The First Hunt As A Team

The night air was thick with tension as Alex and Evelyn navigated the streets of the city.

Their footsteps echoed in the dark and wet street; the soft shadow of neon signs flickered across the treacle surface of the ground. Alex's thoughts whirled with questions about his new companion, but he bit his tongue.

Trust was a luxury he could not afford, not yet.

"So, what's the plan?" After a moment, Alex spoke up.

Evelyn looked at him, her green eyes bright and predatory.

"There's a demon nest in the industrial area. Petty stuff, but it's all starting small.

We'll clean it out and find out what you can learn.'

"And by 'we,' you mean me doing the heavy lifting," Alex said dryly.

Evelyn smirked. "You've got the hellfire and the shadows.

I have the smarts and the strategy." Seems like a fair trade."

Alex rolled his eyes but didn't dispute it.

He'd seen enough to know she was competent, and her swagger indicated she had more experience handling demons than she'd know what to do with.

Even so, he couldn't quite shake the sense that she wasn't telling him the whole story.

The industrial neighborhood was a labyrinth of boarded-up factories and corroded equipment.

Oil and rot assailed the nostrils, while a low wash of machinery buzzed in the near distance.

Evelyn took the lead, her movements careful and quiet.

Alex came next with all of his senses on high alert.

"The nest is straight ahead," Evelyn whispered, gesturing at the broken warehouse that lined the edge of the district.

"Three demons, maybe four. Nothing you can't handle."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "You have great faith in my abilities."

"You've lived this long," she said with a shrug. "Besides, I'll be covering your back."

They crept toward the warehouse, staying in the dark.

The windows of the building were blown out, and the metal doors were ajar on their hinges.

The interior was dimly lit in an eerie red light, casting long, flickering shadows on the walls.

Alex could sense the demons long before he saw them.

The pulse came back in his mind, a steady thrum that deepened with every stride.

He made fists, the hellfire pouring into them.

His eyes shone with determination as the fire cast an orange hue around him.

"Stay close," he told Evelyn. "And try not to get killed."

"I'll try my best," she said, her voice laced with amusement.

One demon squatted near a stack of crates, its long arms bowed forward, ripping at what appeared to be a half-consumed animal carcass.

Its skin was gray and mottled, its limbs disturbingly long.

Alex didn't hesitate. He moved forward, casting a ball of hellfire at the creature.

It ignited, screamed in agony, and then crumbled into ashes.

The sound had made the other demons aware.

Two more emerged from the dark, their glowing eyes trained on Alex.

One was huge, its bulk so big it had to squeeze through the door from which it had emerged.

The other was smaller but faster, its movements almost snakelike as it slinked across the floor.

"You take the big one," Evelyn said, drawing a dagger from her belt.

The blade shone with the slightest hint of blue, covered in strange runes.

"I'll handle the other."

Alex didn't argue.

The bigger demon rushed him, its heavy tread shaking the ground.

He leapt sideways, just avoiding a swipe of its massive claws.

His hellfire flared hotter in his grasp as he retaliated and landed a powerful hit to the creature's side.

The demon screamed with agony, its furious eyes burning.

Evelyn was finessing him, her move precise; her dagger cutting the air as she faced the smaller demon.

It was quick and flitted around her, looking for a gap." But Evelyn was faster.

She fed its movements in with deadly precision, and her blade struck true.

The demon screeched a guttural howl and dropped onto the ground, its body bursting into ash.

Alex's battle was just getting started.

The bigger demon turned out to be relentless, both in its strength and size as well as its weapons.

It swung its enormous arms, keeping Alex on the defensive.

He hung back for an opening, his mind whirring as he assessed the creature's movements.

But when the demon lunged, Alex pounced.

He avoided the strike and slammed his hellfire-covered fist into the creature's chest.

The demon was engulfed by flames, and within moments there was nothing left but bursting flames engulfing him from the inside. It issued one last, earth-rattling roar before smothering into a puff of ash.

Heavy-breathing, Alex stood over the remains and caught his breath.

Evelyn was walking with her dagger still drawn.

She eyed him with a trace of approval in her expression.

"Not bad," she said. "You might actually get through this after all."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Alex said, dry. "What now?"

Evelyn knelt next to the pile of ash that had once been the smaller demon.

She picked through it, extracting a small, glimmering shard.

"This," she said, as she held it up for Alex to see.

"It's a sampling of their soul. Good for monitoring… and, you know, other stuff."

"Other things?" Alex was suspicious now, his voice low.

Evelyn tucked the shard away and arose. "You'll see. "It's going to help us make sense of what's going on here."

As they emerged from the warehouse, Alex couldn't get rid of the feeling that Evelyn was hiding something.

She was overconfident, too wise.

And the way she carried herself in the fight, it was obvious she'd been doing it for a minute."

"You've done this before," he said, shattering the silence.

Evelyn looked at him, her face unreadable. "I have experience, so that helps." Let's leave it at that."

Alex made a face but said nothing more. He had enough to deal with without playing detective in her life.

For now they had a shared purpose, and that was good enough.

The streets that surround them were still dark, but to those who can still remember the bustling life, it seems calmer than it was. The air felt thick, and Alex couldn't shake the sensation of being observed.

He cast a glance behind, but the streets were deserted.

"It's time for rest," Evelyn said when they reached the district edges. "We have a lot of work to do."

Alex nodded, and sleep was the last thing on his mind.

The altercation was draining, but he was filled with questions and doubts.

He didn't trust Evelyn, but he couldn't deny her usefulness as an ally. For now, he'd play along. But he'd keep his guard up.

As they stepped apart, Alex felt this was only the beginning.

The demons were growing more powerful, more organized.

And if Evelyn's hunch was correct, there was more on the line than he understood.

The hunt was on, and Alex knew he'd need every droplet of strength to endure what awaited.