Kole emerged from the shadows on the roof of one of the many skyscrapers that littered the Boston skyline. The Sun was setting and the shadows were at their longest. Only at this time could he do what he needed to do. For this, Kole was going to need absolute concentration. The wind was at a moderate breeze that chilled the air, making it a temperature that Kole enjoyed. After finding a place that looked relatively comfortable, he sat down and quieted his thoughts. He allowed his heart to beat so he could listen to it’s slow pulse. After a few minutes the outside world was forgotten and Kole was left to be alone within his own mind.
For what he was about to do, Kole needed to use a good amount of energy and needed his attention solely on the task at hand. While within his trance he slowly raised his awareness outside of himself and into the nearby shadows of the skyscrapers. His physical body slowly dissolved and molded with the darkness, the shadows greeted him eagerly and let him become one with them. The shadows were long and covered a lot of ground, and Kole could feel everything that was occurring within them. He could sense the people and their shadows walking through him and the cars that drove by. He could sense people’s energies. However, he could only feel the energies of the civilians. There seemed to be nothing nonhuman, nothing supernatural at all. This wasn’t good enough.
With a bit more energy, he spread his mind out into the shadows of the people and the other buildings, letting a small fraction of himself follow them throughout the city. Still nothing. Kole needed to see more. He was getting spread out somewhat thin, but he still had enough energy to go further. He once again extended his being. Wherever the shadows of the people or cars crossed with shade, he sent his essence into those as well. He repeated this until he was within almost every shadow in the Boston area. This was the furthest Kole had ever extended himself, and somehow it was giving him a severe headache despite his current lack of physical head.
After another couple of minutes, the entire city of Boston and even some of the surrounding towns were under his observance now. He could now sense supernaturals of all kinds, unfortunately, they weren’t his target. He could sense Tibias in a supermarket quite a ways away, his energy was quite vivid and was one of the more powerful ones that Kole could feel. However, there was something off with Tibias’s energy. Normally his partner’s power normally felt rough against the shadows, as if he was trying to push them away. Kole figured that was due to prolonged exposure to himself. However, his partner’s energy felt a bit worn down today, as if it was preoccupied with something else.
Kole put that knowledge aside and continued his search. He couldn’t afford to be distracted by that oddity. He had a demon to find. Kole just let all the information pour in. His mind was aching now from the effort but he pushed on, letting his essence be divided even more. Finally Kole felt echoes of what he was looking for. He felt the infernal energy at the fringes of his senses. Powerful Infernal energy. It was Mammon no doubt. Looking at the energy Kole could understand why Matao died fighting him. The energy took up almost the entire alleyway where his shadows were. He could sense the demon moving through the maze alleyways, laying low. Kole figured Mammon was heading off to do make his next move
Kole mentally smiled, this was going to be a good fight. If only Shera were here, they might have been able to have a shot at it, but since she disappeared, Kole was going to need his subordinate’s and Tibias’s help. The strain of extending his consciousness this widespread was getting to him. He needed to materialize soon. The next time the demon stepped into a shadow that Kole occupied, Kole separated a shadow off from the alleyway and filled it with a bit of his remaining energy. He tied the demon's own shadow.
Mammon froze. Kole metaphorically held his breath. If Mammon sensed that he just put a tracer on him, the demon would remove it then be on higher alert next time. Fortunately, after a few seconds, Mammon continued on his way.
The ache was overwhelming. Kole needed to reform immediately. Kole slowly withdrew his consciousness from the shadows, getting more and more consolidated. The constant wave of new information started dwindling down, relieving the pressure immensely. Kole reformed next to the supermarket, letting his body appear out of a dumpster in the back. Kole was exhausted for the first time in over a dozen years. But he still had enough energy to startle Tibias by appearing in the backseat when his colleague entered the ramshackle car.
“Holy Fuck!” Tibias jumped. “I know that you secretly enjoy doing that.” He said after recovering from the scare.
“Nonsense” Kole said. “I need to talk to you about something first, but after that, we need to prepare. I’ve found our prey.”
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