The Heart of a Warrior

Chapter 10

Adelaide

            It has been more than a week since I have seen the group of impossibly gorgeous individuals I helped. They ended up renting my friend’s house since it was the only one available in this area. My dad got their car up and running again and they drove off offering me a thanks and three thousand dollars I do not need and that was much more than necessary.

            When they refused to take no for answer about the money, I took it to the school and told them to pay off the lunch debt any students had and the remaining to pay for lunches for the low income kids for as long as it would stretch. I felt that this was a much better use for the money than it sitting in my safe never to be used. At least now the kids with too much debt weren’t having to eat peanut butter and jelly or whatever they give the kids besides the standard meal they couldn’t afford.

            My thoughts keep wandering to Callan. His face forever imprinted in my mind. His full lips and eyes that light up on the rare occasion when he smiled. His severity that should have put me off but made him more enticing.

            I have never been one of those women who are attracted to the mysterious bad boy but in this case, I don’t even know, he just lit my insides on fire.

            I keep hoping to run into him in town since it’s so small but that has yet to happen. Something keeps scratching at my brain that I can’t place. Like a lost memory that I just can’t grab ahold of and pull to the front of my conscious. I’ve had the sensation many times a day since the first night I met the mysterious group of strangers.

            “Addy? Earth to Addy.” My fried Sarah waves her hand in my face to get my attention.

            “I’m sorry, what were you saying?”

            “Woman, what has you so distracted?”

            I wanted to tell my best friend about Callan, Ava, and Josh, but I just could not bring myself to do it. She always turns it into a s*x talk. It’s one of the many reasons I love her, but she would assume I slept with Callan and the conversation would snowball from there.

            Then she would insist on playing the love guru and push me towards a man that obviously had no interest in me. She is as chronically single as I am. Though she goes on a lot more dates than I do. Hers usually end with her getting drunk and falling into bed with the man.

            Which now that I think about it, is the topic of our current conversation. She met some guy on a dating app and unlike me Sarah loves the bad boys.

            “Nothing, just long week at work.” I lie, something I never do when it comes to her.

            “I’m sorry do you want to talk about it?” She replies sincerely.

            “No, tell me the rest about your date.”

            “Ugh, girl! Let me tell you. Everything was going great. We were talking, having drinks, and dancing. Then he tells me he is working on his rap career. Like, really, a rapper? He doesn’t work to focus on his rapping and once he mentioned that, that’s all he talked about. He pulled up his songs on his phone to have me listen to them. They. Were. Awful! And if that wasn’t bad enough his d**k was tiny and his tongue game was terrible.”  She rants. The last part had me spewing the cocktail I was drinking across the table.

            Coughing and wiping my nose, “You slept with him?”

            “Well, yeah. A girl has needs Addy. Too bad he fell really short of meeting those needs.” She says scrunching her nose and shaking her head.

            I wanted to tell her that her high-risk behavior and attraction to toxic men stems from a deeper psychological problem but when I got my Ph.D. she made me promise not to openly diagnose her.

            “Oh, s**t. I’ve gotta go. I’m sorry.” I rush out. Flagging our waitress down Sarah reaches for her purse to get her wallet.

            “I’ve got it.” Reaching for my own wallet.

            “No way, you got it last time.” We have this argument all the time. My income is several times more than Sarah’s is, so I prefer to pay and because I like being able to do it. But every once in awhile she insists, I think she doesn’t want me to think that we are only friends because I pay most of the time we do something. Even though we have been friends longer than I have been a doctor so I would never think that.

            Our waitress approaches the table. She can’t be more than 19 or 20 with blonde hair and a slight build. She smiles kindly and lifts her hand to us in a stopping motion.

            “Hello, your check has been taken care of.” She says to us nonchalantly tossing her golden locks over her shoulder.

            Sarah’s brows raise in surprise “Well that’s nice, who did that?” She asks the waitress whose nametag reads Heather.

            “I’m not sure. I was just told it’s paid.” She smiles as she turns on her heal and heads back to the kitchen of the little restaurant.

            “Wonder who did that. Oh my gosh…” Sarah exclaims as she quickly swivels in my direction. “Maybe I have a secret admirer!”

            “I wouldn’t doubt it my love.” I say chuckling a little bit. “You try to figure that out, I’m gonna get to my moms. See ya later darlin!”

            I quickly make my way to my tesla parked in front of the establishment and jump in. Looking at the dash something catches my eye. It looks like a small folded piece of paper. I step out of the car and reach for it.

            Written in beautiful penmanship, the kind you see in movies when a king or queen writes up a contract, it reads “Chì mi thu a dh 'aithghearr”. I have no idea what the words mean. I’m sure someone put it on the wrong car by mistake.

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Callan

            I sit and watch Adelaide as she has lunch with her companion. She is staring off blankly, lost in thought. Her friend reaches over and waves her hand in her face. Her friend then says something that makes her spit her blue drink across the table.

            I stifle a laugh as she wipes at her face and coughs from the outburst. I wish I knew what made her do that, but I won’t invade her privacy by listening in to her private conversations.

            I catch the eye of one of the waiters and wave him over.

            “Hello sir,” he stumbles over his words. “Can I help you?”

            “Yes, do you see the two women sitting over in the corner.” I point past the tables between us at Adalaide and her friend. “I’d like to pay their tab.”

            “u-uhm ok.” He says. “Let me go get their total.”

            “Not necessary.” I reach into the back pocket of my dark denim jeans to retrieve my wallet. Pulling out three- one hundred dollar bills I hand them to the bumbling young man. “Keep the change.”

            He stares at me with wide eyes but takes the money shoots me a quick thanks and stumbles in the direction he came. I shouldn’t keep checking in on Adelaide but ever since the Nightmare attack demon activity has more than doubled in this and the surrounding areas. I have to make sure she is safe.

            I have not spoken to the fiery red head since we left her home more than a week ago. She gave Ava her number in case we needed anything. It has taken every ounce of my strength not to ask for it so I can talk to her again. It is a daily battle with myself to keep my distance from her.

            The hairs on the back of my neck stand stock straight, the smell of sulfur invades my nostrils. Within seconds I’m out of my chair and in the parking lot. The stench is stronger here.

            Something moves lightning fast in my peripheral and I am off. Chasing after the demon. I follow the creature for several minutes. My breath coming in strong controlled breaths. One more turn and the demon comes into perfect view. A dead end. Nowhere for it to go.

            It looks like a normal human being except it smiles, and its two inch long razor sharp teeth are on full display. Lower level demon. There to do the bidding of his master.

            “Hello warrior.”. It’s voice is deep and scratchy. It takes a step towards me. The nails on its hands becoming long and deadly.

            “What are you doing here?” I ask. My tone flat but it can hear the underlying threat in my words because its nostrils flared.

            It refuses to respond. The demon begins to slink towards me. I pull out my dagger ready to end the monster.

            I rush the thing, grabbing hold of its throat and sending my knee into its sternum and a hard right hook to its face. The demon slashes at me but I move just in time to avoid the blow. The thing lashes out again and makes contact with my outer thigh. The pain is sharp and burning but nothing debilitating.

            It manages to get out of my grip and circles behind me. Turning on the demon, I’m too fast. It can’t avoid my blade and I run it into its abdomen and force it to the ground. This creature had no hope against me. It was a quick fight. Over in less than a minute.

            “I’m going to ask again, what are you doing here?” Turning the blade into its body the thing chokes and stifles a scream but quickly regains its composure.

            “Delivering a message.” The thing chuckles while licking its teeth with a long-forked tongue.

            “Well here I am. What is your message?”

It cackles. “Not you silly warrior. The message is not for you. No. Not for you.” Its head twitches back and forth. The copper toned curls sitting on top shake with the movement.

            “Who is the message for?”

            “Girl. Pretty girl. With fire red hair and bright blue eyes.” It’s trying to bait me. Buy itself some time to figure out how to get away.

            The wind leaves my lungs in a rush as realization hits me square in the chest. It’s Adelaide. The demon is talking about Adelaide. All previous thoughts of killing the demon have left me. I can’t breathe.

            “The message! What’s the message?” I shake the demon hard and twist the dagger again.

            It laughs and I can see the life leave its eyes.