Elise stood outside the door, waiting for the footsteps to get there, and the fighting to stop inside. Shadow was the first to the top, followed by Sonic, Silver, and a platoon of royal guards. Shadow loaded his weapon. "We heard shots. What happened." "We were looking around, and it showed up. He tried to fight it, and I ran. I think he got it." Shadow looked doubtful. "We'll see. I'll take point. Smith, take tails. Cover formatio-" More shots were fired behind the door, followed by an impact against the wall. The group burst in, weapons raised.
"You just missed him." One of the soldiers helped me up. "It took off through that balcony." Sonic was ready to go. "We'll go after it." "No point, it can dissolve its form at any time. Besides, better to let it think it's won." I looked at the beast's severed tail. "With this, we should be able to find out if it's weak to anything. I need someone who can perform an autopsy." Sonic stepped up. "No problem. Tails can handle that." He moved to grab the tail. "No! Don't touch it. It has an aura that can poison your very soul. Let me handle it." "How?" I pulled my sleeve down, showing everyone my tattoo. "The Pentagram of Protection, tattooed in Dead Man's Blood. Makes me immune to daemonic auras." I grabbed the tail. "We'll need a biohazard unit to handle it." The platoon CO lowered his weapon. "Don't worry, our suits allow us to handle biohazardous materials. I'll take it." I handed it to him. "Fine, but if you feel anything wrong, no matter how slight, let me know. I can purify you."
He took the tail, and he and his men headed back out. I grabbed the bottle of brandy, still intact, and took a drink. "Well, I guess that's that." "Hold on." Sonic tapped his foot. "Where do you get off, challenging me, then turning all good samaritan and fighting daemons?" I put down the bottle. "I do what I want. I wanted to challenge you, and now I want to kill that thing. It's not up to you how I live my life. You don't like it, then fuck off." I grabbed the bottle, took a drink, and he left, as did the other two hedgehogs. Behind me, I heard Elise gasp. "You've been hit." She ran up as I quickly lost balance. "Warning. Massive blood loss detected. Medical treatment recommended. Translation: Get your ass to a hospital, quickly." I rolled my eyes. "Thanks, tips. What would I do without you?" Elise helped me up, guided me to the stairs, and helped me to the infirmary.
As I lay in the hospital bed that night, I though about the events of the last two days. I knew something was about to unfold, but what was my role in it? And could I break it this time? How much longer until I was free? Such questions could wait, though. I realized that I had much bigger problems ahead.
END OF BOOK ONE