Chapter 2

Aeon had left very shortly after finding the man to be gone, taking only the time to steal some clothing from the female's closet in the bedroom. Now she was dressed in normal clothing; a pair of skinny jeans and a shirt that came just above her navel and a neckline that showed off a large deal of her chest. She felt very odd in this type of clothing, and for the first time was self conscious about what those around her thought. Though her figure was slim and near perfection in tone and figure, her mind played over what the mortals thought. As she caught herself fretting about this a scowl crossed her face and he rubbed her temples as she sat on a wooden bench in a beautiful park. I can not wait until night so I can go back to the Demon Realm… A demon like her had no business worrying about what weak little mortals like them thought but when a young jogger ran past, giving a low wolf whistle, she felt her cheeks warm up with a light blush. She growled inwardly then got up and continued walking, feeling funny as the wind swept her midnight hair playfully about her elegantly shaped face. Suddenly she stopped as the breeze brought a smell to her nose, and one she had only just recently learned; the man-eater's blood. He had been cut by the broken glass on the door, just a tiny scrape on his thumb, but it was enough for her to pick up on the scent. But now it was more than a scrape, as she could tell from the strength of the smell. Rather curious about what could hurt the monster of a man that had slaughtered so many demons, she began to follow the smell.

A gunshot wound… of course, why did I think otherwise? Humans and their love of those damned things… It takes years of skill to wield a saber or shoot a bow, but any idiot can point steel and fire it… She thought about the hole in his shoulder as she watched him from the tree canopy, her mind working angrily over firearms; a tool of mortals she had grown to hate with a fire in her heart. She then felt a pang of guilt though, for watching the man who had saved her without offering him her help. But in her mind, he was still a danger and had to be treated as such until he proved himself to be otherwise; then again, what harm could he do in his injured state. She rubbed her forehead while she gave it some thought, but the thought was interrupted as something flew into the tree just shy of her head. Her eyes snapped open as she looked down at him, steak knives in his hands. She formed a slim needle about five inched long in her hand, then tucked it into her boot as she dropped down and walked over to him. She offered him her hand hesitantly, speaking slowly, "A favor for a favor…" she felt a sudden chill as he took her hand and stood up; it was fear and intimidation that she was feeling for the first time inspired by a mortal human. He tucked the knives away into the bag at his hip, then flexed his shattered shoulder which gave a grinding pop. His face contorted in pain for a split second, but he quickly hid it and glared at her.

"So, you survived the night? That must mean that those putrid little bastards stayed away during the dark hours… You are lucky I was still close by when I saw those damned things getting close to the house." His face took on a grin but it was not his twisted snarling grin, but rather a cocky one that gave him the first look of true emotion she had seen from him. To any normal human he would look fine with his wound, but he could not hide the pain from her. His face looked calm an unbothered to mask the pain she could sense rolling off of him. She sighed and let the silvery black shadow meld from her wrist to pool on the ground and form into Pandemonia. Just the sight of the small dragon brought a smile to his face, and it got even bigger as it flew and landed on his good shoulder. By instinct the beast reached its head over and began to lick and nuzzle the bullet hole. It closed up quickly but the pain remained though greatly dampened. His job done, Pandemonia curled around Lec's shoulders and rested his head down into the warm fabric of his shirt. Aeon eyed the dragon with a look of irony and mock anger that caused it to whimper and bury its head further into the shirt.

"You little traitor…" The words escaped her full pink lips along with an almost silent giggle of girlishness, aimed towards the dragon.

Though it was so quiet, Lec had heard the laugh and raised an eyebrow at it. Aren't demons supposed to be void of any kind of humanistic happiness? Also he gave her a quick scanning look, finding her less than proper clothing to be a big difference than the dark garb she had sported the night before. He guessed it was a good idea though, to try and fit in as much as she could while she stayed for whatever reason she had; her personal agenda was none of his concern. Like her, he laughed softly, but was able to keep it inside. She tracked me down just to help me… She is nicer than I thought, even if she had plans to kill me last night. Hmmm…those seem to be gone for now… Well, neither of us is going to accomplish much by standing in this park while the cold nips at us like jackals. Clearing his throat he turned and began to walk away briskly, without a word to her explaining why or where he was heading off too.

She was shocked by his sudden leaving, and jogged to catch up to him, matching his pace, "Hey, where are you going? Don't you want to know wh-" She was silenced by a stern glare from him that held the meaning to stop talking for now. She quickly shut her mouth and kept walking by his side, her index finger on her bottom lip as she thought. Then her face turned red in a blush of mixed anger and embarrassment; she had obeyed his implied command without any questioning and was following him like a lost dog would follow a loving child! What was wrong with her? I am Aeon for crying out loud! Demons tremble at my very mention, awe struck at my legends of ferocity and might! Yet her she was with this injured mortal man obeying his looks and, inwardly confessing with anger, adjusting her shirt every time he looked so she would not look unattractive. Her palm itched and burned, which was a repeating thing for the last day, so she scratched it as her steps echoed his.

He led her with slow and deliberate direction to the house they had stayed in the night before; it was not a very luxurious house but it was protection and easily accessible to him and her. But to his dismay, police lurked around the perimeter, brought her by the slaughter of the two humans the night before. He gave a hiss of anger then walked up to them which warranted them to aim their guns at him dangerously. He raised his hands in a sign of giving up, then spoke in his dry voice, "Hey, I am just here to report some evidence. I saw it last night, it was the wraith's that killed them. They also got to me as I tried to flee…" Saying this, he motioned to the bloody and torn shoulder he sported.

One of the cops, a bigger guy with a beer gut and a receding hairline, spoke first, "That is such BS… This is not the work of a demon, it is too neat and clean. No, I'd say this is the work of an escaped mental patient that the asylum contacted us about a few hours ago. A silver haired bastard with possible injuries." His mouth twitched as he spoke, and he raised his gun and fire twice at Lec, who dropped and lunged forward. His good shoulder connected hard with the police officer's gut and drove the man to the ground where he was able to wrestle the officer's gun free. When his rookie partner moved to help, Lec put the gun to the fat one's forehead, threats in his cold blue eyes. He hid the motion of taking a knife out of the bag with the guard's body, then slit the big guy's throat as he lunged at the thinner one. This took the rookie by surprise, and he gave a shout as he hit the dirt. Lec thrust the knife into him six times then stood up slowly, looking around himself at the fresh carnage. He knew they could not stay here, so he kicked at the dead body of the fatter officer and stuck his revolver in his waistband before going inside. He wandered into the kitchen and found a phone-book while loading more and more kitchen knives into the pouch at his side. Aeon came in just as he was picking up the phone, dialing a number he had his index finger resting on.

There was silence as the phone rang a few times before a person on the other line greeted him, which caused him to smile softly, "Yes, I would like to order a cab. Yes, I am visiting my cousins a few cities over. I am at the corner of Main and Elwood… Thank you ma'am, I will be ready then, with my fare." He hung up the phone and turned to her, looking her over quickly. "I don't know what you are planning, but you should do like me and get as far from here as you can." This seemed to be the last thing he had to say to her, as he spun on his heel and quickly ran upstairs. She followed him, interested in the insane man's next move. Yes it must be his next move, because he seemed to be so good at it that is was just a game to him. She found him in the bedroom, stripping out of his torn and bloodied clothing; her cheeks blushed light pink at seeing him in his boxers, seeing how the corded muscles in his stomach flexed with every move he made. He disappeared into the closet and soon came out with a pair of loose fitted jeans and a grey pocket-tee on. Staying out only long enough to lay his ruined clothes on the bed, he soon went back and came out carrying and red duffel bag. He sat it on the bed, and began to pile it with more clothes. He also put the gun under all of the clothes, as well as his bag of knives. Giving her one more look, he picked up the bag and 'CRACK'! His bad arm snapped out of place, with just the force that picking up a bag of clothes put on it, hanging limp now. He gave a look at it, not of pain, but of shock alone.

She walked over and picked up the bag then gripped his bad arm like a vice, looking at him with eyes that were meant to let him know what was about to happen. He gave a slow nod then winced as she twisted his arm back up into its socket. Still, he did not make a sound though his grimace lasted a few seconds longer. She spoke to him very quietly, sternness in her whisper, "Lec, I am coming with you… I would be dead if it was not for you coming back to fight those demons. I owe you and this is the very least I can do for you is help you to where you are going."

He looked at her, genuine shock in his glacier blue eyes, and spoke in slow and easy to hear diction, "Do not follow me simply because of a sense of pity or the need to pay me back for what I did for you. I am quite sure you have your own issues and agendas you need to pay heed to." He took his bag from her with his good arm and slowly began to walk down the stairs, hunger gnawing at his belly. He stopped in the kitchen and opened the fridge to get something to wet his cracking lips and put in his mostly empty stomach. He twisted the cap off of a gallon of milk and began to drink it from the jug, feeling instantly more refreshed. Sadly there was not any cold food in there, so he grudgingly sat the now empty jug down and went outside to stand on the side-walk. He was aware of her exiting the house behind him, her actions truly confusing him. She has no reason to help me…why would she want to?

His answer came from behind him, louder than usual, "I owe you and no matter what you say, I am coming with you. Unless…you can stop me that is." This answer was false though, her cover story as she thought of it. The truth was she wanted to see what it was like to live as a normal human for a few more days; she had had fun today even if it was a little bit more stressful than she had imagined it to be. And he was a normal man but had demonic tendencies which made him a perfect tutor for her to observe and learn from. Yes, she did feel like she owed him a good deal in return for warding off the demons, but it was mostly her desire to live a normal life for a period of time. She whispered a silent apology to Pandemonia who was now a part of her again, then began to follow him to the street corner where a yellow vehicle had pulled up. Following his example once he had put his bags in the trunk, she entered the car and started to tune out the noise of him and the car as he mumbled to the driver where he wanted to go. She was vaguely aware of the car moving as they began heading for wherever Lec had told the man to take them. Though she was well rested from last night, she found herself letting out small yawns of boredom. Lec heard them and nudged her, growling a sign to her that she needed to stay awake. She would nearly pout, but instead would not show any of her feelings around him or the cab driver. She simply rested her chin on her hand and looked out the window at the rapidly passing scenery.

He did not know why she had decided to accompany him, but inside he was glad for it. She was a killer like him, just not as cold or calculating. He could feel a sense of kindness in her, one that nearly cost her a life last night. If she had not hesitated outside the door of the bathroom last night, she would have killed him and been gone before the demons had shown up for her item. But she had not gone through with it, and the demons ahd gotten to her and nearly kileld her. It was pure luck that he decided that she was interesting enough to go back and fight off the monsters. His thoughts were buzzing, though his bored expression did not show it; 'Aren't demons like her supposed to be the ultimate killers? should she not be one entity without remorse or guilt? Why did she not kill me last night? Why does she want to come with me?' He was unused to kindness from anyone, and this demon's amiaty was most unexpected. He was brought from his thoughts as the cab stopped in front of a large brick building with a dingy hotel sign on a battered post.

He nudged her once more and she looked around silently then got out as he did. He took his bags from the back, and paid the driver who veered off in a cloud of dust and exhaust. He turned and tapped her shoulder as he walked slowly up to the hotel and pushed into the dimly lit place. There were a few dusty cloth chairs and a crotchety old man sitting behind a scarred oaken desk. The duo approached him and he looked at them with a mostly toothless grin, "How can I help you two young'uns? Looking for a room or two?" Lec only gave a polite smile and picked up a pen, signing two names on the sheet for tenants; Alex & Eliza Cross. The man pushed his bifocals higher up on his hooked nose and read it, then smiled and said, "A couple eh? How cute, we have two rooms open, with a twenty dollar first night fee." Lec smiled as Aeon cursed him mentally for making people think they were together. Twenty one dollar bills were set on the counter and a large key dropped into Lec's palm. It took them only a few moments to find the room, which was surprisingly clean. Lec tossed his bags on the bed and then flopped back on it, wincing as the impact jarred his bad arm.

"Ughhh, will you do me the favor of bringing beauty out to see if she can reset this arm once more?" She tilted her head then realized that he was talking about her dragon; she sighed and mumbled a few obscenities as the dragon came from her plam and took wing before it touched the ground. Lec called it over in a cooing voice, "Come here you little beauty you, I need your help here." Sure enough, the small animal landed on the bed by him and sniffed at his neck and shoulder. Trilling in happiness to see him, it touched its snout to his shoulder. There was a look of relief as the muscles and bones in Lec's arms mended back into one place and the right form. He gave it a few shrugs then smiled and placed a soft kiss on the dragon's nose which had twin rivers of smoke rising up from it. Lec then got up and looked around, then his icy blue eyes fell on her, "Aeon is it? What do you have to gain from accompanying me around like this? You do not need protection do you? Or am I still a target that needs to be watched over until the time to strike?" He turned from her, waiting for an answer; when none came and he turned to look into her eyes, she was gone.