Dreams that Mask the Shadows

7 - A license to capture doesn't sound as cool as a license to kill

(listen to: "The Arena" by Lindsey Stirling)

Chapter Seven

A license to capture doesn't sound as cool as a license to kill.

-Joseph-

"You got us the job?" Gage exclaimed, slapping Tristan on the back. "That's the best news I've heard all day!"

"I spoke with Avery and she put the paperwork through. General Augustus signed it this afternoon. We leave tonight." Tristan glanced up as I walked into the cafeteria. He grinned, showing teeth. "How was Watcher duty?"

Tristan Izakov was the most intense person I knew. From the first day we met as trainees, he made sure to make it very clear to me that he despised my very being. Of course, I found out that was because he thought I was the spoiled rich son of the leader of spies who had to have 'Daddy' get me into DreamwalkerAcademy. No wonder he had hated me. I would've hated me too if I'd thought that about myself.

"I don't know, how is Melody?" I muttered. Tristan's face tightened slightly. I folded my arms, leaning back against the wall near their table. "She told me to tell you 'hi'."

"What a pleasant surprise." Tristan stood, shoving his chair back with a dark look. The table was tall and round. Three multicolored stools sat around it and Tristan had been in of them.

Gage backed away from the table, raising his hands behind his head. "Joe, you angered it. Just apologize and maybe he won't rip your limbs off one—" He paused to look at Tristan out of the corner of his eye. "—by one."

Tristan sighed, running a hand over his head. "I know what you guys are doing."

"Or he might skewer me like a shish-ka-bob," I suggested.

Gage hopped out of Tristan's reach, grinning madly. "Come on, Trissy, we know your dad was some big badass back in his day, fighting level 5's—."

"—before there were even categories for demons," I cut in.

He was already shaking his head, "That information is ancient history. No need to bring it back up."

"Oh, come on, man," Gage wheedled. "Our parents are boring, typical corporate, follow-the-rules-or-bust types. We need some pizzazz up in here!" He waved his arms around. "I mean, look at us. We're new graduates, and we still haven't celebrated. We're still doing the same mundane work that we interned as trainees."

Tristan slapped the file down onto the tabletop in front of me. "Read up." His look of disappointment almost made me feel guilty for having snooped around with his files earlier on.

I took up my lunch break to look over the assignment as Gage went to the training room to get a quick workout in. I wasn't going to count my mission with Sky as a real mission. This was my first official mission in my eyes. There had been a notification of more demon activity in Southern California. I had heard the talk about it, through eavesdropping in on my father's conversations, and boring workplace gossip. This was a possible level five demon sighting and I was going to be ready, down to the last detail.

***

"Remember what happened last time we had an assignment in the Golden state?"

I held back a yawn, instead easing my neck from side to side as I felt it give a satisfying pop. "No, Gage, we haven't."

Gage grinned, stretching as far as the small confinements of the back of the van would allow. He propped his feet up on the armrest of the passenger side chair. "Exactly. I was just practicing what I would say once we get back, and can finally show something off to the ladies." He waggled his eyebrows and pretended to flex his arm muscles.

Tristan paused in polishing his sword and swiped a hand at Gage's feet, sending his legs smacking to the floor. "Dream on, tech boy. What are the monitors saying?" He muttered, "I didn't stake out the place since five a.m. just to miss them."

Gage pulled himself back into his seat, grumbling, as he turned back to the computer screens. He typed something in and whistled, "They're definitely getting closer. It's kind of hard to read...what they look like. I can't ID anyone yet."

"You heard the man, let's go out there blind," I said, grinning broadly as I swung open the driver's side door. "And continue to fight evil! Best motto ever."

"Funny how that's not the motto I remember learning at school," Tristan said as we left the darkness of the alleyway. Stepping into the light, we walked among the humans in our full glory. It didn't matter that our swords were strapped to our backs this time—we were like the air around them. Unnoticeable.

"That motto is full of it," I said.

Fallen angels had many special powers, but it was the technology of today's world that assisted us in hiding. It linked our mind's power with a chip in the necklace we received upon graduating from the Academy. That chip was activated when we entered Headquarters and had to do a silly three day long training camp that consisted only of rules—"Capture the demon, don't kill (it unless absolutely necessary)", agreements—"If you die, it's not our responsibility", team building activities—"Joseph, you're paired with Sky", and paperwork—"Yes, I sign my life away to the Dreamwalker Union".

That chip allowed us to cloak ourselves on missions—both physically and aurally, receive and send vital data to teammates without having to say a word, and have easy access to portals across the world. We were told it was related to some sort of high-tech, expensive computer stuff so when Gage heard that, he had been eager to get his hands on one to test. Gage did mention that there was another unexplainable element to the chip, like there was something non-scientific about it. He said he thought there was some fallen angel magic in it. Related to the stone necklaces that we use to capture demons and portals. That was something beyond what the Academy taught us. Funnily enough they didn't explain too much about magic. We just knew we had access to it.

Somehow, Gage had figured out a way to hack into the chip and turn it off. Right now, we weren't sure if that would be a beneficial thing or not. Gage had had the thing for less than a week, and he knew its components inside and out. All I knew was, it helped me get where I needed to go.

Energy ran through me and I smiled. I rolled my shoulders, nodding at Tristan, before we split ways.

The plan was easy. We would wait for the meet up to take place. They were going after a young boy and his mother. They had been following them for days. The file said the mother believed she was seeing visions of her two missing children. The demons had sent a note to meet the mother at a nearby park. Thankfully, we had intercepted that note before it could reach her. Now, instead of meeting a poor widow, left with her youngest child after a terrible accident that killed her two teenage children and husband, they would meet the end of my blade.