"I just don't get it" I grumbled and raised my head from my hands that supported it "why would they say that about him, Able?"
Able's kind eyes glistened opposite her kitchen table. It was just the two of us; her hands pushing the plate of warm scones towards me while my bitten one laid untouched beneath the newspaper I threw down in disgust.
River had been painted as the villain, of course. Word got to those reporters quick once tales of a mad demon at the peak of no return caught thier greedy ears and wagging tongues.
They spun a good story too. The truth was there at least, amongst the speculation they brewed up in the neatly formulated sentences.
And the picture. Nothing was more damning than the body-cam clip they had stripped out that showed River looming over me with the rope still around his face as I turned to face them with the rest of the family. You could just see Darcy bordering the edge with Dad on the ground with him.
It was a mess I couldn't hide from. I didn't even know I had mutated to that point until I saw myself on the front cover of the morning paper.
Darcy had to be kept warm. I had changed to try and give him that when my mind had been panicking.
Now, I was trying to calm the fire that illuminated inside me and cast shadows of where each bone and shadowed organ was.
Heat escaped each time I talked; flames licking up the side of my mouth and face if my emotions stirred them higher.
Jagged teeth and burning eyes made me look like a representation of the devil himself. I could feel the heat rolling from my body when I sat there carefully, worried I might set fire to Able's wooden seat and her quilted cushion cover.
She wasn't afraid though. She was as calm as usual, and offered her unwavering support when I desperately needed it.
It had only been a week since it happened. I thought the trauma of the night would have flown under the rader, and was hoping it would, before I rushed here for support that came after I saw the paper lying on the table.
The others already knew all the details but didn't pry. Only Cricket and Mitzi were absent; as they had been for quite a while now to continue elsewhere with thier lives.
Our little working group was a tight knot. Solomon, Emry, Azalea, Leaf, and little Petal were the only other demons I knew I could count on and turn to. With River now gone, the knot had become frayed and loose.
I had no idea where he was. The newspaper only gave me a glimmer of hope that he had some shred of humanity left when it stated he had been on the edge of no return.
The edge. The way he had mutated made me believe that his humanity had been long lost under the snorting beast I had been forced to face.
What had saved the shred he had clung to?
"Dear" Able soothed from beside me and ran her finger on my cheeks to wipe up the tears rolling down "you care for him so much. It's painful seeing you hurt like this."
"It feels like something heavy is pressing on my chest" I whined back and clutched my shirt there "I just want them to be alright. I need them to be alright."
"And they will be" Able rested her hand on my shoulder now before it pulled me into a hug "you wouldn't have let them be in pain. I know you have such a big heart for both those boys."
I sniffled and trembled against Able as I acknowledged her words. Her old hands ran circles on my back that she could barely reach from her seat.
She tried her best. It was what I needed though. Just someone to mother me and take the pain away for a moment.
"Able, I..."
The door burst open and I peered over Able's arm to see Leaf bent over, panting heavily around his Cradle as he pointed outside.
"People" he choked out and grunted for breath "heaps of them... with a van."
A van?
I left Able's arms to cross to her window and peel back the curtain there. 98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvu0Vql2yi7
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Sure enough, down at the front of the property, was a swarm of people pulling out equipment from the white van blazing a blue circular logo along the side.
Azalea had already bundled up little Flower and was being guided back to the house. Solomon and Emry kept at her rear, Emry nervously glancing back at the people calling out for thier attention that they ignored.
"Reporters" Leaf leant against the window "for that news show on the tv. What should we do?"
Able got up to inspect for herself. She moved to the front door to usher in the terrified Azalea then Solomon and Emry.
"Able" Azalea panicked to the woman as she clutched Flower close "I don't want them to take her away."
"They don't have that power" Able reassured her "they are only looking for thier next piece."
Azalea nodded at her words but still had worry plastered on her face. Her claws wrapped around Flower who peered up at her mother in confusion.
She was a lot bigger now and harder to hide in the folds of a fabric harness. She would have been seen by the eyes of the media; no matter how hard Azalea tried to escape them.
Emry was understandably nervous as well. He had fought myself and River just to keep Azalea as his own mate and provide her with protection from anything else threatening his place beside her. He would not hesitate in driving off some oblivious humans trampling through our fields.
I didn't hold that against him. River was gone now, and wasn't able to come to the call of the bond he had made with Azalea and Flower. Emry was the one who would have to rise to his level of intimidation to protect his family.
"Azalea, Petal; to the back room and close the blinds" Able ordered as the crew advanced closer "Emry, Solomon; keep them safe and keep the door closed."
Emry was darting off in a heartbeat with his family. Solomon lingered, his eyes hardened on Able.
"I should be here for you."
"I have Leaf and Teddy" Able smiled back "no doubt they are here for Teddy anyway."
His eyes turned on me before he huffed and wandered down the hall.
"Leaf, I need you to make sure no-one comes snooping around the house" Able spoke sternly to him "once I give them permission to film, they will find ways to go wandering. I have a back door in the laundry off the hall."
"Got it" Leaf nodded, marching down to it immediately.
Able turned to me and held my head in her hands.
"How are you feeling?" she smiled.
"Sick" I gulped back and tried to laugh it off just as the crew fanned out around the front door.
It seemed like there were tonnes of them, but majority were camera crew. 98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ288V5oGbG7
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One held a fluffy mic on a pole while another supported the audio equipment wires spilling out around it.
I kept behind Able who smiled at the woman at the head of the cameras.
"Good morning. I am Tessa Greenwood of Behind The News and we want to do a story on your employees and your property in relation to the recent headline printed in the Conductor. Can we continue with an interview with you and your employees?"
Able looked to me and sighed before agreeing. 98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsoLZZbtRMH
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Immediently the cameras were snapped upwards to focus on us. It was unnerving to see us reflected in so many different lenses that were trained so precisely so they didn't miss anything.
"Miss Hardy, in light of the headline today, it has come to our attention that you have employed the same demon who was involved in what people are calling the biggest contriversial dilemma of this sort yet."
"Teddy is working for me" she agreed with a sweep of her arm to me "he is a very hard worker and a very kind boy."
"And Teddy Griffin, is it true that you and the demon involved in the incident are neighbour's?"
"W-we are" I nodded back, suddenly aware of my frightening appearance shadowing Able.
"And you are both in a sexual relationship?"
What did that have to do with anything? Why was that important?
"Now, listen here!" Able fired up "who he loves has no business being on your show! That isn't even relevant to the headline!"
"But, Miss Hardy, sources say that Mr Griffin here has acted out before in the past because of his sexual relationship with River Fridley. They were both present when Mr Griffin attacked Braidon Somes, and they were both present when Mr Fridley attacked his parents. Do you think they are collaborating against humans?"
I ground my teeth and remained quiet. I let my eyes express how furious I was instead with the accusations so blantlently laid out like I wasn't even here. I felt the fire whipping up inside me and refused to open my mouth to give the reporter the satisfaction of goading me.
"If Teddy here was conspiring against humans, then I wouldnt have so much trust or faith in him that I do. He is a good boy who has done his time and worked hard to redeem himself."
"And do you think you are safe here on your property with only demons working for you?"
"They work with me" Able replied "I am no higher than them. We work as a team."
I heard her pride in her reply. It looks like she had the upper hand on the situation until the reporter flicked through her clipboard knowingly.
"You employ some colourful demons, Miss Hardy" Tessa bit back "not only do you have Mr Griffin here who attacked a human, you also have River Fridley himself who we all know had to be sedated to protect his own human from his harm. And we now have proof you have a known human killer working for you; Leaf Bloodwood, who was trailed and Cradled for his actions. Do you feel safe with a demon known as Mr Bloodwood being given free access to scythes and knives so close to a town?"
Able was quiet. I didn't know what to say either. I was in shock at the relisation that Leaf, a killer, had been working beside me for all this time. We had rubbed shoulders and bonded over our shared time in Cradles. 98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ax0ocnqOo
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I thought it was because he got carried away during sex, as he had told me. 98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7aPwmYWfqs
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He had killed her instead. His own soulmate and he had murdered her.
How come he hadn't disappeared with her then? Was it another person he had killed instead?
"Leaf... He's tortured by what he did. He wasn't able to control himself..."
"Do you think he'll control himself now? What happens if he slips up again and murders you or one of the other?"
"He won't" I spoke now, glaring at Tessa "you made sure he won't with the Cradle, right? No matter what happens, we get the Cradle and punishment. He can't slip, because if he even dares to, you'll throw him away and stain his name so badly he won't be able to go anywhere but here."
"The refuge?" Tessa added.
"It's safe here. There's work and Able is a good person who cares for us. I haven't met a lot of others who would do the same."
"I haven't met a lot of people either who would run an extortion ring either" Tessa replied "is it true that you only hire demons so you can stay off the radar and gain cheap labor to work your fields for you? You pay cash in hand; which is not only illegal, but unethical and underpaid? And you have recently started even extorting children for labour?"
"Children?" I scoffed, but felt Able's hand on my arm to silence me.
"I give them a job where others wont. I give them work ethic and a will to contribute to a society that doesn't want to hire good hardworking people. I do not hire children of any species."
"Only, they aren't people" Tessa replied "you can replace demons all you want because the same laws don't apply. They don't have the same requirements that a human would legally need. And by mutating them yourself, you increase your profits and extort thier trust."
"She didn't cause this" I growled now "I did this to myself to save Darcy from his own parents. They were going to kill him if we didn't stop them!"
Tessa smiled and turned to her paperwork again.
"Mr Griffin, demons mutate according to what is needed in thier surroundings, right?"
"Right" I replied warily.
"So, you mutated like this to try and burn both Mr and Mrs Fridley alive so you could save thier demon who mutated to have water so he could drown them instead?"
"It wasn't like that" I breathed in disbelief "I wanted to keep him warm. He wanted to save him."
"By drowning him?"
"Enough questions" Able snapped "you've done enough damage for today. I want you off my property."
"Do you think River Fridley tried to mercy kill his own human?" Tessa blurted out as the door was slammed shut and we stood behind it in stunned silence.
"Just like a swarm of wasps, the lot of them" Able grumbled and locked the door "only there to make noise and cause pain."
Her hand snapped me from the shock of it all and guided me to the garage that more camera crew were already inside, filming the process that had been interrupted before now.
"Shoo, the lot of you!" Able waved her arms at the crew who retreated "Teddy, grab the door"
I snatched into the garage door and rolled it down in one quick heave to block the trained cameras still eager for more threads to pull at.
Able shook with anger and wiped her eyes when she leant on the sorting tables to support herself.
"They'll make it all into one big lie" she muttered "they'll influence everyone to spread thier hate."
"But you did nothing wrong!"
"Do you think they'll get the truth?" Able replied sharply now, then softened her tone "Teddy, we are the villains in thier story. It doesn't matter what we do now."
I could see the defeat in her hunched posture. She looked sadly at the sunflower she plucked up to turn between her fingers.
"Are you... giving up?"
Able remained there, setting it down.
"Just for today" she admitted "we don't want to add fuel to the fire while the wasps are still here."
I nodded, collecting up the flowers to start trimming them for her as she watched.
"Do you think that I am a bad person?" she whispered.
"No" I snapped sternly to her tearful eyes "you've done the best for everyone here, no matter how you've done it. So what if we get paid cash or you only employ demons? I think you've done the smart thing, not the wrong thing. You've helped us all, Granny, in more ways than you know."
Able chuckled at River's nickname and wiped her eyes again.
"Besides, I don't think humans can cover the ground we do" I bragged, feeling my ego inflate "there is a reason we fall from the sky and they don't."
"Now, now" Able tutted with a cheeky grin on her face "graciousness is the key to happiness."
I smirked back at her and followed her back inside to see everyone elready gathered there.
"Sit, sit" Able gestured to them "we need to talk."
"About Teddy?" Leaf looked to me when I sat beside him.
"About... the situation" Able sighed back as she filled her kettle to boil.
Everyone waited for her to return to the head of the table, watching her every move.
"I don't see a situation" Azalea grumbled out "I just see humans trying to mess things up again."
"Whatever way we look at it, this is not legal" Able circled her hand on the tables surface "I don't have any of you on a payroll, none of you have insurance; you don't even have a super. Cash in hand is money, but it's not right. Not for what you all deserve."
"You can't put us on a payroll anyway" Solomon spoke with folded arms as he leant back in his chair "demons don't get work unless it's the big corps hiring. It's not going to work for us either way you look at it."
Leaf looked to Solomon then Able. He leant forward in sadness.
"Are you... letting us go?" he murmered.
Everyone turned to Able who only looked at the table for a moment.
"If you feel like you want to go, I'm not stopping you, but I would like to continue this for as long as I can. I won't shut my fields until they pry the scythe from my hands and break the basket on my back."
Azalea grinned at her statement. Everyone else beemed between each other, Leaf nudging me lightly.
"They will come back" I spoke.
"Of course" Able nodded and got from her seat to fetch the kettle "tea anyone?"
I ignored the chorus of requests, feeling the frustration boil up inside me at how calm Able was being about it all.
Her very livelihood was on stake and she was more concerned about who got the right damn teabags!
She should be furious!
"You have a killer working for you" I slammed a fist to the table "hell, I used to be in a damn Cradle too for almost wanting to kill someone myself! Why arent you seeing how bad this all looks?"
"Teddy" Emry spoke now to me "cool it. The woman is working through it the best she can."
"And you!" I turned on Leaf now who leant back out of fear "you lied to me! It was only meant to be cut shoulders!"
"I didn't lie! I just didn't tell you the whole truth!" he snapped back, baring his teeth at me.
Leaf realised his aggression and dropped his eyes down, rubbing the place on his chest I poked him.
"Well? Did you kill someone?" I huffed to him "your soulmate?"
No-one tried to stop me. They were curious too but didn't want to confront Leaf about it the way I was.
"You don't have to talk about it if it makes you uncomfortable" Able spoke while pouring out the water into the mugs "and Teddy. Have some compassion for the poor boy. It's a sensitive topic."
"Well..." Leaf started nervously, looking at Able instead of me "I'd rather he know from me than whatever they are going to say about me."
Able nodded, placing mugs down for Solomon and Emry first.
"I did kill her. That part is true" Leaf hung his head in shame that peered at the mug Able slid beneath it "we were having sex and I got carried away. I nicked her with my claws and it spiraled out of control from there when I saw all the blood."
Everyone was back around the table when Able returned, leaving thier mugs untouched to listen to Leaf.
"It didn't help her dad caught me with her after I did it. He, uh...."
Leaf trailed off and wrapped his hands around the cup tightly to steady himself.
"...he caught me eating her."
There was small gasps around the table. Solomon even shook his head in disappointment at Leaf.
"We were never properly bound" he muttered "we wanted to be and pretended we were, but her dad never allowed it. We were going to do it after we finished. He chased me out and I tried to take her with me. All I could see then was food, not her."
"Is it really possible to lose control like that?" Emry frowned at Leaf "over a bit of blood? To actually kill and then eat someone like that?"
"Demons are born different; that's what I was told anyway" Leaf spoke "some of us are wired to be more bloodthirsty than others to better protect our humans. The judge was surprisingly understanding."
I wonder if it was the same one I had been dealt with? My sentence had been light and leniant for what I could have been given, according to her.
"I have to wear the Cradle until I'm good. They test me every three months as part of my sentence to see if I'll react like I did."
"They bring you blood?" Solomon asked.
"Raw steak" Leaf shook his head "I can't eat meat because of how I react to it. They make me eat it and see if I go feral again. Then I'm back in the Cradle again for another three months. I'm trying to be good, I really am; but I can't escape what is on my name."
"But your soul" I frowned at him "if you aren't Bound, why is it that colour?"
"Someone else found me when I was in a rough spot. She kept me hidden and I ate her soul after she ate mine. It was... dangerous, but it barely worked. We are Bonded and happy."
I saw his smile under the Cradle and turned from it to focus on my own cup I raised to my lips.
Lavender was blind when it came to my frightening mutations. Underneath it all, she still saw the helpless demon sitting in the flower fields she had loved from that night onwards.
I had to wonder if she was forcing herself to not fear me each time I took on appearances like this. Was I going to be like a monster to her one day; locked behind another Cradle just like Leaf?
He was a monster, but he was broken. He was trying to be remembered for something better than the mark his name carried. He was trying to prove it to himself and everyone else that he could push through his savagery and win.
I would still work with him. But things between us were going to be uneasy for now. We had a ticking bomb on our hands that had only just been uncovered. One day, we would have to stop him when the darkness came up again.
Until then, it was all tea, scones, and forced smiles.
"Since you are all helping me from the goodness of your hearts now, I will have to start paying you in food instead of money."
"What?" Emry gasped out and turned his attention to Azalea and Flower immediently "scones don't pay the rent, Able!"
"Oh, but they do" Able grinned back cheekily as she picked up one from the plate to break in half. She then fished into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a five doller note to roll up and spear into the soft dough.
"From the goodness of your hearts, of course."
"Of course" I laughed at what she was implying "it's not illegal to help an old lady with her yard work in exchange for food. It's not work if money isn't exchanged."
Able tapped the side of her head and chuckled.
"Working for scones" Solomon smiled over his mug "save our souls, this might work."
"Well then, we all quit then" Azalea laughed and planted both hands down on the table that Flower mimicked playfully "it was fun and all that."
"Cutting flowers was a real chore, Granny" I added cheekily "slave labor even."
"Im looking forward to the secrecy" Solomon grinned "adds an element to the whole job that is kind of exciting."
We all chattered in agreement and finished off our cups.
"Well then, I will see you all tommorow" Able grinned when we all stood to collect our last wads of cash from her "for scones, of course."
"For scones!" I cheered and raised one in the air before taking a bite.
"For scones!" Leaf raised another high, tapping it to Emry's.
"For scones" Solomon dipped his head to try and hide his laughter when everyone bit into thiers and laughed heartily.
From the goodness of our hearts.
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