I was getting lazy. If not for Grex, I'd be sleeping late every morning. The game of zap the alarm had changed to time dilate it, which meant it couldn't keep accurate time. With Grex sent away at night that meant that I could snatch an extra five minutes. Of course, that meant that Karen ended up waking me by pounding on my door, but who cared? With a robe on, no one saw what I wore, or how disheveled I looked. Furthermore, all any civilian saw was the robe in any case.

I worried in the back of my mind; I felt as if my humanity was slipping away, piece by piece. I had wings, for craps sake. Wings I hid and jealously guarded, but I knew they were there. Even worse, the urge to use them struck me at odd times, and was getting stronger. Socializing with regular people in the last month had only gotten harder; the only bright spot on that front was through my new gaming console.

Online, in multiplayer games, no one cared who you were; they just cared how well you could play.

There hadn't been any new demon incidents, on or off my shift. Something I was grateful for, but the monotony was killing me. At least I had more spare time now; too bad that I still didn't know what to do with myself. I was even running out of primers to read.

I didn't want to think too hard about that; when I did the amount of mystical bullcrap in my head made it swim.

This morning, however, I woke up early. It was a Friday, and I had work. The clock was somehow accurate even though I had used my power on it the night before; I knew because my own powers had either increased or gained focus, or whatever they had done. I could now accurately tell the time, even half asleep. Somehow, I could also tell where I was in regards to the world, even underground. Some sort of mystic GPS or something. It was currently 6:56:27.

I had about 15 minutes until Karen showed, wanting breakfast. I'm not sure when my kitchen became the local diner for her, but it had. I shut the alarm off and got up, resisting for once, the siren song of my bed. No matter how lazy I wanted to be, I wouldn't be able to do anything until Monday, which oddly enough, was my day off next week. I had to go from the end of my shift directly to the base for my weekend beat down.

My squad were all short timers now. Soon, they would be shipped off to wherever it was decided to send them, and then the dying would begin. Just hanging out in base getting trained, I'd already seen my fair share of flag draped caskets; many of which were actually empty, or nearly so. The coffins of summoners were always black, the ones for enlisted always brown, and both were usually latched shut with tiny intricate polished aluminum latches in order to keep anyone from accidentally opening them and getting a look at just what was left inside.

Soon enough, some of the people I've trained with, perhaps many of them, would be experiencing the same thing. That realization was just now striking home; I'd known it mentally for some time, but emotionally was something else entirely. Heavy thoughts sucked in the morning.

I showered, slowly waking up. The shower and fatigues were routine now; it was amazing what one could get used to. I finished just in time to open the door for Karen, who had her hand raised to knock. She must be feeling polite today. Well either that, or the new door wards I had placed were working, stopping her from just picking the lock and coming in. She still needed to teach me how to do that.

I worked on coffee while she closed the door.

“What, no breakfast?”

“There are waffles and pop tarts in the fridge. Help yourself.”

Karen made a show of looking around.

“What, no Grex?”

She didn't take me up on the offer; so I got my own pop tarts and threw them in the microwave. With the coffee still brewing, I abused the automatic cut off feature to pour me a cup. Karen could get her own.

“Nope. Trying to break bad habits. I'm getting too lazy, depending on Grex too much. Going to try and go cold turkey today, and see what happens.”

Karen cocked her head and stared at me in clear disbelief.

“What? I can do it.”

I could clearly hear the questioning note in her voice.

“Sure you can, Snow; sure you can.”

She poured her own cup then sat down, snagging a pop tart from my plate. I shrugged; I could always steal some donuts from the desk sergeant; he wouldn't say no. He wouldn't say anything, in fact. I wasn't even sure he used the chip in money I put into his jar. I fought down the urge to ask with every donut I snagged, so far successfully. He for sure didn't take any requests; there were no twists or bear claws in the assortments, ever.

“So, what's on tap for you today?”

“More sitting on my butt at the office. It's not my day to drive around, and Chuckles wouldn't trade.”

Chuckles was one of ours, known for his trademark laugh. It was part Hyena, part hound of Tindalos. What driving around meant most of the time, was listening to my music on my phone or stopping off at various fast food joints or parks; the team in the vans often did more lazy things than those at the office; it was a coveted position that was well fought over.

The things no one tells a newbie; I traded my first few shifts of that in order to watch streams with Cords. It was preferable; at least it was in the sunshine and fresh air. Usually when Judge drove, there was exercise, as he knew all sorts of nice out of the way spots within the city to stop and stretch one's legs.

I shouldn't be so uncharitable; hanging out with Cords was nice. He had become even more witty lately, while still not being pushy; it was pretty obvious to me now that he not only had it, he had it bad. But despite that, he was taking things slowly, which I appreciated. He must know I did, if not the full reason why. With my summoner records sealed, there was no way for him to tell; which meant that sooner or later I would need to do it.

But with luck, not today.

I finished my coffee and poured another cup; since I no longer needed to look behind me to check the time; I knew I had enough. Karen refilled her own.

“So, how are you?”

She knew; all the time around me had given her some uncanny insight into my character, which was of course the entire point. So she picked right up on my current mood. She asked right out with absolutely no tact whatsoever, so I answered the same way.

“I've been better. Sorry, just a bit of normal depression; Woke up this morning thinking about my squad.”

“Ahh, right. Want to talk about it? Here is as good as my office.”

It was true, this now qualified as my home ground, and I was more comfortable here than anywhere else, even Karen's office, which was designed from the flooring up to put people at ease.

“Maybe later. I'm fine for now; already mostly over it. Just having humanity's frail mortality shoved in my face again.”

Karen shrugged with a grin.

“You get used to it.”

She was right, as horrific as it sounded. Humanity really could get used to anything.

The rest of breakfast time, all 6 minutes, 47 seconds of it, passed without comment by either of us. As the clock (both my internal and external ones) hit 7:30, Karen stood up. I joined her and we left; I made sure to lock up. I didn't want to give anyone any extra chances. The drive over was just as quiet, at least conversationally. It was beginning to grow awkward by the time we pulled into the station. I knew something was on Karen's mind, but I had no idea what it was. She pulled in than hesitated.

“Um....”

“What is it?”

“Well, it's just... you have to go to the base for the weekend, but I don't, and I was wondering... could I borrow your key? Play that game system you bought, drink your beer, eat stuff that's bad for me, that sort of thing?”

“Can't you just buy your own?”

Karen really liked my new game system.

“Yes, but I can't buy your friends list. They like playing with me, but I wouldn't have to convince them a new account was me, and it would take forever, and....”

She was obviously overstating how hard it would be, but I didn't really care. It wasn't like this was the first or only time she had been in my apartment alone. I couldn't prove it, there was never any evidence, but I could feel it, like fingernails on the chalkboard on my mind. It was almost as if I could smell her lingering presence somehow, like a sort of psychic perfume. So what was one more time, when I knew for certain she'd be there?

“Alright, Karen. I'll hand you the key at the end of work, OK?”

She needed more friends too after all; in the last few months, the only one I'd seen her with in other than a workplace setting had been me. At first I thought she was just keeping an extra careful eye on me as part of her job, but it seemed like she really was just as friendless as I was. Karen being friendless made even less sense than me being friendless; she didn't look like a summoner without the robe, while I was either obviously a summoner or demon touched; either group found it hard to get people to stick around without screaming. Karen actually jumped for joy with a wide smile.

“Yes! I had a date to own Gloria tonight in that fighting game she likes! She's going down tonight!”

Neither one of us had managed to beat Gloria even once, and I doubted tonight would be the night.

“Good, give her one for me.”

We both walked in and promptly stole a few donuts while the desk sergeant pointedly looked the other way. They were the standard fare; simple powdered ones. Knowing Karen, she would be wearing that powder all day; I intended to be more careful. We split up at the elevator; Karen to her office and me to the den of inequity.

Where I got my first rude surprise of the day, from the Captain himself.

“Morning Snow. Chuckles is down sick, so you get to play ride along today; Karen will be our on call.”

So summoners can get sick after all? Other than me getting feverish that one night, I hadn't seen another summoner get sick, or call in sick. For my part, I was too scared too, for all that I could use the day off. So, logical question time:

“What's wrong with him?”

“Blood loss, mainly. He chopped one of his own arms off.”

….What?

“Why the hell would he do that?”

The captain shrugged, face closed off.

“You got me. No idea, but he did it. The docs managed to save the arm, though it's doubtful he'll ever get full use back. He'll get an evaluation when he recovers, but until then, you're up.”

Well that was... that was fucked up. The captain knew what I was really asking.

“Sometimes it just happens, Snow. Chuckles was a nice, likeable guy, and now he's insane. Maybe he'll come back, and maybe he won't. But for now we need to work on today. And today, you're assigned to roam.”

I went, thoughts awhirl in my mental washing machine. I felt that as batty as I was, I was stable. I'd seen Chuckles just yesterday, and he had been fine. The idea that he, that any of us, could just snap and start sawing on ourselves of all things was pretty frightening. Maybe once at the base I could look into such incidents; they had to be a matter of record on file. I did know that actual suicides were low, but self mutilation? I hadn't thought to check before.

I hit the motor pool and saw Roddy, Judge, Conners, and Culling suiting up in their full tactical gear. There was no conversation at all, so I guess they already knew about Chuckles. I checked; I did have the ear buds for my phone, in a robe pocket.

We were all set, ready to go, and piling into the Hum-v when pounding footsteps sounded loudly through the garage. I waited as desperate panting rounded the corner, one foot on the vehicle step.

The panting resolved itself into Cords, who had apparently run full tilt through the station and garage to reach us. He had a small shopping bag in hand. At least he was in good enough shape to avoid bending over and clutching his stomach, though judging from his breathing, I was now in better shape than he was.

“Great! Just in time! Here!”

And he shoved the bag into my hands.

“What's all this?”

He grinned and scratched the back of his head with his hand, what I was now beginning to recognize as a nervous gesture of his.

“It's what you would have had if you'd spent today in the office.”

What? Oh, I get it.

“So, all your drinks and snacks?”

“Yep! Every bit of it; even the jerky.”

My eyes Widened. Good brand name beef jerky was expensive; far worse than the energy drinks he favored. It made it fun to take when his back was turned; it was high stakes snackage theft. I caught sight of some knowing looks and shared grins behind me using the mirror. No doubt plans were being made to tease me mercilessly over this development. I swear, cops were like kids or something.

“Thanks, Cords. Enjoy that new show.”

Cords had recently picked up the burning desire to see every bad horror television series known to man, one after the other. I had to admit, they were pretty funny. I also had the same desire that I'm sure every one in our line of work has, when viewing them or their movie equivalent; the desire to show the people responsible what true horror was.

The latest tour de force was “The devil's daughters,” which was supposed to be a realistic take on half demons among us. Or something; I was leaning towards the or something, personally. The pilot had just aired last week to all the customary blandly positive reviews, which usually meant the show was garbage. If the show was garbage, then it was going to be good television... as in hilarious. I got in and shut the door on his grinning face with a wave before I realized there was something else in the bag.

It was a pad, and not one of the cop standard pads. This one had to be Cord's own personal pad, and there was a sticky note on it that stated 'Show starts in one hour. Stay tuned' with a smiley face. It didn't take long for the team to start in. Conners started in first; maybe it was a prerequisite of being team leader.

“Aww, that's so sweet. Young love is so beautiful.”

I was not happy about the stutter in my response. My face heated.

“Sh-shut up!”

I wasn't sure I even felt that way; the closest I had come was City, and while Cords seemed to be every bit as fun to be around, I wasn't sure he even came up to that standard yet. So far it was just boredom and lack of things to do at work when I wasn't hunting demons or training.

Wasn't it?

“Office romances always end badly. Take my word for it rookie.”

“Shut up Judge. Don't mind Judge, Snow. His last romance with the coffee maker didn't work out, and now he's hopelessly jaded. Don't worry Judge, soon you will find love again. Maybe with the espresso maker in the closet.”

“Too late.”

Oh, ewww.

“Now that's the look! That embarrassment, that pose! The sole reason to get out of bed in the morning!”

Oh come on now.

“Et tu, Culling?”

He grinned at me.

“Sure, why not? Not like we got anything better to do at the moment.”

I was momentarily distracted by the drive out into the bright sunshine. Conners was now all business, going through the radio and network checks while Judge drove. Traffic started parting before us like the customary school of fish before a shark.

“Well maybe in an hour. Got a good comedy on this thing, if Cords is to be believed.”

It seemed they were done razzing me for now, at least.

“Sounds good. You two still doing the mystery science theater 3000 thing to current horror shows?”

How did he know that? Does everyone know everything that goes on in that cop shop, or what? Did Cords tell, or were they spying? My money was on spying, as Cords seemed like a gentleman to me, but how were they doing it? Maybe I should ask.

“Yeah that's the plan. Got the new one loaded and ready to go. Something about half demons, running amok.”

“How the crap would that even work? I mean, how would you even get the average imp or demon dog to....”

No! I did not need that kind of image, especially now!

“Shut up, Culling, or I'll cull you.”

I tried to suppress my shudders. I did not succeed. Even Conners was shuddering at that one; she punched Culling in the arm, hard. That would definitely bruise, but he deserved it.

“Well, death threats against your own. Finally, you've gone from apprentice to master.”

I was glad she didn't try to mention that thing that Culling said. She sent him a warning glance as I moved the awkwardness forward.

“At any rate... the show is there, and starts in an hour. It's supposed to be some strange Illuminati crap, with demons ruling the world or something, and somehow not burning it. I think it's supposed to be some sort of desperate housewife dream or something.”

“Well first things first. We need coffee to start this shift off right.”

I couldn't agree with Roddy more. Maybe some Irish coffee, in fact. It wasn't like I had to drive, after all. It seemed like one of those days.

The coffee shop looked familiar; it was in fact the same one I had stopped in after my first successful demon hunt. I wanted to just pile out, but Conner demanded only one of us go, with a list. We needed to man the radio and other comm gear. And Culling had volunteered earlier, whether he knew it or not.

“That guy... what a pig. Some things are just too disgusting to say. Must be a guy thing.

I couldn't help but nod. Judge shrugged.

“Don't look at me. We aren't all like that; it's just Culling was dropped on his head a few too many times as a baby.”

Well I couldn't argue that possibility. Obviously something happened. After all, it was just fiction; there were no half demon Illuminati beefcakes running around. There were... incidents. Rumors, and some files of demon attacks that were restricted. But it just wasn't a polite thing to mention, ever. Even as a joke. Some female summoners could get beyond angry at any perceived innuendo.

I wasn't there yet, but then again, I hadn't been to any front yet. Perhaps I should ask Karen, but it really was a difficult subject to broach. Asking my mom would be even weirder. Maybe closer to my ship out time it wouldn't be quite so awkward.

Culling came back with our coffee, and with a couple boxed coffee cakes held against his chest like babies. He plopped one in my lap, then one in Conner's.

“An apology. I'm sorry, my mouth outpaced my brain.”

Judge looked hurt.

“Where's mine? I was pretty offended too.”

“Shut up Judge.”

Wow, shut down hard. Roddy looked like he wanted to say something, but after opening his mouth he closed it and went back to monitoring the normal cop traffic through the headset he was wearing around his neck. How he heard anything meaningful through it like that I'll never know. I took my coffee as the drink carrier made it's way around the confines of the vehicle interior.

We got rolling again, cruising slowly through the arteries of the city. I wondered how long it would take for the drinks Cords slipped me to get hot. Maybe I should suggest a mini-fridge be installed in our ADTF fleet? That should be an easy suggestion to get backing for, and I don't think vehicle drink refrigerators were that expensive; I mean every limousine had one, right?

I was worrying about my perspective a lot lately. But when placed beside the worry of my energy drinks getting hot, it was a small thing indeed, somehow. Then again, I was going about this all wrong, wasn't I? I should be thinking like a summoner. A sharpie from my robe's pocket, a quick rune traced on the bag, and anything within it was now chilled. Well at least as long as the rune was unbroken in any way; a simple fold in the bag stopped the magic from working. I carefully placed it next to me.

I'd shred the thing later, when I went to recycle it. Wouldn't do to give away secrets to the uninitiated, after all. Conners shook her head; she had been watching me.

“What?”

“Nothing. It's a good idea. Mind if I put a drink of my own in there?”

Why would I mind?

“Of course not, you all can, as long as they fit in the bag.”

Roddy reached over and slid a mountain dew into the bag, without a word and without even glancing away from his console. I wish I knew how some people did that; being able to find things unfailingly without sight would no doubt be very handy. I'd asked Karen once, and she had said it was the 'view of experience' in action, whatever that really meant. She could do it too, and that infuriated me just a little.

“Next stop, Illspew park.”

Illspew park was the park named after the summoner Illspew, a sort of hometown hero who lost his life in the battle of something or other. No one really knew anymore, but he had been a big deal in the 60's, and one of the first national heroes produced by the Spire. It was a good haunt because no one ever went there anymore, if they ever did. And no one ever went there anymore because the place was a dumb. It was literally a rotting park bench, a rusty swing set and slide, and a few hardy half dead patches of grass and scrub bush that the heat hadn't managed to kill. Even the trees had died and been cut down, years before I'd ever been here. I only knew the place had trees once because of the rotten bug infested stumps.

Even the plaque that used to list the mighty Illspew's accomplishments was missing, a recent casualty of vandals.

It was kind of sad, really. But at least it was a nice quiet spot from which to watch traffic go by. Before my own drafting, I had seen the ADTF vehicles park here, the people out and stretching their legs, but hadn't put two and two together. Now, from this end, I could recognize the value of a place like this, in a location like this. It was invaluable.

And it was about forty minutes from any cop shop, which made it a kind of central location. The uniforms knew we liked it, and sometimes stopped by for a chat. There were none here this early today, however. Right at Nine and zero seconds, we pulled into our customary parking spot and the pad in my hands crackled to life, rolling the almost emo opening credits to the show. I opened my door in hope of a breeze as everyone else gathered close, some (like Judge) without trying to look as if they were doing so.

The show was every bit at funny as expected, but it seemed more geared to desperate men than women; almost all the half demons were female, and the emphasis seemed to be on cheap bedroom shenanigans as opposed to romance, or even the world domination the ads promised. There wasn't even any demons in the cast yet, though apparently the half demons were fighting them somehow.

I'd have laughed at this before I was drafted; now it was just ridiculous, like a movie about a shark filled tornado or something.

I was not alone; Conner was howling midway through, Judge was chuckling, Culling was pouting of all things, and even Roddy was cracking smiles. I felt I summed it up best:

“People actually got paid for making that. So very, very sad.”

“Couldn't agree more Snow. You'd think they would have enough cash to put some retirees on the payroll, to tell them what demons were actually like; it's more or less standard procedure. But they obviously didn't.”

Roddy was a little offended, but Culling seemed outright angry.

“Well the half demon concept should have tipped us off. That show was a complete waste of time.”

“Now now Culling, to be fair, the half demon thing did tip us off. That's why we picked it, to see how stupid Hollywood people actually are. Turns out they are pretty stupid.”

Judge sounded pretty happy about the supposed stupidity of Hollywood people. I wonder if there was a grudge there? Maybe he was mad about the recent state of cowboy movies. And maybe I should never say that around him, or I'd find myself eating paint the next time we got together for training. Some cops had a greater advantage than others in petty revenges.

The credits over, the pad shut itself off. How Cords had timed that I don't know, but he had been texting my phone the entire time with comments about the show that left me no doubt at all that he had been watching, and watching the same scenes at exactly the same time as we were. I'd had to avoid knowing elbows to my ribs from both sides, but at least no one had interrupted the show by saying something. If I hadn't been able to hear the crappy dialogue, I'd have been angry, and Judge wasn't the only one that could play with paint if so inclined.

I was thirsty, so I finished off my coffee. There was a trash can, so I threw my empty in. Then I looked around for more empties, and threw them away too. It wouldn't do to let this Hum-V get like the other one the night shift drove after all; while it was something I could deal with, it was disgusting, and would take about a year to clean.

Conner's understood; she helped me while Judge stretched his legs.

Now if the rule of coffee stayed true to form, then we would all need a bathroom break soon. That crap would probably look funny, all of us going on a group potty break. Maybe I could recommend we hit the museum, for giggles. Or descend on some poor gas station that gets robbed a lot or something. Maybe do our part to cut down crime.

And in a twilight zone scene of instant karma, Roddy's console chirped.

“Attention unit 1. Attention unit 1. Priority demonic influence call, location highlighted on map. Please respond.”

I looked over Roddy's shoulder; sure enough, there was a spot highlighted. The corner of Chester and Palmer streets, maybe? Roddy responded.

“Roger dispatch, en route. Any further information?”

“None, unit 1. Call ceased 28 seconds ago.”

We all belted in, and Judge put his foot on the floor. I had been well drilled in standard procedure however, so it was time to go by the book.

“Grex, Veni huc!”

Standard procedure involved calling your own demon as quickly as possible, in order to watch your back and help you analyze the situation 'from an inhuman perspective'. Straight from the handbook itself. It still amazed me that there was a handbook, months after first seeing it.

And just like that, the Hum-V was even more crowded in an instant, as a pair of warm arms enveloped me. The arms materialized first this time, followed by the body off to the side. I shrugged them off to put my earpiece and throat mic on.

“You called, my mistress?”

His smile slipped in the next moment as he took in the mood.

“Demon call Grex. We're heading to it.”

The fact that the call ceased was worrying. That meant that whoever had made the call had not been told to hang up, but had stopped communicating. There was only one reason for the person to stop communicating.

A sudden urge grabbed me. Dare I do it? Should I show my power? My true power?

What had I sold my soul for, if not for this?

Without a second thought, I unlatched an earring and pulled it out, handing it to Grex. It was the lower left one, which was the most recent. It was also the one that governed my wings, which I knew immediately was a mistake. I could feel them ripple on my back, though they did not emerge.

“I'm going to do something.”

And just like that the tension ratcheted up a few more notches. Conner asked the obvious.

“Something like....”

And I answered.

“Speed up our response time. Please don't freak out. You especially Judge.”

Oddly enough, that did defuse the situation somewhat. Long sighs were had by all. Though Judge asked a surprisingly pertinent question.

“Alright, what am I looking for?”

I started flexing my power.

“Slowing down by everyone and everything else. I'm going to speed up our vehicle, and everything else will appear slowed down. Maybe even stopped. So, I take it by your responses this sort of thing has happened before?”

“Well, every summoner seems to get the idea that they are God's gift to the profession, pun intended. So every few months someone gets the urge to try something stupid or reinvent the wheel. You're at least being more smart about it than most, and using a power we've seen you use easily before. You also went so long without trying anything like this we thought you had good enough sense to be immune to the disease. But it turns out it just took you longer, and someone wins the pool.”

They had a pool for everything involving me, apparently. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. My power finished cycling, the pressure rising, I released it and everything started getting that blurry look as we sped up.

“You'll need to start dodging traffic; the other vehicles on the road will be slowing down to a near stop.”

Judge looked around wildly.

“Yeah, I'm getting that.”

Grex held me tighter as the barely road legal tank started taking evasive action.

“So, now you've got me curious. What was the last thing someone tried?”

Conner went green as she responded.

“The last thing someone tried was to set up a series of teleportation circles. His demon gave him a leg up on making those, and he also wanted to try quickening the response times we had. Problem is, for his trial run on his first hunt he went ahead of everyone else and ended up getting shredded by the demon he was hunting. We got there just in time to baggie up what was left.”

Oh ouch. Well at least I wasn't that stupid. A little comfort there.

How would you even run the math possible to teleport to a given location anyway? You would have to take in the Earth's movement, gravity on several bodies at once, wobble, dark matter... I mean, I was sure I could do it, but that would be weeks figuring out the proper formulae just to go one place.

“Well the only bad thing that could happen here is Judge could run over someone. And he shouldn't, since he actually has the time to be careful. After all, we have all the time in the world at the moment to drive carefully.”

Culling looked nervous. Conners looked nervous. Judge, well I could see the whites of his eyes, and I'm not sure what that meant, but it didn't look good.

“What exactly did you do, Snow? I've seen you speed up time before, but does it have any odd side effects or anything?”

“Well technically, I dilated time on the Hum-V and everything in it; this car and everything in it is experiencing time at a much faster rate. An hour outside is a second to us. It will improve our response time no matter what we do. And as far as I know, no side effects. It won't even cause you to age faster, as I'm currently keeping track of the rate of cell growth in all our bodies, and I'll slow it down once we're done. I don't know, I lack the terminology to appropriately explain it.”

“Wait, you can do all that? And to all of us and the Hum-V?”

I nodded. Second thoughts or not, the cat was out of the bag now.

“With my earrings off, yes, pretty easily. I mean it's a strain right now, I can't keep it up for long, but I can do it.”

In fact the drain on me felt liberating; like the opening of a long closed valve, relieving pressure. I had only removed one earring, just to see if I could still do it with most of my power bound. I could, which worried me; how much power did I have, exactly? At least I knew I couldn't keep it up for long without more than one removed now, so that was something.

Of course the five minutes and 3 seconds that I could do it would be more than enough in this case. We were at most 24 minutes from the location of the call, even dodging traffic.

It turned out to only be eighteen. Eighteen silent minutes, or eighteen seconds under dilation, with everyone plastered to a window but Grex and myself. I could almost smell the fear, and there really wasn't any need for it. At least, I hoped not. Grex didn't seem concerned anyway, which should be a good tell for my team.

“Come on guys, it's safe. Grex can't let me come to any harm, after all. Contracts?”

They actually all looked at Grex as Judge pulled into a stop. Grex only raised his eyebrows in response. He couldn't refute it after all, so he didn't try. I wasn't supposed to pop the door first so I waited. Culling was supposed to, with Conners covering, but they didn't seem in too much of a hurry to.

“Guys, we're up. Come on, I can keep this up for a bit longer to cover our entry, but that's it. We need to move!”

Improved response saves lives, after all.

“Right. Just remember, impatience kills. Ready Culling?”

I took a look out the window. Everything seemed normal. Normal for late at night, at any rate. There were no people or cars close to where we were. We should have gotten here before the uniforms, so something else had kept them away. The coordinates given by the cellphone led to... an apartment building.

Culling popped the door, Conner trained her gun on all the open space, and Roddy threw himself out, his own shotgun at the ready and to the right, aimed behind the vehicle where it would be easiest to sneak up on us. They all saw nothing of course, because nothing could get to us in the amount of time it had since we got here... unless it was a very powerful Erinyes or something similar. And if it was, it was almost a certainty that it was one of mine.

Grex stepped out as if from a carriage to a ball, offering a hand to help me down. I took it and looked around; I probably should be taking cover or drawing my athame, but instead I looked around. Nothing, though now that I was closer, there did seem to be a suspicious red stain under that bush to the front of the property....

The stain was a blood trail, which led to a rather well camouflaged body. One that was mostly intact, though shredded to ribbons by deep claw marks. The claw marks were cauterized, which tended to narrow down the perpetrator somewhat. No Erinyes or Minotaur made those. Probably a Cacodemon.

With a distracted thought I released my power, the world blurring back into it's proper speed again, slowly. I could have released it all at once, but I knew from experience how disorienting that could be, and my team was already on edge. Best not to push things. Letting it go, I felt that warming afterglow of fatigue, as if I had exercised well or run a small marathon, and tired myself a bit without exhausting myself.

But under that I could immediately feel my power, my energy, or whatever it was, coiling under that fatigue like a hungry serpent or other restless animal. Nothing a good night's rest wouldn't cure... or the removal of another earring.

Relieving some of that pressure had been amazing; what would removing all of it do? Well other than put me in some only partially explained danger. Conners was far more clinical than I was.

“Looks Like a Caco.”

“Yeah pretty much.”

I controlled my voice at least; it barely broke at all. All the training, all the pictures, even being a cop's child, could only do so much. I was fairly unshakable under most circumstances, but this... this was bad.

And the open cell phone was inside the apartment building.

“Judge, Culling, standard procedure. Roddy, Snow, you're with me.”

Conner headed off to the building, crouched low; something which seemed rather ridiculous in the bright morning sunshine. Standard procedure for Judge and Culling was to establish an overwatch, with Culling watching Judge's back while Judge scanned for our demon or it's summoner from a height. The highest building nearby appeared to be an old bookstore, but the gas station across the street held some promise as well. Wonder which one he will pick; after all, the gas station roof would be easier to get to, and the explosive potential might actually knock a demon around some if used.

It wouldn't win a fight, but it'd send up one heck of a signal, and call the summoner and more importantly, the demon of the team, back to help if they were attacked. In this case, it'd save their lives, because my time dilation trick was easier on me by a long shot, and I wasn't out of juice for it quite yet in any case.

I was quickly bracketed; Conners on my right front, Roddy on my left front, and Grex behind me. It was hard not to feel a little pampered, as crazy as the feeling felt in a situation like this.

You couldn't feel safe, even as a summoner bracketed by people, you were never safe; just in a little less danger. You were never safe, and any safety was an illusion; it was something you learned, something the military taught you... whether they wanted to or not.

Conners hit the door jamb just as Roddy hit the other side. A nod, and Roddy was through, pointing his own shotgun (and when had he replaced his sub machine gun with that, exactly? It had to have been when we were all at the Hum-v, but I'd missed it somehow.) down the suspiciously dark hallway. The darkness drinking in the almost incandescent sunlight of the morning did nothing at all to fool my eyes. I doubted Grex as fooled either, which meant we could both see the bodies.

There were four of them, all lying in pools of their own blood. My vision was keen, and I could make out far more detail than I wanted. Those same slashing wounds as before, cauterized as before, though fewer in number. As if the demon had been in a hurry, and the people in the hallway had simply been in the way.

A few slashes here, one long bone deep slash there... all the limbs were even attached. There was none of the typical enjoyment or slow torture I'd been told to expect of a demon enjoying themselves in evidence; this demon was on a mission.

“What do you see Snow?”

Right. They knew how good my eyes were, and had stopped with guns trained on the entrance. I didn't see the demon waiting, so I answered.

“Bodies. Grex, disperse that.”

I knew I could disperse the darkness. It was a fragile thing which did not belong; A muttered few words to the element of wind would easily do the trick. I didn't want anyone to know just how easy it would be for me. Even my co-workers. Especially my co-workers.

You were never safe, after all.

A few of those whispered words, and the darkness tattered and blew away, somewhat less quickly than expected, but fast enough. Odd, but not something to worry about now. The blood trail led up the stairs. Roddy took point and rushed the hall, aiming the shotgun up the stairs. Conners covered the entryway and Roddy's back. It wasn't likely as the doors to the ground floor apartments weren't broken, but any one of these apartments could be hiding the demon.

Again, properly sandwiched, I walked as calmly though the carnage as I could. The amount of blood pouring down the stairs was enough to slip on if you didn't watch your step; enough to leave me no doubt as to what I'd find at the end of it.

“We need to hurry this up.”

Conners shook her head.

“I hear you Snow, I really do, but we need to do this by the book. The demon could be waiting for us anywhere.”

I knew the reason for proper procedure.

“Or it could be upstairs, slaughtering people even now.”

“Use your head Snow, we'd be hearing that. We are the only line right now, between civvies and more bodies. If we fall here, now... there will be more. Maybe even dozens more. No, we aren't hearing anything because it's gone or doesn't want us to hear anything. We go slow.”

So we went slow, mentally cursing every creak we or muted jingle we made, guns trained ahead and behind, and so mentally on edge I could see the jagged rocks at the bottom of the precipice. The second floor was as dark as the first had been; but the hallway was far more empty. Mercifully so. Grex hugged me as he chanted his words again, anticipating my order. Under the new found sunshine, the hall was pristine.

The occupants of the third floor were not so lucky, as the massive boom and crash above us attested. I looked to Conners, but she shook her head again. We continued the slow climb, and the darkness was back in the third floor hall. The demon had to be here, or the roof; this darkness was just too fragile yet too persistent; it had to be a trait being used. If so, it was a common one; most demons were allergic to sunlight in some fashion, and the ability to conjure darkness while in our world a survival trait. Many demons developed the ability to conjure such globes, or learned spells to do it.

I hadn't heard any chanting but that of Grex, who dutifully dispelled this darkness, again without being asked. The incoming sunlight once again revealed to all what only two had seen before.

This time, it was one body. This time, the body had more in common with the one outside then the ones downstairs. Namely, it was in pieces. The blood trail led right next to it, and the still lit object beside it....

“We were lured here.”

Roddy gaped and pulled his gaze from the splintered door at the end of the hall, favoring me with a look. The trail of blood led into it, and I could smell the obvious trap... underneath the burned plastic and charred wood.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean the phone. The buttons are melted. It was used to call us, but not by whoever that poor soul is.”

I couldn't even tell gender visually. Not that it mattered at the moment; it wasn't my job. The splintered door was. Was that what had made all the noise? I didn't think so. I couldn't say why, but a broken door didn't strike me as making that much noise. Conners stepped up, gun pointed down the stairs. She nodded at Roddy.

I could see the sweat pour down Roddy's cheek as he responded, stalking up to the shattered door. No fool, he attached a mirror to the end of his shotgun and used it to peer inside. When he shook his head, that was my cue.

Or rather, it was Grex's.

At my hand signal he ghosted into the room, checking it for demonic presence or trap spells. I didn't move and held my breath. Some demons would be able to sense the air currents, even if they were unable to hear it. Demons could do some weird things.

Like put holes right through walls, apparently.

The demon shouldered through the wall next to the door beside Conners, his fire kissed claws already zeroing in on her face. I was glad to see that it was indeed a cacodemon, one of the less ugly of it's species; always nice to know one's study had been rewarded. A thought and time slowed; too late to save my ears from the awful crunching crash, but in plenty of time for me to dodge the pieces of shrapnel now crossing the distance at me in slow motion. My reaction time with my power had improved, and after only using it what? Maybe ten times, tops, including training? My squad was right; I was going to be a terror on the battlefield.

I dragged a nearly frozen Conners out of the way of those lethal claws, then took my ready athame and applied it to the demons side... multiple times. After the body count this thing had accrued, I wasn't feeling too charitable.

The athame flashed, bright even in the sunlit space, as I carved a banishment into the things tough hide. When I released the time dilation, the cacodemon would either be banished outright... or die outright as the heavily enchanted dagger's wounds hit whatever vital points I had managed to strike. Since demons varied, I had no real way of knowing beforehand.

I released the field, with Conners safely out of the way, and the cacodemon whirred past, burying it's arm into the far wall with a screech. The smell of burning assailed my nostrils immediately, and the wails of the thing when it realized it had been hurt were ear splitting.

It was already beginning to fade under a most painful enforced banishment when Grex breezed passed me and finished it off, his face tight with anger. He put his hand right through the other demon's head as if it was made of tissue paper. Direct, brutal, and effective, it was nevertheless an odd choice for him to pick tactically. The visible anger was a bit odd too; maybe the one explained the other, but seeing him as anything other than calm or slightly mocking was... weird.

I reached the limit of my ability with one earring removed, and the world shuddered back into full speed. A minor miscalculation; I thought I had more time. Better to learn the true measure of my reserves now at least, after the threat was ended. Conners sort of melted into my arms as time fully re-asserted itself, with shuddering breaths.

“Thanks Snow. I owe you one.”

“Grex, what was in the other room?”

“If you mean what was unusual about the dwelling, then the corpses count, I suppose. Dead much like those in the halls.”

So this demon, what? Gets summoned, killed the guy outside, walks into the apartment, starts a quick slaughter-fest, calls us, starts in on the residents not directly in the way, gets surprised by how quick we get here, then sets a trap? What? Who summoned this demon to do this, and why? Someone with a grudge against the ADTF?

Conners was slipping into shock.

“Conners, wake up. Gun up now, think about it later. Grex, Roddy, a more thorough check of those apartments, please. Make sure there are no further traps or oddities.”

Oddities like other demons. If a random summoner had set a trap, then I wouldn't put it past them to stack the odds a bit better than this. Conners shook herself like a wet dog and resumed her vigil. Grex seemed reluctant to leave, so I pointed to my bloody athame in a clear message; I was not helpless. He went.

I was sure he wouldn't have if he knew that I was running on fumes, at least without another earring removed. He might even insist I remove it before he left. This meant that he no longer had a solid idea of how much power I had, anymore than I did... I think. I felt time being bent again, as Grex activated his own ability.

They checked quickly; far more quickly than should have been possible, while being thorough.

“It's clear.”

Conners was checking in with Judge. She saw me looking, and waved the all clear; so there was nothing going on outside. For some reason I couldn't hear what they were saying. Ah, that was why; the cord to the battery pack had been cut somehow. Shrapnel from the wall, maybe?

“Free to begin clean up; Send the uniforms to secure the scene.”

I wanted to look around for clues, but Conners grabbed me.

“Come on; Cords says another demon hit across town, and the second team is handling it. We got to go back them up. The techs can handle this.”

Two calls minutes from each other, after months of relative quiet? What the hell was going on?