There was not much that could bother the Chthonian. As a matter of fact, Ash didn't think he'd ever seen Savitar this…fazed. The man—being—whatever he was seemed to take everything that happened to him in a single stride and yet the being strode into Katoteros like it was nothing, and blessed his old friend with his presence. Ash's palm left his cheek as he stood from his throne, the sound of his arm rubbing against his leather jacket the only sound in the room, amid Savitar's steps. "Savitar." Ash said in greeting, his eyes a stormy grey. "What's your ass doing here?" He asked, expecting a response or an explanation at the very least.
"Yo."
Ash blinked. That was it? "Where's Soteria?" Savitar asked, his gaze wandering from his one and only friend to settle on a doily sitting pretty on top of a side table. Just underneath a demon heirloom that could probably blow whoever touched it to bits. "Is that…? You let her decorate?" Savitar asked, cracking a smile in amusement. Savitar watched as Ash's shoulders sagged a little, knowing full well an argument had probably come out of Soteria's right to decorate Ash's place to her liking. Evidently it was an argument his friend lost.
"She's in a meeting," Savitar heard Ash say once he turned around, sitting once more on his throne that now had a cushion. Man, was he lucky he hadn't been strapped down. "What is it? It's not every day you take your ass off your surfboard and pay me a visit." He was right, Sav would much rather be catching some waves on his own private island than being well, anywhere else. Sav liked his privacy more than he did anything else. He found no interest in godly affairs and humans were worth nothing. So long as everyone stayed out of his way he was a happy man—or as close as he could come to it.
"I've been getting some premonitions. Considering I don't know what's going to happen until I set it in motion, I figure you could tell me what's in store." It was unlike Savitar to ask for a glimpse into his future and yet he could not help himself. He did not like surprises, he mused as he tightened his hold on his staff. The two-headed viper on top was motionless, turned to stone until Savitar willed it to move. This was a conversation between friends, no point in thinking about fighting tactics now. Sav watched as Ash's eyes changed color, and he figured he was doing as he asked. This whole seeing the future thing, it never really sat well with him. Sure, he could anticipate his enemy's moves and omniscient barely described the full scope of his powers, but Sav preferred to take his eternal existence one miserable day at a time. But this was an emergency.
To his surprise, Ash began to laugh. And then laugh some more. It wasn't until Sav made a point of punching his shoulder he showed any signs of stopping. "Well? What did you see?" Sav asked.
"You thought I was done in for? I saw wedding bells. Congratulations."
Ash's voice was still ringing in his hear when Savitar was gone in a flash.
::~
If there was one thing he gave humans credit for creating it was coffee. They were a pretty useless species otherwise, but their ability to brew a mean iced coffee kept Sav returning to his favorite shop, a secluded indie store little people knew about. Night had already fallen and there weren't many people inside. Sav flashed himself inside, standing in line and immediately scanning the room to see if anyone had noticed behind him. People were either staring intently at their screens or too tired to care, which was a good thing. He turned around to speak to the human behind the register when he nearly bumped into a woman in line in front of him, who had just turned around with a cup of coffee in her hand, her eyes wide and holding a question. Damn it. She saw.
"Did you just—" Sav scrambled for an excuse to keep her from asking questions and raising the suspicion of everyone else. Today was just full of mistakes, wasn't it? "Uh, it's a trick the staff uses. I work here." He said with a nod of his head, said nod making the entire staff believe he really did. It helped to be otherworldly. Just then a manager called his name, claiming he was needed in the back and that had sealed the deal. The woman nodded, stepping around him but now before giving him a strange look, like she almost didn't believe him. Sav watched her from the corner of his eye as she slipped into the booth behind him and held her cup in both her hands, deep in thought as she stared at the glass door that led to the entrance of the store. Figuring the worst was over, Savitar ordered his usual and planned to get the hell out of there before another human caught him slipping.
And then he felt it.
Daimons. There was no mistaking their foul stench, growing even more potent as three men strode into the store and made way straight to the woman's booth, instead of the register. Sav kept a low profile as he waited for his order, wondering just what they wanted from the human woman. "Maira Simmons?" One of them asked as he slipped into the booth. The woman—Maira, as he now knew her name, nodded. "Who wants to know?" He heard her ask in a bit of a defensive tone. She couldn't tell, could she? Sav watched as the demon told her her car was about to be towed. The woman was out of the store in a flash, her cup forgotten on the table as she rushed to the car meter. The three men went after her, Sav following closely behind. He doubted they cared about the well-being of her car.
"I could have sworn I put enough quarters in there," Maira said sheepishly as she dug through her purse, searching for any loose change. Her heels clicked against the sidewalk as she powerwalked to the meter, her car parked a few feet from the front of the store. Brown hair fell into her eyes obscuring her view, before she felt that someone was in front of her. Maira stopped in her tracks, tucking her hair behind her ear as her eyes settled on one of the men that had warned her about her car. Had he left the store before her? If he did, he was fast. "Oops, sorry." Maira said lightly, side-stepping the man and continuing her trek despite the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She stopped as he once again stepped into her path, his eyes darkening considerably as he looked at her chest. "Can I help you?" Maira asked, the cold stone strapped to black leather tied to her neck all of the sudden carrying an extra weight as the man in front of her stared at it intently.
"The amulet," The man said, his eyes flashing red as his voice deepened into something that sounded almost demonic. Maira pressed slender hand to the stone, taking a step back cautiously and bumping into another man just a step behind her. Wasn't he the one that had warned her about her car? Her dark eyes widened as the man gave her a sardonic grin and flashed a fang.
Fang? Was that really a fang in his mouth? Maira shrieked as he held fast to both her arms, her purse dropping to the ground with a dull thud as a scuffle ensued. "Let go!" She cried, writhing in his grip as the other lunged for her necklace.
"You guys are some filthy shit, you know that? Preying on an innocent woman." Savitar growled as he stalked out of the store and both men ceased their movements. Great, now he had resorted to some sort of human police officer.
"Out of the way, Chthonian. She does not concern you." The daimon who held Maira rasped, as if the word itself was disgusting. Maira stared at all the men around her like they had lost their minds, already feeling the pain that came from the Daimon's tight hold on her forearm. "She has something that belongs to us."
Sav didn't care whether or not the human woman had done something to piss them off, if there was one thing he despised it was when Daimons meddled with his affairs. And as of that moment, he made it a point to make that woman one of his. If she had something the Daimons wanted, he was interested. Savitar unsheathed his sword, pulling it from his side as the illusion he cast over himself fell away and Maira was able to see him for what he truly was. She watched, mouth agape, as the sword crackled with electricity. Savitar exuded power and she could feel it, more than she could see it. This sword was barely scratching the surface.
Maira was pulled out of the way as the daimons surrounding her circled in on Savitar, seemingly growing in number. Savitar let out a low growl. "Release the human, and I might spare you." He said, giving one last chance. The Daimons claws dug into Maira's shoulder and she let out a yelp. Savitar sighed, raising his sword until the bright, sizzling blue light emanating from it illuminated his face. Maira could then see her protector for the first time that night, an unusual eye color catching her interest. It was a color as dark as amethyst, a stark contrast to his bronzed skin. It was then she knew there was more to him than she had originally thought.
Savitar remained poised, watching as the daimons readied themselves to strike. Yet his gaze was on the one who held the woman captive, as if it was his ultimate goal. He'd make that one suffer the most. "Guess there'll be murder then," he sighed, seeing no way about it. A Damion charged at him from the right, hellbent on making as much damage as possible. Sav swung his sword in a wide arch, the electricity from it singing the demon's face before his sword cut through like paper, the rest of its body blasting to bits. That did not stop the others, a demon's claws nearly grazing Savitar's cheek before he anticipated the move and jumped back. Savitar growled. He did not want to use the full extent of his power and even less so in front of a human, but if he didn't he might not be able to save her.
Maira visibly struggled against the Daimon that had her in his hold. "Hold still, blasted bitch!" The Daimon released one arm to swipe the necklace from her neck as Maira ignored his orders, its claws bared and all. She could not tell what happened then, only that she felt the overwhelming urge to protect her amulet, even at the cost of her own life. She would not allow anyone to take it from her. The amulet shocked the Daimon with a force so intense his hand burned, eliciting a colorful curse from the creature. "Fine. I guess the only way I have left is to kill you," he cursed, lowering his head into Maira's neck as his fangs bit savagely into her skin. Maira screamed, pain shooting up her neck and seeming to resonate in her body as she was rendered immobile.
Her screamed reached Savitar's ears and in that moment, he had to make a choice. Leave the human woman to die, or risk his exposure and do away with the Daimons circling him once and for all. His decision took all but three seconds—but believe me, Savitar had thought long and hard before he willed the Daimons to burst into flames, the fire so potent it blew them to smithereens.
The last thing Maira saw was Savitar stepping out of a ring of fire before the ground came rushing up to meet her.
::~
Hi! It's been six years since I first published this story and I have finally decided to rewrite it. I will be making a few changes to the narrative given my writing has now improved, but I still welcome constructive criticism and comments. Especially if you're a returning reader! The original Ieria Tis Skotenis is still up, but will be taken down momentarily as I continue to rewrite. Keep in mind this story is pure fanfiction, and may not be directly similar to Kenyon's work. Thanks for reading and please leave a review!
