Chapter 22: Invisible Man
Summary: Xander is met with an imperceptible adversary.
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Sephrim watched the two cars pull away from the office building and race into the night. For a moment he hesitated, deciding which car to follow. His eyes focused on the black Jag and he then made his decision. As it grew closer he went over in his mind exactly what he planned to do.
Simple really, he thought. It may not stop them completely, but it will delay them long enough for me to warn Dakota. Instantly he blended into the rain and dark and sped ahead of Xander's car. At about fifty feet he and his car reappeared and he spun to face the Jag.
Xander yelled and slammed on his breaks.
The noses of their cars nearly touched.
Xander suppressed the urge to get out of his car and yell. He knew that someone would not just slam his breaks on in front of him, they had an ulterior motive. The rain glittered in front of the car lights as Xander stepped out of his car. His eyes focused at the driver seat and his heart threatened to stop. But he set his jaw and moved slightly closer to the car. At any moment he expected the door to fly open or the car to explode. When he reached the door he flinched.
Nothing.
Deceptive? Xander wondered.
He swallowed and put his hand on the cold, wet door handle. Rain ran down his neck through his hair. Drawing in a sharp breath he yanked open the door. The sound of metal twisting and breaking joined in with the thunder. Xander's eye brows met in confusion.
No one sat in the driver seat.
He wiped his mouth and leaned into the car.
Cold pain filled his nose and the force sent him to his back in the cold mud. In seconds a shadowy form loomed over him. Two black coals starred out from underneath a dark hoody.
"What the h-"
Forceful hands jerked him up from the murky ground and pulled him close to his face. The eyes held him more than the hands. Their potency made his heart rush a mile a minute.
"Xander Collins. A slimier creature could not be found on this earth."
Xander knew the voice and growled. "Sephrim, what are you doing?" He caught his footing and tried to pull away.
Sephrim yanked him around and pinned him up against the side of his car. "You've done some annoying things before Xander, but this one deserves an award. Do you really think you can pen down a guy like Dakota Stevens? If anyone aside from Paul and his cronies knew that y'all were going after a guy like that.....well, all Hell would break loose to say the least."
"Stevens broke a rule Sephrim, we can't be partial just because everyone loves the guy," Xander said. "He has to receive justice." He tried again to jerk away.
"Justice? Since when do you care about justice? You have one of the longest records the Counsel has ever had to deal with."
Xander kicked Sephrim in the stomach. He jumped forward and reached for his neck. His hands met solid pavement. He tried to push back up but the hand had his shoulders again.
Sephrim pushed him across the hood of the car. Immediately he was pulled to his feet. He swung hard into his opponents face but it only tasted wet air. Sephrim threw Xander down the slope of grass. When he reappeared over him he slipped in the grass and Xander brought his knee up into Sephrim's chin, simultaneously kicking him in the stomach.
The ribs cracked.
Xander drew up onto his knees and prepared to take Sephrim's energy.
Not much time, he thought. Not enough time to take this much energy. He stood and ran back to his car. Without a look back, he sped away, leaving Sephrim lying in the mud.
