Lust gave a bit of a swallow as she sat on the sofa. She was very tired right now. The sun was at its highest and she wished to sleep. However she found it hard to sleep with the man that was staying with them. Astor was sure that Savon would come back. However he couldn't sit around and wait for him so he left this one instead. Apparently he had an uprising he was going to take care of and come right back. Astor put serious fear in them if they were to let Savon get away again.
Vincent was in a different room, but she knew he wasn't really sleeping either. They had an acolyte staying in their home. Astor had used all of the most powerful demons and humans that they had collected to sacrifice. It had taken them all and a good portion of the surrounding populace to bring just this one over, and that was with a controlled ritual. The number was close to one thousand of carefully selected creatures and individuals to open the gate long enough for one more acolyte to come through. At least it wasn't millions again. She hadn't been sure she wasn't going to be sacrificed.
Astor had commented that this one was on the lower end of their kind. No where near as powerful as he, but still far stronger than either of them could ever be. Plus if he hungered they might be used. Though he wouldn't disobey what Astor said, he'd told him to not kill them. That and wait until Savon showed and keep him here, alive. The reason the number of sacrifices was so high and out of control was due to the balance of metaphysical power and mortal. Once started the ritual would keep consuming until it met a balance for the trade of crossing the gate.
"Aren't you worried that he will use you as the sacrifice to bring more of your kind up?" Lust spoke to the man. The silence was horrible.
"No. We are more powerful together. Plus he would have to gain a large number of humans to sacrifice with me. Their number would have to equal that of my power to open the gate and bring others over. Far to time consuming. That is why the half breed would promise so much more." He said. "He is a balance of both, and if he is truly powerful can bring over multiples of us."
"He is strong."
"To you perhaps. To me he is no more than a child and tainted by human blood." This man stood near six one and had odd amber colored eyes that were bright with the dark black ring around them. When angered they became nearly copper.
"I am not powerless." She said to him. He just gave an odd sound, a disbelieving sound.
"For your kind maybe. Still far weaker than us. Nothing you can do against our strongest."
"You mean Astor." She said, he looked at her.
"He was one of the strongest, because he made it through. Yes he is our strongest currently and now our leader." He looked away from her and toward the covered window. It was easy to tell that he was bored. Though he would disappear for hours at a time and come back rather happy with himself. The ritual had put a dent in the city's population, but not as much as this one was doing. Feeding and destroying anything he wanted to, anything that made him feel good.
Lust got up and moved toward the door. She wanted sleep, but she wasn't sharing the same room as this one when she did it. He watched her a lot. She now knew how those humans and demons felt when she watched them. She didn't like it, she hated it. There wasn't much she could really do about it. She hoped that Savon did show, and when he did either this one took him and left, or he killed him.
"Where are you going?" He asked. What almost looked like amusement was in his eyes.
"Where ever I want." Lust said and went out the door. She was relieved the second that the doors closed. She couldn't move fast enough down the hall away from him. If Astor let him, she didn't doubt that she would be the first on his list to kill. Oddly enough dying didn't scare her, it was the how. He would make cruel look nice. She'd seen Astor and how he killed. Not something she wanted to feel.
Lust came out on the fourth floor and decided on one of these rooms to sleep in. First she would deal with the occupants. Killing them to feed her and then she would sleep. She picked one at random and went in. There was a demon here and a human woman, her life force wasn't that vibrant. The demon would feed her better and then she could play with the woman for a short bit. Humans tasted better with adrenaline running through their blood.
_____Savon_____
Savon was at the front of the group, and for multiple reasons Jonas was at the back of the group. Kayla was right behind Savon. He preferred that, much easier to watch her. Get to her if need be. After that it was just a mix of people. Todd and Tina had stayed back watching the building. They would only speak to them through earpieces if something went wrong.
Savon gave a gesture for them to stop and they waited in the cement and metal stairwell at the door to the fifth floor. Getting in had been easy. Only one had been watching the entrance and with a little persuasion from Savon he'd walked away just long enough for them to get in. He felt Vincent there, but Lust was a floor below them. There was another presence here and he didn't like it.
"Something else is here." Savon said to them quietly.
"What else?" Pat asked behind Kayla. Savon was quiet for a moment and it took a bit. This one was powerful, the feel of him was... was acolyte, but Savon didn't know how that would be possible. He would need one like him or an insane number of people to sacrifice to bring just one over. Astor alone had taken millions to match his power.
"We are wasting time!" Jonas said in an angered whisper. He went to move.
"Don't you dare move and compromise us!" Kayla snapped at him. Her voice low so that it wouldn't carry.
"Relax, give him a minute. Don't ruin our edge." Jonas's eyes narrowed at her, but she just gave him a look as did a couple others.
"I think that there might be an acolyte in the room."
"Astor?" Neil asked.
"No, he wouldn't let me feel him. He'd be blocking me, this one is different."
"How could he have brought up an acolyte? I thought that was something very hard to do."
"Not if you had the right people, the right ones and power to do it." Kayla said looking at Savon and then behind her. "Those holding cells were empty."
"Fuck." Pat said.
"You sure?" Louis said. "This is a really bad time to tell us this."
"I'm nearly certain."
"But not positive." Neil said.
"Not one hundred percent. The only other one I've ever felt was Astor."
"We are standing on the fifth floor of the enemies building. Armed and ready, now you tell us that what? We should turn around?" Jonas said. "We might not get another chance."
"I know." Savon said. "If we move forward we might not be going home."
"Not much choice now." Louis said.
"Lust is a floor below us. Vincent is here on this floor with the unknown." Savon said.
"We have to stay together for this, split we stand less of a chance getting out." Neil said. The others just gave a nod.
"Up or down Savon?" Kayla asked, she'd trust his judgment over the others. He turned.
"We can definitely get Lust without losing anyone. The floor she is on has near forty demons and humans."
"We stand a better chance getting her than Vincent where there are two?" Jonas said. "Are you insane, we have the numbers."
"Have you ever fought an acolyte? Do you know what they are capable of?" Savon asked in a quiet voice.
"No but we have you who apparently shares blood with them. Plus more than they do, we should go up." Savon knew that if there was an acolyte here, the skills of this group would be better with the demons. He wasn't even sure he could best the acolyte. He didn't know all he was capable of and he was at a disadvantage. To this one he would be nothing more than an untrained child.
"We are here, might as well try for Vincent." Pat said, Savon gave a shrug. It was their funeral. He opened the door and moved into the hall glancing at Kayla for a moment. His scent was all over her, not such a good thing right now in his opinion.