Demon Hunters (2 page)

I stomped over to the door and pulled it
open, but instead of my landlord, I saw Ivar standing before
me.

“How did you find me?”

“I told you.”

“Right. Insights. I thought I made myself
clear.”

“Just let me have fifteen minutes. I know
you don’t want to hear this, but you must.” I thought for a moment.
I figured if a guy were willing to stake me out for months and
somehow follow me home like Ivar did, he would be willing to do it
again.

“Fifteen minutes.” I stepped aside. As Ivar
walked over the threshold, he clasped his hand over his nose and
looked around in disbelief. The carpet was black with filth. The
furniture, what little could be found, was broken and in shambles.
The kitchen was bare and garbage was piled against the walls.

“You live in this?”

“It’s just a place where I eat, shit and
sleep. It’s not like a home or anything.”

“Is there someplace I could sit?”

“Given your reaction, you may just want to
stand.” I slid back into a large leather chair. The one good piece
of furniture I had which had been left behind by the previous
tenant.

“Very well.” Ivar said.

“So tell me about my family,” Ivar stood
before me, clearly feeling awkward and weird. He tried to remove
his hand from his nose, but it was no use. The stench was too
powerful for him. “Here,” I went to the kitchen and came back with
a can of air freshener. “It’s not much, but it may help.” I resumed
my seat. Ivar sprayed and finally took his hand away from his
face.

“Better. Now, as I was trying to tell you,
the Corba family exists under a curse. A powerful witch leveled the
curse upon your ancestor, Jericho Corba. Morgan Sanguine was a
powerful sorceress who had struck a bargain with the Devil himself.
She was to marry Jericho and in doing so, she would be able to
deliver Earth to the devil and turn it into a new level of Hell.
Jericho discovered her true intent and refused to marry her. Morgan
was then condemned back to Hell where she would suffer for her
failure, but before she was taken, she cursed Jericho and his
family. From that day on, Jericho and his descendants were doomed
to be hunted and victimized by the dark side. Demons and all sorts
of malevolent creatures were set upon the destruction of the Corba
family.” Ivar stopped for a moment and looked down at me. I tried
to hold back a laugh. I couldn’t believe how serious he was being
about it. Witches? Deals with the Devil? I was tempted to kick him
out, but then I realized it might get even better.

“You don’t believe me.” The smirk on my face
must have been a dead giveaway.

“No, I do. I’m possessed. How could I not
believe you? It’s just you’re really into all this, aren’t
you?”

“I’m not finished.”

“Oh! Then please. Go on.”

“For a long time, the Corba family ran from
this curse, but it always found them. In the eighteenth century,
Jeremiah Corba decided to stop running. He traveled the world
learning the ancient art of demon hunting. He mastered every known
form of combat and went out to face the threat to his family
straight on. For the first time in centuries, the Corbas fought
back. Jeremiah’s methods carried on from generation to generation
until the Corba family was one of the most renowned demon hunting
families in history.”

“Okay. Nice fairy tale. Can we skip to the
happily ever after now?”

“Which brings us to you.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You are the first Corba to be
possessed by a demon. This could be seen as an escalation in the
war between demons and the Corbas. They have made you into your own
worst enemy.”

“It’s been ten minutes. You have time for
one more story, or a song, if you prefer?” Ivar looked at me with
dead eyes.

“I’m sorry,” He said and headed toward the
door. “I see I’m just wasting your time and mine. You have no
interest in learning about your heritage or who you really are.
It’s clear you’re much happier mucking about like some sick pig in
his sty.” I bolted up from my chair.

“Hey! I didn’t ask you to come in with this!
Growing up with this monster in me was a living Hell and by some
miracle, I managed to cobble together something of a life for
myself. It’s not the best, but I have it under control. The demon’s
been quiet for a few years now and it’s been cool, now suddenly you
show up looking to kick up all this dust all over again! I was fine
not knowing any of this shit!”

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I won’t bother you
again. And thank you.”

“For what?”

“For the invaluable lesson you have taught
me.”

“What’s that?”

“Enlightenment doesn’t always fall upon
those who deserve it. Sometimes it’s just wasted. Good bye.”

The next few days passed easily. I went
about my usual routine. I didn’t see Ivar anymore. I was able to
slip into my old ways and banish away any memories of what he told
me. I even managed to earn enough money by the end of the week to
afford to get a real dinner. I’d have to skip on the tip, but I
didn’t care. I hadn’t eaten a decent meal in months.

There was a fast food joint along the
boulevard that was a step above the typical fried food crap. It was
a nice little shop. Clean and cool with pretty modern music playing
over their speakers. It was good because for a small price, I could
get a lot of food. I determined I would save the money to get
dinner on Friday night. It just felt like a Friday night thing to
me. A little treat to ease the pain of the week away.

As the sun got lower in the sky that Friday,
my stomach began doing somersaults. It knew food was on the way and
I could barely keep from slobbering. My hands were shaking as I
approached the store. I pulled the glass doors open and I could see
the look on the cashier’s face as I walked in. Her nose screwed up
as though she just got a whiff of some bad cheese. I sauntered up
to the counter as confident as I could and placed my hands upon
it.

“What do you want?”

“Look, honey. I got money today. Okay?”

“Fine. What’ll it be?”

“I’ll have a number two meal, please.” With
a forced smile, the cashier looked down at her register and typed
in my order.

“That’ll be six fifty two.”

I flipped my bag around and opened it up. I
sifted through my crap for my little nest egg but I couldn’t find
it. Panic ripped through me and my stomach fell a bit. I searched
faster, but it wasn’t there. Suddenly, relief came over me as I
realized I put the money in the smaller front pocket. I zipped the
bag closed and went on to the extra pocket. I pulled it open but
found nothing but a hole in the cheap vinyl. My blood froze.

“Sir?”

“Hold on!” I barked as I searched every inch
of the pocket. My finger stumbled on something and I quickly
plucked out a shiny quarter. “Here!” The cashier examined the coin
closely.

“That’s fine, sir. Your balance is now six
twenty seven.”

“Look, I had the money. I did!”

“Do you have the money now?”

“No, but...”

“Next!” The cashier said and the kid behind
me slid around me and she began taking his order. I stepped back. I
felt my head growing lighter. I looked to the floor. I saw a penny
outside the door. I lunged for it. As I pocketed it, I saw another
coin a few feet away. Soon I was half way down the block picking up
fallen money along the path I came. I had found all the coins and
the single. I was still missing the five-dollar bill. I saw a small
child picking up a bill off the ground. My brain snapped all of a
sudden and I charged forward.

“Stop!” I screamed as I flew forward and
tackled the child. I saw the five land on the ground. I reached for
it, but I felt hands grabbing at me. I struggled against their pull
to get closer to my treasure, but I saw the bill slipping away and
I looked up and two officers were coming upon me. They grabbed me
and pushed me up against a nearby wall. I felt the cuffs slap on
and they shoved me into their cruiser.

Once we got to the police station, the
arresting officer led me inside to the booking office. Cops were
taking statements and fingerprints and there was a large line of
people waiting to be processed. I saw a small room off to the side
and I could see that was where they took mug shots. The officer
took me to a desk in the back and sat me down. He came around me
and slid behind the desk. He flipped on his computer and started
typing quickly. I looked around and felt a sinking feeling come
over me. Most of the people they had in custody looked to have
gotten the short end of the stick when it came to life. Most of
them looked to be fresh out of all kinds of different rehab. One
crack whore in particular struck me as she had stringy blonde hair,
pale skin and was missing at least four of her front teeth.

“Name.” The cop said all of a sudden. I
turned to face him and I heard the jingle of my cuffs.

“Jake Corba.”

“Hmmm.”

“What?”

“You’re not in the system.”

“I’ve never been arrested before.”

“Honestly? That surprises me.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

“So. What happened?”

“I know it looks bad, but it’s really very
simple. I had been saving to get something decent to eat, but I
discovered I had a hole in my bag. I was retracing my steps to get
the money back and that kid was just then picking up the five
dollar bill.”

“And that’s when you dog piled on her.”

“I just snapped. I wasn’t thinking. I was
just so hungry. I haven’t eaten real food in months. I didn’t hurt
her, did I?”

“She’s fine, but her mother is fit to be
tied.”

“You think she’ll press charges?”

“I’d be amazed if she doesn’t sue your ass
off.”

“I don’t have anything!”

“Easy. I’ll talk with her and see if I can
sway her.” Suddenly I heard some kind of excitement behind me. I
looked over and saw the child’s mother storming in.

“There! There he is!” She had sandy blonde
hair and was wrapped in expensive looking threads. I really noticed
the large rock on her wedding finger. She came up and towered over
me with a threatening glare. “I don’t know what kind of man just
attacks an innocent little girl right there on the street, but I
will make sure you never see the light of day again! Do you
understand me?”

“Ma’am? Please. If you would, please wait
behind the desk. I’ll come for you when I’m ready for your
statement.”

“I’ll give it to you now! This man attacked
my precious daughter right before my eyes. He was probably high on
crack or Meth or whatever they call it.”

“It wasn’t like that. I was just...” I
began, but before I could say another word, I felt her ice cold
hand slam across my face.

“Ma’am! I said wait over there! Unless you
want to share a cell with Mr. Corba.”

“
Oh. He has a name? Are you
sure it’s real?”

“Please, Ma’am. Just let me do my job.”

“Fine.” She then turned on her heel and went
back to where her daughter was waiting at the other side of the
room.

“Sorry.” The cop sat back down.

“It’s fine.” Suddenly a scream broke out. I
turned and some large behemoth in a leather vest was banging
around. He was swiping away cops as fast as they could hit him.
Everyone began screaming and running to get away while the police
all pulled out their guns and swarmed around. I had seen him when
we first came in. He looked like some kind of biker. He seemed
docile at the time, but something had stirred him up.

More uniforms came rushing in yelling at him
to calm down. One cop rushed him but the brute grabbed him and
tossed him aside. Apparently, he also managed to lift the cop’s
gun, because he held it out and sent everyone back. I saw the kid
and mom close behind him, huddled in the corner. The biker turned
and quickly grabbed the little girl and pressed the gun to her
head.

“One more step and the girl loses her head.”
He dragged her back as he distanced himself from the crowd of
police. I was still in my chair, cuffed. He was making his way
toward me. I wasn’t sure if he had not seen me or just thought I
was no threat. I saw the kid’s mom’s face. She may have been an
ice-cold bitch to me, but seeing her kid held at gunpoint was
tearing her up. I’m not sure why I cared, but I suddenly felt
morally obligated to do something.

Just as the crazed biker got within reach, I
leapt up and threw my arms over his head and pulled the cuffs
against his throat hard. He flailed quickly and the girl broke
free. She streaked back to her mother just as the big dude bucked
me off. I flew back and hit the wall hard. He still had the gun and
was stomping toward me. He raised it up, but before he could shoot,
the cops were on him. Once they had him subdued, everything slowly
shifted to normal. I sat back down as the cop returned.

“Good moves.” He said approvingly.

“Thanks. Instinct, I guess.”

“Officer?” The mom said from behind.

“Yes?”

“I, uh, I wanted to thank Mr. Corba. For
saving Katy.”

“No problem. I guess I owed her.”

“It was very brave of you. Thank you.”

“Sure.”

After processing, I was escorted to a
holding cell. It was dark and the floor was gray and cold. I could
hear the coughs and whispers of the other inmates in the other
cells. Mine was rather empty. Only two other guys were there. One
was asleep on one of the benches and the other was a crazy looking
freak with long, wild black hair. He sat in the corner with his
arms wrapped around himself, as though he were trying to hold in
all his crazy. The fluorescent lights above seemed to augment the
dingy pipes and chipped green paint on the walls. I found a spot
far from both of my cellmates and waited. I wasn’t sure what I was
waiting for, but I waited. The longhaired guy kept staring at
me.