"It’s you." Temenos breathed with excitement on his visage as he regarded Arwen. "You are the pretty girl that bastard John Smith goes around with."
Arwen maintained her composure, ignoring the leery gaze sent her as she inquired. "Why are you here?"
Temenos grinned. "We are here because your friend has succeeded in troubling quite a few powerful individuals and now, due to his foolishness, they have decided to come for him."
"The council sent you?"
"Indeed." Temenos nodded in agreement, before displaying a hint of annoyance as he looked away. "Unfortunately, that bastard John Smith is long gone."
Then, his expression shifted from annoyance to joy as he glanced at Arwen again, with a cruel smile on his lips. "But you are here."
Just as Arwen was about to respond, there were a series of footsteps followed by someone calling out to Temenos.
Both glanced in the direction of the voice which happened to be inside the house.
There, they watched as an officer appeared, but he wasn’t alone and was instead currently holding on to an unconscious Douglas.
"I found this invalid in the basement." The officer reported with relish, expecting praise in turn.
Temenos would disappoint him, though, as he remarked. "What business do we have with an imbecile?"
"Just shut your mouth and kill the damn thing."
"You will do no such thing!" Arwen lashed out coldly, no longer bothering to maintain her composure, instead baring her fangs in full force.
Temenos froze in place as Arwen’s aura bored down on him like a terrifying force, leaving him listless and confused.
However, Arwen was forced to shift attention away from him when she noticed Douglas’s finger twitch.
Unfortunately, she was too late as a moment later, the head of the officer who was holding Douglas fell to the ground, still not having registered that it had been detached from the rest of its body.
"No!" Arwen immediately acted, summoning several undead in an instant while also conjuring a field of pale flames around the house to ensure that no one, especially Douglas, escaped.
Douglas, unfortunately, paid her little mind and instead charged Temenos who tried to react.
Alas, the task force captain was barely fast enough to fire a shot from his revolver before his head was also cleanly detached from his body.
The other officers, having noticed the commotion, revealed themselves, and just as the two before, they were sent on their way to the Afterlife.
All these in the span of a few seconds.
Arwen was stunned and more importantly, she was terrified.
How had Alex subdued Douglas in the first instance?
The bastard was just too fast to keep up with.
For a moment, fear sought to overtake her, and it appeared she would pay for such a blunder as Douglas turned his crazed attention to her.
Like a hound picking out prey, he set eyes on her and without hesitation, launched an attack.
He sped through the undead she’d summoned, destroying them with ease, and soon, only one remained between Arwen and certain death.
However, this time, the undead held.
Douglas glared at the Headless Horseman standing in the way of his target and like a wild animal, roared out his discontent before proceeding to attack with even more fervor.
There was no skill to his movements, no thought, no soul... just pure, primal, and instinctual acts.
The Headless Horseman, once a famed Henosian General before death, managed to hold for a time.
But that was hardly enough to stop the inevitable as Douglas’ speed won out in the end, destroying the Horseman and leaving Arwen open for death’s embrace... or so it should have been.
Instead, a ribcage coated with pale flames prevented Douglas from touching Arwen, leaving the mad animal vexed.
Realizing what would happen if she allowed Douglas to roam, Arwen understood she had to stop him now, and so she acted.
The rib cage grew arms, a neck, and a head, all coated in pale flames before a sword and shield appeared as well.
This was to ensure her safety and it did just that as Douglas was forced to retreat.
However, Arwen wasn’t done just yet as several skeletal hands suddenly emerged from the ground and grabbed his legs, impeding him for a moment and that was enough, as the Headless Horseman, revived by Arwen’s flames, charged him with killing intent.
Douglas reacted by trying to break free of his confines but that was not enough as the Horseman impaled him with a lance, barely inches away from his heart.
Arwen watched with a pained look as Douglas collapsed to the ground while slowly bleeding out.
Just as she was about to give the order for them to leave and quickly return to ensure Douglas didn’t die, Arwen felt something, prompting her to look behind, towards the entrance of the building.
There, the flames receded like a lie, allowing entry to an unfamiliar face.
"You... Who are you?" Arwen asked while already preparing to act as she could tell that the person before her wasn’t just an enemy but the worst kind.
An enemy that had sworn allegiance to the Abyss, an Abyss Wheel Mystic.
"I needed to confirm if the troublesome one was taken care of only to discover another problematic figure. Tell me, how do you and him manage to avoid being divined?"
"What are you talking about?"
The woman, wearing an expensive blue himation with a similar colored scarf, smiled as she replied. "You are coming with me."
Well aware that wasting further time on conversation would be pointless, Arwen didn’t hesitate to attack, unleashing a tidal wave of pale flames along with undead while hurrying to pick up Douglas and escape.
Alas, she underestimated the power of the woman she was up against, and in a moment, she found herself right where she began, leaving her too stunned to speak; her eyes widened in terror as she stared at one responsible.
The woman grinned wickedly. "You are coming with me."