"Hey Man..."

Mars narrowed his eyes at her suddenly.

"Let go of me," he said, with startling demand considering his previous demeanor.

"Mmm, no," she purred. "I'm going to hold you here for as long as I want."

Mars ground his teeth together.

"Don't make me hurt you," he snapped.

Her green eyes flashed, and her voice lowered an octave.

"I highly doubt that. You took home a skank named Lacey-- be glad you're not going home with the clap." She dug her nails into Mars's back and slowly dragged them through his skin.

Mars was really glad now that he had indeed gotten into shape. He was, however, very much regretting not letting Priestly handle this. It would have made his life easier, that's for sure.

He was glad that his favorite knife was within reach, especially when he stabbed at the thing demon or not, the knife would hurt it.

She kissed him on the lips even as she hissed in pain.

"You thought you could get rid of me that easy? Please." She wrenched the knife out of his hand and tossed it to the floor.

"Do you have any clue how many I've killed before you? I am strong. And after you, I'll be even stronger." She licked his cheek, tasting him.

Mars scoffed at the very idea. He wouldn't die here. It just wouldn't happen.

Without hesitation, he slammed his head against her nose, hoping to break it. He had to get free of her grip so he could retrieve his gun.

She held on to him still, not even flinching.

"Relax! It's only going to hurt a little--okay, so maybe that's lie. I wouldn't know, I've never died." She kissed him gently on the neck. "I can guarantee the sooner you stop struggling, the easier it will get, though. Go on and get it all out now--scream for help, if you must."

He licked up the blood dripping down from his forehead.

"Fuck you, you psychotic bitch!" He shouted, spitting the blood back in her face.

The door burst open, revealing a tall, fair-haired man. "Let go of him," he said calmly, holding up a rosary in his hand.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Mars shouted, as he also struggled to actually get free of the woman.

"Helping," he replied brightly. His gaze shifted to the lady on top of Mars.

"Let him go, please--he's not yours to take, really. I would much prefer it if we could resolve this peacefully."

She spat blood in Priestly's direction, cackling.

"I'm going to rip you in half as soon as I'm done with him." She dug her fingernails further into Mars's skin until they turned red.

"If you're going to do something, now would be nice!" Mars shouted angrily, grimacing at the pain.

Priestly held up the crucifix on his rosary and began reciting a prayer, slowly taking steps toward the demon.

A first she ignored him; then a low hiss emitted from her lips, and her grip on Mars weakened and slipped. She struggled to hold onto him, tearing his sides with her nails even as her fingers grew numb.

"No--stop it, you can't--"

As she looked up to scream at Priestly, he pressed the rosary to her forehead. She howled in pain and scratched at his arms, leaping off the bed to try and subdue him. They wrestled on the floor as she tried to claw his hands and throat; he held her at bay, barely flinching as she tore his flesh and entirely focused on his prayers.

Mars wanted to leave Priestly to deal with the demon, with his body so torn and bleeding, but knew better. He yanked the demon back by her hair, wrapping his own rosary around her neck and pulling her towards the floor. His body ached, and he could barely see between the pain and the blood dripping onto this eyes.

Priestly continued praying, pressing the crucifix against her forehead; finally, she shrieked and the body lay still. He stayed there, reciting several more prayers before finally backing away.

The host body lay battered on the floor from the fighting, but breathing evenly. There were red marks on her throat and face from the rosaries, and her nails were covered in blood, but she seemed fine otherwise.

"...We should clean up," said Priestly brightly, wiping the sweat from his brow and accidentally smearing blood into his hair.

Mars stood up, but he wasn't sure how long he would stay standing up. This had been one of the worse demons he had encountered so far. Now he realized why Rainsford had been a hunting dog. He was beginning to realize how dangerous it was being alone. From now on, he'd be taking Rainsford with him.

"I'm not cleaning up anything, I'm going to go bandage myself up," Mars replied, headed for the door.

"So you're telling me that you want the people in the lobby--the people who saw you walk in with this lady--to see you leaving a room where a woman without panties lays unconscious on the floor with bruises and bloodied nails. Though the blood and skin isn't hers--it's yours, and mine."

He stood there calmly, glancing at the woman, then the blood oozing slowly over his tattoos, then Mars.

Mars narrowed his eyes. He had never been in a situation like this before. Every other time had been so clear, so clean-cut.

"In my experience, it's better to not stick around for when they," he pointed to the woman. "...wake back up."

'We won't be if we hurry,' he replied, grabbing a roll of toilet paper from tbe bathroom. 'We'll have to clean off her hands first.'

Mars groaned as he bent down to get a good look at her bloody fingers.

"There'll be blood left no matter what," he replied grumpily.

'But if we leave her, she'll call the police,' he replied, cleaning one of her nails with a damp piece of toilet paper.

"It looks like someone raped her," he spat angrily. "She's going to call the police anyway."

Despite his protests, Mars was doing his best to clean her up. If she so much as switched, however, he told himself he was making a run for it. Once it was done, Mars looked over her hands. Torn up, but they were no longer bloodied.

"Don't think this means I trust you or we're friends or something," Mars told Priestly. "I'm leaving."

"One second," he replied nonchalantly, lifting the woman and setting her gently on the bed. "Okay, now we can go--do you have a place to stay for the night, or should I offer?"

"I have a hotel room, and if I see you within five feet of my door, I'll kill you," he barked. "Stop following me."