Bryant seems to take his wide-eyed confusion as an admission of guilt, because she nods knowingly and braces one hand on his shoulder. “Look, we all know that the Sanctum is reserving us for carefully constructed political marriages and such, but I’m a bit of a hopeless romantic myself. If there’s a cute boy in Redwater that you’re having a roll in the metaphorical hay with?—”
JJ buries his head in his hands, mortified.“Pleasestop talking. I’m begging you.”
“—then Roma and I aren’t going to snitch on you,” she finishes, shooting him a crooked grin. “We’d like tomeetthis cute boy at some point, but?—”
“There’sno boy,”JJ stresses. “No metaphorical hay, either. Sorry to disappoint you.”
Her eyes narrow. “You’ve been doubling up onevery meal,JJ—like you’re taking an extra portion to share. You’re sneaking away all the time, getting distracted during training, and—” She purses her lips. “How do I say this politely? You’re walking kind of funny, dude.”
He gapes at her, appalled. “Seriously?Seriously?”
She spreads her arms out wide. “What? We’re all thinking it!”
This time, JJ’s stomach drops for an entirely different reason. “Wait. When you say ‘all’—”
Bryant is shaking her head before he even finishes. “No, the Council hasn’t mentioned anything. And I doubt many other hunters pay enough attention to you to notice.” She smirks. “But me and Roma, on the other hand…”
JJ scoffs. “Lies and slander. Roma hasn’t said anything to me.”
“Well, you see,” Bryant drawls, “that’s because Roma suffers from this unfortunate condition known as ‘tact.’ Luckily, I’ve never been affected by that particular affliction.”
Mostly because she’s never needed to be, JJ knows. As a purebred—someone descended from the original hunters who briefly captured the demon god Nostringvadha millennia ago—she enjoys the highest status the Sanctum has to offer, with all of the perks and none of the drawbacks. To a neophyte hunter like JJ and even to a mixed-breed hunter like Roma, that amount of power is dizzying—and unattainable.
To her credit, though, Bryant actively uses her status to help JJ, Roma, and even Chester whenever she can. That counts for something. Counts for a lot of somethings, actually.
It doesnot,however, count enough for JJ to forgive her for this trainwreck of a conversation. “I’m getting double portions because I’mhungry,”he says emphatically. “I’m getting distracted during training because I’mtired,and I’m sneaking away tonapmost of the time. And as for ‘walking funny’—” He scowls. “First of all,really?How athletic is this hypothetical sex you think I’m having?”
She raises her eyebrows, predictably unrepentant.
“And secondly,” he continues, ignoring a stab of guilt, “did you miss the part where I fought my way through an entire militia last week? I messed up my back, Bry. That’s it.”
Bryant’s eyebrows pinch together. “Really?”
“Really.”
“Oh.” She seems briefly disappointed by the lack of subterfuge before punching his arm again, lighter this time. “Then why didn’t you say something, stupid? Or just use a healing spell?”
JJ arches an eyebrow. “I’m sorry. Were wenotin the same spellcasting class?”
Bryant grins. “Point taken. We’re both more likely to accidentally break bones than heal them.” The smile morphs into a theatric scowl. “Get Roma to do it, then. Or go to the infirmary. You’re useless enough without chronic back issues.”
“Really feeling the love here, Nehemiah.”
“Shut up. You know I love you.”
“Yeah, I know.” JJ lets out a slow breath, looking away. “If I don’t feel better by Monday, I’ll go to the infirmary. I promise.”
“Hm.” Bryant looks him up and down. “You’d better. And tell me if you ever get any metaphorical hay, yeah? You need to get out more in general.”
He sputters indignantly as she pats his shoulder and saunters off. “I don’tneedany metaphorical hay!” he yells after her.
She flips him off over her shoulder. Lips twitching in a smile, JJ adjusts his grip on his lunch bags and slips up the stairs, heading towards his room on the second floor.
So Bryant and Roma are a problem. If they’re already starting to invent stories about boys and “metaphorical hay,” then they’re clearly more observant than JJ thought—and as inescapably indecent as always. He needs to come up with a plan before they decide to bust into his room and stage an intervention.
But his only real option at this point is to hand Desi over to the enemy—either a suitably non-threatening local demon, of which there areveryfew, or to the Redwater branch of the Chain. JJ grimaces at the thought. Located in an ostentatious office building right where the regional highway enters town—and with a dozen or so smaller Outpost Offices littered across Redwater—the Chain is part governing body, part consulate, and part union. It provides dues-paying demons with a wide variety of services, ranging from legal aid and travel assistance to taking down summoners and holding rogue demons accountable.
While JJ doesn’t love the idea of cooperating with the Chain, he can grudgingly admit that many of its goals line up with the Sanctum’s—while the organizations are technically opposed, they both prioritize keeping the peace as much as possible. And, most importantly, the Chain’s Education Department is known to help neophyte demons assimilate into the human world. If JJ can’t find another solution, it’s a service he might have to take advantage of sooner rather than later.
