The Captivator

Obscenities spewing from his mouth, I sharply smack the boy across the cheek with the flat of my dagger. Well, technically speaking, I smack the demon contained in the boy. I don't like hurting people, but I need my focus, especially now, and his filthy mouth was not helping.The worst part in my line of work is watching ordinary people surrender the entity of their souls to the vile, disgusting parts of their hearts. There is an angel and demon inside of all humans, constantly warring. Humans call this war by different names, sometimes a conscience, other times depression, and even sometimes insanity. Humans are ignorant, but luckily for them, we aren't. Then again, ignorance is bliss.

This particular demon is quite a fighter, already bruised and battered, courtesy of yours truly. He is currently engaged in a futile struggle against the tightly bound ropes that clasp both his hands and both his ankles uncomfortably together. His matted, dark brown hair hangs in front of his eyes and sweat is trickling down the back of his neck from strenuous effort. His ashen eyes skitter across the dank alleyway, searching for an escape. Not likely. Towering above us, two concrete apartment buildings offer the small, well-hidden nook the demon and I are in now. We are in a relatively middle class part of the city which would be troublesome for me if I am caught here with the boy.The pavement is splattered with the demon's blood.

Drawing in steady breaths of the icy February air, I narrow in my focus on the demon, sheathe my wicked looking dagger in its scabbard, and draw my rod. This rod is what gives all Captivators power; we are the ones who vanquish demons. Noble right? My rod has two glimmering beads of light emitting from it. This is what sets me apart among Captivators. You see, we Captivators possess the unique ability to, under very specialized circumstances, capture a demon in our rod. This allows us to call on our captive demons to do dirty work for us on a particularly arduous assignment. Our rods  are the only things that can destroy a demon, because they are created in Heaven's Furnace by the hands of Heaven-bound angels. Most Captivators do not possess a captive demon, in fact it is very rare to see a colorful, glowing bead on a Captivator's rod. This is because in order to gain control over a demon, it must desire to stay with their Captivator. Which is very rarely the case, considering the majority of the time Captivators and demons meet with clashing arms. In my case, I have two captive demons. This is because, absurdly enough, my demons loved one another. But that's a story for another time.

Tonight would be simple, considering this demon had just been "born" recently and is still in its host's body. That's another thing about demons: the only ones that can be captured are the ones without an angel interfering. They also happen to be the most difficult to kill, always being the most crafty and wily. This is also extremely rare, another reason why it is so uncommon for a Captivator to have a demon. Every once in a while, a demon will struggle so hard inside a benevolent human's heart that it would result in a partition of the demon and the angel, doubling a human with one good side and one bad side. I abhor these demons most of all.

Because this boy-demon had just recently "gone to the dark side," I don't plan on calling one of my Captives to help me go in for the kill. Striding purposefully over to the wretched thing, I brandish my rod, thrusting it deep into the cowering demon's heart. With a mighty expulsion of glowing pink light, the demon begins to melt into an acidic puddle of goo clinging to the boy's body. I knew the demon goo would only be absorbed back into the boy's body, but the demon would remain incapacitated. It would have no real power inside the boy, residing only to balance out the angel in him, making the boy a typical human. A deranged, mindless wail echoes through the narrow alley before the boy surrenders to unconsciousness.

"Dammit," I curse softly "I knew I should've gagged him."

Human police are no real risk, merely tedious to fully trained Captivator.

It's unfortunate that I happen to lack that training.

And I definitely didn't want to have to be sprung by Jared. The asshole would never let me live it down, getting caught on a simple Cleansing assignment. Not to mention that Jared doesn't know where I am. He'll figure out soon though, that I heard the request for an easy Cleanse over his transmitter and jumped at the chance to Cleanse my first human. Nineteen and the embodiment of cool, calm and collected, Jared is my intensive instructor who seems more like a drill sergeant than  my constant companion and only real friend. Don't get me wrong, he loves me like hell, but that love happens to be a little rough around the edges. Ever since the Authority, the Captivators' leaders and greatest hunters, appointed him to me when I was twelve, Jared has been constantly analyzing every facet of me, every decision, every emotion, every action. And if he is dissatisfied with my performances as a Captivator, he'll call me out on it, his accusation often coupled with a physically draining task to make sure I'd never make the same mistake again. One time he ordered me to laboriously roll a barrel of rum that weighed far beyond anything I was capable of up a steep hillside only because I had been late to early morning training. If he was upset then, I can only imagine the monumental rage he'd hold for me once he finds out I'd taken my rod and snuck out to go demon hunting. 

I hurriedly drag the bound boy noisily over to one wall and cut his bindings quickly with my dagger. Brushing my golden brown hair behind my ear, I feel my heart pounding in my throat from excitement and fear. But as the fear begins to fade, I slowly break out into a wild, rebellious grin. My first Cleanse. And it was before I come of age at sixteen. That's when Captivators are discharged from training and are assigned to different parts of the world to pursue our everlasting ideal: to Cleanse the world of demons. No one knows why, but once a human has been Cleansed, the angel inside of him or her shines brighter and the person becomes kinder, more generous, and overall humanly better. It's almost as if the demon inside a person has finally acquiesced to the angel.

I tread down the alley with an air of  quiet pride and the same smile on my face, leaving the boy unconscious and still covered in demon goo. He'd wake up refreshed and with no memory of his demon possessing him, and he would simply hurry along home. I hum softly; my performance tonight would surely prove to both Jared and the Authority that I am not just "lucky." That's what everyone calls me, the child who was able to Captivate not one, but two demons in one night. Granted, I was only 11 (nearly twelve!) with no fathomable idea of how to Cleanse a demon, much less Captivate one.  Now they'd see though, that I have some ability, some instinct to the life of a Captivator.

Cautiously peeking around the corner for onlookers or perhaps a nosy neighbor, I see nothing unordinary and settle back into my easy stride turning the corner onto the poorly lit city street. Several cars lay dormant, parked near the curb like sheep waiting for their shepherds to return. I see no people about, seeing as it is two A.M. Now all I need to do is to get back to the loft before Jared returned from his mission, I think . It shouldn't be that difficult considering---

WHAM! I stagger forward clutching my head, immediately on high alert. If not for years of instinctive training, courtesy of Jared, my attacker surely would've bashed my skull in. I whirl around to confront it, but what I see holds my feet to the ground frozen.

Wielding his rod, a Captivator, one of my own kind, fiercely stands before me, his fiery eyes gleaming a hue of green.