So. Here I am again. :o) Back out of the maze of my crazy thinking and oops... I just realized that the story is taking a heavier turn than I had expected. I am starting to like the Devil as much as I like Hal. And that starts to shed another light on everything.

Just a short note. The prayers used in this chapter might sound a bit odd in english. I frankly translated them out of my own german bible. So sorry for that.

Have fun.

Hugs

AG

Chapter Six

The SUV was slowly driven along the streets, getting closer to the destination. Nobody spoke, as Tom securely guided the car through the warehouse complex. He stopped. Everyone got out.

»According to Loris there are 3 entrances«, Spencer said aloud. He plugged in his earpiece.

»We will spread«, Tom went on. »Be careful. We can't backup each other. Geoffrey and Nate – 12 o'clock. Simon and Spence – 9 o'clock. Alex and I take the front. Thermo-scanners on. Red is living. Blue is dead.«

»Bloody fuckers«, Spencer spat. »At least they can't break all of mother nature's rules.«

Geoffrey placed a hand on Tom's shoulder. »We won't falter. We won't fail. God is with us.«

Tom smiled. »Communication down now. Only in emergency.«

Then he gave the sign. The hunters deployed, taking position.

Ainin dreamed. She knew that she dreamed but she simply couldn't wake up. It felt like someone prevented it. And that someone stood in her room and watched her tossing herself around and clutching the blanket.

She lies on a bed in midst of a big, black roaring sea. There is no way out from this dreadful island. She is trapped. Trapped in a very dark place of the universe.

Suddenly the sea starts to shift. The waves lift up and break apart. Thunder roars, the spume splashes as a shape rises out of the water.

Pristine. Dark. Unholy.

Lighting illuminates his face. No – his faces. Flickering. Flashing. Death smiles and moves towards her.

She crawls to the edge of the bed, trying to escape him. Water, nothing but water. She looks down at the sea. Millions of howling faces drift in it. Aghast she turns away again, only to be confronted with him.

He stretches out his hand. »Come with me«, his voice echoes in her head. Two different tunes, two different gentle, seductive tunes.

Ainin starts to tremble. It feels like a horde of ants run along her skin. She turns away. Aimless. He comes closer. She rolls sideways. He follows suit and laughs. »You can't evade me. The more you try, the closer you'll be to me.« He grabs her arms and presses her down into the pillows. Then he kisses her. Heat colliding with heat. »We were one once. And we will be one again.« Slowly he licks along her throat. »I'll have you and you'll have me.«

Tom tiptoed along the wall, scanning the area. Silence and emptiness. Was it a trap at least? Through the scanner a silver shine appeared in front of him. Alex.

»Nothing in this room«, she whispered and pointed to the left. »Except for the body of a dog.«

He nodded and walked on. He prayed that the others had taken positions, too. Loris had said at the end of the hallway was a door. A stairway led up to the first floor. There they hid. Tom counted his steps. When he opened the door a red shadow appeared on his scanner. Spencer. He lifted a hand. So Simon had to be close by, too. The second silhouette appeared. Simon. Then another silver shine and red behind him. Nate and Geoffrey. A cross was painted on his forehead.

Slowly they climbed the stairs, their crossbows ready. There was only one door at the landing. They took position. Alex rent-a-ghosted inside.

In the next second the door flung open and Alex darted out with a yelp, crashing against Spencer and hauling him off his feat. Geoffrey didn't get luckier because the vampiric cause of Alex's flight kicked him in the belly.

Tom was attacked by a second vampire who grabbed his arm and tried to twist it. It was Nate who stepped in and dusted her with his stake.

Simon who had ducked sideways, quick-wittedly turned around and lifted his weapon. He pulled the trigger. The arrow shot out and pierced the chest of the first vampire who had just tried to jump at him. He walked a few steps before he fell down and clutched Simon's leg. Seconds later he exploded to dust.

Easy as pie? Definitely not. Loris had fucked with them, because another vampire came running at Tom and ripped the scanner off his head. The woman was beautiful, an Arabian Nights fantasy. But when she barred her teeth, he came back into reality. He hit her in the face with his crossbow. She cried out and lost her balance. Tom staked her quickly and waited for another attack.

When it didn't come, they surely did not relax but took the moment to gather themselves. 3 were down. How many lay in waiting? Carefully observing they walked through the door into another hallway and started opening every door, searching every room. Nothing.

Spencer gestured Simon. He lifted the crossbow and nodded. Spencer opened the door, ducked and rolled in. He threw the lightening crump. When the piercing brightness filled the room a sound caught his attention. He lifted his head and looked at the ceiling, after the bright light had ceased. »Shit!« he yelled. »Look up. They are above us!«

In that moment one of the vampires stooped down. Spencer stumbled backwards and fell against Simon, knocking him off his feet. Both fell down and cursed. Spencer fought the vampire as the creature tried to bite him. He was strong. He couldn't get him off.

Hands that took away his crossbow. He couldn't fight on 2 battlefields. Damn it. Then he heard the sound of an arrow being fired. Pretty close to his ear. The wooden stake hit the vampire forcefully through the head and threw him backwards, nailing him into the opposite wall.

»Sorry«, Spencer heard Simon's voice underneath him. His friend had taken his crossbow and solved the problem.

»Let's get this over with, shan't we?«

A sharp intake of breath. »Then be so kind and get the fuck off me!«

Spencer snickered and rolled sideways. He got up and lent Simon a hand. He took the stake out of his belt and walked to the vampire who seemed to be dead. But the proper the better. A stake through his heart made sure of it.

The other vampire, a woman according to her clothes, had fled the room. Simon and Spencer only heard the howling. When it faded, they knew that this vampire had also become dust and shadow.

His hands travel along her body, mess with her clothes. His weight takes her breath away. Ainin pants. She knows that he won't stop. He wants to own her. Body and soul caught in him. »I'll have you«, he whispers. »And you'll have me.« He kisses her neck.

Ainin feels dizzy. Her heart races, her skin aches.

»Open your eyes. Look at me!« he murmurs. »Do you see me? Look at me!«

Ainin still tries to fight, to hold up the barricade, even though her body screams for his. She whines. Fingers caress her face. Starting at her forehead, walking down her nose until finally resting on her lips. Lazily she opens her eyes and looks at the devilish dream. The smile suits him. It is not treacherous, just beautiful.

»Now, do you see me? Do you feel me?«

»Yes… I… I… see… you…«, she gasped and touched his face. She even lifted her body to deepen the contact to have his whole being focused on her. She succeeded and used the moment to grope for the lamp on the nightstand with her free hand. When her fingers clutched around, she lifted the lamp and smacked it heavily against his head. He fell from the bed accompanied by raining Tiffany glass.

Ainin jumped up and out of the bed. He was fast. Too fast. He took hold of her ankle and pulled. She also fell down and turned on her belly. She kicked him with her leg and crawled away. The shards of the broken lamp cut into her hands. She didn't stop, leaving red stains on the carpet. Her fingertips brushed a big shard. Big enough to be a weapon. She closed her hand around it and shakily got up.

He also rose, smiling again. Was everything a game to him? The wound on his head had already healed. »Are you aiming at making me angry?« he scoffed and held out his hand to her. »Come!«

Ainin gulped. Red and black danced in his eyes. She hid her left hand behind her back but didn't move.

He frowned. »Defiance still? Well…« He started to walk closer and closer until he stood in front of her, his eyes turning back to normal. His hands captured her face. She fought hard not to flinch when he lowered his head and kissed her. This time for real. His lips were soft but his kiss wasn't. It was demanding.

Ainin trembled. She mustn't fall. Not now. Before his presence became too devouring, she freed herself by biting his lower lip. He laughed, wrongly believing he'd won.

She gathered all her strength, lifted her arm and plunged the shard into his neck, pushing him away from her. He sank like a stone. Without hesitation Ainin ran towards the door that fortunately wasn't locked. She ripped it open and blindly rushed along the hallway.

»Where the fuck is Ainin?« Spencer stared at Simon. »The room's empty. All the others are, too.«

»There has to be another area. Hidden somewhere.« He listened. »Do you hear that? There is the noise of steps behind this wall. Someone is running. Wait.« He walked closer to the wall and placed his ear against it. »Definitely. Someone is running. So there has to be more space behind this.«

Ainin ran and wiped her bloody hands on her gown. Every door she opened only led into more rooms. None of them led outside. It felt like being jinxed. Wherever she turned to she didn't find a way out of this labyrinth. Fuck the devil. She ran on and rounded a corner. A trap. No doors anymore. Just a wall. She turned and stood with her back against it.

He slowly walked around the corner and stopped in his tracks. No wound was visible anymore. Only the stains on his clothes showed that he had bled. »You are a very naughty little girl«, he said and narrowed his gaze.

»I am not afraid of you!« she spat.

»Then why are you running away from me?« he twitted her and took a few steps closer.

Ainin stared at him and found assurance in his eyes. His account of patience had run dry. This time he would simply take what he wanted. She knew there was no escape, so she did what she always did when hope sought to abandon her. She prayed. »The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I be afraid of? The Lord is the breath of my live. Who shall be dreading me?«

He growled. »Stop that!«

But Ainin didn't stop. If prayers were the only thing to hold him back she would pray until her tongue fell off. »If the evil, my adversaries and enemies, want to get to me. To eat my flesh. So they have to fall down.«

»I told you to stop!«

Ainin straightened and raised her voice. »Lord, your grace is as wide as heaven. And your truth spreads as far as the clouds wander. Because with you is the fountain of live. And in your light we will see the light!«

»Enough now!« he hissed. Red flickered in his eyes as he jumped forward.

Spencer looked at the approaching rest of the team. »Tom, Simon and I think, Nin is behind the wall somewhere. Did fucking Loris talk about a second level?«

»No, the bastard kept quiet about that.«

»Can you find an entrance?« Geoffrey asked.

»Perfectly hidden. So we have to risk waking up the neighbours.«

»The walls are not that thick«, Simon spoke. »They have been additionally built. We simply break through. Let's use our crossbows as hammer and chisel.«

»Well. Let's get it going.« They took their positions and started to punch the wall with their weapons.

In the moment Hal had almost reached her a crashing sound became audible on the right wall. Dust and boulder gushed down. Another crash. A hole appeared and a head was stuck through accompanied by a voice: »Ainin?«

»Oh, God«, she croaked. »Simon! Simon!« She pushed herself away from the wall and ran towards the hole.

But he stepped in the way and grabbed her. »They can't save you!«

Lucifer roared in his head.

»Fuck, we can!« A male ghost appeared beside him and punched him in the face. He let go of Ainin and stumbled backwards. »You will not have her.«

»I already do«, Hal replied coldly. He wiped the blood away from his nose and opened up the gate. Lucifer seeped through and the ghost started to stumble. He lifted his hands and stared at them in shock.

»No, Hal, please, stop that!«

He turned his head. Alex. »There is strength in you. You couldn't destroy me. Please. Don't!«

»I don't care for him and you are putting the rest I have left for you in jeopardy, fluffy.«

»Then do it for me!« Ainin.

The male ghost already started to flicker.

»Too late for that, darling.«

»NO!« Alex threw herself at him. Using her ghostly power she kicked him halfway through the hallway. »I know this isn't you!« she shouted. »I remember a good man. Weird but good. Find him again, you moron!«

Hal got to his feet. He focused on Alex now. Lucifer did, too. That stopped the male ghost's decay but brought the doom upon her. He let the malice show. Glowing red eyes. »Now you'll scream, puppy!« Lucifer said and Alex did indeed scream.

More crashing sounds at the wall. The hunters were about to break through. He'd decided to let them live but in that case…

Someone hit him in the back. The male ghost. Time to finish him off, too.

»Nate, no…«

»Alex…«

Hal laughed. »Almost sounds like lover's last breath.« He lifted a brow. »Oh, really?« He looked at Ainin. »Your choice. Watch them falter or surrender to me!«

Tears streamed down her face but there was also a powerful vibe. The little nun that had run away from him had become the huntress again.

Appealing.

»Enough is enough.« Her voice was calm. Wind came up. Surprise appeared on her face. She lifted her blood stained hands and stared at them. Seconds later flames shot up and made her cry out.

Hal watched in awe and Lucifer in distress.

More and more flames shot up until Ainin stood completely on fire. Fire that would burn right down through to his core. Fire that would devour him. Hal started to run. Lucifer pushed harder and Hal ran faster. As the flames licked along the walls burning up the wallpaper, the paintings, everything; the back draft flung him forwards. He crashed through a door and fell down the stairs, every bone in his body screaming in pain.

For the first time of their alliance he heard Lucifer whimper. He was afraid of her. That's why he so desperately wanted to control her. Hal started to laugh. He laughed so hard until it felt like his lungs would explode in his chest.

Well, any comments? Am I losing it?