Chapter 2 Chapter 2: Trusted Ally (Sam POV)

The knock on my apartment door comes at 4:17 AM, exactly three knocks followed by two. Detective Marcus Rivera's signature.

I open the door to find him holding two cups of coffee from the all-night diner downstairs, his dark hair disheveled and his tie loosened. His brown eyes carry that familiar weight, the look of someone who's seen too much of Seattle's hidden darkness.

"Figured you'd still be awake." He hands me a cup and steps inside without invitation. "Tyler called the station. Said you found something at the Pike Place scene."

"Tyler called you?" I lock the door behind him and follow him to my living room, where case files cover every surface. "I told him to research missing persons, not contact the police."

Marcus settles into my worn leather chair, the same spot he's occupied during dozens of these late-night strategy sessions. "Kid was worried. Said you went full psychic detective mode and then got quiet. He knows that means trouble."

I sink onto the couch across from him, wrapping my hands around the warm coffee cup. "Tyler doesn't know what trouble really looks like."

"Good thing." Marcus takes a long sip of coffee, studying my face. "So what did the death echo show you?"

The relief of finally talking to someone who understands crashes over me. Marcus is the only person in Seattle PD who knows what I really am, the only detective who doesn't think I'm either a fraud or insane. We've worked together on seventeen supernatural cases over the past two years, ever since a banshee nearly killed us both in a Capitol Hill cemetery.

"It wasn't human, Marcus. I mean really, genuinely not human." I set down my cup and lean forward. "Yellow eyes, charred skin, claws that could gut a person in seconds. And it was intelligent. Methodical."

Marcus pulls out his notebook, pen ready. "Different from the usual demons you track?"

"Completely different." I stand and pace to the window, looking out at Seattle's pre-dawn darkness. "The demons I've been hunting since Danny died, they're mostly feral. Hungry, violent, but not particularly smart. This thing arranged the body in a ritual position. It spoke in some ancient language that made my blood sing."

"Your blood sang?" Marcus's pen stops moving. "Sam, that's not normal even for you."

I turn back to face him. "I know. That's what scares me."

Marcus leans back in the chair, processing this information. He's got the kind of analytical mind that makes him an excellent detective, but three years of supernatural cases have taught him to trust his instincts over logic.

"Tell me about the ritual positioning."

"Arms crossed over chest, feet pointing north, symbols carved into the ground around the body." I grab a sketch pad from my desk and start drawing what the death echo showed me. "The symbols weren't random. They formed a containment circle, but reversed."

"Reversed how?"

"Instead of keeping something out, they were designed to let something in." I finish the sketch and hand it to Marcus. "Four murders, four corners of a square around Pike Place Market. This demon isn't just killing for food or sport. It's preparing for something bigger."

Marcus studies the symbols, frowning. "Have you seen these before?"

"Variations. Danny's murder scene had similar markings, but cruder. Like someone was still learning." I sit back down, suddenly exhausted. "Marcus, what if the thing that killed my brother has been planning this for three years? What if all those other demons I've been hunting were just... practice?"

"Hey." Marcus leans forward, his voice gentle but firm. "Don't go down that road. You've saved a lot of lives in the past three years, Sam. Whatever this demon is planning, we'll stop it."

The certainty in his voice grounds me, pulls me back from the edge of panic. Marcus has that effect on people; steady, unshakeable, the kind of cop who runs toward danger instead of away from it. He's seen me at my worst, covered in demon blood and half-crazy with grief, and never once suggested I needed therapy or medication.

"What's the official line at the station?" I ask.

"Serial killer using exotic weapons. Captain Morrison is calling in FBI profilers." Marcus grimaces. "They're going to waste a lot of time looking for a human suspect."

"Let them. Better than having federal agents stumbling around the supernatural community." I grab a file folder from the coffee table. "Tyler found something interesting. All four murders happened within six blocks of tech companies doing quantum research."

Marcus takes the folder and flips through Tyler's research. "Nexus Dynamics, Quantum Solutions, Aurora Labs... these are all cutting-edge firms. What's the connection?"

"I don't know yet. But Tyler also found seven missing persons reports from the past two weeks. All of them had some connection to the supernatural community." I point to a list of names. "Psychic reader, Tarot card artist, two people who claimed to have prophetic dreams, a guy who runs séances for grieving families."

"Someone's collecting psychics." Marcus closes the folder, his expression grim. "Sam, this is bigger than four ritual murders."

"I know." I stand and walk to my desk, pulling out a map of Seattle. Red pins mark the murder sites, yellow pins show the missing persons' last known locations. "Look at the pattern."

Marcus joins me at the desk, studying the map. "The missing persons form a circle around the murder square."

"A containment circle." I trace the pattern with my finger. "Murders to anchor something, missing psychics to power it. Marcus, what if this demon isn't working alone?"

"You think it has human help?"

"Or supernatural help. Something smart enough to plan a three-year operation, organized enough to target specific types of people, connected enough to access multiple tech companies." I look at Marcus, seeing my own fear reflected in his eyes. "What if we're dealing with something that's been embedded in Seattle's supernatural community all along?"

Marcus is quiet for a long moment, processing the implications. When he speaks, his voice is careful, measured. "What do you need from me?"

"Access to the missing persons files. Real access, not just Tyler's internet research." I grab a notepad and start writing. "And I need you to run background checks on the tech companies. Look for any executives or researchers with occult connections."

"That's going to be hard to explain to my captain."

"Tell him you're investigating a possible corporate espionage angle. Tech companies stealing employees from competitors." I tear off the page and hand it to him. "It's not entirely a lie."

Marcus pockets the list, then stands to leave. "Sam, be careful with this one. If you're right about a three-year plan, then whatever's coming has been designed specifically for you."

The words send a chill down my spine. "What do you mean?"

"Danny's murder brought you into this world. Three years of hunting lesser demons taught you skills, gave you experience, made you stronger." Marcus pauses at the door, his hand on the knob. "What if all of that was training? What if something has been preparing you for this moment?"

I want to argue, to tell him he's being paranoid, but the death echo replays in my mind. The way the demon looked directly at where I would be standing hours later. The satisfaction in its ancient eyes.

"Marcus?" I call as he opens the door. "What if I'm not the hunter anymore? What if I'm the bait?"

He turns back, and for the first time in two years of partnership, Marcus looks genuinely worried. "Then we better make sure you're ready for whatever takes the bait."