Thread: The Butcher's Bill (Prince x LeatrixSage)

Ethan let his unsettling gaze rest on Elisa as she answered his questions. The woman was good, quite good, at dissembling. But he caught clues, or he thought he did, that she might be evading the truth or even outright lying. The banal answers she gave about Claudia were too carefully chosen and designed to throw off suspicion. What was she hiding? Who was she protecting? Her supposed friend was dead and she wasn't being forthright in helping an officer of the law find the killer. And her reaction to being called a lady, a flash of anger for a second. Interesting. Something there hit close to home and he would have to ask Miss Cromley about Elisa's background. But when he mentioned lines, he saw her eyes move. A subtle gesture and easily missed. Certainly nothing any human would think odd. Ethan, however, knew she had glanced directly at the main line that shone in their room, bisecting it to their left. She could see leylines. This was no coincidence. Demons were the main wielders of leylines, but various other supernatural creatures could see them and tap them. Mostly benign, rare and harmless, pixies, faeries, elves, and assorted other shy and hidden creatures that typically could not blend in with humans due to their appearance. No bloodrinkers or lycans could see or use them. Demons, however, could have human or near-human forms. Demons also spawned half-bloods or quarter-bloods. Those bastard mixes were very human in appearance and also sometimes gifted with control of leylines, though typically in less power than a full-blood. And demons, while not always dangerous and evil, had an inbred lusty and perverted nature that made them Ethan's most common and dangerous foe. In London today, a city of millions, he guessed that tens of thousands of people lived with enough demon blood to wield magic. Most were benign, or close enough, using their powers for minor mischief or advantage, but rarely crossing into criminal activity. And then there were those that were truly evil and abused their magic to wreak murder, seduction, theft and terror. Casually and slowly he slid his hand under his black jacket to where his pistol was hidden and holstered, unclicking the safety. In his mind he recited the Magician's mantra, one of the first lessons at Blackfriars College designed to steel a human mind against mental influences from demons and other magical beings. It gave him some resistance to attack by leylines, not fool proof, but just enough in the past to surprise a demon and seize the advantage. He glanced down at his black leather bag where he had other... equipment... that might prove useful. Then she leaned forward, baring her bosom slightly to his eyes. He forced himself to resist the urge to gaze into that delicious canyon. She was trying to distract him and he was wary of an attack. A killer they call the Butcher was the murderer, he said softly, gauging to see if she knew the name. She appeared to have no recognition. A killer that has murdered three others in East London in the last month. All young, poor and with no relatives or close friends. People that are almost anonymous and forgotten in this great city. I don't think he..., he paused and stared at her harder, ...or she will stop at Claudia. He stood up suddenly, grabbing his leather bag. Would you be so good as to show me around the house? Tell me about the other girls? he asked courteously. He wanted to observe Elisa more and also see if there was any demon magic residue in the building.