Demons Ascension - Meet Stan

So my internal clock has been ass backwards these past couple weeks....some days having to wake up and be out the door by 4am and some days not needing to wake up at all will do that to you.

But now I'm back at attempting a normal sleep schedule. Results may vary.

...here is where the story starts going down the road to crazy shit.

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[Demons Ascension - Meet Stan]

            James woke up randomly and immediately grabbed his arms at how cold it was. He thought he left the space heater on when he went to sleep, but it sat silent and cold a few feet from him. "Christ almighty," he said as he rolled off the couch and attempted to fire up the heater "Did the power go out?" The heater refused to turn on, but James glanced out the window to confirm that the power in the area was still on. Light from the streetlights shone through the windows, slightly illuminating the living room. The rain outside had tapered off to a slow and steady pace.
            "If you don't mind, I'd prefer that stay off," a voice said behind James. He turned around to see an older man sitting in a chair at the far side of the room. He wore a white suit with a blue tie kept loose around the collar. His hair was gray and slicked back over his head and he had a clean shaven look. "Cigarette?" he asked as he produced one from his front pocket.
            James really wanted that cigarette, but thought better of it as he raised his hand to deny it. "C'mon," the man said "On the house." His lips curled into a smile as he spoke, waving the cigarette back and forth as if to tempt James like a dog with it. "Can I help you?" James asked, wondering how this man got into the house, and more importantly, how he had kept so dry in the rain.
            "I heard you're a pretty good investigator," the man said "And I want to personally hire you to take care of something." James eyed up the man, but didn't say anything. There was something off about him, besides the obvious fact that he came from seemingly nowhere and is offering James some cancer aid. "You see an asset of mine that I've invested in heavily is under threat by a former associate of mine, and I want you to make sure he doesn't steal it from me."
            "I don't do, uh, stock market investigating," James finally said.
            "A metaphor, I apologize, this has everything to do with what you're doing now."
            "...Never did get a name."
            "Call me," the man started before smiling again, James did not like it when he smiled he found out. "You can call me Stan."
            "Ok..."Stan", what makes you think I can be of any more help?"
            "You're not limited by any mere regulations like the police. You find the right clues, and you'll go in the right direction without second thought. That is what I need right now.'
            "Why can't you deal with it yourself? You seem like a, how should I put this, powerful man in your own right."
            "My influence is rather limited around these parts. Much more prudent to defer to local talent on such a delicate matter."
            "I'm not local."
            "Oh, you're local enough."
            James sat back onto the couch and composed himself as best he could. He ignored the fact that he was cold and looked back evenly at the man across the room. "You wouldn't "happen to know Amy, would you?" he asked  You both seem apt to pull the same appear/disappear trick." The man closed his eyes and smiled as he sighed "Never had the pleasure of meeting, but I've had heard wonderful things about her."
            "What are you two after?"
            "The same thing you could say, same motivations, but our reasons vary." Stan then reached down to the ground where a glass was and picked it up to drink.
            "Where are you from?" James asked as Stan held his glass up and watched the dark liquid as he swirled it. He pondered his response as he sipped and looked back to James. "South," he said with another smile.
            "Well maybe you can help me more than Amy did," James said "This guy, this man behind everything, I need to know something about him."
            Stan nodded and gestured towards James with his glass.
            "What's his name?" James asked.
            Stan shook his head as he thought. "I believe he goes by the name Crow, right now. His proper name would be useless to you. And before you ask, I don't know where he is. It's impossible to track him down."
            "If this is a ritual, what's his end game? What's his goal?"
            "To take over."
            "I don't get it. What's he trying to take over."
            "Don't bother yourself with details you cannot comprehend. All you need to know is that stopping him from killing anyone else is reason enough for you to continue forward."
            "Basically what you're saying is I need to wander around town asking people if they've seen a guy named "Crow" and hope for the best? I've got nothing to go on. The police have barely a thing to go on."
            "You have more than enough to work with," Stan said as he sipped his glass again "You just need to stop pretending to be a cop and figure it out for yourself."
            "What, the symbol?"
            "That's a..." Stan started but stopped. His smile slowly faded to a sneer and he quickly sprang up from his seat and grimaced ahead of himself. "You ok, Stan?" James asked. "No!" Stan screamed as he clenched his hand so tight it shattered the glass he was holding. James jumped back in his seat and could only wait for Stan to calm down. Stan paid no mind to his hand as he gritted his teeth. "Stan?" James asked as Stan stood perfectly still, staring forward with a growling sound coming from him that didn't sound human.
            "It's too late to stop his followers," Stan said as his eyes began to glow red and he looked to James.
            "What do you mean too late?" James asked, still not moving from his seat.
            "Another soul has been claimed."
            "What do you mean? Someone else died?"
            Stan only stared back with his glowing eyes and nodded. "How can you know?" James demanded, but caught himself and decided on a better question. "Where?"
            Stan only smiled.