AZRAEL

The Hunter Arrives

The flaming sigil pulsed once in the overcast sky above Eidolon City, its alien geometry burning itself into the retinas of everyone who dared look up. Then it began to descend.

Maya watched in horrified fascination as the symbol dropped through the clouds like a falling star, trailing ribbons of fire that left smoking scars across the heavens. It was heading straight for the university district, straight for them.

"We need to move." Azrael's voice cut through her paralysis. "Now."

He grabbed her hand, and she felt that same electric sensation pass between them—stronger now, almost painful in its intensity. Whatever he was becoming, the process was accelerating.

They ran across the parking lot, Maya's journalism bag bouncing against her hip with each step. Behind them, she could hear screams starting to rise from the campus as other students noticed the descending symbol. Car alarms began wailing in discordant symphony, triggered by the supernatural resonance.

Maya's Honda Civic sat in the back row, wedged between a rusted pickup and an SUV that had seen better years. She fumbled for her keys, hands shaking from adrenaline and the lingering shock of everything she'd witnessed.

"Hurry." Azrael glanced over his shoulder, tracking the sigil's descent. "It's almost—"

The symbol struck the ground three blocks away with the sound of reality tearing. The impact sent a shockwave through the earth that cracked windows and set off every car alarm in a six-block radius. Where it had landed, a pillar of dark fire rose into the sky, visible even in daylight.

"What is that thing?" Maya finally got the key into the ignition, her hands steadying as familiar routine took over.

"A gateway." Azrael slid into the passenger seat, his face grim. "The Underworld is sending something after me."

The Honda's engine turned over with a reluctant cough. Maya threw it into reverse, tires squealing as she backed out of the space. Around them, other drivers were doing the same—a growing exodus of terrified mortals fleeing something their minds couldn't fully process.

"Underworld." Maya navigated through the chaos of the parking lot, her reporter's brain cataloguing details even as her hands gripped the wheel. "As in hell? Demons and sulfur and pitchforks?"

"Not hell. Something older, more primal. The realm of chaos and appetite, ruled by beings who see mortals as either tools or food." Azrael's eyes never left the pillar of fire growing larger in the distance. "And they want me back."

Maya reached the parking lot exit just as the first screams began in earnest. She looked in her rearview mirror to see students pouring out of buildings across campus, all fleeing in the opposite direction from the dark fire. Some were taking photos with their phones, others were calling loved ones, but most were simply running.

The pillar of fire began to change, its perfect column wavering and distorting. Something was moving inside it—a massive shape that pressed against the walls of flame like a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis made of midnight.

"Drive faster," Azrael said quietly.

Maya pressed the accelerator, guiding the Honda onto University Avenue. The street was already clogged with fleeing traffic, horns blaring as panicked drivers tried to escape the supernatural disaster zone. She could see police cars racing toward the disturbance, their sirens adding to the cacophony.

"They won't be able to help," Azrael said, reading her thoughts. "Mortal weapons are useless against what's coming."

As if summoned by his words, the thing in the fire broke free.

Maya caught a glimpse of it in her side mirror—a creature that defied easy description. It stood twenty feet tall, its body armored in plates of black metal that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. Where a head should be, writhing tentacles of shadow emerged from a neck guard, each one ending in an eye that burned like molten copper. Its limbs were too long, jointed in places that shouldn't exist, ending in claws that could shred steel like paper.

It surveyed the fleeing humans for a moment, those terrible eyes scanning the crowd. Then, with movements that were surprisingly graceful for something so massive, it began to hunt.

The Honda lurched as Maya took a hard right onto Elm Street, trying to put more distance between them and the creature. But even with three blocks separating them, she could hear the sounds of destruction behind them—the crash of metal, the splintering of concrete, the screams of people who couldn't run fast enough.

"It's tracking me," Azrael said, his voice hollow. "My scent, my essence. It won't stop until it finds me."

"Then we keep running."

"Maya." He turned to look at her, and she was shocked by the pain in his eyes. "It will kill anyone who gets in its way. Everyone on campus, everyone in the city if necessary. The only way to stop the slaughter is—"

"Don't." She cut him off, knowing what he was about to suggest. "Don't you dare think about surrendering. There has to be another way."

The Honda shuddered as something massive landed on the roof of a building they'd just passed. Through her rearview mirror, Maya saw the creature perched there like a gargoyle, its tentacle-eyes swiveling as it searched for its prey. When its gaze found their car, she felt the weight of its attention like a physical blow.

It leaped.

The creature's jump carried it over two city blocks, landing in the street behind them with enough force to crater the asphalt. Cars swerved to avoid the impact, some flipping over from the shockwave. Maya floored the accelerator, but she could see it wouldn't be enough. The thing was gaining ground with each bounding stride.

"Left!" Azrael pointed toward a narrow alley between two office buildings. "There!"

Maya yanked the wheel hard left, the Honda's tires screaming as it skidded into the alley. Behind them, the creature's roar shook windows in their frames—a sound like grinding metal mixed with the dying wails of everything it had ever killed.

The alley was barely wide enough for the car, brick walls flashing past on either side. Maya could see the exit ahead—a narrow gap that opened onto Merchant Street. If they could just—

The creature's claw punched through the Honda's rear windshield.

Maya screamed as safety glass exploded into the backseat. In her rearview mirror, she could see one of the thing's arms extending impossibly long, reaching through the shattered window as it ran alongside them. Black ichor dripped from its claws, eating through the car's upholstery like acid.

Azrael twisted in his seat, black fire erupting from his hands. The flames met the creature's arm, and it pulled back with a shriek of pain and fury. But the damage was done—the Honda was trailing smoke and sparks, its rear axle damaged by the impact.

They burst out of the alley onto Merchant Street, but the car was dying. The engine coughed and sputtered, losing power with each passing second. Maya could feel the steering wheel fighting her as damaged components began to fail.

"There!" Azrael pointed to an abandoned construction site across the street. "We can lose it in the scaffolding."

Maya aimed for the gap in the chain-link fence surrounding the site, praying the Honda had enough life left to make it. The car limped across the street, engine smoking, just as the creature burst from the alley behind them.

They made it through the fence before the Honda finally gave up. The engine seized with a sound like grinding bones, and they rolled to a stop among half-finished concrete pillars and idle construction equipment.

Maya and Azrael abandoned the car, running deeper into the maze of scaffolding and building materials. Behind them, the creature tore through the chain-link fence as if it were tissue paper, its roar echoing off the unfinished walls.

They found cover behind a pile of steel beams, both breathing hard. Maya's journalism bag had torn during their escape, spilling notebooks and pens across the concrete dust. She gathered what she could while Azrael peered around their makeshift barricade.

"It's searching," he whispered. "Testing the air for my scent."

Maya risked a glance around the steel beam. The creature had stopped in the center of the construction site, its tentacle-eyes swaying back and forth like a predator tasting the wind. Up close, she could see details that made her stomach turn—the armor plates were inscribed with symbols that seemed to move when she wasn't looking directly at them, and the spaces between the metal revealed not flesh but more darkness, as if the thing were a suit of armor worn by living shadow.

It turned in their direction, eyes beginning to glow brighter.

"Found you," it said, and its voice was the sound of every nightmare given form. Each word dripped with malice that was older than civilization, hungrier than starvation.

The creature began walking toward their hiding place with deliberate slowness, savoring their terror. When it spoke again, Maya felt the words in her bones like the vibration of a church bell made from screams.

"Our lord wants you back in the pit."