Chapter 9: When the Heat Rises

Tired does not even begin to describe how I felt after the chase the previous night; I felt as though I were some kind of a lead brick or a heavy statue as I struggled to awake the next morning, my muscles objecting to every movement. Sighing, I ignored the screaming in my muscles and trudged into my bathroom, splashing icy cold water onto my face before looking up into the mirror. My eyes were slightly baggy, and believe me when I say my eyes expressed the exact emotion I was feeling.

After taking a very refreshing shower and getting dressed in my favorite dark blue jeans and my favorite Eagles shirt I had gotten at a concert (when the angels and I had been stationed in Kansas City due to some higher level demons causing issues), I stepped out into the (oddly empty) living room and sat down on one of the couches.

"Morning," Mikael's deep voice spoke all of a sudden, causing me to jump. He appeared in from the kitchen area with what appeared to be a glass of water, but he appeared to be oddly pale and fidgety, as he kept tapping his fingers along the side of the glass.

"Good morning. Uh, are you okay? You look like a corpse," I remarked, grinning a tiny bit.

"Ah..I'm fine," he replied, a bit awkwardly. By his body language, I could tell that he was the kind not to admit when he was in pain or when he needed something. "Actually, Abira, can I tell you something?"

Red flags were going off in my head, sounding louder than a Boeing 747 engine. "Sure.." I said, albeit reluctantly.

"I'm a vampire. Ancient vampire, to be exact," he managed to force out. His eyes avoided mine.

"I know." He looked at me with slightly widened eyes. "Man, if I know your family, I know that you are a vampire."

"I honestly thought it would shock you, as I have not shown you my true nature."

"Don't need to."

He became silent for a few minutes. "Then I assume that you know why I am so pale and..weak."

"You need blood." I sighed and stood up. "Here, hand me that glass."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Why? What are you going to do?"

"What do you think, genius?" I spat impatiently.

"Don't talk back to me." he snarled.

"Are you my dad all of a sudden? Hand it here, for the freaking love of Pete!" I snapped.

"You do realize I could kill you in an instant, right? I suggest you tame that tongue before it brings your downfall."

"Oh can you now? Man, another human could kill me- heard of terrorists? So could a cat, tick, or even a really dedicated pigeon. You don't faze me with that crap. Hand me the glass or you can keel over because you had a stick up your rear end and refused blood." I felt adrenaline speeding through my veins, almost urging me to start fighting. But given the circumstances, that would be an incredibly stupid idea.

I could see anger blazing like an icy blue flame in his eyes, and I could definitely see darkness rising in him. I felt a small trickle of fear at this- perhaps I had run my mouth too much.

That is one thing about me: I tend to get lippy when angry. And it has gotten me in trouble in the past.

After a few tense moments, he finally handed me the glass in one jerky motion, his eyes not leaving mine.

"Thanks," I said in a brittle tone, turning around and heading to the kitchen. I grabbed one of the large knives from the knife holder and made a cut on the inner part of my forearm, going down towards the inner part of the elbow. I poured out the little water that was left, and filled the glass halfway with my blood before I grabbed an old rag and wrapped my wound with it. Grasping the glass, I headed back to the living room and handed the glass to Mikael. "Here."

He eyed me tersely before accepting the glass and downing it rather quickly. Within only a few minutes, his normal complexion was restored, and his hands were not fidgeting anymore. "I suppose I must thank you," he growled.

"You're welcome," I returned, a slight edge to my voice. "Balthazar should be coming down anytime now to give us the details on what exactly happened. I haven't been chased like - it felt like I was speeding for our lives through the backend of Hell." Footsteps coming down the stairs drew the attention of the both of us, and we saw Balthazar standing on the step nearest to the top. "I thought I heard bickering down here," he mused, coming down the rest of the stairs. "Are you both ready for your debriefing?"

"Yes," we replied simultaneously, straightening up a little bit.

Balthazar took up a position on the chair adjacent to the couch, letting out a small sigh as he did so. "Well, the report just came in at around 6 AM this morning that they were higher-level demons on their way to assess the progress of their "subjects," when they saw and recognized the Trans-Am and gave chase."

"What is being done with them now?" Mikael inquired.

"As of now, they are being dealt with by High Command- Michael and those under him came down just this morning to deal with them. What he will be doing with them, I have no idea- my orders have yet to come in- but you can be assured that they will not be giving chase anytime soon."

This news was somewhat reassuring, but the fact that they recognized the Trans-Am bothered me. "You said they recognized the Trans-Am?"

"I did."

"Does that mean we should use another vehicle for patrols?"

"That would be ideal, since you both are incredibly valuable. Take Lee instead when you patrol tonight."

"Lee?" Mikael inquired.

"I'll show you later," I answered. "Have our orders changed?"

"Not yet. Haniel will be back tonight to speak with you two, but she has to head to Beijing to ask one of her captains of something and to give orders concerning a particular province that keeps causing trouble." He grinned. "But for now, I would suggest that you two smooth out your differences and rest. We have no room for internal quarreling, not when there are more dangerous foes involved."

Mikael and I glanced awkwardly at each other before nodding reluctantly.

"Excellent. I shall be in my study if either of you need me." He smiled and turned around to head back up the stairs, disappearing from our sight.

Mikael turned to me. "So who exactly is Lee?"

"It's not a person, if that is what you are thinking," I explained, grinning mostly to myself. "Follow me."

The lights in the garage buzzed to life when I flipped on the switch, glancing brightly off of both vehicles.

"Watch this," I hissed to Mikael, who was standing confusedly behind me. "Lee, flash your lights if you can hear me!"

In an instant, the headlights on the Dodge Charger flickered twice. "I see you brought a guest. Is this the guy you told me was the backend of a donkey?" came the voice of the vehicle.

Mikael squinted at me. "You called me a what?"

"What? You are one- well, most of the time," I retorted, but I was using every ounce of nerve and strength to keep from busting out laughing.

Mikael, understandably, was not laughing. "Please explain why your car is sentient."

"Angel's blood, my boy," Lee responded, with a bit of an edge to his voice.

"I did not ask you, you sorry piece of scrap metal," Mikael growled. He went over to Lee and slammed his hand on the hood.

"Well I answered, you stinking leech," Lee retorted, and the driver's side door swung wide open and knocked Mikael on the ground. Within the second, Mikael stood back up and looked as though he were about to break the windshield when I exclaimed, "Hey now, that's enough out of y'all!"

Mikael, glaring at the car, carefully replaced the wrench he had grabbed off the wall, and Lee slowly closed the driver door, but I can guarantee you that if Lee had eyes, he would not have stopped staring at Mikael.

"Good. Lee, you will be our patrol vehicle for tonight. Apparently the demons we were chased by recognized the Trans Am, and High Command wants us to head out tonight again for another patrol."

"They really recognized the car? I'm shocked," Lee replied, his tone more sarcastic than anything.

"Lee, are you getting lippy with me?" I asked in a slightly teasing tone.

"Nah, I'm just kidding. Seriously though, I am shocked that they recognized the car after all this time."

I sighed. "Same here. Anyhow, just be ready around 8:30 or so tonight." Pausing, I turned to Mikael. "Would you help me transfer some of the weapons from the Trans-Am to Lee's trunk?"

Mikael, casting an icy glance down at Lee, nodded. "No guarantee that I won't "accidentally" fire one of the guns."

"So help me if you fire one, I will ship you to Hell in a cardboard box," Lee spat. "Or, rather, what's left of you."

"Try me," Mikael returned.

"Settle down gents, we have a task to do," I interrupted. That was when my phone buzzed, and the second I picked up, I heard Balthazar's voice on the other end. "Abira, I have grave news." His tone was unusually taut, and that sent a thrill of fear down my spine.

"What's wrong?" I inquired in a wobbly, worried tone. Mikael had stopped glaring at Lee, and his gaze was puzzled as he looked at me. What's going on? he seemed to mouth.

I held my finger up.

"There is a threat that some demons are heading here to launch an attack. Come inside immediately, and bring weapons- especially my angel blade." With that, the other line clicked.

"What was that about?" Mikael asked, also in a taut tone.

"We have some demons coming in to attack," I replied, my heart thudding in my chest.