Demon Among Us

Back in the human world, Lilith still controlled Olivia and prepared to face off against the quick devils and the volcanic Minotaur.

"Liv?" Scott asked tending to his wounds.

" Let's play," Lilith declared. She extended her wings, arched her back, and flew toward the monsters. The Quick devils accelerated, slashing their talons at Lilith.

" Pathetic," Lilith said. She smiled because she was more than capable of dodging each slash the hyper-sonic creatures aimed at her.

" Interesting turn of events," Priest pondered as he observed from above.

Lilith raced the quick devils around the concert field. The Minotaur heaved a massive breath of lava at the demonic maiden.

But with each attack, the Minotaur missed Lilith and only succeeded in covering the concert grounds with quick- cementing lava. In one massive blast, the creature aimed its attack at Lilith and the quick devils.

" My turn," Lilith snickered. She clutched the quick devils by their throats, throwing them into the Minotaur's attack, killing them instantly.

When the lava was disbursed, Lilith flew towards the Minotaur, reeling her fist as the monster, while the monster did the same.

The two continued punching as tremors shook the land.

" Not good," Scott said. He struggled to fly away from the jagged rocks emerging from the ground.

The horned monster threw its fist at Lilith unintentionally giving Lilith the chance to slash against its chest after she easily dodged the Minotaur's attack.

The Minotaur leaned forward in agony while the demonic maiden wrapped her tail around the monster's ankles.

" Play time's over," said Lilith. She pierced her talons into the Minotaur's head, planning a devastating finale that could threaten all other life around her.

Lilith surged with green and black energy as the Minotaur struggled to free itself to no avail.

The ground shook and Scott panicked for the safety of his friend.

" OLIVIA! STOP," Scott pleaded." You're going to nuke the whole city at this rate."

" Olivia's not here, child," Lilith responded.

The Minotaur screamed in pain while Lilith's erratic magic. Lilith threatened to destroy everything.

" This is far from over," Priest said as he teleported away.

Scott spotted Olivia's necklace and flew in a gust of wind to retrieve it.

" This planet will once again embrace my divine chaos once I bring this pathetic city to pieces," said Lilith.

" Not going to happen," Scott said.

He placed the necklace around Lilith's neck, hoping to restore control to Olivia.

"NO," Lilith screamed.

The demonic maiden emitted the second pillar of terrible magic, eradicating the Minotaur in the process. The outcome of the implosion was Olivia reverted to her human form, laying exhausted from the ordeal.

" Liv?" Scott shook her. " Dammit, say something."

" Worst ... concert...ever." Olivia smirked.

Scott smiled at her remark.

" Next time, let's go to the movies."

The agents recovered from their battle with Dorian Priest's minions as Olivia was still shaking from the influence that Lilith had over her.

" You okay, Liv?" Scott asked.

" You already asked me."

" After what you've been through, I had to make sure."

Moments passed until an ambulance rushed toward the injured teenagers and a middle-aged Caucasian man wearing scrubs climbed out of the vehicle.

" What the hell happened here? " the driver asked.

Olivia waved her hand in front of the driver as she sensed a familiar spirit.

" Jill?" Olivia asked.

" Hey! I found the closest paramedic to overshadow and drove back here as soon as I could."

" You know it would be cool if we had some Phoenix blood," Scott said.

"You know we used it all, but I hope Sam and the desk junkie can handle things in Parabola for now."

Scott and Olivia's badges flashed on and off.

" Speaking of which,"

Olivia and Scott both tapped on their badges to answer the call.

" What's up, Meredith?"

" It's me, witch girl," Maxine answered.

" Max ?!," Scott shouted." What are you doing on this line?"

" Long story, Vampwolf. Bottom line, your friends back here needed to find a special serum to cure the rest of the force, so they came to me."

" Thought you stopped working for L.I.F.E," Olivia said.

" It's bigger than me and the force, kid," The terms are more ... complicated."

"Complicated?"

" I'll explain later, but first, you kids got to get to a safe place."

" Where are we supposed to go?"

" Fortunately, I have a few connections in the human world. I can give you a place to crash until this little mystery is solved."

" You can direct us on the way, Max," said Olivia." Jill, you drive."

A few hours later, Jill drove and the others to Maxine's safe house. After the agents climbed out of the ambulance, they noticed that the safe house was in an abandoned art loft in the heart of downtown Buffalo.

" Gee never took Maxine for the artistic type," Scott commented.

" Try to sound a little more grateful, Wolf boy," Maxine said when she spoke through his badge. There is a key under the mat. Find it and go to room 1023."

Olivia looked under the mat and found a silver key with crossbones carved on it.

A strange surge of magic sparked from the key as the witch held the key in her hands.

" Valkyrie metal," Olivia said." Only a Valkyrie or a spellcaster can see and touch it."

" You two go inside," Jill said.

"I'll release this gentleman's body a few blocks away and join you shortly."

" Sure thing, ghost girl," Scott said while he and Olivia walked into the loft.

The two climbed the stairs of the loft until they found room 1023. Olivia slid the key into the lock and nudged the door that seemed to be stuck shut.

" Let me try," Scott said as he drew his fist back and punched the door open.

" Show off," said Olivia while they walked in.

Inside the loft, the two agents found what appeared to be a warm, welcoming bachelor pad complete with a tan sofa, fully furnished carpeting, wooden cabinets, and shelves holding sculptures and antiques.

At the end of the loft was a full window with blue glass giving them an elegant look over the city.

" Hard to believe no one's been here for a while," said Scott.

" This rooms altered by magic," Maxine said when she spoke through their badges.

" That is why I left the key for Syd, and I established a few safe houses in case we ever needed to go undercover for a long time in the human world.

While they looked around, Scott's and Olivia still felt the effects of their battle with the Minotaur and the quick devils.

" Take a look in the fridge," Maxine said." There should be some human food and a couple of pints of blood for Nollax."

" Sweet," Scott said.

He dashed to the fridge, pulled out two five-foot ham and cheese subs and a pint of blood.

Scott tossed half of a turkey sub to Olivia and devoured the second one. The two continued to eat as Jill phased through the room.

" Well, I'm glad to see you two are getting acquainted with our new digs," said Jill.

" Good," Maxine said." Now that ghost girl is back, she can fill you in on The Blessing's next move."

Jill's eyes opened wide when she heard the name of the agent's current enemy. If not a specter, she would suffer from a crippling sensation in her spine.

As she felt fear penetrate her psyche, Olivia tensed up.

" The Blessing?" Scott asked.

" A group of spellcasters who want to turn the human world into their hell," Olivia said.

" Never heard of them," Scott replied.

" Not many of you youngsters have," Maxine said.

" The bureau kept The Blessing secret because their presence was controversial. They targeted the most powerful spellcasters in Parabola, so Syd chose spellcasters like Olivia."

" Not sure how I feel about the captain keeping secrets from most of the force," opined Scott.

" We were all sworn to secrecy in case The Blessing was still around. They managed to infiltrate L.I.F.E," Jill explained.

" Now that The Blessing is out of the bag, I think it's time to tell your friends the truth, ghost girl," Maxine said.

Olivia and Scott turned to Jill, who floated in mid-air.

" Tell us what?" Olivia said.

" The Blessing has been on earth before," Jill said." I was ... a casualty."

" I don't understand," Scott said.

" You told us you died in a car accident,"

" I hate to cut and run, but I have to take care of getting the other two in line. I'll call back as soon as I can."

Maxine hung up, leaving Jillian to tell Olivia and Scott what she has been hiding about her death.