Chapter 6: Return

Houston, Texas

"What the hell am I going to fix?" Trish, who was dressed in blue jeans and tight white t-shirt, said as her stomach growled loudly. It was then that the phone rang. She looked at the caller id to see the phone number of a bar that called quite frequently here.

"Hello?" Trish answered.

"Is Maria there?" Trish heard a meek female voice say on the other end.

"Sorry hun, she's not here right now. She's gone on a trip again, and you know how those go." Trish explained.

"Oh, okay. Well, if she gets in today would you mind having her call us?"

"Of course, but I really don't think that she'll be in today. If she does happen to show up I'll let her know you called, who is this?" Trish said as she got a pen and paper.

"Serene."

"Okay, I'll let her know if I see her. Thank you, bye." Trish said as she wrote the name down and hung up the phone.

Just as Trish sat down and turned the TV on, the door to the apartment opened. Trish gaped as she saw Maria walk through the door looking haggard and mumbling about stupid cold-hearted half demon pricks.

"Well you're back early. I wasn't expecting you back for 2 more days at least. Are you okay?" Trish stood up and walked over to take some of Maria's bags from her.

"Freaking asshole, I wish I could've shot him. That would've been one less prick to deal with." Maria practically shouted.

"A Half Demon, why didn't you shoot him? Isn't that what you've done all this time?" Trish said confused. Maria had never been one to let Half Demons live if she ever encountered one. That fact she had, completely bewildered Trish.

"I can't. I had another dream and was told not to let him die. Damn this sucks!" Maria closed the door behind her and leaned against the door with her arms folded under her breast.

"How unusual, they usually don't tell you that you can't get rid of certain Demons." Trish furrowed her brow. "You look tired." She as she looked Maria over thoroughly. "At least you don't look injured." She noticed Maria frown at that. "Did you use any juice while you were out there?"

"No I didn't have to. That's what I can't get. He had this feeling about him that if I slowed him down any he would just leave me for dead. He had this air about him that clearly said I don't like Humans so stay the fuck away from me." Maria's frown deepened. "But whenever we were so badly outnumbered he made sure that I didn't receive any injuries. He made sure that the Devils didn't touch me, which confuses the Hell out of me. I can't figure him out at all. He hates Humans but he's a Devil Hunter, which means he can't like the Devils or wouldn't be hunting them down and killing them, right?" Maria said as looked up at Trish for confirmation.

Trish shrugged. "Maybe he's just messed up in the head. That could always be it too." Trish smiled.

Maria laughed. "Yeah, that's always possible, and that would make since with all the damned mixed signals he's been giving out in freaking waves." Maria smiled and shook her head.

"Why don't you forget about him and we go out get something to eat?" Trish suggested.

"Sure, after I get a shower of course." Maria said as she took her bags and headed down the hall that led to her bedroom that was opposite Trish's.

"Okay, just don't take too long. I swear I'm about to starve!" Trish said as she followed Maria helping to carry Maria's bags to her room.

"Can Devils starve? I didn't think that, that was possible." Maria said as she laughed at the absurd thought.

"We can it just takes a lot longer for us than Humans though, but we still need sustenance." Trish explained.

New York, New York

Vergil unlocked the door and the seal he had set up before he had left. The apartment was dark, as it always was when he came back. No one lived here but him, and that was just how he liked it. He turned the lights on and headed towards his bedroom with his bags in hand.

He entered the room and sat his bags on the bed and began systematically putting them where they needed to go. "Damn. I'm going to need to wash my clothes. It would be best to get theses out to the dry cleaner as soon as I get up tomorrow. It's too late to do it tonight. They're probably closed." He growled as he thought this and finished put his things away.

He walked out of the bedroom and went to the room that served as his personal library and office. "I need to find out more information about that woman, Maria. There's something in her aura that doesn't sit well with me. There's something about her that's different from other Humans I've met. Plus those scars, any other human who suffered wounds such as those should be dead."

Vergil's brow furrowed as he frowned and sat down in the chair, leaning back in it to think about the redhead he had had to deal with on the this last mission. Vergil sat up as a thought occurred to him. He picked up the phone, dialed and waited for the other to answer.

"Jack," Vergil said into the phone.

"Vergil. What do you want?" The man on the other side said nervously.

"You still owe me and I'm calling in that favor. You've lived a lot longer than me so you've seen more than I have." Vergil said with a deadly calm in his voice as he leaned back in his chair again and stared up at the ceiling.

"Yeah, what of it?" Jack said.

"Don't take that tone with me. I know where to find you. I could get to you and kill you with an hour and you know it." Vergil threatened. "Have you ever met any Humans who have an unusually fast healing rate?"

"A couple of times, I have."

"Was there anything else unusual about them?"

"The only ones I've met like that have been powerful Priestesses. Either that or the Human was a freak." Jack explained.

"A freak?" Vergil questioned.

"You know, those Humans who can see into the future for real and can move things with their minds and such. There aren't many but they do exist. Those and the priestesses are the one you would do well to stay away from. They might be the only ones that could get rid of a bastard like you." Jack said distastefully.

"I would choose my words carefully, if I were you Jack. I'll be in touch." Vergil said as he hung up the phone.

"Priestess? I could certainly see her as such after that conversation we had in her tent. That's most likely what she is or at least comes from. I'll have to make sure to keep an eye on her. If she becomes powerful I may have to get rid of her."