Angel Hunter Ch. 01

Good morning!!  It's Naughty (Gweall's editor).  He asked me to post this story for you all first thing this morning.  So, being that I have to leave for work in 30 minutes, ya'll are getting this a little earlier than normal!  Oh, and since I've never dealt with posting to the blog... please be kind :)

This is our new story, which is replacing Arlo-- ENJOY!

~NaughtyCouture

P.S. Check the Pictures/Idea origins for Characters tab up top. I'll add some new ones in for this story ;)

~Gweall
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dyrnwyn sizzled as heavy raindrops fell on the blade, but the eternal fire was never extinguished. Shepherd used the back of his hand to push the long black hair from the left side of his face. He had considered, more than once, just cutting all of his hair evenly. But he did like the long hair on the left, and the short hair on the right. Having it all short would be just too weird. He turned his attention away from his troublesome hair problems, and back to the matter at hand.

The ceiling of the old building had long since fallen down, leaving chunks missing from the floor where it had plummeted to the basement. Shepherd stepped carefully around the decaying floor, keeping his eyes up. Several gray feathers fell to the floor, hiding some of the weaker rotting spots. Shepherd rolled his eyes, this was a stereotypical spot to find the evil beings he hunted with so much gusto. The empty abandoned building creaked and groaned as the creature inside scurried across the walls and what was left of the ceiling, hiding from Shepherd between the flashes of lightning. He used Dyrnwyn, one of his dual swords, to light the way as he walked from room to room searching for the prey he had already wounded. The  fire from the sword glowed brighter than any flashlight he could carry.

“Why are you doing this, Human? This is not your fight.” The raspy voice came from somewhere in the top floor of the four story building. A gravelly cackle followed the question. Shepherd ignored the beast and continued searching, following the trail of molted feathers it left in its path. “Not one for talking, child?” it asked, voice echoing in the half decayed building.

“I’m not a child anymore,” he spat at the creature he couldn’t see.

“To us you are. To us your life is nothing but a speck,” it whispered.

“Or a meal,” he mumbled to himself.

“That too,” it laughed loudly, nearly shaking the single window that remained. The lightning struck again, illuminating the wooden floor, crumbling walls, and lurking creature. Without a second of hesitation, Shepherd launched Solias at the wall where the creature had been sitting. The golden sword stuck into the wall, but not before scraping the creature. It hissed in pain and skittered away, into another dark spot in the building. He quickly recovered his sword, and turned before the beast could plan an attack.

“Wrong sword,” it hissed in the night. Shepherd couldn’t help but laugh.

“It still hurt, didn’t it?” he asked, as he followed a trail of blood. His prey only hissed in reply.

“Come on now. It’s not too late.” Shepherd could practically hear the smile, revealing the monsters black fangs. “You can still fall into the hands of the light,” it whispered, and before Shepherd could respond, a beautiful being appeared before him. It’s white and gold wings stretched out behind it. It seemed as if rays of sun fluttered around its form, cutting away the cold night air and rain. Shepherd felt his skin warmed by the presence of the angel, it’s warm smile and delicate features comforting him. He shut his eyes for a moment, enjoying the warmth, before pulling his hand back and slicing clean through the angel’s chest. The ruse was dropped within a millisecond, the golden wings changed back to their ugly gray color, as feathers fell off the dead limbs. The tan smiling face reverted back to the sickly color it truly was. The perfect rows of white teeth changed back into the long and cracked black fangs, and the forked tongue spilled out from its mouth as it screamed in agony. It’s claws raked the wooden floor and it flailed as its own death drew closer. Its mis-colored, ugly eyes shut as it took it’s last breath.

“I hate angels,” Shepherd muttered as another crash of lightning and thunder filled the sky.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It didn’t take him long to find what he was looking for. That thing, that most people called ‘saints’, had few possessions. The small box in the corner of the building was easily noticeable, as it was untouched by whatever had destroyed the building in the first place. He opened it and found the key that dangled on the golden chain. Before his eyes, the golden glow of the chain faded to the ugly gray and red color of rusted metal. He ripped the key from the chain, and shoved it into a pocket that was sewed on to the sheath of his sword. He wiped Solias off with a bit of the ragged cloth the angel called clothing, and sheathed it. Dyrnwyn needed less care, and he simply sheathed the burning sword, watching as the flames extinguished themselves. The rain had soaked him to the core, and he was freezing. He climbed back down the stairs to the ground floor, exiting the old building. The fight hadn’t been too hard on him. He was very much surprised that the angel had tried something as lowly as trying to convince him to follow the light. It was obviously a last resort, he should have known it wouldn’t work.

His swords were hidden underneath the long black coat he wore, which stopped mid-calf. His black hair brushed the collar and often fell into his eyes, it annoyed him but for some reason he never got rid of it. The other half of his hair was short and spiked, a bright blonde in contrast to the dark shining black that his other half was. His mismatched eyes echoed his hair, the bright ocean blue sat on his right side, and the brilliant green eye was on his left, underneath his long black hair. The tight black shirt he wore underneath the coat was soaked through with rain. He stopped walking once he found the abandoned building he had been staying in while hunting the Angel Lieutenant. He stopped under the overhang, and whipped the left side of his hair in front of him, ringing out the cold rain, before letting it fall back into place. He stepped inside and moved to the farthest room back. The power had long since been shut off in the building, but it was still dry and intact. He walked over to the bed that someone had left in the old building, and pulled his backpack out from under it. The tattered green bag was all he carried with him, besides Solias and Drynwyn. He shoved the key in a pocket and threw the bag against a wall. He pulled the swords from his side, and set them next to the bed so that they were close by. He shrugged off his coat, and laid it down near the swords, and crawled into bed, still soaking wet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shepherd yawned and stretched his arms, letting his hands fall on the sheaths of his swords. He picked them up as he swung his legs over the bed, his feet touch the floor through the large, black, steel-toed hiking boots. He attached the swords to his belt again, and grabbed his coat. His stomach growled as he made sure Solias and Drynwyn were secured well. He checked that they were covered with the cloth of the jacket, and headed out, backpack in hand. He walked to the nearest diner, and coughed up what little money he had for a decent meal. The waitress was nice enough but he always made a point not to get attached to people. It was for the best, since he was always on the move.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shepherd moved into the building slowly, swords at the ready. The glowing fire that surrounded the blade on his left illuminated the dark warehouse around him. Not far away, he could hear the sound of laughing. He frowned as he moved closer, carefully. Screams followed the laughing quickly, but eventually faded away until only the laughter was left once again.

“You guys sure do know how to party,” a man’s voice floated through the large warehouse. Shepherd peeked around the corner and his eyes widened at the sight of four angels. One Lieutenant was among them, obviously larger and more grotesque than the others. His wings had hardly any feathers at all, only a few gray patches left. A long rat like tail poked out from right above his ass, which was only covered with some tattered pieces of dirty cloth. His gray bare feet scratched at the floor with long claws. The monsters back curved almost completely over, giving the angel a bad hunch.

Chained to a wall, dangling by his wrists, was a demon. The long claws on his feet barely scratched the floor, and his medium sized leather wings were lying limp behind him. His eyes glowed a bright red, so bright that Shepherd could see them from where he stood. His chest was bare, and the only clothing he had on was a pair of way-too-small leather pants. Two curved horns sprouted from the top of his head, hiding in a patch of pointed black hair. His lips were curved into a smile, but he panted with agony. One of the angels nearby held a knife that was dripping with black blood. On the demon’s muscled chest, dripped several lines of black blood, staining the tanned skin. Behind him, flicked a long pointed devil’s tail.

Shepherd couldn’t help but admire the thin frame of the demon. The chains pulled all of his muscles tight, making them show through his skin. He wasn’t very muscular, but it was obvious there was some strength under the smooth skin. The tight leather pants that hung low on his hips showed an impressive package for someone of the demons size. It was obvious that he had been enjoying whatever torture was being inflicted upon him. His tail swished and flicked back and forth like an agitated cat. His bright red eyes were hiding behind thick eyelashes that blinked seductively at his captors. Shepherd shook the thoughts from his mind, now wasn’t the time.

“Answer our questions!” the Lieutenant spoke, his gravelly voice floating to Shepherd’s ears.

“Play with me some more and maybe I will.” The demon winked, though out of breath and obviously in pain. The angel turned and nodded at one of his “friends”. The smaller angel disappeared and returned with a bucket of water.

“If you liked watersports, you could have just asked!” his tail flicked playfully. He was about to say something else, when the angel doused him with the contents of the bucket. He choked and spat as his skin sizzled. The demon wailed in pain as he was burned by the water. Finally, he quieted down. He spit out a considerably large amount of water. “Okay, that wasn’t so much fun,” he coughed. Shepherd had finally seen enough, and decided to step forward. By ‘step forward’, he meant kill some shit. He pulled back his arm, and sent Drynwyn flying directly at the Lieutenant's head.

Angels were big, ugly, mean, and probably the worst creatures ever to live. But there was no denying that they were good at fighting. With heightened senses, more muscle than their emaciated bodies appeared to have, and an attitude to fuel all of the physical attributes. Instead of lodging itself in the angel’s skull, it missed by a few inches, and instead cut through on of the chains holding the demon’s arm. Now he dangled from one arm, and his toes barely touch the ground. He groaned in pain and clawed at his last chain, but to no avail. Shepherd hesitated, before pulling back the hand that held Solias, launching it at the final chain. It cut through the rusted metal, and the demon tumbled to the ground. By now, every angel had turned to face Shepherd and he was without a weapon. He looked to the demon for help, and was greeted with empty space. He frowned and realized he was in deep shit.

“Hey human,” a voice called to him. The demon stood on a piece of scaffolding that had been abandoned when the warehouse was. He had somehow managed to get ahold of a whip that Shepherd hadn’t seen before. “You forgot something,” he smiled. He cracked the whip with expert grace, and wrapped the tip around the hilt of Solias. He braced himself, and pulled with all of his strength. The weapon dislodged from the wall, and was sent flying towards Shepherd. He ducked, and it landed on the ground behind him. He picked up the unharmed Solias, and prepared to face off against the angels, he twirled the weapon with grace and skill that came from years of practice. The angels soon realized he was no regular person, not just someone who happened to stumble upon the obvious interrogation. They kept their distance. It was still four against one, and those weren’t good odds. Suddenly, the whip curled around one of the angel’s throats, and he was yanked backwards. Shepherd mentally corrected himself, four against two. The other three turned to watch as the demon quickly ended the angel’s life, leaving him screeching in pain before finally relaxing as death took him.  Make that three against two.

Shepherd took the chance while it lasted, shoving Solias through the chest of one of the distracted angels. He cried out and hissed, trying to turn to face his attacker. Shepherd removed the sword, and while it doubled over in agony, he sliced through the thin, gray-skinned neck of the monster. He corrected himself a third time, two against two. He looked up in time to see the demon claw out a large chunk of flesh from an angel’s throat. It gargled in agony and fell to its knees. One against two. Shepherd turned to face the remaining angel, who looked at the two of them before transforming into his angelic form, and running towards a broken window. His once gray wings were now the common golden white color that the others had. His now beautiful skin was shining in the moonlight as he began beating the large eagle-like appendages. Shepherd took a shot, launching the sword for the third time that night, missing by inches again.

“I should really practice that,” he mumbled to himself. The demon took off after the angel, coming from some unseen place behind Shepherd. His leathery wings flapped, but he obviously wasn’t the most aerodynamic creature alive. He got a few feet in the air, with a good jump beforehand. He wrapped a clawed hand around the angel’s ankle. The creature reverted back to its gray form, flapping its molting wings and screeching with a mouth full of Angler Fish-like teeth. It didn’t gain any more altitude, but it continued to hover with the demon dangling from its feet. It kicked and screeched but accomplished nothing as it continued to hover, unable to escape through the window. The demon released one ankle to reach down to his hip where his whip was curled up. He let the long leather weapon fall beneath him.

“Human, time to repay the favor.” He smiled, and swung the whip in Shepherd’s direction. He pulled with all of his strength. Finally, the angel gave up and fell to the cold concrete floor. Without a moment of hesitation, the demon pounced on top of him. With a smile showing a row of sharp white teeth, he snapped at his neck. He stood up and looked around. “Well, that was fun!” he smiled. He picked up his whip from where it had fallen to the ground and wound it quickly, hanging it from his side again. “Thanks for the help,” the demon smiled, his slender form calling to Shepherd with every little movement it made.

“Right. Just try to make a mental note to remind yourself not to get caught like that again,” Shepherd said, picking up Solias from where it had fallen.

“Noted,” the demon winked. He drew the whip from his side, and with a form of grace Shepherd had never seen before, swung the whip at Dyrnwyn which was still lodged in the wall, and pulled back. The sword arched in the air, and the demon lifted a hand to catch the weapon. Shepherd opened his mouth to say something, but it was too late and the sword fell into the demon’s hands perfectly. He only held it for a second before he screamed in pain and dropped the weapon. “Ah! What in Lucifer’s name is that!?” he swore, and held his hand. Shepherd smiled, and picked up the burning weapon. The demon watched as he sheathed it, and the fire was extinguished.

“It’s called Dyrnwyn, and not just anyone can wield it,” Shepherd said, with smug satisfaction.

“I wasn’t wielding! I was holding! There’s a difference and that was definitely holding,” he cursed and looked down at his hand, which was leaking black blood from the burn wound. As Shepherd turned to find the object he had come looking for, he was surprised to see the demon following close behind. “What’s your name, human?” he asked, claws tapping on the concrete floor. Shepherd rolled his eyes.

“Shepherd,” he replied. He wasn’t too excited about being in the presence of a demon, but it was sure as hell better than angels.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Shep. I’m Lex,” the demon bowed.

“Lex? What kind of demon is named Lex?” Shepherd frowned. The demon seemed to sigh.

“It’s short for Lexington,” he admitted. Shepherd smiled.

“Lexington, huh?” he laughed.

“Lex,” the demon stressed the differences in the names. “Now tell me, Shep,” he smiled at Shepherds glare. “How do you know so much about demons and angels?” he asked.

“I hunt angels. I figure I should know something about them,” he shrugged.

“Hunt them? Are you alright in the head?” Lex asked, tapping on Shep’s skull, and flinching when he swatted his hand away.

“Yes, and yes. We have a history,” Shep said vaguely, as he found what he was looking for.

“What is that?” Lex asked, as Shep pocketed the second key.

“It’s called a key,” Lex rolled his eyes.

“I got that. What’s it for?” He looked over Shep’s shoulder, trying to see the item.

“Why don’t you just go away?” Shep said, and turned to leave.

“Well, I can’t do that until you tell me what you’re up to. After all, I’m just a lonely demon with nothing to do. Tell me a story, Shep.” Lex skipped alongside him as he walked out of the warehouse.

“What are you doing? Somebody will see you!” Shep snapped, as Lex walked alongside him with a bounce in his step.

“What? See m-? Oh! Don’t worry, Sheppy,” he got close to Shep’s ear. “I’m invisible to everyone but you,” he whispered, and giggled. “So, my story?”

“You don’t get one,” Shep said, beginning to get annoyed by the persistent demon. Lex stopped walking and pouted.

“Why not?” he whined, and ran to catch up to Shep, his bare feet slapping on the sidewalk.

“It’s none of your business. Just go back to wherever it is you come from,” Shep said.

“How much do you know about angels and demons?” Lex asked. Shep ignored him. “Come on, don’t give me the silent treatment! I get lonely... though I’m sure there are other ways you could fix that,” Lex leaned up against Shep seductively.  Shep felt his heart beat faster, and he pushed the demon away.

“Don’t touch me,” he snapped. Lex pouted again.

“You sure are Mister Serious, aren’t you? I can help you relax,” Lex grinned. “Come on, tell me. I can keep a secret.” Lex skipped along side him, again. Shep sighed.

“The key opens a chest,” he said.

“A chest with shiny things in it?” Lex walked backwards in front of Shep. “I may be a demon, but I do like shiny. I was thinking of piercing my nose.” He pretended to look in the reflection of a store window, but there was none.

“Nothing shiny. It has a map in it,” Shep explained, continuing to walk. He began noticing that several people were staring at him. After wondering why, he suddenly realized that to everyone else, he was talking to himself.

“A map? That’s it?” Lex frowned, when Shep nodded. He thought for a second. “Does the map lead to something shiny?” he asked. Shep shook his head. “Well... does the map lead to something that leads to something-”

“There’s nothing shiny!” Shep shouted, everyone around him turned to stare. He cleared his throat and continued walking down the street.

“That was great,” Lex laughed. “But anyways, what’s the map for then?” Lex asked.

“It leads to the Archs. Or at least one of them,” Shep said.

“The Archs? As in Archangels? Are you insane?” Lex got serious. “Have you ever seen an Archangel? They make other angels look like Disney characters!” Lex said.

“I’ve seen them before,” Shep mumbled.

“Then you know that wanting to find one is stupid,” Lex said.

“I don’t want to find one,” Shep said.

“Oh... good, you were starting to sound-”

“I want to find all seven,” Shep said, determined.

“Yeah, okay. You’re insane,” Lex shook his head. “Why the fuck would you want to find one, much less seven?” he asked.

“I have a score to settle,” Shep replied.

“With an Archangel? Gotta tell you, Shep. That’s a score best left forgotten,” Lex said.

“Well, since you’re so terrified of them, you better turn around and go back to wherever you came from.”

“Terrified?” Lex scoffed. “I laugh at the face of danger! Ha ha ha!” He tossed his head with each laugh. When he saw Shep wasn’t amused, he rolled his eyes and continued to follow the human.

“What are you doing?” Shep asked.

“It’s called walking,” Lex smiled, showing his teeth.

“Yes, but why are you doing it next to me?” Shep asked, ignoring the looks that people were giving him.

“Who doesn’t want a little companionship,” Lex smiled.

“Me,” Shep mumbled, and walked faster.

“Oh come on, don’t be like that. You’re the only human I’ve really gotten to talk to as me. Everyone thinks demons are so evil and the saints are the... well... saints...” Lex stopped talking and frowned, before shaking his head and keeping pace with Shep.

“I know. I hope to change that one day,” Shep said. Lex stared at him in silence for a moment.

“Really?” he asked, almost hopeful.

“Yes,” Shep replied. “By killing the Archs,” Lex groaned and rolled his eyes.

“There you go talking crazy again! If it was that easy, don’t you think a demon woulld have done it by now?” Lex asked.

“No, all you guys like to do is party,” Shep said. Lex opened his mouth to disagree, and then shut it with a smile.

“Yeah, that’s true,” he nodded. Shep shook his head and held back a laugh.

“Don’t tell me you’re not excited,” Lex said.

“Excited?” Shep frowned.

“Yeah. I mean, you know for sure what happens when you die, right? Aren’t you crazy excited for the eternal party that awaits?” Lex asked.

“I’m not one for parties,” Shep mumbled.

“Well, you don’t have to party. You can do whatever you want, forever. You’ll be happy,” Lex smiled.

“I don’t worship the devil,” Shep said. Lex stopped walking.

“Well why the hell not? How could you worship him,” he looked up. “When you know what they do with the dead?” he asked. “You do know, right? They take your soul to this horrible Limbo, feed off it, and use your body to fill their ranks. You really want that?”

“I don’t worship him, either,” Shep said. Lex looked at him, confused, before running to catch up.

“I don’t follow,” Lex said.

“Oh, yes you do,” Shep joked. Lex rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. Leave the comedy to me, honey.” Lex shook his head. “But if you know what happens when you die-”

“I don’t know. I know what happens when you die worshiping God and I know what happens when you die worshiping the devil. That’s where my information ends. I chose neither, so I guess I’ll find out later,” Shep said, so many people were staring now.

“I don’t get it,” Lex said. “Why don’t you want to go to the afterlife? Take it from me, it’s pretty great.” Lex laughed. “Look at me, I’m loving it!” he smiled.

“It’s not what I want,” Shep shook his head.

“You don’t want to live forever, doing whatever you want and enjoying yourself? No hangovers. No crashes, if drugs are your thing,” Lex shrugged.

“I don’t do drugs,” Shep snapped, looking at Lex like he was crazy. The family sitting at the table outside the restaurant they passed gave Shep the same look. “Drugs are bad,” he said, to the children, before walking off. “I don’t have any reason to live forever as a demon. I don’t want that. I won't be happy,” Shep said.

“Well, you know what that means, right?” Lex said. Shep raised an eyebrow. “I’m just going to have to tag along with you and convince you otherwise,” Lex smiled.

Shep rolled his eyes. “Please don’t.”

“It’s too late,” Lex shook his head. “You’ve issued the challenge and I have accepted it. Lex and Shep, demon and human, Archangel slayers! We could have a sitcom.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“No thanks, Shep. I’m fine,” Lex said sarcastically, as Shep ate all the food without offering him any.

“Demons don’t eat,” Shep said, through a mouthful of food.

“We don’t need to eat, but it doesn’t mean we don’t like to,” Lex crossed his arms.

“Are you going to be this annoying the whole time?” Shep asked.

“Yes.”

They had been walking for just over a day now, and had grabbed a bus heading towards the next town. The bus was mostly empty, but a few people continued to stare at Shep.

“Man, we need to get you a bluetooth, or somethin’,” Lex mumbled.

“Why the hell did you keep those?” Shep asked, pointing to the chains Lex had wrapped around his torso in an X shape. He had been bound with them before, and was now using them as a fashion accessory.

“I kind of like em,” he said, touching one of the chains.

“I can cut those off for you, later,” Shep pointed to the cuffs still wrapped around both his wrists, a few chain links dangling from them. Shep had cut right through the chain itself, and not the cuffs. Leaving Lex with a new pair of bracelets.

“I like them too,” Lex mumbled.

“You sure don’t hide your sexual fantasies do you?” Shep asked, making a few people turn their heads.

“Oh they’re not fantasies, most of them have come true. After all, I am dead, I do what makes me happiest. My soul is definitely fulfilled.” Lex smiled, seemingly thinking about his past sexcapades.

“There’s something wrong with you,” Shep stared at him blankly.

“Oh come on! Don’t play like you don’t have any deep dark fantasies lurking around in there. I bet your wild in bed.” Lex smiled, and undressed Shep with his eyes.

“Hey!” Shep smacked Lex’s hand away as he went to play with the bulge in Shep’s pants.

“Oh come on,” he whined, and leaned back, spreading his legs. “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” Lex winked.

“It’s not going to happen,” Shep covered his crotch with part of his jacket, and crossed his arms.

“So, where are we headed?” Lex asked, leaning back in the buses uncomfortable seats.

“To my place. I have the other keys there,” Shep explained.

“How many are there?” Lex asked, looking at the key Shep held.

“Seven. One for each lieutenant, one lieutenant for each Archangel.”

“I never understood that,” Lex said.

“What?” Shep frowned, and turned the key around in his hand.

“What their obsession is with the number seven?” He asked.

“What’s your obsession with the number thirteen?” Shep asked.

“What? We don’t obsess about the number thirteen,” Lex frowned.

“You have thirteen rings on your horns, thirteen teeth on top and bottom of your mouth, you kept the chains that have thirteen links each on them, and thirteen red tips are in your hair,” Shep pointed out. Lex narrowed his eyes.

“Well aren’t you the observant one,” he mumbled. “How much farther?” he asked.

“It’s a six hour bus ride,” Shep replied. Lex groaned and slouched down in his seat, preparing for the long journey ahead of them.