Demoniac

The Nightshift

Halak burst through the club door and onto the street.  His coat flapped behind him as he left the confused sounds of drunks and gamblers behind, suddenly silenced by the heavy steel door as it slammed shut.  He wasn’t leaving for fear of the police, Clyde would never call them to a place like this.  Despite not understanding what had happened and what it would do to his regular attendees, Clyde’s biggest concern was hiding the body and keeping the witnesses’ mouths shut.  No, that wasn’t Halak’s concern.  Something bigger was happening.  

Azu strolled up next him, face no longer calm with bewildered interest, but focused straight ahead, whatever for Halak’s command.  Halak turned to him, making note of the still blistered and red skin that Azu had already forgotten about, at least for the moment.

“Azu, home.”  Halak said.  Azu didn’t look at him, instead he took one long step and bent low just before launching himself into the air.  Azu soared fifty feet before hitting the side of a brick building and leapt again, reaching the top to disappear over the rampart.  Crumbling holes were left in the wall where his fingers had taken purchase.

Halak dialed a contact from his phone. He slid the mobile into his pocket as he emerged from the alleyway and onto the main road where his bike, Raab, was waiting at the curb.  No light reflected off it’s black steel, an effect of infusing shadow into the metal.  Halak left it unchained after having it professionally hexed to keep anyone who might think it was more rightfully theirs than his corrected.  If someone were to touch it with the intention to steal, they would walk away with with their hands petrified and stone black.  The effects weren’t permanent but it was enough to discourage any dumb choices.  The bike was also faster than any simple thief might expect, thanks to a dragon blood drip into the fuel.

Halak grabbed the handle bars and swung his leg over the seat, kicking the start as he came down.  The engine roared and he rolled back the acceleration, launching himself out onto the street and flipping the kickstand up and under the bike.

Halak reached into his breast pocket and removed out an earpiece that he pushing it into his ear.  His call was still ringing for a moment before a voice answered..

“Hello?”

“Arlo, are you home?”

“Yeah?”

“Good.  Stay there.”

“Well Halak, I will happily put my thriving social life on hold-“

“I need you to call Nightshift.  Tell him to meet me at our place in ten minutes.”

“I’ll call him”  Arlo said. “But do I have to call him that?”

“Call him what you want, just make sure he comes.”

“Halak.”  Arlo said, suddenly concerned. “What happened?”   

“I just watched a guy die at Clyde’s place.”

“I told you Azu might be too much.  Halak-”

“It wasn’t Azu’s fault.  It was another one like Larry’s guy.”

“A possession?” 

“I don’t know what it was.  Just get Nightshift there.”

“You got it.”  Arlo said and the line went dead.  Halak cut a hard left and passed between cars as he merged with the traffic, earning honks from those behind and beside him.  He looked over his shoulder in time to see Azu leap the intersection to follow him.  He bounded along the roof tops until he matched Halak’s pace.  

Halak looked ahead again, feeling the bite of the night wind as he dodged among the other vehicles.  The evening now somehow felt colder as he considered what he had witnessed and what it might mean.