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In all my existence, the generations upon generations of humans I’d seen born and die, I’d never seen anything as nightmarish as this. Only a moment ago the lane had been filled with laughter and voices; now there was utter and absolute stillness. The only sound I could hear, in the darkness, was the distant hooting of an owl.
The tugging sensation at my core had subsided slightly, but it was still there, still impelling me forward. I had no choice but to follow, my insubstantial feet carrying me past the immobile bodies strewn on the ground. They were pink-cheeked, as though they still lived, but their chests did not lift with breath, nor could I sense their hearts beating within their ribs. What had happened?
The answer, I hoped, lay ahead of me.
Onward I walked, past the center of the village, past more homes gone deathly silent. The darkness grew and gathered, and by the time I reached the small graveyard on the outskirts of town, it was full dark, the moon overhead a mere sliver against the velvety black sky. Though I was perfectly able to see without light, I found that my ability was unnecessary: a fire was burning at the edge of the graveyard.
A fire—and beside it, two figures.
As I approached, I corrected my initial impression. One figure was beside the fire, yes—a broad-shouldered young man, bearded and dark-haired. The other, however, appeared to be—in the flames. And those shapes—that silhouette—
I sucked in a breath.
“Demon,” I whispered.
Though I’d never laid eyes on the creatures, there was nothing else it could be. It certainly wasn’t an angel—not with that aura of darkness enveloping its body, or those long, curving horns that arced from its head. My heart began to pound, and the ring on my finger grew warmer as it absorbed my energy and responded to the being before me.
I picked up my pace, reaching for my celestial powers and focusing them on the ring as I advanced on the man and the demon. It was clear, now, what had happened to the village. And though I cared little for the Equilibrium, I would safeguard those human souls with my very life.
“Demon,” I bellowed, stepping close. I let the celestial shroud fall away, revealing myself to the human, and to the creature beside him.
“Oh…God,” the human croaked, turning terrified eyes on me. “Did I…”
The demon’s head turned toward me, its eyebrows raised. It didn’t make any effort to move, either to come toward me or retreat.
“Uh,” it said, grimacing. “Hi. Whatever you’re thinking, it wasn’t me.”
“Will you not deign to face me?” I snapped, stretching my wings to their full span, allowing the multitudes of eyes to focus on the demon in the fire.
The man squeaked, the blood draining from his face, and quietly toppled over. Blood pulsed in my ears as I was reminded of the motionless bodies strewn throughout the village, but his chest rose and fell—he was merely unconscious.
“Now look what you’ve done,” the demon said, scowling. “You knocked him out. And I was just getting to know him.”
“Knocked him out?” I repeated, pulling a crackling ball of lightning into my palm. “You smote an entire village, devil.”
“Whoa, hey.” The demon grimaced and jerked his head from one side to the other. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. I didn’t smite anybody. In case you didn’t notice, I can’t move.”
“Does that matter?” I sneered, and to prove my point, I stood perfectly still and fired the ball of lightning at him. It shot past his head, barely grazing one horn.
“Hey,” the demon yelped. “Watch it, okay? I told you, whatever happened, it’s not my fault. It’s his.” He jerked his chin toward the unconscious man on the ground.
“Him?” I said.
The demon gave me a deprecating stare. “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” he said. “Do you think I’d still be standing here if I could get out of this bind? And speaking of books—” He jerked his chin again, this time in the other direction. “If you could go ahead and grab that and get me out of this, we can both be on our merry ways.”
I barked a laugh. “Leave? I think not.” I let another lightning ball spark to life in my hand. “Sanctions are due for what you’ve done.”
“Look—can we start over?” the demon said.
I stared at him. “What?”
“I mean—” He rolled his eyes heavenward. “You came over here, all fire and brimstone, with your baseless accusations of smiting—”
“Baseless,” I muttered incredulously.
“You didn’t even think to ask any questions,” the demon pointed out. “Anyway, we could start with hello.”
Was he deliberately taunting me? “No,” I said.
