Dusty The Demon Hunter - Part 5

Dusty The Demon Hunter's story starts (and continues) here:
https://steemit.com/succubus/@michelle.gent/dusty-the-demon-hunter-a-short-story-in-a-few-parts-1
https://steemit.com/succubus/@michelle.gent/dusty-the-demon-hunter-part-2
https://steemit.com/succubus/@michelle.gent/dusty-the-demon-hunter-part-3
https://steemit.com/succubus/@michelle.gent/dusty-the-demon-hunter-part-4

After a while she could see Impundulu’s tracks for herself so she realised that they were catching up to the Incubus.
“So, where would I get a Unicorn rope then?” She asked.
“I can get you one but it doesn’t work in the human world.”
“That’s ok; I’d only need it for the Astral Plane.”
“Oh, I thought you were thinking of wiping your friend’s bad memories for her.”
“Even if I could, I’m not sure that I should, maybe this episode will teach her a lesson on not playing with Ouija boards in future.”
“Here it is - Impundulu’s lair.” Hunter pointed at a hole in the side of a large rock. It looked nothing like a lair to Dusty but she didn’t say so and she waited while Hunter summoned the Incubus.
Impundulu emerged from his hole with a bit of a struggle, the hole was very small and his body had to be manipulated in all sorts of unnatural ways in order to get out. Dusty could hear bones snapping and then creaking as they rearranged themselves and she thought it may have been because of the bump on her head, but she felt a little nauseous at the sounds.
Impundulu was petulant and did not seem to recognise Dusty, but he did recognise Hunter.
“What do you want, mercenary?” Impundulu asked.
“Now, Impundulu, please keep a civil tongue in your head or I’ll be forced to make sure it’s no longer in your head.” Hunter sounded a lot more mature than he had as they were walking. He was more self-assured than he had been. This was his comfort zone and no mistake.
“What are your plans for the coming Witching Hour?” Hunter asked.
“I have no plans. You know I have no plans. You took all my plans away and now I can’t remember where I was going, but I do remember that I was enjoying it and you took that away from me!” The last of Impundulu’s speech was yelled, in much the same way as a spoiled child would make their demands upon an indulgent adult. “Go away, mercenary. Leave me alone.” And the Incubus crawled back into its hole, snapping bones and twisting limbs in the same way as before and again it made Dusty feel nauseous.
“There, are you happy now?” Hunter asked.
“Yes, I’m satisfied that Impundulu will not be coming for my friend.” Dusty was extra-careful to not mention Ange’s name within earshot of Impundulu because if the Incubus heard her name, his memory may return and he may remember what he was doing to her before Dusty and Hunter intervened.
Then Dusty smiled a warm and genuine smile at Hunter and said: “I’d like to see you again sometime if you’d like to. I still think you’re cool, even though you did think I was like, a thousand years old.”
Hunter smiled at her first few words and then his smile changed to a grimace because of his acute error but because she was still grinning at him, he smiled again and had the decency to blush a little. “Yeah, I’d like that too. Where are you based?”
“Based? Do you mean where do I live?” she grinned again. “I live in the heart of Sherwood Forest, in the middle of the woods, where there are lots of magical beings still. I’ll expect you when I see you then, please feel free to drop in any time, but make sure you drop in at least a hundred yards from my house because I have it protected and I don’t know if it would harm you. You’ll be ok if you’re not using magic to arrive by but otherwise, I think we’re pretty well protected.”
“Ok, I’ll remember to walk in then.” Hunter held out his hand for Dusty to shake and their friendship was sealed. The warmth of his skin was pleasant and she thought that he wasn’t such an ordinary-looking guy, in fact he was very cute and she knew that she’d be thinking about him a lot more in the near future. She hoped that he didn’t leave it too long before he visited.
Then Dusty crouched down and sprang upwards, soaring up higher and higher until the dark, dirty red of the Demon-side of the Astral Plane gave way to the more peaceful side and she saw fleeting glimpses of Cherubs (horrid, spoiled creatures) and Angels (sometimes nice, sometimes arrogant, always beautiful) and a flash of a Griffon as the sunlight struck his wing tips. Dusty felt extraordinarily lucky to have gotten out of that situation in one piece. Thank goodness for Hunter.

Dusty arrived back at Ange’s bedroom just as the sun was breaking and she showered to remove the Demon-side dust from her body. Then she put her clothes back on and muttered the incantations to bring Ange back out of her enchanted sleep.
Ange’s eyes looked so much better without the dark circles under them and though she’d had just eight hours sleep, she felt as rested as though she’d slept for a hundred years, or so she said. Dusty smiled because she knew for a fact that Sleeping Beauty had been grumpy when she’d been woken after her century-long sleep. A Dryad had told her on good authority, having seen first-hand from the hedge that had grown around the castle over the hundred-year-long imposed slumber.
“So what happened then?” Ange asked when she’d been in the shower and got dressed.
Dusty handed her friend a coffee and settled down to tell Ange about Impundulu and Hunter.

Dusty parked her bike in the shed-cum-garage that was reserved just for the Ducati. It was untidy but dry and a workspace all her own. Her grandad had always tried to instil in her the importance of ‘a place for everything and everything in its place’ and she knew that the advice was sound but she just couldn’t get to grips with keeping the workshop tidy enough to pass his rigorous inspections.
The bike was making little ‘ting ting’ sounds as it cooled because right after leaving Ange’s house, she’d gone for a good long ride to clear her head. Because finally everything was filed in her mental compartments, she knew she would be able to sleep.
It was only about 10:30 am but she’d been up for well over twenty four hours and a satisfied exhaustion was starting to creep up on her. She knew that she’d sleep well enough, even through the day.
Dusty walked through the open back door and greeted her grandmother who was cleaning and tidying the immaculate kitchen.
“Hi Gran,” Dusty said.
“Morning sweetheart. What have you been up to?” She looked at Dusty and made reference to the dark circles under her eyes. It seemed that Dusty had cured Ange’s sleep-deprived circles and acquired some of her own in return.
“I was called out to a bit of a Ouija board emergency. Ange had got a case of Incubus infestation and it was a nasty one. Have you heard of Impundulu by any chance?”
“Yes we have and he’s a nasty one. Did you manage to sort it out dear?” Dusty’s grandfather appeared at the door leading from the hall. He had heard his granddaughter arrive home and had come to chat with her.
“Yes he’s sorted now, Grandad. I got into a bit of a scrape though, he pulled me Demon-side and I had to follow him to the Wraith Mountains.” Dusty didn’t keep anything from her grandparents, they would worry about her, of course, but if she left anything out, they would worry more and so instead of going right up to bed, Dusty told them the whole story of Impundulu, Ange and Hunter.
As she was telling them about Hunter’s failed attempt at Glamouring her, Dusty sipped the hot chocolate that her grandmother had made in order to help relax her so that she’d be able to sleep better.
They smiled or frowned in the right places but didn’t interrupt and soon Dusty had finished telling them her adventure. They were worried that she had needed help but grateful that Hunter had been there. Dusty could tell that her grandfather was not too impressed at Hunter’s gallantry when he’d tried to Glamour her but Dusty explained that if it had been her rescuing him, she’d have probably tried to do the same – if she had a Unicorn rope of course. Anyway, she reasoned, it didn’t work, so no harm done and if Hunter did come through with his promise to bring her an enchanted rope, she’d be very happy about it.
Dusty went off to bed, a very weary young woman. Her grandparents were concerned about the lost sleep but knew that she was young and healthy, not to mention half-demon, and she’d catch up on that sleep soon enough.

Dusty still had a little more work to do regarding Impundulu and she prepared herself for travelling on the Astral Plane again.
Instead of going into her bedroom, she went into her study, the one that her grandmother only went in to clean – thoroughly. Dusty didn’t rest on those laurels though, she made absolutely certain that the area she was about to use was scrupulously clean, without the chance of even a speck of dirt within the area she was going to use for her ritual. Her grandparents heard her vacuuming and they knew what she was doing. They would keep an eye on her of course, because she was their darling granddaughter but she was also perfectly capable of taking care of herself. Then Dusty took another shower and returned to the study.
Dusty drew the circle and from inside of it, she also drew the star which made up the rest of the symbol. Then she sat in the centre of the clear space, the same place where she had put Ange earlier, and she meditated.
Very quickly, she was in a deep trance and her Astral body took to the air. She looked down on her body even as she clothed her Astral self.
This was one part of her job that she loved, the utter freedom.

Dusty hovered above her home and saw a figure walking towards the house. It was familiar somehow and she took a closer look. As she floated only fifty feet above the ground, totally invisible to the human inhabitants of planet Earth, she recognised the figure as her new acquaintance, Hunter. He was dressed differently, his clothes were more normal and his hair was combed in a different style – in fact it was shorter too. He had had a haircut before coming to see her! How sweet.
Dusty smiled and wondered if she should go back down to her body and greet her guest but even as she pondered the question, Hunter looked up, right into her eyes and smiled. Dusty was a little bothered by the fact that he could see her until she remembered that he was half-demon too and she could also sometimes see what humans referred to as ‘spirits’ on the Astral Plane. Dusty waved to him and he lifted his arm in a return of the greeting. In his fist he held something that shone with an ethereal glow and she knew that he had brought her the promised rope made from Unicorn hair.
Laughing, she waved again and soared off up into the wide blue yonder, knowing that her grandparents would take the rope and perform the proper cleansing rituals on it and keep it for her for when she returned.
They could have passed it into her circle of protection but they would never do that. Even though they knew what they were doing with regards to the necessary rituals, it still carried an amount of danger and nothing anyone could say or do would persuade or force them to place her in any danger.
Still, on this mission, Dusty wouldn’t need the rope.
Dusty soared and swooped, her energy returned and she felt refreshed and revitalised.
Then Dusty brought her mind back to the matter in hand and she changed direction and turned for the Demon-side.

The air grew warmer but not in the way that a tropical country felt warmer than England, it was a hot, heavy and oppressive heat, worse even than in the hottest desert. The air felt dirty and grubby. It reeked of rotting offal and worse, of sewage and everything sordid. The air itself stank of sin.
Dusty was again thankful for her half-demon lungs as she landed gently on the ash road, not too far from the large rock that Impundulu lived in.
She wanted to know that the Incubus was still sulking in its lair and that it had not been putting on an act for Hunter.
Dusty saw the Incubus a few feet from the rock and she approached with a great deal of caution. She knew that it had beaten her earlier, even if it could not remember.
Dusty drew her dagger and continued forward.
Impundulu saw her and straightened up. It altered its form to that of a handsome man, similar in appearance to Hunter. ‘Hmm, this one is very good. It’s already scanned my preferences,’ she thought with a smile. The Incubus took the smile as an invitation and Dusty allowed it to get closer but then held up her hand. The Incubus dressed in ‘Gorgeous’ stopped, tilted its head and smiled at her. She didn’t instruct it to change to its original form, she preferred to talk to it in the appearance it had chosen.
“Impundulu?” She asked though she knew the answer.
The man frowned, which did nothing to make his features less attractive. He studied her for a moment and asked “What do you want of Impundulu?”
“Only to ask a few questions.”
“Then ask. I shall give your message to Impundulu.”
“Yeah, that’s not quite going to work, you see, I know Impundulu and I know that you are the one I seek.”
“What do you want?” Impundulu’s shoulders sagged a little and to Dusty’s disappointment, he changed to his usual form.
“I need to know if you know who I am.”
She saw the expression on his face alter. It became sly and cunning and she could just tell that he was about to tell her what he thought she wanted to hear.
“Why yes, I do remember you, my sweet. What is it that you want me to do for you?”
Dusty smiled and his smile broadened in response to hers. He thought that he had done well. Dusty crouched down and sprang upwards to leave.
She could hear him shouting after her as she departed. “What did I do? Wait, wait! What’s your name, sweet one?” And then he gave up and began swearing and cursing.
Dusty giggled to herself all the way back to the Astral Plane where she relaxed again and even dressed herself in pastel shades rather than her usual blacker than black.

It was very late when Dusty returned to her earth-bound body and she was exceptionally rested. It was always the same when she had an extended visit to the pure Astral Plane rather than the Demon-side or the Angel-side. Her limbs were revitalised and her eyes felt as though they sparkled.
When she went down to the kitchen where her grandparents usually passed most of their time, she was pleased to see them both there, chatting like old friends – which if Dusty thought about it, they were.
They said that someone had been but they did not see who. All they knew of the visit was the beautiful rope that had been left for her on the porch railing. There was no note but they could see from her smile that Dusty knew who her benefactor was.
“That’s made from Unicorn hair, isn’t it?” Dusty’s grandfather asked, though it was obvious that he knew the answer. “Did Hunter leave it for you?”
“Ben, stop fishing.” Dusty’s grandmother chided him. “You know it was. Dusty told us he’d be calling soon.”
“Yes but he must be really smitten with you if he went to the trouble of bringing it to you so quickly.” Ben winked at his granddaughter and gave her arm a little nudge with his elbow.
“Stop teasing, Grandad, you’re making me blush.” He was too.
Whilst Dusty went outside to practice with her new rope, her grandmother made her supper and her grandad stood on the kitchen step to watch the luminescent rope shining as Dusty looped it over various targets.
Life – and her aim - was good.

Thanks for reading.