Demons (Damirae)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Raven opened her eyes.

An abyss of black faded to an inferno of crimson before settling back to the cool amethyst flames they usually were.

"Eighteen blocks away, the old warehouse besides the care home."  she told Damian, glancing at the Titan in her periphery.

He snorted, "A warehouse, how cliche."

Surveying the bold nightlife of Gotham, over the edge of the roof, Damian asked, "How many?"

Raven followed his line of sight, "The aura is strong, I'd wager between twenty and twenty-five Night Children.", she grimaced, "I can practically smell the death, it reeks of bloodshed even here. You can feel it, can't you?"

He nodded.

Straightening up, Damian turned to Raven, a hand placed loosely at the hilt of his katana. At his full height, the Robin hadn't realised how close they stood. A few centimetres would close the distance between them.

Meeting Raven's eyes- god, they were so deep, one could almost fall in- Damn it Damian focus!- his shock turned to a smirk at her breathlessness.

"Uncomfortable?", he teased, cocking his head, disregarding the increase in his pulse rate.

Raven chuckled, "Oh, you wish."

With that, she smirked, shaking her head in mirth before running across the rooftop- and cursing her damn heart for pumping so fast. Damian followed at her heels, mind disregarding the prior tension, opting to focus on the task before him.

The two stopped on top of a block of flats adjacent to the warehouse and opposite the care home. Noting the pungent fragrance of au de sewage and blood in the atmosphere, Damian wrinkled his nose, mildly disgusted.

Sharing an unfazed look with Raven, Damian heard the barely noticeable rustling of a cloak behind them.

"Batman.", Raven said, not turning to face the vigilante as he moved to stand besides Damian, overlooking the warehouse with them.

"You managed to locate the whereabouts of these Children of the Night?", the name was foreign on his tongue as he addressed the two.

Damian answered, "Tt. Raven was able to pinpoint their location."

Raven clarified, "Of course, there are others still in the city, however, this is the only large congregation of Night Children. Between twenty and twenty-five."

Batman turned his unreadable stare upon her, "You're positive that all this information is correct?"

His turn of phrase made it sound like less of a question and more of a demand- as with all of Batman's speech.

Raven nodded her head, "My 'hunting' abilities are beyond reproach with regards to location and species identification."

There was no hint of hubris, no ego shining through her voice, Raven was simply stating a fact. She had a keen sense of what she was and what she wasn't. That was clear. If Raven was proficient in a certain sector, there was no sensibility in modesty where it was merely custom for it to be present.

Batman's expression remained impassive, "Are you able to take down this many of their kind."

Damian scoffed, quite insulted, "Of course. Our kind's creation is based around controlling the numbers of beasts like them."

"It wouldn't be an issue if there were twice as many.", Raven added, sneering    at the thought of the filthy bloodthirsty savages.

Without a moments hesitation, Raven and Damian leaped on to the warehouse roof, having already located an entrance clear of Children of the Night. For once, Batman was the one left alone on the rooftop, not the other way around.