Eyes opened.
A man shrouded in black shadows lurked at the front door. He didn't move or speak, just stood there silently with his eyes drilling into me as I lay there motionless, asleep, unable to see this—or so he thought.
Eyes closed.
Sleep was useless and unrestful. Tossing and turning... maybe I needed the handcuffs after all.
Eyes opened.
He'd crept closer. The silhouette now hovered at the dining table with a shadowy hand draped on the back of the chair, like he was meant to be there and felt right at home.
The floor creaked like someone walked across it, moving closer.
Eyes closed.
Gods, it was cold. What time was it? Why couldn't I sleep?
Eyes opened.
Back against the wall, next to my bedroom door, there he stood. Still, I couldn't make out his features, but there were sounds, whisperings, low and harsh and indiscernible.
I needed to wake up.
Eyes closed.
Hunters were trained to sense demonic entities in order to prevent casualties. Before I'd fallen asleep, everything felt wrong. It was cold; I felt watched; I—
Eyes opened.
The black apparition stood over my bed with a hand resting atop my forehead. The touch burned my skin, but I was paralyzed.
"It's almost time, Alexei." The voice of the apparition was Rainier's. It sounded muffled, like it was crackling through the shitty little speakers he once used to call to me while I was in my cell. "You'll be back home soon with your new family, but this time, you'll be watched better so you don't murder them too."
I jerked awake, sitting upright, as my gaze jumped around the room, searching for someone, something, anything... Nothing was there. Instead, the room was empty. The apartment was silent save for my ragged breaths. After another moment, I forced myself to calm down, grab the gun from the bottom drawer of my nightstand, and leave the bed.
Room by room, I turned on each light, looking under and around everything, searching for even a trace of a tracker or anything else that may have entered my home.
Ending the search in the lounge, I settled on the sofa. Not even the lingering demonic residue that emitted frequencies to set off one of the physical symptoms of a demonic presence was left behind. There was always the possibility that the tracker or even Rainier, had bargained with a dream keeper—a neutral force set to keep any interference, whether it be demonic or anything else, out of dreams. They usually did their job well, but occasionally, it was possible to buy them off or manipulate them into allowing small scale interference.
I set the gun on the table and grabbed the burner phone I'd left laying out. Louis had texted me a few hours ago.
Assignment 3 is tomorrow. Rivian listed you to be the first in.
Okay. When are we going?
A moment later, I got a reply. I glanced at the time. It was almost two-thirty, what on earth was he doing up?
After classes. We'll meet up in the usual conference room to do a briefing before we head out.
Sounds good. What're you doing up so late?
I just can't sleep. You remember that old Hunting myth? That if you just can't fall asleep, it means demons are close? Well, before I fell asleep, I thought I felt something, but it went away and I just thought it was a draft or something, but now I don't know.
If Louis felt it, then I was certain it wasn't dream tampering. No, someone was definitely in my house. That dream hadn't been a dream at all. It had happened, it was reality, and that tracker had gotten close enough to take me... What stopped it? It had me right there. There was no reason to drag it out. Not unless a demon of fear was involved and wanted to toy with me, break me apart, and paralyze me with fear before finally capturing me.
The assignment the next day suddenly felt much more threatening. Before, I'd been concerned, because they were demons of fear after all. If I were caught by one, it would get ugly, but if a demon of fear had visited me, had gotten a taste of my emotional aura, of my fears... Only gods knew what I would walk into tomorrow. What the fuck had I gotten myself into?
I actually had a similar problem. Something just felt off, but I ignored it. It might not hurt to ask those Covenant reps to do a campus-wide sweep, try to detect any demonic residue.
I agree. The last thing we need is a campus attack with students involved. I'll send them an email in the morning. Well, I'm gonna try to get some sleep. Goodnight, Ace!
Goodnight, love.
I slid the phone back onto the table and sighed, tipping my head back against the sofa cushions. Talking to Louis, despite it being brief and mostly work-related, had been a nice distraction. Turning over and laying on my side on the sofa, I got comfortable, pulling the fleece throw on the back over my shoulders. While I might've not been able to rest in my room, the couch was cozy, and the lights were on. It was relaxing. Just a change in scenery would be enough for the night. Tomorrow night would be different. The tracker might try something new. But, if my theory was right and a demon of fear was involved, I would be safe for the rest of my night.
I was safe.
Everything was fine.
I needed to relax.
*** *** ***
"I'm going in," I said into the comm. I was positioned on the other side of the tunnels that connected to the underground lair the investigative units had pinpointed the demons to be in.
"Keep us posted," Louis said.
Without a word, I stepped up to the entryway and waved a hand over it. The entrances to the tunnels had been opened without any charms or spells on them, making it all too easy to reach the center of the tunnel system. Those doors, however, appeared to have some sort of light sheen of magic coating them.
I pushed at it, gently, so as to feel it, but not set it off and alarm the demons inside. It didn't feel particularly dangerous. No sparks or anything of the sort emanated from it. It didn't seem strong either; instead it bent with the ease of flimsy plastic.
"There's some sort of barrier on the doors, but I'm not sure what it is. I'm going through. If it sets off anything, I'll let you know."
"Whoa, hold on. What if it's a trap?" Louis asked, voice urgent in my ear.
"Then we're not going to find out by just standing here. Investigative and the strategy team knows that if we aren't back in three hours, something has gone wrong. You know if I go quiet for more than fifteen minutes, something's wrong. We have protocols in place if this is a trap. Besides, we have to handle this before it gets out of hand."
Louis sighed. "Don't do anything stupid while you're in there alone, Ace."
"When do I do anything stupid, love?" With a deep breath, I stepped in and phased through the doorway. A bright, violet spark zapped the doorway, but it didn't make a sound, and none of the demons in the room seemed to notice.
I turned back to look in the doorway only to find the barrier was gone. It was a one way, one time barrier. I broke it, which meant the others should be able to come through without a problem. What I didn't know was what would happen to me since I was the one that pierced it and would have to suffer whatever the effect of it was.
"My entrance had a one-time barrier. Use it," I said quietly into the comm.
"Got it."
I went silent again, just watching the demons as I moved along the wall, staying in the shadows so as not to draw any attention to myself. As the shadows thinned, I stopped moving and made a place for myself a few feet away from the circle of elemental demons. They stood in pairs. Four sets of the elementals spread all around the five demons in the center. Two of them were trackers in full form, while the other three were demons of fear. They looked human, like witches or vampires, or any other of the humanoid creatures that roamed the realms. Lower level demons were easy to classify due to their appearance, but upper level demons all looked humanoid. It was impossible to classify them through looks alone.
The guards faced inward, not paying any mind to the entryway. From far away, it was impossible to see, but now that I was mere feet away, the ripple of magic connecting each set of guards was visible. They'd set traps at the doors, believing no one would make it through. Even if they did, the real barrier was there, between the guards. Within their shield, the trackers and fear demons stood around an altar of candles, crystals, and a smoking caldron that put off the sharp, putrid scent of hot metal and rotting flesh.
Voices, whispering mostly, were coming from them, but it was too quiet for anything of use, not to mention it sounded like it was in a demonic language. I'd studied one of the most common ones of the Underworld, but from what I recalled, it wasn't used for spell casting.
They needed to be stopped before they finished their ritual, which, if Louis and I were right, would resurrect the former ruler of the Aquireign. Overall, we were a strong team, but we didn't have nearly enough people to take him out, not with the three fear demons too. From the looks of the caldron, we didn't have much time, but if we could create a big enough entrance, it would distract them from the summoning.
Most of them couldn't be broken or interrupted, so either they'd throw in the towel and all of them would focus on us, or they would send out one or two, while the others finished the resurrection. There weren't enough demons of fear for all of us, so even if three of us were down, that would still leave four to polish off the rest. The elementals weren't much of a challenge. The trackers could be difficult, though. As long as the team could get to the fear demons while they were mid-attack on another person, they shouldn't be too difficult either.
It was risky, but bringing everyone in fast and hard seemed to be the best bet for stopping the ritual. If we took it slow, we risked allowing them to finish, which wasn't an option.
"Enter fast and hard, guns out. They've almost finished the resurrection."
Silence.
I frowned, tapping the comm again. "Do you copy?"
A hard, steel ball of dread dropped in my stomach. Something wasn't right. All the comms had had their batteries changed and were working perfectly before we left. There was always the off-chance that mine had shorted out or something, but I only recalled that happening once, and it seemed awfully convenient that the only other time I would see it happen would be right at that moment.
"You copy?" I repeated, holding the button down. There wasn't even static on the other end. It was complete silence.
I looked at the entryways on the other side of the lair. They were all empty, all of them still shimmering with ripples of violet and lavender magic. I turned my back on the demons, looking back at the door I'd come through, jumping when I saw pale, bloodless, humanoid figures there. All of their eyes were closed, mouths stitched shut, and none of them had a thread of clothing on. Something all of them had in common were bloody numbers etched onto the right side of their chests, where most Hunting numbers were.
1242, 1399, 1134, 0081, 2158, 1067...
I turned away, blinking hard, trying to focus back on the demons, but I didn't even see them. At the other doorway were six more agents, another set that looked just like the rest, but with different numbers...
All numbers that I recognized, all numbers that I knew by heart, that I still whispered as I lit candles and set out offerings for every October. None of them were faces I knew, of course they couldn't be, but all the numbers were right. And there, in the center of the room where the demons had been, stood a petite girl, who stood no taller than 5 foot with dirty blonde hair and glassy, pale hazel eyes. She didn't have a number on her chest like the others. She was covered in stab wounds, though. She didn't look any older than 16.
I blinked again, looking at the floor, forcing myself to take deep breaths. None of it was real. It was all a hallucination. It must have been the trap, the spell set at the door. It was an illusion, a spell to detect and play out fears of the person that walked through it. For all I knew, I was actually lying unconscious on the floor of the lair and the guards were about to drag me over to be part of a sacrifice while I was trapped in whatever hellish scenario this was becoming.
A hand touched my shoulder, and I jumped, tensing as my head snapped up, seeing the decaying figure of that girl standing there. Her gaze on mine as she stared at me intently.
"Why did you let me die?" That voice was so familiar. It was something I replayed over and over in my head, always with questions like this, always wondering why I couldn't have saved her, saved the rest of our family, why I wasn't the one to die.
"Rose—"
"It should've been you." 1399 joined us, standing at Rose's side.
"If it had been you, we would still be alive," 1134 spat. He walked behind me and ripped off my mask before grabbing a fistful of my hair, jerking my head back.
Rose held out her hand and a puff of black smoke came from her palm, a knife appearing as it dissipated. "If it'd been you, my brother would've been able to move on and be happy instead of still chasing after you." She put the knife against my throat, pressing it in just enough to burn, just enough to draw a thin line of blood.
"If it had been you, my sister and my family would still be alive. You're pathetic and a coward. It should have been you." Louis, pale and decaying, just like the others, appeared at Rose's side. He placed his hand next to hers on the handle of the knife.
The knife dug in a little deeper, making me grit my teeth. All of that stopped as harsh, terrified screams broke my gaze from Louis and Rose, from their decaying corpses, over to the center of the room. My students, all of them, from first-years to ninth-years, ran around, screaming, fireballs being thrown at them, bullets striking them in their heads, stab wounds being dealt to their hearts.
I was stuck.
I couldn't do a goddamn thing. I couldn't move. I could get away!
"No—" The scream was choked off. I was jerked up from the floor, ripping me away from Rose and Louis, and against the wall.
Rainier towered over me. "Don't scream. It's unbecoming of a Hunter."
Cuffs, wooden ones, wrapped around my wrists, and tethered me to the floor. I struggled against them, trying to move away, to do something, but Rainier snapped, paralyzing me instantly.
"Keep that up and I'll wipe every memory you have down to how you met that precious soulmate of yours." He laughed, low and sadistic.
Slowly, more laughter began to mingle in. All of the others, the Hunters, Louis, Rose, all of them wandered over. Their sadistic laughter filled the room, filled my ears. It was inescapable and loud, and I just wanted it to fucking stop.
Eyes closed.
Demons, two of them, were standing over my unconscious form, chuckling. One was a demon of fear, the other was an emotional tracker.
"I told you this one was good," the tracker said.
"For someone that's rumored to be hard as stone and cold as ice, he's about as breakable as glass," the fear demon muttered, a sadistic smirk curling his lips.
Eyes opened.
They were all coming closer, laughing louder, teeth elongating into fangs, eyes morphing into red slits... What the fuck?
Eyes closed.
"We'll have him to Rainier within the week. He's going to be disappointed how easy it's going to be to break him. Apparently, he was a real catch the last time," the tracker said.
The fear demon shrugged. "You never know. Even now, I can tell he's fighting the illusion awfully hard... Step back, he's about to wake up."
Eyes opened.
All of them morphed, the bodies becoming one large, black figure with glowing red eyes and fangs. It reeked of death. Raising a hand, slowly, as if it took all the strength it could muster, the thing pointed a finger at me.
"You," it said, the voice hoarse and rasping, like it hadn't been used in centuries. "I'll be back for you." It put its hand back down and vanished in a wave of black smoke. The smoke filled my senses.
None of it was real.
It was all an illusion...
Eyes closed.
"—7? 27!"
I blinked, my eyes feeling heavy and sticky, like something had held them together. Trying to check my surroundings, I bit back a wince when a sharp pain ripped through the back of my head and neck.
"Don't move. We don't know the extent of the damage yet." Dr. Ponds...
I took a deep breath as I stared up at the dim ceiling of the lair. "What happened?" My voice sounded completely fucked. I knew I'd been under the influence of a fear demon's illusion, but past that, I didn't have a goddamn clue what was truth and what was illusion.
"You told us the layout, but after that, we didn't hear anything from you. You went silent. So, we gave you your time, and sent Meredith in. She scoped it out, told us the plan, and we came in. We managed to get rid of everyone and stop the resurrection. We almost didn't find you," Dr. Ponds said.
"Sorry."
"It's not your fault," Dr. Ponds said. "The tracker and the fear demon dragged you into another part of the lair. When we found you, we almost thought it was too late."
"Is everyone okay?"
"Yes. Meredith most likely has a sprained wrist, and it looks like Louis may have a mild concussion, but everything is fine. How are you feeling?"
"Like I have a hell of a migraine," I said. "It's probably a side effect from being under the illusion."
"It's highly likely you sustained physical injuries as well. While we came in near the end, it looked as though they'd been engaging in any physical acts you may have seen, so if you were thrown into the wall in your illusion, they did in reality as well."
"Fucking fantastic," I spat sardonically before I could stop myself. I was tired, in pain, and I'd just figured out why my throat hurt so fucking bad. Gods. "Can't I have one goddam assignment where I don't get injured?"
Dr. Ponds smiled. "It's because you take so many risks to keep everyone safe. Thank you for your service today."
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, well, someone had to get the shit end. Don't mention it." With a deep breath, I gritted my teeth and forced myself upright. The world spun, tilting a bit, but I managed to stay up, only faltering a little, but catching myself.
"You need to stay down. I don't know—"
"Don't worry about it, Dr. Ponds. I know what my injuries are, and I have enough first-aid knowledge to patch myself back up, but if not, you'll be the first one I call."
"Are you sure, 27? You don't sound well."
"Probably because I don't feel all that well," I said, harsher than I intended. I hung my head and closed my eyes, forcing myself to take a few deep breaths and calm the fuck down. I was in the mask, that meant I had to behave and act like the Glass Hunter, which meant I had to be nice or like I had a heart or like I wasn't a fucking bastard or a fucking coward or whatever the fuck else. It was just for a few more minutes, then I could go home, patch myself up, and be as fucking mad and stressed and in pain as I wanted. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I really do appreciate your offer on patching me up, but it's pretty minimal. I think most of the damage was psychological."
Dr. Ponds nodded slowly, like he was having a difficult time adjusting to how quickly I'd backtracked on acting like an asshole. "Well, that's not really my training, but I can get you the number of a psychologist I know if you'd like to talk to someone outside of the campus staff."
"Thank you. I think I may just need some quiet time to process everything, but if you don't mind, will you send the number to me later anyway, just in case?" I had no intention of using it, but after my little outburst, I felt it was necessary to ask.
Dr. Ponds nodded. "Of course, I'll get it to you as soon as we get back. If you do need any medical attention, just let me know. I'm happy to treat you, even if you want to wear the mask while I do it."
"Thank you."
He nodded again, touched my shoulder, and then stood and headed back to the rest of the group. I watched as he went straight to Louis. Louis nodded, and a moment later, he was coming toward me. He extended a hand.
Despite everything in me rejecting it, I accepted the offer, and allowed him to pull me to my feet. As soon as I was up, he pulled me against him and wrapped his arms around me like he was trying to keep me safe and hidden away from the world. Some small sliver of me that was hurt and pissed off and just wanted to lay down wished that I could pack up the feeling of being safe and warm and... maybe a little loved, maybe a little wanted, and take it home. I'd set it in a little jar up on the nightstand, next to the tin box I kept Louis's dogtags in, and pop it open every time I felt alone and wounded. It would be enough to anchor me, to keep me in place and keep me away from the darkness threatening to pull me under and suffocate me again.
That wasn't possible, though. And I knew, deep down, that no matter how nice it was, how much I missed this, I would never be able to have it again. Even as he pulled back, hands on my shoulders like he wasn't quite ready to let go, I knew those exchanges were numbered, and they were nearing their end.
Before we knew it, I'd be missing again. Gone, alone, and eventually forgotten, leaving Louis free to move on like Rose would've wanted...like he deserved.