Demon Hunters: Book 1 Faith [editing]

Chapter 67

Ren tailed the three demons from the shadows, jumping along the rooftops and hiding behind billboards. The motley crew trudged through the streets unaware of their pursuer. "Why can't we just kill them now?" Zarin said. "That human Mason annoys me. He knows who we are."

"Orders," Tesmin repeated.

"If we are ordered to kill them, then why do we have to wait?" Zarin clenched his fist.

Kaji groaned. "We shouldn't even be interfering. Not with the watchers."

Tesmin sighed. "Araqiel has an agreement with the underworld. They promised him dominion over the Earth world after the end of days."

"End of days?" Zarin laughed. "I never thought Araqiel could be such the fool."

Kaji pulled his fingers through his dark hair. "Why us? I thought Hab and Aamon were supposed to take care of this?"

Tesmin nodded. "Hab and Aamon are assigned to take care of the two watchers called Crispin and Zoe."

Ren couldn't believe it. Those idiots? If Riku Osaka, a human, could best Aamon, Zoe would could turn them into dust in seconds. Ren wasn't sure about Crispin though.

"I'm jealous," Zarin replied. "I want to kill that Zoe myself."

Kaji shook his head. "What's the purpose in killing humans? They mean nothing." He dug into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. "Diego de la Cruz. That's the boy sitting next to the girl with the crutch?"

"Yes. Riley Kendrick, the loud cheerleader," Tesmin confirmed.

"Humans are so noisy." Zarin cradled his ears, as if in pain.

Tesmin nodded. "Teenagers. Odd creatures."

They stopped at an abandoned warehouse that had been fenced off. Each demon floated up and over the useless barrier and continued through the empty, grass-infested parking lot. They entered the building.

Araqiel acted like a mafia crime lord, complete with henchmen and guns—none of which a demon actually needs against humans. He isn't interested in money, though. He wants the power. Humans respond to things they understand and recognize. It's a brilliant psychology. Most humans wouldn't pledge their allegiance to a demon, but they would give undying loyalty to their crime boss.

Two humans emerged from a side door of the warehouse and pulled apart two sliding garage doors. A semi-truck partially hidden from within the structure revved to life and pulled forward, carrying whatever contraband seemed appropriate. From the alcohol during prohibition to drugs to illegal firearms, Araqiel always supplied what humans demanded at the moment.

Ren rounded the fence and dodged behind the truck, before sneaking into the garage. Here, the demons didn't bother masking themselves. He counted six of them, and a dozen humans. The demons seemed to be all in the same location while the humans—save for the two outside—congregated in a different part of the warehouse.

"All clear," one of the humans yelled. They pushed the garage doors back in place.

Ren crept down a dark hallway and floated to the ceiling. He inhaled and centered his heart rate. He could mask his presence completely by causing his heart to beat much slower than an angel or demon, so much so that it would go unnoticed by most watchers. Probably not Zoe, though.

Closing his eyes, he let his own own hearing pick up the conversation between Araqiel and the five other demons in the meeting room.

"I don't like this," Araqiel said. "Sariel is hiding something. And, has anyone seen Barbas?"

One of the other demons said. "He went to kill the old woman, but hasn't returned yet."

Araqiel huffed. "Well, has he? Killed her?"

"We went back to the house, like you ordered. We saw an angel watcher enter her house. There's a celestial shield surrounding her home. The angels are protecting her."

An angel protecting her? Must be Gemma. Ren listened to transmission of this morning's meeting at the farmhouse. What had Maria said to convince Gemma to enter her house as an invited guest? Of course, she directed me to return in three days if I wanted to be her guest—if I wanted to know the truth.

Araqiel growled. "Who is this human? And why does Sariel want her dead?"

Ren pondered the question. Maria wasn't one of Zoe's friends. What is he hiding? What does Maria know about Sariel?

Zarin spoke. "Let me take care of this woman. If I can't kill this Mason boy now, at least let me end this human's life."

"This doesn't make sense," Kaji complained. "Since when did the underworld concern themselves with humans?"

Araqiel replied, "No. It doesn't make sense. And why would Sariel capture an angel watcher?"

Of course, the demon lied to me. On the recordings, Ren learned that the angel watcher, Aniela, had been kidnapped. She must be still alive somewhere in the underworld. But why?

"Well, can I kill her?" Zarin persisted.

"No. If she has protection from the watchers, it would be too risky. We want them gone. We don't want a war." Araqiel sighed. "We were given four humans to kill. One today and three tomorrow. Barbas failed in his mission. We will stick to the plan. You three kill your targets tomorrow. Hab and Aamon will distract Zoe and Crispin."

"If that human boy annoys me again, I'm going to kill him tonight. I swear."

"Zarin, if the opportunity comes, I will allow it. In the meantime, has anyone seen Ren or his human accomplice."

Tesmin answered for the group. "I saw the janitor today, but not Ren."

Araqiel sighed. "I don't trust these recruiters, but we must do their bidding for now. If the end of days is at hand, then we will need them."