Topic: Where Angels Fear To Tread

Daigh

Date: 2011-05-03 14:22 EST
It was the headache again. The one that crept up on soundless feet like a tiger stalks its prey in the jungle. Sensed before it strikes, perhaps, but not with enough time for the victim to defend themselves.

He sat with his back flat against the wall of the pounding club, music so loud it reverberated off of said walls, could be felt moving in a person?s chest like a hard second heart. Strangely, it didn?t make the headache worse. Maybe because it couldn?t possibly get any worse, or maybe because light and noise had nothing to do with why he had it in the first place.

He cradled his head in his hands, fingers massaging the temples, as if that would alleviate anything. It wouldn?t, and he knew it, but for some reason he still did. Perhaps because pretending to do something was better than just sitting there and letting it have its way with him. Then again, he knew what he had to do to fix it.

He?d been in the middle of spinning when it had come. It hadn?t been crippling, luckily, and he?d been able to get through the track before handing off D.J. duties to one of his co-workers, escaping behind the scenes. There was still an hour left of his shift, but he knew he wouldn?t make it, didn?t have time. The pain wasn?t going to go away unless he took care of business.

One hand dropped down to the pocket of his shirt and pulled out a half-crushed pack of cigarettes. He retrieved one, and a moment later the end glowed like a little sun, and he stood. With a sigh he headed down the hall. He paused at an open doorway, sticking his head around the corner. ?Neal??

His boss propelled his wheeled desk chair backward, looking over. ?Yeah??

?I?ve got to go,? he said around the cigarette, the pale ghostly smoke wafting up toward the ceiling.

Neal seemed to understand, the blue eyes behind his expensive, lime green glasses regarding the tall man. ?Headache??

?Yup. Duty calls.?

He nodded, watching Daigh another moment and then rolled himself back toward his desk. ?Do good work.?

?Always.? Daigh?s hand tapped the side of the door and then he continued down the hall, into the employee lounge. He went to his locker, undoing the lock with ease. When he was in, his fingers dug into the black metal backing, pulling it away to reveal the hidden hollow behind it.

He pulled out a gun- a dutiful mix of matte grey and silver aluminum. A Kimber Ultra Crimson Carry II. Though small, perfect for in-close range, and it packed quite the punch. A long knife came out next, razor sharp, the blade inscribed with the Latin phrase, ?Dei Iudicium? , ?By the judgment of God.?

The gun was slid into the waistband of his pants, at the small of his back. The knife was then situated into its holder against his forearm, hidden by the sleeve of his shirt. The backing of the locker was then replaced, the door slammed shut.

He straightened, cracking his neck and then took a drag off the cigarette. Show time.

Daigh

Date: 2011-05-07 23:55 EST
The street was dark, slick and graphite-shiny with rain. Half the street lamps were out, the glass around them busted or cracked. This was the sort of place that people came to pass out in the gutters after a hard night drinking in some seedy strip joint. The smell, the sight, the very air, everything was rife with sin. Not a place Daigh would have normally gone on his own dime, but this was different. This was business.

The headache did what it always did; got so bad the closer he got to his goal that he could barely see out of his left eye. Yet then, when he was where he needed to be, it would lessen. Like a really brutal version of the hot-warm-cold game, ?you?re getting waaarmer??! There really had to be a better way to let him know about this sort of thing, other than causing temporary blindness. Maybe a nice text message. But what could one do?

His footsteps were nearly soundless, when they should have made noise. Not that he needed to be particularly quiet, as it already knew he was there. But it never hurt to exercise caution. He wished he had his iPod, though. This was always better when there was a soundtrack. Punk- hard and fast the way he liked it. Not Eye of the Tiger, the addition of which to his playlist Mealla seemed to think was a hilarious prank. Stupid sisters.

His footsteps slowed and all thoughts of sisters and music leeched away, leaving him in a feeling of more complete solitude than was true. He wasn?t alone. Regardless of what it tried to manipulate in his surroundings, he?d done this enough to know differently.

The headache subsided until it was more of an easily forgettable annoyance than anything. One hand rose to push the cloth of his sleeve back, up past his elbow, leaving the knife bared and accessible. The weight of the gun at his back was comforting as it bided its time against pale flesh. He hadn?t been sure what he?d need for this particular adventure, so it had been better to come equipped and not need it than forget it and end up the opposite of alive. Which, of course, was dead.

Any sound, all sound, receded like the ocean?s water before the rush of a tsunami. It was a quick second, if that, and then the world exploded. Blackness darker than ink came screaming from a far corner, had been perched somewhere near a crumbling concrete building. A flash of red ?maybe eyes, maybe a wide-open mouth- and the demon wrapped all that night around him. But this wasn?t a spirit form; this was flesh and blood and bone. Perfect!

A grin came to Daigh?s face- corporeal was the total tops! Much easier to deal with. The knife was in his hand suddenly, and he slashed out in a wide arch. Not necessarily graceful, not from that close, but effective. A howl and the demon was up and over him. Daigh turned sharply on one heel, bringing one Converse-clad foot down hard, in a fight stance. A quick glance to the knife found blood. Hooray! First shot was his! One to nothin?! He liked being in the lead. It made him feel all special.

Dark eyes went back quickly, though, because if you daydream too long, you can get torn in half, which he heard wasn?t pleasant, and didn?t really want to experience. Another screech and the demon made another pass. Too quick to counterattack, so Daigh did what anyone would have done, and he let himself fall to the ground. On his side, which elicited a curse from him, as that didn?t feel too good. A bruise and a scraped up hand. Did that count as a point for the demon?


He was up again quickly. This was sloppy work from the demon. Sloppy, and pretty annoying. ?Are you going to just keep doing half-assed fly-bys?!? he called out, arms spread wide, a ?wtf? look on his face. ??Cuz that?s totally not cool. Unless winning by boring me to death is your plan??

A snarl came, and then a gravelly voice. It might have been in Common, or the demonic tongue, or something else entirely. It didn?t particularly matter to Daigh, as he could hear it loud and clear in whatever language. ?Insolent angelus, to mock one of us so!?

?You make it sort of easy,? he squinted. And, ?angelus?? Serious?Getting? all Latin-y up in hurr. ?I?m sure you?ve got things to do, and I know I do, so let?s maybe get this out of the way. I don?t suspect you want to be friends, soooo?? He smiled.

?Friends? You are sworn enemy of the Diabolus, there is no truce, no quarter, no mercy. ?

?Blah de blah blaaaaaah,? he rolled his eyes. ?That?s all very frightening, and I?m terrified, I promise. But I?ve heard it all before. Now put up or shut up.?

Demons didn?t like to be made fun of, even if they didn?t understand exactly what you were implying. This one was no exception. Without any further speech, it disappeared. There one second, gone the next. Daigh blinked at the suddenness of it and frowned. The headache was still that mild irritation, so he knew the demon wasn?t gone. And then he knew. A sneak attack attempt was coming. Good. He knew how to handle that.

With a pronounced sigh, he shook his head and slid the knife back into its holder. ?This always happens,? he said aloud, as if disgusted at his luck. He turned and started to walk away, head down, although there was a smile on his lips. A small one, but it was there.

Daigh

Date: 2011-05-07 23:56 EST
There was nothing for a long moment, until the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. That was an indication; a split-second warning before all that screaming started again and there was a rush of air. His hand slid across one hip, to his back, a grip on the gun was secured. It was pulled from the waistband as he turned, raised, and a shot was fired. All in one fluid, synchronous movement, quicker than thought.

The demon stopped as the bullet impacted with its forehead, another shriek, and it was done. The demon collapsed on the pavement and lay unmoving. Daigh remained where he was for a moment, waiting. After a few minutes, he moved over toward it, slowly, each step careful and deliberate. It wouldn?t ?go? anywhere until he?d finished the job completely, by piercing the heart by his handy-dandy, blessed knife. Funny, that, having blessed knives and bullets. How times had changed.

He came to rest beside the dropped figure. He leaned over slowly, looking down at it. And then he waited longer, eyes trailing over it. It wasn?t moving. That was a good sign. His hand went to the knife as he started to lower, caution still the name of the game.

However, it was a badly played game. The red eyes flared and it came up with another of those god-awful banshee shrills. Daigh tried to feint away, but he was caught, sent flying and crashing into the ground about ten feet away. The knife was jarred from its holder, the gun skittering from his hand. Slightly dazed, it took him a moment longer than it should have, long enough for the damn thing to come down on him. There was a look of triumph in its eyes. Daigh was weaponless, an easy target, and it was going for the kill.

The nice thing about not giving off any strong vibes was the fact you were often underestimated. His hand shot up, fingers wrapping around the being?s throat. A jolt, something like a tiny sonic boom, cast off of Daigh?s finger and into the demon, stunning it. That gave him enough time to scramble out from under it, making a dive for the gun. A twist of his body put him on his back, the gun held in both hands. He had just enough time to see the demon descending on him again, before bullet after bullet was fired and went racing into that great, dark head, until it exploded into a red mess. It fell, dead, for straight reals this time.

As the last shot faded into oblivion, silence was suddenly back. Not that artificial silence meant to breed a false sense of security, but the normal silence of a backwater alley. The headache, as well, had abated. The loudest sound then was Daigh?s slightly heavy breathing.

The gun was lowered, and the pain in his face made its presence known. ?Sh!t!? he exclaimed, with feeling, raising a hand to his face and touching the wounds. Fingers came away bright red, and it felt like a million tiny little bees were stinging him.

After the inspection, he put the gun away, and he walked over to the demon. Crouching down, he gave it a cursory look before the knife was retrieved again. The hilt was grasped in both hands, and it was driven down into where the heart of the demon was. A quick turn severed it completely, and the body began to do its disappearing act. Daigh wiped the blade on a bit of newspaper and then stood, tucking it away. He clasped his hands together, bowed over them, let his eyes close for a moment. ?Beati pacifici,? he murmured. Blessed are the peacemakers.

He opened his eyes again, checked his weapons, then turned and strolled back the way he had come, hands shoved into his pockets, humming. Business concluded.

Now it was time for fries and a milkshake.