I couldn’t win.
I saw the silhouettes of people and slipped off the path to join the shadows. I thought it was demons beating the crap out of someone. Plenty of Underworlders would do that for kicks, but when I heard the voice of the victim, I knew that wasn’t the case.
“I sw- sw- swear I t- told you what I know.” The stutter was easily recognizable as Willy’s and I got the feeling of déjà-vu. Hearing him plead with his attackers made me feel sorry for him. It was only earlier today that I had a blade to his throat, and he still had a shiner from his last run-in with hunters. This guy was having a worse week than I was.
I approached the scene and saw three men taking turns kicking Willy, who was on the ground with his back against a tree.
“Hey,” I said.
All three of them turned and stared at me.
“Keep walking, buddy,” the one in the middle said. “Wait a second. Chase? Chase Williams? Well, I’ll be damned.” It was Brock at the center of this assault.
Brock was a hunter a few years older than me, and a fire elemental. He had always been broad shouldered, but he’d bulked up since I saw him last. His red hair was trimmed into a crew cut over the familiar pale, freckled face. It had several scars, but the one across his left eye was new to me and ruined some of the effect of his bright green eyes.
Brock and I had never gotten along. We both had different ideas about how to get things done. This scene was a good example of the way he did things. The other two hunters were younger than me. I recognized their faces but I didn’t know their names. When I’d been part of the Circle, I never paid much attention to the younger ones.
“Been a long time, Brock,” I said.
“That it has, brother. That it has.”
“I’m not your brother, not anymore.”
Brock’s smirk made his face scrunch up and he gave his half-snort laugh I hadn’t missed.
“That’s right, you’re the son of Riley Williams, exiled by his own father for being a disgrace.” He slugged one of the others guys in a joking way and they chuckled with him. Anger shot through me and I squeezed the blade in my hand.
“Whatcha got there, a knife?” he laughed. “What, you’re saving demons now? Pathetic. You’re still a hunter, Chase, even if you’re not in the Circle.”
“Last I checked, hunters fought evil. They don’t torture the innocent,” I said.
“This…thing is hardly innocent, but you’re right, things have changed. You would know that if you hadn’t come up short,” Brock said.
I took a step towards him and looked over his shoulders at Willy.
Willy’s chameleon skin cycled through different colors, trying to deflect any attention it could away from him, until it found one that let him blend in with the tree. His button-up shirt was torn and his jacket was pushed up above his shoulders. Blood ran from both nostrils, trailed down to a busted lip and dripped off his chin. His left eye was swollen shut.
“If this is what the Circle has become, then I’m happy not to be a part it.”
“Bullshit! You would come back in a second if anybody wanted you,” Brock retorted.
“I took an oath to protect the innocent and so did you.”
“He’s a demon, Chase. We kill them; it’s what we do.”
“Maybe, but this isn’t killing, this is torture, and I won’t stand by and watch it. What did he do to deserve this?”
“He didn’t give me what I wanted.”
I could sense Brock trying to conjure his element and I laughed. “You and I both know you aren’t strong enough to create fire; you can barely control it.”
“Last chance, Chase. Leave,” he said.
“I’d be happy to, but I’m taking him with me.”
“So, being out of the Circle, you’ve turned to the Underworld. That’s weak, brother, but so be it.” He reached behind him and came back with a Zippo. He flipped it open, and as the spark lit I could feel the oncoming heat.
I dropped to my knees and rolled to the right, taking cover
I saw the silhouettes of people and slipped off the path to join the shadows. I thought it was demons beating the crap out of someone. Plenty of Underworlders would do that for kicks, but when I heard the voice of the victim, I knew that wasn’t the case.
“I sw- sw- swear I t- told you what I know.” The stutter was easily recognizable as Willy’s and I got the feeling of déjà-vu. Hearing him plead with his attackers made me feel sorry for him. It was only earlier today that I had a blade to his throat, and he still had a shiner from his last run-in with hunters. This guy was having a worse week than I was.
I approached the scene and saw three men taking turns kicking Willy, who was on the ground with his back against a tree.
“Hey,” I said.
All three of them turned and stared at me.
“Keep walking, buddy,” the one in the middle said. “Wait a second. Chase? Chase Williams? Well, I’ll be damned.” It was Brock at the center of this assault.
Brock was a hunter a few years older than me, and a fire elemental. He had always been broad shouldered, but he’d bulked up since I saw him last. His red hair was trimmed into a crew cut over the familiar pale, freckled face. It had several scars, but the one across his left eye was new to me and ruined some of the effect of his bright green eyes.
Brock and I had never gotten along. We both had different ideas about how to get things done. This scene was a good example of the way he did things. The other two hunters were younger than me. I recognized their faces but I didn’t know their names. When I’d been part of the Circle, I never paid much attention to the younger ones.
“Been a long time, Brock,” I said.
“That it has, brother. That it has.”
“I’m not your brother, not anymore.”
Brock’s smirk made his face scrunch up and he gave his half-snort laugh I hadn’t missed.
“That’s right, you’re the son of Riley Williams, exiled by his own father for being a disgrace.” He slugged one of the others guys in a joking way and they chuckled with him. Anger shot through me and I squeezed the blade in my hand.
“Whatcha got there, a knife?” he laughed. “What, you’re saving demons now? Pathetic. You’re still a hunter, Chase, even if you’re not in the Circle.”
“Last I checked, hunters fought evil. They don’t torture the innocent,” I said.
“This…thing is hardly innocent, but you’re right, things have changed. You would know that if you hadn’t come up short,” Brock said.
I took a step towards him and looked over his shoulders at Willy.
Willy’s chameleon skin cycled through different colors, trying to deflect any attention it could away from him, until it found one that let him blend in with the tree. His button-up shirt was torn and his jacket was pushed up above his shoulders. Blood ran from both nostrils, trailed down to a busted lip and dripped off his chin. His left eye was swollen shut.
“If this is what the Circle has become, then I’m happy not to be a part it.”
“Bullshit! You would come back in a second if anybody wanted you,” Brock retorted.
“I took an oath to protect the innocent and so did you.”
“He’s a demon, Chase. We kill them; it’s what we do.”
“Maybe, but this isn’t killing, this is torture, and I won’t stand by and watch it. What did he do to deserve this?”
“He didn’t give me what I wanted.”
I could sense Brock trying to conjure his element and I laughed. “You and I both know you aren’t strong enough to create fire; you can barely control it.”
“Last chance, Chase. Leave,” he said.
“I’d be happy to, but I’m taking him with me.”
“So, being out of the Circle, you’ve turned to the Underworld. That’s weak, brother, but so be it.” He reached behind him and came back with a Zippo. He flipped it open, and as the spark lit I could feel the oncoming heat.
I dropped to my knees and rolled to the right, taking cover
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