Seven Years Ago
Lilith:
Lilith* ran down the deserted alleyway. It was midday and the sun hung high in the sky. She shouldn't be here. She had gotten careless and overconfident and the DIS had caught up to her. Lilith was a Vengeance Demon. Unlike others of the Djinn class she had a very special set of powers.

As Lilith understood it the original Vengeance Demons, then known as the Ultionis**, were created by God to dispatch the people of the world too wicked to live. That had not lasted long. Hell offered much more reward and enjoyment than the strict running’s of Heaven. When they had turned to Hell God stripped them of their rank but as they descended to the lowest levels rather than take their specific gifts God cursed them to hear the screams and wails of all the sinful acts upon the earth in the hopes that there pain would drive them back to their intended purpose.

It seemed to work, for a while before they discovered a taste for blood. They began burning the souls of those who had committed minor sins with the Flames of Damnation. A golden fire that sin could not tolerate the presence of. God like all the other demons banished them to Hell but like all the other demons the ones with enough determination clawed their way back out.

Lilith was not one of the originals, very few of them remained. No Lilith had been forged from the anger and vengeance of a thousand humans souls, then loosed upon the world. She had been exercised a half dozen times but she was one of the smarter ones. She was a demon that had lived on the Earth for a long while without attracting the attention of the light dwellers. Recently however her blood lust had overtaken her and now a petty human organization called the DIS was hunting her and they were skilled at their task.

They couldn't be more than half a minute behind her. She needed a way to hide. Lilith jumped and kicked herself off a loose brick on the wall narrowly grabbing a fire escape which she then swung herself up onto. She looked down, Lilith could see the agents with their armaments raised and she started to run again. Her current host had been track runner and so this came easily to Lilith. The Demon ran up the fire escape and onto the top of the building. She heard the screech of metal behind her as the fire escape was lowered but she didn't pause, she just kept running over rooftops leaping from building to building. The apartments in this part of LA were built so close together that it wasn't difficult. All too soon she came to the end of the residential district. There was a great field at the foot of building that had an old dilapidated school centered in the middle.

Lilith looked back and saw six agents surround her position. All point various weapons from sigils to Sig Saucers. "Not this time boys." She said her voice rasping like the smoke that made up her true form. Lilith jumped from the rooftop. As she hit the ground she heard both of her hosts legs snap breaking at three places along the bone. Her head hit the concrete and her skull caved in slightly but it didn't matter to Lilith. The now animated corpse would serve her well till she found a new body. Lilith took a moment to set the bones back in place and before she stood and kept running.

The school was her best bet for a new host, besides she liked her hosts young, in their prime. This one had been wearing out anyways. Every step she took Lilith felt the bones of her legs threaten to snap. It was only her smoky form that kept this body together. She didn't have a lot of time till the agents got here which included time to get through the schools doors. Instead Lilith climbed a maintenance ladder that someone had forgotten to retire and climbed up to the roof.

The top of the school was covered in gravel and a variety of sports balls that had failed to be retrieved. Lilith was looking for the door the janitor used access the roof.[/i] "Freeze demon." Lilith sighed. "That is such a generalization. I'm a Djinn and a Spirit of Vengeance to be more specific." The man's gun never wavered. Lilith closed her eyes and breathed in. "Mmmmm, delicious. Do you smell it too... Jason. The blood of the innocents on your hands, and the blood of those you determined had to die. Who gave you that authority?" "Does that give you anymore right to kill?" "I was given the right and the duty to kill by God." Not quite true but close enough. "What is your excuse? Now that little girl, the blood slave in the Southern East side, the one they devoured because you were to cautious. Will you be judged for that when you reach St. Peter's Gate... or will it happen now?"

Lilith drew her hand from behind her back where she had been carving a sigil into her palm with her finger nails. In her hand she held a great ball of Golden Flames. "The Flames of Damnation burn all but the purest." She threw it at him not expecting it to hit as it didn't but it forced him to dive for cover and in that time Lilith ran. There was a glass dome on the roof that no doubt led into some sort of performance hall, possibly a theater. Lilith punched the glass and it shattered. She leapt through with grace falling with the glass to the ground below. Her broken bones buckled again and she collapsed. The red smoke that made up her body started to swirl around her host as she searched for a way to get it running again.[/i]

Susanna Grace:
Susanna was a grade 11 student attending a Los Angeles Correctional for all the children that had too much in their past to be admitted anywhere else. Despite the fact that she was going to a school for delinquents and drop outs Susanna actually enjoyed it. The school had better funding than most places and as a result there art programs were running smoothly with decent teachers. She was currently in music class performing a solo of “The Voice” by Celtic Woman.

“I am the voice in the wind and the pouring rain
I am the voice of your hunger and pain
I am the voice that always is calling you
I am the voice, I will...”

Susanna was interrupted by a crashing sound as the glass of the dome above them shattered and the body of a person fell with it. Susanna dove out of the way of the glass hastily packing her fiddle way in its case then in her backpack. The girl that had fallen into the room was pretty; she had long dark hair that was tied in a braid to keep it out of her face. Her features were delicate like an angel.

As she hit the ground dark red smoke starting to pour from her wounds staining the ground all around her as she lay still. The teacher and the students screamed and ran from the room yelling for someone to call the cops. Susanna didn't know why but the black red smoke didn't seem to frighten her. It should have it was clearly unnatural with no fire to cause it but Susanna felt like it was calling to her to help the poor girl on the ground.

Susanna approached the girl's broken body and let out a scream when the girl opened her eyes. Her gaze was malicious not one of pain. "Looks like we have ourselves a volunteer." Before Susanna could scream the smoke condensed itself and flew at her very fast. It funneled into her mouth and she choked on it coughing and hacking as it filled up her stomach and her lungs and her whole being. Until the smoke was all she could feel.

"Hello dearie, nice of you to offer up your body. I did so need a new vessel.

Susanna was shocked but she tried to speak. Who are you? Susanna tried to say but her voice became lost somewhere in her throat. The question appeared to have reached the demon’s ears though because it answered with a laugh. “Me, I’m Susanna Grace and I’m sure no one will dispute that when I’m cutting their throats. You however, you are clearly too strong to be banished to the furthest corners of this mind so you might as well have something to scream when the guilt collapses on you. Call me Lilith.” She said still laughing. Her laugh was unlike anything that Susanna had ever heard, unlike anything that had ever come out of her mouth. What scared Susanna even more was that everything the demon said she said with Susanna's voice, the voice of an innocent. No one would know that it was not Susanna that committed the crimes this demon had intended. The creature laughed again as this realization hit Susanna. Pausing only to select a few choice objects from the corpse of her former host Lilith went skipping down the hall.

"Sue wait up." said a voice from behind her. Lilith turned around. She was still becoming used to her new body but from Susanna's memories she could see that this girl was named Chelsea and she was best friends with Susanna. "Sue, history is that way; you can't go skipping class again. The Principles is watching you already, you don't want to get expelled." Lilith looked into Susanna's memory for a moment for a single fact about Chelsea and went she found what she was looking for the demon smiled maliciously. "The heart of a virgin, this will do nicely." Before Chelsea could scream Lilith plunged her hand into the girl's chest and ripped out her heart. A blood curdling shriek escaped Chelsea's lips before she fell down dead. Lilith smiled and stored the heart in Susanna's lunch box as Susanna looked on in horror.

Lilith was about to start running again for fear the DIS agents might turn up but she stopped. She needed an ace in the eventuality that she was caught. Lilith ducked into a janitor's closet and extracted a knife that she had taken from her previous host. She used it to shave off a layer of skin from Susanna's upper arm. Susanna screamed inside her skull but the sound did not penetrate the red smoke that filled her. Lilith used blood from the wound to draw a sigil on the newly made parchment. It was a triangle with an eye in the center. From the eye a spiral emanated forming a circle outside the triangle. Lilith rolled up the bloody paper and stuffed it into her back pocket. It was time to go.

Lilith needed a portal to escape and the heart would do nicely for a sacrifice but it wasn't enough if she was making the portal here. Luckily there was a Ley Line that converged in the city three blocks from the school in an abandoned warehouse. Lilith ran fast and was there in no time. Her host was in peak physical condition.

Lilith entered the warehouse and used the blood from her still wounded arm to draw the necessary markings onto the cold concrete. When she was finished Lilith placed the heart in the center and snapped her fingers. Black flames consumed the heart and Lilith started to chant in a long dead dialect that only the demons understood.

The heart, and the flames and the sigils morphed into a blue white light. Her portal was ready.

A shot rang out and a searing pain burned across Lilith's shoulder. Lilith tried to walk into the portal and escape but her legs would not move. "Devil's trap carved on a bullet. You're not going anywhere."

"Smart, Lilith said her true voice ringing out in the stillness. "I wonder how much good it will do you beyond the grave." Lilith pulled out the parchment and threw it at Jason's feet. He dove for cover as the golden flames expanded in front of him. The fires missed burning him by inches. With the time she had bought Lilith dug into her shoulder and pulled the bullet out before she stepped into the portal and vanished.

Over the next four years Lilith performed unspeakable acts with Susanna’s body, murder and torture and seduction and destruction and through it all nothing Susanna did could stop Lilith, not when she slit a barman’s throat and made a cocktail with his blood, not when she cut the limbs one by one off a group of triplet children, not even when Lilith hacked apart a convent and all the sister’s in it. Lilith had several more encounter with the DIS most specifically the agents of the LA field office who had come to be experts on her particularly. The one demon they couldn't catch. In their last encounter Lilith succeeded in killing Jason, the one agent who was always inches away from destroying her. That was why she chose to leave America for a little while; Ireland seemed like a good place to hide out.

Three Years Ago
Lilith:
Lilith strode through the Ireland hills. It was a beautiful country and Lilith loved the smell of the air. She was not like other demons who merely sought destruction. Lilith could enjoy the air and the sky and the sea even if she did think it would look better coated in blood. Lilith had been lying low in Ireland ever since she had killed one of the DIS agents three months ago. She knew after that there entire fighting force would be put up against her so she needed somewhere to hide. The outskirts of Ireland seemed as good a place as any. Since she could no longer threaten and kill for what she needed Lilith had taken to playing Susanna's fiddle for money or room and board. Susanna had been a top notch fiddle playing and now so was Lilith. She was course did not stop killing but she became more discrete luring her victims out into the hills and leaving no trace of their existence or death behind.

This particularly fine day Lilith had a set goal in mind. There was a remote monastery that the people spoke of in awe and Lilith planned to show them just how little protection there "God" really offered. Soon she was at the location on top of a hill overlooking the sea. Lilith composed her face into a scared and pathetic look before she knocked on the door. A spy whole opened and a Monk looked out. "What is your business?" "Please sir, I wish to beg forgiveness for my sins." The monk closed the hole without a word or sound before the gates of the monastery opened. The Monk led her to a central chamber. "Wait here while I fetch the brethren."

Lilith waited in anticipation. She wanted all the Monks together when she started to strip off their skin. Twenty four monks filled into the room forming a complete circle around Lilith. "It is funny," said one who appeared to be there leader. "I never knew demons wished to attend confession."

Lilith reacted immediately holding her hands out meaning to cause the torch brackets to impale the monks but nothing happened. "Come now, did you think we would be unprepared for the soldiers of Hell." He pointed upwards where an intricate symbol consisting of hundreds of runes and sigils was drawn carefully. It must have taken months to construct a trap capable of not only containing any demon but also keeping their powers within the trap.

"A Devil's Trap." said Lilith real fear filling her voice for the first time. The fear woke Susanna who though awake for the whole four years had sunk back into a state of apathy to deal with all she had watched her hands do. Susanna watched excitedly not saying a word. “How long do you think till I figure a way out of this, and you know I will.” Lilith said it with a gusto that she did not feel.

“Most likely a couple of days perhaps weeks but you don’t have that long. Monks prepare the circle of obliteration.”

You finally bit off more than you could chew Lilith. This is where you pay for everything you forced me to do. This is my revenge.

“Shut up you insignificant fly, I have more things to worry about than a silly girl still thinking she can make a difference.”

The monks around the circle froze and all turned to look at the eldest for instructions. “The vessel lives.” He said simply. He nodded at his brothers and they changed their tactic, moving into a different formation and aiming their magicks at the ruin trap rather than at Susanna and Lilith. A light shot from each of their hands and converged over the ruins. It filled the room with a golden light that caused Lilith to scream. For the first time in a long while Susanna found herself present, not just an onlooker. “Thank you, thank you. I can never repay you for this.” Susanna’s voice burst forth and for once in the last six years it was truly her own. “This is not permanent child. What is your name?” said the eldest monk.

“Susanna,” she said barely able to breath for the tears trailing down her face. “Does this mean that she’ll come back?” “Yes,” said the monk slowly “once you leave this light she will return.” “Please, please,” Susanna begged. “Cast her out, I can’t go through that again.” “She is a special and specific kind of demon, she had not only taken over your body but pollute your entire being. Your soul is tainted with her powers. There is a length procedure which could be undertaken to rid you of her but act of untangling two souls bound together would be very painful and most likely kill you and set her free. None of us want that least of all you.”

Susanna looked at him the hope draining from her eyes. “Then kill me. Destroy us both like you were going to. Better one girl dies than a hundred or a thousand.”

“There is another option Susanna. We could swap your roles. We could bury her in your soul and give you control. We can't promise that she will remain dormant. She may rear up within your mind.”

“Do it.” Susanna said without hesitation.

“Susanna, this is not something done lightly she could make your life a living hell if she awakens. You may come to curse us before your life ends.”

“She’s already led me through hell and back. She murdered my father with my hands and countless other people. So do it, push her down. Give me my life back.”

The eldest monk looked at her sorrowfully “As you wish my lady.” He and the other monks lowered their beams of light till they converged on Susanna and Lilith. The scream that escaped their lips was a mixture of Lilith’s hideousness and Susanna’s pain. This hurt them both but when the light cleared Susanna could move freely outside the light.

Susanna slept in the monastery that night and the next day the monks gathered enough money for a boat ticket back to America. Susanna spent several months trying to get home but the Monks were right. Her freedom was not what she had expected or wanted.

Lilith was more powerful even bound than Susanna had been in her place. She whispered into Susanna’s mind. As the months went on Susanna’s consciousness started to blur with Lilith’s. She heard the sins of everyone she passed and it left her with a desire to make the guilty party pay. Susanna did her best to push out the voices with loud fiddle music and noise cancelling headphones. She had to keep moving from place to place to avoid hurting anyone and she had to stay on the road because of the warrants for murders that Lilith had done with Susanna’s name and face.

Even though they demanded that she burn sins with them Susanna had trouble conjuring the Flames of Damnation without the demons help. When she went to long without punishing anyone the Flames started to whisper and shout and it was only then when Susanna was on the point of madness that Lilith would help her summon the flames. The monks were right, Susanna’s freedom was not all that she had expected or wanted and she often cursed them for the magic while still feeling that she owed them everything.

*Just a note, this isn't the Lilith from Christian mythology, the first wife of Adam and mother of the demons. This is just a more ordinary and standard demon who shares the same name.

** I really suck at naming things, if anyone else has any suggestions I'm all ears.

Alex Cain – 7 Days Ago
“Why are young doing this?!” Came the voice of a desperate girl somewhere in the dark recesses of the factory, but there was no reply save for her own screams. Cain dashed along the series of corridors with his Remington 870, its mounted flashlight provided the only light during the stormy Scottish night. Cain stopped as he reached a corner, the sight of blood draped along the wall and across the wall warning him to be cautious as he proceeded. He swore under his breath knowing that he was probably too late to save any of the teenagers. There should have been around ten of them, all having decided to camp out in the abandoned and supposedly haunted factory. Little did they know that the danger came from within their own group, as Cain’s investigation revealed only too late that one of them was a Rugaru and was clearly on the tipping point.

“Oh fuck!” he cursed as he turned the corner and came across (what he estimated to be) five or so bodies (or rather pulp) left strewn along the floor. “You son of a bitch! Come try taking a bite out of me!” he roared, hoping that he could lure the monster towards him and end this quickly. Not stopping to wait around the deceased however, he continued along the narrow corridors and snaked in and out of the large industrial rooms. Every now and then he would come across another pile of remnants or hear a scream, each time causing him to press on faster and each time he would get closer to his prey. When he finally caught up to the beast he was sitting beside the body of a teenage girl whose throat he had bitten out.

“I used to love her you know. That’s why I came here. I wanted to see her and make her fall in love with me” grumbled the Rugaru as he sat stroking the girl’s thigh.

“Nothing says ‘I love you’ to a girl quite like butchering her and feeling up her dead body” joked Cain, although his voice was cold and flat; it was more a taunt. As Cain expected the monster turned quickly and lunged towards him, but with one quick burst from the Remington the monster found itself without legs and fell face first into the concrete floor. With another two shots the monster found itself without arms. “You know, people always go on about how firearms are useless, how they can’t kill monsters and such. And that is true. But let’s face it: even if they can’t finish the job, monsters are a lot less scary when they’ve no arms or legs.” At that, Cain whacked out one of his hip-flasks and coated the monster in absinthe before burning it alive. It was not pleasant but it had to be done and Cain simply focused on what the monster had done to the teenagers, rather than think about the young kind boy he had heard so many good things about.

Once he was sure the job was complete, Cain left the building and got into his car where he made a call to his superiors requesting a cleanup crew. To his surprise he was ordered to report to Glasgow for a briefing, which he could only assume was due to his superior’s displeasure at the way the mission had gone.

Alex Cain – 1 Days Ago
Cain stirred from his slumber with a sweat and clenched fists, drawing the attention of the old woman who sat beside him on the plane. It had not been a pleasant dream for him, with distorted old memories corrupting his mind and bringing him nothing but sadness. It was to be expected given the job and Cain knew of a few colleagues who used to consistently suffer night terrors; fortunately Cain rarely had bad dreams and in this instance he put it down to the stress of moving. “Are you ok dear? You looked like you were having a nightmare?” asked the old lady with a comforting smile.

“I’m fine thank you, I put it down to the heat” Cain replied as he dabbed his head with a napkin. Indeed he could already feel the difference in heat, with L.A. being considerably hotter than the Scotland (where he had previously been on an assignment). The two shared a smile before the lady went back quietly to her book, leaving Cain to stare out of the window and over the familiar desert landscape. This was a big change for him, as not only was he moving country but he knew that there was more to this transfer than he had so far been told. In truth his brief had been… well… brief. All he knew thus far was that he would be joining a team full-time for the first time since his old team was disbanded, and that L.A. required a heavier presence of experienced D.I.S operatives. Surely the D.I.S had others they could send? Other Americans close by? If they were flying him across the pond it had to be because he brought something to the table that the team needed, but what? He was a soldier, a fighter, a dime a dozen.

Four years ago

He couldn´t do it anymore. His body couldn´t handle the sex, drugs and black magic style of life. His hairs were grey, hands shaky and legs weak.
Cian felt like a zombie, a mere shadow of his former glory. He knew he would eventually pay for things he had done, but he hoped that his payment will be required after he dies, no sooner.
Also his mind mind was slowly decaying. Not that he was any less brighter than he used to be, he had knowledge most people would kill for, or at least he had killed for it, but insanity was slowly coming . His days were blurry and time became a rather relative thing. There was no order in his life, no laws or restriction and Cian was paying the price for it.
Not to mention that annoying little thing, the conscience, turning up again after long time, making Cian feel even more miserable. His night were haunted by memories of the things he had done in the past. Things that once make him feel proud and powerful turned into terrible nightmares.

He decided to run from this kind of life. From life of moral depravity and terrible actions. Cian wanted to make a change, to undo his sins and live the rest of his life as normally as possible. He knew that hell was waiting for him, long lost illusions about afterlife in heaven, but he still wanted to make something good of his life.
It hasn´t taken him much time to pack his things. He hasn´t got much without ancient books of occult lore and talismans of same kind. Just spare cloth, some money and his weary old trench coat. That was all Cain needed, he was running after all, so he had to keep himself light footed.

He was just about to leave, when doors burst open. In them stood Emily, beautiful as ever. Even if Cian´s relationship with her wasn´t by no means normal, he still loved her, although love wasn´t exactly fitting word for it. It was more like mutual desire for each other. Cain felt like a moth and Emily was his fire.
"You are leaving?" she asked him Her voice was like angel´s, strongly contrasting with her black leather-and-chains visage.
It was now or never, he thought. "Yes, I am leaving. This.. I cannot live like this anymore."
His answer clearly surprised her and her voice became more dreadful "What do you mean like this? What is wrong with this?! Our lives are like fulfilled dreams!"
"That´s the reason! I want to live a life, not his dreamy version. I can´t remember most of last few years, it´s all like blurry stain. Nothing feels real anymore. You could come with me, it´s not too late for us to begin a real life," he said, but he felt that for Emily it already was too late. She had embraced this rigorous life style even more than he did and there was no chance for her to change.
"Don´t be fool!"
" I won´t be"" he answered and tried to find his way through, but Emily stopped him.
"You are not going anywhere!" she yelled with madness in her voice, but Cian just pushed her aside. He used more strength the was necessary and she fell on the ground, even more enraged.
"I said, you are not going!" Emily shouted and jumped on him with a shiny, ornamental knife. She was determined to stop him, even at expense of his life. Cian was able to stop her from stabbing him hand and they ended up struggling for a moment. In the end Cian had upper hand on her and was able to turn the blade from himself to Emily, who speared herself on it.
He was terrified by his action, and tried to pull the knife out and stop the bleeding, but it was too late, the wound was lethal. Emily on the other side dropped her rage and looked strangely calm. "Running will do you no good now..." she said spitefully in English and then added sentence in unknown language. Air trembled and strange feeling washed over Cian.

She was right. He could never run from his curse.

One day ago

Cian opened his eyes, clearly annoyed by the dream he had. It was all what nightmares could do, just annoy him. When your life looks like commercial for B grade horror movie, things like bad dreams become just a minor annoyance. And this one wasn´t even proper nightmare, just a painful memory, very painful one... The only dreams that could make him truly shiver were the prophetic ones about murders, and even they depended on amount of creativity the murderer possesed.
He shook his head to clear it, but it was never quite possible for him. Choir of voices have taken care of it. At least they were kind of calm this time, fortunately there weren´t many thing on airport that could excite them. He was still unsure why they send him. Almost everyone would be better to choice to greet the new asset to their team, but they send him, not exactly most cheerful guy team had to offer.
Maybe they send him because he was from England, thinking that familiar accent could make the newcomer feel more welcomed. Cian seriously doubted that.
"He should already be here..." he said

Seven Days Ago

Curtis sniffed the humid Tennessee air from his vantage point on the top of a small apartment building. Nashville was busy and any other night, the tourists and locals pouring into the various country bars hoping to see the next big singer or songwriter. Curtis really did love this city, it felt like home to him. Alex loved country music, he would have loved it here. Curtis was interrupted from his daydream by a buzz from his cell phone . The kid just left, get in there and check it out.

They had been watching this kid for weeks, for suspected occult activity. The kid hadn't been seen at his high school for weeks, and recently he had been buying all of the materials needed to construct a grimoire. All he needed was a human sacrifice, and a demon would be summoned. That's where Curtis came in, he had to scare the kid straight or, if it couldn't be helped, put him down. Curtis saw the kid exit his small home across the street, look around and head north down the sidewalk. This was his cue, he quickly went to the fire escape and climbed down to the street. He jogged across the street and walked up the stoop to the front door of the house. He tried the door, it was locked. "I am going loud." Curtis said into a small microphone clipped to his shirt. He took a step back, and kicked in the door.

The door flew open and smacked the wall behind it, causing a large wooden clap to echo throughout the seemingly empty home. Curtis quickly moved the door back to where it appeared shut, it would fool anyone who happened to walk by but it would be obvious if someone approached the door. To the left of the doorway was a small living room, but something was off. A layer of dust covered all of the furniture, almost like no one had sat on anything for at least a week. Suddenly a familiar scent caught Curtis's nose. Blood. "Shit. Shit. Shit." Curtis said to himself, following the scent to a doorway in the back of a small kitchen. Luckily that door was unlocked, and opened up to reveal a flight of stairs that lead down to a basement. The flickering light of multiple candles could be seen from the top of the stairs.
Curtis quickly ran down the stairs and was greeted by an all-to-familiar sight. A circle was drawn into the ground with various symbols scattered throughout it. A leather bound book was sitting in the center of the circle, opened to a blank page. Hanging directly above the book was a middle aged women. Ropes tied to her wrists were binding her to the ceiling, and her sweatpants and t-shirt were matted with blood. Curtis rushed to the woman untied the ropes. She fell into his arms, and Curtis carried her upstairs. "He is attempting a summoning, he was going to use his mother. I have her and she is still living. I need a pickup crew ASAP." Curtis spoke into the microphone while nudging the front door open with his foot. He hadn't even made it down the front steps before a black van pulled up and a large man stepped out. Curtis handed the woman to the man. " I am gonna head back inside to wait for the boy." Curtis said was turning back to enter the home. "Wait," the man said while placing the mother into the passenger seat of the vehicle, "We have some other agents coming to wrap this up, you are needed back at HQ, stat." Curtis stopped walking towards the house, This can't be good. He quickly ran back across the street to his car and drove back to HQ.

Two Days Ago

Curtis still couldn't believe that he was being transferred, especially as someplace as swanky as LA. He smiled to himself, and looked at all of the other passengers on the bus. Greyhound wasn't exactly the most luxurious way to travel, but it was inexpensive and would get the job done. It would take two days to get to LA, and that was minimal rest stops. Curtis didn't mind, the majority of this bus was filled with the youth groups of two small churches. After all of the things that Curtis has seen, it made him feel good to see some real faith in the world. He slouched in his seat and looked out the window, it was going to be a long trip so he might was well get comfortable.

Half A Year Ago

---

Emma looked up at the large frat house before her, eyeing the large, obnoxious Greek letters of Kappa Sigma plastered onto the house. From the outside, she could hear loud, pumping music and see bodies grinding and swaying to the beat. Red solo cups seemed to be in every hand, prompting Emma to smirk. “I love a good party,” she murmured before walking up the steps and into the large, well-known frat house. Her eyes scanned the rooms as she entered, pausing to find the source of the red solo cups. She noticed a few men turned to stare, but ignored it and headed straight for the kitchen.

She had been assigned to hunt down a vampire that was slipping into fraternity parties in order to find easy prey. He’d been a nuisance for a couple of months, and out of any frat party he could have gone to, Emma knew that he would be here.

Emma wore a cropped tank top, revealing her midriff and upper torso more than she was comfortable with showing, and high waisted shorts. This was all to entice the vampire. She hoped to lure him towards her, so she could let him think that she was helpless and easy as he led her to his little feasting spot. It was there that she would give him a taste of what she could really do.

A junior at LAU whistled as he handed her a cup, looking her over. “Hello, m’lady!” He said in his best party voice. Emma raised an eyebrow a smiled. “Take a hike, buddy,” she playfully teased and walked off, sipping the concoction of what tasted like beer and vodka. She hid the disgust she felt and only pretended to sip it from then on.

Throughout the night, Emma danced along to the entirely too loud music and laughed along with drunken girls who had decided to make her their best friend for the night. She noticed a pale boy slipping through the crowd, his eyes locked on her with a shade entirely too red to be considered brown. She tilted her head back a little, laughing like the drunken girls around her. With a flick of her black hair behind her shoulder, she knew the vampire was hooked on her bait.

“I’ll be right back, girls. I need some tequila!” She shouted as she backed away towards the kitchen, purposefully knocking into the vampire. With a loud laugh, she leaned against him, her head resting on his shoulder and neck fully exposed. He was too smart to bite her in front of all these people. She looked up at him and grinned. “My knight in shining armor!” She cried and reached up to play with his hair. “Let’s ditch the party and have a little fun on our own,” she whispered hotly into his ear. His muscles tensed underneath her, and she could tell that he was too hungry to resist. The vampire grinned, his teeth already beginning to grow out and sharpen. “I know just the place, baby,” he purred and pulled her along.

The vampire led her out the backdoor and down the path between the fraternity house and the poor neighbors that lived next door. She wrapped an arm around him, pretending to stumble and laugh in a drunken manner. The path led to the edges of a small forest park and the vampire led her through a well-worn path. They came to a clearing and the vampire let his teeth grow to their full length. She stumbled backwards and leant against a tree, continuing to play the drunken college girl. “Mmm, cozy,” she purred. The vampire grinned, exposing his teeth. “You’re mouthwatering, baby,” he purred as he stalked towards her. He pressed close to her, tilting her head to the side to expose her neck to him. Emma took a deep breath, preparing herself. She slid her leg up to press her knee into his side. Out of context, it would be an entirely sensual movement, but it only made it easier for her to slip her hand into her boots and pull out the sharp folding machete. The vampire, thinking he had all the time in the world, dipped his head down to sniff her neck. “O Negative.. My favorite,” he breathed.

Emma froze for a second, thinking back to the night that she was first attacked. The vampire had said the same thing to her just before attacking her. The memory filled her with a faint fear, but she pushed it aside and let her rage consume her. She grunted as she pushed him away from her and swung the machete. The vamp’s eyes widened as his neck was cut clean through before dropping to the ground. His body slumped to the ground and landed with a heavy thud.

Emma let out a deep breath, brushing her hair back from her face. She kicked the head away from the body and watched as the vampire disintegrated. With a stretch and a yawn, Emma turned and hummed a tune as she stuffed her hands into her pockets. Her gaze was on the stars as she headed back to her dorm.

---

One Day Ago

Emma laid out the picnic blanket on the grass of the courtyard, the sun creeping slowly down across the horizon. She sat down and sipped a bottle of water, wishing that it was wine. She had just gotten the news that new members would be joining the L.A. D.I.S. team, and she was worried about the change. Were these members experienced? Would they enjoy being paired with a new recruit? The dark haired girl sighed and laid down on her back, gazing up at the darkening sky. She was worried most about becoming the least useful member of the team. After all, she had barely been in the D.I.S. for a year. She didn’t want to go back to being stuck with the tech crew while the others hunted the monsters down.

With the stars beginning to appear overhead, Emma decided that she would try her best to become one of the best members in the team. Her new ways of hunting the monsters would definitely give her an advantage over the old technique users. Well, she hoped it would.

Susanna Grace/Lilith:
Three Years Ago
Susanna stood outside her father's house. She remembered the last time she had been here. Six months after Lilith took Susanna’s form as her own she had decided that Susanna needed to be taught a lesson. Unlike other hosts Lilith had inhabited Susanna had refused to shrink to the furthest corners of her mind. Her father had often called her a bulldozer for her stubbornness. Lilith had broke into her father house, a lavish mansion that he had financed with his career as a successful defense attorney. She had stripped the skin from his bones layer by layer and Lilith made Susanna watch.

Now Susanna again stood in front of the house, her hands were again covered in blood. After Susanna killed her father the house had gone to her separated wife, Susanna's mother. She along with Susanna's two little sisters and her older brother had moved in. Susanna could just see her little sister Kylie through the window. She couldn't go in. She couldn't knock. Not like this. Earlier today Susanna had passed a man on the street, he'd seemed normal, wore a suit. For his appearance a normal LA business man. Yet as she walked by him Susanna felt a wave of something terrible and sickening come off him. It was the curse of Lilith's powers and now they had awakened within Susanna. Susanna had felt the man's sins which were numerous and terrible.

For all is normal appearances the man was a serial killer, seven victims and the police had no leads. The horror of it caused Susanna to turn and follow him home. She didn't know what she intended to do. Confront him, turn him over to the cops? She broke into his apartment and that was when Lilith started talking again. She whispered in Susanna's ears and the girl not yet used to the demon in her head or the voice that would soon come to be all too familiar accepted these thoughts as her own. She overpowered the man and planed him in the center of his room. Then she carved a sigil into and chest and used her father's silver ring which still hung around her neck to catalyze the spell. Great Golden flames had irrupted from the seal and the man had died in agony his soul being sent to the deepest pits.

She now stood outside her father's house dead by her hands, those hands covered in blood and she knew that if she ever returned to them she would bring untold harm and misery down upon them. She didn't want that for them and so she left.

Last Night
Susanna looked up at the great Hollywood Sign from where she stood at the edge of town. She gave a tired smile. It was good to be home again even if it was only temporary. Susanna hadn't seen her home or her family since that day three years ago when she'd stood across the street looking into her sister’s window and knew that she could never talk to them again.

Foolish decision based on sentiment. You have no spine girl and returning here was a bad idea. Mark my words we'll come to regret it.

Susanna sighed. She hadn't spoken to Lilith for two days and had sort of been hoping that the demon had gone dormant.

That was an idiotic hope, where would I go?

Susanna rolled her eyes tiredly. "Anywhere but in my head." She muttered. Most of the time the demon was best ignored than argued with. The creature was cruel and vindictive but smart. She won most arguments and when Susanna's emotions started to run high it became harder to distinguish been her own thoughts and those fed to her by Lilith or even her own feelings with the demon's. For the demon did have feelings twisted as they were.

Lilith, unless you have a magical power for making walking easier then just shut up.
Actually...
SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH! Susanna shouted to the air. She was far enough outside the city limits that no one would notice. Not that anyone was particularly observant in LA. Most people looked the other way at strange occurrences.
Technically it's your mouth Suzie.

Susanna gave no reply. The ramblings inside her head were enough to drive anyone mad, in fact Susanna was certain she had been mad for several years but it wasn't something that she dwelt on. The DIS's main base was here in LA. Well the main one in the USA anyways. London had a bigger installation. It was a bad idea for Susanna to remain long but she felt confident she could dodge them for long enough to do what she come to do. After all if the DIS' job was to crush all Supernatural forces then they wouldn't have stalled out years ago. No there job was to eliminate supernatural threats. This meant that the underbelly of LA had a great base in the mystical elements. Nightclubs for Vampires. Cafe's that served cocktails made from different kinds of human blood, taken from blood banks of course. These things were prevalent in LA and Susanna had a specific one in mind.

There was a demon club in the downtown area. It resembled a stand up club in the human world. The upside of it was that the owner who was an Aka Manah who had made an impact in Zoroastrian mythology had become tired of constantly having to rebuilt his club had contracted a hard to reach Goddess for a spell that prevented anything above minor violence from occurring within its walls. It was a sort of safe haven for demons.

It took Susanna two hours to reach it and by the time she did the moon was high in the sky. She knocked twice on the door. A little window opened in the window. "Business?" said a scraggly voice that sounded like old wood from behind the door.

Susanna rolled her eyes "Room and board."

The door eyes her. "Password?"

Susanna's eyes flashed. "Open the door or we see which is more powerful, the Flames of Damnation or your protection spell."

The eye in the door looked at her. "Lilith the Vengeance Demon, of course come in, the master is expecting you."

The door swung open and Susanna was startled to realize that the eye in the door was just that. An actual eye ball placed in the door to screen visitors. It was not the strangest thing that Susanna had ever seen and so she merely brushed it off.

The owner of the club stood at the bar drinking what smelled like putrefied human flesh. Probably from a recent burial. In the old days Aka Manah which mean "mind made evil" appeared as vengeful spirits with goat skulls for heads and a human puppet on one hand. They too had changed with the times. This one appeared mostly human with goats horns peaking out from his head and rather odd gloves which on closer inspection had a finger puppet for each one of the fingers.

"Lilith," it said caressing the word like it was a rare flower. "It is gooood to seeee you. You neeeeeded rooooom and booooaard I hear."

Susanna said nothing and instead merely nodded.

"In thaaaat caaaase, doooo you haaaave, paaaayment?"

"The nightmares of children? Yeah I got then." Susanna said not wishing to discuss how she had obtained the vial of dark swirling liquid.

"Noooow, I doooo noooot think that will beeee enooooough. In Ireeeland I heeeeard taaaaales of yoour proooowess with a fiiiddle. Fiddle gold against our soul if you really want your sanctuary."

"Fine."

Susanna pulled the fiddle case from her bag and opened it revealing a beautiful fiddle polished to a shine. It was about the only possession that she held that she took care of or held any meaning. Susanna knew of demonic music. She had watched Lilith perform such pieces on several occasions.

Susanna walked onto the little stage in the corner in front of a varied group of demons. Some were like her, or rather Lilith, incorporeal and possessing humans while others had monstrous forms that didn't suit the room. Susanna chose a tune that was a demon favorite and most would sing along too.

"Eeeeveryoooone, may I preseeeent Lilith, haarbengeeeer of veeengeeence whoooose skiiiils riival Neeeerooos himself."

There was a round of applause from the demons before Susanna began to play.

As she played on the fiddle fast and furious Susanna opened her mouth and a song that was in a tongue she barely understood echoes from it. It was the demon’s version of a drinking some. Lots of talk of violence of the drinking of blood of human villages. It was quiet popular with the demons though to Susanna’s human ears it sounded horrendous.

Soon the demons were stomping there feet and singing along.

No girl, you fingers should be higher and play it faster.
Quiet and let me play.
Your doing it wrong.
I’ll play it any way I want

Finally Susanna finished and the song and the Aka Manah clearly pleased handed her a room key which appeared to be made from a human bone. Not caring about the look of her room Susanna made her way down the hall opened it and fell onto the bed. Her sleep was plagued with dreams of blood but at least she was sleeping.

Thomas Campbell:
Present
Thomas Campbell walked into his office at the top of the DIS HQ. the walls were made of glass giving him a good view of everything that went on bellow. His first duty every day was to go through memos and tips that usually turned out to be inconsequential. As Thomas scanned the list he noted that an agent who had been slatted for transfer to the LA branch had been resigned to New York City. NYC was always a hot bed of Supernatural activity so it wasn't surprising that the transfer was shifted. Another memo caught Thomas' caught eye and made his blood run cold. No she wouldn't be stupid enough to return to LA after Jason. She must know that ever DIS agent in the city would be after her.

Thomas was almost tempted to think that it was a false sighting but the informant was very reliable and anyone who contact with the DIS knew well enough not to report a false sighting of Lilith the Vengeance Demon. Thomas immediately opened up the personnel files of the current DIS roster in LA. He put together a team quickly confident that he had accounted for all the necessary skills.

Cian Machello, Field name: Listener
Human, an expert in demonic lore and magics. He had a shady past which had earned him the name "Alistair Crowley the Second". Thomas knew what one would have to do to get a nickname like that though the specifics of Cian's exploits were not on file. He had a unique ability to hear magic which would give him an advantage in protecting the team from Lilith's Flames of Damnation which had claimed Jason. Though of questionable past three years with the organization had proved him loyal.
Alex Cain, Field name: Striker
Cain, not to be confused with Cian was a standard military man. Physically strong and an expert in many hand to hand disciplines and the use of several different fire arms. He had been shipped to LA that morning for another assignment by order of the home office. His sister had Future Sight which wasn't inherited by boys but as of where it had led his sister should give him a respect for the danger it could pose. He shouldn't be reckless and would make a good leader for the team. As well this would give him a good opertunity to investigate his primary objective.
Emilia Charleston, Field name: Phoenix
A new recruit. Normally Thomas would hesitate to put a new recruit even one that had been in service for a year on a case as large as this but Phoenix had proved that she was a valuable asset. She had a unique ability to slip into the personality of a character into order to get what she needed. She is also a gymnastics, and karate expert. Despite her small stature a very good agent.
Kyle Harkness, Field name: Dreamwalker
Also knew to the agency but equipped with the ability of astral projection. Something that could be exceptionally useful against demons.
Allyse Blanc, Field name:
One of the Fair Folk, She'd been hunting demons for several hundred years, her experience and calm demeanor would balance the team.

These were five fine agents who Thomas hoped would be able to tackle Lilith. Jason had gotten killed because he acted alone. Perhaps with these five working together they might stand a chance of capturing or killing the demon.

Thomas went back to his computer and sent a message to the five agents on there personalized DIS pagers. Lilith is back, come to by office. He then sent messages to various administrative people within the school above them excusing the agents from normal school proceedings. This took top priority and couldn't wait until they finished there day. Lilith had been stopped in a demon bar downtown last night. With any luck she slept late. Demons in hosts didn't have to sleep as often as humans and could put it off for longer without any side effects. This meant that when they did sleep they slept for sixteen to twenty five hours. The DIS just might get lucky with this one.

DIS HQ - 3 Hours Ago
Striker awoke in the surprisingly soft cot that he would now call his bed. Apart from some odd possessions and pieces of clothing that he had lazily strung on the floor, the room was clean and empty to the point that it felt sterile and uncomfortable. The day before he had been collected by another Britishman named Cian from the airport and brought to base. He seemed like a nice enough guy, although his name was a bit too similar and so Cain decided he would simply go by ‘Striker’; it was what he expected he would be called on missions anyway. Striker felt slightly bad though, for he didn’t take the time to meet anyone or get properly settled in but instead went to bed to try fend off the jet lag.

Striker’s trail of thought was interrupted by a knocking at the door and before he could get up the door swung open to reveal a guard. “Sorry to barge in but you have an urgent call in the conference room. I don’t know who it is, I’m not high enough clearance for it to tell me. Thought I better get you quickly.” The guards words were sputtered out quickly and were barely understandable. Striker simply sighed in response as he rose out of bed and was about to ask the guard to wait outside when more rambling came out, “Oh! And I also brought you your uniform.”

---

Striker stood in the large oval room on his own as the screen before him continuously flashed the words ‘establishing secure connection’. His face was dark with anger and embarrassment as he stood there in his tight gym shorts and polo top – his new teachers outfit. On more than one occasion he nearly found himself attacking other DIS members who looked at him a second too long on his way to the room. When the familiar face of London Director Stewart Menzies popped up on screen Striker could help furrow his brow in surprise. “Good morning Cain. I’ve been trying to reach you for hours.” Director Menzies’ carried distinction and authority, even over the video link.

“Apologies, I was feeling jet-lagged. How can I help you?” Replied Striker as he stood straighter and futilely tried to make himself look smarter in the gym-wear.

“Firstly, I hope you were smart enough to realise that you weren’t simply transferred to L.A. because of a lack of manpower? The truth is you’re being placed there because we want someone we feel we can fully trust and who we know finds it hard to trust others themselves.” The director paused to let Striker let the words sink in. “There has been a vast increase in activity and human DIS agents have suddenly started dropping like flies in the offices surrounding L.A. We believe that there may be a security leak; which is why we wanted to bring in someone from outfield. Moreover we believe that given the deaths have been primarily human agents, that it might be due to a supernatural member, of which there are a few in L.A.”

“You know I don’t like supes’ being on the team so I make the ideal man for the job?” guessed Striker.

“Ideal is perhaps a bit much.” Smiled the director “If nothing else the team over there could use some more experience and a decent handler for the supernatural members. With this increase in activity it would also be nice to have a direct feed of information coming to me without having to rely on someone who could be compromised.”

Striker nodded in agreement “Understood. Is there anything else I should know or would you like me to get straight to business?”

“I hope it goes without saying that this is to be kept secret. You are to speak about this to no-one except me. As far as your new team is concerned, you just wanted to get away from the awful British weather and it turned out a spot had opened up on their team. Director out.” And with that the feed disconnected. ‘Director out? What a pompous git’ Striker smirked.

"And so..." said Kyle, writing another equation on the board. "The answer is?" When the answer was not forthcoming, he pointed to a random person in the classroom. "Can you solve..." His phone beeped and he checked it. He had programmed it to only go off during classroom hours if certain people called, the DIS included. Emergency, huh?
"I thought you had a "no cellphones" policy." said one of the students. He was a joker, but he was making strait A's so Kyle didn't mind the joking. Besides, he didn't want to be known as one of the stuffy teachers.
"I do, but this was an emergency. Something in the lab just broke, and I need to go fix it before it goes down completely. Class is dismissed. Make sure you have your papers completed by next week." As the students grabbed their things and left, he shut down the equipment and locked his computer, not bothering to check his scans of the students. It's always good to be safe, he thought, but I can check them out later. When everyone had left, he walked out the door and locked it.
He walked down the hall to the science lab and entered it, then locked the door and closed all of the curtains so that no one could see him. When that was done, he entered a storage room on the back side and slid away a panel on the wall, revealing a stairway down. He took it down until he reached the upper levels of the headquarters, and made his way to the residential section. He continued down until he was in the control room.
"Wish you'd just let me Project down here when you call." he said to Thomas. "I'll need a teleporter just to get back up all of those steps without wearing myself out."

Emma listened intently to the physics professor, Kyle Harkness, her chin resting in her hand as she leant on her elbow. The recent addition to the D.I.S. in LA intrigued her with his teachings on the physical world around them. She found the class easy to understand, even though the rest of the class was having difficulty.

An email alert flashed across her laptop screen at the same time she felt her cellphone buzz in her pocket. She glanced up at the professor as his phone beeped and took a deep breath. Looks like I'll be meeting the new recruits sooner than I thought. She thought with a slightly indifferent tone. She quickly packed her things as Kyle excused the class, then headed towards the staff only bathroom in the science building.

on the door to the bathroom hung a sign that read, "OUT OF ORDER", but Emma payed no attention to it. After checking to make sure the coast was clear, she entered the little bathroom. After locking the door behind her, Emma removed a tile from beside the toilet, revealing a fingerprint scanner. She pressed her thumb to it and sighed impatiently as it scanned her finger. This technology was better than others, but still too slow for Emma's taste. Once the scan had finished, Emma removed her thumb and stepped back as the floor below the toilet lifted and slid to the side, revealing a spiral staircase into H.Q. Emma sat on the metal railing and slid all the way down the dimly lit stairwell, laughing lightly. She hopped off at the bottom and giggled before making her way through the headquarters and into the control room. "Afternoon, sir.. Professor," she said with a smile before finding a seat.