Tricky demons

A few days had passed since we’d celebrated Halloween at Nord Manor. I had a funny feeling all day and went to sleep that night feeling very uneasy.

I suddenly awoke to a very strong demonic energy. I got up fast and reached for the light switch before I grabbed my phone.

The energy was gone. The time was three o’clock.

Had I imagined it? Nonetheless, I felt scared, being all alone in my big apartment.

I was still a novice, too, so I didn’t have any weapons in my home yet. I would talk to Louisa about that at the headquarters in the morning.

I went out on the balcony and lit a cigarette. I had ignored Erik’s advice not to smoke.

I didn’t want to go back to sleep. I suddenly felt a flicker of the same strong energy again.

I could feel it charge right at me. I ducked and spun to kick it.

I knew I hit something, but then it was gone. I picked up my phone and called the only number that made sense to me at this moment.

I called Damion. Armed hunters from the headquarters wouldn’t get here fast enough, and I just couldn’t call Erik to come save me.

While I called, I ran to the kitchen to arm myself with a kitchen knife. It needed a silver coating to kill a demon, but this would at least do some damage.

“There are tricksters in my home, and I have no weapons!” I said as soon as I heard Damion answer.

Right after, I felt the energy again and it was charging at me. I dodged and managed to slash it with my knife.

I soon after saw the light of flames burn the little demon and then die out.

“Seems like you have made a powerful enemy, Bella,” Damion said.

He stood in the kitchen with me. He didn’t need a portal to teleport, just like Erik.

“I have read about these trickster demons, but never seen one before,” I admitted.

There were definitely more of them. They always stuck together in a group.

They could travel between dimensions, making them, along with their energy, disappear from our world, only to reappear and attack.

“Then you might know, they have been summoned by a spellcaster. And five sacrifices have been offered, to seal the deal, to hunt you dead,” Damion said.

How they were summoned was new to me. The book hadn’t said.

“Who could possibly want me dead that badly?” I asked, shocked.

“Someone with no regard for life, most likely Marcus. Though, he must have had a lock of your hair. It’s needed for the ritual,” Damion explained.

“You don’t think Erik is helping him, do you?” I asked.

The very thought tore at my heart.

“No, never on purpose. Though it’s not impossible that he might have had your hair for another purpose,” Damion said thoughtfully, looking just a little concerned.

“Why would he keep my hair? That’s just weird,” I asked.

Suddenly, I was very aware that no demons had attacked me in Damion’s presence.

“Several reasons, especially if he likes you. It can be used for many rituals, spells, and potions,” he explained.

He folded his arms and looked troubled. “I think I have to talk to him about it,” he added.

I would have to confront Erik about this too.

“How is it that the tricksters seem to have given up in your presence?” I asked.

“They know they don’t stand a chance against me. There are four of them left, hiding,” he answered.

“Could you get me a weapon? A gun preferably,” I asked carefully.

I knew I couldn’t ask him to come with me to the headquarters.

“I could do that. You can go back to bed. I’ll put up protection charms. They won’t be able to enter your home again,” Damion said.

I just knew I could trust him. I felt safe going back to bed.

I had another strange dream that night. I dreamed of Damion.

He looked a lot younger, like a teenager. His clothes looked medieval.

He was just talking happily. Nothing else happened in the dream.

I woke up again by nine o’clock. There was a handgun on my table, along with silver ammunition.

He had also left a silver knife, with beautiful flower patterns on it. There was a note.

~I think you will find these tricksters are hard to shoot. They will hunt you, as soon as you leave your apartment.~

I got dressed and made myself a latté, which I had with a cigarette on the balcony. I took out my phone and texted Erik to ask if he could meet me later.

Then I called Ellie. I knew she was skilled with a blade, just like Anna.

I would have called Anna, but I really didn’t want to. I couldn’t explain to her why a warlock had summoned demons to hunt me.

“What’s up, kitten?” Ellie asked when she picked up.

“Could you maybe walk me to headquarters? I have four trickster demons after me,” I asked.

She was silent for a moment on the other end, probably shocked.

“I have one better. I’ll call Alex, and we’ll lure them out and slay them,” she finally answered.

“Are you sure we can manage without reinforcement?” I asked, uncertain.

Ellie chuckled. “Kitten, it’s what we do. We are the reinforcement. You just haven’t learned yet,” she said.

“Well, all right, I’ll just wait here then,” I agreed.

About an hour later, Ellie and Alex arrived. They were both dressed in black, ready for combat, all geared up with swords and guns.

I went to dress in combat clothes, too. I fastened the gun I had gotten from Damion.

When I reached out for the knife, something peculiar happened. The moment I touched the knife, images appeared in my mind.

~I held the knife and used it to cut my hand.~

~The blood dripped down into a chalice, placed in the middle of a detailed pentagram, while people were chanting.~

The image faded. I examined my hand, and no cut could be seen, even though I remembered the sting of the blade.

That was odd…

I fastened the knife, too, before I joined Alex and Ellie.

“Do we have an ability to see other people’s memories?” I asked them while we were in the elevator.

“Not that I’m aware of. It’s not impossible that we might possess forgotten talents,” Alex answered.

That part was true. I had read things that suggested we used to be more powerful.

Many of our skills had become forbidden because they had been deemed demonic and impure during the christening.

“Where did you get those weapons from? The headquarters doesn’t supply us with a homestash for the first two years,” Ellie asked.

“That dagger looks like a spellcaster’s ritual dagger,” Alex pointed out.

“And really old, too,” Ellie added.

“Aurora,” I lied, feeling a little guilty.

I didn’t quite trust Ellie and Alex enough to tell them I had Damion’s number. He had also asked me not to tell. I mean, someone must have told Louisa I was dating a warlock.

We took the subway to the edge of the city and walked to a secluded area. I had felt the demonic presence the entire time.

“Why aren’t they attacking?”

Ellie held up a gorgeous, detailed pocket watch. It had a faint glow to it.

A light of Gabriel—that’s why the demons hadn’t attacked. They couldn’t.

“Where did you get that? They are very rare,” I asked, shocked. As far as I knew, only luci, the half-angels, could possess one.

“I guess you could say it was a gift from an admirer,” Ellie answered with a mysterious smile.

“Are you ready? As soon as I get this away from you, they will come at you,” she said.

I drew my gun and nodded.

Ellie threw her artifact away, and in the same moment, I felt them charge at me. I saw an ugly head, reminding me of a pig but with fangs, and I shot at it.

I hit it—but in the same instant, I felt my arm being scratched and my hair being grabbed. I fell to the ground.

In the next moment, Alex and Ellie slashed at my three attackers and they dropped beside me.

My arm was bleeding. Alex tossed a first aid kit to Ellie, who was quick to clean and bandage my arm.

“We should hurry up and burn them. You need to have your arm looked at, kitten,” Ellie said.

I looked at the ugly things lying on the ground. They looked like black, hairy pigs with fangs, claws, and bat wings. They weren’t that big, about half of my own size.

“To think someone had to die for each of those creatures to attack me,” I said in disgust.

“You know how these are summoned?” Alex asked.

I nodded. “Aurora told me,” I lied again.

“So someone summoned them to chase you specifically?” Ellie asked with raised eyebrows.

I nodded, feeling a little bemused.

“Do you think Erik might be involved?” Alex asked.

Both he and Ellie were looking at me very seriously.

“No, I don’t think so. Not intentionally at least,” I said, feeling worried. I didn’t want them to think he would hurt me.

“Louisa needs to know about this, as well as our archivist,” Ellie said before she went to pick up her light of Gabriel.

“But you’re not telling them about this, right? That a warlock summoned them to hunt me?” I asked. Louisa would definitely get suspicious.

Alex looked at Ellie.

“No, we’ll divert attention from you in the official report,” she replied with a sigh.

“So, are we going to the headquarters?” I asked.

“Yes, as Ellie said. You need to have your arm looked at, and then we need to file a report,” Alex answered.

Ellie had contacted Doctor Linda on our way to the headquarters. She was already there, ready to have a look at my arm when we arrived.

She cleaned it properly before she stitched it and bandaged it.

“Didn’t like being back at work? Getting injured again so soon?” she joked.

“Just my luck, I guess,” I chuckled.

“Speaking of, can I have a look at the stab wound? It should be all healed,” Linda asked.

I rushed to my feet.

“No, it’s fine. It is all healed. I can’t feel it anymore. If you’ll excuse me, I have a report to file.” I hurried out.

She would definitely get very suspicious if she saw that there wasn’t even a scar.

Alex and Ellie had been waiting for me. This was my first visit down to the archives.

A short old man sat behind the front desk.

“We wish to fill in a mission report, and a knowledge form,” Ellie said to the old man.

“That’s August, the archivist. He’s under oath of confidentiality. Even from our great Dux Umbra,” Alex said.

August returned with two forms for us to fill in.

Ellie and Alex filed the report, where they claimed we had helped an innocent mortal from the tricksters, that we had felt their presence on our way to the headquarters.

Meanwhile, I filed the knowledge form about what I had learned about the ritual.

I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t concerned about Erik taking my hair without asking, but I didn’t want anybody else to be.

We had just had lunch when our phones buzzed. A red alert from the headquarters, calling all hunters in.

We all looked at each other. It had been years since the last time a red alert had been issued.

We, of course, went to gear back up and then went to our squad’s studio to await Louisa’s orders.