Fallen

Chapter 21

The bar wasn't one I was familiar with, but I'd sort of figured out the layout of the city by now, and Ruby had put me in a part of town I'd seen before at least. I kicked the sidewalk in frustration, sending a dislodged chunk of concrete spinning off into the dark.

"She could have at least dropped me off at the church," I muttered to myself in frustration. In the distance, the sun was beginning to turn the black sky a warm rose. The smell of sulfur and ash had dulled, a mere memory of the horror the night had contained. I passed in front of a store window, and that's when I had a chance to see a reflection.

It wasn't pretty, let's get that out of the way. My denim jacket was smudged, ripped, and a decent sized hole had been burned into the side. The shirt underneath was ragged at the bottom from where I'd torn it, exposing the skin just above my waist, and it's normal wait was stained black in several spots. My old jeans had fared a little better, but there were still a few new tears in them. My hair had not escaped injury. The fires had burned one side much shorter than the other, and my face was covered in soot. Oh well, it wasn't like I was heading to the prom. I double checked to make sure my .45 was concealed. All I needed right now was some cop stopping me for carrying without a permit. That would have really topped the night off.

I walked slowly in the general direction of the church, at least, I felt like it was. I came up on an alley, and a sudden gust of hot air brought me to a complete stop. My hand shot to my gun, but it wasn't needed. A blaze flew out from the alley like it had just been on the wrong end of a Mike Tyson punch. A blur of white light followed, pouncing on the already falling demon. My eyes adjusted to the sudden burst of light and I made out the shape of a sword plunging into the demon burning heart! A burst of air spread out from the impact as the demon's flames went cold. The light stood tall, flicking the sword out to its side to remove the steaming demon blood.

The light faded quickly, revealing a familiar figure in black on black jacket and pants, a white shirt breaking the monotony. Gavin spat on the demon's corpse before it shattered into a cloud of dust. I couldn't figure out why they did that, but at least we didn't have to explain bodies after our demonslaying activities. For several tense moments, he didn't notice me, but that rocky road had to come up eventually. The fallen looked up, and I swear his eyes went wider than the Grand Canyon when he recognized the ratty girl he'd just thrown a demon out in front of was me.

"Eliza!" he exclaimed in shock with a hint of rising anger. I waived a little sheepishly, the mere passiveness of the act making me hate myself a little. "What the hell are you doing out here?"

"Umm, demons, bang bang," I said like I was trying to explain to three year old, tapping my handgun. "I thought it was pretty obvious."

"I told you to leave it to me," Gavin growled, striding towards me. Everything that was sane in me screamed at me to move away, but sanity hadn't been a big part of my personality for a long time. So I stood my ground, locking glares with the once upon a time angel,

"Uhuh, I know, I just decided not to listen," I replied evenly. Gavin growled in inarticulate frustration. I smirked. Good, I liked having the upper hand. "Besides, isn't this what I'm supposed to be doing? You know, Sword stuff?"

"Not now, not before you're ready," Gavin answered, his voice filled to the brim with frustration. He clenched his hands like he wanted to punch a wall, but that would probably crush the wall, so, thankfully, he didn't act on that desire. "It's dangerous out here. The demons may still be after you, and we can't afford to let you fall into their hands."

"Why am I so damn important again?" I asked, my voice rising a little higher than I'd meant. There was a rustle across the street as a homeless man moved out from behind a trash can in response to the noise. He looked at us with glazed eyes for a moment before heading off down the street, deciding that asking us for money at that moment might not have been a good idea. "Your old pal Ruth came to pay me a visit just a while ago and..."