“Stop it!” he yelled, turning to look for either of their cars. The vehicle Nika’s group had used was pulled over near the corner of University Place and Colchester Avenue, so he again drew on his vampire-given speed to race to the SUV. His stomach growled as he threw himself into the big vehicle, simultaneously telling the driver to go, go, go. Instantly the big four-wheel drive shot forward while he rummaged in the glove compartment, finding two pemmican bars to feed his savage metabolism.

“I have disabled the vehicle’s engine and removed the Helbourne’s legs at the knee. It is still trying to get away, using just its arms. Now I have removed its left arm at the shoulder. Movement is minimal. You should arrive in two-point-six minutes.”

They made it in just over two, pulling up behind two Burlington PD cruisers already on scene. The Helbourne was flopping about in the middle of the road, a smoking Jeep Rubicon stopped fifteen feet behind it, a massive, blackened hole in the center of the Jeep’s hood.

The responding officers were standing near their cars, guns hanging by their sides as they watched two of Omega’s drones circle the downed demon.

“Everyone alright?” Chris asked, hopping out.

“Ah, yes sir. Those drones just chopped him right up. I was worried at first, but the damned thing kept going, didn’t make a sound, just ignored the damage and kept trying to go. After the arm came off, it mostly just started going in a circle,” one of the cops, an Officer T. McGee, according to his name badge, reported, looking simultaneously shocked and awed. The other two officers just stared at Chris, one of them holstering his gun, which caused his buddy to follow suit.

Another cop car pulled up, this one an unmarked SUV, and Detective Schulz got out, his eyes locked on the Helbourne. “Is that… ”

“No. That’s a Helbourne. Think Jason Voorhees from the Friday the Thirteenth movies. Empty body occupied by a demon. We lost the demoness. She’s Lilith, by the way. But she gave up her means of hiding from me, so it’s just a matter of time,” Chris said.

“So one of these killed those kids on campus and wounded all the others? And it’s not even the leader?” Schulz asked. “And she’s still out there? You’re supposed to be good at this.”

Chris stopped and turned, fixing Schulz with his violet eyes. For a second, he felt the cage in his mind rattle. Then he spun about and strode to the Helbourne, picking it up without effort, holding it at arm’s length.

“One of these pieces of shit killed my whole family when I was eight… with an axe. We’re incredibly lucky that the dead count was just two.”