Half-Demon Huntress (Harlow's Demons Book 2)

by Jen Pretty

  I saw a flash of Nick's teeth in the moonlight coming in through the front windows. “I wanted to surprise you. Did it work?”

  I laughed. “No shit. You are lucky I didn't have that knife in my hand when you scared me. I could have killed you if I’d thrown it.”

  He kissed my nose. “I’m pretty tough. You want to get more sleep or talk about this job.”

  I groaned. I didn't want to do either of those things. Taking his hand, I led him back to my bed. “If I have to talk about nasty demon stuff, I want to be warm.” I slid under my covers and moved back against my wall. Nick pulled off his boots and slid in beside me. The bed wasn’t big enough for two people, but that just meant it was cozy.

  The moon through my window was even brighter, enough that I could see Nick’s features. His blond hair was longer, kind of shaggy, but soft when I reached out and ran my fingers through it. His stubbled face looked relaxed, but I was a mess. I hadn’t gotten over my fear of half-demons and now had a bigger fear of demons than before.

  “Julian has information about Collin’s location,” Nick said. I wanted no part of that sentence and crinkled my nose. “Julian wouldn't tell me much without you there, but wherever Collin is, he’s been terrorizing the local half-demons and many have fled. Nobody knows what he’s up to, but it seems like he is making an army.” Nick’s hand slid across and took mine. “He must be stopped.”

  I shook my head. “And how are we supposed to stop him? He isn't a gargoyle or a demon.” I hadn’t been practicing my new skill of freezing gargoyles and demons. The one gargoyle I froze in New York still hadn’t moved an inch. Nick was storing the dragon gargoyle in his warehouse and keeping me updated on it. I didn’t like the idea of freezing all gargoyles. The ones in my town weren’t evil. Plus, it took everything out of me when I did it. I was saving it for emergencies only.

  “We’re faster than humans and half-demons. We only need to catch him. Julian will take it from there.”

  Great, so Julian was going, too. Fun. Not.

  I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep, not wanting to talk about it anymore. I wanted to snuggle the handsome demon-touched boy and forget about all the rest of the world.

  Nick’s chuckle was a good sign that my fake snores weren’t cutting it.

  I must have fallen asleep because when my alarm went off at way-too-early o'clock, I was alone.

  CHAPTER THREE

  I found Nick and Lincoln sitting at the kitchen table. Linc was already covered in stone dust, but they were laughing about something and drinking coffee. I stumbled to the coffee machine and poured a cup before joining them at the table and resting my head on my arm. Crappy sleep again, thanks to nightmares and an intruder in my house. Although I didn't mind the intruder in my bed. He produced a lot of heat.

  “How are you doing, Har?” Linc asked with humour in his voice.

  I groaned and tipped my head up enough to take a sip of my coffee. I really needed a bendy straw. The coffee wasn't hot, so I just forced myself up and chugged it. Go super caffeine; make me fly! I rinsed my mug and stumbled back to my room to change into gargoyle chasing clothes. My heavy leather pants and boots protected my lower half, but since it was late summer and the heat was getting intense, I pulled on a tank top and my amulets, including the sculptor stone Nick had given me. I grabbed my net off the wall and strode out, ready to take on anything.

  “That net working well for you?” Nick asked. He bought it for me and had shipped it a few days after I left New York. My old net was still in the basement of what was now Julian’s building. I dropped it fighting the demon and had been too chicken to get it. Also, there was the matter of being strapped to the gurney and paramedics wheeling me out of there.

  “This is an excellent net,” I said, spinning it in my hand. It was well-balanced and had a nicer handle than my old fishing net. “You coming hunting with me?” He had his boots on.

  “Sounds like fun,” he replied.

  Linc was back in his garage, power tool blaring.

  Nick and I walked through town, chatting quietly about gargoyles we have seen and chased. There weren’t many people we could talk to about what we do, and text or talking on the phone just wasn’t the same.

  The little devil from the top of the bank was off gallivanting again. I pointed it out to Nick and he got a grin on his face.

  “You see that park over there?” I asked.

  “Uh huh,” he replied.

  “That gargoyle is in there. First to catch him wins?”

  Nick’s smile split his face, his teeth glowing in the moonlight. “On your mark, get set-”

  I didn't wait. I took off at full demon-touched speed. He was in my dust. I ate up the street and then skidded to a halt in the middle of the park and listened. It was eerie quiet. I couldn't hear Nick coming, so assumed he went around the other side of the park. Sneaky.

  I walked on silent feet, my heart raced, but I took a few quiet deep breaths and slowed it down. I gripped my net, ready to bolt if I heard even the slightest grumble of rocks.

  The night was bright enough I could see into the old maples and oaks. This gargoyle had a favourite tree, and if he was already roosted up there I would have to do some climbing to get him. I moved towards it, stepping out of the shadows and into the open area, still alert for the gargoyle and Nick. He was not getting my gargoyle before me.

  The sound of a twig breaking disrupted the silence and I whipped around to see the little demon running across the ground like a jackrabbit. I sprinted after him so fast the wind whistled past my ears. My ponytail whipped back and forth along with the pumping action of my arms. I spotted Nick moving more quickly than humanly possible, aiming to intercept my gargoyle. Oh, hell no! I kicked harder, my feet slapping the ground. The gargoyle's noise of grinding rocks got louder as I got closer, but Nick was getting closer, too.

  I jumped the last couple steps, net extended and scooped the little shit just as Nick jumped, too. He was too late. My net was over the gargoyle, but he was also too late to stop and we ended up running into each other in mid-air. His elbow hit my forehead, but he cushioned my fall, so I landed on his chest.

  “Oof,” he grunted as my weight slammed down on him and we slid a few more feet before coming to a stop. I glanced down and saw the gargoyle still securely in my net.

  “I win!” I shouted.

  He laughed and pulled my face down to his. His delicious lips did delicious things to the soundtrack of an angry gargoyle protesting his confinement. I giggled and sat up.

  “You okay?” I asked him. He looked a bit squished.

  “Yeah, you are really fast.”

  I held up my net containing the gargoyle. “It’s the net. I’m telling you, it’s the best thing for the job.”

  He chuckled again and got to his feet, pulling me up with him. I slung my captive over my shoulder and we walked back toward the bank. We were beyond the park now, in the thicker treed area beyond the park.

  We walked in silence for a few minutes. Finally, he broke it, and I knew from the way he squeezed my hand that he was also about to ruin the fun night.

  “Our train leaves at eight.”

  I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “In the morning?”

  “Yes.”

  I sighed again. If I died on this little adventure, I was going to be so mad. I would come back as a ghost and haunt this Demon Division and Julian. Stupid Julian, dragging me back into the half-demon business.

  “All right,” I nodded.

  Nick pulled me back into his arms, stopping us in the middle of the park. The streetlights reached us here, but it was still dark out. The sun wouldn't rise for another hour.

  Just as Nick let me go the “blip” of a police siren cut through the silence, making me jump. I spun towards the road to find Humber Falls finest standing beside his police car. Derrek. The life-ruining jerk was standing by the towns police cruiser, staring at me.

  “Fuck,” I muttered. I looked over at the still v
ery alive gargoyle and then back at the very human Derrek.

  “Freeze it,” Nick suggested.

  I didn't want to. He was a good gargoyle who hardly ever bit me, but he was thrashing about, and Derrek wasn't going to wander off. In fact, Derrek pushed off the side of the cruiser and was heading in our direction.

  “Shit,” I whispered. “Sorry, buddy.” I put my hand on the gargoyle and searched for the warm place inside me. Derrek was getting closer. He would notice the little demon. I pulled hard on the small flame I found flickering in my insides and poured it towards the gargoyle.

  The heat burned through my skin, making it feel tight and hot, like standing too close to the brick oven at Len’s Pizza. My knees started to buckle, but Nick held me up, and the gargoyle froze just as Derrek got close enough to see what I was doing.

  “You out catching lightning bugs, Har?” he asked with a snicker.

  “We were just making out in the park, is that against the law?” I replied.

  Derrek's eyes slid from me to Nick and back again. “Yeah, Har. This is a public place.” His eyes returned to Nick. “And who might you be?”

  Nick put on a good old boy smile and stretched his hand out towards my nemesis. “My name is Nicholas Farley. I’m from New York. Just out visiting Harlow.”

  Derrek shook his hand with a suspicious look on his face. “How do you know Harlow?”

  “That is none of your business Derrek.” His eyes didn't leave Nick, as if he thought Nick was a threat.

  “We met through a mutual friend.” Nick’s smile never faltered.

  Derrek looked him up and down and finally noticed the gargoyle in my net. “What the hell is that?”

  “A firefly,” I said, straight-faced. Ha. Actress of the year.

  “Looks more like a garden gnome. If you stole that from old lady Gertrude's garden in front of the library, you better put that back. I could arrest you for mischief Harlow.”

  “Don’t get your panties in a bunch. This one is mine. I didn't steal it from old lady Gertrude.”

  He scratched his head. “Well, why do you have it in a net?”

  “I’m just taking it for a walk. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to be on my way.”

  “Fine, but I’ll be stopping by if Gertrude finds her gnome missing.”

  I passed him, dragging Nick along behind me. “Sure, you just do that.” We left the park and walked back towards my house until Derrek disappeared around the corner, then I hustled Nick to the bank to secure the gargoyle back to his spot.

  I climbed up onto the dumpster in the alley and then onto the roof. Nick passed the net up to me, and I crept along like a ninja till I got to the front corner. I fished the gargoyle out of my net, setting his stone ass in place. Usually, they sort of locked up into stone when I set them down, but this one was already stone. I stood him in his spot, but he kept tipping over.

  “What's wrong?” Nick whisper-yelled up to me.

  “He won’t stand up,” I whispered back. I started to panic. I had never left a demon off the bank. It was only one story high, and people would notice him missing from the front corner. Derrek might put two and two together if he thinks really hard. Probably not. He’s pretty dumb, but what if he did and then came knocking on my door?

  The heat started in my belly, I didn’t think it would help, but I let it flow out. I collapsed to the tar and rocks of the roof, my hand still resting on the little gargoyles head and as the heat intensified my eyes slid shut and that was it for me.

  I opened my eyes again and I was laying on the smelly old couch in the garage, the sound of Linc's grinder screaming away like an angry cat.

  I brought my arm up and rubbed my forehead; at least I didn't have any shitty dreams. “Hey Harlow, you feeling better?” Nick was at my feet. My feet were resting in his lap and he was rubbing them in his strong hands. I wanted to pretend I wasn’t, but I also really needed to use the little girl's room. Chugging that coffee this morning had been a bad plan.

  I pushed off the couch and Linc noticed, clicking off his grinder.

  “Did I fix the gargoyle?” I asked.

  “Yeah, he moved a bit and then froze to his place, matching his buddy on the other corner.” The other one was always in his place in the morning. He was a good gargoyle.

  “Well, that's interesting.” I stood, wobbling a bit and then staggered to the washroom.

  I happened to catch my appearance in the mirror and was so frightened by my reflection, I almost peed my pants. My hair looked like it had been through a hurricane. It was falling out of its ponytail and standing straight up in places. “Sweet Jesus.” I did my business and then pulled the elastic out and combed my hair back down. Little leaves and twigs fell out. That’s what I get for racing through the park and rolling around in the dirt with Nick. Small price to pay, I suppose.

  On my way back out, I stopped in my room and grabbed all my dirty laundry. If I was going on another adventure, I would need clean clothes. I had more clothes than last time I took off to places unknown, so had to cram the washing machine full.

  “That’s a lot of clothes for one load,” Nick said from behind me, making me jump.

  “Yeah, well we have to go soon. I need clothes.”

  “Actually, we need to go in 20 minutes to catch our train,” Nick said, downing the last of the coffee in the mug he held in his hand.

  “Crap!” I ran back to my room and dragged out my good suitcase. I wedged my net and shampoo in, then opened my closet to pull out the last of my clean clothes. I had gym shorts and a pretty red silk dress I bought but never wore. It was a bit low cut and showed a lot of leg. I folded them up and put them in my suitcase. “I don’t have any good clothes,” I said as Nick walked in my room. He crossed my room and looked in my closet while I was rooting in my dresser. Pretty sure I wouldn't need a swimsuit, but since my bag was empty, I threw it in there.

  “What’s this?” he asked. I turned around and realized he was holding a box from Julian.

  I snatched it away, tossed it back into the closet, and slammed the door. “That’s nothing.” I zipped up my suitcase, but when I turned around, Nick was rooting through my closet again. “Hey, get out of there.”

  “These are all from Julian,” he said, his expression dark.

  “So what?”

  “Why didn't you open them?”

  “Because I didn't want to. Let’s go. I’m all packed.”

  “Harlow.”

  I sighed. “I don't want to talk about it.”

  Nick nodded. “Maybe later.”

  Sure, if later meant never.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  My goodbye with Linc was quick as usual. He told me not to get dead, and I appreciated his snark. The walk to the train station took us past Len’s, but he wasn't open yet. I would have to call him from the train to let him know I was leaving.

  I looked up at the bank as we passed. The little gargoyle sat there, perfectly normal. I made a mental note to ask Linc if he comes back to life tonight. If my superpowers worked both ways that would be good to know. I wondered if they worked on half-demons. I could freeze Julian and make him stop sending me stuff.

  My suitcase rattled along the sidewalk as I dragged it behind me. Its small wheels rolled best over smooth surfaces, not the old cracked sidewalk of my town.

  At the train station, Nick took out his cell and tapped away on it until a voice called boarding for our train. He hadn’t brought a suitcase, so he went ahead to find our seats while I struggled to get mine on the shelf of the luggage area inside the train. I should have just brought my net and left the rest at home. What the hell would I do with a swimsuit? I hadn’t tanned in so long, I would scare small children with my pasty skin.

  Nick was reading a train information pamphlet when I plopped down beside him. I took out my phone and settled in for a long ride.

  “Do you want to talk about what's in your closet?” he asked.

  “Why would I want to do that?” I tapped on m
y fun bird-tossing game. I don't know who came up with it, but it was hilarious.

  “Because we will be sitting in front of the man who sent them in about six hours and maybe you haven’t quite come to terms with what happened last time you saw him?”

  I chucked a bird towards a pile of blocks and ignored the psychiatrist beside me. I didn't have to come to terms with anything. What did that even mean, anyway? A nice lady pushing a cart stopped by and I got a tiny cup of coffee, half of which spilled on the tray table when the train did a little jerk thing. I thought about slurping it up, but Nick tossed a napkin at it. Wasteful.

  It wasn’t long after that my phone rang. I checked the name. Len.

  “Hey, Len. I was going to call you.”

  “I should hope so. Lincoln stopped by and said you was out of town for a bit. Where you headin’?” Len didn't know about the gargoyles and demons. I was mostly sure. At least he never mentioned them around me.

  “To New York with Nick,” I said. Len had seen me at my worst in New York when he flew in to check up on me in the hospital. He had been my emergency contact, but I had since switched it to Lincoln to keep Len out of the demon stuff.

  “Well, youse two be more careful this time,” he grumped. “I don't want to get no calls that you in the hospital again.”

  “I promise. I’ll be careful.”

  “Yeah, all right. I gotta make the dough. Be good.” Len hung up.

  The train rattled on, and eventually I fell asleep.

  A loud snore startled me awake and I looked around to realize it had been my snore. Nick bit his lip stifling a laugh. I scowled at him and his giggles spilled out, attracting the attention of a few other passengers. I got up and stomped off to the tiny little bathroom on the train, stumbling a few times with the rocking movement. When I returned, I plopped down in my seat beside Nick.

  He had his phone to his ear and he looked bored. “Uh huh,” he said. “Yeah, okay.” Then he hung up and looked at me.

  “Your buddy is sending a car to pick us up at the train station. Apparently, he can’t wait to see you.”