“Alright then, what now?” He asked.
“Get in close!” Aerin ordered. “Try to hit him!”
“And what about you?” John continued to question.
“I’m going to keep you alive!”
John was satisfied with that answer and so he sprang into action. With his claymore down low he ran around the magical wall Aerin had erected. He rushed in between spells that continuously fired toward him. The ones that got too close were suddenly intercepted by an equal force from behind John; Aerin was doing her part as she had said. Luckily the ledge that the demon was perched upon was within a good jumping distance. John leaped into the air and landed firmly on the rock that his foe was standing on. He swung his sword horizontally in a slash that he put all of his might into. The blade moved at incredible speed, but the demon had moved faster. He jumped backward quickly and the sword missed him by a mere inch. John suddenly found himself staring into a blue disk that floated just in front of the demon’s hand.
“Too slow!” The demon’s grin was as wide as ever, as if he knew he had won.
There was a sound of an explosion behind John and suddenly he lost his balance. The ground below him moved downward, and as it did a white hot beam of light burned directly over his head. The ledge he had been standing on had been violently reduced to rubble, just in time for him to avoid a potentially fatal attack. John fell backwards into the small landslide before rolling back onto his feet, managing to recover right beside Aerin.
“Thanks.” John spoke as he dusted the dirt from his body.
“You’re no good to me dead!” Aerin asserted.
The demon had dismounted the crumbling ledge far more gracefully than John had managed. He landed just down the road with a soft tap. The glowing disks around his hands and arms slowly faded as a dark expression came over his face. He seemed conflicted briefly, as if struggling between two alternatives. Finally, the look faded from him and two black disks appeared behind him, situated over both of his shoulder blades. Out of the spinning circles, two large wings appeared. Unlike Aerin’s beautiful white feathery ones, these were black and tattered. The magical disks faded away and the demon raised his wings and extended them up toward the sky.
“You know.” The demon spoke. “Two on one isn’t really fair.” He smiled. “I’d love to stay and play all day long, but I have places to be!” Suddenly he turned and waved back to them.
The two black wings moved with a powerful beat that generated enough lift to propel the demon up into the air in flight. In this state, the man finally looked like what he was, a demon; but John had to stop and wonder how wings that were so ripped and shredded could manage to create lift. He discarded that line of thinking as Aerin ran forward after her target.
“No you don’t!” She shouted up at him.
Her wings opened up and beat down, stirring up a powerful gust of wind. She took to the sky and followed after the fleeing demon. John, who unfortunately could not fly, was forced to run along the road after them. The demon didn’t seem to be gaining any distance away from Aerin but instead seemed to be leading her off on another chase. Perhaps this was his nature, that this was how he derived his sense of enjoyment? Whatever the case may be, John was running out of road. The mountain pass up ahead curved sharply toward the right, winding down lower toward the city below; the demon continued to fly in a straight line, in a matter of less than a minute John would be forced out of this chase. He had to think of something fast. The silent voice in the back of his head whispered something as a plan began to form.
“Aerin!” He shouted up at the Angel. “Do you have some kind of explosive spell?”
“Of course!” She fired back to him, moving her gaze between him and the demon ahead of her as she flew along.
“I need you to shoot one at my feet! I have an idea!”
“What?!” Aerin shouted. That’s… that’s stupid!”
“Just do it!” John shouted back. His voice was full of impatience as he was nearly out of road.
“Fine!” Aerin yelled as she clapped her hands together. Pulling them apart revealed a small series of circles between her palms. They rotated around like a gyro in her hands. “Don’t complain when this kills you! Again!”
“I’ll try my best.” John said as he readied himself.
The spell fired down toward him from up high. He ran hard and jumped over the edge, vaulting off of the metal guard rail. An explosion rang out from behind him and John pulled himself into as tight a ball as he could manage in anticipation for the shock. The cliff side behind him violently shook apart as the explosive spell impacted into it, just beneath John’s feet. A fireball of dirt and pavement rocketed out towards him, the shockwave thrusting him up into the air. He was propelled towards the demon, just as he had hoped.
“No way…” Aerin watched in awe from above.
John flipped end over end above the massive drop off below. He moved quickly through the air; however, the blast hadn’t been strong enough to close the distance between him and the demon. Slowly, he was beginning to lose altitude. Aerin quickly flew around behind John. She took hold of his hand and gave everything she had to hurl him towards his mark. Her burst of strength had been just enough, and John shouted out as he raised his sword high above him. The demon looked back over his shoulder and his eyes went wide at what he saw.
“Oh you have got to be kiddi-“ The demon’s statement was cut short as John’s claymore cut its way through his body. The sword sliced all the way from the demon’s left hip up to his right shoulder. In one swift motion, he was cut clean in half. The moment seemed to freeze for both John and the demon as they were held there suspended. “What an… interesting way to die.” The demon muttered as best he could. “Quite the turn of events indeed, killed by a Slayer fresh from the womb.” He looked down toward the man that had beaten him. “Did you enjoy yourself, Slayer? I know I sure did.”
“Enjoy myself?” John thought on the demon’s words. Deep in his heart he did enjoy what he was doing. He had finally found something else in life, something that he could do, that only he could do. “Yeah. I did.”
“Well, good.” The demon smiled. It wasn’t the same devilish smile he had worn earlier, this one seemed genuine. “I wish you luck, Slayer, because the next demons you encounter won’t be nearly as nice as I was.” The demon’s smile faded from his face. “Goodbye…”
John noticed that a glyph had formed in the demon’s left hand. It was a spinning gyro, similar to the one Aerin had just used moments before. Suddenly John was pulled down and away from the demon quickly by his left hand. Aerin had once again grabbed hold of him and forced him away from danger. A brilliant explosion illuminated the, night sky in the space that John had just occupied a second before. Aerin and John crashed into a grassy hillside far below the explosion and they tumbled down end over end on top of each other. While still holding on to his sword, John managed to grab Aerin with his free hand and shield her from many of the hard bumps that they hit on the way down. Eventually they came to a stop at the bottom of the valley; John lay on his back staring up at Aerin, who had landed on top of him.
“Idiot!” She shouted, scolding him. “That was stupid! Stupid and reckless, and dangerous! And… and…” Suddenly she stopped. Her cheeks burned a bright shade of red as she averted her gaze from his. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” John said as he pulled himself off the ground. As he did Aerin slid off of him and sat beside him. The two sat there on the grassy hillside in silence for a moment before he spoke again. “So… Is he dead?”
“Yeah. He’s gone.” Aerin said, back to her normal self. She gazed up toward the sky where the explosion had occurred. “He even tried to take you with him.” Aerin sighed and leaned back into the soft grass. “I guess he was corrupt all the way to the end.”
“He sure was a character.” John stated as he leaned back next to her. A chilly wind blew through the valley, causing the grass to dance all around them.
“Ah well.” John shrugged as he picked up his sword. He turned and held his hand down to Aerin, which she took hold of. He lifted her up before turning his eyes toward the city in the distance. “It won’t be long before the police come to investigate those explosions. We should probably get out of here.”
“You’re right.” Aerin agreed with him. “We should find a place to stay for the night.”
“Well, lucky for us.” John turned back towards her. “My house is just a few miles that way.” He pointed out toward the glowing outskirts of the city. “We should get there before morning if we start walking now...” He took a step forward, but stopped himself as he glanced down to his sword. “Hey, what should I do with this? People might get nervous if I’m swinging it around in town…”
“Oh, you can just sheathe it.” Aerin answered matter-of-factly.
“Sheathe it? But it didn’t come with one.” John said, lowering the blade and gazing down to it.
“Just do what feels natural, just like you did when you called it out for the first time.” She instructed. “It’ll take care of the rest.”
“Natural, huh.” John looked it over. “Alright then.”
He thought for a moment. The sword resembled a claymore, and it was quite large. Maybe it was too large to be sheathed on the hip, so… the back? He twirled the sword one last time before firmly placing it over his shoulder and in between his shoulder blades on his back. That seemed to be the sweet spot. Flames shot up around his body the moment that his sword came to rest. In the blink of an eye, the blade was gone, his hair fell down again, and he felt the muscles relax in his arms. With his powers gone, he was left as nothing more than an ordinary human again.
“Good job.” Aerin praised.
“Yeah, so let’s get-“ He cut himself off as he saw her.
Aerin was different now; she no longer resembled a text book Angel. The white wings that had outstretched behind her were gone and so was the long white dress that had covered her. She now wore a tight pair of blue jeans on her legs along with tennis shoes on her feet. An orange hoodie that was just a little too short covered her torso. The last feature that had changed on her was that of her hair; instead of long and flowing as it had been before, it was now up in a ponytail. The change was drastic, but John liked it. It seemed natural, much more so than her previous appearance, yet that didn’t stop the fact that he was still surprised to see it.
“How did you…?” He asked.
“Magic.” Aerin replied with a small giggle. She looked up at him and smiled. It was the first smile he had seen from her, and he would not soon forget it.
Chapter Four
The fluffy cotton sheets around John’s body were the most comfortable thing he had felt in a long time. He yawned and rolled over, pulling the sheet and comforter into a tight cocoon around him. The air outside of his bed was cold, and he shivered as he stretched his arm out towards the nightstand beside him. The time on his phone read 10:00am. He sighed as he rolled back over onto his back. He was already past the point of falling back to sleep and had found himself wide awake. With a grunt, he sat up in bed. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he turned and planted his feet on the carpet. As he rubbed his feet back and forth he remembered something. The events of the day before, Angels and Demons, he wondered if it had all been a dream.
Slowly he pulled himself from the confines of his bed. Standing was more of a chore than usual. His joints ached and his muscles were sore, perhaps it wasn’t a dream he thought. John reached down and checked the alarms on his phone, but he had already disabled them the day before. He wouldn’t need them anymore anyway, and besides, the silence that filled the room was golden. He shuffled out of his bedroom, still thinking back on the previous day’s events. It all seemed so unreal, but as he turned the corner toward the kitchen, he received a stark reminder that his dream had been reality.
Aerin was hunched over inside of the refrigerator, soaked head to toe, with only a towel to cover her. Her blonde hair danced back and forth as she swayed side to side idly. The light inside cast her small shadow across the floor as she rummaged through the mostly empty fridge. Droplets of water ran down her legs, pooling at her feet as she hummed quietly to herself. As if on command, Aerin suddenly turned around to face John. Their eyes connected and they both froze in place. John immediately spun around the corner and faced away from her as he expected the worst. But instead of shouting at him, Aerin yelped slightly before quickly retreating back into the safety of the bathroom across the hallway.
“Sorry!” John called out down the hall to her. Apologizing was the best route that he could take.
“No, no… it’s my fault.” Aerin responded from within the bathroom. “I… I didn’t know you were awake.” She stated in an apologetic tone as the hairdryer clicked on.
“It’s fine, I actually just got up.” John clarified, his voice raised slightly over the blow-dryer. He thought for a moment on what he should say next. “Hey, what were you doing in the fridge?” He asked.
“Well, I was hungry.” Aerin answered, much to John’s surprise. “Angels get hungry?” John questioned again, a bit more confused. “Well, yeah, why wouldn’t we?” John was beginning to see where this line of conversation was going. After all, the question had been pretty silly to begin with.
“I just figured, well, because you were an Angel and all…” He rubbed the back of his head, hoping to find a way out of this hole he had dug. Suddenly there was a rumble inside of his stomach. “Wait… I’m supposed to be dead right? Why am I hungry?”
“Really?” Aerin questioned, a bit off put. “You just slept in a bed all night, even though you’re dead.” John could hear the sound of her getting dressed from around the corner as she spoke. “That doesn’t bother you, but you draw the line at hungry?”
“Huh.” John leaned against the wall and thought. “When you put it like that… Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“More importantly.” Aerin stepped out of the bathroom and John turned around just in time to come face to face with her. She was fully clothed now as opposed to their previous encounter and she leaned in close, doing her best to bring their faces near together. There was still a size difference, but she somehow managed to back him into a corner as she gazed at him menacingly. “You don’t have anything to eat here.”
“Oh, well…” John shrugged as he managed to find space between them. “I wasn’t really planning on coming back here for a while before I met you.” He explained.
“Oh.” Aerin backed off of him slowly. Her gaze quickly shifted away from his as her menacing stature vanished. “Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it.” John patted her on the shoulder as he walked around her. “Give me a minute and we can go find something in town.”
“Really?!” Aerin asked with eyes wide open. When she realized how desperate she looked, she immediately roped her emotions in. “I mean… okay. That sounds, good.” She said in a much less excited tone.
John got ready in the bathroom in half the time than it normally took, both in two parts excitement, and that of the hunger that rumbled inside of him. As he washed his face in the sink, he stopped for a moment and gazed at himself in the mirror. The day before, he’d looked rough. Long hair, shaggy beard, bags under his eyes; and while he’d cleaned up well, the previous night he still hadn’t looked himself. Today was the first time in a long while that John really looked like John. Staring back at him in the mirror was the man he’d always known himself to be. It just took dying to get back to him. He shook his head and dried his face before finishing up.
In little to no time he had gotten dressed and joined Aerin at the door. The walk downstairs didn’t take very long as Aerin practically skipped down each flight. John followed behind
her as quickly as he could before they finally made it outside. The outskirts of town were alive and bustling, even if it was a Saturday. Children played soccer in a nearby field as older couples tended to their yards. It was a perfect example of suburban America all around. Cars zipped up and down the narrow lanes beside them as John and Aerin walked down the crumbling sidewalks. After a few minutes they arrived at the closest train station.
Clouds swirled high above the metal girders of the station. John hated the design; whenever the wind blew, it funneled through the beams, whistling loudly as it chilled you to the bone. The forecast had said it would end up cold later on and so John had worn a long sleeve shirt. Aerin’s orange hoodie was also suited for the eventual cold. He was happy that at least they had dressed appropriately for the day. Luckily, his boarding pass was still active, even though he hadn’t paid his bill in some time. He scanned it against the small revolving door and let Aerin through before scanning it once more for himself.
Once the train started moving, Aerin stayed glued to her window. She watched intently as the buildings in the distance slowly grew in size. There was a glint in her eye as she marveled at the city before her like a small child. John smiled as he leaned back against the cold metal wall of the train and stared across the cab out the other window. Even though he wouldn’t admit it he really did enjoy the train rides into the city. There was just something about the atmosphere, the colors, and the large buildings reaching up to greet the sky. Maybe he was a kid at heart as well.
“When did it get so big?” Aerin asked.
“Well, back in the day, before it was Station a lot of trains ran through here.” John began to explain as he sat up straight in his chair. “When they built the bullet line, it only made sense to run it through here. Because of that, business blew up and so did the city.”
“Wow…” Aerin only half listened to the story as she gazed out.
Slayer: A Demon Hunter's Tale Page 3