"Much unhappiness has come into the world because of bewilderment and things left unsaid."

Fyodor Dostoevsky


Leo

Leo had a list of things he hated. Pop quizzes on a Monday morning. Bullies in general. Anything that threatened his family. The idea that he might lose someone he cared about. Feeling helpless as something went wrong.

Douglas rang at least two of those bells. Three, if Leo was being honest with himself. The only good thing about this was that Chase wasn't dead somewhere. The Yahn imp was adamant that Chase was healthy, too. That had been everybody's first question. Things fell apart from there, though. Yahn's description of Chase raised a lot of eyebrows, for starters.

Leo couldn't make a mental image he was satisfied with. He wound up with an anime character. Wings and cat ears? How much more anime could Chase get?

Mr. Davenport snapped Leo out of those thoughts. "Get a screwdriver and a hammer. Flathead, please."

Leo pushed himself out of his chair and crossed the lab, pulling out the drawer of a chrome toolbox. Fishing out the tools, he nudged the drawer closed with his elbow and turned back to Mr. Davenport, who was bent over the melted remains of the Daven-demon portal. The silver ring was somehow fine, but the base it was mounted on was a twisted, charred mess. Mr. Davenport took the tools from Leo without a word, digging the screwdriver into the base and tapping it with the hammer. As a seal broke, Mr. Davenport pulled the screwdriver free and moved it higher to repeat the process. "You're saying this thing made Chase a demon?" He glanced at Yahn before hitting the screwdriver again.

Yahn nodded from his perch in Adam's lap. Adam scratched between Yahn's wings, watching Mr. Davenport while his leg bounced. Leo could tell that Adam wanted to go find Chase already. Yahn pointed at the portal with a long talon, his tail curled around his feet. "Master thinks so, anyway. So does Half-Breed."

"You're worked up over a half-breed?"

Everybody looked at Chase's capsule. Douglas' other three demons were locked inside, adding commentary as they saw fit. Mr. Davenport had herded them into the capsule using a bracelet, of all things, containing the menaces until further notice. Bree stood by the capsule with her arms crossed, her nose wrinkling occasionally. Leo didn't blame her. The three had changed forms to fit inside better, so they were looking at a second Mr. Davenport sitting with a cobra and owl in his lap. The cobra snickered, her tongue flicking as she did. "I thought you were worried about a djinni, not a whelp."

Yahn flapped his ears, glaring at the other three. Leo didn't understand why Mr. Davenport let Yahn stay out in the open. As far as Leo was concerned, he should have been locked up with the others.

Mr. Davenport pried a panel off the machine, setting the hammer down on the cyber desk with it. He held the screwdriver in one hand, using the tip to nudge wires inside the machine. "And Chase ran to Douglas after that?"

Yahn turned his attention back to Mr. Davenport, shaking his head. "Master Summoned him."

Mr. Davenport closed one eye, bending closer to look in the machine. "When was this?"

"About a month ago."

Standing up, Mr. Davenport let out a sigh. "Does he have to do what Douglas says? Like you guys?"

Yahn rubbed his claws, frowning. "No, he's different."

The imps in the capsule gave a snort of disgust at that, but Mr. Davenport focused on Yahn. "Is he a prisoner of some kind?"

Yahn shook his head. "He comes and goes as he pleases."

"But he stays with Douglas?" Bree blurted out.

"He stays where his life is easier," Yahn answered.

Bree glanced at Adam, who sank down in his chair. Mr. Davenport sat on the desk, tapping his lips with the screwdriver. As for Leo, he reached for the chair at his own desk, falling into it before his legs gave out. Chase stayed with Douglas because it was easier. What was that supposed to mean? Was it really that bad for Chase here? Leo couldn't imagine a life with Douglas would be better than one with his family. They couldn't have driven him away. Chase wouldn't just leave them like that, would he? He proved his loyalty after that avalanche thing.

Mr. Davenport broke the silence. "Where was he before Douglas caught him?"

Yahn cocked his head, frowning. "Why?"

"That's three months unaccounted for." Mr. Davenport set the screwdriver down beside himself. "Do you have any idea what happened?"

Yahn shook his head again. "He doesn't talk about it, really."

That was a relief, as bad as it sounded. Chase could have made one of those "best of a bad situation" choices. That left a problem, though. Leo bounced his leg, watching Yahn. "If he can leave, why doesn't he come home?"

That was the real question, wasn't it? If Chase had the freedom to walk away from Douglas at any time, why did he stay there? What drove him to live with Douglas? The worry was etched into everybody's frown as Yahn shook his head. "I don't know."

A moment of silence passed before Leo voiced his thoughts. "What if it's the demon thing? What if he's, y'know, evil now?"

Bree's eyes shot to Leo. "It's Chase. He couldn't be evil if he tried."

"It's a Chase we haven't seen for four months," Leo reminded her. He shifted his weight in the chair. "Who knows what happened to him?" Meeting everybody's eyes one by one, Leo swallowed. He didn't like to think down this line, but someone had to. "Chase stayed with Douglas for a month voluntarily. We shouldn't jump in there without thinking this through."

Adam sat up a bit, sucking on his cheek. "Douglas isn't the worst person," he said slowly. It sounded like he was measuring his words for once. "He saved Chase from an avalanche. He saved us from Krane. He's keeping Chase safe now…right?" He glanced at Yahn, who nodded. "See? Chase might not be evil. Maybe it's something else."

Yahn scratched the base of his ear. "He seems like a good guy." When demonic laughter sounded from the capsule, Yahn opened his beak and closed it loudly. "Vânătorii isn't someone you laugh at."

The demons went silent at that, their eyes wide. Davenport II shifted his weight, watching Yahn. "You don't think Master would let Vânătorii eat us, do you?"

Yahn crossed his arms, raising his beak. "He just might."

The owl pecked the glass. "Why would we be punished? You let the spy go."

Yahn lowered his head at that, wincing. "Don't remind me."

"You've been living with Chase for a month," Mr. Davenport cut in, redirecting the conversation. "You have to know something about why he stayed away from us."

Yahn rubbed his claws again, rolling his eyes to look at the wall. "Master might have asked about it."

Mr. Davenport raised an eyebrow. "And?"

Yahn fidgeted, shifting his wings against his back and lowering his ears.

Mr. Davenport sighed, softening his voice. "Ajiiyahn, please. I haven't seen my son in four months. I just want to know why."

Leo didn't know how Mr. Davenport could remember Yahn's full name. It was just a jumble of letters to Leo, like someone put the alphabet in a blender and pulled out the first thing that popped up.

Yahn stayed quiet for a long moment, the tip of his tail twitching. At last, he looked at Mr. Davenport. "He seemed…anxious. Angry. I don't understand why." He spread his hands out. "I don't know enough about your relationship with him to understand."

The vague news sank in for a second, the heavy silence only broken by Bree. She shifted her weight, letting out a bitter laugh. "He's mad at us?" She pointed at herself. "He ran away, and he's mad at us? He can't be serious."

Mr. Davenport raised a hand. "Bree – "

"No." Bree actually stomped her foot. "We drove ourselves into the ground looking for him. If things were so bad for him that he moved in with Douglas, why didn't he come back? He made that choice, but he's mad at us?" She shook her head, scoffing.

Adam frowned, patting Yahn's head as he let out a breath. "What's he mad about, though?"

Yahn shrugged, tilting his head so that Adam scratched behind his ear. "I tried not to listen in."

"Family problems." The owl's feathers ruffled. "Demons don't have families. It's unnatural."

Mr. Davenport ran a hand down his face, sighing. "Look, we can ask what's wrong when we get him back, okay?" He looked at Yahn again. "What about his bionics? Any glitching?"

Yahn frowned. "Bionics," he repeated slowly, dragging out the 's.' "What are those?"

Leo furrowed his brow, wanting to strangle the imp. He couldn't be so oblivious to things, could he? If he lived with Douglas, he had to know what bionics were. Krane used to live with him, as far as Leo knew. That would be a lesson in bionics by itself.

"Does he have a capsule, at least?" Mr. Davenport gestured to the capsules near the wall. When Yahn shook his head, Mr. Davenport frowned. "Okay, is anything weird happening to him? Metal objects sticking to him, things flying around, extreme personality changes?" Yahn shook his head yet again, earning a roomful of frowns this time. Chase should be glitching like crazy after four months without his capsule. Did Yahn just not know what to look for? Did Chase disable his bionics somehow? That would explain why his GPS wasn't working.

Adam broke the silence that followed with a quiet statement. "I want Chasey back."

That seemed to settle things. Mr. Davenport stood up from the desk, sighing. "Okay, gear up." As Bree stepped back into her capsule and Adam stood up, setting Yahn on the cyber desk, Mr. Davenport crossed the room to a cabinet. Adam quickly hopped in his own capsule as Mr. Davenport pulled his thermal blaster out of storage, slipping it onto his wrist and tightening the bands. Leo turned in his chair and opened a drawer on his mission desk, digging out a few earpieces and shoving it closed again as the capsules flashed. Bree and Adam stepped out into the lab in their mission suits as Leo stood up, handing out earpieces to his siblings. He gave one to Mr. Davenport, then reached up to put one on himself when Mr. Davenport stopped him. "You're not going."

Leo threw his arms up. "But what if you need me?"

"We can handle Douglas," Mr. Davenport snorted. He spared a glance at Yahn then. "It is just Douglas, right?"

Yahn watched everything with wide, worried eyes. "And Oly, but she's not a threat." Yahn rubbed his claws again, something Leo was beginning to understand was a nervous fidget of his. "Master's going to be upset if you steal Half-Breed from him."

"Hey, he stole Chase," Mr. Davenport protested. Adam and Bree stretched across the room as Mr. Davenport checked the sights on his blaster. "We're just bringing him home."

A surge of indignation rose in Leo's chest. "I can help with that." He gestured at himself. "What if you need a distraction or someone to fight Douglas off while you run? What if – "

"Your mother would kill me if I took you out on a mission," Mr. Davenport interrupted, fixing Leo with a stern look. "It's almost midnight."

Wait, it was midnight? Since when? It felt like the demons showed up in the living room only minutes ago. "Big D – "

"No buts, Leo." Mr. Davenport lowered the blaster, satisfied. "Stay here." He offered a smile, patting Leo's shoulder. "You can watch for any more demons, okay?"

Leo threw his hands up, rolling his eyes. They were about to get Chase back, and Leo was given nothing but busy work at home? He doubted any more demons would show up, let alone that he would find them. He turned around, dropping into his chair with a huff. "Fine."

Mr. Davenport didn't pay Leo any mind. He turned to Yahn, raising his chin like he was giving an order. "You're showing us where Douglas lives."

Yahn crossed his arms. "I'm not a dog, Donnie."

Mr. Davenport set his jaw, narrowing his eyes. "Don't call me that."

"Can we go, then?" The cobra coiled around herself, hissing as she spoke. "I want out of this thing."

"We can show you where Master lives," Davenport II offered. Anything to get out of their prison, Leo supposed.

A second of deliberation later, Mr. Davenport waved at Bree. "Open the capsule."

Bree hesitated but stepped forward after a moment. She pressed a few buttons, and the door to Chase's capsule slid open. The owl hopped out with flapping wings, hooting its relief. The cobra changed into a dog, sitting on the tile floor and scratching her ear while Davenport II stood up and stretched, yawning. "Your bodies are frail," he complained.

"Then pick a discreet one," Mr. Davenport said. He pointed at the dog. "That would work for everyone." When the owl and Davenport II eyed the dog sideways, Mr. Davenport shrugged. "I still have the silver bracelet if you want to deal with that."

The imps were quick to shift forms at that, turning into black blobs before solidifying into Labradors. Yahn hopped to the floor, shifting forms until he was a mouse. "If we must go, I might as well explain myself to Master."

Adam scooped up the mouse, slipping him into a pocket and offering Leo a smile. "We'll be home by sunrise. I promise."

Leo bit back a retort as Mr. Davenport pointed at one of the dogs. "You: start leading."

The search party was gone in a moment. The tapping of dogs' paws echoed down the hallway, followed by footsteps. Then, there was nothing. It was just Leo, left behind in the lab. He kicked at nothing, grinding his teeth. God, this sucked. There was no reason Leo should have to stay here while everybody walked across town to bring Chase home. Who knew when they'd be back?

Leo sunk further in his chair, focusing on the capsules across the lab. This wasn't fair.

After a long moment, Leo sighed and sat up again, pushing himself to his feet. The least he could do was guard the house, right? No more demons on his watch.


Jasper

Master was upset.

Jasper hadn't been home, but Lovett blamed him in a heartbeat. If Lovett hadn't been showing off his pet afrit, then Jasper could have been around to kill whatever thieves took Azazel's Bane. He didn't recognize their scents, but that didn't mean anything. Afrits weren't used for sneaking around, in his experience. He was likely dealing with a couple of imps or djinn. The problem was that Jasper didn't know where to start looking.

That was until Thyla returned, all iridescent wings and anxiety as she described imps guarding the family she was spying on. Lovett latched onto the name she had provided immediately: a newer Summoner named Douglas. Jasper never heard of him – he didn't care, really – but it was as good a place to look as any. Why wouldn't the person sending an imp to guard a family be the same person to send an imp to the enemy's home? The odds were good that Douglas was involved in some way.

Jasper's hunt paid off.

It didn't take him long to find Douglas' home. Falcons were fast birds, and Jasper liked to think he was faster still. He felt the pulses of Azazel's Bane before he even saw the home, that calling energy that Lovett had set up wards to suppress. Jasper landed in a tree, tucking his wings into his side as he peered through a window at the epicenter of the energetic signature. Sure enough, an imp and a djinni were inside, holding hands while a Summoner yelled at them. The mortal tucked away a box of bandages, still lecturing the demons as he worked. Poor things. It wasn't their fault that they were going to die here. They were Summoned to the wrong place at the wrong time.

Such was their lot in life, Jasper supposed.

Jasper hopped off the branch, letting himself fall to the ground. Before he hit, he had shifted into his true form, his hands glowing as he growled. This was nothing personal; he was just here for Azazel's Bane. The three snacks inside were just a bonus for him.


I'm sure I butchered Romainian when it comes to Chase's name. I'm sorry.