~SKYLAR AMBERLY VITALIS

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‘What was that?!’

I had anticipated a counter… but not a pre-emptive strike in the form of a kick to the face.

By the time I had realised, it had been too late to stop my momentum.

The mask would have been of little help. I didn’t know how strong it was, but it was obviously not going to stop the power behind that hit.

Yet, by some absurd miracle I had countered in one of the most unorthodox moves I had ever attempted in my life.

My leg hurt like hell! The bone of my shin was most definitely cracked judging from the deformation of my metal shin guard.

But that wasn’t what worried me.

For a fraction of a second, I had lost control of myself, my body had moved on its own, and in such a way… filled with so much aggression that I couldn’t even begin to understand.

As I put my hands up in defence… I could hear the trickling whispers of the multitude of voices dancing in the back of my mind.

They weren’t saying anything I could decipher…

‘What’s happening?’

“This is going to be fun!” Elora smiled at me like a predator… which wasn’t very well placed on the face of a bunny-morph.

I frowned a little… it was like I was looking at her through some kind of filter… but it clearly wasn’t the mask.

Elora lunged… and my senses lurched.

Left ear flicked – my foot slid out to lower my stance and my wrist flicked – the incoming punch slid off the side of my summoned gauntlet with a resounding clang.

Elora was taken by surprise – but so was I… I wasn’t doing this.

The undercurrent of whispers lashed out in rage – along with a devastating right hook!

Elora was gone before the hit landed though, and I was thankful for it.

I bit back the feral growl.

I had put my full power behind that, and even if I hit nothing but air my feet slid back slightly in the sand from the recoil of my own fist.

“Wow, what a monster under that mask…” The bunny-morph chuckled. “Demons are a scary bunch for sure. No wonder you were taboo,”

I frowned, staring at my claws. Watching as the gauntlets that housed my chains melted back into my skin. ‘That wasn’t me… I would never strike anyone with the intent to kill,’

The whispers cried out in warning.

I spun, my tails lashing out like whips one after the other.

Elora avoided the first swipe by ducking, but the tip of my second tail split the fur at her right shoulder and sent a long splatter of crimson droplets across the sand.

The spearhead-finish of my tails might be very flexible, but they were also thin enough at the edges to act like blades at high speeds even if they weren’t that sharp. The weight helped in the task as well since the black ends of my tails were as heavy as the metal that would make out actual spear tips – about a kilo each.

Elora didn’t even flinch at the wound though, and the second my tails had spun past, she leapt through the opening at me.

She sunk beneath and around my combo of hits, landing every single one of her own…but I had let her.

The voices shuddering in mirthful whispers as the trap to ensnare the confident bunny-morph snapped shut – in the form of all eight fangs around her neck.

However, because I could see through my mask like it wasn’t there, I hadn’t accounted for how far the lupine snout extended beyond my own draconic one.

The nose of the mask hit against her chin hard – due to the speed at which I had lunged – and we bounced away from each other.

My tails took swings as Elora made distance, but this time she dodged them even before I had swung.

Elora wiped the blood from her chin, “What’s your mask made of?” she asked in genuine curiosity, “Is it actually part of your face? An extension of your skull perhaps…?”

The voices writhe in irritation at how calm the bunny-morph was.

“It’s just a mask.”

I was surprised at how calmly and easily I could speak… despite the voices clawing at the fraying edges of my mind.

I was scared – terrified even – of myself.

This truly wasn’t me!

I knew that as a fact and I still couldn’t stop myself!

“That wasn’t just instinct. You’re clearly very well trained,” Elora eyed me critically from where she was.

“To defend myself, when necessary,” I replied.

Even though that’s not what had gone down, what I had said still held true.

My interest and consequent level of mastery of karate had never been motivated by the notion of ever hurting anyone. I simply did it because I enjoyed the discipline.

I had never even participated in any events held by my dojo – in fact, I had vehemently refused every time I had been asked.

The hare seemed to consider my answer for a second…

“We’ll stop things here,” Elora said as Amelie and Lexi managed to drag themselves back to their feet.

“It’s barely been a minute.” I noted. Not because I wanted to continue, but simply because I was confused as to why.

“My objective is to test you. Not permanently maim you,” Elora explained, “You held your ground long enough for your companions to get up… and besides, I know you’ll need time for that leg of yours,”

I looked down to where she had gestured.

Webs of blood had meandered their way between the black scales of my injured leg and over my specialised combat boot. I could see traces of my own blood in the sand around my feet from where I had stepped.

I theorised that the dent in the metal had broken some of my scales beneath, and the small sharp shards had cut into my flesh… which still bled because I had yet to remove them.

The adrenaline running through me had dulled the pain to a faint tingle, but I knew it would all be back with a vengeance once the edge wore off.

The voices in my mind went silent as I felt all the ghost of all the hits Elora had landed to my torso as well.

I didn’t have anything other than my tank-top… and no chest armour.

‘Can demons bruise?’ I questioned myself.

I doubted that my mocha skin turning ash-grey would stop it from going black and blue, since my healing factor was still on a human level.

“It’s not broken,” I assured Elora.

“Does it have to be broken for you to consider it a bad injury?” She questioned, wiping the blood from her bleeding lip with the bandages of her wrist once more.

“No,” I lowered my head, “I concede,”

“You all pass,” Elora said as Amelie and Lexi finally managed to take their stances properly again.

“Learn to reign in that demon of yours.” Elora said as she walked past Amelie.

“Nocturna?” Amelie eyed me worriedly.

“One would think, right?” Elora huffed, “Fortunately, she’s more put together than you are. Both of you that is.” She turned to Lexi. “I’m not an Oracle for nothing you know.”

My head throbbed – my feet moved.

‘Fuck!’ I had to force my body to disengage from fighting mode. ‘Something is horribly wrong with me!’

“Let’s just go register.” Lexi spoke, diffusing the tension a little.

Amelie stepped in front of me menacingly, “I told you to stop her, not try to kill her! I saw that strike!”

The voices, flared! And I was starting to realise why. “You told me to take her down. You didn’t exactly specify how…” I calmed myself easily this time, and proceeded to shrug past the wolf.

“You’re supposed to follow my orders! Don’t do that again!” The wolf warned.

I chuckled lightly, “You told me to stay by your side for three days… you never told me to obey your orders,” I reminded her of the details of our contract. “And you’re to treat me as an equal.” I smiled at her, “So… you can’t exactly stop me…”

‘Maybe that will scare her enough to lay off my back for a while,’ I sighed. ‘I need to reign in my emotions… It seems to be driving whatever was happening to me.’

I debated the consequences of telling them this after the fact, but they didn’t speak to me for a while afterwards so I figured it had been for the best.

~

~ INFERNA MORTEM

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Inferna felt the presence barrelling down the hallway even before the door to her office burst open.

The seraphim pause before crossing the threshold, her eyes darting around the room before settling on the small dragon on the large chair within.

The angel recomposed herself – straightening her posture and shrugging a loose strand of blond hair away from her face.

“Gaia, your new accommodations seem rather modest…”

“Herja,” Inferna nodded calmly. “What can I help you with?” She gestured towards the chair on the opposing side of her desk even as she politely questioned the seraphim.

“Where’s the Avnumi?” Herja asked as she walked into the room.

Inferna couldn’t hold up the façade anymore at those words and burst out laughing.

The angel frowned at the demon, not understanding the response.

“What’s so funny?” Herja asked, mildly confused and flustered.

“Your perception of time,” Inferna managed after her chuckles had died down.

“How so?”

“It’s been five days,” The dragoness explained.

“But I sent a message ahead saying I would be arriving immediately.” The angel frowned.

“That was three days ago,” Inferna lifted her quill from the paper and set it back in its holder. “You’ve existed for so long that your sense of time is basically non-existent.”

Herja frowned. Clearly taking the words as insult.

“The Avnumi!” The angel’s words rang out in a powerful chorus of female voices of young and old alike. The room shuddered.

“Why the concern?” Inferna simply held her inkpot in place during the tremor just in case it spilled. “The demon isn’t even a level one… not even a full Avnumi for that matter – at least I don’t think so since she had so many better options open to her,”

“I’m not worried about the paltry existence of such inconsequential individual,” Herja said in her more human voice. “The Avnumi are relics of a forgotten millennia… torn from grace… and scattered to the wind. The half-breed doesn’t interest me! It’s what she holds,”

“The chains of Lucifer,” Inferna smiled, “It’s a cursed item, but a normal demon wouldn’t be able to use it, and we both know why,” the dragoness leaned forward, “Yet here you are lying to my face about not worrying about what species she is.”

“As I’ve said. Inconsequential.” Emphasised the angel.

Inferna arched a brow… but didn’t push the subject.

The dragoness knew how much the situation must have ruffled the feathers of these angels if a seraph had to come over to her office.

“What would you do if you met her anyways? Demand that she rips her own arms off for your convenience?” Asked Inferna.

“If I must,” Herja replied in all seriousness. “And by force if she refuses,”

“You’d break the rules just to have your way…” Huffed the dragoness, “Typical.”

“You make it sound like an omni-powerful being could never be anything more than predictable,”

“But you are – predictable that is,” Inferna slid the paper she was writing out across the desk for the scrutiny of Herja, “So predictable in fact that I knew you would walk in at this time, and had this prepared for you,”

The angel frowned at the paper, but picked it up regardless to read through.

Over the course of several lines, her face morphed from emotionless to livid anger.

“You can’t!” The chorus of voices peeled the wallpapers, cracked the wood of the floor, and shattered some of the crystals of the small hanging chandelier.

“Watch me,” Inferna smiled gently in the face of the angel’s lethality.

The dragoness knew that the angel was incapable of doing anything to her, and even if she tried… there was an entire building – an entire planet of demons standing between her and the celestial transfer gate that would get her out of here.

For all their boasting, angels were just as fragile as the rest of existence. They wouldn’t admit it, but they could die from their own stupidity just like anyone else.

“You’d defy then entire council of seraphim?!” Herja’s voices rocked the room.

“Not the council. I’m not suicidal,” Inferna waved off the accusation passively, “You’re the only one here. All I need to do is keep her out of your clutches long enough,”

“Long enough for what?!” The voices growled.

“For her to become your nightmare.”