Page 21 of Demon Rider

Tilting my head, I lock everything out, my body focusing in on the black soul, that is toying with the humans.

“He’s close?” Teo grunts, I nod.

“Yeah. He is frenzied.” I inform them, which means that he is hyper excited, so no doubt he has just killed someone. “Fuck.”

My brothers follow me.

As we walk, my Reaper perks up, he knows his mark is close. My fists clench at my sides, my chest burns with my Reaper crawling to get out.

“There.” I see him.

The human host is sitting on a bench with an old lady next to him, looking at the ducks. The black shadow that floats around him, that is how we spot them.

They can never hide their true sleeves from Reapers, or other demons. It is only the humans that do not see what we see.

With my gaze focused on him, we move in. we spread out, making sure that we catch him if he runs, because they always fucking run. As we inch closer, his body twitches, he knows that we are close.

A Reaper carries a lot of weight when it comes to lost souls, they know that we will hunt, send you back or kill to protect the human’s topside.

The closer I get, my Reaper gets stronger. My skin gets tight, my chest and lungs burn. The need to send this cunt back into the fire takes over all needs.

He looks up, his gaze meeting mine. He smirks, right before a see a flash of sliver in the sun, then I move. But I am not fast enough, he glides the blade across the woman’s throat.

Blood pours down her front, she gurgles on her down blood, people scream. The cunt runs, and I make chase.

“We have the human.” I hear Milo calling out.

I can feel Otto’s Reaper behind me, my is pushing forward more, but I cannot let him lose until we are away from human eyes.

We follow him through the crowd, and across the street that leads to a dirtier part of Santa Monica. Where tourists go and the police avoid.

“Salimar, stop. You know you won’t win.”

“Oh, but I will, you will never send me back with so many witnesses.” He smarts off, his voice twisted with the human and demon side.

He is right, with civilians only twenty feet away, I can’t risk a full extraction. One wrong move and they’ll see something they can’t unsee. The demon’s pinned between the alley wall and the dumpster, its stolen body flickering like bad static.

The demon knows it.

“Careful, Reaper. One little slip and I tear through every soft little human out there.” you get over the host and demon after years of being a Reaper. So seeing this young kid, look so demonic does not faze me.

“You’re not touching anyone.” My Reaper is pushing forward, with the threat to the humans.

“You can’t send me back without breaking this body. You’re too soft for that.”

Boot steps crunch behind, and I know it I Otto.

“You done talking to it?” he asks, voice low, calm, ancient. “Or you need a pep talk first?”

The demon hisses.

My Reaper in me surges up fast, burning through my veins like molten shadow.

My human form stretches to hold it, but the power pushes forward. My body grows taller, bigger, dark shadows swirl around me, as I lift above the lost soul. Rage, power surges in me, my red eyes glow bright a warning of what is to come.

“No. I am not going back.” He snarls.

Now I’m the thing demons fear, rising to send this one screaming back to Hell.