I apologize for the lateness ov this chapter. A lot of thing have happened. Anyway, here she is! Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it!
Darc
Chapter 8: Vincent Fenway, the Amorous Demon Slayer
The two sat on Cal's bed five minutes later, each very naked. Cal wrapped his arms around Althea as both leaned against the wall for support, the gentle light from his bedside lamp illuminating the room nicely. Althea massaged Cal's right thigh gently, luxuriating in the feeling of Cal's love pulsating through her. "Tell me about the war on the Astral Plane, Calvin of the Divine Soldiers. . . ." she whispered lovingly to him as his hands held her tightly. A clap of thunder sounded from outside, and several large pellets of rain splattered against Cal's window.
Sighing, Cal thought about where to begin. "I suppose you could say that Evan was the man to blame for my involvement in the Battle of Aukos... This all started some four years ago, when Evan and I first met at the end of eighth grade. See, I'm in twelfth grade now, and it's been about four and a half years since we knew each other. . . ."
Althea nodded silently, enraptured by Cal's gentle voice. "Ahh. . . ." she said, nodding. Sighing, she snuggled up to him and closed her eyes, wanting to use her mind's eye to picture this.
"Anyway, during the first week of summer, I went over to his house and met his parents, Duane and Giselle. . . . Nice people, they are. Anyway... I found out Evan was also a martial artist, in the martial art of Tae Kwon Do. We had several sparring matches, but that first one proved that he was out of practice, for I countered every move he could throw at me, even going so far as to catch one of his kicks and throw him into a large and spiky pile of sticks ten feet away. . . ."
"Ooch! I bet that hurt!" Althea said happily, despising Evan with her entire being.
"That's what he said after he crawled out of the sticks. . . . Anyway, we continued to come over to each other's house, training and sparring together until one day, when a renegade spirit possessed me and sent me after him, trying to kill him. . . ." Cal said, thinking about how he had regretted that day ever since. "Well, anyway, the spirit called himself `Menteseiko', and he was never able to defeat Evan. However, Menteseiko did manage to inflict quite a bit of damage to Evan, even dislocating his left ankle. Evan managed to defeat Menteseiko by firing a blast of his negative ki energy at him, putting him down. He then channeled his holy energy into his punches and kicks, beating the demon out of my body. The creature fled and left us with our lives.
"That is when, after Evan dragged me into his room for I was unconscious, paralyzed, and very beat up, he told me about what happened. At first I didn't believe him. I thought he was just some crackpot who didn't have anything better to do than fantasize about stuff like this. You know, being involved in a war between Heaven and Hell. He had somehow unlocked me or some latent energy within my soul. But then, I started to believe it. I don't know why, probably because I wanted to be involved in something greater than my own pathetic existence. To this very moment, the answer to this question still seems to elude me."
Althea nodded, knowing where he was coming from. "I see. . . . I've always wanted to be involved in a big adventure like that which you're involved in too. . . ."
"Yes. That's the problem with reality, isn't it? It's too real," Cal said lightheartedly, smirking and looking down lovingly to Althea. She returned the gaze. "Anyway, several months later, I believe it was during Christmas Break in my freshman year, Evan and I went up onto the Astral Plane. That is where I learned the depth of my abilities. That is why I'm able to jump up so high in this plane, because I keep a constant link with my astral self. That means that I retain several abilities down here that I have up there. Whereas up there I can fly, down here I can jump really high. I can also channel my energy and power my attacks, heal myself of minor injuries, et cetera. But, most of that is Haragei, or using one's energy to help or destroy people. Not necessarily the type of attacks I use up on the plane."
Althea nodded. "I can use magic. I just don't know how to use it all yet. It's sort of a reflex as of right now. . . ."
"Yes. You used telekinesis to rip Monosaya out of Evan's grasp. Thanks. . . . Anyway, around the beginning of my tenth grade year, I met Aria. She and I went to biology together, and she was the one to break the ice, rather sardonically, if I do say so myself. . . ." Seeing Althea's questioning look, he added, "See, we were dissecting worms and I wasn't saying much. I'm the quiet type at school. And, well, she asked me to hand her the scalpel, which I replied, I would in a second.' She growled and said, Stop being condescending, Cal.' Eventually, I got through with the incisions I had to make and I let her have the scalpel. She thanked me and began carving up the worm. Later that day, I caught up with her and asked her what she meant, me to quit being condescending.
"She sarcastically laughed and said, Well, you are condescending, Cal.' I then asked her how she knew my name. She answered, I knew your brother, Cloud.' And thus, we became friends from that day forward, until well, you know. . . . And we made amends tonight. . . ."
Althea nodded happily. "I'm glad you two are friends again. Some of your pain went away with this new bond you two formed tonight. . . ."
Cal kissed her on her forehead and smiled lovingly at her. "Yes, I'm glad we're on friendly terms again too. . . . But, you'll still be the closest to my heart." Althea sighed and gently brushed the side of Cal's face with her wings, a loving gesture that could only be experienced by having a demoness for a lover. He hugged her around her waist tightly. "I'm never gonna let you go! I love you too much!"
"I'll never abandon or betray you, lover. I love you so much it hurts!" Althea moaned as she passionately kissed him on the nose and then the lips. Cal kissed her back, equally as passionately.
Smiling, Cal gently pulled back. "I love you too. . . . Anyway, back to the story. Roughly around early December of my sophomore year, things started happening to me. I'd get these outbursts of rage that I couldn't control. Eventually, I think around December tenth, these outbursts started to gain sentience. It eventually manifested in school when I got in a fight with this bastard named Larry. This new sentience of mine called itself `Darkside', and it was all I could do to keep this demonic presence from killing the poor bastard.
"Darkside's power is unimaginable when he gets pissed off. From what Evan told me when he first encountered Darkside, he had the power to lift up vehicles and use them as weapons. I'm not talking bicycles or anything. I'm talking vehicles like my jeep or even buses! Evan told me he lifted up the local citifare bus and swatted him with it multiple times, each time sending him at least through one or more of the buildings from downtown." Seeing her shocked expression, Cal added, "I was arrested for this incident. The only reason I was let out was because Evan wasn't killed and my father paid for my bail."
Althea gasped. "Good lord! What happened to Evan?" she asked breathlessly, anticipating the answer.
"He crashed into a secretary in one of the office buildings he caromed through, breaking his back and her hip. Oh well, shit happens when you're fighting in a holy war, neh?" he asked happily. Althea smiled sheepishly. "Heh. Yeah, I was the hot new story amongst the people in the Juvenile Detention Center. Needless to say, Dad was pissed at my behavior and wanted to leave me in there to rot. But he didn't. He dragged me back to mom, because at that time, they were still living together. I did get the lecture of my life for this incident, though. . . . I found out in early January that Aria too was involved in this war. She had been involved in it involuntarily for six years, reflexively projecting up to the Astral Plane almost every night to live her secret life as a demon slayer up there with Evan and I. Then we met James. He too was involved in this, but he was a demon knight. He switched sides after fighting Evan in a very grueling, exhausting battle that nearly killed both of them. Because of their formed alliance, I became James's friend as a byproduct of his and Evan's friendship.
"Because of Darkside's sudden appearance, I kept getting possessed and sent after my friends. I even tried to kill Aria with Monosaya. Luckily, Evan stopped me. It's one of the few instances where he was actually a true friend since the end of ninth grade. . . ." Cal added as an afterthought. "That is when they discovered that I was a dark Divine Soldier with the innate energy signature of Shadow. This is rare because nearly all Divine Soldiers, or D.S.'s for short, have innate energy signatures of Light, Fire, Ice/Water, Thunder/Wind, or Life/Earth. Hell, even Jim the Demon Knight has an innate signature of Fire, not darkness or anything like that. And he used to work for Satan!"
"Say, what's the difference between a Darkness energy signature and a Shadow energy signature?"
Cal thought about this for a second. "The difference between Darkness and Shadow is, with shadows, they are invisible and not completely black with evil. Darkness is nearly evil. It is the middleman between simple anger and apocalyptic hatred. All dark D.S.'s to date have become minions of Satan. I used to be a dark D.S., until they classified me as having a Shadow energy signature, not a Dark one."
Althea nodded, understanding what he was saying. Thinking about it for a moment, she then asked, "Say, Cal, what would you say my energy signature is?"
Cal put his hands on top of her head gently and closed his eyes, concentrating on sensing her energy. It was heavy and vibrant, sort of like being submerged in ice-cold water. He opened his eyes and looked down at her, smirking. "If I'm not mistaken, I'd say your energy signature is possibly either Water and Ice, or something I've not encountered before. . . . I'll have to look into this. Water and Ice signatures are never that heavy. It's like a cross between Water/Ice and Life/Earth. Anyway, with Darkside's manifestation, he kept getting me in trouble. I've almost killed a lot of people. I probably would have, had I not known what was going on.
"Finally, around May in my sophomore year the beast Aukos appeared. It was very weak and we didn't notice it until about late June. And not a moment too soon, because we had to train almost nonstop the entire summer for the final battle against it."
"Cal? Why didn't you kill it right away if it was so weak?" Althea asked curiously, leaning back into his embrace happily.
Cal reached over to grab his water bottle. Chugging half of it down in one gulp, he then said, "Well, love, if we tried to break its chrysalis too soon, we'd have been no match for it. It was feigning its weakness through the chrysalis. If it hatched too soon, we would have been powerless to stop it. But, I think that's what it wanted us to do: set it free earlier than it was able to hatch. So, we let it mature. Meanwhile, we trained our arses off because we had to be in tip-top shape. Basically, the only time we stopped training was to eat, sleep, or use the bathroom. Evan and I sparred up on the plane nightly, and Aria and I sparred down here when we could see each other. I'm sure the six hundred thousand others that went into battle with us did the same, but still they died against Aukos' onslaught of blood. Over five hundred thousand of us were killed against him. Evan, Aria, James, and myself plus about five thousand other lucky survivors made it out of the battle. The majority of those killed were killed because Evan wouldn't stop to help heal them. Aria and I saved all that we could, and that was about three thousand of them. All of them, lying on the battlefield up on the plane, bleeding and either screaming for a quick death or already dead. . . .
"Evan led the final charge into Aukos' territory and together, he, James, Aria, and myself slew Aukos. I was the one to deliver the final blow that killed the beast, though Evan says he was the one to do it. And since then, my friends and I were relatively close, all until about a month, perhaps two months ago, when the shit hit the fan between Evan and I. Aria left a month later and that brings us up to right now."
Althea nodded contemplatively, assessing the situation she and Cal were both involved in now. "Evan is a demon, a creature of darkness now, right?" she asked as she cuddled up into his loving embrace.
Cal shuddered at the thought. "Yes. . . . He is my new enemy, now that he's revealed himself. . . . If you hadn't ripped the sword from him like you did, Althea, I probably would be dead. . . . Not that I'm afraid of it, but I don't want to be killed by Evan's hand. If anything, I'd want either you or Aria to do it. . . ." He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Now, it is time for sleep. We've both had quite a shock, neh? You need to rest to rejuvenate your strength. . . . We have a big day tomorrow."
"Why is that?" Althea thought, putting what he had just said in the back of her mind to brood on later.
"Because I'm going to go train for this new threat tomorrow, and I want you to come with me. I could use your company. . . ." Cal said truthfully. He then snuggled up to Althea and sighed contentedly. "I'm anxious about what this could bring. Evan is a formidable enemy, and I know that in my present state, I can't kill him. . . . I'll need to train to slay this new demon." Cal rested his head gently on Althea's right breast and closed his eyes. He turned out the light with a click from his fingers. "I want to train to protect you and Aria and all the ones I love that Evan now threatens. With my sword, I'll defend everyone if I must. . . . I love you too much to let that swine strike you down."
Althea smiled and looked out the window as she gingerly stroked Cal's head, which rested on her chest. A fork of lightning was visible outside and then the tumultuous claps of thunder that made the very ground shudder cracked through the air. Gems of rain then started showering down from the heavens, splattering against the windowpane quietly. Cal's slow breathing soon became hypnotic, and she sighed contentedly against the silken bedclothes and pillows, holding Cal tight to her. I don't want to be killed by Evan's hand. If anything, I'd want either you or Aria to do it, she echoed in thought as she thought about what Cal told her. Cal, I'd never do it. . . . I'd join you rather than kill you. . . Another crack of thunder and lightning illuminated the windowpane and reverberated throughout the predawn ambience. Althea closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, too tired to think any further about what was going on.
Saturday morning came excruciatingly early for Althea as Cal woke up and got his ninja gi on. He made a few calls and then came back to wake her. Gently rubbing her side with his coarse, callused hands, he whispered in her ear, "Althea, wake up! It's time to get your gear ready! We're picking Miranda up and meeting Aria there. She says she met someone who can help both of us at her party last night, so let's go!"
"Mmf. . . . Wh, what ti, time is it?" she mumbled, sitting up and failing to stifle a yawn.
"Seven thirty!" Cal said enthusiastically. He tickled her taut stomach. "Come on! We've a big day ahead of us!"
Giggling at his manic enthusiasm for meeting his friends at wherever they were going, she smiled and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "Okay, lover, I'm waking up, I'm waking up!" she said humorously, yawning and squinting in the intense morning sunlight that filtered through the rain-shiny window. Beads of dew glistened on the blades of grass outside, and birds were merrily chirping their morning songs. Yawning once more, she then asked, "Say, where are we going?"
Cal looked back and smiled pleasantly, "To the Devil's Backbone rock strata. As I've said before, it's an ideal place to train. While preparing for the Battle of Aukos, I spent most of my time there, training either solo or with Aria or Evan."
Althea nodded and got her black robe-toga on, tying her golden sash around her waist tightly. Getting her boots on, she smiled to Cal as he tied his belt around his waist and knotted it. "Ready when you are, love!" she said happily, stretching out her wings.
Sliding his katana through his belt, he looked back at her and smiled, grabbing a headband and tying it around his forehead. His somewhat shaggy dishwater blond hair fell over the fabric of the headband, partially covering his eyes and giving him a very formidable appearance. He smirked. "I'm ready!" And so, they walked up the stairs, Cal wrote his mother a note saying where he'd be and when he might be back. That finished, Cal grabbed two water bottles for them and they left for his jeep.
Miranda was waiting for them when they pulled into her driveway five minutes later. She had quickly dressed herself in a pair of tight and frayed blue jeans and a ragged t-shirt. She smirked when she saw the two. "So, this is what one would call training clothes, huh?"
"Yup! Saddle up, kid, we're going into the badlands!" Cal said happily, motioning for her to hop in. She opened the door and hopped in, moving Cal's katana over.
"Say, Cal, when d'you expect we should be back? I told Mom I'd be home around five o'clock tonight. . . ."
"Yeah, that's roughly the time I expect we should be back. So, what say we go meet up with Aria and get meals to bring into the badlands with us, neh? You know, for lunch?" And so, they drove to the nearest McDonalds and picked up their lunch and some extra food, in case Aria didn't bring something along or if one of them was still hungry after his or her meal was finished. They then headed out to meet up with Aria and this new person at the Devil's Backbone.
The drive was surprisingly short, only about forty-five minutes altogether. Aria waited at the entrance to the rock strata in her cherry-red sportscar and a new face leaned against the steering wheel of a tall, silver Ford F-150. He wore black insectoid-like sunglasses and had unkempt, spiky black hair. Getting out of his jeep, Cal walked to the two and hugged Aria. "Hi," she said happily, returning his hug. "How was your trip?"
Cal shrugged. "It was reasonably short. Miranda and Althea are in the jeep. How was your trip? No trouble, I hope?"
"No. Had a hard time getting Fen outta bed, but other than that, no problems," Aria said, gesturing behind her at the man in the truck. "But, I can't bring my car up this trail. The rocks would destroy her!" she said exasperatedly.
Cal smiled and chuckled. "That's what I figured. Don't worry, though. We have plenty of room in my jeep for you." He then looked at Fen. "Why don't we go talk to him?"
Aria nodded. "Sure, he's the guy I told you about. You know, the one that can help us against the demon we're training to slay."
"Yeah. Evan's not going to last long against all three of us!" Cal exclaimed.
Aria sighed. "That creature isn't Evan anymore. It's an imposter. And, by the way, don't you mean the four of us?"
"No. I'm not allowing you or Althea to fight against him. I don't want you guys to get hurt." Cal walked over to meet this Fen. "Hey, there. I'm Calvin Lillehammer." He outstretched a hand to shake. Fen just looked down at it and nodded. Cal withdrew it, slightly offended. "And you must be the person Aria told me about, neh?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Name's Vincent Fenway, but everyone call's me Fen. Aria over there asked me to help you guys out against a pesky demon, so I said I would." He looked Cal up and down, then said, "The hell're you wearing?"
"It's his ninja uniform, Fen," Aria said, coming up to Cal and smiling. "He's a martial artist. Didn't I tell you?"
"Must've forgot. . . ."
"Yeah. Whatever," Cal said, not really liking this Fen guy too much. "Well, I know where we're going, so just follow me, neh?"
Fen nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Who elected you to be my wet-nurse?" he grumbled. Cal gritted his teeth as he resisted the urge to smack Fen in the mouth with the back of his hand for saying that.
Aria followed Cal and hopped into the back, next to Miranda. Cal looked back. "Say, Aria, did you bring a lunch?" he asked.
Aria shook her head. "No, I thought we would be back by noon. . . ." she said testily.
Cal laughed good-naturedly. "Ah, no worries. We bought you something in case you didn't bring a lunch. Hope you like a couple cheeseburgers and fries. . . ."
Aria smiled. "Gee, thanks. Did you get something for Fen?"
Cal scoffed sadistically. "Psht! You think I'd waste money on some barbarous, rude cretin like him?! You know me better than that!"
Aria smiled and nodded. "Hmm. . . ." She looked to Miranda. "Hey there, kid. Why're you here?"
Miranda said nervously, "I, I'm here be, because I want to help Cal take down Evan . . . m, ma'am. . . ."
Aria smirked. "You don't have to be frightened of me, you know." The jeep went over a tremendous bump and Miranda quickly caught the McDonalds bag that contained their food before it spilled its contents all over the floor. "I won't bite." She extended her hand in a gesture of friendship. Miranda meekly took it and squeezed it gently. "See, that wasn't so difficult, now was it?"
Miranda's face relaxed. "We're friends, then?" she asked happily.
"You bet. We gotta stick together if we're gonna take Evan down, you know?" she said lightheartedly. Another tremendous bump rocked the two in the back seat, and for a moment, the jeep itself was airborne.
Cal looked back at Aria and smirked. "So, Aria, tell me about Fen. Why the blue hell does he want to help a ragtag motley crew like us anyway?"
Aria shrugged. "He came up and tried to hit on me after you guys had left. When I told him I was already taken, he shrugged and said that he saw what happened outside on the front porch. That is when he introduced himself as Vincent Fenway and offered to help us. He seemed very good-natured last night when he explained that he was an Earth-Plane demon slayer. . . ."
Shrugging, Cal nodded. "Yeah, but what's he doing here in this backwater settlement in northern Nevada?! I thought all the fun, powerful demonic activity happened in the slums of large cities like LA or Las Vegas, or something!"
"He said that a lot of demons have been showing up around here, including Althea and a demon he hasn't been able to track down and kill. This demon has been eluding him for quite some time, and it's a demoness, like Althea only in the form of a frail, innocent-looking fourteen-year-old girl." Miranda looked away, preparing to dive out of the jeep if Aria continued with assessing what this demoness looked like.
"Yeah. . . . I'll have to interrogate him when we get there. Shouldn't be long now. . . . Only about ten more miles along this trail and then we have a teensy bit of a climb. But, if you wish, I'm sure we could beg Althea to help us out. She can use some magic, and perhaps she can use a blast of wind to hoist us up over the cliff." Cal looked pleadingly to
Althea, who grinned mischievously and nodded.
Aria glanced once more at Miranda. "Say," she began. Miranda froze with fear. "I never noticed this, but you have glowing eyes. . . ."
"Yeah. . . . That's what everyone says," she said uneasily, a sheen of sweat breaking out on her forehead. She didn't talk or look at Aria the rest of the trip.
Thirty minutes later, they had stopped at the base of a large cliff, the same one that Cal and Althea witnessed their sunset at. Cal shut off the jeep and got out, walking over and chivalrously opening Althea's door for her and then walking over and getting his katana out. He tied it so it clung to his back and then winked at Althea. "Say, love, hand me the ropes there, please?" Althea handed them to him. Grinning, Cal looked at Aria and Miranda. "I'll go up first and tie the ropes so you guys can just pull yourselves up, okay?"
Aria shrugged. "Man, this training spot is really out of the way, isn't it?"
Cal nodded. "Yes, it is. It's this way for a reason. I'm not telling you why until you make an educated guess." With that said, Cal hopped up onto the first of many outcroppings that led to the top. Using all of his strength, he leaped up to an alcove in the cliff wall and grabbed the ledge of it, sliding in. He then took a running start and leapt off of the ledge, grabbing a tree root and swinging upward. At a height of about a hundred and fifty feet, he would have surely died if he lost his grip and fell. But, that wasn't the case, as would be proven when he swung over the ledge of the cliff by this lone tree root and landed on the top. He looked down and saw that Fen had shown up. Waving, he tied the ropes around the base of the tree on top of the cliff, making sure it would stay tight. He then threw the rope down. It fell short of the ground by about five or ten feet.
Down below, Fen walked up to Althea and eyed her both libidinously and suspiciously. "Hello, ma'am," he said awkwardly. "Name's Vincent Fenway, but you can just call me Fen. Everyone does. . . ." He extended a hand to shake hers. She looked down at it and nodded, not touching his hand. He withdrew it, somewhat awkwardly. "So, what's yer name?"
Stretching out her wings, she knew this human had a thing for her, so she decided to exploit it. She thrust her chest out obscenely to him, stretching out her back and arms and wings. Moaning as if in the throes of an orgasm, she looked seductively into his eyes and said, "My name is Althea. . . . So, you and your big . . . sword . . . are going to help Cal and I slay Evan?" She pouted her lips and shot him a pair of puppy-dog eyes.
Fen blushed behind his insectoid-like black glasses and biker vest and gloves. "Uh. . . . Yeah. . . . So, Althea, how long you been on Earth?" he asked, somewhat uneasily.
"Well, my lover Cal found me along the side of the highway about twenty miles that way," she said, pointing west. "Cal's such a nice man. . . . I couldn't let him fight his once best friend alone, so I volunteered to help kill the demon."
Fen nodded. "Ah. . . . Me, I hunt demons all over the world. I've been to places like New York City, London, Frankfurt, Stockholm, even so far as reaching Beijing and Kyoto. . . . I'm here hunting a demon called Yoko-Moriyokani. She's a demoness like yourself, but about perhaps four years or so younger. Rumors say there's a freshman at your high school that claims she's a demoness, and some high bidders wish to see her erased. So, here I am. Your pesky demon problem is also on my list, so I decided that I'd help ya!" He brushed the back of his hand against the side of her face. "For a nominal fee, I could kill the creature if you wish. . . ."
Aria walked up to the two and smirked. "C'mon, Fen, no harassing Althea. We've gotta get up there. . . ."
Miranda had already started climbing, but she wasn't very good at it and it was tedious work for her. Sighing, she decided to use the rope as a lifeline and bounded from outcrop to outcrop all the way to the top. When she reached the ledge, she grasped it as hard as she could, but she wasn't strong enough and the loose soil came apart in her hand. She began to fall as Cal ran and caught her by the wrist, hauling her over the ledge to safety. "You okay?" he asked as he brushed her off.
"Yeah. Thanks, Cal. . . ." she said happily. Looking over her shoulder at the drop-off, she shivered involuntarily. "Gosh, there probably wouldn't be much left of me had I fallen, huh?"
Cal chuckled quietly. "Nah, there wouldn't be enough of you to put in a toothpaste tube!"
Two minutes later, Althea flew up there, hauling Aria with her. Fen was the last to get up to the top of the cliff, taking quite a while to scale the cliff. However, when he crawled over the edge of the cliff, he was as smug as ever, carrying a large knapsack that was strapped over his right shoulder. He got up and brushed his hair out of his eyes and smirked. Setting the knapsack down, he opened it and pulled out a four-foot long steeply curved Persian Shamshir scimitar. He twirled it in his gloved right hand and slid it in its scabbard, and then tied the scabbard to his thick black leather belt. "Okay, now that I have your attention, let me get down to business." His sunglassed eyes darted to Cal and he grinned. "You, ninja boy." He motioned for him to draw his katana. "Show me what you got!"