A/N: For clarification, I do include relevant story bits in the bonus chapters. So folks skipping those chapters might be lost in the next few chapters. Also, my spouse and I found out we're going to have a baby, Happy day!
Lots of love,
Mint Tea and Skulls
Chapter 25: Three
Evan was familiar with crowd control. He just didn't like it. Sure, a little tiny lie would save many people, but he was a bad liar. Someday he was going to take an improvisation class as Natalie kept suggesting. At least then he would be better equipped for when the standard gas leak lie failed for one reason or another. However, no amount of lying could guard him from his unknown demonic stalker.
While Maze watched Evan from a nearby rooftop, she pondered the intelligence in allowing Lucifer to follow Natalie and convince her to follow the boy. He hustled from building to building. It looked like he was targeting all the buildings around an old, closed-down strip mall. She sighed and attempted to focus on the boy again.
On the other side of the plaza, Natalie sat in meditation. She focused on her breathing and waited for the surge of energy that flowed from her sword to her. Even with her eyes closed, her mind's eye showed her how the hidden runes glowed when she connected to the blade. A chorus of whispers greeted her mind. With them, came a warning. She sighed through the sensation of impending danger.
Satisfied with her prep work, Natalie rose and slid the sword back to home in the holster on her back. The sky had already begun to darken as storm clouds gathered. A knife appeared in her hand and she took a deep breathe before dragging a small cut along her right fore-arm. Deep-toned, fresh blood dripped on to the pavement. Natalie crouched down and smeared the purple substance out.
With bait placed, she retreated into the abandoned building. Already the sensation of being watched followed her. From the shadows, she redrew her blade. She waited under the growing storm.
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On the roof of the abandoned mall, Lucifer massaged his shoulders. They always felt sore after flight, and those stairs were much to rickety to go up. He could have torn his suit! Flying to the roof had been the only option. He was immediately distracted from his discomfort. Below him, sat one Natalie Varquez. With a glowing sword in her lap.
"Shit, Maze is right... She's not some normal human..." He muttered to himself.
He stood frozen, eyes shifting from the glowing blade to the now shimmering wing markings on her back. A clap of thunder drew his attention up. He had missed the storm's formation. As his eye's darted back down the ground, Miss. Varquez had stood. A bloody knife in her hand, while blood dripped from her finger tips.
Before she could turn, he hid himself behind a decrepit air conditioning unit. He heard her stop under the roof. She was waiting, and he opted to do the same. He had much to think on. It was only a couple minutes before he felt the first water droplet strike him. With a sigh, he tried to crouch down and hide from the rain beneath his wings.
It was shortly after this that he heard it. A screech he would never forget. The Pale One had arrived. He cast his eyes out into the lot to try to spot it. As the rain thickened, a familiar and sickly shape formed. It was bigger than the last one. Armed with two extra limbs, it seemed even more of an abomination than the last one.
Rather than speak, it only screeched, and Lucifer could feel a sensation of rage and hunger from the strange creature. His own anger rose in response. How dare this thing try to harm little Trixie. In a moment of blinded anger, he almost stepped out to fight himself. He caught himself as the reappearance of Miss Varquez came from the corner of his eye.
Natalie stayed focus on her target. A dulled blade meant she would have to strike harder, and with more frequency. The sensation of being watched hadn't left her either; the nagging feeling left her slightly distracted. She told herself firmly that it didn't matter. Calm steps carried her toward her target, blade held just above the broken ground.
The Pale One lapped at the smeared blood, completely focused on the bait. Once she was roughly 15 feet away, Natalie rushed the creature. The upward arc came short as the beast dodged back, screeching incoherently. A sickly and swift limb lashed out in response. Natalie arced the blade back to parry the blow before launching into a series of stabs.
As Natalie attempted to push back her target, one of the limbs stretched and looped behind her to attack. Unable to parry, she rolled to the side, sliding on the wet cement. Before she could right herself, the Pale One struck again. The blow sent her soaring into one of the crumbling pillars. Her sword was ripped from her grip by the force and laid farther behind her.
As she brought her eyes back into focus, she had only a moment to react when she saw the rush of limbs coming toward her. She planted her foot against the main body and used her hands to hold off the two spikes aimed at her face. With all of her own limbs occupied, a sickening, broken smile came across the monster's face as a third strike lashed out. Pain radiated from her right shoulder. With a roar of her own, Natalie shoved the Pale One back and stumbled to the side.
Frantic eyes searched for her blade through the rubble. The sound of skittering behind her forced her to give up her search in favor of watching her enemy. She was determined to not be struck again. However, dodging the onslaught of limbs kept forcing her farther and farther from the blade she needed. Left with no other option, she pushed the offensive once again.
The thing about Pale Ones is that they think themselves truly invincible. Some hive-minds never learned from their losses. So, the thing was surprised when Natalie charged back. Between dodging the incoming limbs, she kept striking against the main body and eye. While it was not as effective as using her sword, she could still feel where the spikes of her own energy damaged the outer shell of the creature.
A solid roundhouse finally sent the Pale One soaring back into the opposite side of the same pillar it had flung her into. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the gleam of her missing blade. Once her enemy flung itself at her again, she rolled to the side. When she found her feet, the blade was once again in her grip. While she held the handle with both hands, she could feel her blood make the handle slick.
"Enough!" Natalie shouted, her own voice taking on a partial ethereal tone.
The Pale One paused for a moment, as though it was trying to understand what she had said. During its confusion, Natalie focused what was left of her strength and energy into the blade. The runes shined under the darkened sky. With one last roar, she charged forward as fast as she could and drove the blade into the eye of the Pale One. It screeched one last time as its essence faded from the world.
Natalie barked out a harsh laugh before her own world went dark. Her sword clanged against the ground and echoed through the abandoned building as she dropped to her knees before landing face down on the ground. Her black hair poured around her like ink, and the markings on her back had returned to their original red coloring. She faintly heard the sound of running before her mind finally slipped into the darkness as well.
"NATALIE!" Evan screamed as he rushed to the fallen warrior.
Evan cursed at himself for taking so long to clear the people in the area. Natalie had obviously overexerted herself. He prayed to anyone who would listen that he would find a pulse. Once Natalie was hoisted into his lap, he pressed his fingers against the side of her neck. A grateful cry erupted from him as he found her pulse; strong and sure.
He carefully collected Natalie's weapon and returned it to the holster before hauling her arm around his shoulder. With slow steps he started toward the car, still blissfully unaware of the eyes that followed him.
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Maze had joined Lucifer on the roof top. The two watched in silence. Once the two below them had completely left sight, they finally returned to the ground to look over the makeshift battlefield. Lucifer quietly told Maze about the parts she had missed. Her look to him spoke volumes more than any words could.
Without question, Natalie Varquez should be dead.
As they stood before the pillar that now had extensive damage and metal bars bent from the impact, Maze turned to Lucifer again and finally spoke.
"She's not human."
While Lucifer wanted to argue, even he couldn't deny the evidence before them. No human could speak with an ethereal voice. He knew that as a fact of creation. 'And if she's not human... What is she?' He thought to himself, a frown deeply set into his face.