THESE HUNTERS DON’T MESS around. Their base is fortified with every purifier known to man. The unassuming warehouse that is their base has no windows, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the building is fortified with wood from an ash tree or silver. Even their perimeter, the fence one has to pass to get in here, was fortified with inconspicuous charms. The abundance of all of these angelic items is making my head buzz. Most any made demon trying to break its way into the base would have a hell of a time. Even a natural demon like myself would think twice about infiltrating their base on a solo escapade. If they are as skilled as their preparedness suggests, it wouldn’t end well.
I’ve never attacked a hunter base before. I don’t make a habit of attacking strongholds. Besides, most humans don’t bother me. Most of them are inconsequential fleas. It’s the angels I loathe. Ever since that day, it’s always been the angels.
I’ve been wasting my time these last few weeks watching this damn hunter base. I can feel her in there. The human that makes my blood run hot just by being in her presence, just by being close enough to sense her, just by thinking about her. It’s agonizing. My beast keeps shouting, telling me all I have to do is go to her and all will be made clear. I wouldn’t even have to go through the trouble of infiltrating the base. She doesn’t live here. It just happens to be the place she spends most of her time. I could meet her on her way back to that apartment complex.
It would be so damn easy.
I clench my jaw and grind my teeth together. My logician continues to fight against my beast, rejecting the idea of going any closer to the girl than I already am. There’s more going on here than what my beast feels. Something dangerous.
There’s no logical explanation behind what I’m feeling. I don’t know this girl. I’ve never met her before, so it makes no sense that she would hold this kind of power over me. More than that, there’s always that distinct sweet scent in the air wherever she goes, like there’s always at least one angel watching over her. I don’t give a damn about one or two angels. That’s not what has my logician worried. What worries my logician above everything else, is the fact that the angels seem to be dangling her like bait in front of me. They know what she does to me. One or two angels would likely be more than enough to take me out if she trapped me.
The constant dissonance inside of me leaves me confused. If my logician wasn’t fighting so fiercely against my beast, I would have already given in to my instincts by now. I don’t know how much longer I can take this before I tear myself to shreds. It’s a constant dance inside of my chest. To go. To stay. And it doesn’t change. It’s a cycle. Over and over. The only thing I can think about. The only thing that is, even though it’s an old song. And I just keep repeating. Repeating. Repeating.
Repeating.
A large group of hunters leave the base together tonight, chattering on about some amazing dinner they just partook of. It seems even hunters have time to celebrate Thanksgiving. They’re unusually happy, feeling the high and lightness of celebration, sharing in their camaraderie.
Then I see her: the girl. The look on her face is radiant. Her plush pink lips are turned upwards into a reserved smile that feels… somehow familiar despite the fact I’ve never seen these lips or this face before my time in Reverie. My beast stirs with excitement, hungering for nothing more than that smile.
Then I see the one behind her, the boy with golden hair. His light is strong, but nothing compared to the real thing. He’s been to the base many times in the past week since I’ve started watching this building. At first, I thought he must have been assigned to Tasia, to watch over her, but now I’m not entirely sure. He’s a made angel, but it wouldn’t be surprising if angels are recruiting humans now to substitute for their lack of numbers. However, his actions are… unusual.
My hackles rise when I see my girl fall into step beside him, chatting away merrily about something, a gleam of admiration in her eyes as he listens and speaks his reply. My beast is slamming against my rib cage. My logician tries to fight back, but I’m too far gone. I’m going to rip out that puny mortal’s throat.
I can feel my body changing as my beast fights to take over.
“Are you finally going to do it?”
I jolt at the sound behind me. Yuki’s voice. It’s Yuki. I suck in a deep breath of air and check myself. My logician is back in control. My physical appearance hasn’t changed. Good. I almost fucked myself over with that stunt. Even the hunters, worthless mortals that they are, would have sensed my presence if I had gone through with my beast’s desires. I’m as well concealed as I can be right now, and I need to keep it that way.
I tear my eyes away from the girl before my beast can get worked up by the sight of her and that filth flirting.
“Evidently not,” Yuki comments. Then she cocks her head and rests her fingers on my chest. “Did I startle you?”
She did, but I don’t admit it.
“I’ve never been able to sneak up on you before. It shouldn’t be possible.”
“What are you doing here?” I change the subject.
She moves in closer to me, bringing her face to my chest as she reaches up with her hands, clasping them around the back of my neck. “Call it devotion, call it magic, but whatever it is, it ties me to you.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“I’m here for the same reason you’re here. We’re going to tear down this hunter base. We’ve done things your way, watching this base for weeks, hardly ever moving from your vantage point way up here on this abandoned warehouse. Let me take care of things from here. It’ll make you feel better,” she whispers, tugging on the back of my neck.
When I don’t budge, she let’s go of me and surveys the humans below. “I’ll start then,” she says.
I follow her line of sight and see she’s looking right at the girl who has compromised my beast.
“Don’t even think about it,” I warn.
“It’ll be fun,” she replies. I can see she’s thinking of letting her beast out.
“Control yourself or I’ll kill you where you stand.”
She tears her gaze away from the hunters below and looks straight into my eyes. It’s a challenge, the way she’s looking at me. She never challenges me.
“Will you?” she taunts. “I’m only going to carry out what you yourself were about to do.”
“I said control yourself.”
I reach out and grab her, locking her body against mine as I bring my teeth to her neck, slicing her skin and drawing blood.
“I’m not bluffing,” I tell her.
She doesn’t struggle against me. She only holds her hands reflexively to my arms, silently pleading with me to release her. I do. She falls down in front of me, holding one of her hands to her neck as she gingerly rubs the sore spot.
“The angels want us to rush in blindly. They’ve set some sort of trap,” I say. “I don’t know what it is, but it has something to do with that girl. We’ve been over this.”
“You don’t have to make excuses to me,” she murmurs. “You’re never going to make a move. You keep saying the same things, but you never do anything about it. You aren’t acting like yourself lately.”
“It’s like I said.” I growl. “It’s the angels. They’re plotting something. If we rush in there, we’re both dead.”
“Are you saying that because it’s what you want to believe or because you honestly think it’s the truth? How powerful can one mortal girl be?”
I crouch down so I’m level with her. She holds my gaze for only a moment before she looks away, unable to contend with me.
I can’t take another look out into the crowd. I’ll see my girl with that angel again. If that happens, my logician will lose this battle to my beast, and I can’t allow that. But I can’t let her out of my sight either. For now, I’ll rely only on the weighty feeling of her presence, a presence that somehow distinguishes itself to me as an individual among the masses. It’s almost as if I’ve claimed her. That’s how bright she shines in this muddy world. I can pick her out easily, and that too, shouldn’t be possible. I haven’t claimed her. She hasn’t surrendered herself to me. I don’t know her. So, how is any of this possible? And why do I so desperately want to understand it instead of just eliminating the problem?