“Is… Is that?” Aerin asked as she saw the item.
“Yeah.” John answered as he stood slowly. “I’ve got the craziest idea.”
He started turning the dials on the device. With no idea what he was doing his hands seemed to move purely on instinct, at least that’s what he hoped was happening. He turned the dial with the odd symbols to something that felt right, as far right as it could go, before he twisted the number dial.
“Do you know what you’re doing?” Aerin asked with concern in her voice.
“No idea.”
The sphere began to pulse faster and its humming grew louder. John readied his arm before tossing the device square at the Demon before him. The massive beast had made its way out of the inferno and readied itself for another attack before John threw the spell. Suddenly, the beast quickly raised its arm and knocked the small sphere out of the way. It flew high into the air and disappeared into the blue sky above them. That had been John’s last attempt, now he was all out of options. The Demon’s flames were too hot to get close too, Aerin’s attacks didn’t seem to have any effect, and Gemini was nowhere to be seen; the situation was bad.
Suddenly there was a brilliant explosion high above the abandoned construction site. A black cloud rippled outward throughout the clear sky. Slowly, the blue color faded away as darkness overtook the sky. Storm clouds began to form out of nothingness as thunder clapped loudly above. John gazed up at the rapidly forming clouds and felt something hit him in the head. It moved slowly through his hair before it rolled out onto his forehead, from there it moved down onto his cheek before dripping down onto the dry gravel below. Soon more droplets fell down as a torrential rain began to fall.
The Demon’s roars were nearly deafened by the rainfall as it thrashed about. A thick steam lifted from the surface of its body as its flames were smothered. John could feel the temperature decreasing from where he stood, no longer was the Demon an analogue to the surface of the sun. Now was his chance, and without a word he and Aerin sprang into action. John rushed forward with his blade down low as Aerin hung back and fired a barrage of spells at the lumbering beast. The Demon roared at the attack and brought a fist down toward John, which he promptly dodged without missing a beat.
Another crack suddenly rang out in the downpour as an explosive shot slammed into the Demon’s chest. It was more powerful than the last few and it staggered backwards, giving John the opening he had needed. He jumped with all his might and landed on the Elemental’s left arm. No longer was it a blazing inferno, but now only glowing embers. John’s boots dug into the Demon’s flesh as he ran up the length of the monstrosity’s arm. With another jump, he swung his sword with all of his might. The blade found its way into the Demon’s neck and with all of John’s weight against the blade it completely severed the head from the rest of the body. The Elemental ceased all function as the body collapsed harmlessly to the ground.
John landed next to the giant corpse as it began to burn once more. Unlike the previous inferno, this one was different. Its body slowly burned away until nothing was left; and as it did, John was filled with an oddly warm sensation. His cold body, which was soaked by the rain, felt warm suddenly before the sensation faded away into nothing, just as the Demon had. There were no traces left that the monster had even existed, save for the destruction it had wrought.
“You did it!” Aerin shouted through the downpour as she ran over next to him. She was soaked head to toe, just as he was, and there was a big smile on her face.
“No, we did it.” John corrected her as he patted her on the shoulder. He couldn’t help but smile down at her as well. “Come on; let’s go check on everyone else.”
After rounding up the other members of Gemini, who hadn’t suffered any major injuries to speak of, save for their pride, they made their way back to the HUNTER building. Most of the group eventually disbanded inside of the parking garage, a few opting to head to the infirmary. John and Aerin took the elevator up to the seventh floor, where they parted ways as Aerin went to take a shower. After a short ride up to the tenth floor, John found himself once again face to face with Meredith for a follow up report. She had wanted to see him as soon as they returned, so he put off a much desired shower to speak with her.
“So the spell worked alright then?” She asked as she leaned back in her large chair. Her feet were once again propped up on top of her desk.
“Yeah, it did.” John answered her as he leaned back into his own seat. “We wouldn’t have made it without it.” He added.
“Good, good.” Meredith smiled and brought her feet down off of the desk. She turned her chair around to face the large window behind her. The Los Angeles skyline was barely visible through the massive downpour that continued to fall outside. “I was working on that one for a long time. I’m glad it all worked out.”
“Say, Meredith.” John leaned forward in his chair as he collected his thoughts. “You knew, didn’t you?” He asked. “You knew I wasn’t ready.”
“You know, John…” Meredith said as she turned toward him slightly, not wanting to really take her gaze off of the sight outside her window. “I really do love the rain.” There was an odd look in her eye that John couldn’t quite make out. “Don’t you?”
Chapter Eight
John tossed and turned about in the oversized bed. It wasn’t that it was too soft or too firm, the problem was with him. He had gone to bed moments after finishing his shower, as had Aerin, but now he couldn’t sleep. He grumbled to himself as he turned over and reached for his cell phone on the nightstand beside him. ’12:30’ the blindingly bright display read. Even though he was tired, he still felt wide awake as he replayed the events of the past few days over and over in his head. Two Demons in two days, he thought, not bad. Realizing he wouldn’t be sleeping for a while, he clicked the lamp on beside him.
The soft light illuminated the rest of the bedroom around him. It was much larger than the room back at his apartment, nearly a thousand miles away. He looked around at all the furnishings that filled the room: a large writing desk, a chest of drawers, and a smaller table with a reading chair. For what appeared to be an office building on the outside, the building was furnished quite well. However, the room was too large. John looked around and his eyes fell upon the empty space on the bed beside him, Aerin was sleeping in the adjacent room. A strange feeling came over him as he looked down at the bed; he couldn’t quite place what it was but chalked it up to an odd loneliness. It had been a while since he had a room truly all to himself, not since his encounter with Aerin. Even though that should be a good thing, he still felt strange. Though he quickly shook the notion and got out of bed.
He made his way over to the desk and rummaged through his duffle bag for something decent to wear. He pulled off the thin shorts that he had been sleeping in and laid them messily on the desk before slipping on a pair of blue jeans. Thinking it to be less than modest to walk around without a shirt, John pulled a clean short sleeve over his head. Satisfied with his plain outfit, he put his shoes on and slipped out the door as quietly as he could. The living room was pitch-black and so he had to navigate about slowly using the light from his cell phone.
Luckily the hallway outside was much more illuminated. John closed the door behind him as softly as he could; the seventh floor appeared to be a living quarters, so he made as little sound as he could in order to be courteous. He found his way over to the elevator and summoned it. There were ten floors to choose from on the elevator’s control panel. He had an urge to explore other floors Meredith hadn’t showed him, but thought best not to pry. Reaching out, he hit the button for the fifth floor. The elevator rumbled to life again as it slowly descended two floors down. With a sharp, yet bearable ping, the doors opened to HUNTER’s main base of operations.
For thirty or so minutes past midnight, the room was still active, albeit much less so than what John had seen before. There were still a few men and women here and there. Some were busy on their computers as
others looked to be filing paperwork, but none paid him any mind. John made his way to the large translucent map that commanded the center of the room. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and began to inspect all the markings upon it. There were a few sections that had been circled in multicolored marker. Down below seemed to be a legend: green markings for low threats, blue for moderate, orange was dangerous, and red was an immediate threat. John rescanned the map with a better understanding, and as he did he found no red markings were made. For now, it would seem Los Angeles was safe.
Eventually he learned everything he could from the map and so he went off in search of something else. Making his way down a set of stairs near the elevator he found his way to the fourth floor. The room was largely open with many tables and chairs with a dozen or so people sitting about. Unlike the room above it, the fourth floor was extremely laid back and appeared to be a cafeteria of sorts, though nothing was being served at the moment. John rubbed his hands together as he mindlessly walked about. The room was rather cold, much too cold for his taste. He found a set of vending machines off to the side of the room and located one that served coffee. A warm drink was just what he needed, he thought as he made his selection on the machine’s touch screen. A cup dropped into place before the machine filled it with a black liquid that had a strong aroma. John picked up the drink, which was very warm to the touch, and sipped slowly.
“So you’re the Slayer Meredith was going on about?” A heavy voice caught John by surprise, nearly causing him to jump.
He looked around for the source of the voice and spotted a man beside the vending machine that he hadn’t seen before. The man was tall, easily a head above John, and muscular as well. His hair was a long, snow white that flowed down to the middle of his back. His eyes were closed and he had a peaceful look on his face that seemed oddly focused as well. His legs were covered by black slacks and a form fitting charcoal colored sleeveless shirt was on his chest. He leaned against the white colored wall with his arms crossed; the definition of his muscles was plain to see.
“Yeah, I guess that’s me.” John felt slightly intimidated by the large man. “I’m John.”
“Samuel.” The man said as he opened his eyes and uncrossed his arms. He held out his hand toward John, to which John took old of instantly. His grip was immensely firm, yet controlled, and his white eyes locked with John’s
“Nice to meet you, Samuel.” John said as his hand was freed. “You work here too?” He asked before taking another sip from his coffee cup.
“You could say that.” Samuel responded with a slight smile. “I’m head of security and every team stationed here.”
“Oh...” There was an odd feeling of embarrassment welling up within John. Quickly, he made another statement to keep the conversation alive. “So you pretty much run the place then?”
“That would be Meredith.” Samuel corrected. “She’s often busy though, so I handle the more practical matters.”
“I see.” John said as he took another sip of his coffee. The conversation was off to an amazing start.
“Speaking of which.” Samuel crossed his arms again and leaned back against the wall. “I wanted to thank you for watching over Gemini. I heard it got rough out there; they wouldn’t have made it back if not for you.”
“Thank you, but it was Meredith that saved them.” John quickly said. “If not for her, I’m not sure I’d be here right now.”
“Yes.” Samuel agreed. “She has a way of doing things like that.” He smiled and his gaze seemed to drift past John. Samuel had an air of nostalgia about him. He closed his eyes for a moment as a short laugh escaped him, as if he had remembered something funny. “Say, Lazarus’ report says you’re a swordsman. Is that true?” He asked after he had returned to reality.
“Yes, it is.” John answered. A smile formed across Samuel’s face suddenly. “Show me.” He ordered. “Right here?” John questioned, looking around the room cautiously, it wasn’t exactly a battleground; but Samuel’s conviction was unwavering. “Right here.” He echoed. John shrugged slightly and let out a small sigh. “Well… alright then.”
John took one final sip from his cup before tossing it in a nearby garbage can. He looked around the room at the people still sitting at the tables before he popped his neck and stretched his arms. Samuel seemed eager to see John’s sword; and not wanting to miss a chance to display his abilities, John happily obliged. He lifted his right hand up and brought it behind him to where he kept his blade. He felt around for a short moment before he took hold of it. As his fingers curled around the source of power, fire burned up around his body and his appearance changed. He quickly drew the sword from its flaming confines and brought it down in front of him where he firmly grasped it with both hands for Samuel to see.
“Not bad.” Samuel said as he walked forward and began to inspect John. “The blade is sharp. The craftsmanship is good. It’s similar to a Scottish Claymore. I can see why you store it on your back.” Samuel walked around behind John slowly as he continued to examine him. “Your protection is a fine choice as well, leather, effective as armor without hindering your movements. Your boots look sturdy as well; from the way you’re standing I can tell you’re light on your feet.” Samuel stopped for a moment beside John before bringing his hand down onto John’s left shoulder. “A metal shoulder pad?” He patted it again. “Extra armor for your off hand. Fine choice.” He praised.
“You can tell all that just by looking at me?” John asked impressed.
“I can.” Samuel answered as he walked back around. “I’ve been doing this for a long time. I’ve picked up on quite a few things.” He said with a smile. “Now then, what do you think about a little sparring match?” He asked.
“A sparring match?” John echoed. “With me?” He felt slightly confused. “Are you..?”
“A Slayer?” Samuel smiled confidently. Power suddenly welled up within the man as the air of intimidation returned once more. “What do you say? Just the two of us, one blade against another.”
“Oh, uh… Yeah, sure.” John answered as he took a step back without realizing. The prospect sounded interesting, but the man before him was intense.
“Wonderful.” Samuel smiled, the feeling fading away from him. “Now put away your protection, we won’t be going for killing blows.”
“Put away my protection?” John looked down at himself in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“You…” Samuel had an equal look of confusion about him as well. “Have you been summoning them together every time? You don’t know how to separate them?”
“No.” John answered a little embarrassed. “I didn’t know there was a difference. I thought it was all part of the package.”
“Not quite.” Samuel took a deep breath before exhaling. “Watch.”
He placed his left hand on his hip as if he was grabbing on to something before bringing his right hand over and resting it atop the other. He took one more deep breath before he acted. As he gripped tightly onto the power stored away, a flame swirled up around his hands. The fire danced around in the shape of a sheath as a blade suddenly materialized before John. Samuel released his grip on the sheath; and as he did, it vanished. He twirled the sword around in his right hand before bringing it to his front where John could see it better. It was a large sword, around the same size as John’s. The blade was as long as John’s sword was, but it was just a bit wider. The hilt was a shiny metal that curved outward to stop any incoming attacks.
“That’s amazing!” John marveled at the blade in Samuel’s hands. He had called out his own multiple times; but seeing someone else do it, it was a different experience. After he had inspected the weapon closely, his gaze turned toward Samuel himself. “You didn’t change at all.”
“Correct.” Samuel replied. “The Extension and Protection are two separate items within the Slayer.” Samuel explained. “You don’t know that?” He asked.
“No. The first time I fought, I only summoned my sword.
After Aerin taught me how to summon my protection, I just thought I did it wrong the first time.” He explained.
“I see.” Samuel nodded with an understanding look. “She can be quite… forgetful, it’s no wonder you weren’t properly instructed.” He shook his head. “Don’t ask a mage to teach a swordsman.” He said with a slight chuckle. “Here, sheathe your sword and I’ll show you how to summon them separately.”
“Alright.” John lifted his sword up and brought it to rest behind him, just between his shoulder blades. A torrent of fire whirled around him once more as his body and outfit were returned to normal. “What now?” He asked.
“Close your eyes.” Samuel instructed. “Visualize your soul. Concentrate on its form. Do you see it?”
John closed his eyes and imagined his soul again. A pale blue sphere slowly came into focus in his mind’s eye. He reached out for it and took it into his hands. The sphere was warm to the touch and seemed to hum in time with his own heartbeat.
“I see it.”
“Good. Your Extension and Protection are two halves of a whole. They are your very existence, and as such you should have free control over them.” Samuel explained. “Do you see the two halves?” He asked.
“I see them.” John said as he inspected the soul closely. There were definitely two parts, but something was off. “They’re overlapping.” He explained what he was seeing. “They’re connected, almost like they’re bleeding together.”
“I see.” Samuel said in a very understanding tone. “You’re thinking of your soul as a two dimensional object. From above, the two halves would appear as you say, but try seeing your soul in the third dimension.”
Slayer: A Demon Hunter's Tale Page 13