternoon?" He asked and the old croon blinked in surprise.

" I-I can maybe organize a small field trip…" She agreed and I could feel dread beginning to creep into my nerves.

" Perfect." Royce stated. " Just make sure nobody's in the building and we'll be golden." Ms. McOlsen nodded and hurried off to make preparations for the 'field trip'. Royce turned to the two of us and grinned maliciously.

" That's all the info I needed, kids. You can go now." He said, waving us off. I growled lowly and grabbed Cory's wrist, leading him out of the room. I had to figure out what that guy was planning before he hurt someone. And not just LJ, but I had a feeling he was going to take this whole orphanage down with him.

0o0o0o0o0o

" W-What's he gonna do?" Cory whimpered, holding his head in his hands. " H-He's gonna try to hurt Jack, isn't he? I shouldn't have said anything…"

" Cory, calm down…" I tried, patting the boy on the shoulder. " Everything'll be okay. I'm sure Jack isn't gonna let the guy hurt him."

" B-But… the way he smiled. He looked so… evil." Cory muttered. " It looked so familiar and scary…" I felt a pang of empathy wash over me, knowing that Cory was remembering his abusive father. Poor kid has been through so much, and now he's scared of losing one of his only friends.

" Cory, Jack's way stronger than you think, okay?" I assured. " Besides, I won't let that slime ball hurt him." Cory looked at me, eyes glistening with unshed tears.

" You… you promise?" He asked and I nodded, holding out my pinkie.

" Pinkie promise." I smiled as he hooked our pinkies together and giggled.

" Okay… I'm counting on you, Allie." He agreed. I nodded again before letting my thoughts wander. What in the world was this Royce guy up to and how did he plan on stopping LJ, anyways? He's not technically a demon, so none of those demon prevention spells or anything would really affect him.

" Hey, Allie?"

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked at Cory, who was looking at me expectantly.

" Yeah?" I inquired. " What's up?"

" Can you sing to me?" He begged. " Like that one song the other day?" I blinked before laughing lightly and nodding.

" Yeah, sure." I chuckled. " Hmm… lemme think... Ah! I think I got one!" Cory smiled and followed me as I went to grab my guitar, eagerly anticipating what song I wanted to play for him.

0o0o0o0o0o

Alright! That's it until I finish Chapter 14. I really hoped that you enjoyed, and if you did please leave a comment! I would love to hear your thoughts on my story. :)

Until next time! Stay tuned!