Runaway Devil

At some point, I must have dozed off. The sound of the morning news slowly pulled me from my light sleep. I cracked my eyes open, my head had lolled back into the room and the window closed. Bethany still slept on my lap, but she was slowly transitioning to the floor. Her sleep was deep enough for her not to care or notice.

Issac sat on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, with a cup of coffee, watching the news. Of course, Issac, out of all my friends, would be the one who watched the morning news. Jerry sat on the floor, his head tilted back against the seat of the couch, still sleeping.

Ben stood in my small kitchen, ready with a cup of coffee for me. He smiled with tired, ruffled hair and set a steaming mug on the windowsill next to my head. The sun was just starting its ascent, and my kitchen clock showed eight o'clock. "Why are you guys up so early?"

Issac turned and smiled a big, goofy grin. "I always get up this early. School has ruined me." I nodded solemnly, fully aware of the grip the human schools had on adolescents' sleep schedules. Bethany stirred and snuggled into my thigh tighter, trying to find a comfortable position in her sleepy state.

"Thank God yesterday was Friday, I could not handle school today," Ben shook his head and raised his brows to emphasize his point. "You best believe Mr. Bunner would've tried me," he closed his eyes and shook his head more fervently. "And I would not have been able to handle the consequences."

I fought the smile that threatened to bloom on my face, hiding my smirk behind my coffee mug. Mr. Bunner didn't particularly care for me either. Bethany, now on the floor at my feet, sat up with her eyes still closed and yawned. She sat there for a couple of moments, almost like she was remembering how to function. She opened her eyes and looked at me with a blank, glazed over stare.

"Morning," I smirked at her and gave her another second to gather herself. She got up and stumbled in the general direction of the bathroom. After she closed the door, I heard ominous growling coming from my bedroom.

Balan's heavy frame bounded off the bed and slunk into the living room, his lip pulled back, ready to kill whatever he found in his house. I looked at him with a calm and collected stare, raising my eyebrow in question. As soon as he saw me, safe and sound, he seemed to remember that we had company over last night. He lowered his head in embarrassment and sheepishly walked over, sitting at my feet. Ben chuckled and joined Issac on the couch.

I sipped my coffee and pet Balan behind his ears when something on the news caught my attention. They were covering a story about a freak accident in a warehouse downtown. The clean-cut anchorman transferred to the woman who was at the site of the accident.

"...Thanks, Jeremy. The fire appeared to have started in one of the side rooms and spread rapidly. I have the fire chief here to..." I watched with outward indifference, but both Balan and I were laser-focused on the screen. They explained how they think it started and were thankful that no one was in the building at the time of the incident. I knew that the warehouse was littered with bodies, I put them there myself. Even with a large fire, there would be some biological evidence. But there was nothing, just an empty warehouse that caught fire, probably from a space heater.

I mindlessly pet Balan and thought about the fire, its heat. It was white-hot, I wouldn't be surprised if it turned everything to ash instantly. Hellfire had similar attributes, that's why demons were the only creatures that could exist in it.

"...And in unrelated news, the local deer population is decreasing at an alarming rate..." The anchorman's voice filtered through my thoughts. I could feel the color flood my cheeks and I sipped my coffee.

Maybe I should wane us back onto supermarket meat.

Balan harrumphed and slouched at the thought.

After everyone left for the day, I immediately got to packing. I had minimal personal items. But for those that I had, I systematically packed them in beat-up duffel bags. These bags had looked like they'd seen many cities, hostels, and "homes."

Within two hours, my whole life was stuffed away, reduced to two backpacks. When Balan caught onto what was happening, he sat by the door and waited. I looked around the two rooms I inhabited for the last six months and found no evidence of my living there at all. I nodded once, satisfied with my work and turned to leave.

With luck on my side that day, my landlord was nowhere to be found, and I was outside without any setbacks. The day was clear and the sun was warm, it was perfect for traveling. I contemplated if I wanted to fly or travel on foot. I would have to dip into some energy reserves to change Balan into a bird, and it would attract unwanted attention. I already had an entity in town hot on my tail. But traveling on foot would make the time a problem. In human form, I could only cover so much ground in one day.

Before I had decided on the best course of action, I stopped dead in my tracks. Right in front of me was a man, a big one. It was him. There was no mistaking it. He was suddenly making no effort to shield his power from me, practically slapping me in the face with it.

I dropped my bags and moved fluidly into a fighting position, my hand hovered over my knife at my hip. Balan crouched, ready to pounce, with his fangs on full display. The man exuded an aura of power and heat like his body was made of ethereal fire. I sneered openly at him and watched for any signs of attack.

"Who are you?" I asked. He held his hands up in a surrendering, submissive position.

"I've been looking for you for quite some time," His voice was full and deep, the gravel of it strangely comforting. "You hide well." He was fucking smirking at me.

"You speak demon tongue, but you are no demon," I looked him up and down, wary of what stood in front of me. He was tall, if I were standing any closer, I would have to look up at him. "What the fuck are you?"

"Demon tongue is a langue, like any other. It can be learned." He lowered his hands and stood with a relaxed posture. His face was sharp and rough like it had seen action. His eyes bore into me, I could feel him trying to rifle around in my head.

"Answer my question." My voice was hard and there was no patience in it.

"I am not a demon, but you know my kind. You've killed plenty, too many to tally." I could feel the growl in my throat before he finished his sentence.

"Angel."