At last the day was upon them. All there efforts had brought them to this moment about to unfold before them. Ace had warned them to approach slowly and with caution, and if at all possible, to avoid the demon’s field of view. He wasn’t sure what it had been, even with Arra’s help he couldn’t quite figure it out, but something had given them away in a number of his viewings. Perhaps it was the sound of their approach, perhaps some flaw in Liza’s technique.Either way, they would have to make the approached cautiously… bare foot, with no accessories or cumbersome clothing, only a shirt and biking shorts.

Demons loved the sun, and so they spent as much time as they could soaking it in. Fredrick was on his deck, wearing nothing but swimmers briefs. There were no other properties close enough to see Helen chained to the iron rung on the cement slab that surrounded and extended in front of the deck. A short length of chain was wrapped around her neck and secured with a pad lock, another lock secured the other end to the rung fixed in the cement beneath her. She had been stripped bare and left with no retreat from the blazing sun, her flesh was as much frayed from its searing rays as it was from the many lacerations and welts that scarred her body. But it was probably the psychological scars which had surely been inflicted that affected her most. Leo could not imagine what other torments the demon must have contrived for her to suffer, though he chose to concentrate on the task ahead of him rather than become distracted by difficult thoughts and feelings, he trained his mind on his objective and took a slow centering breadth. Eliza nearly gasped out loud at the sight of the broken woman, with everything she was she wanted to retreat from what lied before her, but some how she found the courage to move forward focusing her attention on Leo’s back… as if to place her hope in the man before her, hope that this would all be over soon.

They continued to approach from the far left side of the deck, but Leo realized the chain would be a problem. It wasn’t the kind you might find on a leash, it was thick and heavy to add to the torture of it. It was doubled around her neck and had scored her flesh… he could see that, even from afar. The skin around her neck and collar bone had long since been seared away, replaced with scarring, and was much darker than the blistering pink flesh that covered the rest of her body. Flies and maggots took to her like rotting garbage, though the maggots were probably partly responsible for keeping her alive. The maggots were crawling through her wounds even now, eating away at the necrotic and infected tissue, helping her wounds to mend themselves. Also, it seemed Helen had given up any fight she may have held, she made no effort to shoo away the flies and seemed resigned to suffer the scorching sun and rough burning concrete. But that was of little concern, all they had to do was free her from the chain doubled over around her neck, then someone could carry her to safety. Eventually, the pair reached their destination, and the demon showed no sign that he had either noticed their approach or was aware of their immediate presence.

Leo could feel himself slowly becoming stronger, though he wondered if he should try and get a little closer. He imagined that the longer they remained in the targets proximity the more likely it might become that something would go wrong. It was entirely possible that Liza would lose her nerve after a time, she was young and certainly not used to anything like this, though she was behaving in a manner that would make anyone who knew her very proud to be counted among those close to her. While she could sometimes be difficult to read, Leo was sure she had come to think of them all as a sort of family. Alester had used the resources of the society to arrange for her parents to believe she had been accepted to receive a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school, so she had been essentially living with all of them. It was a similar situation for Thomas of course, though the details may have gone a little differently. Still, the immediate problem was not really Liza, any number of things might cause them to be discovered as time moved on. Leo was told to use his best judgement, so that’s what he was going to do. Fredrick was now standing at the edge of his deck, taking in the sun and admiring his cruelty. Leo moved in behind him, almost close enough to reach out and grab the demon’s host body. Leo began to feel a surge of power flowing into him, which seemed almost visible, and when Fredrick stretched his arms above his head Leo almost jumped back.

The moments that followed moved by quickly, as Fredrick turned suddenly and reached out towards Leo. The demon had also noticed the sudden drain on his energy, and he pursued the flow of it back to the leech which seemed hidden from his eyes. His hand found purchase on something of substance, a face, he believed. He stepped further towards the form as he reached down to find a shoulder and then a neck, as Leo’s hands came up around his outstretched arm. As Fredrick began to lift Leo into the air, his strength rapidly bleeding away, he suddenly found his arm separated from his body. Out of nowhere, another intruder appeared sword in hand. No sooner than he grabbed the newcomer by the throat, before his second arm was being removed by what appeared to be the man’s twin appearing as if moments he had not been at all. Invisibility, the demon thought for the briefest of moments, but no it was something else he believed. either way this was not the time to puzzle over such things. The host body was beginning to fail, as it collapsed to its knees the demon roared out in anger. The stubs on his arms burst into flames, as the demons power began to rage. Just then the patio door opened…