Author's note: So, here's the second chapter. This is the longest action-scen I've ever written (if I think about it, it might be the first real one!), but it's definetely the longest scene without a dialoge in my life! I'm really interested in your opinions, so please review! And most importantly: Thank you for reading!

The shape of my heart

Chapter 2.

Cole stood in the window-frame of his motel-room and waited. He's waited in the last five days patiently, watching that room in the opposite building. He hasn't left the room since Tuesday except his small trip two days ago when he visited the succubus' flat and deactivated some of the wards that surrounded the apartment.

He found this particular succubus quite easily. The others were jealous of her because of Zankou and she didn't make a secret of it that she's earned a lot of money recently.

Succubus-demons lived amongst the humans. Most humans thought them to be plain prostitutes – of course, from the luxury-kind, but all the same – and in a way they were right. This kind of demons gave sex for money or for power but mostly for your soul, if you were a human.

Cole had to admit that this one was the master of her art, she was beautiful and her body was perfect. Her name was Sora and she lived in an apartment-house, fortunately for Cole just opposite to a motel. So now he was staying in his rented room and waited for Zankou to arrive.

Despite the circumstances he wasn't nervous at all. Maybe because he wasn't afraid of dieing. Actually, he didn't feel anything while he was working on a job. He's learned it long how to suppress all his emotions. Of course, he shouldn't suppress them - if he were a proper demon – as Raynor and others told him so many times, because he shouldn't have emotions in the first place. But this wasn't the time to think about it and he concentrated back of the flat.

He felt that this was the day. The succubus behaved differently. There were no clients the whole day and this was more than unusual. She also has been smoldering for quite a while: making her hair, picking at her dresses and arranging the huge bed that occupied the whole bedroom. So Cole was sure that Zankou was coming and he was ready to attack.

He didn't have to wait much longer. At exactly 11:00 p.m. without warning a tall, black-haired man appeared in the bedroom. Not a second later Sora started to undress him seductively and soon they were making out in blind passion. Cole still waited. A succubus tired out everybody, even the most powerful demons and Cole needed every single advantage he could get.

To tell the truth they went on for an amazingly long time. Then about four hours later Zankou started to prepare for leaving.

Cole checked the athame that was in a leather-socket on his side and the vial of potion in his pocket, then he shimmered. The next moment he appeared in the bedroom, already shooting an energy-ball at his target. It hit Zankou on the shoulder and sent back into the wall, but he didn't fall. Cole pulled out the vial and threw it – it contained a strong strength-stripping potion. It probably wasn't strong enough to rob Zankou of all of his powers, but enough to weaken him significantly.

Cole always had speed – even by demon-standards, but Zankou was faster. The other demon waved and the vial hit the succubus instead of him. The female fell to the floor, screaming. But Cole wasn't interested in the woman – he threw a second energy-ball and dodged the one that Zankous sent his way.

The wardrobe exploded into pieces, covering the room with every kind of clothes and fragments of wood. The demoness was still screaming, but Cole heard shouting from the corridor as well.

With one quick look he measured the field. There was no real cover. Left the door to the living-room, right the hall from where two doors opened, one into the kitchen and the other into the bathroom.

He then turned back to his enemy. Zankou was pulling himself together, so Cole shot out another energy-ball and shimmered. Of course not out of the room but to Zankou's side. He tackled the other demon down bodily, the athame already in his hand cutting down with absolute precision.

Just before the contact he felt an iron grip on his wrist. The point of the knife lingered millimeters from Zankou's throat, but Cole simply couldn't move it further. Before he could do anything – for example turn into his demon-form, which he didn't really like – Zankou made a reeling motion and the bones in his wrist cracked well audibly.

The knife fell from his hand and the next second an enormous power pushed him backwards so hard that he flew a few meters and crashed into the back-wall of the room. He jumped up immediately and changed in mid-step – there was not time for niceties this time. Zankou was also on his feet and he changed in demon-form as well. His skin, unlike Belthazor's, was almost totally black with lighter, grey marks on it.

If you are at disadvantage, don't hesitate, but attack! This was one of the first lessons Cole learned during his training – and so he did, without any second thoughts. When fighting he was in almost automatic mode – he always worked on an instictal level.

He attacked with all his strength. His opponent stood firmly, though.Belthazor punched him a few times, probably breaking his nose. Then got a hard blow in the stomach and stumbled backwards. Zankou utilized his unbalance and jumped at him.

They fell through the door and into the living-room. They landed on the glass coffe-table breaking it into million pieces. Cole felt blood flowing down his back but the fall unbalanced Zankou as well. Instantly, Cole changed back into his human form, because he was much faster and more mobile that way. He slid out from the grip, with the same movement kicking the back of Zankou's knees, making him fall for a moment. Cole jumped, stretched out his arm and the enchanted athame appeared in his hand.

He heard something – shouting maybe – and even saw something from the corner of his eyes, but had no time to care about it. He launched forward aiming for the left side of the other's back where he knew he would hit something vital. Of course, the Source wanted Zankou alive but he couldn't fulfill this task if he didn't wounded him critically.

He heard the shouting more loudly and from much closer this time and then something hit him on the back, on the shoulder-blade. He stumbled and missed the aim. He still cut into flesh but it wasn't a serious wound by any means. From Zankou came an angry growl. Cole pulled back the athame and turned to the door.

Two human police-officers stood there with aimed weapons and with panicking looks. They both moved their guns between the strange creature and the man who wanted to kill 'it'. They seemingly couldn't decide which one to shoot first. They didn't have more time to think about it though. One of them was hit in the throat with the athame and fell back with a rattling sound. The other died by an energy-ball. Cole didn't even stop to throw another look at the fallen humans, he was already back to face Zankou.

He had to dodge an energy-ball and shot one back blindly. It hit the wall making a huge hole in it, where the stunned face of a human appeared. After that all hell broke loose. Energy balls flew in rapid row and the room soon became shambles. The chandelier collapsed, the bar in the corner exploded into pieces and on the wallthree more holes evolved. The dead body of the police officer caught fire andsmoke made the air choking. One of the energy-balls hit Cole on the thigh and it slowed him down notably.

He had to come up with an idea soon, because what he did now wasn't really effective. To be honest he got more tired with every second while Zankou didn't seem to feel the strain at all.

He found temporary cover behind an upturned couch that was already smoking and then caught fire. He jumped up not caring the pain he felt in his leg and shot energy into the ceiling above Zankou. Big pieces of concrete came crashing down followed by the screams of the neighbors. Fortunately some of the debris hit the demon and he collapsed to the floor, his head bleeding. Cole needed his athame though because it was obvious that his energy-balls couldn't cause serious damage to Zankou.

His shimmered to the corpse of the human. In the thick smoke it took a moment to find the knife but he found it quickly. He could have a look to the corridor and he realized that they made quite a show: more and more neighbors were running up and down, screaming and in obvious panic. He could also hear sirens from the street.

He grabbed the athame and shimmered back to the pile where he saw Zankou fall.

But the demon wasn't there and before Cole could find out where his opponent had gone, burning pain shot through his left side as an energy-ball hit him again and he fell backwards. He couldn't even regain his balance when Zankou was already on his neck. The unstoppable wave of power which he had felt before shoved him again, into the wall with such force that the already crumbling wall broke through.

It was a hard fall. The impact knocked the air out of him, his vision blackened for a second and he felt some other bones breaking in his body. He looked around dizzily and realized that he was in the adjoining flat. With two stunned little children staring at him with wide eyes.

Cole staggered to the feet. He moved extremely slowly – his chances got lower with every passing second. His body wanted to quit, he felt sticking blood covering his back either from the bullet-wound or from the numerous cuts he suffered when he fell on the glass table. His left side burnt with pain and he could barely use his right hand with the broken wrist. It was time to give up and vanish from here.

In that exact moment when he decided this, Zankou came through the hole with an energy ball hovering over his palm.

Cole threw a quick glance at the children, then looked back at Zankou. He couldn't change it, children always have been his weak point. He's never been able to kill a child and cold never bear to watch them dieing. The grey demon stole the glance and smiled wickedly.

Cole cautiously stepped in front of the children and Zankou followed his movements. They were like two predators that were skirting each-other. Cole felt his own energy-ball in his hand – he never even realized when he conjured it! The only thing that led him at this point was pure instinct.

Now or never… The idea came suddenly and naturally. Cole shot the energy-ball at his enemy, rushed forward and changed into Belthazor – all three at the same second. He didn't stop when his body contacted with the other and the swing moved both of them further, through the balcony-door. The banter stopped them for a millisecond but then they were falling freely.

He knew of course that Zankou wouldn't wait to splash on the street, but also knew that he wouldn't go back to kill the children, either. At least they were saved. With this thought he let go off Zankou and shimmered.

He appeared in front of his quarter – he wanted to arrive in it – and this small mistake showed how run-down he really was. Quite miraculously he landed on his two feet, though a little bit shaky. He still managed the few trembling steps into the cave, put up his wards and then collapsed.

-------------------------