“Kill them and the last one left, don’t kill?” Miles suggested. “That’s about the best bet.”
Lizzie nodded and glanced at him; he looked so severe staring out at the runway, as though he was so focused with the task at hand that nothing else existed outside of what he needed to do right now. Lizzie traced the outline of his nose with her eyes and subconsciously licked her lips. She could imagine tracing it with her finger, or feeling the tip of his nose as he moved down her body while...
“There...” Miles whispered, “They’ve appeared.”
Lizzie turned to look and saw three Demons walking down the runway. They were large and powerful, and suddenly Lizzie wondered if they had bitten off more than they could chew. She was used to dealing with unarmed Demons in her pub.
This was different.
Chapter Ten
Miles
The air was immediately tense as Jay and Christian slowly walked out towards the Demons. It was their signal to move, and Miles and Lizzie got up, armed, and walked towards the Demons as well. There was nothing for it; they had to prove their worth if they wanted to get into the little boys club and work their way to the top to find out what was going on.
The only problem was that Miles had no desire to attack the Demons whatsoever; what he did have was a strong desire to protect Lizzie, and although she looked fierce as she walked beside him, he felt as though he should pull her behind him so that she wouldn’t have to do this.
“Well, well, well,” Christian said as he approached the three Demons walking along the runway; Miles and Lizzie could hear him from where they were, walking behind the Demons. “What have we got here, Jay?”
“I would say we’ve got some boys just looking for some trouble, Christian,” Jay responded.
“We have no fight with you Angels; we’re just passing through,” the red horned Demon in the middle said, holding up his hands, “We’ll be through and out the city within the next hour.”
“We would like to believe you, but see, you’re a Demon and Demons lie,” Christian said, raising his sword.
“You’re what? A level 3 Angel?” the Demon to Miles’ left said. “We will crush you.”
“He has friends,” Lizzie said from behind them, twirling her blade.
The Demons glanced behind them and frowned. “This has nothing to do with you, cursed child.”
“Now that’s just rude,” Lizzie said. “I’m going to kill you just for that comment.”
Jay gave a battle cry, and he and Christian rushed forward towards two of the Demons while Miles and Lizzie went for the healthier-looking red horned Demon in the center of the group. The Demons quickly summoned their weapons and the sounds of swords clashing filled the air, metal clanging against metal and thunder breaking out in the sky as magic charged. Miles didn’t know how the other two Angels were faring, but the Demon they were fighting was an expert fighter, and it had been a long time since Miles had picked up a blade.
Lizzie, however, was mesmerizing. She fought with such precision that what Miles lacked in fluidity, she made up for in agility. Twice Miles thought he was going to meet the end of his days, but Lizzie stopped the Demon’s blade from slicing him in two. Eventually, some things come back to you, and Miles was soon back in the rhythm of wielding a weapon, as though his past life’s memory was steadily rising to the front of his brain.
There was an explosion, and Miles knew someone had been disposed of, but there was no time to see who it had been, Angel or Demon. Red was keeping them on their toes. At one point, after parrying a stroke from Lizzie, he had sidestepped to attack Miles, ghosted the move, and gone back to Lizzie who hadn’t expected the attack. Without enough time to block, he managed to slice her back open.
This made Miles see black, and before he knew what was happening, his wings exploded from his back in a feathery rage of glory. He attacked Red with renewed effort while Lizzie collected herself from where she had fallen. Miles parried, jabbed, sliced, and cut before finally finding his mark and cutting off one of Red’s horns altogether. Red roared in pain, and as he did so, Miles heard Lizzie call to bring him back.
Miles launched himself in the air and landed behind Red, attacking viciously again so that the Demon was forced backwards. Miles gave him no chance to retaliate with strikes; Red was entirely on the defensive until suddenly he froze, a blade protruding straight through his heart. Miles looked over the Demon’s shoulder and saw a sweaty, pained Lizzie standing with her sword pointed upward. Miles had driven the Demon right into her trap.
The Demon disintegrated into a cloud of ash, and Miles looked over to where Jay and Christian were binding the other Demon in blessed chains. Lizzie slowly raised herself from the ground, using her blade to balance herself as her legs shook badly. Miles stepped over to her quickly and put an arm around her waist.
“Lean on me,” he whispered.
“Well done,” Christian said. “The boss will be most pleased. We need to take this guy back. Lizzie, you go home and get cleaned up. We’ll see you both tomorrow at the beach again, midday.”
Lizzie nodded, and Christian and Jay let loose their wings and lifted the Demon by the chains, flying off with him.
“Follow them,” Lizzie said, “Now’s your chance.”
Miles looked after the two Angels before shaking his head. “It will be too obvious,” he decided. “We need to play this out carefully. Let’s get you cleaned up and see what tomorrow brings.”
He let loose his wings, and after she put away her sword, and he put away his, he scooped her up in his arms. His one arm under hers and the other under her knees. She rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes as he lifted her into the air and flew towards her bar.
LIZZIE
He tried to land as gently as he could, and Lizzie appreciated that, but it didn’t stop her from hissing out in pain. He looked pained, pained that he had caused her more injury. She shook her head.
“It would have hurt no matter what,” she explained.
He let her legs down gently and supported her weight with his arm.
“Lean on me, I’ll get you upstairs and cleaned up,” he promised her.
Lizzie wasn’t going to argue with that, she felt weak and was sure the Demon’s blade had been poisoned; they often were.
“We need to go through the back to avoid suspicion,” she said.
She hobbled along, leaning on him, but she could see he was getting frustrated. He reached the point where he just scooped her up again and carried her to the back door. She reached down and opened it, and through the door, they walked.
Lizzie rested against Miles as he walked down the corridor, same as the night before, but instead of going straight to the bar, Lizzie stopped him at the door a few feet before the exit. They went through it, and after climbing some stairs, they reached her apartment. She directed him to the kitchen, and he sat her on a chair.
“In the bathroom is a first aid kit, including a satchel for poisons; the bathroom is that blue door over there,” she explained. “Please bring them.”
She watched as he diligently did as he was told, without question, and came back with exactly what she had asked for. She opened the pouch first and took out the herbs for a common poison remedy.