Horn warmers were a lifesaver, and Cobalt was so relieved that he thought to pick some up on the way to the Jump Terminal. They were similar to socks in design, though sleeker and available in different shapes and lengths to accommodate all manner of different demons' horns. Though he appreciated how they alleviated the chill running through his horns, his main intention was to disguise his glaringly-recognisable iron horns. With them concealed, and his wings and horns tucked into his clothes, all he had to do was raise his scarf over his face and nobody gave him a second glance. He just hoped that nobody thought to look too closely at his hair or eyes.
Standing outside the Terminal, the Incubus shivered, shaking the snow off as he watched various commuters walk in and out of the building. He swallowed nervously and checked his watch, glancing around for any sign of Quinn.
This was a terrible idea in every respect. But he had already gone ahead and promised Alison that he would lend her a hand.
Even if lending a hand meant stealing an expensive piece of state property.
If he wasn't painfully aware of how out of control his life was, Cobalt would have wondered what it was coming to.
"Oi oi," piped a voice from behind the Incubus, startling him something fierce.
Cobalt spun on his heel and was faced with Quinn Redtile, sweating despite the cold. She must have run all the way here, desperate for some excitement.
"A- Ah, Quinn, you're here. Um... Terribly sorry to call you out like this," the Incubus murmured, tugging at his scarf.
The Imp shrugged at scratched at her nose.
"Nah, don't worry about it; pretty sure I owe you for that whole thing up with Lottie's folks. So, what'd you need, blood brother?"
"I, um..."
He cleared his throat nervously.
"I need you to steal something for me," Cobalt said quickly, staring at his shoes.
A wide grin slowly spread across the Imp's face as she folded her arms and raised an eyebrow.
"Oho? Goody-Two-Shoes Trayer, finally turning to the dark side?"
"It's not like that. It's for a friend."
"Sure, sure~. Look, you'll get no judgement from me. What is it?"
"Do you know what a bloodstone is?"
Quinn frowned and thought for a moment, rhythmically tapping her fingers against her arm.
"Doesn't ring a bell."
"Well, do you remember when you moved to Hell, and you had to pass through a Jump Gate?"
"How can I forget? Spewed all over the Terminal floor for like ten minutes straight afterwards."
That was a reoccurring issue with Earthborne demons. Those who weren't acclimated to cross-planar travel often had disastrous first trips through time and space.
"Jump Gates are powered by things called bloodstones. They're contained in a glass chamber on the top of the device. I... need you to steal it for me."
Biting her lip thoughtfully, Quinn turned her catlike gaze onto the Terminal, intently watching the townsfolk as they entered and exited the building. Cobalt was just glad that she didn't outright refuse his request.
"Right. There's a lot of people about. Blokes with cameras, too. They tend to be bad for business, if you know what I mean," she told him, nodding at one of the many reporters plaguing the town.
Hell, even demon tabloids from Earth were hoping to catch a glimpse of the Iron Hound.
"We'll need a plan, mate."
"As much as I hate to encourage this sort of thing, I'll defer to your judgement."
"Heh, Deadeye Redtile, master larcenist, at your service."
"I don't think that's ever going to catch on, Quinn."
"Spoilsport."
She pointed at an alley nestled between the Terminal and the adjacent building.
"Best bet's to find a window or summat and slip in that way. Gonna be a lot of people inside, though..." she sighed, scratching her chin.
Cobalt took a deep, arduous breath. Not only did Alison's request force him to abandon morality, it was forcing him to abandon his dignity as well.
"I could provide a distraction for you," he sighed, wiping his brow.
"Hm. I suppose that could wuh... hah... agh..."
Quinn suddenly pulled a face and drew her head back, holding her hand up as she prepared to sneeze. She gasped for breath a couple of times, but only wound up scowling and rubbed her nose irritably.
"Agh... nothing worse than being blueballed by a sneeze," the Imp grumbled.
She gave her teacher a slight nod.
"No offense to those with blue balls."
"Quinn!"
"Ha! Come on, blood brother! Let's go steal us a bloodrock!"
"Bloodstone."
"Yeah, yeah. Come on!"
As Quinn directed him across the icy, snow-choked street, Lilith piped up from the back of Cobalt's mind.
"Bloodstones, huh? Not exactly easy to come by. If they're still as big a pain to make as they used to be, then I imagine it'll be locked up tight. Better hope your little friend is as good a thief as she thinks she is," the Devil remarked unhelpfully.
Taking care to avoid what few cars were braving the frozen road, the two demons trudged down the alleyway, probing the exterior wall of the Jump Terminal for any points of ingress. There were no windows or side doors, and after some searching, all they managed to locate was a ventilation port. It was covered by a perforated metal sheet, screwed on with heavy bolts that looked fairly rusted.
"I don't suppose you'd know how to get these off, would you?" Cobalt asked, frowning as Quinn ran a finger along one of the corroded fixings.
"Unless you got an impact wrench or cutting torch to hand, no," she responded, furrowing her brow.
Standing up, she kicked the vent covering, but didn't even leave a dent.
"Bollocks."
Unwilling to just walk Quinn Redtile - a woman who had a lifetime ban from most establishments in Brimstone - in through the front door, Cobalt looked down at his hands and pulled off his ripped gloves, fully exposing his claws. As the Imp watched on with intrigue, he took a deep breath and roughly grasped the metal sheet, wincing as the bone fingernails effortlessly pierced through. He grunted and forcefully pulled downwards, ripping a sizable hole in the vent cover.
Gasping for breath, he nervously pulled his gloves back on and took a step back.
"There," the Incubus said simply, nervously looking around to make sure nobody saw him.
"Blimey. You should probably cut those before you poke someone's eye out," Quinn remarked.
"I tried. My nail clippers snapped."
Quinn snorted and started to laugh, but upon seeing the tired expression on her teacher's face, it turned into a cough. Clearing her throat, she nodded to the Incubus.
"Alright, I'll head in and try to get to the Gate. You just keep all eyes on you. Ready?" she asked.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Despite the uneasy feeling in his gut, Cobalt just nodded. Quinn gave him a wink with her scarred eye and held out her hand.
""Itcaf aitseb. Sum," she incanted.
Red magic swirled around her fist, glowing bright as she slammed it against her chest. The Imp winced as the disconcerting sound of contorting bones rang through the air. The red light grew brighter as she hunched over, growing shorter and smaller as the bestimorphosis took effect. Cobalt turned away, granting her a little privacy.
The ability to turn into an animal was a fantastic thing, but actually seeing it happen was something else entirely.
Eventually the noise died down, and he was alerted to a series of gentle squeaks. He looked back around to see a small rat skittering about the snow. She looked up at him with little beady eyes, one of which bore a slight corneal scar.
"Alright then," the Incubus breathed, reaching down to pick Quinn up.
She dutifully climbed into the palm of his hand, allowing him to ferry her over to the vent. Once through the destroyed covering, Quinn hopped off and bolted into the darkness, leaving Cobalt alone in the alleyway. Shivering in the snow, he adjusted his clothing and removed his horn warmers, exposing his most recognisable features once more.
"Here goes nothing, I suppose," he said to himself as he headed back towards the Terminal entrance.
"Can't hide from the limelight forever," Lilith added.
He hated that she had a point.
-----
The Brimstone Jump Terminal was one of if not the busiest building in Brimstone. It was absolutely packed with commuting demons and Terminal employees, and the drone of voices and intercom announcements was downright deafening. Over by the arrivals gate, a fresh flood of travelers were recovering from the trip, with one queasy-looking Succubus making a beeline for the bathrooms as she clutched her stomach. In the waiting area near the departures gate, a few dozen more demons were sitting impatiently, fiddling with their Cloaking Charms as they stared at the digital timetables on the wall. A pair of uniformed attendants rushed around, politely informing cloaked demons that they had forgotten to removed their disguises, reminding Cobalt of his first day as a teacher when he had returned to Hell.
It seemed so long ago now.
As he made his way to the ticket desk, the Incubus took note of the security personnel in the Terminal. No more than three or four security guards, posted over by the baggage checks. Swallowing hard, he lowered his scarf and politely coughed.
"Good evening sir, and where will you be travelling to today? Our current jumps to Rio are delayed due to some planar interference, but we still have available slots on our Palermo, Bucharest and of course our Paris ju-" the receptionist droned, his breath catching in his throat as he looked up.
Eyes widening at the sight of Cobalt, the uniformed Nymph nervously tugged at his collar.
"M- Mr. Trayer, what an unexpected surprise," he breathed, looking positively starstruck.
Cobalt returned an anxious smile as he glanced up at the vents running along the ceiling. One of them was shaking a little.
"When is the next jump to Paris?" the Incubus asked, raising his voice a little.
Sure enough, he drew the eyes of a few passing demons. They whispered to and motioned for their friends to look in his direction. As they pulled out their phones and cameras, he returned his attention to the receptionist.
"Paris? O- Oh yes, of course! Um, one moment sir..."
A clamour began to rise around the Terminal as the paparazzi took notice. Above him, Cobalt could see Quinn wriggling her way out of a small port on one of the ventilation shafts. She looked down at him before traversing the maze of ducts and beams on the ceiling in the direction of the departures gate.
"You're just in time! Our next jump is in a couple of minutes!" the receptionist piped, drawing his attention back.
"One ticked to Paris, then."
"One-way or return?"
"Um... return."
"Very well. A- And can I just say what an honour it is to meet you? I, um... I was there when that first Devil attacked over by-"
"SWEET HELLFIRE, IT'S HIM!"
Oh boy.
As Quinn carefully navigated her way towards the Jump Gate room, the Incubus braced himself as a crowd of demons converged upon him, pointing their devices at him as they babbled incessantly at him. A few of them were pointing microphones at him, and one person even had a shoulder mounted camera. Shielding his eyes from the camera flashes, he accepted his ticket from the receptionist and headed over to the security desk.
"There he is, the Iron Hound himself," one of the security guards chuckled as he approached.
"So people keep saying..." he murmured, handing his Cloaking Charm over for inspection.
"Mr. Trayer, Mr. Trayer! What really happened down there in the ruins?!" called one particularly loudmouthed reporter, almost hitting Cobalt in the teeth with his microphone.
The security personnel, noting the troubled look on the Incubus' face, rushed to his aid, keeping the crowd back as he passed through the last few clearance checks. With the guards distracted, he gave a slight not to Quinn. Twitching her whiskers, she discretely scuttled down a wall-mounted heating pipe and slipped through the doors into the Jump Gate room.
Despite the security guards' best efforts, it still took much longer than usual for Cobalt to be cleared for travel, as the various rubberneckers simply wouldn't simmer down. They cried his name and pined for his attention, forcing him to shout in order to answer the questions asked of him. By the time he was finished, the intercom chimed, asking for all travelers bound for Paris to head to the Jump Gate.
Bidding the reporters polite farewells, the Incubus pushed through the crowd towards the Jump Gate, breathing a sigh of relief as the doors were shut behind him.
The chamber beyond was large and circular in shape, containing a central platform marked with a pentagram. Technicians and engineers manned control consoles all around it, and much of the floorspace was taken up by bundled cables and rubber hoses, all leading towards the huge machine mounted around the platform. Resembling a larger and more polished version of the device in Alison's lab, it hissed and sparked as the generators began to spool up. At the very top of the machine, a red stone slowly spun in place within a glass container, slowly turning faster and faster as it started to glow. It was smaller than Cobalt thought; this one must be almost drained of power.
Would it be enough to suit Alison's purposes...?
"H- Hey, you're Cobalt Trayer, right?" whispered a voice from next to him.
Raising an eyebrow, he looked over to see an excited Golem girl standing next to him, practically foaming at the mouth as she clutched her luggage. She smiled at him, the sparking light from the Jump Gate playing off her braces.
"I am, yes," he replied tiredly.
Up above, he could see Quinn walking along a wire like a tightrope. The Golem giggled and offered her hand.
"Oh my gosh, this is so exciting! I- I'm gonna join B.I.D. next year! I hope I'm in your class!"
The Incubus frowned. That's right. Next year he would be in charge of a new core class. Meaning he only had a few months left with his current one.
"Well I can't say for sure that you'll be in my class, but I look forward to seeing you on campus," Cobalt told her as they stepped up onto the platform.
The generators began to whine as the bloodstone grew brighter and brighter. He could feel the magic in the air; Quinn had to work fast.
Glancing up, he watched as she scuttled over to the bloodstone container and began to scrabble at it with her front paws. Failing to open it, she bared her front teeth and attempted to crack the glass. From the control console, one of the Gate operators looked up to see a rat interfering with the machinery. He pointed a finger and called out, but as all eyes turned towards the rat, something happened.
She sneezed.
One moment, Quinn Redtile was a rat, carefully trying to open the containment chamber on the Jump Gate. The next, there was a flash of red light, and she had suddenly taken on the form of a large shire horse. A panicked whinny rang out through the entire chamber as the Jump Gate buckled beneath her weight, sending the entire thing crashing down and forcing everyone to dive for cover. Shattering glass, snapping wires and buckling metal rang out through the room as the Gate operators scrambled to shut everything down.
"What the fuck was that?!" cried a security guard, bursting in through the door.
As Quinn kicked her legs in a blind panic, Cobalt bit his tongue and quickly surveyed the wreckage of the Jump Gate. Lying just a few feet away amidst a pile of broken glass was the bloodstone.
"Is that a horse?!"
Cobalt slowly inched closer towards it.
"A- Alright, everyone just back away slowly! Can somebody please call-?!"
Quinn sneezed again.
Another burst of bestimorphic magic rocked the chamber as Quinn abruptly shapeshifted into red-striped tiger. She snarled and sprang back on all fours, causing everyone to screamed and run for the doors. Doing his best not to get trampled, Cobalt quickly snatched the bloodstone and held it close. It just about fit into the palm of his hand.
"Shit, call animal control. Or the cops. Or both. Just don't make any sudden movements," one of the security guards whispered to his colleagues as Quinn growled and hissed at them.
Panicked and confused, Cobalt grasped the bloodstone close and climbed to his feet, shivering as he ran his thumb across it's greasy surface.
"Just hold on, Mr. Trayer. We'll sort this out. Fucking Imps," the guard called from the doorway.
Cobalt glanced at Quinn. There was an ever so slight pink tinge to her eyes, and similarly-coloured mucus leaked from one of her nostrils.
"I'll just, um... I'll just take my leave," he breathed, gradually sidling around the edge of the chamber.
As he tried to leave, the tiger took a deep breath and prepared to roar. All she managed to produce, however, was another sneeze. Another flash of light and Quinn dropped to ground, having just turned herself into a gecko.
"Grab it, you fools!" the security guard yelled, shoving his companions forward.
The Imp-turned-lizard quickly detached her tail and scuttled away as the guards all dove for her, colliding into one another and almost crashing into the jagged remains of the Jump Gate. Realising that his student was buying time for his escape, Cobalt jammed the bloodstone into his pocket and hurriedly jogged towards the exit. Behind him he heard another tiny sneeze, followed by the loud, guttural cries of a bear, spurring him to go faster.
As absolute chaos unfolded around him, the Incubus did his best to keep his cool as he pushed through the panicking crowds in the lobby.
"What the fuck just happened?" Lilith asked.
"We can ask questions later."
"But she just-"
"Later, Lilith!"
He shoved the front doors open and quickly jogged down the street, feeling his heart hammer in his chest with every step. He flinched as the sound of a window breaking rang out through the air, followed by the irate yells of the Terminal's security personnel. Hearing swift footsteps behind him, he looked over his shoulder to see-
"Is that a fucking ostrich?!"
- Quinn running along behind him, having taken the form of a large terrestrial bird. She sneezed irritably, transforming back into an Imp and unceremoniously grinding to a halt in the slush. She looked sick.
"Ugh... Mate, there's something wrong with me," she spluttered, picking herself up off the ground as she scratched at her nose.
Cobalt looked back as the cried of the security officers grew louder. He swore beneath his breath and offered her a hand.
"Quinn, can you run?" he asked frantically, his eyes darting around nervously.
"M- Maybe. Bloody Hell, my throat's killing me. Feel like I'm gonna... guh... hah... AH-!"
As she grabbed his hand, Quinn sneezed again. The Incubus shielded his eyes as she turned into a chihuahua before his eyes. Swearing beneath his breath, he scooped his transformed student out of the snow and into his arms, tucking her into his jacket as he darted down the nearest side-street. Forget delivering the bloodstone, he had to find out what the Hell was wrong with Quinn and fix it.
Out of the frying pan, into the fire, and now directly into an industrial blast furnace.