Dyrnwyn sizzled as heavy raindrops fell on the blade, but the eternal fire was never extinguished. Shepherd used the back of his hand to push the long black hair from the left side of his face. He had considered, more than once, just cutting all of his hair evenly. But he did like the long hair on the left, and the short hair on the right. Having it all short would be just too weird. He turned his attention away from his troublesome hair problems, and back to the matter at hand.
The ceiling of the old building had long since fallen down, leaving chunks missing from the floor where it had plummeted to the basement. Shepherd stepped carefully around the decaying floor, keeping his eyes up. Several gray feathers fell to the floor, hiding some of the weaker rotting spots. Shepherd rolled his eyes, this was a stereotypical spot to find the evil beings he hunted with so much gusto. The empty abandoned building creaked and groaned as the creature inside scurried across the walls and what was left of the ceiling, hiding from Shepherd between the flashes of lightning. He used Dyrnwyn, one of his dual swords, to light the way as he walked from room to room searching for the prey he had already wounded. The fire from the sword glowed brighter than any flashlight he could carry.
"Why are you doing this, Human? This is not your fight." The raspy voice came from somewhere in the top floor of the four story building. A gravelly cackle followed the question. Shepherd ignored the beast and continued searching, following the trail of molted feathers it left in its path. "Not one for talking, child?" it asked, voice echoing in the half decayed building.
"I'm not a child anymore," he spat at the creature he couldn't see.
"To us you are. To us your life is nothing but a speck," it whispered.
"Or a meal," he mumbled to himself.
"That too," it laughed loudly, nearly shaking the single window that remained. The lightning struck again, illuminating the wooden floor, crumbling walls, and lurking creature. Without a second of hesitation, Shepherd launched Solias at the wall where the creature had been sitting. The golden sword stuck into the wall, but not before scraping the creature. It hissed in pain and skittered away, into another dark spot in the building. He quickly recovered his sword, and turned before the beast could plan an attack.
"Wrong sword," it hissed in the night. Shepherd couldn't help but laugh.
"It still hurt, didn't it?" he asked, as he followed a trail of blood. His prey only hissed in reply.
"Come on now. It's not too late." Shepherd could practically hear the smile, revealing the monsters black fangs. "You can still fall into the hands of the light," it whispered, and before Shepherd could respond, a beautiful being appeared before him. It's white and gold wings stretched out behind it. It seemed as if rays of sun fluttered around its form, cutting away the cold night air and rain. Shepherd felt his skin warmed by the presence of the angel, it's warm smile and delicate features comforting him. He shut his eyes for a moment, enjoying the warmth, before pulling his hand back and slicing clean through the angel's chest. The ruse was dropped within a millisecond, the golden wings changed back to their ugly gray color, as feathers fell off the dead limbs. The tan smiling face reverted back to the sickly color it truly was. The perfect rows of white teeth changed back into the long and cracked black fangs, and the forked tongue spilled out from its mouth as it screamed in agony. It's claws raked the wooden floor and it flailed as its own death drew closer. Its mis-colored, ugly eyes shut as it took it's last breath.
"I hate angels," Shepherd muttered as another crash of lightning and thunder filled the sky.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for. That thing, that most people called 'saints', had few possessions. The small box in the corner of the building was easily noticeable, as it was untouched by whatever had destroyed the building in the first place. He opened it and found the key that dangled on the golden chain. Before his eyes, the golden glow of the chain faded to the ugly gray and red color of rusted metal. He ripped the key from the chain, and shoved it into a pocket that was sewed on to the sheath of his sword. He wiped Solias off with a bit of the ragged cloth the angel called clothing, and sheathed it. Dyrnwyn needed less care, and he simply sheathed the burning sword, watching as the flames extinguished themselves. The rain had soaked him to the core, and he was freezing. He climbed back down the stairs to the ground floor, exiting the old building. The fight hadn't been too hard on him. He was very much surprised that the angel had tried something as lowly as trying to convince him to follow the light. It was obviously a last resort, he should have known it wouldn't work.
His swords were hidden underneath the long black coat he wore, which stopped mid-calf. His black hair brushed the collar and often fell into his eyes, it annoyed him but for some reason he never got rid of it. The other half of his hair was short and spiked, a bright blonde in contrast to the dark shining black that his other half was. His mismatched eyes echoed his hair, the bright ocean blue sat on his right side, and the brilliant green eye was on his left, underneath his long black hair. The tight black shirt he wore underneath the coat was soaked through with rain. He stopped walking once he found the abandoned building he had been staying in while hunting the Angel Lieutenant. He stopped under the overhang, and whipped the left side of his hair in front of him, ringing out the cold rain, before letting it fall back into place. He stepped inside and moved to the farthest room back. The power had long since been shut off in the building, but it was still dry and intact. He walked over to the bed that someone had left in the old building, and pulled his backpack out from under it. The tattered green bag was all he carried with him, besides Solias and Drynwyn. He shoved the key in a pocket and threw the bag against a wall. He pulled the swords from his side, and set them next to the bed so that they were close by. He shrugged off his coat, and laid it down near the swords, and crawled into bed, still soaking wet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shepherd yawned and stretched his arms, letting his hands fall on the sheaths of his swords. He picked them up as he swung his legs over the bed, his feet touch the floor through the large, black, steel-toed hiking boots. He attached the swords to his belt again, and grabbed his coat. His stomach growled as he made sure Solias and Drynwyn were secured well. He checked that they were covered with the cloth of the jacket, and headed out, backpack in hand. He walked to the nearest diner, and coughed up what little money he had for a decent meal. The waitress was nice enough but he always made a point not to get attached to people. It was for the best, since he was always on the move.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shepherd moved into the building slowly, swords at the ready. The glowing fire that surrounded the blade on his left illuminated the dark warehouse around him. Not far away, he could hear the sound of laughing. He frowned as he moved closer, carefully. Screams followed the laughing quickly, but eventually faded away until only the laughter was left once again.
"You guys sure do know how to party," a man's voice floated through the large warehouse. Shepherd peeked around the corner and his eyes widened at the sight of four angels. One Lieutenant was among them, obviously larger and more grotesque than the others. His wings had hardly any feathers at all, only a few gray patches left. A long rat like tail poked out from right above his ass, which was only covered with some tattered pieces of dirty cloth. His gray bare feet scratched at the floor with long claws. The monsters back curved almost completely over, giving the angel a bad hunch.
Chained to a wall, dangling by his wrists, was a demon. The long claws on his feet barely scratched the floor, and his medium sized leather wings were lying limp behind him. His eyes glowed a bright red, so bright that Shepherd could see them from where he stood. His chest was bare, and the only clothing he had on was a pair of way-too-small leather pants. Two curved horns sprouted from the top of his head, hiding in a patch of pointed black hair. His lips were curved into a smile, but he panted with agony. One of the angels nearby held a knife that was dripping with black blood. On the demon's muscled chest, dripped several lines of black blood, staining the tanned skin. Behind him, flicked a long pointed devil's tail.
Shepherd couldn't help but admire the thin frame of the demon. The chains pulled all of his muscles tight, making them show through his skin. He wasn't very muscular, but it was obvious there was some strength under the smooth skin. The tight leather pants that hung low on his hips showed an impressive package for someone of the demons size. It was obvious that he had been enjoying whatever torture was being inflicted upon him. His tail swished and flicked back and forth like an agitated cat. His bright red eyes were hiding behind thick eyelashes that blinked seductively at his captors. Shepherd shook the thoughts from his mind, now wasn't the time.
"Answer our questions!" the Lieutenant spoke, his gravelly voice floating to Shepherd's ears.
