"Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!" Seere beeped the horn at the traffic congested down the highway. He wouldn't have even needed to drive if April hadn't been there. A quick warp through dimensions wasn't beyond him. Sure it would make him tired and nauseous but he wouldn't be stuck behind an SUV with three kids in the back. They'd been staring at him for the last half hour. Not that he could blame them. He flicked off the radio and ran a hand through his hair. April. She was a big problem. Rane had been right when he said it was too easy to fall into old habits. The girl had only been there less than a day, and already he was slipping.
Weak
. His hands tightened around the steering wheel. That word. It was how the other beings that frequented the human world had branded him. His inability to walk through dimensions blamed on his weakness for humanity. But they were wrong. Even after he'd shed his emotions and learned to kill without guilt he still couldn't leave the world for more than a few minutes.
The traffic started moving and Seere saw the opportunity to leave. He took the next turn off and parked the car in front of an abandoned building. Reaching back he pulled the hood of the jacket over his head; it was harder to hide in daylight. He closed his eyes and focused allowing his awareness to haze. It slipped away, leaving his mind looking out into Netherspace, the halfway between worlds. He could smell blood and fear...and the sweet exhilaration of retribution. Beings who bothered with humans were usually called. Most didn't like being called.
He moved away from the screaming and searched for the target, a dull ache forming in the back of his skull as he strained to stay grounded. His only chance was to finish the job and hope his employers didn't mind he was a couple of hours late. The consequences of failure were never pleasant.
He found the face in a hotel with the same woman from the night before. She was naked and unconscious on the bed with one hand dropping to an empty wine bottle on the floor. To his credit, the target wasn't sticking around long enough to regret the evening, he had already managed to get out of bed and stumble towards the bathroom.
Seere took in the guards. Only three. A surprisingly small number. But then, such a prominent man wouldn't allow just anyone to guard him through his endeavors. There were few, but they would be the best and most trusted of his staff. He would have to take them out first.
He focused on an alleyway around the corner from the hotel and released his hold. The only witness to his arrival was a woman stoned to the point she was barely breathing. Seere moved past her holding on to the wall as his body calmed from the trip. He felt worse than he usually did. There was a nagging hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach he didn't recognize, it made him feel...wrong. He forced it back and drew his hood further down. This was not the time for emotion. With a quick glance at the camera, he entered the building.
The elevator was at the back of the room and he walked towards it noting the high security. The receptionist watched him curiously but with the hood hiding his face, wouldn't identify him. He pressed the button for the top floor and waited, the hollow feeling rose with every level and still he couldn't think of why. The doors opened and he lifted his head. Two men stepped in front of him almost filling the gap with their bulk. The nagging feeling left.
"This floor is reserved, head back down"
He grinned. They were armed. It was so much easier when they were armed. Like lighting he grabbed the gun fitting the clip in place. The fear that filled the air tasted like honey to the senses.
"Now easy there, no need to..."
He pulled the trigger and a body fell to the floor. The other man reached for his gun and Seere fired into his head. Blood started pooling on the floor and Seere stepped back. A shot rang out from behind him, clipping his left shoulder. Pain pulsed through him but he didn't flinch. Instead he tugged on the hood bringing it lower on his face, and turned to the last guard.
The gun was pointed at his chest and held with expert precision. There was no doubt of the guards skill and intent. He was going to shoot him. Without warning, Seere fired a shot through the guards hand. The gun fell as he clutched the bloody mess to him. Seere moved forward almost casually, gesturing towards the door with the gun.
"Open it"
The man, unable to speak through the pain shook his head in response. Seere glared at him.
"Now you can open it or I can take it from your corpse. Your choice" the guard seemed to fight himself for a moment before reaching for the key. He pulled it out with his good hand and tossed it to him.
Seere gripped the guard by the shirt and shoved him through the elevator doors. Dropping the gun, he picked up the key from the floor and slid it gently into its slot. Through the open doorway Seere could hear the shower running an off-key voice singing 'La Marseillaise'.
The elevator moved behind him taking the guard downstairs. He estimated a maximum of twelve minutes before the police came to arrest him. By that time he'd be long gone. Dropping the gun he walked over to the woman on the bed. Her breathing was deep. She wouldn't be awake for hours. He avoided her hand and picked up the empty wine bottle smashing it against side table. The guards were just pawns. But a target in itself, was something special. Their blood somehow richer. Through all the assignments he'd taken, and all the people he'd killed. Seere never left a scene without feeling their blood on his hands.
Gripping a large shard he slinked around the bed and through the bathroom door with barely a sound. Not that he would be easily heard over the inhuman wailing his target was making. He pulled back the screen door and waited as his target opened his eyes. Until he could taste the fear on the air, and the mouth fell open to scream. His hand flew forward lodging the piece of glass in his throat. Blood streamed out of the wound and through Seere's fingers as his target gave one last choke before collapsing against the tiles.
A deep serenity filled him as he let the blood wash from his hands. It was done. Almost. There was one more stop to make. He turned off the shower and pulled back against the wall. Then, closing his eyes, located hotel security.
***
It had taken Rane a while to register what happened. One second she was there, the next she was flying across the room at top speed. When she hit her head on the wall and sunk unconscious to the floor, he couldn't help but wonder if the girl was a child of chaos. It seemed to follow her everywhere.
He surveyed the area noting the shades of light and dark more than the objects themselves. If it was working unseen on this plane it had to be reaching out from the Netherspace. It would cast a shadow but not an image. There was only one race he knew of who could affect dimensions through the midway pull. He stiffened. It was standing by April's body. Its projection only a flicker, but enough.
The Hije were notoriously vicious bastards. Unable to think for themselves they were popular slaves among some of the more wealthy titles. For a human, they were impossible to catch. But Rane was Jinn.
Keeping his eyes on April's form he touched the Netherspace with his mind and located the creature. It was tall and wiry, with grey skin hanging loose around its body. Its ears molded against the skull to pointed tips at the bald peak. Pink veins ran like cracks through the white of its eyes and they gleamed at April over a long nose.
"Who sent you?" Rane released his hold into the Netherspace and moved towards the creature binding it with a stare. It struggled against him, hissing its protest and he brought it to its knees.
"I asked who sent you"
Bending down he pulled a seal from its neck. His fingers circled the branded image as he muttered the words and it fell away revealing a ruby centre. The highest rank for a soldier of its class. A soldier would never get a target wrong.
Rane walked towards the woman he shouldn't have been able to see in the space between worlds. His mind filling with questions he knew she wouldn't be able to answer. "Who are you?" he whispered.
High pitched laughter snapped Rane's attention back to the Hije. It looked at him smugly, the veins dancing in its eyes "
he
doesn't know?"
Drawing a sword from the energy Rane sped forward and sliced through its head, the pieces dissipating in the air. He stared at April for a moment, wondering what to do. The Hije had already begun dragging her through dimensions leaving a transparent figure in the Netherspace. He could bring her back easily enough, but without knowing her breed, it wasn't safe. Shaking his head, he walked forward and scooped her into his arms. Until he knew more, she was still in his care. He only hoped Seere would be able to control himself when he found out how far her secrets really went.
***
"She's
what
?" Seere's voice jolted April awake. She grimaced against the glaring light and tried to sit up. The back of her head was on fire. The rest of her body wasn't feeling too good either.
"I thought you were supposed to be able to detect these things" Seere continued his tirade. She looked at him. He looked pissed. She wondered if he was born that way.
"I usually can but even my powers have limits Seere, you saw how fast I left her mind the first time" he paused "I'm sure she's not Jinn. Or a demon." He rolled his shoulders uncomfortably as Seere continued to glare.
"Then what is she?"
Rane opened his mouth to answer and stopped when he sensed her presence. They both turned to her.
"What are you saying?" panic filled her throat and her voice was higher than normal.
"April..."
"Are you saying I'm not human?" Rane diverted his eyes, silence filling the room.
"Come on, you can tell me, I can take it."
Rane started to answer but April wasn't listening. The thoughts were coming too fast and they all added up to one thing.
