Hunted: witch paranormal romance (Coven of the Raven Book 2)

by Shona Husk

  “And we still have all evening.”

  “Yeah? Is that some kind of challenge?”

  She stepped closer. “Is that what you need?”

  Maybe it was. He was so used to people watching him carefully, looking for signs of black magic or a breakdown or crying for help before the demon chowed down. Rachel was everything his usual demonically troubled clients weren’t. She had spirit. He’d been like that once. Up for the fight at every chance. Now he did it because he had to.

  The Morrigu was right. He’d lost his fire and he had no idea where to find it.

  “Come on, let’s get off the street.” And not just because it was safer but because he wanted to know what Rachel was going to throw at him next.

  Chapter 10

  They were almost back at the hotel when he saw the crow. He tensed as he watched it. Rachel noticed it this time, too, then she glanced over the road. “He’s seen us.”

  He followed her line of sight, swore and grabbed her hand, intending to run and get into the hotel as fast as possible. Cory must have been wandering round the area knowing they were close but unable to follow or see them because of the people and the magic Noah had thrown around to confuse the demon. Across the road, Cory grinned. There was a glint in his eyes like a mad dog—or a man hounded by a demon. Cory had manifested the demon for a reason, and the demon wanted satisfaction.

  Noah’s blood ran cold. This was just the man, not the demon, but he knew if he cast the spell he’d see the second shadow. They weren’t one and the same, yet. There was still a chance Cory could throw it off.

  Rachel pulled free. “Maybe I should talk to him. Tell him to back off and that I’ve moved on.”

  “That didn’t work out so well last time.” And he didn’t want to end up like the divorce lawyer.

  “What do you suggest?” The pitch of her voice rose as the edge of panic crept in.

  Noah watched as Cory started to make his way across the road. They were in a public place. People were watching him jog across the road and wondering what was so important that he’d risk getting run over by a yellow cab. Maybe he could keep Rachel safe, study Cory and get some answers without dying.

  I need your wisdom. He said a quick prayer to the Morrigu. In his mind She was in Her underwear and wings, but holding Her sword and ready to fight. Sometimes he wondered if She wanted him dead. He flexed his fingers. He had no fire to throw, his spell clicked uselessly—although it did spark. No time to think about it. Stand and fight. This one’s for you. And for the first time in too long he actually meant it. He’d go down fighting for Her, to save Rachel. He was sure the Morrigu was smiling benevolently on him. He drew a dagger from his bag of tricks. Not visible to anyone unless they were looking on the nonphysical plane of existence, but he felt the weight of it in his hand and knew the blade was razor sharp. He’d spent months working on it, creating it and making it real to him. And it would be real to anything he stabbed with it—like Cory’s demon.

  He blinked slowly. Illuminate. There was the demon, right beside Cory, but more than a shadow this time. It was growing more solid. Soon it would want flesh and inhabit Cory, but at the moment Cory’s will was still stronger. The magic marker may not work again, as the demon would sniff them out like a blood hound.

  Could he remove the demon from Cory? Cut out the cancer? The symbiosis was less advanced than when he usually saw it. Once man and demon had joined, there seemed to be no going back. What made that happen he had no idea, as a junkie could carry a demon for decades and never take it in. If he cut the demon off, would Cory heal the crack or would the demon slip right back in?

  Then Cory was stepping up the curb and approaching. The demon disappeared as the spell faded but Noah didn’t need it now. Cory was close enough that Noah could sense it, feel its presence like a pressure, something that shouldn’t be there.

  “Rachel.” Cory grabbed her.

  “Let me go. I just want to talk.” She started trying to pull free and doing it all wrong, the way most people do. He’d have to teach her about pressure points and how to get out of simple grips.

  “We can talk at home.”

  “I’m not coming home with you. We’re over.” She was speaking loud enough for people to be stopping and looking. Good, another incident to report to the New York police. Cory might be the hometown hero in Liberty, but here no one knew him personally, all they knew was his name when he took to the field.

  He scanned Cory, looking for where demon and man merged. “Hey, leave the lady alone.”

  “You her new boyfriend? Did she tell you what happened to the last one?” There was a nasty curl to Cory’s lips.

  This would be the only chance Noah got to find out how much Cory knew about the demon. Did Cory realize he was being ridden? “I think you have enough problems of your own, buddy. Devil on your back making you crazy?”

  “Crazy? Did you call me crazy?” Cory stepped forward and seemed to grow and loom over Noah. The demon adding its bulk and threat, as if it were determined to stop Noah from getting to Rachel.

  “Back down, buddy, the devil will make you do some crazy things.” He kept eye contact with Cory, felt the demon push closer.

  This time Cory gave a perceivable flinch and he glanced between Rachel and Noah. “It doesn’t make me do anything.”

  So Cory knew it was there. Okay then. But Noah wasn’t sure what that meant right now. Cory gave Rachel a tug as if to draw her away; people were watching them but no one was intervening.

  “Buddy, I was just giving the lady some directions,” he said louder so people could hear.

  Cory’s eyes narrowed. He could see the lie. The demon knew.

  Shit. Noah moved to the side and called up his demon sight again. Cory and the demon were joined at the thigh—the injury that should have ended his career. Noah swung his hand as casually as he could and brought the knife down on the connection where it stuck, caught on something. Cory released Rachel and stepped back as if he’d been stabbed. The demon shrank back with a hiss of rage. Then Cory charged and slammed his hand into Noah’s face.

  He felt the skin split with a pop and a burst of hot blood against his skin. Another report to the cops. The next strike he easily blocked. He’d let the man get one punch in so he could make a report, but not two. Cory turned his full attention to Noah, not caring that people were watching. Hopefully one of them had called 911.

  The demon was still making noise—could other people hear it or just him?—but it wasn’t dead and it hadn’t completely separated from the host. The spell began fading and he lost sight of the demon.

  “What have you done to me?” Cory snarled, his voice altered as though the demon spoke through him.

  “You’re possessed.” Not strictly true, but the average person didn’t know the difference between true possession and manifestation. “You don’t really want to hurt Rachel or me.” He kept blocking the strikes. He’d love to catch one and put an arm bar on the thug that would drop him to his knees and make him beg for release, but when the cops showed up it would be better that he looked like a victim, not the victor.

  “Rachel is mine. Till death do us part.”

  Noah felt the demon brush closer, trying to get a hold of him or just tear at his soul? Either idea was unpleasant and any damage done would show up on his physical body. The whisper of raven feathers and steel over his skin let him know that the Morrigu was making sure the demon didn’t get ahold of him. He needed to get his knife back, but between Cory and the demon he couldn’t get close enough.

  “You don’t own her.” The blessed sound of sirens. He’d never been more glad to see the cops—ever. Usually he was melting away and pretending he’d never been anywhere near a demon.

  Cory looked up and blinked, as if just realizing how much of a crowd had gathered and what was going on. He spun away from Noah and looked at Rachel. “Come home or die, bitch.”

  How could she refuse an offer like that?

  “Never. We’re
over. Let go and move on, Cory.”

  “There you go; the lady doesn’t wish you ill. You are free to let it go.” As in let the demon go, you tool, and let everyone live in peace. Strangely, there was no taste of ash on the back of his tongue, the taste he usually associated with black magic, nor was there the slick, rotting texture of death magic, or the acid of a deliberate demon summoning. Rachel was wrong about Cory using black magic, and yet he knew it was there and was happy to draw on its power.

  For a moment, Cory seemed to waver. Then he fixed his mad glare on Noah. “You get between me and her…” He fisted his hands and made a tugging motion, as though tearing something apart.

  Noah got the message. He was going to get his limbs ripped off.

  Cory pointed at Rachel. “No matter where you go I will find you.” Then he was pushing through the crowd trying to disappear before the police arrived.

  The people who’d stood and watched now sprang into action, asking if Rachel was okay, looking at him like he was scum for being with another man’s wife, although a few asked if he was okay. Someone offered him tissues and he realized he had blood running down his face.

  He’d also left his knife in the demon. That wasn’t good at all. Losing any weapon was bad, but a magical construct that was uniquely tied to him was worse. He swore under his breath. One kiss and things went to shit. It was as if he wasn’t allowed to even enjoy one afternoon.

  And now he had to talk to two of New York’s finest. Today was in a downward spiral.

  After standing on the street talking to the cops, getting into the warmth and privacy of their hotel room was a welcome relief. She paced around the hotel room, unable to keep still, while Noah showered. He hadn’t said much after speaking to the cops. He hadn’t mentioned a word about the demon, just that Cory seemed to be a jealous ex. She’d agreed, added that he’d threaten to kill her if she didn’t come home.

  They’d promised to keep an eye out and try and pick him up. Even she knew that wasn’t going to happen. Cory would vanish until he showed up to get her.

  The shower stopped and she pictured Noah drying off. Maybe she shouldn’t have hired him. Cory had threatened to pull him apart; she didn’t want to be responsible for his death and she didn’t want him witnessing hers. She sat on the bed and wrapped her arms around herself as if she could hold herself together.

  She just wanted to be free to move on the way normal people did. Relationships failed all the time. Not every relationship ended with the ex threatening death and dismemberment. No, normal people split assets, not people. She’d be quite happy to let Cory keep the lot if he was worried about money. She’d be willing to move to the other side of the country if he’d leave her alone.

  From the glint in his eyes, she knew that wasn’t going to happen. There was nothing that she’d recognized in his face. The man she’d once loved was well and truly gone, but she couldn’t say where. Maybe he was in there somewhere. However, even if he fixed himself, she was old enough to know now that their relationship had never been what she’d thought it was. Possessive versus protective. Attentiveness versus jealousy. There was a line and Cory had always been on the wrong side.

  The bathroom door opened and Noah came out, unfortunately wearing jeans and a fitted black tee. She’d have liked to see him in a bathrobe. Her gaze was drawn to the split bruise on his face. She was sure it had been worse. She took a step forward to have a closer look. The bruise looked fresh enough but the wound in the center was smaller and less raw. How was that possible?

  “What did you do?” She reached out but stopped short of touching him.

  He didn’t turn away, but he paused before answering. “I healed a little damage while showering.”

  “That’s a useful skill.” She looked at his elbow where a thick pink scar traced down his elbow.

  He ran his hand over it as if to hide it. “I can’t heal that amount of damage. It takes too much energy and time. Back then I couldn’t even make a bruise fade.”

  “And now?”

  Noah shrugged. “I have bigger things to worry about than a scar.”

  “I meant the bone.” A scar like that meant surgery, and surgery on bones meant plates and screws.

  “What makes you think I haven’t made sure the bone is as good as new?”

  She lifted her gaze from his elbow to his face. “You haven’t because you like to remember. You think you deserve it.”

  He opened his mouth, blinked and turned away. “You don’t know me.”

  “I’m getting to know you. It was a demon that night, wasn’t it? That’s why you do this.”

  He didn’t answer. He just started shoving things into a bag. “Cory knows we’re in the area, we should check out and go somewhere else.”

  “You left flour everywhere.” They should be safe.

  He grimaced. “The demon can now track me, and no amount of flour will hide me.”

  “Why?”

  “I tried to sever the bond between Cory and the demon; my knife got stuck.”

  Rachel frowned. “I didn’t see a knife.”

  “Trust me, there was a knife, and now it’s in the demon and a direct link to me.”

  “Right.” She was sure that the more conversations she had about magic the less sense they made, but at least Noah wasn’t treating her like a child and telling her not to worry. “So even if we got to a new hotel, the demon will find us fast.”

  “Yes.”

  “So we might as well stay here and wait.”

  “I enjoy living.” He went back to putting things into his bag as if that was the end of the conversation. He’d said they were leaving and that was it.

  “Do you?” He didn’t seem to enjoy what he was doing.

  He glanced at her, but didn’t say anything.

  Fine. She’d stop talking to him and see how he liked it. The only trouble with that was if he asked questions that affected her life she’d have to answer. Maybe she should just stop trying to find out anything about him. Just accept he had a chip on his shoulder or a penance to pay or something. Yet she couldn’t get the brush of his lips or the look in his eyes out of her mind. None of that had been duty. He’d wanted to at the time, yet now he’d climbed back in his shell and slammed the door.

  He said nothing as he watched her pack the few things she’d unpacked. How had a pleasant afternoon gone sour so fast? She snorted. The name was on the tip of her tongue. Cory. He had the power to sour everything.

  Noah flicked her a glance with one eyebrow raised.

  She nodded that she was ready. See, it was easy not to speak to him.

  He opened up the door, stopped, dropped the bag and tried to slam it shut just as fast. But whatever was on the other side barreled straight through.

  Thick and dark like a shadow but with enough strength to knock Noah over. Demon. Noah rolled and came back up as if nothing had happened, but his hands were loosely curled and there was a shimmer about him. She froze, not sure what to do, but the demon hadn’t appeared to notice her. It was concentrating on Noah. He was fighting the thing with horns. The thing she’d glimpsed once as a shadow against the wall. Now it was solid and separate from Cory. She held her breath and hoped Cory wasn’t about to walk around the corner.

  The demon growled. There was a flash of light and then Noah grimaced. He made a gesture and spoke a few words and then the demon was gone.

  Maybe. She looked around, making sure no shadows moved. Noah kicked the door shut and leaned against it. His eyes closed as if he were in great pain.

  “Give me a moment.” He spoke through clenched teeth and she didn’t need to be asked twice. Something had happened that she couldn’t see.

  That was when she noticed the blood dripping on to the floor.

  Chapter 11

  “You’re bleeding,” Rachel said. Noah had his eyes closed, but he could hear the worry in her voice. “I’ll get towels. Should I call an ambulance?”

  “I have a magically constructed knife in my shou
lder. There is nothing they can do.” The pain was excruciating, and not just because a wound was opening up in his physical body, but the blade of the knife was tainted with demon gunk. He had part of a demon in him. That wasn’t going to help matters.

  He needed to pull the knife out and heal the tear in his body of energy, but if the demon or Cory came back while he was busy it would be quite easy for them to kill him and Rachel. His skin was tearing, and the longer he waited the deeper the damage would go. He really wanted to just pull the knife out of his shoulder and be done.

  “What can I do?” She touched his arm.

  He didn’t know yet. He needed a moment to catch his breath, but even that was hurting. While it was nice the demon had thought to return his knife, he really didn’t need it stuck into him. On the up side, the demon no longer had a direct link to him so they had a bit of time.

  When they changed hotels he’d make sure to cover their tracks. Even as he thought it, he knew they were stalling the inevitable. Cory was circling like a starving wolf who’d scented blood. Even if they jumped on the next plane to L.A., Cory would follow hot on their heels. At least in New York he had the backup of the coven.

  “You should apply pressure.”

  “Invisible knife.” His lips curved despite the pain. He was well aware how ridiculous that sounded. “Invisible friends are all kinds of trouble.” He almost laughed but it came out as more of a grunt of pain.

  “I saw it.”

  He gave a slight nod, inviting her to continue. If she was talking he had to concentrate on listening, and not the soft splotting sound of blood hitting the carpet. His blood.

  “Big, bulky thing, two horns…one eye?” She frowned. “I think it had one eye.”

  “Green.” The demon had been more solid and less of an extra shadow. Trying to sever its connection to Cory hadn’t worked, it had only pissed off the man and the demon—which was good to know for future reference.