The moon was shining on the surface of the water. Then, from above, something dropped. It hit the surface of the water, extinguished itself and left smoky circular ripples in the water. It was a common cigarette. It wasn't, however, dropped by a common man.

Uriab stood up, the docks gave him time to think and reflect. He realized that he needed to do it more than usual now-a-days.

Uriab was slightly taller than the average man, with black hair and an expression that would make a comedian run away crying in despair. He wore a long, black trench coat which concealed a number of things (which I won't go into detail at the moment). Through the open coat, one could see a white shirt with dark 'dirty' jeans all held up by a belt with an unusual symbol on the buckle. Boots sheltered his feet from the elements (and boots sheltered the world from stuffy sock smells). His eyes were sheltered by sunglasses, which is strikes one as odd, given that the sun was currently on the other side of the world.

Uriab started to cough. “Careful”, a voice said behind him.

Uriab, obviously startled, turned around. “Oh, it's just you, Seraphina.”

“You know you shouldn't play around with your health.” Seraphina replied.

“Oh, right.” Uriab pulled out another cigarette from inside the coat. “Once, I was told these could kill you.”

“You're breaking one of God's commandments: Thou shalt not kill.” Seraphina warned.

“And since when did it mean that much to me? Oh, right, now I remember. It's when this whole fate crap took over.” Uriab retaliated. Seraphina didn't say anything. “You wanted to tell me something?” Uriab asked.

“Actually, yes.” She hesitated for a moment, but then decided to go on “A few blocks away there is an abandoned house. Inside it there is a man who has been getting familiar with the guy downstairs. He's planning to sacrifice someone he kidnapped to him and I need you to...”

“...go, rescue her, and kick the dude's ass in the process.” Uriab said.

“Correct. Wait a second. How do you know that it's a girl this time round?” Seraphina asked.

“It's always the females that need to be rescued.” Uriab replied with a smile on his face.

“Oh, really?” Seraphina asked, eying him.

“Ok, maybe not always, but being a cute girl seems to have it's disadvantages as most ritualists prefer females for their rituals.” Uriab defended.

“I never said anything about looks. But you're right, it is a damsel in distress this time round” Seraphina laughed.

“Don't you know that I hate doing the hero thing? Don't you remember what happened after the last time I did that?” Uriab asked.

“I do. But I also remember the look of happiness on her face.” Seraphina replied.

“You know what? Instead of you doing your job, you end up handing it over to me!” Uriab said.

Seraphina didn't talk, instead she walked up to him and thrust her hand through his chest. It went through as if there was nothing there “Now I hope you remember why I can't do my job properly.”

“Right, I'm sorry, but I've been on the edge lately” Uriab said.

“I know.” Seraphina said.

“You know? How?” Uriab asked, amazed.

“See? You don't know as much about me as you think you do. I try do do as much as I can, even in my current position.” Seraphina said.

Uriab laughed, “No, I guess not. Right, I'll see you later then.”

“Bye. And good luck.” Seraphina replied.


Uriab opened the window and stepped through. He had a quick look around. It was obvious that the building hadn't been used in ages. His footsteps muffled by the thick layer of dust that covered everything. The building was as silent as a grave. Perhaps Seraphina had made a mistake? Or maybe he misunderstood her directions? Maybe if he took the right turn instead of the left one... Then he heard it, the sound of chanting was coming from upstairs.


The ritual had begun. Uriab crept up the stairs. Being silent is always crucial, especially when one doesn't know how many oppose him.


“My Lord! I offer this sacrifice to you!” The man said, holding a remarkably large knife over his would-be victim who was bound and gagged. She was unconscious. And who wouldn't faint after seeing THAT knife? Even the Terminator would have thought twice before engaging an enemy armed with that knife. Just as he was about to plunge the knife, a voice spoke.

“That's not a very nice thing to do”

The man turned around, searching for the source of the voice.

“Show yourself!” He yelled.

Uriab stepped forward. “What? I was just being considerate for the girl. She's cute. Is she your date?” Being a smart mouth wasn't a smart thing to do, but being a smart mouth with a knife holding maniac isn't recommended by health specialists.

“How did you get in?” he snarled.

“You left the window on the ground floor unlocked. Me, being the good neighbor, dropped by to say 'hi' and offer a piece of fruit cake, but it seems you're a bit busy right now so I'll drop by later, if it's not any bother. How about that?” Uriab turned, as if to leave.

“Stop there you weasel, you're not going to leave this place.”

“Aww, there's this party I really want to go to...” Uriab said in a whiny tone.

“That's the last straw, you're going to die here and now!” And with that he lunged forward with his knife, ready to strike.

Uriab merely stepped out of the way, sending his opponent crashing into the sofa. But it seemed that he had more toughness than brains, because in a few seconds he was up again. He pulled the knife out of the sofa and brought it down with a swift chop that would have split a marble block into two. This time Uriab grabbed his knife with both hands as it came down and pulled it out of his opponent's hand, jamming it into the wall behind him with such a force that it got stuck there.

The guy swung his fist in Uriab's direction. Uriab caught his fist then gave a high kick, sending his opponent flying backwards with his body in a perfect arch. Unfortunately, the landing was not perfect since he was quite a large figure.


Uriab turned his attention to the girl, she was still unconscious. He started untying her ropes.

“And what do you think you're doing?” said a voice behind him. Uriab turned, he expected to see his earlier opponent, but it wasn't him.


Ok, the dude really looked like him in every detail even that small, fresh, scar on his cheek which was caused by their earlier fight. But he wasn't your average Joe, for one thing, there was this certain aura around him. For another, eyes were as black as the depths of an ocean. Then it hit Uriab, this 'dude' was in fact a demon from the 3rd dimension.

Uriab flicked his right hand and a dagger slid down his sleeve. The demon sneered.

“And what's that supposed to be?” he asked

“Oh, just a gift from heaven.” and with that Uriab and threw the dagger at the demon with a swift hand movement.


The dagger whizzed through the air for about half a second, then, it hit the demon in the chest. He screamed in pain as white steam started to emit from where the dagger was stuck.

“Ok, you're not as green as I thought” the demon said as he placed his hand on the dagger.

“Oh I wouldn't do that if I were you” Uriab continued, when he noticed what his opponent about to do.

“Shut up, human. I am stronger than the strongest man” and with that he pulled the dagger out with all the strength he could muster. He doubled over in pain as yet again white steam started to emit from the wound.

“Well, you're not as stupid as I thought: in fact your IQ is lower than that of the dumbest blonde” Uriab said, with a smirk on his face, putting up his fists.

The demon stood up, looked at him, then charged. Uriab extended his left fist just as he was about to run into him. The demon felt as if he had run into a brick wall as he was thrown back.

Uriab walked up to him “Are you ok?” he asked.

“Ow...” said the demon in a small voice.

“Well, it is a not-so-well known fact that I rinse my weapons using holy water” Uriab comforted as he walked up to him. Uriab seized the demon by the head. “Nice beating you.”

“Who are you? The demon asked.

“I'm the beginning of your end. Now, go to hell” and with that Uriab twisted the demon's neck, breaking it in the process. After a few seconds, the demon burst into a pile of ash, dirtying the surroundings including Uriab and his clothes.

“Damn, I really need to invest in a portable vacuum cleaner. The dry cleaner's bills are getting too expensive”

Uriab scooped up the ashes in a bottle he found and removed his fingerprints from the knife (which was still stuck in the wall) using a handkerchief. He didn't have the heart to leave the girl there, so he took her down and left her beside the door. There was no kind of identification on her, so he had to leave her somewhere where she would be visible. He couldn't exactly take her to the police station due to the amount of questions that would arise and that he would have to answer, which would put him in a tight spot indeed, so he cast a small protection charm on her so that only people who had pure intentions would notice her lying there.


“Is it done?” Seraphina asked.

“Yes” said Uriab as he approached her.

“I assume all went well, since you're still in one piece?” Seraphina asked.

“Well, the client was called in for a few moments.” Uriab said.

“And? You did take care of him, I hope?” She inquired.

Uriab didn't answer, but he threw the bottle in the water.

“You do know, I hope, that it's not necessary.” Seraphina said.

“I do, but it's my...how do you say it? Signature.” Uriab smiled watching the bottle sink slowly.

“How is she?”

“She? Oh, the girl you mean. She's fine, I cast a protection charm on her before left her” Uriab replied.

“Good, well then, that's that. Do you have any plans for tonight?”

The reply was two soft clicks with the sound of exhalation and a smell of cigarette smoke combined with a large, thin cloud issuing from Uriab's mouth a moment later.