Ryu watched the detective leave. The man hadn't acted suspicious of Claire's story, but Ryu was just as glad to see him leave. Uniformed policemen were bad enough; a detective was a whole other level of danger.

Fortunately, Claire's story had just enough truth to be believed. She was smart; she kept the lies simple, clean, and only what was necessary. It helped that the truth was so unbelievable. Ryu could see that his lady and her friends still cast him disbelieving glances from time to time. He knew what he looked like. Their surprise didn't offend him. It did, however, amuse him greatly. It was always best to be underestimated.

He was worried, though, about how much he had frightened Claire and her friends. Mostly Claire. He wasn't sure what to do with a master who feared him. His former master called him a demon, sure, but he was not afraid of Ryu, so much as disdainful. He'd called Ryu a pathetic leech, for needing his magical energy. But he wasn't afraid.

Claire, though, looked at him and Ryu saw a new caution, where before there had been growing comfort. The bond had begun to work on making his presence feel natural to her. Not that it mattered; they would only be bonded long enough to find someone else to bond him to. He doubted it would take much time; familiars were somewhat rare and sought after. Whether he could find someone tolerable, well. After the last? He'd be content just to have a mage who didn't flat out torture him. So long as he wasn't starved or beaten he'd be fine.

Ryu shook himself as he realized the children were beginning to clean up yet another of his messes. What was he doing just standing around?

He bent to begin collecting some of the books and knick-knacks that had fallen from the shelf. Jacob vanished into a closet and returned with a tarp which he and Dare proceeded to tape over the broken window, and they managed to get the door to stay closed somehow. The latch had been broken, it would need to be replaced for the door to be secure but at least this way the cold wind wasn't blowing in on them all.

Claire knelt to help Ryu with the books and papers and pens that had scattered, while Josh pulled yet more duct tape out of a drawer and went to work patching up the couch, which for some unknowable reason the men had decided to slash.

Ryu happened to glance towards Claire in time to see her flinch back with a slight yelp from something she touched.

“Lady?”

“Oh, nothing. Just found the manacles; must've kicked them under the couch at some point. We should get rid of these things.”

Ryu tilted his head. “Oh. Most definitely.” He frowned. “They are most likely how my former master's men found this place.”

“What in the where now?” Jacob asked.

“I was wondering about that,” Josh added.

Ryu pointed. “Those. The manacles carry traces of his magic. He can use a locator spell to find anything carrying his magical signature.”

“Those things were magic?” Claire said.

“After a fashion. They were a... a focus point.” Ryu shrugged. “It's complicated. And honestly, I've never had much knowledge of how blood magic works. They served to replace the natural bond between master and familiar.”

“That sounds really weird,” Dare said. “Can he still follow these things? Like, are more gun-toting psychopaths going to show up?”

“I imagine it will take a little time for him to learn his men have been arrested,” Ryu pointed out, “and even then he's unlikely to try an unsuccessful plan a second time.” Ryu glanced down at the broken manacles. “Even still. We should take measures to neutralize their magic. I would rather make it harder for him to find me.”

“How?” Claire asked.

“Fire, running water, sufficient quantities of salt, purifying herbs... there are many ways to nullify magic on an object," Ryu explained.

“We have a grill out back,” Jacob said. “And salt. Would that be enough?”

Ryu nodded. “It should be.”

“Okay, let me just dig out the charcoal,” Josh said.

Ryu picked up the manacles and followed the young men out to the backyard of their townhouse, where a small grill sat next to a small flower pot and a metal table. The grill and table were covered by tarps.

“It got a little cold to cook out,” Jacob explained, stepping outside with a canister of salt. He pulled the tarp off the grill.

Josh wriggled under the table tarp and came back out with a half-empty bag of charcoal. “I hope this'll still light,” he muttered.

“I can light it,” Ryu assured him.

He might be weakened, and low on magic, but he'd be a poor excuse for a mage or a familiar if he couldn't light charcoal.

Ryu heard Dare's voice inside the house. He should probably tell these children just how good his hearing was at some point. He wouldn't, but he should.

“…pathological liar, eating disorder…”

Claire’s voice interrupted, “I know the signs of abuse, Dare. I get it.”

“I’m just saying, the kid needs help," Dare said. "Professional help. I know you mean well but there’s only so much you can do.”

Claire responded, “I know, I know, but until we can convince him to seek actual, professional help, I'm all he has. I have to try. Besides. What can it hurt to let him drop those things on a fire? Or, hell, drop them in a river or melt them in a forge.”

“Self-referential delusions, remember? That's a thing. The more we go along with his stories, the more he'll believe them, and the harder it'll be to bring him back to reality later,” Dare said.

Ryu would have been more offended if there wasn't so much honest concern in the boy's voice.

“Look, I know,” Claire said. “It seems like someone's done a real number on his mind. I just," she trailed off, and sighed. "He's hurting. And for some reason, he's decided to trust me. To let me help him. I have to try.”

Ryu startled away from the conversation when Josh tapped him on the shoulder. “Grill's all set up. Here's the matches.”

He handed Ryu a box of waterproof matches and pointed to the grill, which was now piled high with charcoal. Ryu dropped the manacles onto the pile.

“So, do we sprinkle the salt on the manacles, on the coal, or wait to light the fire?” Jacob asked.

“I usually wait, but only because tossing salt on a fire can be fun to watch,” Ryu admitted. “It makes the fire a lovely bright orange. As far as purification goes, the salt just has to touch the manacles at some point.”

“Okay, cool," Josh said. "Oh, do the manacles actually have to melt? Because a grill cannot do that. But I have a small metal foundry.”

“You have a what?” Ryu asked.

Josh pointed at the flower pot. “Camouflaged miniature metal foundry. See?” He lifted the top of the flower pot, which proved to be a shallow dish containing dirt and succulent plants. Under that was a double chamber of concrete and what looked like a metal crucible, with space for coal to be packed between the double chambers.

“Incredible,” Ryu studied the device. “How much heat can this produce?”

“Enough to melt, say, copper or aluminum. I saw the design online and had to build it,” Josh said. “We mostly melt aluminum cans into little ingots, then use those to make... just whatever seems fun. Don't tell Claire but we've been forging her Christmas present out here.”

“It'll probably melt the manacles, I think. They're not steel they're what, silver? Some kind of alloy?” Jacob prodded the metal.

“Silver, it holds spells well,” Ryu said.

“That... might melt in this. We can try?” Josh sounded both hesitant and eager at once.

“It's not necessary,” Ryu admitted reluctantly. “Just the fire is enough. But. I have absolutely no need of these things, was planning to dump them in the nearest source of wild running water. If instead, you'd rather try to melt them, to make something useful, or lovely I would like to see that.”

Jacob smiled. “I hear that. Make good from bad. Also, you just made Josh's day; he loves to show off his favorite toy.”

“You know you love the flower pot foundry,” Josh said, poking his brother.

Ryu chuckled at their antics as the brothers mock wrestled each other, and turned his attention to lighting the charcoal. It took a few tries, the wind kept blowing out the matches. He finally gave those up and sparked the charcoal with a touch and a breath of magic.

The flames roared up high for a moment, and Ryu staggered back, feeling nauseous and dizzy. Damn. Should have known better, He was still healing; his body needed the magic for that. Still. It would pass in a moment.

“You okay?” Jacob asked.

“Only startled,” Ryu assured him. “Pass the salt?”

Once the manacles were thoroughly purified, and the fire smothered by the same salt because why not, they returned inside.

Dare seemed to be trying to gather all the glass from the broken window, while Claire worked to replace the tarp on the door, which must have blown in at some point.

“All done?” Claire asked.

Ryu nodded.

He considered what he'd heard her discussing with Dare. With no proof of what he was, what he could do, she would continue to see him as an insane child. A potentially dangerous insane child, now. Her mistrust grated at him, even though he understood it.

Eventually, though, they were going to stop “humoring” him, and insist upon going to the authorities.

Well. There was one way to fix things. He could offer them the proof they needed.

He bent down and picked up a single shard of glass.

“My lady? Would you like to see something interesting?” Ryu asked.

“Oh? What?” Claire asked.

He held up the glass. “A surprise.” He grinned. He could just explain what he was about to do, but it was more... fun... this way. “I require permission, though.”

Claire glanced at Dare, then Jacob and Josh. The brothers seemed curious. Dare shrugged.

“Uh, sure. What are you going to do?” Claire asked.

“Just watch.”