Chapter 12 - Another Mission

Echo stared at the commander, she sighed leaning back on the chair.

The commander smiled, and stood up, "I don't have any orders for you as of now. You're free to do as you please." He walked away, leaving Echo puzzled.

Echo picked Hunter up in her hands, and walked back to her room. She had many thoughts running in her head, 'The commander… he doesn't seem that bad, maybe he just wanted to scare me. Oh well! There's no use anyway… Damon… Ugh! Why does his name come into my head so much? I even had a dream about him last night. I should do something to make me forget about him.'

—

A week passed, Echo had not got any orders, so she trained alone, and with Hunter.

It was evening, and she was just laying on the sofa, contemplating, until there was a knock on the door.

Echo lazily got off the sofa, and opened the door.

"Commander!" Echo straightened, and her eyes widened.

The commander was in full armour, he glanced at her, and turned around tossing an order at her, "Follow me!"

Echo followed the commander down to the briefing room. Sebastian and Jasmine were seated at the table.

The commander signalled Echo to sit. Once everyone had settled down, the commander spoke, "We found a club that is owned by demons. Most of the customers are demons, and other creatures except for Protectors. We're not allowed in there."

Echo's immediate thought was that they were about to raid the place, but that thought soon vanished.

"No one knows that Echo is a Protector. Shouldn't we be able to send her in?" Sebastian asked.

The commander nodded, "That's the plan, but there's a small setback." He turned to Echo, "You can't take your weapons. Once they see your sword they'll know who you are. Take Hunter with you, she'll help you blend in more."

"Yes, sir!" Echo replied.

"And for your outfit," the commander turned to his wife, "Jasmine will help you find something suitable… You'll leave in an hour."

Echo nodded, turning to Jasmine. She was anxious but had her poker face on display. What kind of place was she going to? The commander spoke about other creatures… Who were they? The witches had not spoken about other creatures besides demons. They had only trained her to fight demons.

"What are you thinking about? Dismissed," Echo heard the commander. She stood up almost like a robot, and walked out the briefing room.

Sebastian turned his gaze from Echo to the commander, "Is it just me or does she seem agitated?"

The commander turned to Sebastian, "It's a tough mission, no one knows what might happen if she gets caught," he glanced at his wife as he ended the sentence.

Jasmine stood up, and smiled warmly as she left the room.

Sebastian leaned forward, "Are you sure that demon won't hurt her?"

"He seems to care about her, and we'll be on standby if anything goes wrong," the commander replied.

"Why are you helping her?" Sebastian asked.

The commander stared at Sebastian almost as if he was contemplating the question.

—

Echo found a suitable outfit with Jasmine's help. She walked into the portal room, dressed in a pink sequined, halter neck crop top, and black leather jeans, with pink high heeled boots reaching her shins.

The commander glanced at Echo, and immediately moved to the console. He selected the location, and turned back to Echo, "Step through the portal when you're ready. Remember! This is an intel run, don't start any fights."

"Yes, commander!" Echo replied.

Hunter walked beside Echo, as they stepped through the portal. They found themselves outside a buzzling club. Honestly, it looked more like an abandoned building from outside.

The club was full, but it wasn't out in the open. One look and Echo knew they were in the right place. Not many of the customers looked like humans, they had a much darker aura around them.

Echo picked up Hunter, as she walked towards the entrance. She did not know if they'd even be allowed in, but she confidently strode through the doors. The bouncers did not even turn their gaze on her.

Releasing her breath she was holding unconsciously, Echo saw Damon talking with Kaia. She noticed Kaia's gaze on her, and then she leaned closer to Damon's ear and whispered something. Damon smiled, and the two stood up to leave.

Echo clenched her fist. She sighed, when her nails dug into her skin. 'Relax Echo. You're not here for him, you're here for intel. This is for the best… he won't be able to call me out. But then his minion saw me… is she really his minion… or his girlfr… No! We're not thinking about Damon. Focus Echo!' Almost punching herself in the face, Echo walked towards the bar.

The inside of the club was more lively, in fact it was crowded. The whole club had a red theme, from the lights, to the furniture.

Hunter wiggled in Echo's hand, "Put me down! I want to look around!"

"What if you get stepped on?" Echo asked, she glanced down at the cub.

The bartender smiled when Echo sat down, cleaning a cup she swiftly moved to Echo, "You don't have to worry about your familiar. The customers here should be able to sense it from miles away. And it's cute too." The bartender reached to pet Hunter, who growled.

Giving an awkward laugh, the bartender continued, "Not so friendly huh?" she then looked at Echo, "What are you having?"

"Anything's fine," Echo replied, scanning the room. Demons turned into mist and vanished from places appearing elsewhere.

The bartender smiled, "You look like it's your first time here," she shouted over the music.

"It is. One of my friends told me about the place," Echo replied.

"I see. Be careful, there are some dangerous people here today?"

"Dangerous people?" Echo asked, casually glancing between the customers and the bartender.

"Yes. There's a deal going down today. I don't know much about it," the bartender replied, giving Echo her drink, and soon moving to the next customer.