Runaway Devil
59

Karau

Alec parked the car, another junker, on the side of the road. Balan was quiet in the back seat, he could sense what we were about to walk into. Him and I knew the scent of demon soldiers, we knew the feel of them. And we knew they were expecting us.

"Do not give them anything," I told Alec. "If they get the slightest hint that we..." I let the words hang in the air unsaid. "They'll use that against us."

"They'll smell me on you, and you on me, Kara."

"That's not what I mean. We can't act like we care about each other." Alec didn't respond. I glanced at him and tried to read his expression. There was nothing in his eyes, completely stone-faced. I prodded at him mentally, asking permission to let me in. He flicked his eyes towards me and granted entrance.

There was small storm happening in his head. There was confliction and agitation mainly. His blank face was misleading. It would prove to be an advantage.

"Calm, you need to be calm." I spoke quietly in his mind, my energy caressing his.

"I haven't dealt with soldiers in years, they still get under my skin."

"You've dealt with me, I'm a solider."

"You're different," He said. He sounded like he was going to say something else, but I cut him off.

"No, I'm not." I have him a heavy look, trying to get him to understand the gravity of our situation. "They mean to kill us. All the others up until now just wanted to make an extra buck, these are the real deal." I looked over my shoulder at Balan in the back seat, he was already looking at me. There was a glint in his eye, almost like he was reassuring me that he was ready. He was ready to be done with this, to get out if his suffocating dog skin, and to fight alongside me in battle again. "They could be watching us right now," I unbuckled my seatbelt and shifted to face Alec fully.

He was staring out the windshield, straight faced and silent. "Look at me," I said. He didn't move. "I said," I grabbed his chin and turned his face towards me. "Look at me." His body was tense, his jaw clenching and unclenching in my hand. "We're all in this time. We give everything, because they sure as shit will."

He nodded and leaned forward, planting a show-stopping kiss on me. My heart quickened in my chest and returned it without thinking twice. I felt him pull away and heard the car door slam before I opened my eyes. I glanced at Balan, who was already staring at me. It felt like a goodbye kiss.

The town was empty. The air was silent and heavy, expectant almost. All along the street, front doors were slightly ajar, with thresholds cracked and splintered. We walked down the center of the street, Balan on my right, Alec on my left. The weight of our weapons on my person was comforting. Knives hidden under clothing and a Glock 18 tucked in my thigh holster. Alec had an M-16 rifle from Hank's across his back, his own knives hidden all over his body. When I discovered that Hank had a M-16, all I could picture was him, with his sweet smile, mowing down bad guys on the battle field. The image made me smile.

I placed a cigarette between my lips, grasped Alec's wrist, and brought his finger to the tip of it. He lit it without looking at me, his eyes constantly moving and assessing. I smoked that cigarette faster than any I had ever smoked before. I filled my lungs with the smoke, letting it sink into my lung tissue. I needed my head clear and relaxed.

As we walked, a small pile on the side of the road caught my eye. It could have been a small collection of torn cloth, or even a grocery bag, maybe some leaves. But something about it told me to investigate. The closer I got, the clearer the item became. I knelt in front of it and picked it up. It was a doll. It looked handmade, possibly a present from a grandparent. It was damp from sitting in the gutter, and had dirt from someone's boot on it. It looked pathetic, like it could fall apart at any moment. I could only imagine where the owner was right then, and if they looked any better than their doll. I tucked it in my jacket without a word spoken and kept moving.

Balan stopped, placing him a few steps behind us, and lifted his head. His ears perked and he began panting, his body growing taut. He knew where they were, and he knew who they were. I had my creeping suspicions, but Balan confirmed it. The council was here, and he knew which one. He only ever responded that way to one demon. Only one council member raised his hackles like that. Azgaria was close and waiting for us.

I looked to Alec. "Azgaria. Council member. Travels with personal guard. Be extra careful." He nodded and checked the rifle's magazine. He stretched his shoulders, cracked his neck, and smirked at me. He was ready to kick some serious ass, and I couldn't help but blush. I returned his smirk with one of my own. I rolled my eyes when his smirk turned into a grin.

Only we could be grinning at each other before walking into a slaughter. The only other person who would be cracking jokes at a time like this would be Thalmol, he was the talkative one of the group. I still remembered his scared lips, and his forked tongue slipping through them to tease Igoth. She always hated how he would flick his tongue like a snake.

"Come back, we need to focus." Alec's voice cut through my thoughts and brought me back to the present. The air around us vibrated with foreign energy. This realm did not like having too many demons and angels in one place, it was too concentrated. The environment was telling us to leave. "They're close, and they're ready."

Just as Alec finished his sentence, I saw a wandering soldier. All three of us stopped in our tracks and stayed deathly still. He was young, unfocused, meandering around the streets. His eyes never focused on any one thing, he looked like a bored students walking the halls of a high school. His face was mostly human looking, with some variants in the bone structure. His muzzle was elongated, giving him the look of a bear. But his arms were covered in thick fur, and his torso was barrel shaped. His legs were like tree trunks, his whole body was lined with thick layers of muscle. Something about him looked modified, his energy was different than any demon I had encountered before.

"Balan, distract." He got low to the ground, his belly touching the road, and got into position. He was slow and silent, just like I taught him. When he was far enough from us, he stood, catching the soldier's attention. Balan moved like a normal dog, sniffing at the ground like he was looking for food. The soldier watched him casually, assuming it was one of the human's dog.

I passed Alec, unsheathing my knife, and stalked closer to the young demon. I watched him closely, and found little intelligence. He was unaware of his surroundings and easily distracted by a dog. A small stab of annoyance shot through me. He was a soldier, he had a responsibility and he is fucking up royally. Him staring at a dog for too long was going to get him killed, with any luck.

I was only a few steps behind him and with each passing moment, I was certain he would sense me. But his shoulders were relaxed, and he gave no indication of awareness. I held my knife up, ready to slit his throat with one fluid motion. I looked at my target, the back of his head. Took a deep, silent breath, and lunged.

I yanked on his hair, bringing his head down to my collar bone. His grunt was a strained noise form his throat. He was forced to lean back because of the height difference, I rammed my heel into the back of his knee, sending it straight into the ground. He jolted from the force and knelt with my knife to his throat.

"How many?" I asked, directly in his ear.

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