Wings For Rent, Chapter Two; Damion

As I watched Sera leave the school building, I felt a little disappointed. She made this hunt all the more interesting. Although hunting Vampires was nothing out of the ordinary, and quite easy for me, I liked to stick around just to watch her. She amused me. She thought she was better than she really was. Truth be told, in all this time I could have caught Rem three times over. But it was more fun to watch her try. Besides, this was good experience for her. I could afford to give a few Vampires to her. After all, I had a decade on her. 1

I suspected that, in another life, she would have been that sweet, pretty, shy girl everyone loves. Ok, so maybe pretty was an understatement. This girl was an angel, what did I expect? She was gorgeous. Although she was pretty typical for an Angel, she still was amazing by human standards. Not that I was human. Far from it, in fact. She may have been an Angel, but I was the opposite; a Daemon, inside and out. I hated posing as a human in this world. 2

All throughout the school day, I longed to free my wings. My shoulder blades itched and I couldn't stop twitching. I thought of skipping classes a number of times, but I couldn't risk it. I couldn't let Peris know I could have easily caught Rem three times over, because otherwise I'd been sent back. No one liked a slacker. The human world was a lot more fun, usually. Less boring. Although posing as a senior in high school had its drawbacks, it was fun at times. So I didn't really want to catch Rem just yet. 3

I had come to the same conclusion Sera had; this hunt would have to continue another day. I left the school building after she did and started walking towards the apartment I used when I had jobs to do. Between here and there, there was a small park with a small wooded area I liked to walk through. It gave me a chance to stretch my wings, if only for a few minutes, away from human eyes. As soon as I reached the trees, I shrugged off my jean jacket. My wings unfolded out of nothingness, the black feathers tickling my neck as they shifted. 4

In the small stream of sunshine that was passing through the canopy of the trees, my black wings turned into beautiful things. As unlikely as it may seem, Daemons actually had gorgeous wings. Mine were black, twice my body size. In the rays of the sun, lines of different colors threaded the feathers, much like an oil slick. Black with a rainbow of color. 5

Something moved in the underbrush, startling me. I jumped up by instinct, my wings spread of their own accord. The tips missed the surrounding trees, and, in an instant, I was above them.6

Ah, screw being seen. It was so nice to finally be flying... In seconds, I was flying far above the city. If anyone saw me, I hoped they would mistake me for some huge bird. If not, well, it was their problem.