So yeah I finished a chapter
Hopefully you guys like it, I can’t sleep much, so this is actually getting work
This is always my favourite part of the job, I know where he is, but he doesn’t know where I am. This was a bad day for him to work into the evening. I stare at his back from the other side of the office, silently stalking towards him. He’s tapping away at the computer like a good little banker. I misplace my step, a pencil crunches under my boot. My quarry turns, curious about the noise, he sees me for the first and hopefully the last time. As always the first response is of silent surprise, they never expect to get caught.
“Can I help you?” he nervously asks.
“You know why I’m here” I reply, readying the tools of my trade.
“Look I know I lost some money, but I have a system! I can get it all back” he tells me, his voice clearly tinged with fear. This actually catches me off guard, then I remember the file. I never really have been a stickler for detail. Especially on the smaller jobs. All I know is, his name is Jake, and he needs to go down. Luckily my minor daydream appeared to make me look more menacing. Jake backs up.
“Please, I can get the money back, just give me a little more time” Jake’s voice, desperate now.
“Oh I’m not technically here for you” I smirk as I move my hands towards him, too late he sees the black patterns on my wrists, swirling onto my hands. His eyes flare orange as I strike.
The runes on my hands light up on contact with Jake. For a moment nothing discernible happens. Then as quick as it appeared, his eyes return to their normal brown. A pulse of light emanates from the lines on my hand. I hear a thud from behind Jake. It worked.
“What?” A barely conscious Jake mutters, I push him to the nearest chair where he promptly passes out. I have bigger fish to fry. The source of the thud stands, an identical twin to Jake, slowly deforming, the lesser demon starting to revert to its true form, no longer attached to its host. I throw off my coat, the chains coming from the mechanism at my back, ready to hook into any of the weapons at my belt.
“Do you even know what you are fighting? I am a manifestation of avarice!” The demon snarls at me. I notice the spine elongating, bone structure becoming more pronounced. Teeth and nails, extending in preparation for the oncoming fight.
“Do you?” I retort. I get a snort of derision as my reply. As this walking embodiment of greed advances towards me I raise my hand to my wrist grabbing my armlet, muttering a silent prayer to my Patronage. A well-known warm spreads through my veins as the powers of my father are imbued within me.
My target is three steps away from me.
My blood mixes with ichor, my muscles strengthening, senses heightening, all aspects of me realign.
Feathers slowly begin to emerge from my back, pushing through my flesh. I close my eyes as everything gets brighter.
The light behind my eyes is released as I open them. Wings spring from my back. This blast of angelic power forces the demon back, the halo of light in my eyes rivals the newfound terror in his.
The beast flails at me, claws arcing down at me. This is a blind blow out of fear, I step while coiling for my strike, chains fly up striking the demon across the chest, the blessed side of the metal burning as it strikes the torso. The force of the blow knocks him off balance, the strike veers to one side, widely away from me. I duck back to dodge the wild swipe, hooking a blade onto my chain. Blades fly at the creature, my fingers tracing runes on the chains as they fly away from me. The first blade is dodged, however the second hits home, thunking meatily into my target’s arm.
“ARGH” Greed bellows as the skin around the cut starts to blister, the seraphic etching on the blade’s surface burning the beast’s flesh. The blade is quickly removed. A savage blow to my left is the riposte, I roll out of the way to see the demon’s claws slice through a computer monitor. However luck isn’t on my side as the second blow comes in, a clawed hand slipping under my guard, talons sinking into my torso. It appears to be my turn to scream in pain, I comply. However I see a new opening, quickly taking it I ram blade deep into the wound I created before, I feel muscle part beneath my blade, and hear the crack of a bone as my blade finds it’s mark. I am awarded a grunt for my efforts, and talons retract, as they are removed however I realise this is a deep wound, I need to finish this.
“Why are you here?” the creature calls to me, I am minorly taken aback at his choice of timing to talk
“This is not your world, you should not be here so I have to send you back” I respond, pressing my hand into the wound in an attempt to aid the healing process. This sparks something within my foe, he charges, ignoring pain and injury. I need to think fast, he will beat me down in a straight fight, I need another angle. I breeze shifts across my back through my feathers. I have my angel. Fluttering my wings, I rise up into the air briefly enough to deliver a kick to my target’s chin, he flops onto the ground, ready to rise again. I am determined not to give him that chance. Weapon change, I lock a hook and a serrated blade on. Whipping my chain around my head, building momentum, I throw. The mark stands a little too late and my chain hits home, wrapping lightly around the demon’s torso, burning him as it loops round. The leverage is used to pull him closer, onto my second blade, it sinks deep. I twist.
I push him off my blade and unravel my chain, it is clear this enemy is defeated, blood pouring from the abdomen, mirroring my own damaged form. A blow like that will not keep a demon down for too long, but it gives me a window to send it back.
“Home time” I say to the demon, readying a crystal from one of my pockets, the demon stares at me angrily, but stays down. I throw the crystal, it shatters upon the wall, creating a portal back down to hell.
“No!” the beast screams, eyes wide with fear “don’t send me back, I’ll won’t say anything, just don’t make me go back”
“Too bad” I state, as I start to drag him towards the portal, fighting him for every step.
“You don’t know what it’s like down there” More frantic this time
“You don’t know what’s down there, the monsters that creep in the dark, in the gaps!” it sounds strange to me, but I don’t want to listen to him anymore, it’s pointless. I throw him through the open portal, thanking my angelic strength, closing it behind him. I open up communications to headquarters.
“Hey boss, that’s another one done, send in the clean-up crew”
“Excellent work as always Charles, see you back at the hub” the voice responds. I revert to my human form, the worst of the damage from the fight healing up, although a few cracked ribs may remain, Jake is still out when I look over at him. Another job completed.
My comms unit goes off, I answer.
“Charles, Network here, we’ve found you another one, the file is awaiting your review at HQ” The line goes dead.
“Well, no rest for the wicked” I grunt, hoping this one has a little less bite.
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