Runaway Devil

I felt the spray of blood over my face like fine rain. I snatched my knife and flipped it so the blade ran along my forearm. Alec was up, his body already spring-loaded. I licked Hank's blood from my lips, ready for more.

A woman stood behind his body with a smile pulled across her face. It was wide and full of teeth, it did not reach her small eyes. "Took you long enough," she said. Her voice was grating and caressed my skin uncomfortably. My ear perked up at rustling from the woods. The evergreens were so dense that the greenery sheltered anyone who wished to be concealed.

I spared a glance behind and found at least six sets of eyes trailing us. "Did you have a good breakfast?" A male voice, eerily similar to the female's. There was a twinge in his Demon Tongue, an accent I couldn't place. He didn't speak it particularly well, it wasn't his first language. "Sorry to interrupt," he spoke confidently, but he wasn't the leader of this pack, he was just a beta chomping at the bit.

"That's enough, Chamuel, stop playing with your food," The woman with the teeth never stopped smiling. There was a shine to her eyes that was deeply unsettling. "We've been tracking you for ages, my dear," She slowly prowled around us, her eyes hungry. "But just look at you," I watched her from the corner of my eye. A small sigh escaped her lips. "You are magnificent."

"What do you want?" I risked the question, although I already knew the answer.

"I don't answer stupid questions. You've been among humans too long, demon. You know what I want." She said the final sentence so quietly it could've been washed away by the breeze. The frantic flapping of wings broke the tense silence. I forgot about tracking the woman's movements and swiveled my head to see Balan tangled in a net. He was screeching and violently throwing his body against his confines. I could see feathers floating to the ground around him, ripping from his delicate skin.

One of the males held the net in his fist, smiling at Balan's struggle. "Let him go," I ordered with no room for negotiation. The man then turned his smile on me. I felt my chest tighten at it. He had sharpened his human teeth to fine points. His eyes were glassy and spit gathered at the corners of his strange smile. "Balan. Calm." I spoke to him, he needed to stop struggling if he was going to save any of his strength.

"The she-devil speaks with her hound," I heard murmurs throughout the small gathering. Some in English, some in Demon Tongue. The most dangerous foes were unpredictable. And, as much as I hated to admit it, I had no idea what these creatures were going to do. They all looked ragged and disheveled. There was a shared madness in their gazes that screamed illness and disease of the mind.

The woman continued to observe, making my skin crawl wherever her eyes landed. I felt them start to move in and confine us within their circle. Alec touched his back to mine and we spun with them, our eyes flicking from one to the next. I could see no obvious weaponry. "I am Eris. And you are Karau, the only devil in history to escape Hell and live amongst humans. You were an elite, one of the five."

Electric energy spread through the pack, I could almost hear them salivating through their sharpened teeth. That seemed to be their calling card, they all shared teeth filed to a point. "You have power coursing through you. Your veins are full of lifeblood, brimming with," she continued, taking in a shaky, almost aroused breath. "Vitality." She licked her lips and the shine in her eyes brightened. The rest of the pack couldn't stop moving, they were all fidgeting, ready to pounce. They reminded me of hungry dogs. It was the biggest group we had to face so far, and they took us by surprise.

"So, what are you thinking?" Alec whispered in my mind.

"They look feral, They're going to attack as any wild pack of animals would," I said. "They are going to wait for her command."

"... with an angel, no less," Her second in command said. More excited whispers grew louder int he pack. Eris held her hand up and silence fell over them all.

"I do not care about the angel, leave him to rot if you wish. I only want her," she paused and widened her smile so it split her face in two. "Alive."

"There it is," I said. Just as I spoke, they descended like locusts. Male and female alike charged. Alec struck first, using their weight against them. He used a male's momentum and used his body to strike another. Some of them were just skin and bones, the crazed, starved look in their eyes more prominent.

I knew how to deal with starving animals. They were desperate and unthinking. I cut them down and grit my teeth against the smell of their rancid blood. It spattered across the patio and fertilized the grass.

"Behind you," Alec said. I spun just in time to raise my knife and meet the creature who had leaped for me. It was female, but I wouldn't dare call it a demon or an angel. Her teeth were sharpened like the rest of them, her nails talons, and her skin hung from her bones like old laundry. She took me off my feet, leading us into a roll. I positioned myself over her stick-thin body, squeezing my knees into her sides. I could feel the grinding of her bones beneath me.

I grabbed my gun from my thigh holster and shot her point-blank in the face. I was off of her and defending against another attacker before she stopped twitching. I could see their numbers dwindling, but I couldn't help but feel this was far from over. Alec had just dropped another body, only a few stood around us now. We glanced at each other, scanning for wounds.

We were scraped up but otherwise fine. Eris gave a sharp whistle through her jagged teeth and reestablished her grin. I looked at Alec again and listened. There were more, I could hear them in the branches. They rustled and scratched like mice in the walls of a house.

Before I could curse, the second wave washed over us. This group was more aggressive, more experienced, and we were fucked. They had power in numbers, and we were just two. I was breathing heavily, sweat on my brow, but I did not slow. I cut them down like wheat in a field.

I hadn't faced a group of that number in years. Just as I thought I had it under control, that feeling of security was violently ripped from me. Something splashed across my face, burning my flesh. I yelled and lost track of my weapons. It was a rooky mistake, a misstep I should no have made.

That opening was all they needed, just a single second of hesitation. I felt three sets of hands grabbing at me, ripping and clawing at my skin. I bared my fangs and growled, snapping and lashing out. I reached out blindly and tried to defend myself. The pain was doubled each time I was sprayed. Holy water.

I managed to get one off of me, but he was replaced with two more. Like a hydra, they kept multiplying. I couldn't hear or see anything, my whole world was burning, blinding pain. My whole body felt raw like I was one big open wound. They used my disorientation to their advantage and tore me apart while they could. And suddenly they were gone.

They all cleared, backing away like a pack of dogs making way for their alpha. I laid there, a pile of pulsing, smoldering meat. I felt swollen all over, and I could feel blood dripping from my skin. I didn't know if it was mine or not.

The morning sun was blocked by Eris standing above me. She knelt and looked at me with mocking pity. "You were once great, and you still have that greatness within you," she sighed and shook her head. "You've forgotten how to use it." She ran her finger down my face and when she brought it back, it was covered in blood. She slowly licked it clean and closed her eyes, trembling satisfyingly. I blinked slowly and turned my head.

Alec was being held down by four of them. They had more meat on their bones than the others. His arms were twisted and bent in awkward positions. Blood ran down his cheek from a wound on his cheekbone, his hair was plastered to his forehead. He gritted his teeth and struggled, the vein in his neck bulging.

"Karau," His voice was strained and painful to hear. The same voice that was calling my name the night before, was desperate and angry. Powerless.

"Do not worry, she-devil. Your power will live on," Eris gently turned me onto my front, her hands were like a mother's caring for her child. She caressed my hair as I stared at Alec through hooded eyes. I felt Balan's panic as he snapped at the net and tried to rip through it.

My back was suddenly exposed, my shirt ripped to shreds. Eris ran her fingers down my bruised back, making goosebumps rise on my skin. I felt her breath on my skin. I gasped in just enough time to feel her filed teeth to sink into my flesh.