A Soul Collectors Love

I need her

Ajax felt himself caving into his need to kiss Amanda. The way she had tilted her head inviting him to taste her lips, the desire in her eyes as if she couldn't hold herself back either. He would've kissed her had his brother not materialized in his living room. He could show no weakness or emotion otherwise his brother would take it upon himself to take Ajax back to hell. He gazed down at Amanda now and could see the questions building up and waiting to be asked. He knew it was a gamble keeping her here while his brother and father come and go as they will. Now she knew a lot more about him and he still couldn't quite fathom why he wanted her around. He couldn't lie any longer. He could say this was him assuaging his guilt over her home being ruined but he knew that there was a draw to her. Maybe he should trust his instinct about sticking close to her, it has not lead him wrong yet. He moved back to the bar to continue drinking his whiskey, "Ask your questions." She needed no other prompting and jumped from the seat seeming excited at getting this free pass, "Firstly, I am not your pet and the next time you call me that will be your last. Secondly, target? Thirdly, halfling as in me? Fourthly... screw this counting, war? The political system sounds wack." He was amused by her threat and felt himself smiling endearingly at her as if she could end him. How cute. He rolled his head, trying to get some tension out of his neck. He felt it was building with anticipation of his next hunt. "You are here, I am feeding you and I am... fond of you, ergo you are a pet. You are not a halfling due to you being a third angel and all but all the perks of a halfling. You've also never been trained but he was talking of your kind." He couldn't stop the prejudice and disdain from leaking into his voice when he spoke about her kind but he began to feel amusement as she grew angry over the pet remark. "I AM NOT YOUR PET." She punctuated each word with a brief pause and seemed to be holding herself back. He decided to continue as if he was unaware of her mounting anger because he just loved to push her buttons. "I have told you that I receive missions from my father to hunt a soul. The next one on my list is a man named Ralph ... but there are a few complications as his soul is murky. The halflings will try to save him with one act of good and your local 'grim reaper' as you put it will try to persuade him with an act of... let's just say evil?" He punctuated his last remark with a wink. Her anger seemed to deflate and her expression grew troubled. Not the reaction he was hoping for. Her hand drew up to her lip as her expression grew distant as if she were lost in thought. She fisted her hand as it reached her lips and yanked her hand down seeming to scold herself. Had she had the nervous habit of biting her nails? How human of her. He felt himself begin to genuinely smile at the action but quickly changed it to one of his signature grins. She looked at him again without noticing his change, "Ralph ... I know him. He is the father of one of my students. He frequently abuses her mother and often neglects them. The little girl is so strong. She tries so hard to be brave for her mom. The woman won't leave him. I've tried to persuade her but I think he has a hold on her. Are you sure his soul is 'murky'?" Her expressions changed rapidly at her explanation ranging from sadness to pride in the little girl back to sadness and finally to anger. He nodded his head, "These souls are very rare. They can swing either way. Sometimes they are evil but have done nothing distinguishing to blacken the soul and sometimes they are good but have had to do a few bad things to survive." He feared he may have revealed to much with the last statement as it resounded deeply within him and one glance at Amanda and he knew he was right. She was looking at him with compassion and looked as if she would walk to him. He quickly drew back to the topic, "Because these souls are so rare the higher ups often turn a blind eye to what ever means we use to accomplish the final deed. Including taking out the competition. My father wouldn't usually be interested in a soul like this." Which begs the question... why does his father want this particular soul? He could bring his father ten black souls before the weeks end but this particular soul is tricky. Maybe it's to challenge his son? He was reaching and he knew it. The only way he would find out is if he gave his father the soul. "I'm going to help you." Amanda said out of the blue, he turned to her thinking he was mistaken. "Help with?" She rolled her eyes at him, "He is evil. I know it. I've seen it. He needs to die. So, I'm going to help you and in return you can train me." He was surprised by her venom while speaking of the target. "I will train you because I cannot hold your hand through every scuffle but I know nothing of your powers. I can train you in hand to hand and weapons. As for helping, I work alone. You will stay here or even at a hotel but you will not be fighting with me. You're not trained and I don't want your family after me in the event of your death." He shrugged trying for nonchalant but the thought of her death made the wall he was keeping his emotions behind crack. He felt a surge of despair but took a deep breath and there was nothing. She looked irate "Sorry that my death might inconvenience you." She seemed hurt and he couldn't stand the look in her eyes. Before he could think of anything to say, she turned and walked to his room. Frustration welled up at himself but he tamped it down and grabbed the pizza box. He walked towards the guest bedroom and decided to refuel his body with food and sleep before stalking the target. He was anticipating taking out the competition especially Amanda's family after what they did to her. He began to regret his cruel words but knew it was for the best. They could not become chummy. He laid back in bed and felt himself instantly drift off. 

Amanda was feeling angry about Ajax calling her a pet and acting cold towards her. He never treated her this way before or she wouldn't have been to willing to stay with him. What was she doing, staying with a demon? She had lost her mind. She should go to a hotel but at the same time she remembered that he was the only one who had been honest with her from the beginning. She gave a frustrated huff as she continued to pace at the end of the bed in the main bedroom. She heard a door click and wondered if he had decided to leave after their discussion. She opened the door and peaked out at the open plan living space to find that the guest room's door had been shut. She felt relief because she didn't think she could stomach another 'discussion'. She still felt anxious and decided to bake something. Baking was her way of dealing with stress and the sugar didn't hurt. She began a batch of brownies as the ingredients in the kitchen were meticulously stored and maintained, it was as if he cooked a lot or never cooked at all. She shrugged and began mixing ingredients while humming. Now that the brownies were in the oven she might as well make cookies maybe even a cake! She began kneading, rolling, baking and icing what ever she could. She had no idea how fast time had gone until she heard a strange noise. It was as if someone were in pain. She stopped her humming and listened closely, thinking it may be another attack. She began inching towards the living room just as a pained yell escaped from the guest bedroom. She didn't hesitate, although she had no training or skills, she had to help Ajax. As she burst through the door and surveyed the room, she noticed the smaller room decorated in the same colour scheme as the main bedroom was empty except for the figure writhing on the bed. Ajax had decided to sleep shirtless and she could trace the lines of muscles over his body but she noticed the multitude of scars littering his skin. She hadn't noticed them while they were previously intimate. He was lying on his front with his legs tangled in the duvet. He clenched his fists and released a small whimper. Hearing that small cry of pain made her heart squeeze for him. She walked over to the bed and sat next to him while running her fingers through his hair, she tried to soothe him. He grabbed her wrist firmly and squeezed, she felt the immense pressure but just as it was bordering on pain he eased his grip and pulled her hand to his face. "I need her." Amanda leaned forward realizing he was still sleeping. She decided to risk waking him because who could this strong man need? "Who do you need?" He pulled her hand and began to yank her arm down and fold her into his arms. She was shocked because he was definitely still sleeping and she couldn't remove herself from his embrace. She tentatively laid her head on his arm and let herself relax. She had everything out of the oven and honestly, she really enjoyed this feeling. She knew it was temporary but it honestly felt really good to be in Ajax's arms... too good. She felt his warmth surround her, as well as the scent of sandalwood. She felt herself begin to drift off and hoped her presence would keep any other nightmares away.