Chapter 63

Henry stifled a yawn as he drove towards the upcoming rift. His time off was gone, and it was once again time for Alpha Team to go to work. The starting shift though was the midnight to noon shift, and needless to say, it was taking some getting used to.

He was also tired for another reason though. He had not been idle during his week off. What normally would be a time of rest and relaxation, he’d spent grinding. Every moment of time he had, Henry had been using to face D.E.D., in the attempt of either gaining new D.E.D. to add to his roster, or at the very least, to continue to empower his own D.E.D. with. The Death Charge boost on his Harbinger Volture was already showing just how potent it was, and that D.E.D. had begun to greatly outpace his others, even though their levels were mostly the same.

Most days, Henry crossed paths with at least a dozen or so D.E.D. The frequency of small rifts appearing was increasing at a noticeable rate, and there had actually been two Greater Rift events during the last week, though both were Tier 1 Demons, and nothing on the scale of Varkoth. Meaning, as far as he knew it, the organization hadn’t suffered any devastating losses akin to those during the Varkoth attack.

Still, Jewel hadn’t recovered yet, and Emelia wasn’t letting Henry visit Jewel until she was all better. Additionally, Jonathan seemed rather distant, the loss of one of the other Alpha Team members during the Varkoth raid seeming to weigh on him. Meaning, Exorcist wise, Henry didn’t really have anyone to lean on, and so he’d been solo leveling when he could, with JJ occasionally tagging along, when he wasn’t doing who knew what with either the Demon Hunters or some random tasks for Emelia. JJ hadn’t mentioned much about his call with the director, but there had been a slight shift in his attitude. Something Henry had picked up, even though he could tell Henry was trying to hide it.

“Better put you away,” Henry said aloud as he neared the rift. Above the car, his Harbinger Volture flew. Beside it, his Blade Drake ran. And in the passenger seat beside him, his Evil Eye floated. However, there was fourth addition currently in the vehicle with him. One he’d been training up in secret, and that he knew, for now, he needed to keep secret. Emelia’s warnings, combined with JJ’s, and Loki’s, had made him aware of the fact he was standing out way too much. Meaning there was no reason for him to flaunt another D.E.D. added to his team.

You’re such a tease. A sultry voice said in his mind, as the creature tilted its head to the side. The creature was humanoid. No, more appropriately, appeared to be completely human, save for the fact her skin shimmered like moon kissed water, and her eyes swirled with the colors of the ocean. Around her, a small sheen of water, and she wore the very least amount of clothing she could. What she did wear, was fashioned from netting, seashells, and the like.

“We both know you’re not much of a fighter.” Henry replied. “And besides, I need to keep your presence a secret for now.” Both of these statements were true. The D.E.D. in question, a Naiad, which was a water spirit or water nymph, was not a fighter. Even though she was classified as a Rare D.E.D., she had passing, at best, offensive abilities. That being said, her skills included a wide variety of barriers and healing abilities. Given Henry was working on building a rounded team; on that focused not solely on combat ability, having a powerful healer was a must. And, because she was rare, and how she looked…Henry had no doubt people would be after him for her. Meaning, she didn’t need to be out and about at a Greater Rift. Not yet at least. Not while Henry couldn’t be fully certain in his own ability to keep his D.E.D. safe.

It’s true. She said with a wry smile. My kind always preferred love over war. She shot him a wink as she began to shift, changing into a water form, as her essence flowed back towards Henry. But please, don’t keep me tucked away too long. Else I’ll get bored. And you promised me fun, as part of our pact.

He grimaced at that as she disappeared. The other personality trait he’d picked up regarding this particular D.E.D., was that free, playful, devious spirit she seemed to possess. When he’d first encountered her, she’d claimed she would only pact with him if he promised to let her enjoy the human world. What he didn’t realize, was that meant she constantly wanted to be out and about, looking over things, touching things, experiencing all the things. She was like a high-strung child let outside for the first time, and yet, at the same time, possessed a timeless, eerie beauty and mannerisms that definitely were not those of a child.

All in all, while he was looking forward to the potential she could bring to the team, he’d only been able to get her to level 15 during the past week, while the three core members of his team had moved into the 30s. The Chimera…was still being difficult, and had only reached level 28, purely because every time it grew stronger, it tried to assert its dominance and Henry had to beat it down. Something his Blade Drake greatly enjoyed.

Additionally, Greater Rifts remained the best source of experience, but needing to keep his other D.E.D. hidden, meant he couldn’t use these rifts for experience farming. Which, obviously, meant his leveling in that regard was slowed. A frustrating fact, but one, nonetheless, he knew he had to get used to.

He stifled another yawn as he turned the corner, making his way towards the interstate. The Greater Rift had spawned in a Southwestern part of Colorado Springs, near a movie theater known as Tinseltown. Henry knew it well, and it was pretty easy to access off of I-25. But he’d been on the other side of town when the alarm had gone off, meaning it was still a good 30-to-40-minute drive for him. But at least that would give the caffeine time to do its magic and wake him up a bit more.

Henry grabbed his Rockstar and took a long drink as he drove, a single thought crossing his mind, as he realized something was out of place. After all, he’d driven these streets many, many times in his life, at all hours of the day. And yet, for some reason, the street before him was unnaturally…dark. As if-

He slammed on his breaks a second before he hit the figure that suddenly appeared, and every hair on his body stood up in alarm. Curses spluttered from his mouth, his hand slammed his horn, his Rockstar went everywhere. And yet, the figure before him didn’t react. Instead, the darkness around it swirled, and only then, as a mass of darkness seemed to envelop the entire area, blocking out all other forms of natural light, creating a void in which just Henry, his D.E.D., and this figure existed, did it finally look at him. As it did, as it’s pale flesh smiled, showing yellowed teeth that were irregular and fanged, eyes of darkness, lips of blood, all of his D.E.D. echoed into his mind at once. All of them screaming a single word.

RUN.