Hellfever

1.1

"Hey sweetheart, what's a lovely thing like you doing here?"

I didn't bother with lifting my head from the worn wood bar, or the glass in front of me.

"Screw off," I say tiredly. I amused the idea that he would actually leave me alone with the first rejection for a few seconds. But of course, nope. I wasn't that lucky.

A hand fell on my shoulder, making me sigh before glancing up and meeting the gaze of Rick, the bartender. He made the slightest grimace before turning away, his way of saying that whatever I did would remain unseen and therefore unknown by him.

I grabbed the hand on my shoulder before turning and sliding off the stool away from the offending man. At the last second, I threw a bit of force into the motion, slamming him into the counter. I knelt down for a second and patted the top of his head, much like one does to a child.

"Aw sweetheart, maybe next time you'll learn to just move on and hit on the next breathing female down the line," I said, sickly sweet, a fake smile on my face, before standing up and moving away from the bearded drunk man on the floor.

"One" I mumbled, sliding past people on my way to the door. "Two. Man I need to find better bars. And three."

On three I turned around, my palm open to catch the punch that was coming towards the back of my head. The surprise in his bloodshot eyes made me chuckle, not suspecting that a young woman had first rejected him, and then second, had outsmarted him.

Not wanting to spend another moment in this godforsaken establishment, I drove a knee into his beer belly and dropped an elbow on the back of his head when he bent forward to grip at his stomach. Assured that he had learned his lesson this time, I looked away from the sad example of humanity in front of me, making eye contact with those around me. Several were staring, eyes wide with shock, while most avoided my gaze, unwilling to challenge me. Among the sea of people, I made eye contact with a familiar pair of mischievous brown eyes.

I instantly smiled and turned for the door, grabbing my worn leather jacket from the rack of coats. The cool breeze curled a tendril of blonde hair across my cheek as I stepped out into the twilight air, shrugging the jacket on.

Leaning against the brick wall, pretending as if the chill of the bricks wasn't seeping through my clothes, into my skin and bones, and therefore freezing me into a block of ice, I was pleased when it didn't take long for my associate to find me.

"Well I see you're still beating up innocent plebs," he says, frowning.

I shrugged and grinned, noting the amusement in his eyes that betrayed his disapproving facial expression.

"You know me, can't stay out of trouble. I see you're still being a pretentious ass," referring to his use of the word plebs, the term for people who remained unaware of the true world around them.

"You know me," he said, mocking my words playfully. In the next moment his face and tone changed, and he was perhaps the most serious I had ever seen him. "They're beginning to think that more demons are coming through."

I frown. "They're always saying that, Cato. You shouldn't worry about it."

"Of course they're always saying that. They're paranoid little halflings," he rolled his eyes. Halflings was the term common hunters like myself used for the half-angel hunters from the Academy. In order to be admitted, you had to have a portion of divine blood running through your veins, which, yes, means that not all were halflings. For the most part, they acted holier than thou and as if they were the royalty of our secret little world. I suppose that in a way they were. "But this time, I actually believe them."

"You?"

"Yes, surprisingly enough I do believe what they say every once in a while. Haven't you noticed the increase in activity?"

"I mean I suppose I'm going out on more hunts," I conceded. "But I figured the lesser demons were just being more active."

"Well, think about it," Cato said, concern in his deep brown eyes.

I roll my bottom lip into my mouth and nod, mulling over his words. Sighing, I move on to what we were actually meeting for.

"So where am I needed this time?"

Cato inclines his head, acknowledging the change in subject before informing me that there was a smer terrorizing Willow Lake. I grimaced. Smers were one of my least favorite, being that they were much like mermaids of fairy tales in the physical sense, meaning that they were water creatures. However, these Tier Two demons weren't as sweet as you'd hope them to be, luring their prey into the water and feasting on the flesh after toying with the poor creature.

I just mainly hated them because that meant I had to get wet. Wet and muddy. Great.

"I'll check it out tomorrow," I said.

"Alright, good luck out there. Let me know if you need help," Cato said, putting a hand on my shoulder. I smile at the man who felt like an uncle.

"It's me, Cato. I don't need help," I said with a confident smirk before turning to leave. "I'll give you a call after I scout the lake."

He raises a hand in farewell. "Oh, and Bryn, they're saying something else too. That they're starting to work together."

Looking over my shoulder at him, I scoff, denoting the thought. Common demons, the kind that predominantly made up the population in this dimension, were solitary for the most part. "I'll believe it when I see it."

I walk away with my head held high into the night. Occupied with thoughts of my bed and preparing for tomorrow, I failed to notice Cato's murmur brush past on the cool breeze.

"I'm just worried you will."