Contracts

Salt And Light

My eyes widened as I stared at Tenebrae, her sanguine eyes locked on Orin. I peered over at him, he was hunched over like a wolf ready to pounce. His wings were outstretched, his tail flicking behind him. The girl turned her head to Tenebrae, keeping her eyes locked on me. She opened her mouth, saying something to her, swinging the barrel of her rifle into her hand. Her demon nodded, jumping from the building and taking to the skies.

"Hey, Angela?" Orin asked, his eyes watching Tenebrae.

"Yeah?" I responded.

"You can fight right?" he said, glancing over at me.

"Yes," I said. He let out a sigh of relief.

"You take Tenebrae, I'll take her master," he leapt from beside me, gliding through the air.

"Wait what?!" I shouted, the sudden action taking me by surprise. "Orin?! Orin!!"

"Keep your eyes on her! She's fast!" he ordered. I grumbled in frustration, directing my attention to the skies. I couldn't see anything but clouds. I knew she was near me, I just couldn't pinpoint where. I held my breath, scanning the horizon. She wasn't anywhere to be seen. A gust of wind whipped past my ear, something sharp, cold and bladed slicing into my cheek. I grunted and held the wound, blood spilling in between my fingers. A silver chain, pristine and glistening was lodged into the stone beside me. I whirled around. Tenebrae stood behind me, the chain attached to a coil around her forearm, identical chains were wrapped around her other arm and shins. She pulled the chain free from the building, I took note of the jagged blade that was secured to the end.

"You must be Tenebrae Zeras, yes?" I demanded, pointing the tip of my blade at her and studied her for anything I may have missed earlier. My eyes skimmed over the raised scars pock marking her arms, torso, legs and shoulders. I noticed a sleek, silver, Celtic diadem perched atop her brow. A single blue and purple gem lined with platinum stood in the centre of the crown. The demon remained apathetic, twirling the chain in her hand. She stared down at me, almost as if she was deciding wether or not it would be worth it to kill me. I tightened my grip on my sword.

"Yes, that would be me," she snarled. Her voice was deep, regal and cold. Her tone sent shivers down my spine. "Gatekeeper of Hell, Element of Despair and the Reaper of Souls. And you are?"

"Angela Vertonin, seventh class Holy Hunter, Cryokinetic and Contracted Human to Pride of the Seven Deadly Sins," I said as calmly as I could.

"So you're the poor kid that got stuck with him, eh?" she mused.

"I beg your pardon?" I asked, not letting my eyes leave the woman.

"You clearly don't know too much about Pride, do you?" she hissed, nodding towards Orin. I glanced over at him. He was in the air, attacking the girl from above. Flames as black as night surrounded his hands, coiling around his arms like snakes. His eyes glowed brightly against the dim light of the city. "Well then kid, allow me to enlighten you. Our good old friend Pride here has a bit of a reputation, a streak if you will, when it comes to contracts."

"What kind of a streak?" I questioned. Tenebrae peered over at me, her carmine eyes held a sinister and deadly glint.

"When he gets bored of his masters, he kills them," she chuckled darkly. "They're burned to a crisp, cut into ribbons and are drained of their blood. He needs to be the strongest, so that's one way of showing it." I shuddered.

"Why are you fighting us?" I asked.

"Just trying to keep his master safe, that's all," she retorted. "You can thank us later." She skirted past me, nudging my shoulder. I shot my hand back, resting the blade of my sword against the flat of her shoulder. The sharp edge of the weapon pressed against the base of her neck.