The rain fell in heavy sheets as the lightening cracked through the night sky instantly following by booming thunder. Shane loved weather like this. It made the night so much more enjoyable. As the wind moaned through the trees, Shane found himself smiling. Such brutal weather helped ease his sour mood. He listened as the rain beat down relentlessly on the roof, causing a deafening roar within the confines of his lavish apartment.

 He stared out the window thinking about how he would execute his plan. Deep in his gut he knew that Elizabeth would be a challenge. He tried to slip into her mind and control her thoughts but he was greeted by a wall on which is his efforts collided with. Never had he met someone whose mind he could not infiltrate. He didn’t expect her to be so strong for a Nephilim, especially one who had ascended and not realized what she was. He was enthralled by that fact. Surely she would have been aware of what she was by now. Her cousin and his irritating coven were Nephilim as well, which meant that he had to always be on the top of his game.

 Caym’s ridiculous plot to infuriate him by hurting Elizabeth would have alerted that particular coven to his presence. Which only meant that his job would be more difficult. Shane hoped that Elizabeth would have been too freaked out by what had happened to her to remember Caym’s name. If she didn’t then it would have looked like she had just been jumped. But Shane sensed that she had in fact learned Caym’s identity and had passed on the information to her cousin and his friends. Shane rubbed his temples in frustration. Caym did a pretty good job of putting a spoke in his wheel before the train had even pulled out of the station.

The coven to which she unknowingly belonged to grew in strength, possibly by far the strongest in decades. Their leader Matthew had gained the gift of trapping anyone in their own mind. What made it worse was that he also had the ability to make that individual or individuals as rumor had it, to see what he wanted them to see. The thought of Matthew’s gift always ruffled Shane’s feathers. It was understandable why the task given to him by Abaddon involved taking out as many of that coven as possible bringing Elizabeth to him, alive. If their leader was strong, it would definitely mean that the rest of them possessed gifts that made them stronger than most Nephilim.

 He had begun observing them and quickly realized that the rumors of their strength weren’t embellished or far-fetched. This coven was indeed powerful. Taking them down would be difficult but it was something that had to be done no matter how high the failure rate seemed to look. His plan had to be a well thought out one. Elizabeth was well protected by the coven.
He needed to take as many of them out in order to get to her.

Beginning to pace his apartment he was suddenly struck by an idea. He may not be able to access Elizabeth’s mind when she was conscious but what if he could while she was asleep? Focusing his thoughts and settling onto thoughts of Elizabeth he felt the familiar rush of his spirit. He was carried through the cold wet night’s air as he soared through the sky. His body remained physically within in his apartment but being a demon had its occasional perks.

The ability to project a spirit form of himself was one of them.

It wasn’t difficult for him to appear in her bedroom. He looked around bemused and smiled at her sleeping form. He heard the deep voices of the coven just beyond the door, probably the living room. He had to act quickly. If they were as strong as he thought they were, then it wouldn’t be long before they became aware of his presence.

He touched her cheek and closed his eyes. He felt the warmth of her skin and he felt the block on her mind. It wasn’t as strong as before. He mentally pushed forward and successfully breached the barrier to her mind. He saw images of her dancing with one of those in the coven. His tattooed arms were gripping her waist gently as she moved seductively against him to the music that blared. He watched as the man kissed her neck and saw Elizabeth’s back arch at the touch of his lips against her heated skin.

Shane stepped forward and willed Elizabeth’s dream scape to subtly change so that it was him dancing behind her rather than the man from the coven. She spun around to face him and a look of shock painted her face. She looked confused and slowly backed away from him. He could feel her heart beat quickening. He took her hand gently in his and kissed it.

“Dance with me” he whispered in her ear, pulling her close to him. He felt her body relax as her hips swayed to the music.

“You were the last person I thought I would see here” she said huskily in his ear.

 Her breath tickled his ear and caused his pores to rise lightly. He was taken aback at the effect the sound of her beautiful voice had on him. He leaned closer into her, enthralled by her eyes and by the faint scent of honeysuckle that clung to her soft skin. He ran his fingers through her silky hair, becoming more and more fascinated by the creature in front of him; so much so that he began to lose himself to her.

He moved to the music with her, breathing in her enticing scent. Closing his eyes he gently leaned down to kiss her neck. She moaned softly and looked up at him. Smiling she entangled her fingers into his raven black hair and crashed her lips against his. He was shocked by the boldness of her actions and instantly molded his lips against hers. She suckled gently on his lower lip causing him to moan into the kiss. Taking advantage of the sound that escaped his lips, she snaked her tongue against his. Their tongues danced together as the music blared around them. The grip on her waist tightened as he tried to pull her closer to him. Then without warning she broke the kiss, panting slightly, her cheeks flushed. He looked at her breathing heavily, wanting more of her intoxicating kiss.

 In front of his eyes she began to disappear, and confusion clouded his mind. He felt someone grip the back of his black shirt and throw him to the ground.

“You seem to be somewhere you’re not supposed to be” growled the voice.

Shane looked up startled. “what the…” his eyes widened as he realized who the voice belong to. Pulling himself to his feet, he brushed off his shirt.

“Leave at once demon” hissed Matthew, flexing his muscles menacingly.

Shane knew that he had been discovered which meant that Elizabeth had trapped him unknowingly with her mind, which would have indeed alerted the coven to his presence. He knew that even though he was in spirit form, he could still be damaged if Matthew decided to use force. Concentrating hard, he tried to remove himself from Elizabeth’s mind but it was to no avail. It was as if the same barrier that he had successfully breached earlier had become impenetrable, which could only mean that someone else was controlling her mind.

Shane looked towards Matthew and a sickening realization crept over him as his eyes landed on two other figures emerging from behind him. Both of them wore black tee-shirts like Matt and they all flexed their tattooed arms as they stood squarely on either side of their leader. He recognized them both. One of them was the man Elizabeth had been dancing with earlier when he had infiltrated her mind. The other had piercing green eyes that flashed threateningly and snakebites on his lips. He of course had to be Zachary Baker, Elizabeth’s cousin.

Shane knew the situation had taken an extreme turn for the worse as three of them advanced towards him. He took a step back and then his mind snapped with clarity. He was a demon. Even though he was in his spiritual form he was still strong and powerful. He could take on these three.

“Seems like I’m not the only one who isn’t where he belongs” Shane taunted, cracking his neck. His gaze settled on the three men in front of him.

“No demon, only one of us doesn’t belong here.” snarled Zacky.

Shane gave a flick of his wrist and Brian’s eyes began to water as he instantly began to choke. Brian’s hand went to his neck as he sputtered. Shane’s eyes glinted maliciously.

“I suggest you stop otherwise I kill this one” he said seriously, flicking his wrist again, causing the pressure on Brian’s neck to increase.

Matt’s glare was murderous. Zacky let out a roar of frustration and Shane’s eyes flickered towards the now empty spot where Zacky just was. Behind him, he felt a pair of strong arms grab both his arms and clamp them behind his neck, causing his concentration to break. Zacky had him in a neck lock. Matt threw himself in the direction of Shane, his fist colliding with Shane’s face with a sickening crunch.

“You dare attack my coven demon?” thundered Matt, his crimson colored wings bursting forth from his back. His fist made contact with Shane’s jaw. Spitting blood, Shane glared furiously at Matthew. The grip that Zacky had on Shane tightened to the point where Shane thought his muscles would rip under the strain.

“Let this serve as a warning” said Zacky threateningly, releasing Shane only to throw him to the ground. Zacky’s booted footed collided with a sickening thud onto Shane’s chest. “Stay away from Elizabeth. Next time we won’t be so nice.” Said Zacky, grinding his foot into Shane’s chest for emphasis.

He removed his foot and watched Shane cough then spit up blood. Shane looked up at his assailants and inwardly cursed himself. He had been a damned fool for trying to intrude into Elizabeth’s mind. He had now set himself back tenfold. Feeling the barrier on Elizabeth’s mind weaken he knew that one of them was allowing him to make his escape which he quickly did, disappearing into nothing.

Back in his own body, Shane coughed and panted. His body was coated with a thin layer of sweat. He had indeed been a fool. He went to the bar in the furthest corner of the apartment and poured himself a shot of scotch. Downing it her poured himself another and felt it burn his throat. Frustration and irritation at himself burst forth and he threw the glass across the room, watching it as it hit the wall and shattered into tiny pieces. He roared in anger and stomped towards the balcony. Then realization struck him. Elizabeth seemed to possess the same gift as the coven’s leader. She was able to hold him captive within her dream as well as allow access to someone she trusted to mold that dream.

How fascinating thought Shane looking out at the night’s sky which twinkled with both starlight and lights from the city. This certainly will be a challenge that I have only made more difficult
Shane kicked himself inwardly. He had allowed his mind to be controlled by Elizabeth and he didn’t even know it. From now on he would have to be careful as to how he proceeded. The coven was clearly onto him and that could never be a good thing. Looks like it’s time to call in re-inforcements he thought bitterly and the damn battle hasn’t even begun.