Fireflight

Chapter One

The fiend stepped off the bus and onto the dirty and broken streets of Imp City. As its namesake suggested, a sizeable portion of its population, and those out on the streets were such creatures. The fiend would blend in perfectly. He glanced down at the map on his phone and studied it for a brief minute before setting off in a direction. Around him the buzz of the city, harsh in its tones and dangerous to all those within passed about, yet he seemed not to notice. 

He took a right and strode casually down the street front, looking around at the city that surrounded him with mild interest. He banked left and glanced up at a street sign. He was on track. The fiend looked ahead and saw the building he was looking for. An old, shoddily built office building that was inconspicuous from the rest of the bleak urban sprawl around. Making his way to the door, he slipped quietly inside and began to wander the halls from the right room number. Upon finding it he slowly pushed the door open and almost cautiously stepped inside, glancing around as he did so. 

A young hellhound sat behind a plain wood desk, her phone resting on the desk in front of her. Her ears flicked as the heard the soft noise of the door opened and looked up to see an imp enter. With a distasteful look she turned and yelled. 

"Blitzo! Someone here to see you. I think it's someone responding to your ads for hire!" she yelled loudly down the hall. 

"Thank you Loony! Send them in." another voice called back. 

Loona turned to the imp and tossed her head down the hallway. "Second door on the right." 

The newcomer nodded and passed by without a word. 

Blitzo looked up as he heard the door to his office open and stood to greet the new arrival. "Hi, the name's Blitzo, the o is silent." he said cheerily. 

The imp nodded and reached his hand out hesitantly to return the handshake. "Brenden." he muttered. 

Blitzo looked at the imp with keen eyes, taking him in and weighing him up. He had a slight yet strong build hidden under his thick armor and coat, along with bright amber eyes and jet black hair. Despite having a confident air to him, the imp also seemed somewhat awkward and uncomfortable with the direct communication between himself and Blitzo. The biggest and most noticeable thing was that the other imp seemed to have trouble holding eye contact with him, his eyes darting around Blitzo's direct gaze. 

"So how good are you at killing?" the imp asked the stranger standing before him. 

Brenden's face lit up and he began to speak. "I'm an excellent shot!" he bragged. "I hold the record for the fastest and most accurate marksman." 

"Really now?" Blitzo chuckled. "Well then, we'll have to see about that. Where are you from?" 

"The far east, the ice plains of Treachery." Brenden replied simply. 

"Nice, I know absolutely no one from there. What's it like out there?" 

"Cold." Brenden mumbled. 

"Not much of a talker, huh?" Blitzo asked. 

The other imp shook his head and let his eyes wander the room, taking in all the details and creating a perfect mental map. 

"Well your hired, I could use someone who doesn't fuck up as much as Moxxie." Blitzo said, snapping the other imp out of his look about. 

"Oh, I see." he nodded. 

"You'll start today. Payment comes in salary when I don't squander it all on shitty business ideas!" his new boss said cheerfully. 

"Ah, I see." the marksmen muttered again. 

Blitzo walked past, taking his new employee by the shoulder and guiding him to the door. "I'll introduce you to everyone." he said as Brenden pulled away from his touch before following closely behind.  

Pulling a cheap megaphone from a shelf from his office as they left, ex-circus performer clicked it on and yelled into it. "Everyone get your asses to the main room, we've got a new employee!" he announced. 

"Sir you don't need the megaphone, your already loud enough!" a high pitched and nasally voice yelled back.

Brenden's eyes wandered over to a hallway where he saw two other imps, both a full head shorter than him. He judged based on the fact that they were holding hands that they must be in sort of relationship, most likely married he assumed. 

"Right, this is Moxxie and Millie," Blitzo introduced. "And this is my lovely daughter Loona." he finished making puppy dog eyes at the white furred hellhound slouching behind the desk. "

"Only on paper." she muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes in disgust. 

"Hi there! It's nice to have you on the team." the female imp said amiably. 

Brenden nodded back in response as Blitzo continued. "Oh! I almost forgot to introduce him to you. This here is our new employee Brenden." 

"Sir, do we really need another employee?" Moxxie asked looking speculatively at Brenden. 

"Of course we do Moxxie. We need someone who can actually hit their target." Blitzo answered. 

At this the shorter imp exploded. "I can hit a target! I make great shots all the time!" 

"More like half the time, and that's generous." Loona smirked. 

Moxxie turned and gave the hellhound a death glare, only to receive a middle finger salute from the young woman. 

"Anyways," their boss began. "I'll have Moxxie and Millie show you around and teach you how to work the ropes, today is a pretty lax day so you'll have plenty of time to get adjusted." 

Brenden nodded again. "Thanks." he answered. 

"No problem!" Blitzo said slapping the new marksmen sharply on the pack, much to his disapproval. "I know you'll make us proud."