(italics are for telepathy and thoughts)

He wasn’t surprised when he opened his eyes again, but no longer had any control over his body. It was kind of relieving to know what to expect. Zeltis put on Alex’s shoes and a light jacket. Despite it being fall, it wasn’t too chilly yet, but riding on the motorcycle made it a lot cooler than just walking around.

Zeltis made his way to the garage and was about to put up the kickstand when Alex interrupted.

“How do you find these…demons?” He said uncertainly.

“Well, I can sense them. There are actually quite a lot of them, but I just pick the closest one each night.” Zeltis said after a moment. “The one I am tracking right now seems to be moving rather quickly, so I want to go after it before it gets too far away.” He finished with the kickstand, started the bike, and they were off. He spoke telepathically mostly from habit but also cause when he started the bike it would cover up his speech.

“I just have so many questions.” Alex mentally continued, though it was a little harder to concentrate over the noise of the bike and the air whipping over him.

Zeltis laughed back mentally. “I’m sure you do, and perhaps I will eventually tell you everything, but whether I do or not, all depends on my mood. Right now I want to concentrate on tracking my prey.”

Alex sighed and just enjoyed the wind in his face until they finally slowed down. They were in the city park. It wasn’t as big as New York’s central park, but it was rather large.

“Hmm we just went through a barrier.” Zeltis murmured telepathically.

“A barrier? But it doesn’t seem any different.” Alex observed curious.

“Most people wouldn’t see it, but it would drive them away unconsciously. It also keeps people from seeing what is going on inside it, though most people can’t see a demon’s true form anyway.”

“Really? You mean like when that guy turned into a wereworlf? But I saw it.”

“Well, I am inhabiting you, so you can see a lot of things you couldn’t before. You are also somewhat different than most humans.”

“What do you mean by different?”

“Wow, you sure do ask a lot of questions. Didn’t I tell you I wanted to concentrate?”

“I think you just want to change the subject.”

Zeltis was maneuvering through the smaller roads of the park, when he caught a glimpse of two people. The strangers practically flew past, landing not too far away. It was obvious the two were fighting, but Zeltis hadn’t got a clear look at the two, before they were hidden from view again. The motorcycle moved closer to where he had last seen the two, and Alex and Zeltis could finally see them more clearly.

One was a young man that didn’t look much older than Alex, but he was Chinese. He had on a Chinese style button up shirt and loose pants, with the white socks, and black slip on shoes. He had black hair with a long braid that seemed to dance along with his fluid movements. He was carrying an odd looking sword. The handle seemed normal, and had gold tassels hanging from it. But the blade reminded Alex of glass or crystal, and glowed softly.

The other one was a woman. She was wearing a simple blouse and trousers. Her hair was long and white. Her eyes didn’t have any pupils or irises, they were just pure white. Her skin was abnormally pale. She was tall and lean, and moved gracefully to dodge the sword. All this while throwing different types of snow or ice projectiles at the male martial artist.

“I didn’t think an exorcist would get to one of my prey before me.” Zeltis commented offhandedly as he watched the two battle back and forth not too far ahead of them.

“An exorcist?! Those actually exist?” Alex practically shouted inside his head.

“Ugh, keep it down in there.” Zeltis said grasping his head in pain. “It isn’t pleasant for me when you’re so loud. You’re way more aware and energetic than you should be.”

“What do you mean by that?” Alex jumped on that strange comment.

“Um, well nothing. As to exorcists, of course they exist. Demons and ghosts, and most supernatural things exist, so why not exorcists?”

“You’re deliberately changing the subject again, but wait ghosts too?”

“Yeah, quit being so surprised about everything and just get used to it all already. There is a lot about this world most people don’t know or notice, and now you are becoming part of that hidden world.”

The two fighting had moved further again, while Zeltis and Alex were chatting telepathically. Zeltis growled slightly, and drove the bike until they were closer again.

Alex couldn’t help wondering how they hadn’t noticed the bike following them around yet. He guessed they might be a bit too distracted by their battle to notice.

The white haired woman was fast and continuously dodged, or used ice she summoned to block any blows the young man threw at her. He too was fast, able to keep up with her somewhat ethereal and graceful moves. His moves flowed like a dance, as he continued to strike at her. The woman was starting to look a little tired, while the male wasn’t even winded.

“They seemed pretty even at first but now it looks like the woman is losing.” Alex inwardly commented.

“Well she seems like she might be soldier rank but that guy’s ability is at least knight rank, if not more. He isn’t a demon, so it is just my judgment based on his skill.”

“You mentioned rank last time, can you tell me more?”

Zeltis just sighed, making sure to follow the battle and move the bike if the two fighters moved again. “The demon world is all based around power. We have ranked ourselves based on strength, power, and intelligence. There are eight base ranks, each with several levels of power. The demon Lord is the undisputed top. Then there is Arch Demon, of which there are only four. Next is Duke, then count, then Baron, knight, soldier, and commoner. I would rather not continue to give you lessons on Demon affairs when we are watching a battle.”

They watched as the white haired woman threw out her hands and ice spikes shot out in a small spread at the guy. He moved like an acrobat or gymnast, flipping as he used the sword to deflect the spikes away from him. He immediately jumped forward slashing at the woman. She tried to jump back and was sliced on the arm. She screamed but for some reason there was no blood. She grasped her arm and glared at the guy, opening her mouth more, and a blast of cold air and sleet burst out.

The guy crouched down using the sword as a shield, but the cold blast had done some damage. His lips turned a little blue and he was shivering a little. It looked like he grit his teeth, then jumped forward, slashing at her again.

The woman managed to dance away again, since he was a little slower after being hit by her spell. She moved back and forth, trying to shoot ice at his feet. The guy rolled away, just around the corner from where Alex and Zeltis were watching. They could still see, but the bushes around the road and the trees hid the bike if the two fighters happened to look back.

The woman did a small movement and two spear like swords seemed to form around her hands. She was heaving. “Why can’t you just die already!”

“It’s my duty to destroy demons like you.” He said in a heavily accented voice, as he slashed at her. She used the ice swords on her arms to block his slash.

She managed to slice his cheek, and he spun and slashed down diagonally. She hadn’t seen that coming and collapsed on her knees to the ground.

Zeltis shut off the motorcycle, since he didn’t want to be noticed. Then propped up the kickstand, before moving closer to see better. There was no blood or any visible wound, but there was a white mist that drained out from the woman and seeped into the ground. As more of the mist dissipated, the woman’s hair darkened and eyes changed to look more normal. Then her eyes rolled up into her head and she passed out.

“What a waste of Yoki,” Zeltis muttered softly.

“What’s yoki?” Alex wondered.

Alex could feel that Zeltis was rolling his eyes. “It’s basically the soul, or energy of the demon. When I kill the demon I absorb it out of the host. That guy is wasting it. When I absorb it, I gain power from it and become stronger.”

Alex wanted to ask more, but he was distracted when the man sheathed his sword on his back. Then went to pick up the woman and carried her off, jumping away like you see in martial arts movies. Alex would never have believed movement like that was possible, especially carrying someone.

“Where do you think he is taking her? Isn’t she dead?” Alex said instead.

“Man, you never quit with the endless questions. No, she isn’t dead, and I don't know and don't care where he took her. That sword must be a soul sword. Before you ask, a soul sword can only damage a demon, ghost, or other supernatural entity. That’s why it didn’t wound the host. Ugh, I have no more energy so let’s just go home.”

“You aren’t going to try and find another target?”

“There aren’t any low level ones nearby, and your questions have sapped all my motivation. Don’t bother asking anymore cause I won’t answer.”

They moved back to the bike and were soon on the road again. The mood was heavy as they back-tracked the windy road back out of the park and onto the main road. It was almost a relief when more cars were around and the noise of the bike and other cars distracted them. They were still tensely quiet when they pulled into the garage and let the automatic door shut behind them. Barely taking the time to remove the shoes, he flopped down on the bed. He was soon asleep, dreaming normal dreams.

------------

Author's note