Prey (26 page)

Alex takes enjoyment in having Zavior right where he wants him. “Well, well, well,” Alex began, “Look at the big bad wolf now. I literally have your worthless life in the palm of my hand,” he added with a smile. “Any last words before I reunite you with your brother?”

“I can’t wait until the day I see you burning in the fires beside me,” Zavior strained to articulate.

Alex pulls Zavior close. With his eyes as black as night, Alex tells Zavior, “You first.”

Alex proceeds to tighten his grip around Zavior’s neck. Zavior’s attempt to loosen Alex’s grip soon comes to a halt when the relentless pressure being applied by Alex causes a loud crack to emanate from Zavior’s neck.

Alex tosses Zavior’s lifeless body aside. He begins to wonder why he got such fulfillment from killing Zavior in the way he did. Alex could’ve taken the shorter route in getting rid of Zavior and just snapped his neck in one quick motion. But for some unexplained reason, he wanted Zavior to suffer. He wanted to torment Zavior just like Zavior tormented him. He wanted to see the fear in Zavior’s eyes.

Alex did all of these things and received a great satisfaction from doing so. That’s when the thought of something he feared most of all floated to the surface of his conscience. Alex remembers everything Zandor told him and it’s now dawning on him that he may’ve been telling the truth. The only assumption Alex can make about why he felt so good after torturing Zavior is because he’s becoming the very thing he despises.

CHAPTER 31

Alex exits the barn and spots Drake in the far off distance, standing over the dead body of the last remaining demon. Drake wipes a mixture of saliva and blood from his mouth and chin, his savage form still noticeable.

As the two near, Drake abandons his beastly appearance, returning to his more acceptable, human façade. The blackness of Alex’s eyes subsides into his pupils, eventually diminishing out of sight, permitting the calm hazel hue of his irises to shine through.

“Was it all you thought it’d be?” Alex asked Drake.

“Even better,” Drake exhaled, unfastening his destroyed watch. “Unfortunately, every pleasurable deed has its setbacks. I see you’re still alive, though. I guess that means you took it to Zavior, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t know how you do it, angel. Zavior had more time invested in Hell than I did. It’s unheard of for anyone, angel or demon, to do what you’ve done.”

Drake observes Alex’s withdrawn demeanor. “Try not to beat yourself up too bad over what happened to Jade, angel. There’s nothing you could’ve done to save her. It was a lost cause the moment Zandor got into the picture.”

“It isn’t over yet,” Alex declared.

“You’d be way out of your league trying to challenge Zandor. You’re better off cutting your losses and going back to Heaven with your tail tucked between your legs. You’ve done all you can do.”

“What are you saying? A demon has Jade, Drake! You know just as well as I do what they’re planning to do to her. You act like you don’t even care.”

“Hey, what the hell do you want me to do about it? The situation sucks, alright? But to go after her would be nothing short of suicide as long as Zandor has her. And so you’re clear, cowboy, Zandor isn’t just a demon…He’s a reaper—one of the purest forms of demons there is. Whenever a soul needs to be found, it’s a reaper that gets sent after it. Zandor’s one of the millions of perfectly trained killing machines that were designed by Satan and cultivated by Hell. The rest of us are just hybrids—evil spirits that have to merge with a human body in order to have a physical presence in this earthly-realm. Zandor, on the other hand, is here in his true demonic form. That amplifies his powers, making him faster and stronger than the rest of us. He has a sense of smell that allows him to locate whoever, whenever, wherever. His defensive skill set is so impeccable that it borderlines precognition. And it’s virtually impossible to hurt him because his body regenerates from any kind of injury almost instantly.”

“You claim to be in love with her, but listen to what you’re saying. We have seven months worth of time to find Jade and devise a plan to save her, but here you are acting like the clock has already expired. What kind of love is that?”

“The kind you’d get from a demon,” Drake stated. “Just because my form of love is different from yours doesn’t give you the right to judge me. I do love Jade, but I’m not willing to risk my life for her. I have bad things waiting on the other side for me, angel. Bad things that I’m in no rush to see anytime soon. I guess you couldn’t understand that concept, though.”

Alex looks at Drake with a telling look in his eyes. It is unclear if Drake is reading the thoughts on Alex’s mind or simply making a guess based off of Alex’s concerned facial expression, but whatever it is, it leads Drake to add, “Or maybe you can.”

“Fine. If you don’t want to help, then don’t. But I made Jade a promise and I plan on keeping it.”

Alex starts to walk off, moving in the same direction that Zandor had taken Jade.

“Wait a minute, angel!” Drake called out.

Alex stops, turns to face him. “What do you want? I have a lot of ground to cover and no time to waste.”

“Your time won’t be wasted. I know where she is.”

“You know?” Alex repeated. “Where is she?”

“A place,” Drake candidly answered. “There’s something you need to know first. Seven months is when Jade will be needed to open the portal, but keeping her here on this planet would be too risky. To ward off any interference from outside parties, it was decided that she’d be harbored in the one place that no angel could get to. It’s a place where even God can’t go.”

“They’re taking her to Hell?” Alex fearfully queried.

Drake nods his head to concur. “The gateway is due to open within the next hour or so. When it does, Zandor will take her through and then no one will be able to get to her—at least not for the next seven months.”

“Wait, that doesn’t make any sense. They only way she can be taken to Hell is if they killer her. But if they kill her they won’t be able to open the portal. The whole thing would’ve been for nothing,”

“You still aren’t getting it. This is a street fight, Alex. There aren’t any rules, regulations, or any referees to keep it clean. Under normal circumstances you’d be right. A person’s human body would have to die first before their soul can be taken to another realm. But these aren’t normal circumstances, are they? Zandor isn’t going to kill her…He’s just taking her to Hell until the day comes around when they’ll need her as a sacrifice. That’s when they’ll kill her.”

“And you knew this all along?” Alex questioned.

“No. I just found out yesterday. I didn’t tell Jade because I didn’t want to freak her out. I was going to tell you, but then you barged in on us like a lunatic.”

Alex wants to lash out at Drake for neglecting to inform them of this crucial information, but he restrains himself because he knows that arguing over spilled milk won’t help Jade’s current situation.

“Tell me where she is.”

“I wish I could, Alex. Really, I do. Thing is, if I tell you where she is that could put a big target on my back. Only thing I’m in trouble for now is disobeying a couple of commands from the boss. Hell has Jade in their custody now, so technically, the boss probably isn’t thinking about my worthless ass anymore. But if I give you Jade’s location, not only would I be a traitor, I’d also be number one on Lu’s shit list. I don’t need or want that kind of heat.”

“Listen to me very carefully, demon,” said Alex in a stern tone of voice. “No more games, no more stories. Either you tell me where Jade is or I’ll send you back to Hell myself…Right here…Right now.”

Drake laughs at Alex’s threat, viewing it as nothing more than idle. “Save your intimidation tactics, angel. You don’t have what it takes to put fear in my heart.”

Without hesitation, Alex’s eyes flame up and just as quickly, the turn a solid black. “I can fix that.”

“Okay, angel. You want a fight? You got it.” Drake’s eyes ignite red. “Just remember, you brought this on yourself.”

After a brief stare down, Alex and Drake rush each other at blinding speeds. When the two meet, Alex effortlessly bulldozes his way through Drake, laying him out flat. Sprawled on the ground, Drake is dumbfounded by Alex’s strength. Irate, Drake gets back to his feet, his true demon form now showing.

With drool oozing freely over his pointy teeth, Drake heatedly says, “Let’s try this again.”

Alex and Drake methodically stalk one another, waiting for the perfect opening to strike. Without warning, the two storm at each other in what looked like a synchronized attack.

When the two meet this time it’s more evenly contested. Drake and Alex exchange punches at will. There’s a lack of defensive presence on both sides, but when either of the two throws a potentially devasting punch, the other makes sure to stay clear of it. Alex and Drake keep up the tiring rate of output for quite a few minutes, and despite how well Alex is matching up against Drake, he’s beginning to feel the effects of fatigue.

With Alex’s energy plummeting, Drake’s swift and precise punches are landing with more frequency. The accumulation of punches is producing a lot of trouble for Alex. Alex is beginning to look like a boxer who’s taken one too many blows and is now feeling their dizzying effects. Alex’s defenses have deteriorated and his offense is nonexistent. He is literally at Drake’s mercy.

Seeing that Alex is staggering, Drake lets up on his merciless assault. “Now if I could do this to you, what do you think Zandor’s going to do?”

Alex shakes his head, desperately trying to refocus his vision.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Drake continued. “I couldn’t give a damn what happens to you, but if I told you where Jade is, that could put me at risk, and that, I can’t allow.”

Drake throws a sharp punch to the side of Alex’s head, knocking him down. Alex raises his torso off of the dirt and settles his weight on his forearms and knees.

“Do yourself a favor, Alex…Stay down.”

Alex ignores Drake’s warning and struggles to get back to his feet. Before Alex can make any significant progress, Drake drops a nasty elbow in the center of his back, flattening him.

“Why don’t you just move on, angel? You have about seven months to admire all the beauty this planet has to offer before it’s ravished. Take in a sunset or two. Try to enjoy yourself while you can.”

“Without Jade, there’s nothing to enjoy,” Alex told Drake, rising back up to his knees and forearms.

“Face it, angel. It’s over. You failed, alright? Let it go. You gave it your best shot. No one can deny you that. It’s just too bad for Jade your best just wasn’t good enough. She put her trust in you and you failed. I can’t really blame you, though. You were doing pretty good until Zandor showed up. It’s just too bad you weren’t good enough.”

Alex has heard all he can stand. Drake’s callous words have hit their mark, infuriating Alex in a way he’s never been angered before. Normally, when Alex is about to fight a golden-ring of flames would form in the center of his pupils and expand across the entire eye, leaving both eyes totally black. But for some unknown reason that process doesn’t occur on this particular occasion. Instead, a miniature explosion erupts in the center of Alex’s eye, creating a ball of flames that doesn’t expand. The fiery ball takes the place of his pupils. The intense flame in each eye causes the surrounding areas of both eyes to heat up so tremendously that the entire eye becomes red-hot.

Alex slowly stands up. Drake can’t see the change that has occurred in him yet because Alex’s back is turned to him. Drake does pick up on a foreign energy he’s never felt before that seems to be radiating off of Alex. He isn’t sure what it is, yet he feels confident in his assumption.

“Okay…” Drake grinned. “Show me.”

Alex turns to face Drake. There’s a look of malice on his face; more hateful than any expression he’s ever manifested. The first thing that captures Drake’s interest is Alex’s dark, red eyes. This is a characteristic only shared by demons, but the golden-flame that’s still burning in the center of his eyes is a characteristic only shared amongst angels. Drake is confounded by the phenomenal occurrence.

Drake gamely accepts Alex’s challenge. “I don’t know what kind of changes you’re going through, but I’m dying to find out what you’re capable of.” Drake takes a hostel stance. “Come on, Alex. Show me what you got.”

Alex takes in a deep breath and exhales, creating a low-level growl. He goes on the attack. Unlike before, Alex’s punches are being thrown in rapid succession, making it incredibly hard for Drake to avoid them all. Alex’s relentless pressure is beginning to overwhelm Drake, creating openings for a lot of damaging punches.

Systematically decimating Drake’s defenses, Alex finally lands a devastating uppercut that lifts Drake off the ground. Alex follows the uppercut up with a straight right hand that heaves Drake back towards the farmhouse, which was a substantial distance away.