Burn

CHAPTER 6

They trudged back to Carter's house in an exhausted daze, one Carter barely registered; one moment, they were passing through Margo's front door and into the dark street beyond, the next he was leading them into the hallway and slipping silently into the kitchen, unwilling to risk disturbing his Mum on the floor above.

As all three shuffled into the dark kitchen, Carter leaned absently against the counter behind him, staring at a point in the distance. Margo remained silent, hands dangling limply by her sides, while Ryu propped himself up on the counter. No one spoke for what felt like hours, although it was likely mere minutes.

Finally, when he could stand the tension no longer, Carter cleared his throat and rasped, "Margo, do you want tea?"

His voice was frayed and fractured, even to his own ears.

Margo shook her head, her own eyes trained into the distance, but the thought of remaining still and quiet felt suddenly unbearable to Carter. With deep, measured breaths, he set about turning on the kettle and busying with the teabags as that oppressive silence lingered over them in the darkness.

Despite her refusal, he made Margo a mug, too, just to keep his hands moving, and when he set it before her on the counter, Margo lifted it to her lips in trembling hands.

"You can take a shower in the downstairs bathroom," Carter offered suddenly, still needing something to do, something to focus on. "And there are fresh sheets in the linen closest next to it. I'll make up the couch."

Margo was silent for several moments, her dark eyes thoughtful. "Your Mum won't mind?"

Carter bit his lip, the scalding heat of the mug a comfort in his icy hands. "I...doubt she'll even notice." Ryu, to Carter's immense relief, remained quiet.

Margo nodded once in silent ascent. "Okay," she murmured, her voice papery and thin. "Thankyou." Still cupping the mug, she turned and descended into the dark hallway beyond.

For the first time since the other demon's attack, Carter and Ryu were alone.

A million questions seemed to lay between them, but a weight was resting heavily against Carter's chest, quelling his voice. Unable to speak, he brought the hot ceramic to his lips and drank from the mug, relishing the warmth that settled in his stomach.

"Carter."

At Ryu's voice, he jerked his head up, startled into meeting that fiery gaze. The demon's face was solemn, lips pulled into a downward slant. "Are you...okay?"

The question was so absurd Carter wanted to laugh.

"Ryu," he said instead, in that raspy, broken voice, "what was that?"

There was a lengthy hesitation. Ryu shifted from his perch atop the counter, legs swinging through the air. Carter was so fixated on the movement, so mesmerised by the shape of them swishing through the dark, that he almost missed Ryu's response.

"I...don't know."

He lifted a crimson hand and inspected his cuticles, something Carter had come to recognise as a nervous tick. "I've never seen a demon like that...without a deal to bind it, without a summoning circle to contain it. I don't...It was like the barrier no longer existed."

"What barrier?" Carter demanded, leaning forward. His heart beat an unsteady rhythm against his chest.

"It's like a veil...Like a wall separating the mortal realm from the demon. When a mortal summons a demon, they sort of...reach into it, past the veil, and pull a demon across to the other side." Ryu frowned as a he spoke, tone puzzling and cautious. "Once, demons used to trick mortals into letting them escape, and roam, unbound, through the mortal realm. But there hasn't been a breach in...years. For that demon to have escaped...I don't understand how it could've. And that doesn't explain what it was doing in Margo's house. The only way it could've gotten there was if she'd summoned it...But-"

"But what?" Carter interjected, now leaning so close he feared toppling over. His palms were slick with sweat.

"She couldn't have," Ryu murmured to himself, as though Carter hadn't spoken.

"Why not?"

"Because." Ryu raised his head, and his otherworldly face seemed to shift and ripple in the moonlight. "If she'd summoned that demon, she'd be dead."

Carter took a moment to process this. Then his mouth fell open and his eyes widened to comical widths. "What?!"

"A demon like that is...dangerous." Ryu shuddered and drew his trench coat around himself. "Demons come in different classes, and a demon of that calibre...an interaction with it should've been fatal."

Carter shuddered as another thought occurred to him: If Ryu had been able to defeat the demon, then just how dangerous was he?

"So then," he began slowly, thinking out loud, "if that demon shouldn't have been there...why was it?"

"I don't know," Ryu sighed, running a hand through his hair. He pushed the inky locks from his forehead and scrubbed a hand down his face. "Nothing about this makes any sense."

Carter nodded grimly and fell back against the counter, all prior excitement draining from his body. God he was tired.

"Why..." Carter paused, wetting his lips as he considered, and maybe it was the exhaustion, or his sheer relief to be alive, but before he could question it: "Why did you save us?"

If Ryu looked surprised by the question, he didn't show it. Those sharp eyes turned thoughtful, contemplative.

"Oh, wait, nevermind," Carter said suddenly, interrupting him before he could respond. "It was for the favour, wasn't it? You wouldn't've gotten your side of the deal if I'd died."

He shrugged, a strange sort of disappointment settling in the pit of his stomach, and pushed off the counter to exit the kitchen.

"It wasn't just for the favour."

Carter froze in his tracks, turning tentatively to meet Ryu's eyes. "It...wasn't?"

"No." The demon slid down from the counter and stepped closer, hands dangling limply by his sides. Finally, he looked nervous. Finally, there was a crack in his calm demeanour. It was oddly relieving. "The thing is, Carter...I couldn't let you die. It wouldn't have been..."

His gaze flicked to the side and then slid back to Carter's.

"It wouldn't have been right."

Carter blinked, unable to mask his surprise. His impression of demons had born a chaotic, unhindered sort of moral ambiguity. Undoubtedly, they did things selfishly; they would help you if it suited them, but could just as easily trick you, destroy you, for their own needs or entertainment.

So how had Ryu's saving Carter been a decision based on what was right?

"Look, you needed me, all those weeks ago," Ryu began, eyes downcast as he spoke, "and that's fine. But now, I need you. And I know you don't like having me around-"

"That's not true," Carter interjected.

Ryu raised a sceptical brow, and he winced. Okay, it'd been mostly true.

"I...I don't hate having you around all the time," Carter continued hesitantly, to Ryu's amused snort. "Sometimes...Sometimes it's nice. To, you know...Have someone with you." He flushed, loathing the way his face heated. "To not always be alone."

"Well," Ryu teased, grinning, "no fear of that at the moment."

Carter let a grin of his own quirk the corners of his lips. "Okay, how about this: From now on, I won't bug you about the favour. You can redeem it when you're ready." Running one hand through his hair, he stuck out the other, palm uptilted in offering.

Ryu studied it, evidently fascinated at how the pale lines of Carter's palms were so differing to his own, and then grasped it in his crimson hand. "Deal. And I promise to stop trying to coerce you into further bargains with me."

Carter released a loud breath of relief, only half exaggerating. "Thank god. And can you also promise to stop trying to get me to light things on fire?"

Ryu pouted, but his eyes gleamed with obvious mirth. "Aw," he complained, fangs glinting against the flesh of his bottom lip, "you're no fun."

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