Alexia runs.

  The city blurs around her—traffic lights, honking cars, flashes of neon—all ignored. Her sneakers pound against the pavement as she cuts through crosswalks and dodges startled pedestrians, her breath coming hard and fast. She doesn’t slow until the looming glass tower of the Alien Department comes into view, rising like a cold sentinel above the skyline.

  She stops just long enough to catch her breath, pressing a hand to her chest. Then, without hesitation, she pushes through the front doors and steps inside.

  Phones ring in steady rhythm behind the front desk, a mechanical pulse that barely registers to the weary-looking Alien Department officer on duty. He glances at the entrance with practiced detachment as the girl rushes in.

  “You know it’s serious when the sheriff’s daughter shows up,” he mutters, nudging the trainee beside him.

  The rookie squints, his eyes following her. “That’s the sheriff’s daughter? She’s kinda cute. Think I should ask her out?”

  The officer doesn’t even look at him. “Not if you want to keep your head.”

  Alexia ignores the commentary and pushes past the front desk, heading straight toward the training wing. The fluorescent lights above buzz with a harsh, electric hum, loud enough to drown out her thoughts—until the sudden crack of gunfire echoes from the left side of the building.

  Without flinching, she turns right into the shooting range.

  Bullet holes scar the walls, some clustered around targets, others scattered wildly. Across from the firing line, a crowd of trainees drops to the floor—uncounted bodies doing push-ups in sync, their grunts lost beneath the noise of gunfire and shouting instructors.

  Alexia climbs the stairs two at a time, her pace steady, her face set. She reaches the top floor and turns down the hall, stopping only once—at the heavy door marked Sheriff’s Office.

  Without knocking, she steps inside.

  “Heya, Dad. What’s going on?” Alexia asks, dropping into the lone chair beside his desk—cluttered with papers, maps, and sighting reports.

  “Ask seriously,” her father snaps, not looking up. He pulls a sheet from the stack and hands it to her. “Another fire. We’ve linked it to the demon. We found her new hiding spot.”

  Alexia’s eyes scan the page. “That’s… actually kind of awesome.”

  “Yeah? Well, what’s less awesome is this—” He grabs another file, slapping it down in front of her. “We have reason to believe a second demon’s arrived on Earth. No idea what it’s doing, but odds are it’s just as evil as the first. Being a demon and all.”

  Alexia stands, leaning over the desk to get a better look.

  “Are you sure this isn’t another false flag?”

  Her father’s expression darkens. He stands slowly, raising a hand—not to strike, but to command silence.

  “You questioning me?” he says coldly.

  She doesn’t answer.

  He taps a grainy photo on the report.

  “Cameras caught movement in an abandoned warehouse. We move in tonight. Quiet and clean. Bring it in… or kill it on sight.”

  Alexia nods, her voice steady. “Understood.”

  “Wait.”

  Her father’s voice stops her at the door. She turns.

  “I’m assigning two officers to go with you. I want this mission done right, this time.”

  Alexia sighs. “Fine. But they usually just get in the—”

  He cuts her off with a look and just five words:

  “You’ve worked with Robert before.”

  A man steps through the doorway, tall and stern, his movements precise. He offers her a handshake as he passes.

  “It’s an honor to work with you again, Alexia.”

  She forces a smile. “Likewise.”

  Before the silence can stretch, the second officer enters—the junior trainee from the front desk. His eyes flick between them, clearly nervous, and just a little too excited for his first assignment.

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  “Oh, you’re Alexia! Markus used to talk about you all the time.”

  Nathan extends a hand, smiling warmly. “Nice to finally meet you.”

  Alexia shakes his hand, her expression unreadable.

  “I don’t know how much he told you about me,” Nathan goes on, “but we used to work together at the Quik-Gas. I’m… sorry about what happened. He was a good man.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about it,” Alexia says with a faint smile. “He just got out of the hospital yesterday.”

  She turns toward the door. “We can talk more later. Right now, we’ve got a mission.” She gives a casual wave to her father before heading out, slipping into one of the Alien Department’s dark cars. The engine purrs to life, and without another word, she drives off—toward the abandoned storage unit where a demon might be waiting.

  “This storage company went out of business a year ago,” Alexia explains as she leads the two officers through the lot. “Makes perfect sense that a demon could hide here undetected for so long.”

  The entire place feels abandoned—not just empty, but forgotten. A deeper kind of stillness clings to the air.

  Rows of identical units stretch out like coffins in formation, each one sealed with a rusted latch and a number plate faded by time. The ground is surprisingly clean, as if someone has been maintaining it… yet everything else screams that no human has set foot here in months.

  “Quiet,” Alexia snaps, cutting off the officers’ joking behind her.

  A faint tapping echoes from one of the nearby units.

  She freezes. “That must be it.”

  Without hesitation, she rushes to the door, boots crunching on gravel. She grabs the handle and throws it open—

  And there she is.

  The demon Alexia has been fighting again and again, always escaping, always slipping through their grasp. Hunched in the shadows at the back of the unit… waiting.

  “Do you mind, human?” the demon hisses, baring her fangs. “I’m trying to sleep.”

  Her green hair and long tail leave no doubt—she is a demon.

  Before Alexia can respond, a gunshot rings out.

  Robert has already drawn his weapon.

  “Freeze! Hands behind your back, demon,” he barks, steadying his aim. “I don’t miss twice.”

  The demon cracks her neck with a sharp pop.

  In a blur, she launches forward and tackles Robert to the ground.

  Snarling at the others, she raises a hand—a fireball crackles to life in her palm.

  “I’ve had enough of your shit,” she growls. “Leave now… if you can leave at all.”

  Nathan fires again, the shot whizzing just past the demon’s shoulder.

  She doesn’t flinch.

  Instead, her eyes flash—and with a guttural snarl, she opens her mouth and breathes fire.

  “Get down!” Alexia shouts, tackling Nathan to the pavement as a torrent of flame scorches the air above them. The blast hits a nearby unit, metal groaning as it melts inward.

  “What part of don’t provoke her did you miss?” Alexia snaps, glaring at him as smoke curls into the sky.

  She rises, activating her Mahoishi. Light flares at her fingertips as she draws her staff and hurls it with practiced force. It spins toward the demon—

  —but the demon leaps, landing on the shaft mid-flight. Using it like a springboard, she whips into a high kick.

  “You’re not getting away this time,” Alexia says, her voice low and steady.

  The demon’s lips curl into a smirk. “You say that every time, dear.”

  Alexia swings her staff in a wide arc—

  —but in a swift motion, the demon ducks low, slips under the strike, and snatches the glowing Mahoishi from Alexia’s pocket.

  Without hesitation, the demon hurls it across the lot. It lands far enough away that the glow in Alexia’s hands dies instantly, her magic winking out.

  “Hey—how did you know to do that?” Alexia demands.

  The demon doesn’t answer. Instead, she pivots and drop-kicks Alexia square in the chest, sending her crashing hard to the ground.

  A fireball ignites in the demon’s palm, the heat rolling over Alexia’s face before it slams into the pavement beside her head—close enough to sear her shoulders.

  “Next time,” the demon says coolly, “I won’t hold back.”

  Then she turns and vanishes into the shadows.

  Alexia gasps, rolls onto her side, and scrambles to her feet. She runs for her staff, heart pounding, power flickering back to life as she reaches it.

  She doesn’t stop.

  Not to breathe.

  Not to look back.

  “Sorry,” Alexia says, wiping sweat from her brow. “I’m starting to feel mana sickness. How are you holding up?”

  “That felt amazing,” Nathan breathes, still in awe as the burn on his arm glows green—then vanishes completely.

  “Great work as always, Alexia. I feel better now,” Robert says, rolling his shoulder with a grunt.

  Despite the praise, Alexia doesn’t feel great. Not really.

  She’s failed to capture the demon. Again.

  Her eyes drift toward the scorched lot, to the space where the fireball had landed so close to her head.

  “You know what’s weird?” she mutters, half to herself. “Her attacks… they’ve never been that controlled before. And she’s never gone for my Mahoishi.”

  She pauses, eyes narrowing.

  “Someone might be teaching her.”

  Alexia sighs and straightens up. That thought—whoever it is—will have to wait. For now, she has a report to file.

  “You okay, Alexia?” Robert asks, resting a hand on her back.

  She doesn’t answer right away. Her eyes are on the charred lot, her thoughts elsewhere.

  “This demon’s been… a lot,” she mutters. “Even after all the fires, I still can’t bring her in. I’m just—mad. I normally capture things. Contain them. Keep things quiet. But even Markus got hurt because I wasn’t strong enough.”

  She takes a step away, staring down at her Mahoishi as its glow dims in her hand.

  Robert shakes his head. “Come on, you’re still the best we’ve got. If you couldn’t do it… then no one could’ve. Now let’s head back. You need rest.”

  Alexia nods, silent, as the three of them climb into the car and drive off.

  From the rooftop, the demon watches them go—quiet, breathing slowly. She summons a fireball into her hand, eyes narrowing on the car as it turns the corner.

  For a moment, she considers it.

  But then she lets the fire die.

  “I knew you wouldn’t do it.”

  The demon spins, summoning another fireball and pointing it at the voice.

  “Sorry about the scare,” the figure says calmly.

  “What do you want, Lemres?” she growls.

  Lemres raises both hands, the faint light of his Mahoishi glowing at his hip. In his other hand, he offers a single marshmallow.

  “I know this isn’t the best time. But it looks like you could use a new place to lie low. I’ve got space. All I want is to talk.”

  “Talk?” she scoffs. “You? I never took you for the open type.”

  He gives her a small smile. “I think I found someone who might be able to wield the Life-Giving Blade. A kid named Markus. The same girl you just fought—she gave him a Mahoishi.”

  The demon narrows her eyes, thinking back. The boy who saved the girl. Who’d gotten hurt.

  She doesn’t say anything.

  Lemres activates his Mahoishi. A glowing portal opens beside him.

  “You coming?” he asks.

  The demon sighs, lowering her hand. She gives the portal one last look… and steps through, finally allowing herself a moment to rest.