To Watch The Night

chapter one

Silus sighed, exhaling the thick cloud of cigar smoke into the moonlit night. He stood out in front of an old motel room, looking up at the half-moon and the trail of smoke that now rose to meet it. Just another night.
He was perpetually angry-looking, built like a gladiator, and scarred to match. There was, by now, the faintest suggestions of silver in his beard, and flecks of it in his shoulder-length hair. That was, after all, what his job would do to you. He was only 27, and had seen more hell than anyone his age, between the army and... work.
He closed his eyes, taking another long drag from the cigar, and flinched slightly as the gunshot echoed from behind him. He rubbed his head. This was an easy night, thank the gods. An incubus. He and Alex had been able to lure it in, and even have a bit of fun with the demon before offing it.
He opened the door, being greeted by the toothy smile of his boyfriend, who was holding an m1911 in one hand and a grip of the red-skinned hooker's jet-black hair in the other. He smiled slightly.
He had met Alex after he left the military, a 20-year-old Wiccan boy then with a skill for monster-hunting. Sylus was always afraid that his constant cynical attitude and anger would corrupt the boy, turn him into a smaller version of himself, but he still maintained the same sunny disposition and wide smile that he had three years ago. And as much as Sylus hated to admit it, it had started to rub off. Perhaps it was true, opposites did attract.
"Babe? We have to take care of the body."
Sylus nodded blankly, opening a beer can and draining it, before tossing it aside. "I know, I know." He grumbled, pulling on a shirt and picking up the incubus. "I'll get him in the truck, come on."
In this area, a gunshot wouldn't have drawn much attention. And lucky for this time of night, where nobody would see two men loading a body into the bed of an old model ford. Sylus took his place in the driver's seat, and Alex sat beside him, curling up on the large leather seat before placing his head in Sylus' lap. He would let him sleep. Alex had earned that. He gently wiped the bits of blood from his lover's cheek before firing up the engine and quickly leaving the parking lot of the motel.
    The two rode down the darkened road, out of town, and put the vehicle into park. Sylus slid out of the driver's seat, letting his love sleep as he slung the wrapped body over his shoulder. A shallow grave was, after all, a one man job. He sighed, craving another cigar. At least in his experience with the Watchers, there was no need to bury a body. The military didn't bother with the formal crap, only the mission.
    He tossed the body down, going back to grab his shovel, and began digging.