Oh dear, oh dearie dear." The Witch Doctor said, waving his fingers rhythmically. Leo was glancing out the window, through the blinds. The Wendigos had no doubt felt the lack of prescence of Kelsio's energy. They'd be here soon. He couldn't be here then. Mynth already seemed suspicious, and Wendigos . . . well, for a bit of good standing in the celestial Records, they'd sell him out quick. "Um, I wasn't here." He said quickly to the Witch Doctor, ruffing Kelsio's collar, and seeing dirt on it, unusual considering he was a very clean-cut appearance-keeper. Kelsio was wearing a white shirt, and black slacks, with formal black shoes. His dark hair was combed carefully, the curls styled to look classy, and his toned skin seemed to glisten. Lotion.
Why only one mark of dirt? A struggle? No. A struggle would show more signs, rips there, tears here. There was nothing other than that one muddy mark. Curious.
Leo was about to step away, when he spotted black ink on Kelsio's neck. Quickly, he leaned the empty vessel's face to the side, seeing what it was. A tattoo. The ink swirled and blew across the dead man's skin, in shapes and patterns distinctive to one thing. A scorpion. Leo ran through the signs that he'd learned Monsters used in formed gangs. This matched up to none, but Leo was certain that Kelsio had been involved in shady business. Something else? A discreet gambling den, or club, or worse? Or perhaps a cloak-and-dagger brand, to mark his place in a coven?
Leo had no time to waste standing there. He bade farewell to the Witch Doctor, going out through the back door and cutting through an alley that opened out to a main street, where he quickly blended into the faceless crowd, dull and gray. But Leo's thoughts whirled. He sill had no real clue as to how the Angel's connected with these murders, not really. And things seemed to be intensifying. If he didn't hurry...Leo didn't want to think of what might happen.
He walked dully, not completely certain as to where he was going, until he stopped outside the building. A chapel. Great.
"Didn't peg you for the religious type." A cold voice, made him turn around, until Mynth crept out of the darkness, her hands on her hips and an eyebrow raised. "Would you believe the day I've had?" Leo shrugged. "I wouldn't know." He replied. Mynth nodded her head, leaning away from the chapel wall. "You here to pray to her? She won't answer. I heard she's got someone new. Celebrated your Falling with a new special someone. To her, you're a mistake."
Leo blinked, his fists clenched, the nails digging into his flesh. "Shut up." He said darkly. "You have no idea what you're talking about, creature. I suggest you stop, before I destroy you." The dull pain that alerted him his eyes were changing would usually have stopped him, but Mynth's words echoed.
"Celebrated your Falling."
"Got someone new right after."
"To her, you're nothing but a mistake."
Leo's eyes, the eye whites black, and the iris red, were probably the only thing that unfazed Mynth. After all, she was Wendigo, and powerful one. She could manipulate his weakness, and he oonly had one.
Her.
Thinking about her, was like sentencing himself. Every good memory brought back a haze of hurt as her tears slid down her face, dripping onto his arm as he hugged her, refusing to let her go, even as they began to pull him away. It had been desperation, or perhaps love.
Angels felt love, however they did not bring any physical intimacy with it. They connected through souls, much different than the carnal ways of the Humans.
"Really? I'm not lying to you, Leo. Because in your soul, you know everything I'm saying is true." Mynth continued,her expression growing menacing."Shut. Your. Mouth." Leo muttered, his knuckles white from clenching his hands. His expression grew solemn. "Don't make me do this, Mynth." Mynth looked disdainful. "You've forced my hand, Leo. You need to be eliminated, for the murder of Kelsio Galewind, a now dead Wendigo!" She shouted in response, her humanoid form flickering. Her equine spirit of darkness was letting loose.
"I didn't kill him, fool." Leo spat, control gone. This escalated quickly. He thought to himself. Oh well, I've needed a bit of work with my fighting anyways. Leo grinned darkly. He unfurled the large wings feathered like those of a raven's and took off. Mynth matched his speed, as they took to the sky, breaking through clouds. "Shall we call it a duel then, Mynth?" Mynth didn't reply, shooting a blade of cold ice-energy towards him, which he blocked easily, deflecting with his wings.
"You chose the wrong day to mess with me, Mynth1 I've had it to just about her-" Mynth appeared behind him, pushing him off balance. "Oh shut up, you wuss. Face me." Leo turned, a grim expression on his face.
"Fine."
He used his wings to propel him, picking up speed, as he practiced a blow. He focused all the energy, all the hate, and the anger, and the unfairness of the world that had been inflicted on him, on one target. Mynth. His eyes felt tears at the speed, and he raised his hand out throwing out a lash of the energy, as it followed behind him like a cascade of darkness. Mynth looked somewhat alarmed, creating a shield of ice-energy, but Leo was in battle mode. He focused the plague of dark energy on Mynth, as it bore down on her from all sides. Mynth finally screeched, transforming fully. A white, whimsical horse, anger and thunder at its hooves reared, and shot towards him, charging. It brought a wave of ice, of cold to match Leo's power. "What? A little dark scare me? I am the dark!" Mynth mocked. "Get out of my head!" Leo said, shooting another beam of energy at it, but Mynth merely dodged. She slowly trotted towards him, from below. "I don't blame you though. She acted well, with that pretty face of hers. I'm sure she's fooling the one she's with now too." Leo threw an arm out, punching at the spirit, and missing. Mynth butted him from the side, encircling him in mocking laughter. "Still her weak little drone are we?" She murmured, a stab of ice coming towards him, escalating through the sky quickly. Leo pulled his wings back, pushing away, putting distance between him and the ice. He needed to get his cool back.
Calm down! He scolded himself, trying to trigger the dead cool that he'd made a habit of keeping. Leo felt it returning, slowly. She's using your fears against you. Your fears...against you. He thought to himself, before closing his eyes, with deadly calm. He sensed the impending horse, as it came close now. But his focus was his hands, as energy slowly built, and built, and built. A ball of mass destruction, in the palm of his hand. But he was only destroying one today. Leo opened his eyes, pure red, and shot it at Mynth without a second thought.
What followed was strange. The horse, in a pose to strike, its front hooves up, was struck in the chest, by what looked like a shard of obsidian. All around, it blackened, hardened, spread, until the horse became pure granite, and began to drop.
Leo followed after it, ducking his wings in a dive, pure momentum and adrenaline pushing him to bask in his victory. The figure was close now, but that didn't matter. He won. As the horse statue, what was left of Mynth, hit the ground with a deafening crack, Leo gracefully landed, his wings giving him leverage. He gazed as Mynth was returned to a humanoid state, battered and beaten. She coughed up blood, before looking up at him, with revulsion and . . . respect.
"What are you? I've never lost against a weak Fallen." She said through coughs. "I'm not just any Fallen." Leo replied, walking over and offering a hand up. Mynth eyed it suspiciously, before taking it, getting up. "Maybe I was wrong about you, lover boy. Maybe." She said, as she disintegrated, most likely back to where her power was strongest. Leo waited a moment, before leaning against the chapel wall, and breathing in deeply. The attack he's made had drained him of energy he didn't know he had. Leo slowly sank against the wall.
A clapping made him turn his head. "That was some show up there, Fallen. Mynth, well, braver and better creatures have fallen to her speak, yet . . . you got back in the game. Bravo."
Shadow.
Leo grimaced, before coughing himself. "What do you want, Demon?" Shadow showed himself, hopping down from the chapel bell tower, to stand in front of Leo. "Well, you know I can't resist conflict. Careful though. You might've beat Mynth, but you won't beat me." He said, dangerously. Leo nodded, too tired to retaliate. "You're not very good at making a battle last, are you, kid?" Shadow asked. "That lasted a minute maybe. Would've drawn it out, if it were me. Then again, I suppose I'm nothing more than a sadist to you, correct?" Leo frowned, shaking his head. "You're a Demon, that's all." He said, getting up, looking down in disappointment. His jeans had ripped, which wasn't good, and his jacket had taken a beating. Human clothes were so fragile and materialistic.
"Don't see why I should do, this, it's honestly a bit strange to be contracted by the Angels, but I'll have to. Sorry, Fallen." Leo's head snapped towards Shadow, but he was too late. A fist rushing at him, and total blackness.
*~*~*~*~*~*
A throbbing pulse made Leo wince. Everything hurt, but his head especially. Leo attempted to focus his hearing, and was able to distinguish faint mumbles. Distant talking. He tried to focus more on the voices, attempted to hear them properly.
He managed to catch some small snippets of conversation.
"What do you mean? You kidnapped him?" A voice, seeming ruffled, usually severe probably, demanded.
"Yes. Now where's my payment?" Shadow's voice said coolly.
Leo quietly hissed, trying to get up and finding his arms bound, his legs free, and something heavy weighing down his wings. He felt frustrated, and yet confused. Leo breathed in, trying to piece together what he remembered. That strange, sudden fight with Mynth, where he'd . . . exploded, letting lose everything he'd managed to contain. Mynth, giving some sort of Wendigo respect, and then Shadow appearing.
Leo tried to stand up, finding he was against a wall. He attempted to rise against it, which made a shifting sound, silencing the voices.
"He's awake?" A feminine voice, somewhat anxious.
"Finally! Shadow, take that rag off." He identified the voice as Azrel's, the Angel he'd spoken to at Red's pub.
Leo squinted, the light bright and sudden, forcing him to squint. He blinked several times, before being able to look up and take in the scene around him. They were in a room, with a door, and no windows. The walls were covered in beige. It was dimly-lit, and the walls at the edge of Leo's vision were covered in maps, sheets, photos, string, objectives. Chaotic order. Ahead of him, was a chrome-top conference room table. Shadow returned to his seat, next to Azrel, ignoring Leo's bindings. Leo himself was seated in a plain chair, at the farthest corner of the table. Azrel sat near the front, but at the very front, was a lady, wearing a mask. The mask was porcelain, and had eyeholes, and the nose had proper nostrils, to breathe from. Beneath the eyes, there were red swirls, starting at the edge of the underside of the eyes and ending in said swirls. The lady's eyes were dilated, like a cat's. They were blue but not a natural blue. It was abnormally bright, like the purest form of uncut azure crystal, bright, light and dark. Where the lips formed, was red, bright as blood, resembling lipstick.
She fixed her gaze on Leo, who felt a tugging sensation, as though he knew her from somewhere.
She spoke clearly, obviously a leader. "Leo Malvent, as your human alias goes. We are hiring you, whether you accept it or not, because you are butting your nose into something you should've definitely left be." She spoke briskly, and Leo nodded, glancing at the serious expressions on their faces. Now wasn't the time for a quick remark. "Now then, Council. Show us your stature." She spoke, as tradition bade her.
The other members of the Council rose, unfurling wings, each with feathers the colour of gold, which made Leo want to vomit. They were High Angels. They were the Council of Elysium.
And they'd hired Shadow, to track him down, and return him to the one place he was most afraid of, and yet also the one place where he had felt most at home.
Leo could've stabbed them all, if he hadn't been tied down. "Now then, do you vow on your energy and life-force that you will not harm us, while on this case?" She asked, her wings a greater wing span than the others, almost matching his own. Leo nodded after a second's hesitation.
She nodded, sending a fiery dagger of energy through him, cutting the bindings off, and dismantling the shackles that seemed to chain his wings to the ground. Leo ruffled the feathers coloured like obsidian, stretching out his wings to their full length.
Uneasy tension filled the air as the others began to understand his former rank, as they spotted the odd golden feather amongst the black ones. But the leader woman merely smiled, tucked back black hair, and motioned for him to follow.
"It's time you see the Records. Again."