Chapter 8
It was a few weeks after her eventful experience with Grell and Madam Red. She hasn't seen hide nor tail of the overwhelming reaper since then, and she definitely prefers it that way.
He's probably getting what he deserves, she mused, laying on the soft comforter inside her new cabin. They won't kill him.
When she had returned to her abandoned home, it was almost exactly as she left it. The kitchen window was still shattered from her hasty escape, and Furfur had politely set the detached door against the wall. It didn't appear as though he had touched anything, but she wasn't about to live in a discovered hideout. Without the aid of her friend (slave) however, she didn't feel up to the task of transporting all of her possessions.
So, she moved to the forests surrounding Offham, some distance from London. It was a far cry from the beauty of her old abode and much smaller, but she was able to pour decades of slow-going work in her old home. She was confident that she would get around to making improvements to this one. Eventually.
In her defense, setting barriers yesterday was enough work for today in her book.
Seir stretched in total contentment on her noticeably smaller bed, the thick blanket having turned into some kind of nest. Its warm invitation was impossible to turn down.
Her copy of Dante's Inferno was lost under the folds of the cloud as she nestled into the heavenly material. "I just need a power nap…"
Asmodeus help me… she internally groaned.
Even Seir was cringing at her pathetic attempts to seduce her target, but her spell was thankfully doing its job as intended. Having slept most of the day away, she felt it was a good opportunity to get a grasp of her new surroundings. She had found the laborer on her walk along the Medway River, who was carrying planks of wood for the continued construction of a bridge. The porter, upon noticing her, could not tear his eyes off away, going so far as to drop his burden and approach her in a stuttering mess.
A simple infatuation enchantment and he was hooked.
So they found themselves at the nearest bar and seated in the farthest booth, shielded from prying eyes as she pushed her bosom against him. Fingers playfully tapped his nose as the demon giggled at his drunken attempt at a joke.
Although, she considered as the man slurred his words. Nothing could be worse than that butler's stupid pun.
They spent an hour in the establishment, with the human content to simply gush about her beauty and hold her close while Seir grew impatient. He had turned the one-sided conversation to the fact that he was trapped in an unhappy marriage, with a wife who does nothing but demand more money and complain about his occupation.
"She doesn't," he hiccupped, taking another swig of beer. "Even bear me children, her one job!"
Seir hummed, drawing circles on his chest out of boredom. "You know, you could always leave her.."
"Oh?" He smiled and hugged her closer, looking at her crimson irises through unfocused, lidded eyes. "And where would I go?"
She smirked impishly, grasping his shirt in her fist..
Ah, she mused in memory. Bite my lip, he told me.
Averting her eyes, she pulled at her bottom lip with her teeth, and her prey blushed wildly before finally realizing what she was implying. Slamming some money on the table, he all but carried her out of the bar, shouting his thanks to the staff before escaping into the cold evening air.
Seir took the lead, equally excited but for a more sinister reason, holding his hand and guiding him to a secluded part of the river's shore. At this, he hesitated, perhaps believing that she would have taken them to the local inn, but her dazzling smile trumped any concerns he had at that moment.
The demon wiped her lips in satisfaction, kicking the limp body of the pallid man into the water. Her eyes followed his voyage to the center of the river before being swept away by the current, carried down its length until she could not see him anymore.
Leaning against the grass, she looked to the other side of the river, watching the sun set and painting the sky brilliant shades of orange and purple.
The Earth's natural wonders would never cease to amaze her.
She stayed like that until night truly fell, and the stars greeted her with their luminescence. "Perhaps I should get back," she muttered to herself, rolling over.
Then she felt it.
It was nothing more than a chill, but she could never mistake it for a simple dip in temperature. No, this sensation made both her blood boil and her skin shiver. She was all too familiar with it, and it put her on edge.
What is an angel doing here?!
Instinct led her to cast a rather powerful cloaking enchantment, and not a moment too soon. A woman came dashing down the road above her, and the sensation only grew stronger. Soft, silver hair framed a beautiful face, and eyes scanned the area, totally alert. She had definitely sensed her too.
In irritation and confusion, the angel huffed as they searched fruitlessly for the sudden spike in demonic energy. The stranger knew that they weren't imagining it, either, and they were determined to find it.
Upon closer inspection as the woman neared the riverbank, Seir could see that she sported lavender irises, laced with suspicion. She held her breath as the angel approached her spot, most likely to inspect the indent in the grass where the demon had decided to linger.
She didn't know what drove her to do so, but as she literally leaned over her Seir entertained the idea of killing the creature right there. Or more specifically, to go straight for the throat, which was fully exposed and ripe for the taking.
So, she did.
With no pretense, she drove her hand into the jugular of the angel, silencing any strangled noise that may have escaped under her vice like grip. Enhancing her superhuman strength with another spell, she was seconds away from crushing their windpipe under her unforgiving hand. Her prey clawed at her grip in desperation, wildly thrashing and even drawing blood in the process. Seir didn't dare to undo her cloak of invisibility as she watched the pest writhe beneath her grasp, expressionless.
Out of nowhere, holy energy seared where hands clasped her wrist and the demon was forced to release her hold with a hiss of pain. The woman collapsed at her feet, barely coming back from the edge of death. However, Seir's battle experience forced her to collect her composure faster than the angel could recover their breath, and Seir mercilessly kicked her injured throat with the toe of her shoe.
Hit 'em where it hurts, she chuckled.
The divine being was asphyxiating under the assault. The hidden demon was clearly trying to either suffocate her, or render her mute. Probably the former.
A rather nasty blow into her neck confirmed that yes, they were trying to kill her.
Wings burst from their back in a desperate attempt to fend off her assailant, and Seir was forced to stagger at the sudden transformation. Now empowered, the angel paused to press a hand against her bleeding wound and mend the muscle back together. With a grimace, she realized that she would not be able to speak normally for a number of days with how much damage was done.
What a disgusting, barbaric creature, the angel brooded, rubbing her neck. And two mongrels lingering so close to London… it seems I will have to double my efforts.
Seir watched as the creature withdrew the extra appendages, herself standing a ways back. The enemy stared in her general direction, although looking past her form, and clenched their fists in restrained anger.
"A coward who doesn't even show themself," she rasped. "Demons truly are nothing but filthy animals. Dirty, underhanded - "
She stopped herself, seeming to reassess the unfavorable position she was in should they decide to engage her again. Although it irritated her to no end, the fact remained that her assailant was still stealthed - quite well, she might add.
Steeling her resolve, the angel turned to leave.
"Filthy animals, you say?"
The same demonic energy from before flared almost oppressively as it revealed itself from thin air. The angel couldn't contain her gasp of surprise as she whipped to face the one who had nearly killed her just moments before.
A woman stood on the grassy bank, arms crossed in disappointment. Hair as white as snow glistened in the starlight, reflecting its luminescence like the moon itself, and her red gown appeared almost ebony in color under the darkness of night. Scarlet eyes shone with a predatory gleam as the demon gazed at her in disdain. With a sneer, she raised her hand to showcase the angel's work, decorated in claw marks. "Who is the animal here?"
"That is hardly an arguable point," the holy being scoffed as she gently touched her neck, feeling the phantom pains of her brutal kicks to the throat. "You are the one who ambushed me."
"As I recall, you were the one who pursued me."
"A trap," she growled as her voice grew hoarse. "How savage."
Seir shrugged in indifference. "Not really, but whatever."
The angel grimaced as the hellion seemed to relax in her presence. The action only further put her on edge. "Just what do you want?" she questioned.
The demon was looking out at the glistening river without giving an answer, contemplative. The enemy was angry, of course, but also conflicted. She could stay to put an end to their miserable existence, or hurry back to London to tend to her mistress as she had originally planned.
Ah, that's right. She was walking this way for an actual reason.
Decision made, she turned to continue her trek inbound.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Ignoring the warning, the angel took another step forward, only to let out a strangled cry as she was violently shocked and fell back onto the grass. Symbols appeared at her feet and she scrambled backwards in fear.
Blasted witch…!
To her dismay, the entire circumference of the runic formula revealed itself at her activation, glowing a soft, otherwise harmless green hue with the demon at its center. Seir couldn't help the wide smile that grew as her prey glanced back at her in panic.
"I've got you caged, little dove," she purred, approaching the cornered angel.
"Let's talk."
"I hope I made myself clear?"
Angela could not respond, trepidation gripping her heart and information filling her head as the fiend loomed over her. Seir tightened her grasp on the angel's jaw, opening it further and inspecting the contents within. Etched onto her tongue was inscribed a runic seal in the blackest of inks similar to the one she had placed on Grell - although this one ensured that anything spoken of between them could never be reiterated to another being. Dealing with another divine creature, however, the demon had to make the algorithm a bit more complicated in order to promise her silence on the off chance that she or another angel would attempt to fiddle with it.
Her clawed nail glowed like a blacksmith's newly forged blade as she engraved the final layer of her seal, this one making the arcane mark invisible to all but at the presence of concentrated demonic energy. Satisfied, she withdrew her hand with a smile and the angel rubbed her bruising jawline. "There. Please ensure that you carry it through."
Angela refused to speak but gave a small nod, feeling both tightly leashed and thoroughly violated. With her part done, Seir dispelled her barrier in contentment, watching the ancient runes dissipate into nonexistence and freeing her new bird of its cage.
"Fly away, then," she smirked. "I expect good news when you return."
Author's Note:
I will now try to stick to a biweekly update schedule on Wednesdays and Saturdays!
DragonsCrescent13: Haha, I really feel like sweatshirts and sweatpants are the work of the devil - they make it so easy to be lazy x.x Demons of sloth normally dabble in magics rather than physical combat for obvious reasons, which will be showcased more in the future.
Thank you to all of my followers and new reviews! 3