Among Demons : Succubus Divine

Ch. 2 : On the Hunt

The next day was spent locked away in my office still going through the dozens of files that had darkened with age. And by the time I was out and climbing into my car, my phone pinged, alerting me to a message.

[Found it. You were right.]

I smiled at the text and was about to pull away from the parking lot when another ping stopped me.

[Don’t go alone.]

I simply rolled my eyes and drove off, heading towards the pier that I had been looking into a few days before my start at the station. The worried and urgent tone of the last text was obvious to me, especially since I had known the sender all my life. But I also knew that they had a terrible habit of over-worrying about anything I did alone, so, like a rebellious child, I always chose to ignore them. It was a decent drive and I took that time to blast some music and relax before I arrived, needing to unwind a bit.

Once I got there I parked in a dark and desolate space and climbed out, going towards the trunk of my car and quickly changing my outfit. I swapped my nice little office dress and flats for a pair of tight black shorts, bright green tank and black ankle boots. Some daggers were also strapped to my thighs and arms and a thin silver and gold whip was wrapped around my waist like a belt before I closed my trunk. I then made my way to the pier as I tied my long loose curls up in a ponytail, needing my locks away from my eyes.

I slowed down once I neared the pier and started looking around, seeing a few small groups of Humans gathered by a large bonfire a good distance away and what looked like a double-date situation that was planted at the very end of the pier. My attention quickly fixated on the two young couples that looked to be just a bunch of teenagers and I slowly made my way to them. I opened up my senses to any shift in the noise around me, or a change in the feeling of the cool air that chilled my skin. I focused on the young couples and tried to see if my target was anywhere near them yet, or if they had found someone else to attack.

Maybe I was too late and someone else had already been hurt?

Maybe my information was actually wrong and I should have focused elsewhere?

Thankfully, those annoying doubts were crushed once I caught sight of a sneaky shadow that emerged from the little restrooms that were planted halfway down the wooden walkway. They were dressed in all black and it looked to be a man with a beanie on his head, managing to hide most of his bright blond hair.

I raced out as quietly as possible, smiling to myself when I managed to reach the traitor before he could hurt the Human kids. So I drew one of my daggers and jumped the rest of the way, swiping up his back and nearly stumbling to a stop by the railing. He groaned loudly and startled the couples, making them jump a bit when they finally noticed us.

“Get out of here!” I shouted to them, nodding to the man who was now glaring at me with faintly gleaming eyes.

They hesitated for a moment, seeming unsure, but when the man refocused on his targets he growled out and lunged towards them, making the girls scream.

“GO!”

I shifted and placed myself in between the bloodthirsty man and the kids, slowly pacing in a wide circle so they could escape behind me. Once they were heading towards the end of the pier and back onto the beach, I relaxed a bit, my full focus now aimed at the still growling man before me.

“Why?” He snarled, bending forwards as his body shimmered lightly, his eyes glinting violently. “Why would you help them?”

“Because murder is never right.” I hissed back, feeling my own Demonic power surge in response to his. “Not unless someone has done something to warrant that kind of punishment.”

“They’re Humans!” He spat at me, growling while a long white and black striped tail whipped out from behind him, his hair growing out rapidly while a pair of rounded ears appeared. “Those weak and petty things hold no power over us! They’re our prey! Our slaves that should be fearing us and kneeling before us!”

I stared back and shook my head, keeping my eyes locked with his and seeing the vibrant rings of blue and red that announce to the world that he was a Demon, just like me. Those two rings of color, like my own lavender and emerald, were the one and only marker that separated us from the Humans. The only physical thing that most other Demons tried to hide so they wouldn’t become targets in their everyday lives. Yet even though this man was clearly shifting into his secondary animal form to attack me and go after those Human kids, I couldn’t help but find those dual colored eyes beautiful. And my heart ached with the cruel realization that, if I couldn’t get this man to calm down and stop attacking Humans, I would need to stop him.

Permanently.

“You know why you can’t do this.” I started, slowly pulling out another blade while his hands morphed into massive paws. “We have been left trapped here at the mercy of the Human world for well over three hundred years. You know we are outnumbered and our population will only continue to die if Demons like you refuse to accept the treaty that was forged with the Humans.” He growled back at me in response but his eyes now held a deep sorrow and pain that I knew mirrored my own. “Please don’t make me do this… Don’t force me to take your life when our numbers are only getting smaller… I’m begging you.” I felt my throat tighten up a bit and I hoped he could hear my sincerity, even if he looked more like a white tiger slouching on its hind legs now than a man.

The crashing waves around us filled in the heavy silence as he measured my words, my hands gripping my weapons so tightly that I was starting to lose feeling in my fingers. He whined softly as he shook off his clothes and my heart jumped hard in my chest, a smile almost curling my lips as hope started to rise within me. But when I looked deeper into the white tigers eyes I noticed an emotion that spilled shards of ice into my veins.

Resignation.

And the next second, before a flash of regret crossed those unique rings of color, he crouched low and growled, launching himself at me.

I skipped back a few steps and managed to avoid his claws, gritting my teeth to keep the pit of despair from swallowing me whole. My left hand shot out a moment later, releasing my dagger and aiming for his midsection. But he bounced back to avoid it, only gaining a palm sized cut on his front left shoulder.

“Just stop!” I tried again, flinging my right hand and managing to cut him deeper before he could move, a waterfall of blood now spilling from the side of his stomach and hip.

He still dashed towards me, his claws and teeth out and ready while I scrambled to pull out my other knives. I jumped and skipped and nearly ran backwards to keep away from him, stumbling and ramming into the railing a few times when his long claws made contact with me. At one point he gained the advantage and cornered me against the railing while I was pulling out a smaller blade from inside my boot. And as I used my arm to block my head and upper body, his jaw clamped down on my elbow and I cried out, using my free arm to stab into his neck with the two inch knife.

He whimpered and released me, looking dizzy while I nursed my bleeding arm and backed away, huffing through the pain.

I stared him down then and caught the moment when he gave up, my heart dropping into my stomach while I gripped the handle to my last weapon. His eyes, so filled with pain, held a bottomless abyss of acceptance as he used the last of his strength to charge at me again. I could see that his gaze shifted towards the six-inch throwing knife that I hadn’t touched yet. And with the weakest roar that I had ever heard a Shifter make, he jumped on me, knocking me down hard. Instinct took over and the blade in my hand found its way into the furry beast's body, digging in deep until a river of crimson life covered my hand. He twitched and whined over me, his body growing heavier as the seconds passed and his breath growing weaker and fainter as it blew across my neck.

“Devin!”

The familiar voice that called out to me was followed by rapid stomping feet and the body of the Shifter was soon rolled off of me. I blinked through the fog that had filled my eyes and found a pair of worried hazel-green orbs that looked me over rapidly. These eyes, though Human, were both comforting and nostalgic, helping me cope with the burden of what I had just done to another of my kind.

“s**t! Your arm!” Gingerly, the dark blond haired man took hold of my bitten arm and raised it, softly apologizing when I winced at the pain. “Just hold still ok?” He let me go and quickly turned around, shouting over his shoulder, “I have some vials in my car!” as he ran back towards the parking lot.

I nodded and watched as he shrank in the distance, slowly looking back at the Shifter that was now changing back into a man. His body was now only coated and smeared with his blood and the rising and falling of his breath was nothing more than a wheeze. I kneeled down and smiled painfully at him as the light in those ringed eyes faded. And seconds before he went completely still, he closed those eyes and smiled at me, effectively stabbing me straight in the heart.

The stomping footsteps returned and I looked up to find the one and only Human I would ever trust approaching me with a first-aid kit and a bag. He dropped to his knees next to me and glanced at the naked me beside us, a darkening sadness filling his eyes before he refocused on me.

“He didn’t…” He started softly.

“No.” I told him, earning a sigh while he pulled out a small vial of glittering turquoise liquid. “He was determined to kill again, or die…” I turned away from the now dead man and shuddered, hating the feeling of his drying blood on my skin. “Did you find any attachments?”

“None.” He said, taking hold of my arm and pouring the healing liquid over my bite wound. “Why didn’t you wait for me?”

“Nick.” I sighed, not feeling in the mood to argue while my stiffened body waited for the effect of the potion he’d just used to soothe the pain of my wounds. “Please don’t.”

“Honestly Dev, why?” I peeked at him and flinched a bit, seeing the worry and anger swirling inside his hazel-green eyes. “You can’t keep going out like this, without protection or any sort of back-up. You have responsibilities and hundreds of Demons that depend on you.” He glared at my wounds as he treated them and I nodded along as he continued, knowing better than to cut him off now when he was clearly upset. “Why the hell did you ask me to be your bodyguard then if I’m not here to have your back? Or even know where you are? You’re my only family Devin, what the f**k am I supposed to do if something happened to you? Who’s ass do you think will be on the line if another Council meeting is called and you’re nowhere to be found?”

I raised my uninjured hand and softly placed it over his, stopping his lecture and making him look at me. I could see the panic that he was hiding slowly glinting in the depths of his annoyance and irritation. And I knew that he had called and texted me several times on his way here too, which made him worry even more since I clearly didn’t answer. But I also knew that he understood why I preferred to do these things on my own and why, even though I knew he could help me, I never waited for him.

“I’m sorry Nick.” I whispered, smiling a bit when he exhaled heavily and shook his head.

“You’ll be the reason why my hair turns white, I swear.” I chuckled and smiled bigger, relaxing a bit more now that the stinging, aching pain was fading away.

He continued to treat me until my wounds stopped bleeding and closed up a bit, covering up the parts that remained open and angry looking with gauze and medical tape. The pain was now nothing more than an annoying prickling feeling and I was able to help him carry the Shifters body to his truck without much bleeding too. We also used a few large coke bottles he brought along to wash away the blood from the pier and stuffed the man's clothes into a bag as well.

Human officials didn’t need to be notified about what happened tonight and there was no need to alarm anyone either. Not that any Humans would really care anyway, since it was a Demon that had lost his life, and not one of their kind.

“Join us for dinner?” Nick asked as he walked me back to my car. “Holly’s making lasagna and I could really use some back-up on the conversation front.”

I laughed as I leaned on my open door, looking at the bright pink stains on his cheeks and the pure uncut look of discomfort that covered him.

“Let me guess… she’s got baby-fever again?” My laughter rang out even louder when he nodded and groaned deeply, begging me with his eyes. “Why not just give the woman a baby Nick? She’s been wanting to make you a daddy for a while now.”

“Are you insane!?” He questioned, shuddering at the thought. “You’ve seen how children react to me, woman! Even newborns fresh-out-the-womb despise me the second I step into the same room as them!” I doubled over as he spoke, recalling the many times this very thing happened to my oldest and dearest friend. “Remember the orphanage? All those other kids hated me then too, it didn’t matter that I was the same age as them, I was like a pariah.”

“Hey!” I chuckled out, smacking his arm. “I played with you.”

“You were a pariah too!” He laughed with me this time and shoved me back when I smacked him again. “Just follow me back.”

“Fine, fine.” I climbed into my car and went to slip the key into the ignition, smiling to myself as he walked back to his car.

I rolled down my window once I started my car, poking my head out as far as I could before I shouted, “Coward!”

He whirled around and shouted something, waving his fist in the air while I floored it, laughing some more while the dark events from mere moments ago faded away from my mind.