The hairs on the back of the Berserker's neck stood up; his body responded to the coming fire before his mind knew what was happening. The release of the blue fire did not change the man's posture - he did not throw up an arm in a futile gesture to shield himself. Instead he simply steeled himself for the sensation of his flesh burning and prepared for the bitter scent of burning hair and meat. The scent of burnt hair and meat came, along with the scent of burnt plastic and everything else in the room, but he was unharmed by the flames. Did the female recognize him on some subconscious level as her own? Did the power inside her know him even if she did not?<br/><br/>"Eternity embraces you." The Berserker replied to the female. The change was taking her; soon her body would be frozen into immortality. She was still vulnerable now and she looked it very much on her hands and knees, appearing weak as a kitten. An unfamiliar feeling surged in the Berserker at seeing her this way, but he tamped it down without exploring it or trying to grasp just what it was. There was no time.<br/><br/>He moved closer to the female and grabbed her by the upper arm, pulling her up from the floor. When she did not find her feet fast enough for his liking, he threw her over one mountainous shoulder as if she weighed nothing at all. He exited the living room and paused in the main hallway. After half a second's deliberation he went upstairs, discerning by scent Kara's room. And though he moved with speed, he was very careful and against all odds Kara was never bumped against anything. Her ride on his shoulder was . . . smooth. The man put her down on her bed with little ceremony but no roughness, then he went about tactlessly going through her things until he found a bag. He began to stuff clothing into it without looking at what he grasped - he fist a pair of jeans into the bag with the same placid expression on his face as when he grabbed a fistful of her unmentionables. It<em>should</em>have thrilled him to handle her underwear, but the Berserker was cold and in control.<br/><br/>Then he picked her up again, carrying her and the bag of clothing down the stairs with a sense of urgency. He got her outside and to his vehicle - a huge black pick-up truck made by Ford - when the hairs on the back of his neck rose again. He had the passenger side door open and was putting Kara and her clothing within when another demon traced behind him. The Berserker whirled as the demon thrust the blade of a sword at the Berserker's face. The blond male clapped his hands together, just stopping the blade short of piercing his skull. The edge of the blade still nicked his cheek and drew blood.<br/><br/>The demon was just as sinfully handsome as the others, marking him out as the breed. He pulled the sword back and the Berserker reached for a long knife concealed in his coat. The weapon the Berserker drew was simple, single-edged, and perfectly suited to his hand. It was like a steel extension of his flesh. The Berserker lunged forward, slashing, forcing the demon back lest it be cut deep. The two men began a deadly dance, and their blades met again and again. The Berserker was limited because he needed to keep his huge body between the demon and the truck, and there were cuts he took that he could have avoided if he were able to fight freely. All too soon, though, the Berserker buried the knife to the handle in the demon's chest. As the creature gasped, the Berserker pulled the blade free. The demon went to its knees and the Berserker hacked its head free from its body in a single, sure stroke. He knelt to wipe his blade upon the demon's shirt before he turned, closing the passenger side door of the truck.<br/><br/>It was just in time to spare Kara the sight of the low creatures that were drawn by the fallen demons in her home and now by the Berserker's fresh kill.<br/><br/>When the Berserker joined Kara in the cab he was bleeding from a dozen cuts. Some were more serious than others - some only looked bad, in the way bleeding flesh wounds did. But none of these injuries were mortal. The Berserker fitted the key into the ignition and drove. He had a rented room in the small town, but there was nothing there that belonged to him.<br/><br/>When they were underway and no demons teleported onto the truck, the Berserker allowed himself to glance at Kara from the corner of his eye. It would be obvious by now that he was taking her out of town - it was not very far at all to the town limits. They would be on the highway leading east soon.