The Hunter

Judgement Error

***PLEASE NOTE: This chapter contains violent scenes and should be read with caution. 

Finn fell through the portal she had opened in the door of the shed and landed in heather. The smell of the flowers was quickly overpowered by sulphur and ash and she rolled to her feet with the book still clutched to her. The portal had been one way and there was no evidence of it on this side. The demon, who had also landed sprawled in the heather, was now standing and casting his glare around the area.

"What have you done witch?" He demanded as he spread a creeping area of charred greenery from his person, enveloping them both in smoke and heat.

"Taken us somewhere to be alone, wasn't that what you wanted?" Finn showed her teeth and made a claw with her hand. "Or did I interrupt your meal?"

The demon growled low and his eyes flickered to the book in her hands before he matched her posture and clawed his own hands. Finn circled him slowly, letting him build his arena for the fight ahead. She had brought them to an area in Scotland where there would be literal to no collateral damage and she had paid in advance for the denizens of the area to clean up anything that would stand out as strange. Above them a storm built and she realized that the charred area would be blamed on a lightning strike.

"You do realize that I'm going to rip your soul out of your body and drag it into the worst Hell you can imagine, don't you?"

"You're going to try." Finn countered and flicked her fingers towards him, roping him in the thick lines of magic that were everywhere here. He slashed them apart and roared before charging her with claws igniting the air they cut through.

Finn dropped the book and brought the sword up to parry his claws, kicking the book behind her and bracing for his second hand to come around the guard and slash at her. She was surprised when instead of pressing the attack the demon turned his attack into a clumsy lunge for the book.

She dragged the edge of the sword up, slicing his hand from the knuckles to the bones of his wrist before sidestepping the spray of acidic yellow bile that erupted from the wound. His momentum carried him past her and she dragged the sword down, severing the tendons at his ankle. His tail slammed into her and she flew, a rock ripping into her side as she hit the ground, her air knocked from her.

As Finn and the demon slowly picked themselves up from the ground she reached around and held her wound closed with fingers made slick by her own blood. She watched, unsurprised, as the demons injuries were knit back together with green flames and black ash. Finn reached and found the connection she was looking for, pulling it towards her while the demon stood to regard her, the book in his hand.

"I'll wait for you to fall over from blood loss, but I know you. You'll fight for consciousness till you die, so you'll be awake when I start on you. I'll keep you that way as my puppet, drawing in more souls until I have enough power to take over Hell." The demon stood to his full height, grinning down at Finn in triumph as she worked the connection around the both of them. "Then I will drag you to the throne room. My unwilling consort." 

He reached for her side where the wound was barely slowed by the pressure she held with her hand. His heat scorched her side and she felt the connection complete, a door opening beneath their feet. Finn had gone through doors to her home sideways before, and she caught herself as gravity suddenly changed direction. The demon was caught unawares, and sprawled in a tangled heap with his precious book.

A yelp from behind her and Finn knew Gloria had come to investigate the sudden noise in a room that had only just appeared in the house. She slid one foot back carefully, attempting to block the demons view of the girl even as she tried to escape him herself.

"Holy Mary, Mother of God protect us in our hour of need. Archangel Michael protect us from this unholy creature!"

Finn hissed in pain as the girl grabbed her arm and dragged her through the door. An ornate cross lit with blinding white light appeared in the door and left a carving of itself behind and Finn slowly sank to the ground, her back to the wall across from the door.

"A Catholic with faith still. Who knew." She grimaced and Gloria looked down at her, noticing the blood for the first time.

"No!! What did that thing do to you? What do I do! I can call 911 that thing will eat the ambulance!" Gloria was frantic and backing away from the blood that trickled between Finn's fingers.

"There's a brown bottle and an opaque white bottle in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. Bring those please." Finn blinked, trying to stay focused on the door across from her.

Finn knew Gloria was only gone a moment, but it felt like an eternity and an instant when she returned. Finn frowned and pulled her hand away, allowing herself to drift along the wall so the wound was up.

"Brown bottle first." She mumbled, hoping Gloria would understand the words as the hall continued to turn long after she knew she had stopped turning. She hissed as the contents of the brown bottle flushed in and across her wound, hissing and bubbling. "Tina." She muttered just before the searing pain rippled across her side from the second bottle.