Chapter Two

There had been no instructions and no explanations; while the latter did not bother her so much, the former didn't sit well with Gabriela. Her hand reached at her side, grasping for something that wasn't there, and as her eyes took in her surroundings, that same hand clenched tightly until her knuckles turned white.

What was she doing on earth without a weapon or any information to aid her? Was this some test of her resourcefulness?

That thought soothed the rampant whirlwind within her mind by a considerable degree. She was sure she was being watched, even at that moment, being judged on her performance. Thus far, her training had been restricted to a safe, known environment, and no matter how intense a session might become, there was always a sense of certainty. Nothing would or could go wrong. With how well she was doing, they wanted to place her into an unknown situation and make her think she had no safety net to fall back on to see how she would handle the pressure and the situation.

Well, then.

This was just another test that Gabriela intended to pass with flying colors. As she relaxed the fist she'd made with her hand, she straightened her posture and took another survey of her surroundings, this time with the goal of discovering the object of the test. Earth was unfamiliar to her though, and simply looking revealed very little to her.

Fine. She would walk around for a bit and see if that helped any. Maybe she would find one of the others waiting on her. Or maybe she would be ambushed. She needed to find something she could use as a weapon.

Now in possession of some form of direction, Gabriela began to move, sky blue eyes flickering around her in search of something that could be used as a replacement for an actual weapon. She seemed to see through the humans that she passed by, seeing nothing within them that was worth her attention. Instead she saw what was around them, what they held, the things they had crafted, and as her eyes passed over these objects, she mentally evaluated what practical use she could put them to, if any, as well as their durability. Her eyes found potential ambush spots as well as places that could be used for cover.

The longer she spent evaluating her surroundings, the antsier Gabriela began to feel. She was taking too long, and she knew it. It didn't help that her mentors had never given her a test that she had not passed with ease, and the thought of this being the thing that undid her was unbearable.

Her concentration became so focused that she nearly missed the unfamiliar aura. Her reaction was belated by several seconds, but she stopped moving altogether as the feeling washed over her. It was not overpowering in strength, but it did not sit well within her all the same. It made her stomach hurt and felt as if it pressed against her skin in a dark, sticky web. She had never felt the aura of a demon before, yet she was sure that was exactly what that feeling was, and Gabriela suddenly understood the true purpose of her test.

She expected that this would be a weak demon, one her mentors had found and felt that she would be able to take care of, though they would obviously be watching and ready to step in should she not prove up to the challenge. This was a test of her ability to sense and find a demon, her resourcefulness on dealing with an unknown situation without any prior knowledge or weapons on hand, as well as a test of her combat skills. It was quite the test, with much hanging on it. Now that she knew everything though and what she had to do, a calm certainty settled over Gabriela even as excitement and anticipation tingled at her core.

In an instant, her stillness was dispelled as she once more surged into motion, knowing that if she had felt the demon, then it must have felt her as well.

She would have liked a little more time to find something that would have worked to her best advantage as a weapon, but it appeared that she would not have that luxury. She needed to find something and take the fight to the demon before it brought the fight to her first.

For a moment, Gabriela considered a nearby cane despite the fact that it was currently in use, knowing it would be fairly sturdy. Then her eyes found a closed umbrella. It had a point on the end, though dulled, had a hook on the end from its appearance, and could open up to be a shield if needed. It was metal, so it likely shouldn't be too easy to break. Sold.

Gabriela grabbed the umbrella from where it sat reclining against a bench and then spun around to determine where the demon was. Initially, nothing stuck out to her as unusual, and all of the faces around her remained as she'd seen them thus far, blurry and blank. As she stepped closer to the aura that made her skin crawl, however, one face slowly emerged from the monotony of the rest.

As the earlier tingle of excitement and anticipation spread within her, Gabriela smirked.

Without preamble, she clutched her makeshift weapon in one hand and rushed at the demon and swept the umbrella low with the intention of knocking him off balance. If he hadn't yet noticed her, she hoped the speed of her sudden attack would prevent him from being able to move in time to avoid her.