X-Team Three

Part Seventeen-(Az)Meet Beliasos

I've never seen anyone move so quickly. Literally, one second Az was at my side and the next, he's out the front door. I don't even think I saw him move. He was just...here then there.

Curiosity gets the best of me, and I crawl over to the broken front window. Peering out into the front yard, it's difficult to see much of anything, but Cora must've thrown a flare into the middle of the yard, giving the entire area an eerie red glow. She has a gun up and pointed at something. I have to squint my eyes, but when I see who she's got in her sights, my heart almost stops.

Jeremy's here. He truly has found me. He's leaned up against a lone maple tree in the small front yard, separated from the rest of the forest by a few feet. I duck a little farther down so only my eyes and the very top of my head would be visible from the front yard. In my mind, I'm screaming at Cora to shoot him, but something's keeping her from doing so and I can't tell what.

Az is standing tall in the middle of the yard, his sword in hand, watching Jeremy. Why isn't he doing anything either? The reason they're all here is standing right in front of them. Kill him, goddamn it!

Then there's movement out of the corner of my eye. I have the hardest time seeing what it is, but as it approaches the flare, I realize it's something I've never seen before. The being sort of reminds me of Golem from Lord of the Rings, but he's taller and walking only on two feet. His skin is a greyish color, his eyes dimly glowing red. His legs are so thin and spindly that it's a miracle he's even able to walk.

As he approaches Az slowly and carefully, Az actually sheathes the sword. I'm not too worried because Cora still has her gun pointed at Jeremy and even though regular bullets won't kill him, they'll slow him down enough that Az should be able to take him out easily. But Az is more concerned about the creature in front of him. Then they begin to speak.

"Kimrin, what the fuck are you doing here?" Az asks, his voice a mix of contempt and disgust. "Did Satan finally decide to toss out the old dustpan?"

Kimrin grins evilly. "I'm here to deliver a message." His voice is so wispy and harsh that I can barely make out his words.

"Oh, so you've been promoted to messenger now?" Az asks. "They must be getting desperate down there."

Kimrin takes a few steps closer to Az which, apparently, was a bad move. Az spits on him, and even at this distance I can hear Kimrin's skin sizzling where the saliva hits. He clamps his hand over the wound on his arm and starts hopping around the yard, howling. Mental note: Az's saliva is apparently acid. Except it didn't burn when he kissed my hand a few minutes ago.

When Kimrin finally gets himself under control, he stands in front of Az, a little shaky and delivers the message he came to deliver, a grin building across his thin lips. "Our underlord wants you back, Azomit."

"Our underlord?" Az states. "I would've thought he'd catch on after me not coming back after a few thousand years. I've gone, and I'm not returning."

"He's not going to take no as an answer," Kimrin states, the grin falling from his face.

Az unsheathes his sword and looks around the area. "Who's with you, Kimrin?" Oh shit. There's someone else here other than Jeremy?

"Insurance," Kimrin states and begins cackling. His lungs are soon crackling and rattling worse than mine were yesterday. Gross.

"Answer me, or I will end your pathetic existence," Az states, holding the sword out in front of him, pointed right at Kimrin.

"If it were up to me, you'd be Satan's personal shit box, fool," Kimrin hisses through clenched teeth.

In one, swift move, Az cuts Kimrin's head off, and his body disappears into a puff of black smoke. Holy shit. Jeremy crouches down, his eyes flicking from Az to Cora and back again.