The night air chilled Elara as she walked through Centennial Park. The wooden playground loomed in the trees, illuminated by the flickering street lights along the concrete path.

  Plymouth was a calm city at night. Well, it was a calm city whenever. The old lady, Mrs. Evans, at the entrance of Krogers, greeted you with a smile every morning. The Marathon gas station worker at the corner of Jefferson and Oak street waved happily as you drove by.

  It's not a tourist's choice, unlike Culver and Southbend, but yet it was Elara's home. She enjoyed it here. Even if she's only been here for 2 years, this city quickly grew on her. She enjoyed waking up in the morning and seeing her friend at the high school. She enjoyed taking these strolls through the park at night.

  And as she kept walking, she couldn't help but admit that she was where she was destined to be.

  But the snap of a branch made Elara freeze. Her heart spiked, each beat becoming faster than the last. Her eyes searched frantically in the darkened park.

  "Who's there?" She demanded quietly, her hands clenching into fists at her side. "Speak up, damn it!"

  The sound of footsteps sounded, multiple. Oh this wasn't good. Quickly, but quietly, Elara picked up the closest thing she could reach. A stick. Oh, great. What the hell is a stick going to do?!? The scratchy surface rubbed against her palm as she twirled it in her hands as if she was a magician with a wand. This is gonna be embarrassing.

  "I'll give you to the count of 5 to show yourselves! Or...or I'll stab you with this knife I have!"

  5....4…

  All she could hear was the rustling of the oak trees above.

  3...2…

  Her feet planted, her body ready to jolt or spring at any movement or sound.

  1…

  Slowly, a hand slithered onto her shoulder from behind, before gripping hard. With a yelp, Elara pivoted with her foot, her mind going blank. With all her might, she slashed the stick around, jabbing and flinging as the offender yelped and dodged.

  "Elara! It's me! It's me, damn it!" the person called out. She gasped softly before grumbling. She threw the stick at them, which bounced directly off their head and clattered to the cement. He was hunched over, holding his side.

  "God, Zander! I could have killed you!"

  "What? With that flabby stick?" He let out a breathless chuckle. He stood up straight, his hand clutching his side where a little bit of blood was starting to soak his shirt. Whoops.

  "I said it was a knife!"

  "Oh please, you can't even use a plastic butter knife correctly. I doubt you could've done much damage with a real knife."

  In the light, you could really see his features. His light, chestnut hair styled so his curls fell in his eyes; his beautiful, golden brown eyes. His lean body, tensed but relaxed at the same time. And he was tall...overly tall.

  "You're staring again, hermosa." He grinned, winking before lifting his shirt to check on his wound, wiping the sweat off his forehead with it in the process. Elara swallowed hard as his abdomen was revealed. Damn him and those abs. "Ugh, you got me good. "

  She winced softly, shaking her out of her...barely appropriate mind. She had hurt him with the stick, a deep cut and she hated it. "Perdona me, Z. I thought you were some...low life."

  "Thank you?" He smirked, before letting the hem of his shirt fall back down. "Oh, by the way, wipe your mouth...you were drooling."

  "I was not! I was... taking notes for my human anatomy class. "

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  From the dark, another person came out. She had short, silky blonde hair that ended at her shoulders. Her eyes were bright blue, which complemented her and her stereotypical style. Ace.

  "You totes were staring, babes." Ace winked, before laughing softly. She made her way over to Elara, basically strutting while giving her a knowing look. Zander, being the asshole he is, couldn't help but chuckle. It sounded rich and deep from him.

  "Whatever. What the hell are you two doing out at night ?" Elara crossed her arms over her chest as she looked between Zander and Ace.

  "We figured you might want some company. Y'know, walking alone in the park, especially at 1 am, is kinda dangerous." Zander reasoned, shrugging nonchalantly, though the amusement was clear in his eyes, biting his bottom lip.

  "So you thought I needed a knight in shining armor?" Elara countered, grinning now. "Very noble of you.”

  "Oh, princessa. I can be whatever you want me to be." He winked, letting his bitten lip go from between his teeth. The silence stretched on for a while, making the tension palpable. Beats of silence went on, the two just staring at eachother.

  "Ugh, make out already!" Ace groaned, running a hand through her hair. "Seriously, get it over with. I've had to watch you two eye fuck since 8th grade. "

  "You're the worst, you know that?"

  "Besa mi culo," she grinned, her Spanish broken and very tasteless, before walking off. "I learned that in Spanish Class from Santiago. So, you gonna follow or are you two gonna keep flirting?"

  A loud crash sounded from the playground, making every jolt look at the wooden structure. A dark silhouette slaughtered down the ramp, in the direction of them. Instinctively, Zander pushed the girls behind them, taking a defensive position. His hands reached into his pocket.

  "Zander, don't-"

  "Ace, just trust me."

  Then, a park light flickered on, revealing the creature. It was a massive praying mantis type of thing. Its face looked horrifying. 3 eyes, a triangular head, and a wide mouth with flashing, sharp teeth. Its legs, slicked with some type of slime, dragged on as it approached.

  "Girls...go somewhere safe." He gently gripped something in his pocket, though ELara could'nt see what it was.

  "But, Z, you know we can't just glam-" Ace was cut off by Zander's gaze. Ace nodded reluctantly. Cursing under her breath,she quickly grabbed Elara’s arm and ran out of the park. Before they turned to cross Michigan Street, they could hear Zander shout something.

  "Seraphim!"

  A blinding light shot from the park, one that only the two girls seemed to see. The two girl kept running, unable to look back, afraid to see the unbelievable. Or worse, the death of their best friend.

  ++++++++++++++++++++

  As soon as the girls left, Zander's eyes hardened as they settled on the demon. He could feel the runes on his limbs and abdomen burn into his veins. His body felt like it was on fire, like each and every cell was being flames. The demon growled and huffed, its eyes trained on Zander's tatted body. It could smell his blood... His angel blood.

  "Seraphim!" He shouted, and his runes glowed brightly, lifting him from the ground. His eyes glinted, showing a now electrifying blue color. His hand flew out instinctively as an Angel blade forming into my palm. "Belial, by the power of the Celestial Court, you shall be banished back to which dimension you came from."

  The demon roared in frustration, before jolting up, tackling him to the ground. With a thud, Zander landed on his back, the Belial pinning him down. " Damn you!" Saliva dripped down onto Zander's face, burning his skin.

  With a grunt, Zander kicked the demon off of him, sending it flying into a tree. It screeched and whimpered, crumpled on the ground. Its claws grew longer as it stood back up. Before it huffed. First accumulated around it, the wind picked up. Soon, it was in the middle of a tornado, shielding it, shielding it from Zander's view. And then...all stopped abruptly, the dirt fell around it, creating a dusty fog.

  Silence passed the park. It was quiet...too quiet. The only sound was Zander's heartbeat, pumping with the power of Raziel…

  And then, out walked out a human, grinning with a pale face. It was dressed in a suit, a ruffled shirt, and styled hair that hung in his face. His eyes were normal, but gleamed a dark yellow.

  "Zephyrus Lightwing, son of Raziel. Fancy seeing you here," the man sneered, standing about 4 yards away. The flickering park lights made him ominous. His face twisted into the familiar smirk that all of Enoch knew. "You've grown. And got yourself a little girlfriend, I see."

  "Alexander...I see you're back from the grave." Zander sneered.

  "Who says I am?" Alexander taunted, playing with his shirt cuff. "Figured you'd be here given the fact that the Firm never gives up a case. It's a shame." He then paused, glancing behind Zephyr, in the direction where Elara and Ace ran off to. "With a little motivation though..."

  "Don't you think about it." Zander seethed. "The Council will have your head for hurting the Mundanes."

  "Since when am I afraid of the Council. The council should be afraid of me." Alexander countered. “After all, how many of their precious lives did I take?”

  Limping over, Zander raised his Angel blade, eyes hardened with fury and determination. "You deserve to rot down in hell with all the lives that YOU overtook. You were a disgrace to Enoch!"

  Zander slashed down with all his might, slicing. The body fell with a loud thud as blood sprayed everywhere. Only... It wasn't blood...it was Ichor. And it wasn't Alexander...it was a demon.... Shit! Of course, how hadn't he think of it before?

  Zander cursed loudly, retrieving his phone form his pocket. "Arella won't like this..."