Thank you to Evil-kenshin for being my first reviewer. It's nice to know that at least one person enjoys reading my story.

As it turns out, all the weapons I had seen in 'Grant's Gunman's' had only been a tip of the iceberg. Hughes had accompanied me beyond the counter and into the back room. There was a computer in the corner and stairs leading to a higher level.

We weren't going upwards however. That was made evident when Hughes instructed his young employee, an innocent looking blonde who looked only just old enough to be a man, named Lionel to open a hatch hidden under an old rug. There was noise from the stairs.

A slightly plump middle-aged woman with brown hair tied into a single braid walked halfway down the staircase and stopped.

"Would any of you fancy some tea?"

"Yes please, Mrs. Grant!" Lionel chirped quickly.

"That would be wonderful, Martha, dear." Hughes called to his wife. She turned a questioning look to me.

"Well… I did just come from a bar. Don't suppose you have anything stronger than tea, do ya?" She blinked. Hughes stepped forward.

"Why don't you open up one of those old bottles of whisky for our guest, dear? In fact, I think I'll have some of that too."

She stared at him as if registering something.

"Alright then." She walked back up the stairs and out of sight. Lionel made his way down a ladder I couldn't even see from the pitch darkness down the hatch.

When he made it down there was a click and then light flooded the hidden chamber. Hughes motioned for me to go down next and I grudgingly decided to trust him. There was money involved after all.

When I made it down the ladder and stood beside Lionel I noticed that this hidden room was an armoury. The walls, floor and ceiling seemed to be painted a blinding white and there were rows and rows of all kinds of guns. Hughes followed me down the stairs.

"My gramps had this hidden room built underground when he founded this shop. My father was the one who fixed it up to look this nice." I approached the nearest shelf in wonder. My eyes flicked to the corner of the room. Was that a bazooka?

"I'm guessing a perfectly legal gun store would have no business in possessing this many weapons. I'm sure about half of these are restricted to military use." Grant flashed me another one of his wide grins.

"Me and my wife make quite a lot of money selling guns to underworld crime organizations. Being the criminals that they are it can be difficult at times to keep the bastards honest. That's why we need a trader like you."

I sighed. There was a noise from above and Martha's voice.

"Hughes, I have your drinks on a tray."

"Thank you, Martha." He stepped up the ladder and came back down holding a tray.

Lionel took his mug of tea and drank from it happily. Hughes handed me the glass of liquor before taking his own to his lips. "We usually do our trades underground."

Hughes began explaining to me again. "There are abandoned mine shafts below the town that nobody younger than eighty years old should know about. That's where we do exchanges. A large shipment of weapons became lost in an apparently accidental cave-in.

"This happened before the other side could pay us, of course. No matter how hard we looked we couldn't find the crate." I took a sip of the strong drink and it burned the back of my throat. I was use to the sensation enough not to flinch.

"So you want me to reclaim your weapons?"

"I've tried to remain as secretive as possible when dealing with these bastards. However they're starting to get the idea that we're not as big as we had been pretending.

"This theft is just an attempt for them to bully us into a response. They're testing the waters, see? They want to know how hard we can hit back." I looked at him. "I don't care so much about the weapons or the money they owe us."

Hughes spoke darkly. "I just want to give them a response." I continued to observe him for only a moment longer.

"I understand."

"While you're working for me you have permission to use any of the weapons in the store room that you see fit. You will be paid generously after the job is done. I don't intend this to be a one time job either. It would be very convenient for us to have someone with your talents around."

I closed my eyes in thought.

"Sounds good to me." I opened them. "However I will be needing a small advance payment." Grant's face fell and he looked instantly suspicious.

I made my expression innocent. "Unless you'd rather I slept here, in your house, than in a motel somewhere in town?" His face darkened and he grumbled.

"Follow me." He climbed the ladder.

"Ah, Mr. Hughes?" Lionel called once we were all out of the hatch. "It's really late, I should probably go home. My parents might be worried where I am."

"Go on then, Lionel." He said gruffly.

"Thank you, sir." Martha craned her neck down the stairs.

"Goodbye, Lionel!"

"See you tomorrow, Mrs. Hughes!" Then he left through a door out back.

Hughes Grant gave me some money from the till and recommended a motel in town. I would be returning the next day to receive more instructions about his job for me. It occurred to me as I left the store that I hadn't had an actual job since my parents died.

I walked the dark streets alone, deep in thought. What Marlo had surmised about me in our last meeting had been correct. Ever since I murdered the people responsible for my parent's deaths I had been unable to utilize my powers fully.

Everyone knew that traders were powerful. They had the powers normal people could only dream of, the powers of a god. If Hughes had known about the disposition I was at with my power I was sure he wouldn't be so eager to hire me.

Reading the copy of the contract I had made with Marlo had turned out to be a wise decision. For so long I had relied on only instincts to control my power. Despite knowing the mechanics I was still no closer to gaining the command of my power that I once had.

…

Devont Grey was particularly skilled at disappearing. He didn't have a permanent address, he didn't have a cell phone, and he didn't even seem to have any friends anywhere. Aside from the small conversations he'd have with bartenders, you could swear Devont Grey doesn't even exist.

For these reasons the young trader would be almost impossible to track, for a human. As a daemon inhabiting a human's body, Lora had access to many things that human trackers did not. Not only was she privy to the knowledge of all of Marlo's most infamous informants, she had her own way of finding the human.

Her sense of smell. Humans so often underestimate the sense of smell. While it is much more stronger in animals, when a daemon inhabits a human body all of its senses are increased exponentially. Such is the same with strength, speed, stamina and reflexes.

All had been enhanced to a certain degree. There was a loud noise as the steam engine pulled into a stop. Lora stood and followed the other humans as they lined up to exit the train. Given her way, it would be natural for her to stand eerily still as she waited for the people before her to move off.

Considering how all inhuman behaviour was instinctively picked up by surrounding humans, Lora made a show of acting normal. Every now and again she would shift her weight onto one leg and force her eyes to wander. Even so she attracted a few glances.

Since they were more often than not males, Lora decided to attribute that to the attractiveness of the body she was wearing. The body was slim and pale with long straight raven hair and matching dark eyes. Not that Lora could ascertain attractiveness in humans.

They all looked the same to her. They were all animals, stupid creatures really. Finally stepping off the train Lora glanced upwards at a faded sign that identified the town to be 'Blackwood'.

All of her tracking so far had led her here, now it was up to her to find this Devont Grey. Making her way across the old platform she soon found herself walking along a gravel street. Lora strolled casually; there was no need to rush after all.

In time, the human would reveal himself. She had first noticed his smell from the Nan Tien Temple and in Marlo's office. The scent seemed to be emanating more strongly from the bars in town.

Entering a bar where the smell seemed more recent Lora flicked through all the memories and experiences this body had relating to manners, and if it be required, subtle flirtation. She gave a description to the barman and he was happy to point out that he had seen him entering a store called 'Grant's Gunman's'.

Maybe, he suggested, the owner would know where to find the man she was looking for. Lora thanked him and left. She entered the store and asked the middle-aged man behind the counter if he knew where Devont was.

He said he didn't, but Lora could tell he was lying. It didn't matter. She also thanked him and left. For the owner of the store to lie it probably meant that Grey would be returning to the shop.

All that was left to do was continue checking the bars and the gun store until he eventually showed himself.

How will Devont react when he meets his daemon stalker? What will this job from Hughes entail? Review if you want to find out.