Waving a hand in Irene’s direction, Saija kept looking out the window. Irene wasn’t even sure if the succubus had heard what she had said beyond some noises coming out of her mouth.
Looking out the window herself, Irene spotted the few demons who were out of their rooms, mingling with normal students. Since they had only been left a message, they were completely unaware of the possible danger presented by this ‘doll’ thing.
“Wait,” Irene said, “what’s that up there?”
The roof of the other dormitory building wasn’t that far away. The roof of it was clear to see. Squinting her eyes, Irene could see someone standing right on the edge of the roof. Almost leaning over the edge.
Her heart clenched, thinking someone was about to jump. But the person had one boot up on the ledge as she peered over the edge. Irene had never seen someone about to commit suicide, but she doubted that they would appear so aggressive in their stance. Squinting her eyes, she was almost certain that there was a long glint of metal around her waist.
“It’s the doll!” Saija said, sounding far more enthusiastic than Irene would have expected. “I bet it is watching our dear friend on the first floor. He’s pacing still and hasn’t become more agitated. I doubt he’s noticed.”
“Shouldn’t you tell him?”
“And ruin my fun?”
“Well, you had to tell him in the first place. I figured that telling him again would be part of your contract.”
Saija waved a hand. “No no, I told him that there was a doll in the area.” She pointed out the window. “That’s a doll. It’s in the area. Anything more would just be going above and beyond the stipulations of my contract. I–”
She stopped suddenly.
Irene glanced up at the roof, but the doll hadn’t moved. Turning towards Saija, she actually took a step backwards. The succubus had her eyes narrowed in Irene’s direction. She let out a noise from the back of her throat before speaking.
“How did you know the details of my contract?”
“I guessed?”
“Well don’t,” she said, turning back to the window. “I like my private affairs to remain private.”
Irene watched Saija for a few moments, making sure that the girl wasn’t about to bite her head off for suddenly speaking again. “Sorry. I didn’t know it would be such a secret thing.”
“The problem is that I think demons can get trapped. I tell you something that I can’t do then you put me into a position where I can’t not do said thing. That’s how I wind up getting that thing after me,” she said, pointing across the way to the other dormitory building.
Before Irene could respond, Saija pointed downwards. “Wait,” she said. She hummed for a moment with a disturbing grin on her face. “He’s moving.”
Sure enough, a perfect bundle of clothing walked out onto the courtyard. Bundle might be the wrong word, but he did look dressed up for a cold day. A fluffy blue scarf was wrapped around his neck and he wore a slim coat. He took hold of the scarf and hiked it up over his nose after taking a quick look at the demons and humans still around the courtyard.
He never once looked up as he made his way out towards the city.
The doll atop the other building walked right along the edge, following along with him.
“Come on,” Saija said, turning back towards the stairs. She started upwards before realizing that Irene hadn’t followed her.
“Do I really need to go with you? That ‘doll’ thing is just going to kill him right? I don’t need to see that.”
“You don’t think it will be exciting?”
Not the word I would use for it, Irene thought as she shook her head. Morbid, more like.
If she had a book on these dolls and a nice safe place to read, she might find the topic far more interesting. She had been around far too many fights involving demons as it was. Especially if the demon found himself cornered. He might try to take hostages.
Saija had said that humans wouldn’t have much to fear from the doll things, but Irene had her doubts. If the doll really was after this demon for breaking a contract, who is to say that either would care if they had to skewer a human to get at the other.
“What would you find interesting–” Saija cut herself off as her eyes drifted over Irene’s shoulder. “Wait, where did the doll go?”
She ran over to the window once again.
Sure enough, the roof of the Gillet was void of any life. The demon was still walking down towards the city, growing smaller to Irene as he moved.
He had no haste in his gait. He didn’t betray any panic by looking around. His arms swung casually at his sides as he moved down the street. The drawn up scarf around his neck was the only real oddity and that was just because it wasn’t that cold out. And that could just be personal preference.
The demon who Saija claimed was worried out of his mind looked no different from a student heading into town to pick up some new school supplies.
At least, that’s what Irene thought up until the moment he looked up towards the sky.
His skin bubbled and boiled. Black tar escaped from his eyes.
Anything else was cut short by a sword plunging through his open mouth, skewering him and pinning him to the ground.
The leather-clad doll came down from the sky next, planting both of her boots right on the demon’s chest. His body, which had been arched and mostly upright, hit the ground hard. The sword passed right through his mouth and chest as his body moved.
Halfway split apart, the demon still tried to attack back. His arms grew longer, reaching out towards the doll with obsidian claws in place of hands.
Though there was some distance between them, Irene couldn’t detect a hint of concern on the doll’s face. She said a few words before pulling her sword from the demon’s chest.
A portal opened beneath the demon, drawing him while leaving the doll standing alone.
She brought her sword straight up in front of her before flicking it down to her side at an angle. Black tar flung off the blade, leaving its shine pristine. In the same smooth motion, she spun it around and sheathed it on the other side of her hip.
“Now you’ve got to admit, that was pretty neat.”
Irene shook her head. Her stomach was churning. It had been a relatively clean kill, all things considered. Nothing was even left of the demon. And she knew that demons didn’t die when they… died. But seeing him split open even for a moment brought up ill memories of the monstrosities that had attacked her and Eva the previous year.
The other people, both humans and demons, were panicking in various ways. Most of the humans were fleeing towards the dormitory buildings. The two demons were staring, clearly preparing to fight. One had lightning crackling between his fingertips while the other had fully reverted away from his human form, becoming a sort of music box with legs and a head. One arm poked out the side, winding a crank.
But the doll made no motion to attack. She merely glanced around the area, stopping briefly on each demon.
When she stopped on Saija, the succubus took a full step backwards. Irene could almost feel the air shaking around the demon.
As with the others, the doll eventually passed over Saija. She stared for a few seconds before turning away, facing out towards the city.
“Neat and a little scary,” Saija said, voice much quieter.
“I think I should call Eva again.”
Author’s Note: There is a new chapter over on the preview site. Not Analyst or Demi-God, something new tentatively titled Specter. Longer notes at the bottom of that chapter.
Chapter 018
“Well, that’s definitely the doll that I saw in Hell.”
Eva stepped away from the window, looking at the others. Irene and her succubus were standing towards the back of the stairwell. One was trying to look as small as possible while the other continually preened as soon as she thought someone was looking in her direction. Unfortunately for Saija, the doll standing out in the courtyard below was of far more interest to everyone.