The Eye of the Knife

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Back in the Game.

 

We arrived at the client's house with just minutes to spare. The lady on the phone, Ms. Lindbergh, had told me that I could not be even a minute late, or I would get no pay and she would take her business elsewhere. Apparently, from what she kept repeating, she was a very important person with an air tight schedule that had no room for errors or tardiness.

The lady was a real hard ass in other words. She reminded me of my senior English teacher, the lady that was so scary that I almost had panic attacks from just being in the room. I shuttered at the memories of my old English class as we both walked up the big concrete stairs of the old house.

The house looked like it was built in the 17th century. The thing was made completely out of stone and concrete and was big enough for a king. How a little old lady lived here all by herself was beyond me, because I certainly couldn't keep up with the maintenance.

I walked up to the big wooden door, and slammed the knocker against it. Why people in the earlier centuries decided to make the doors so big I couldn't answer, but they did. The sound of the heavy knocker falling against the thick wood sounded through the other side of the door, sounding like the echo went on for miles.

I glanced at Christian with amazement and confusion written on my face. He in turn looked nothing but intrigued as he continued to gaze at the door. With a loud click and pop the door started to creak open. Behind it stood a lady who had her white-gray hair pulled back into a tight bun, and a pant suit on. She looked very professional and someone who you didn't want to mess with.

"Yes?" She asked in an annoyed tone.

"Um.. I'm Max, and I believe you asked for my services?" I said in a confused tone. Most people knew when to expect me. I didn't exactly know what to say. Usually my clients come to me and thank me immediately for coming to help them.

I felt the lady's eyes assess me, making me suddenly feel self conscience. Her eyes started at my Doc Martin boots, to my regular tight black work out pants, and my slightly loose fitting top with light jacket over it. I felt under dressed, but this is what I always wore to do the demon killing. You have to have clothes that fit you like a second skin, for the fact that you move around so much.

"Yes, I can see that." She said moving on to assess Christian. "Well you may as well come in. How long will this take? I have clients coming in an hour and I want you both out by that time."

Christian and I stepped through the doorway, entering the spacious entryway with a modern carpeted rug that covered most of the old hard wood. A coat rack stood off to the side with a few brown coats hanging on it, a small table stood against the wall on the other side of the narrow hallway with a glass bowl to place keys in. Paintings hung here and there in a fashionable way, and a single mirror sat right above the small table.

"Well don't just stand there! I'll show you to the area with the most commotion from that horrid presence." Ms. Lindbergh took off down the hallway, turning right then left. She moved surprisingly fast for a woman her age, and Christian and I practically had to sprint to keep up with her.

"I want you out by the end of the hour." She reminded us as she opened two huge double doors. The room beyond the doors looked to be a ballroom, like the kinds where fancy parties and elegant dances were held. The room, now gloomy with the darkness, had a huge open space and a dome ceiling held up with big fat pillars. It looked like most ordinary ballrooms, except for the creepy feeling you get when entering the room.

"Good luck." The elder woman called as she shut the doors behind us with a loud slam that echoed through the room.

"What a hard ass." Christian said as he looked at the floral designs on the outskirts of the dance floor. I nodded in agreement, and switched to looking at the blue aura of the demon. A dark color, meaning the demon wasn't the strongest. But to be able to take control of a room this size, and keep it under control from other demons meant the creature was strong enough.

"Christian. Blue aura. Just be careful and stay out of the way-"

"Yeah I know. You don't want me to get hurt, again. Even though it was just because of the poison."

I closed my mouth, partly because I didn't know what to say and partly because I didn't want to say anything further. He knew that he had gotten hurt, he had also accepted that I wasn't to blame. If only I could do the same.

I turned and did a three sixty of the huge room before me. It was going to be hard to kill a demon in such a big space with only two people. Hard but not impossible.

I summoned the demon with a spell that was so old it came from the first demon hunters; meaning that it was at least ten thousand years old. I felt my energy draining tad by tad as each word flowed flawlessly from my lips. Learning this spell had been mandatory in my father's eyes, and thank god he taught me.

When the demon finally appeared out of the vortex that had slowly started to appear, I quickly said a spell to confine him to this room, and this room only. It glared at me as the words flowed from my lips like a river. When I was finished, I glanced around to make sure Christian was out of range, and to assess the demon.

It towered over me, standing at about 6-7 feet. Big claws were on its hands and feet, while a spiked tail swished back and forth over the dance floor.  Giant, pointy teeth came up out of the lower lip and glinted in the faint light, no doubt that they were deadly. It snarled at me, and I was hit with a blast of hot nasty breath across my face.

I glared at him, making sure that if looks could kill he would be dead. The creature returned the look with just as much hatred. It was time that we get this over with. I lunged at him with a war cry, grabbing my sword from my side as I flew through the air.

The demon lunged for me once he realized that I was doing the same towards him. We met in the air with a mixture of metal and claws. Bouncing off each other, I had a momentary thought as I landed a few feet away from the thing, at how cool it would have been to see that whole ordeal in slow motion.

 I spun on my heels to face the damned thing with record time. It had already recovered for the fall, and was running straight for me. I rolled my eyes and jumped over its whole frame as it tried to take a swipe at me.

I let out a laugh as it tried to find where I was, and shoved my sword between its shoulder blades. The cry of agony could be heard multiple times as it bounced around the room. I watched the blood trickle down the varmet's back and to its tail, where the red sticky stuff came to rest on the floor.

The wretch turned to me, its eyes seeming to glow with anger. I laughed again right in its nasty face. I knew that I would win, I always did.

Just then Lucifer's words rang out in my head.

A price will be paid.

 What the hell had he meant by that?! I shook my head not knowing why I was thinking of such a thing at a time like this. Only when a blow to my face, and the taste of blood in my mouth as well as  the feeling of blood trickling down, did I pull myself out of my daydream.

I growled at the demon, while Christian shouted at me asking what the hell I was doing. I swiped my sword like a mad woman, and every time blade sliced flesh, I was renewed with energy along with strength. I started not to care what I was hitting, I just sliced until I didn't hear any response from the creature.

Christian was suddenly at my side, slowly taking my sword from my hand. He forced me to look at him, while he wiped something off my face. Only then did I realize that I had been crying.

A price will be paid.

I looked into Christian's eyes with guilt, along with fear, washed over me like a tsunami. I didn't know what price I had to pay, but I knew in that moment that the price would have to do with Christian.

A price will be paid.

Yeah. And I will fight like hell to make sure it wouldn't be Christian.