Chapter 2

Meredith screamed her rage at the beast impaled on her sword. She yanked the blade free with sickening squelch and whirled to the next threat. A tall red demon with bat-like wings held a villager by his throat, ripping his guts out. The doomed man screamed as he watched his entrails flung about like so much confetti.

Meredith raced over and hacked half a wing off, hot black blood spraying her face. The demon howled in pain, dropping the body. It backhanded Meredith, spinning her to the ground. Blood flowed freely as it frantically tried to reattach the severed piece.

Meredith surged to her feet, and charged the wounded monster. She ducked under its wild swing and angled her sword up into its chest, straight into its black heart. The demon fell back without a sound, twitched once, and was still.

Meredith twisted the blade for good measure, then yanked it free. She rose and surveyed the quiet scene. Dead demons littered the ground around her, six corpses, all within spitting distance. She smiled at her triumph and wiped the blood on the one in front of her. Her smile faded at the villages death toll.

Dozens of human bodies lay scattered about, most torn into various parts. A small girl, no more then four, stared at the shredded body of her father. He lay atop the mother, her flesh ravaged by hell fire. A larger boy, the brother, was beside the father, his head twisted savagely around.

Meredith gently scooped the child up and pressed her face into Meredith's armored shoulder. The child was like a doll in her arms. She carried her over to another surviving family and set her down. The young mother took her without a word and resumed tending to her husband's wounds. He wouldn't survive the night.

Meredith turned away from them. She couldn't bear to see the hopelessness in the womans eyes. Another villager limped up to her and cupped her face. No words came from his lips but his eyes held acceptance and gratitude. He smiled at her, patted her cheek, then hobbled away. His leg was gone from the mid-thigh down.

Clanking metal drew her attention to another armored figure shaking the blood from his spear. Heavy breaths huffed from the slits of the helmet, making a hollow rattling noise.

"That's the last of them." Esmeralda said, planting the spear in the ground. She unbuckled the helmets straps and pulled it off, shaking her sweaty black hair. Meredith strode over and clasped forearms with her best friend.

"How many?" she asked.

Esmeralda smirked and angled her head to the other side of the village.

"Five, you?"

"Six."

"No fucking way, how is it you always have just one more then me?" She shook her head and smiled, "I just can't keep up with you."

"Oh, come on now. One step behind isn't that bad." She smiled as Esmerelda aimed a punch at her shoulder.

They walked back to their truck, each trading stories about the demons they killed. Leaning on the driver door was a young man in modern combat armor, his red hair was damp from the sweltering heat and he was lovingly stroking a large rifle propped beside him.

Meredith eyed the weapon with amusement, as she did everytime she saw Finnicks sniper rifle. Guns didn't really do much to a demon unless it was a damn big one. They healed too fast for the small wounds to do any real damage unless it was a direct shot to the heart or head. With enough power to pulverize the organ.

Finnicks rifle was an exception. Average demons tended to explode when hit by a round. He called it his Boomstick.

"Took you ladies long enough. I picked off several Anma demons while you two were swinging pieces of metal around." he pushed off the truck and sauntered over to them. He smiled at the both of them, then quickly grabbed Esmerelda and swung her down, kissing her deeply. She let out a startled yelp, giggling into the kiss. He let her back up and looked over Meredith's smirking face

"I'd give you one too, but Esmerelda would plant the Boomstick up my ass for it."

Esmerelda tried hard to scowl, but only succeeded in looking constipated, causing everyone to laugh.

"Alright, let's go help the survivors bury their dead. It's gonna be a long d-"

He was cut off by the truck exploding, the three of them were flung back from the ball of fire. Finnick landed on top of Esmerelda, knocking the wind from her and busting his lip on her armor. Meredith collided with a tree, she could hear the sound of her leg snapping at the impact. Her scream was lost in the roar of the villages houses detonating in rages of fire. Thankfully the survivors were all in the town square, away from the blaze.

Meredith squinted through the haze, searching for her comrades. She found Finnick helping Esmerelda to her feet, her sword already bared. Movement in the ruins of their truck, captured her focus. A nightmare stood wreathed in flames. Wings blacker than the void spread over the imposing figure of a man. Each feather so dark no light seemed to touch them, yet they were each impeccably outlined.

The silhouette casually strolled out of the white-hot wreckage, banishing the flames without any visible effort. He continued until he stood over Meredith, not a single speck of soot on his well made but simple clothing. His eyes burned down into her own. Molten red gold, matched her green, and widened in surprise.

Meredith struggled to draw her sword, hissing in pain. The figure above her smiled at her efforts and suddenly the blade was in her hand. She blinked only once at the display of power and thrust it to his heart. He watched in fascination as the archaic instrument plunged into his heart, and continued to smile at her shocked expression.

Meredith's eye caught Esmerelda sneaking behind him. She didn't react to it for fear of giving her away. Esmerelda charged his back, blade pointing at the back of his neck. He didn't react to her mad dash, seemingly unaware of it, though the silence made even Meredith's breaths loud. Esmerelda tightened her grip and thrust the blade with all her might. Just before it touched his neck, he smiled.

There was no sound, just ash where Esmerelda once stood. Her sword, given to her by Meredith's own grandfather, hit the ground with a thump. The flakes slowly fluttered to the ground, settling over the blade like a shroud. The figures eyes never left Meredith's own, slight surprise still shown in them.

"Hello."