Knights of Hell

Chapter 20

Michael scowled as he stared at Damian. “I was not scared of you,” he snapped. “I would never be scared of you.”

“You were.”

“I was not.”

Mercy rolled her eyes and snatched her arm away from her brother, and none of the men could stop her from storming up the stairs. When Micahel turned to look at her surprised, she waved her arm. “Don’t act too surprised. We all heard it. Damian, was it? Stop being a little Sprite and grow a pair. Michael is telling you he was scared you would die. He was scared for you, not of you. I don’t know how much longer I can listen to this.”

“I didn’t want you to listen,” Micahel whispered, face bright red.

Mercy snorted. “You should have thought of that before you brought us along. Now, Damian, you and Micahel are going to go down into the living room and talk this s**t out, and I am going to clean that room because I can smell the demon funk from here, and I can sort of see that mess, and it’s pissing my anxiety off. How one lives in this filth is beyond my imagination.”

Michael’s eyes went wide. “Oh, no, Mercy, you don’t need to clean. I can-”

“Don’t make me stab you, Micahel.” she snapped. “Go down with Damian and send the other rats up. They’re helping.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She frowned, c*****g an eyebrow. “Ma’am?”

“I don’t know. I’m just terrified. You don’t have any weapons on you, do you.”

She stared at him blankly. “I have several. Xavier, Church and Mint, we’re cleaning up.”

The three men groaned, and when Mercy glared at them, they quieted down. They all looked at the door, and Damian pulled it open and stepped out. Wow, he was much taller than any of them had expected. He had to be around 6’7. He was in dirty sweats, and on his face, contrasting his dark skin, was a jagged gold scar that started on his forehead and went down over his left eye in an irregular line, stopping at his jaw.

Mercy stared up at him as she crossed her arms. “Go down and talk.”

Micahel stared at Mercy and Damian before they descended those stairs. Mercy exhaled a little, staring at the others. Mint could hear her heart hammering away in her chest. “s**t, man. I thought he would kill me for threatening Michael.”

“Don’t you have weapons?” Church said.

“Yes, several. But weapons against a demon, come on. Be realistic.”

Mint frowned. “How do you know what sprites are?”

“I’ve seen them around our apartment. They’re harmless. They run away whenever we enter. They’re kind of cute. One is starting to warm up to me, I think it’s adorable.”

Mint and Church eyed one another warily. “Right.”

“Okay, but seriously. Help me clean this room. I can smell it from here, but my anxiety does not,” she trailed off as she stared at the room. She stormed into the room and went straight for the curtains, opening them up and the windows. Once fresh air began wafting in, she visibly relaxed.

They cleaned the room for twenty minutes, binning food wrappers and empty drinks. Xavier changed the bedsheets while Mercy waited outside, not wanting to piss off her dust allergy. Mercy sighed once the large room was clean as she eyed it. It was bland, with a large bed in the middle and two bedside cabinets on either side. A small sitting area beside the window and a TV hung on the wall beside the walk-in wardrobe.

“God, they need to be f*****g on the account that Michael can give this room some f*****g personality.”

Church snorted as the group went downstairs to tell the two men that they had finished, only to find Michael on the floor, and Damian was nowhere in sight, with the door wide open. Mint rushed over, his eyes wide. Oh, what the hell?

“Michael?” he yelled, trying to shake the boy awake. “Micahel!?”

“Oh, what the f**k happened?” Mercy hissed. “Why didn’t we hear anything?”

Three demons entered the door in the middle of a conversation, but when they saw Michael on the ground, they began yelling, leading Church, Mercy and Mint to yell. Xavier had silently been watching. Mercy pulled out her weapons as she stood before Mint and Micahel with Xavier beside her.

“Where the f**k is Damian?” Mint hissed as he stood up. “What did he do to Micahel?”

“Who are you?” the woman hissed as she narrowed her eyes. “What did you to, Micahel?”

“Us?” Church hissed. “We didn’t do anything.”

“Why are you in Damina’s house?”

“Why are you here?” Mercy snapped.

“I lost them and-” Mercy was in front of Damian with a knife to his throat in seconds. The fact that she was on her tiptoes and straining every single muscle to reach the man’s neck didn’t go unnoticed.

“What did you do to him?” she hissed.

“Mercy, I didn’t do anything. I can explain.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Why do you know my name?”

“Micahel was telling me about you. Some demons came in.” Mint zoned out of the conversation as he contacted Azure down the line.

‘Azure,’ he said.

‘What’s up, Kiddo?’

‘I need help. Send one of the knights to where I am right now. Send Yua. The more threatening, the better.’

‘I’ll send Nether. Yua’s busy helping me.’

He frowned as his eyes narrowed in on Sam. ‘No. It has to be Yua. Send him right now, Azure. Or I think we’re going to die.’

He had wanted to keep Yua at arm's length, but there was much more to the story than what they had been told, and he needed all the pieces he could get. Of all the knights, Yua was the most threatening, appearance-wise, at least. In the meantime, Mint tried to create a link with Damian.

‘You’re a demon,’ Damian said, frowning.

‘Half. But I need you to listen to me. Something about your friends isn’t right. What category are your friends?’

‘D.’

Mint winced; he was afraid of that. ‘The demons next to you. I don’t think they’re your friends. They’re not D-ranked demons. They’re A.’

‘Mint,’ Azure’s voice yelled. ‘I’ve sent Yua. But what is happening? Are you okay? Do I need to come over?’

‘Don’t panic. Everything is fine,’ he replied. ‘Yua should be enough. He’s scary.’

Mint waited for a few seconds, and when a shiver ran down his spine, he knew Yua had portalled in somewhere, although he couldn’t see the demon. He groaned a little as his legs shook but ignored it as he knocked on Yua’s mental barriers. Yua let him in.

‘I don’t know much of what is happening, and I know you can’t speak, but can you somehow create a bubble to keep those three demons trapped there? Also, where are you? Can you check on my friend, Michael? Something is wrong with him. And do you know Damian? I think they came here to hurt him but hit Michael instead.’

Mint saw a pale blue, almost transparent bubble enclosing the house. Someone tapped on his shoulder, and he looked up to see Yua looking down at him, a slight frown on the demon’s face. He smiled up at the man.

“Damian,” ‘Sam’ said, smiling as she eyed Yua. “You made friends with a Knight, and you didn’t tell me?” she asked as she watched Yua.

Damian laughed a little, his eyes wide. “Yeah, sorry. It slipped my mind. A lot has been happening,” he replied, rubbing the back of his neck. Wow, he was a horrible liar.

“Mercy, Church and Xavier,” Mint whispered as he leaned over to his friends. “Grab Micahel and hide behind the couch.”

“What?” Mercy hissed.

Mint scowled. “Just do it.”

When he knew his friends were out of harm’s way, he nodded at Yua. Yua’s arm shot out, Damian moved out of the way, and he threw the three demons to the wall behind them. They all groaned as they hit the wall. Some of the walls cracked, but they didn’t seem hurt. They shook off the initial shock as they stared at Yua.

“Drop the disguise,” Damian deadpanned as he stared at them beside Yua and Mint.

Mint saw his friend's eyes peering over the couch in a line as everyone watched the three demons lose their disguise; it was as if their flesh was melting, and they revealed their proper forms.

“Knight,” the one who had pretended to be Sam said. “We didn’t come for you. We need the guardian.”

~*~