The Veil

Chapter 2 - Sloane

"Fuck." I grit out, rolling onto my side. Audible pops sound from my joints as I stretch, causing the sheets to slide down my body. Joints pop as I stretch out in bed, the movement causing the sheets to slide down my body. 
    Konstantine groans in annoyance beside me.
The moonlight streams through the window, casting playful shadows around the room. I got in way too late, I've hardly slept. I sit up onto my elbows as I try to focus on the clock nailed to the wall.
     "Not yet." His arms envelop my waist, pulling me close, and I obediently pull the blankets back up as he maneuvers me snugly against him. 
    "Mm, yes yet." I mock with a smile. 
"Etheria was invaded two days ago." 
    My body stills, "What do you mean, invaded." 
"I figured you would've heard about it?"
     My lips form a tight line, "How bad is it?" 
He replies against my hair, "Bad. About 48 kids were forced into Atlas. We're still trying to house them properly."
     "Looks like I really do need to be going then." I press my lips against his hand that's tucked under my chin. His soft breaths kiss my shoulder and he gives me a gentle squeeze. 
    Turning to face him, I raise a hand and trace a thumb against his cheekbone. 
His eyes flutter open, his long lashes make him look so innocent when we're alone. The feared member of The Veil, shirtless, and pleading in my bed. 
    Soft black waves grace the pillow, I reach to run my hands through the strands and he leans into my touch. 
    "You're a tease." 
"I'm only touching your hair." 
    He gives me an exaggerated nod. "Yes, and that's all it takes."
"Oh, that easy for the ladies, hmm?"
     "Only for you," he says, planting a kiss on my nose.
I ease off the bed, my feet meeting the chill of the floor. Rubbing the palms of my hands into my eyes, I raise my arms above my head in a stretch. My gaze finally focuses onto the clock, it's only been an hour and a half? I groan. 
    "Any news from Lumena?" He props himself up, leaning forward to tuck loose hair behind my ear. I shake my head, "Not much. We still haven't found them, and it looks like they had other plans if Etheria is already breached." 
    Standing against the protest of my legs, I lean to step into my leathers, the thick material forming to my legs.
Konstantine sighs while his eyes rove over my body, flopping back onto the bed with his arms tucked underneath the pillow. 
    "You're so sexy when you're annoyed." I tease, 
"Mm, not annoyed. Horny." 
 

    I scoff, tossing the shirt I held in his direction. He catches it with a laugh, reaching up and grabbing my wrist to tug me toward him. 
"I'll try to be back earlier tonight." My chest rests against his arm, 
    "It's still tonight." 
I give him a playful shake of my head before sliding a hand down his chest, stopping with my fingers feeling his length against his briefs. The tendons in his arms and build flex as he leans into my touch.
     Our faces barely touch as we breathe each other in, my eyes scan his face. 
He groans, nipping at my bottom lip, "Don't play with me, Sloane."
     "I have to go." I whisper, 
"I know." He says softly against my lips. 
    "Say it again." 
His voice vibrates against my skin, skittering shivers down my spine, "Sloane."
     It's my turn to groan as I lean away from him. 
"Tonight, I'll make it up to you." 
He dismisses me with a wave, "I'll just have to jerk myself off." 
    I laugh loudly as I give his chest a playful slap. 
His eyes soften, giving me a reassuring expression, "Go, I know we can't avoid it. Kick some ass."

 

    Wind rustles the leaves of the trees that have taken over Lumena. The moon hangs high in the sky, and my longing for the warmth of my bed intensifies as the air brushes up against my skin.
     My squad stands against the massive gate that leads outside Etheria. 
I wrap my left hand with bandages to support my sore knuckles before letting out a heavy sigh. 
"Head count?" 
    "Eleven Tier Three's." Amity replies. 
I nod, shaking out my arms and rolling my shoulders. 
    Meanwhile, Regis, known as Roe among us, hops between feet before effortlessly splicing around the surrounding area. Cracks in the air mark his movements as he blips in and out of view. His rune comes in handy alongside his massive physique, he's strongest in our squadron physically. He doesn't need a Lumen Stone to splice, which certainly aids him in battle.
     Nethune's jaw tightens as his hands splay at his sides, and liquid-like fire spills from his fingertips onto the ground.
     Amity, claws retracting and extending, casually picks at her nails. "Are we ready? You done showing off, Roe?"
     Regis materialises in front of Amity with a gust of air, giving her a playful shove to her shoulder. 
Most of us have donned nicknames over the years. Regis being Roe, Nethune being Nez. I can't remember when the habit started. 
    "If I'm not slaughtering Revs in less than 5 minutes, I'm going to become angsty," he declares.
"And you're not already?" Amity retorts with a smirk on her lips.
     According to the history books, Revenants have been plaguing Eldara for as long as we have documented records of. These demons appear in various different forms. 
    Tier Three, docile and simple demons. If any demon can be called simple. They're more annoying, akin to mosquitos. They seem to be the most frequent Revs we come across in Lumena.

Tier Two Revs, more complex and displaying  some common sense, provide a fun challenge but usually only require a small team to handle. 
    Then there are Tier Ones.
Tier Ones are bitches to deal with. Most are capable of speech and complex thinking, and they revel in toying with their prey. 
    Which unfortunately for us, is what we are to them. Prey. 
Revs don't adhere to a specific form, some appear ghost-like, wispy and transparent in their own way.     With slacked mouths, revealing their black flesh. 
    The worst are Tier Ones that assume the guise of humans. Last year Nev received a nasty flesh wound when he mistook a Rev for a lost child. 

I cast my gaze across the forest, the trees shadows dancing with the moonlight. "Alright." I stand, stretching my arms above my head and making a show of yawning before splicing into the woods. Cracks sound behind me, accompanied by Roe's plaintive complaint, "You never let us go first!", "You never let us go first!"
"Quit your whining, you sound like a child," Amity retorts sharply. 
Suddenly, flames streak past us like the snap of a whip, swiftly downing a Rev that had been snarling toward us. Nev glides forward effortlessly, unleashing another fiery lash that severs the arm of another demon.
Roe deftly draws a reaper from its sheath at his side, releasing the safety clasp with a fluid motion before disappearing from sight. In a blink, he reappears behind a Rev, aiming the reaper at the back of its head. With a deafening snap and a blinding flash of white light, the reaper sends its lumen stone hurtling through its barrel. The demon's hands claw frantically at the back of its head before its flesh begins to peel away, its head splitting in two as it collapses to the ground.
Amity lunges, claws slicing up a Revs face--eliciting a high-pitched scream that sends shivers down my spine. With a swift motion, she tears out its throat, silencing the gruesome noise.
I feel the energy of my squad wriggling under my skin. Fire rips itself free from my fingertips as Nethunes' rune responds to an unspoken question.  The energy crackles through my veins, becoming an extension of myself. Three Revenant peel away from the canopy of trees and into my line of sight. 
"There you are," I hum, striding forward a few steps before coming to a halt, allowing them to drift closer. 
With an extension of my arm, I mimic the shape of a reaper with one hand and close one eye to take aim,
"Bang," I whisper, as tendrils of flame erupt from my pointed finger, piercing each demon's forehead with fiery precision, loose strands of my hair whip away from the force. Their ethereal forms crumble to the ground with a howl of defeat. 
    As I turn, my gaze falls upon Roe, who deftly tears the head from another Revenant.
Soon we all stand together once more. The ashen bodies of demons sizzling like extinguished camps as the last of their essence falls away. 
Amity hums with satisfaction, "Drinks on you, Sloane." 
"Fuck no. I'm going back to bed." I adjust the wraps on my hands before releasing my hair from its band. 
Roe claps me on the back, "You mean back onto Konstantines di-" My hand claws his, twisting his wrist backward with a sharp yelp escaping his lips.
 

"Nev owes you guys this time anyways." I smirk.
Nev looks up from relacing his boots, shaking his head in disbelief. "Choosing to use my powers this fight doesn't mean I owe you drinks. That doesn't make any sense." 
We share a laugh, and I convince them that I'll be present for the next trip to the Castles Brewery. 
"Have Heil check the walls in the morning. Let's make sure the Revs don't get so close next time." The three of them nod in agreement and I splice myself into my dorm.

      The clock reads 4:38 and I collapse into my bed. Posted on night jobs isn't so bad, except when it interferes with my training. And my love life. My stomach growls, reminding me of my neglected appetite. I groan and roll over onto my stomach, slipping my hands underneath my pillow.