Runaway Devil
44

Dusty (Jareth)

I scoured over the town for days. I knew that with each passing day Karau was getting farther and farther from me. But setting off in a direction blindly could put even more distance between us. I went back to the inking shop multiple times, and I could see the annoyance in all of the employee's faces. It took a couple of visits for the woman I spoke to before to trust me even a little bit. Once I convinced her I was no threat to Karau she let me into her office to investigate. Honestly, I doubted anyone or anything was a real threat to Karau, but that was beside the point. This woman thought Karau was human, which would mean that she needed protection. I grew to like the woman, who I soon found out was called Bethany.

She invited me over to her house to talk about Karau. I sensed that she had been in Bethany's house, I smelled her. Upon questioning, she revealed that Karau was there recently, but I wouldn't find anything more in her home. I asked her to direct me towards Karau's home. Did she even have one? Was it a house, or a shared living building? I saw humans being housed together all over the place. It was a strange concept, to live with others whom you didn't know. Bethany called them 'apartments'.

I stood in front of Karau's apartment building. It was decrepit, I was overwhelmed with my instinct to protect and provide. My Karau was living in this worn down, filthy place. I knew her as the head of our regiment, a powerful, beautiful force to be reckoned with. And in the human realm, she was living in squalor. She was never one to complain. Thalmol, on the other hand, was the princess of the group, he would not stand for such living quarters. The idea of Thalmol spending any amount of time in the human realm was laughable, his capacity for tolerance was on par with a toddler.

I climbed the stairs, following Karau's faint scent. The dust and grime that coated the building was shameful. Your space reflected who you were, if you respected yourself, you respected your space. A messy bunk was a soldier's way of asking to get their ass kicked by their commanding officer. Soldiers who did not respect their space were taught, fairly quickly, that was unacceptable.

Her door was ajar when I found it. I used my knuckles to open it wider, and entered slowly. I was suddenly engulfed in her scent, it surrounded me completely. It was so much stronger than I was expecting, she was here not too long ago. My stomach clenched and I ground my teeth. I felt like a starved dog being tempted with a steak. She was right in front of me, but just out of reach.

Her space looked abandoned, and if I didn't know any better, I would've assumed nobody had lived here for years. There were no personal possessions, no sign of life at all. I swept through the apartment and looked for anything that could point me in the right direction. I could smell her hound on the cushions of the couch, I hadn't realized how much I missed Balan. I thought of Stella and how much she probably missed him too.

I found evidence of looting, the scent of humans was stronger than Karau's, they were here after she left. I found a toothbrush on the floor of the bathroom, but the cabinet above the sink was empty, and so was the toilet paper roll. All the closets were empty, and the kitchen cupboards. Anything that could be of use to anyone was taken. Blankets, utensils from the kitchen, toilet paper, clothing, all of it was gone.

I finally made my way into the bedroom. The bedframe was empty, the wood scratched and damaged. I opened all of the drawers in the dresser and wondered why it hadn't been taken yet. I started to move out of the room, having found nothing, when it hit me. A strong scent was mingling underneath Karau's. I stopped in my tracks and sucked in a sharp breath.

My shoulders tensed and I couldn't stop my fists from clenching. I focused on it, teased it out from the rest. It was so distinctly different, I wondered how I didn't notice it before. I couldn't contain my growl. Angel. Male. He was here and he was in this bedroom. It wasn't strong like the human's scent, it was of the same caliber as Karau's. They were here at the same time, their scents were mingled together.

I followed it through the room and into the closet. A shirt was bunched up on the floor of the closet. It was stretched, like the wearer was too big for it but wore it anyway. I held it to my nose and saw red. He was wearing this shirt, it was most likely Karau's. Her sent was mixed in the fabric, but he was the last one to wear it.

I felt my whole body tense like the corded muscles that wrapped around my body were struggling to contain my rage. My face reddened and I thought I heard a tooth crack in my skull. Images of an angel ambushing Karau while she slept, like a coward, assaulted my mind. I knew that demons had volunteered to bring her back to the council to face her "trial", but I was unsure if angels would get involved. If demons got a hold of her and somehow successfully got her back to hell, she would be put to death after an unfair trial, that was the way of the council. And after she had spit in the face of their authority so blatantly, I would be surprised if they didn't order her killed where she stood. That's why I was there, to bring her home and into rebel ally territory before they could get to her.

But an angel's involvement would escalate the situation. I couldn't bear to think about what would happen if an angel got to her first. I wouldn't even entertain the idea, that wouldn't happen, I couldn't let it happen. If an angel transported her into heaven, my chances of getting to her would disappear. And her chances of living would disappear along with it.

I didn't find any blood or signs of struggle. But if the angel's scent was strong in the bedroom; I didn't dare think of what that could mean I knew Karau was still alive, he hadn't killed her, our connection was still intact. Although I would have no way of knowing if she had received my messages.

When I came back to my body, I found myself moving down the hallway, and out the door. There was no evidence left anywhere indicating where she went, or even which direction she was heading. A man was walking towards me with purpose, his eyes were intense and beady. He reminded me of a rat or a scrawny bird. He was speaking quickly, but I heard none of what he said.

Upon his approach, I smelled aftershave and cheap cologne. He was gesturing wildly, standing directly in my path. The thin gold chain swinging around his neck pulled your attention to his shirt, which was unbuttoned two buttons too much. He said something about Karau's apartment, he seemed to be reprimanding me. The hair on his chest was wiry and dark against his pale, concave chest. I assumed he was the owner of the building and was responsible for the apartments. I was in no mood to act like a human or interact with any, especially one like him.

Before he could finish his little tantrum, I grabbed his whole face in my hand, stepped through him, and slammed the back of his head into the wall. His head went through the cheap drywall, it was buried deep in the hallway wall. I heard extra debris sprinkle in the walls all the way down the hall, along with his choked gasping. I smelled his blood and saw the awkward angle I had left his neck in.

If I left him there, with his bleeding head lodged in the wall, he may very well die without medical attention. If humans got hurt, and they didn't get attention right away, their chances of healing properly were severely depleted by each passing minute. I sneered at him and left the building. The image of his slack body hanging from the wall with his head still lodged inside almost made me smile.

I looked at the shirt still in my fist. My first solid piece of evidence, it gave me a trail to follow. I held it to my nose and inhaled deeply again, memorizing the scent. My rage spurred me forward. I was getting painfully closer and closer every day. This shirt was going to be the thing that led me right to her.

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