Streetlights Shattering on Essex Street

Part 2: Timing

They walked in silence until they rounded the corner to the store.

'Ah, here it is. I'll leave you to it, then.' With that, Samael vanished in a puff of red smoke, leaving Jade standing in front of the store, the neon sign flickering on and off. Some letters were gone entirely. The place seemed shut.

That's weird, Jade thought. It was open just minutes ago when Jade crossed it, before Samael arrived. 'Hello? Anyone?' The door creaked open noisily, and a short, waddling figure came out.

'What can I get ya?' She wasn't anything like the woman in the memories. No slim body, no wonderful curves. Her eyes and hair were the wrong colour too. The key was there, though. Hanging around her neck, on top of her white work shirt. Maybe she used some sort of magic to change her form. A bell ringing snapped Jade out of her thoughts, bringing her back to the present. A present where Katie would get killed if she didn't complete this job.

'I'll take a Bunnahabhain 35-year-old whisky.' '...uh, please,' she added on hastily. Best try and put her in a good mood for what's to come. The woman disappeared into the store and Jade followed her in, waiting at the counter. A little while and a lot of noise later, she returned with a bottle in her hand.

'Here you go,' she said, reaching over the counter.

'Yep, this will do brilliantly.'

'It's a very fine bottle of malt scotch whisky. Quite expensive too – that'll be eight hundred.' Jade forked over the money, making a mental note to get at least a thousand from Samael.

'Speaking of fine...that's a really nice necklace you've got there.' The woman raised her hand to it in response, covering it almost protectively.

'Yes, my uncle gave it to me when I was ten. Told me it was a very valuable family heirloom and that I should look after it.' What a lying little shit.

'Hmm, can you tell me anything about it's history? These kinds of things are sort of a hobby of mine.'

'It's supposedly an ancient mystic totem, passed down from generation to generation through my family. Some say the oldest to possess it was part of the Devil's inner circle.'

'You know, that's funny. I know this guy – Samael. Some even call him the Devil, although personally I think that gives him too much importance. Anyway, he said that that necklace, specifically the key, is actually his. Sent me in here to get it.'

Suddenly, the door swung shut and the blinds were pulled across. No one did anything though. Neither of them seemed too stunned either.

'What's he got on you? Why're you doing his bidding?'

'That matters to you how, exactly?' Jade said, thrusting her arm forward, sending a pulse of pure energy that she had been accumulating since entering the store towards Sammirah, knocking her backwards and giving Jade a precious few seconds on her.

She vaulted over the counter, and was about to deliver a second burst, but her luck ended there. Sammirah sent her flying back, crashing through the window and out onto the street. Sammirah emerged through the rubble, floating dauntingly in the air in front of Jade. The body of the shop owner had been shed, with the one from Samael's memories taking its place.

'You know - ' began Jade, before she had to roll to the side to dodge a blast of fire. The ground where she had been moments ago now bore scorch marks.

' - that whole floating in mid-air thing? Doesn't intimidate me.' She managed to complete her sentence amidst two more blasts.

Finally, Jade found an opening, and unleashed all the energy she had been building up in one, concentrated stream of the elements. Sammirah went crashing back, causing part of the liquor store to cave in due to the sheer level of brute force of the blast. This time Jade wasn't about to stop.

No longer needing to concentrate for a long time to build up her power, Jade took this opportunity and hurled ball after flaming ball of fire at Sammirah, striding confidently towards her fallen body.

'Shame, I thought you would be stronger,' she chided, now standing directly in front of Sammirah.

'Oh, I'm just getting started.' A smile snaked across Sammirah's face as she smashed her palms together, unleashing a multitude of sound pulses towards Jade, sending her flying back onto the street outside. The pulses paused before retreating with an even greater force, overlapping and flowing back inside Sammirah. Sammirah shot a taunting look at Jade, who got up and made a mad dash towards her, leaping most of the way. When she was upon Sammirah again, ready to burn her face off, Sammirah spoke, 'Shame, I thought you'd be smarter.'

With that, she released the sound pulses with a force that made the initial blast look like a cheap knock-off, not only flinging Jade back harder than before, but demolishing the shop in the process too. Sammirah rose out of the rubble, floating above it for a minute before proceeding towards Jade, now crippled and lying on the ground in immense pain.

'Did you really think you could beat me?' Sammirah dropped to the ground. 'Did you really think someone as puny, as worthless, as weak, as you, could beat me, a seasoned warrior and hunter?'

Jade smirked in response. Sammirah kicked her in the stomach.

'And how, pray tell, do you find this funny? You know I'm about to kill you right?'

'Because...I did...beat you,' Jade croaked in between feeble gasps for air. She opened her fist to reveal they key, lying comfortably in the palm of her hand. Sammirah's face filled with fear, confusion, and horror, all flashing by one after the other. She raised her hand to put an end to her, but Jade's form began to quiver and pulsate.

'See you around, bitch.' Jade looked to the sky and gave it a little nod. She then vaporised into thin air, the only proof of her ever having been there being the destruction their fight had caused.