Drift (Drift Series)

by Dean, Michael

  I charged him like a bull to a matador. Just as I was about to make contact, Darryl flew into the air with a laugh, dodging my first blow. I wasted no time in following him into the stratosphere.

  “What’s the matter? Am I too fast for you?”

  “No, you’re too stupid to be fast and cunning at the same time.”

  I caught up to him and grabbed his foot, pulling him face to face with me. I socked him in the stomach, sending him whirling further into the sky past the storm clouds. I followed quickly behind him, trying not to give him rest. I flew through the dense clouds and was taken aback by how beautiful it was above them. I could see every star just as clear as could be. It was so quiet it was hard to believe that a nasty storm was dumping so much snow below. My attention was drawn back to the task at hand because Darryl wasted no time in retaliating.

  “That’s all you got?” He spun around to face me. We collided with such an impact that it sounded like a clap of thunder echoing across the calm night sky. I can’t be certain how many punches were thrown, but our fists connected on one another at a rapid pace as we twirled around in the heavens. Our wings flailed violently as we jockeyed for position. While spinning and punching, we fell back through the storm clouds and once again entered the raging snow blanket.

  Darryl had his back to the ground with me on top as we continued throwing blows. His wings were folded as the force of our fall caused wind to push them forward like a shell over us. I used our momentum, shoving my shoulder into his abdomen and thrusting us earthbound with every bit of strength I had. We rocketed so fast back to the ground that his cocoon-cupping wings actually caught fire. Darryl shrieked.

  I shoved him harder. I had no idea how long it would be before we made contact with the ground. It didn’t take long to find out. With an earth-rattling thud, we slammed into the dirt, kicking up a tidal wave of snow and leaves. But our momentum didn’t stop us. We continued, much more slowly now, hundreds of yards underground before we finally came to a halt.

  The impact dazed us both. Oddly enough, it was Darryl who came to first. His fist launched into my chin with every bit of power he possessed. The energy shoved me up and out of the hole. I shot from of our makeshift tunnel like fresh-struck oil and landed on the level ground, right in front of the catcalling council members who heckled me with great joy.

  Only Shade shouted words of encouragement. It seemed her fear had turned to anger. I hopped to my feet and hesitantly peeked into the hole. It wasn’t long before I realized I’d made a tactical error. Darryl blasted out of the hole and crashed his shoulder right into my throat, lifting us back into the air in an arch fashion, only to have us crash into tree after tree with my backside taking the brunt of the blows. We hit the tallest timber so hard that a few branches broke and fell to the ground along with us.

  Darryl snagged me by my head and belted me in the face. I skidded and burst through some large boulders that had probably been stuck in the ground for centuries. I came to rest with my back against another rock that propped up my limp body.

  He stood over me and gloated. “Christian was right. You’re weak. This is going to be epic. Not only do you lose to me but you lose in front of the council…and Shade. Now she’ll know just how pathetic you are. It will be my pleasure killing you in front of her. Then, I’ll make her mine all over again.” He laughed sadistically as he rained down punches upon me in a fury.

  The council and Shade had moved closer so they could see the potential end of the fight. All I could do to escape his pummeling was wrap my wings around me like a shield, hoping to buy time to figure out how to get out of this predicament.

  The more he punched me, the more the laughs came. Shade continued to scream support until finally I made a move to stand up. I blasted my wings wide open as fast as I could. This maneuver created a shockwave of compressed air and knocked Darryl backwards like he was being pulled from behind by a bungee cord.

  The look on Christian’s face was one of bewilderment, like he just saw something he’d never seen before. Shade must have thought the move was cool because I heard her mutter, “Bad ass” when Darryl hit the snow.

  I flew to the stunned Darryl and landed on him, cramming my two feet into his chest. Then I picked him up by his hair about three times and drilled him in the chin each time. I let him go at the end of each punch causing a whiplash effect that slammed his head back into the compacted snow. He was fading. I picked him up and tossed him face-first at the feet of a concerned looking Christian. I flew into the air and plunged down, jabbing my knee into the screaming Darryl’s back. As I applied pressure to the center of his spine, I tore the wings off his weakened torso. Darryl begged for mercy but it was too late. I waved the wings as if hoisting a trophy. I could only show them off briefly as the wings disappeared in a matter of seconds.

  He was finished, so I put him in a stranglehold with my forearm, picked him up and shoved him into the face of a quite aggravated Christian. “I have seen enough. This is over. Let him go, Leo.”

  Just to grind some salt in the wound, I held onto Darryl for an extra second or two, applying a little more pressure to my choke-hold. Then, with great delight, I dragged him toward Shade and presented him to her. With every bit of force in her slender frame, she swung her hand and smacked the heck out of Darryl. Even though there was nothing that could ever pay him back for what he did to her, she clearly took some satisfaction in having the final word in their relationship. Now it was officially over between them. I dragged Darryl back to Christian and released his whimpering carcass into the snow at his feet.

  “Come and get this blithering idiot. He had his chance. He’ll spend his days in the underworld, he’s not worthy of being a drifter,” Christian ordered Shimmer and Agrelia.

  Reluctantly they did. They were no longer laughing as they reached between Christian and I and picked him up by each arm.

  “No. No, please, Christian! Give me another chance. Please!”

  Christian ordered him taken away with a wave of his hand. “Agrelia,” Christian shouted.

  She turned, releasing the still pleading Darryl into Shimmer’s care.

  “Don’t forget this!”

  Christian tossed her his cane that disguised the demon dagger. It was officially on with the council now. Agrelia held the demon-killing blade in her right hand. If she stabbed me with it, I was done. End of story.

  She caught the cane and said, “Toodle-loo,” as she waved to me. They all disappeared into the falling snow, leaving Shade and myself with the frustrated Christian.

  “It only gets harder from here.”

  “I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

  Christian scoffed at me as he turned to leave. “Good luck…it will be the only thing you can hope for.”

  Shade ran up to my side and hugged me, asking me if I was all right. I assured her I was. By now, Christian was almost out of sight, getting ready to pull his disappearing act. Then it dawned on me that I didn’t know where to look for Agrelia. According to the spiritual law of Diccitidel, Christian had to give me my first clue. He knew this and was trying to scamper off before doing so.

  “Christian!” I shouted through the falling snow. “I get a clue! Give it to me!”

  Slowly he turned, half-cocked. “You can find her in the town too tough to die. This is her favorite portal from Hell to earth. You will find her there.”

  Just like that, Shade and I were alone again, like nothing happened. This part of the journey was over. But now what stood before me was the test of all tests.

  “C’mon, let’s go. I’m freezing,” Shade said.

  We soared back to her car. When we landed, her vehicle was already half buried in snow. With a few flaps of my wings, I blew off her ride. Knowing we couldn’t possibly drive out of here due to the already rickety road that was now submerged in snow, Shade stated, “You’re gonna have to fly us out of here. We’ll have to come and get the car another time.”

  “Nah, we can get out of he
re now.” Shade looked at me funny. “Demon…remember? Go ahead and get in the car and turn on the heater.”

  She got in, still looking confused, and started the engine. I walked to her driver’s side window and winked at her. Suddenly, Shade rolled her eyes and mouthed the words “duh” through the window as she remembered my extreme strength.

  On that note, I hefted her car on my shoulders and delicately flew toward the base of the mountain. Once I found a safe spot on a paved road, I placed the vehicle down and got inside with her. We stayed pretty quiet on the way to my place. We just held hands and were content in knowing that we made it out of this round okay. We were together, that was all that mattered.

  When we pulled up my driveway, you know who was sitting in the middle of the roadway at the top of the hill. He was in our way so much so that Shade had to pull around him to park next to my car. When we got out, he was all over us, purring and meowing at both of our legs. This wasn’t his usual hungry approach; it was as if Shadow knew something had happened and he was waiting for some sign of us being in good shape. Whatever his deal, he was certainly happy to see us. Naturally, Shade picked him up and we walked towards my tree.

  “Nuh-uh, not tonight,” Shade proclaimed, as both Shadow and myself were about to go up.

  “Why not?”

  “I told you, no more trees if I can avoid it. I’m going to turn on the heat and sleep in my car with Shadow. It is much too cold out. You can do what you normally do, demon boy.”

  Even though there were some mild flakes coming down, it was nothing near the blanket of snow that attacked us at the top of Eagle Peak, but naturally it was still extremely cold. Much like Shade forgets about me being a demon with unusual traits, I forget she’s human, with human traits, and she was cold.

  She climbed into her car and laid the seat back, covering herself with a blanket. She released Shadow, who quickly found a small blanket to lay on. Obviously she was prepared for this. I got into the car with her and we talked for a bit.

  “So where do you think Agrelia is?”

  “I’m not sure yet, but I’ll figure it out.” I smiled at her.

  “I know you will. I can’t believe I was just at Darryl’s funeral and then all of a sudden he was standing in front of me again. All this is so much to absorb…ya know?”

  “It just shows you, life doesn’t stop. It’s constant, even for dirtbags like Darryl.”

  “Yeah, people like him need to have an end of the line. I hate to say it, but that’s the way I feel. Where’s he going to go now?”

  “He’ll remain in Hell for eternity. Christian isn’t the forgiving type. Neither of us will ever see Darryl again. I promise.”

  Shade let out a sigh of relief and whispered, “I hope so,” under her breath.

  I studied her worried face for a while, watching her fight heavy eyelids. Before she could sleep, I leaned down and kissed her lips. “I’m so glad you’re here with me, Shade. I love you.”

  She pulled me down by the back of my head and kissed me again. “I love you too, lackey.”

  We chuckled at her pet name for me as she drifted to sleep. I watched her for quite some time as she slept, rubbing her face and hair. She could have gone home and slept warmly in her comfortable bed, but instead she kept me company. I still couldn’t believe what a wonderful person she was. She made it easy to love her.

  I was struggling to figure out where I could find Agrelia, so I got out of the car very quietly and walked up to my tree to give it some more contemplation. This time I didn’t scurry up onto my branch; I kept my feet on the ground and looked into the valley.

  Over and over again, I tossed around Christian’s hint. “The town too tough to die,” sounded so familiar. Then it happened. I remembered one time while over at Scruffy’s they were watching a western documentary about some of the old boomtowns of the American west and how dangerous they were to live in. There was one town that averaged a murder or more a day. It would be the perfect hunting ground for someone from Hell searching for evil entities…a perfect environment for Agrelia.

  The town now stood as a tourist hotspot in today’s modern times. Someone said in the film that it was the town too tough to die. That town was Tombstone. Tombstone, Arizona. This is where I would find Agrelia.

  I glanced at Shade’s car with her sleeping inside. The odds of pulling this off were long. It was worth it all as long as the promise of being with Shade another day was there. From this day forward I would live for Shade and the next day. I would turn over Hell for her.

  Tombstone, I’m coming.

  Acknowledgements

  I'd like to acknowledge the negative, self-absorbed, critical people who have and will come and go in my life. Without your example of being everything I never wanted to be,

  I may have become you.

  Thank you.

  About the Author

  Michael Dean was born in Mountain View California in 1976, raised in Tucson Arizona, and now resides just outside of Dallas Texas.

  Michael’s adventurous style has led him to start and run a successful small business for the past ten years, as well as writing YA novels and playing music. His passion for music and the pen collided when he was younger, causing him to pick up a guitar and write his own music. That drive led him to starting his own band, getting it played on regional radio stations, even competing in Ozzy Osbourne’s battle for Ozzfest in New York City.

  Still just as driven, now he prefers quieter days to himself, thus giving him time to improve on his main passion, writing. Drift, a YA paranormal fantasy, is a bi-product of that alone time. He hopes that when a reader picks up his works, he or she will love it just as much as he did writing it.

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