A Soul Collectors Love

Stay

Ajax paced the floor before the bar. He had heard the shower turn on and knew that she had been hurt by his words and he had no idea why that bothered him. He paused and realized he was pacing... he never paced. f**k it! He didn't care as he carried on with his gait. She hadn't called him by his name but instead 'demon'. He didn't want her to see him like others of his kind. He was different because of his mother's nature. Before, he had resented his soft nature and emotions, but no longer because they separated him from his father. He found strength in what his father despised. He could not show his father, but emotions like anger had helped him with his kills. Little did he realize it in those moments, but he had been angry at the souls he had captured and turned over to his father. He had felt negative emotions all this time but none of the positives. It was like having all the disadvantages with none of the benefits. Is that what it felt like to be a pure-blooded demon? No, he thought. His father had felt glee in recieving each and everyone of the souls delivered unto him. He smashed his glass into the bar, the sound echoing, glass shards shooting in every direction. He hadn't realized he had poured himself a drink but he obviously had and instantly it reminded him of his first night with Amanda. That kiss. He leaned his entire body onto his arms as he held onto the bar, his head hanging from his neck as he let out a breath. "Ajax..." Amanda's voice was soft and right behind him. He couldn't look at her, afraid of what he might see. What if she were afraid of him now or worse, what if she could see what he was now and looked at him with the same disgust he saw every morning in the mirror. "You're hurt." Her voice sounded concerned as she moved to his side but her breath caught on a hiss as she stepped into a piece of glass. As quickly as he could, he swept her up into his arms and walked over to the couch. He put her down gently, knowing she could see the turmoil evident on his face because of the glowing of his eyes hitting her beautiful skin. She held his arm as he turned to move away. "You're hurt". She repeated as if he hadn't heard her and that was the biggest concern. "You keep walking around in glass woman and I'll have to keep carrying you." He tried the humour but found that he meant it. He would love to carry her and hold her close to him because, despite seeing what he had done, she was concerned for him. 'This was how your mother felt about your father', an insidious voice whispered in his head and suddenly he yanked back from her grasp as if it were fire. She let her hand fall and looked down at her foot, examining her cut intently, but he knew he had once again hurt her. Damn it, why was he like this? "I'll get the first aid kit." He said in a gentle voice, as if that could make up for the hurt he had caused. She shook her head, "I'm like you now, remember? I can heal super fast and your hand is almost completely healed. I think once I get the glass out it'll be fine." She yanked the glass from her foot and they both watched as the wound knit itself back together. She nodded as if confirming a theory and stood up abruptly, "I'm going to see Lucius a couple times a week so that I can train. I know you are letting me stay here out of courtesy, so I have started looking for small places I can afford to rent until your enemies forget about me. I'm going to keep Amy with me for the time being as her parents are involved with supernatural trouble. I'm going to resign from my job because I have a feeling that because of who I am, I won't be able to go back." She had begun listing a series of goals or objectives she needed to accomplish, but once she got to the last one, her voice became tinged with sadness. She obviously loved her job. He felt a slight sense of panic at the thought of her leaving. She hadn't been there long but it had begun to feel like home with her there. Before his panic could take root, he said something stupid like 'stay'. He nodded and walked towards the spare bedroom, reminding himself about what happened to his mother. Although she had only been mortal, demons should only be with their own kind. He could feel her eyes on him as he closed the door behind him and he walked towards the bed. He fell face first and that brought her scent into his nose. Unashamadly, he brought the pillow she had used to him and forced himself to rest. He had some hunting to do in about two hours. 

Amanda had waited in the living room, staring at the closed door, but she knew it wouldn't open. She had told him her plans and now she could unburden him. She finally looked away and headed towards the master room but she paused, knowing that Amy would probably feel better with some food, something to drink and a sugary snack. She headed to the kitchen, allowing her plans of the future to occupy her thoughts while narrowly avoiding the sexy demon in the house. She prepared enough food for her, Amy and anyone else that was hungry. Not a specific person, nope, not at all. She rolled her eyes at herself. She really was a moron. She walked into the main bedroom with her bounty and laid everything carefully on the made side of the bed while Amy's tiny body took up the other side. She gently touched Amy's cheek, "Hey sweets, it's time to wake up and speak to Ms Amanda." Amy responded to the voice more than the touch and opened sleepy eyes. She stared at Amanda and a huge grin lit her face. "Ms Amanda!" She said excitedly, but as she hastily sat up, she looked around and seemed to realize that everything was not well. Her eyes went back to Amanda and as the last memories caught up to her, her eyes began to tear up. Amanda pulled her into her arms and held her as she cried. When the worst was over and Amy began to feel safe, the series of events played out. "Daddy was watching TV and I was playing by the window. I wanted to go to the park. Mommy promised that we could go to the park but we had to wait for daddy to sleep. I asked mommy if we could go early and daddy got angry at mommy. He was yelling at her because I wanted to go outside and he doesn't like it when mommy goes outside. He started to hurt her." She began hiccuping and tears fell down her cheeks again. "He hurt her bad. I hid like mommy told me to but he was so angry. He was looking for me and mommy wouldn't wake up. I opened the door and ran outside. Daddy yelled and started chasing me. I was so scared. I hid in the door where Mr Cambell keeps the brooms. Daddy was wobbly and I knew he wouldn't catch me, but I couldn't leave mommy alone. I was going to wait for daddy to fall asleep but I remembered that mommy said I should call you. So I got my birthday money out of my pocket. Mommy and I were going to get ice cream with my birthday money, and I called you from the big phone. Mommy made me remember your number." She finished off proudly. Amanda's heart broke with every word spoken. Lizzy knew that this might happen and she knew that I would protect Amanda. Lizzy had no friends left over because of her cruel husband and now she was either dead or in the hospital alone. Oh lord, how was she going to tell Amy if her mother was dead? What would happen to Amy? She took a deep breath hoping the small smile she gave Amy was reassuring. "You did good sweets. Now you should eat the food I brought for you. I made you a special brownie, but you need to eat your sandwich first. I'm going to make a few calls and then I'll be right back." As she finished her sentence she walked towards the door and noticed Amy's eyes widening on the food. She had probably only eaten a fraction of what was offered because her parents didn't have a lot of money and what little money they had was spent on alcohol. She palmed her cellphone and called the nearest hospital. Once she had completed her inquiries, she found that Lizzy was still alive, thank God, but in critical condition in the hospital. The police were standing guard at her door because the neighbors had seen what happened and her husband had a warrant for attempted murder. She spent the rest of the afternoon with Amy and began to fall asleep when she heard a door shut. That must be Ajax leaving, she thought. She was then dragged down into sleep.

Ajax was stalking the essence trail of his prey down a back alley, not far from his apartment building, and the problem became even more obvious as his essence trail was followed by many others. Supernatural essence trails were bright colors and most tended toward the color of a specific race. He knew he had to find his target or else. He had a perfect record and was well-respected by others of the hell-realm and heaven-realm alike, but he knew with absolute certainty that if he failed in this task that his father would drag him back to hell and torture him for another century. There was a certain weightiness that accompanied his father's words when they last spoke and he couldn't understand why his father was so intent on this particular soul. There was something wrong and as a half-demon that was saying something. He left the alley and noticed that the essence trails entwined showing another brawl had happened on this sidewalk and lookey here those halflings had claimed the prize. He briefly wondered if Lucius the tool, was the one who captured him. Well, crap, this was all Amanda's fault. If she hadn't made such an emphasis on the male's name and refused to say his own, then he would've forgotten, but no, he remembered every detail of that goody goody angel. He was training her, wasn't he? Hmm, that was his way in. He could ask Amanda to tag along and snatch the target right out from under their noses. It definitely has nothing to do with the angel training HIS angel and them being alone together. With a sly grin, he was about to leave when his brother popped over to where he had just been standing. Ajax had a neat trick where he could float between worlds, the same as his father, but his brother had inherited much from his demon mother and little from their father. He was seen as a disgrace. Therefore, he could not hover between worlds, but he was able to read the essence trail and Ajax believed that was why their father did not kill him outright. It could also be because he was ruthless. He watched as his brother threw a spell around himself to camouflage his appearance, so that if anyone looked toward him they'd see an average Joe, but if they began looking too closely, the image would become fuzzy. When that happened, it would give the wearer a warning surge to make a hasty retreat before they found out the reason behind the spell. His brother walked in a circle, his repulsive visage so like their father's, was becoming infuriated as he came to the same conclusion that Ajax just had. If the angels had him, then they had already won unless you could infiltrate their homes and snatch the target back. The war was looking to be over the next horizon and the members of both sides were eager to play. After his brother had disappeared, probably to update their father, he decided to make a pit stop at an old friend.