Dark Hunt

by Richardson, Kim

  “I have a fast metabolism,” I said, smiling, because I knew it was true. I was a real monster if I didn’t get my bagel with cream cheese in the morning.

  “Or maybe you have a tapeworm,” suggested the demon.

  I made a face. “Now, why would you say that? You know I have a thing about bugs.”

  “Says the woman who fights monsters for a living.”

  “Bugs are not monsters,” I said, grimacing at the idea of a tapeworm in me. “They’re bugs. They’re gross.”

  “Well, I’ve seen my share of bugs that look like monsters,” argued the cat. “Big, nasty critters with too many eyes and too many legs.” I shivered as Tyrius padded next to me, his tail high in the air. “Why couldn’t you sleep? Thinking of Degamon?”

  I had thought of the Greater demon Degamon and where to look next for it. But that wasn’t why I couldn’t sleep. I pulled the sleeve from my jacket. My right wrist had a nasty purplish-red bruise. I could make out four lines that wrapped around it—Vedriel’s fingers. The pain had been excruciating when he’d grabbed me, and it still hurt like hell. The pain kept me awake most of the early morning. I’d applied ointment and bandaged it up before bed, mainly to keep Tyrius from staring at it like it was about to burst open. But when I took off the bandage this morning, it looked worse. It was as though the bruise was still bruising, like it hadn’t finished spreading.

  The abnormal bruising wasn’t the only thing that kept me up all night. It was the deep rage in Vedriel’s eyes and the promise I saw in them. One day soon he would avenge himself.

  I suppressed a shiver as I felt eyes on me. I stopped and looked down to find Tyrius’s blue eyes narrowed as he stared at my wrist.

  “It’s just a bruise.”

  “And I’m just a cat,” said Tyrius, clearly not convinced. “Tell me, when was the last time you had a bruise that actually stayed? Eh? Try like never, that’s when. The only time I can remember a bruise on you was when you fought with that big red werewolf in the underground fighting pits two years ago, and he’d given you a smack across the face. Your right cheek and eye got all big and swollen and red. You should have had a nasty bruise then, but after a half hour, your face was back to its normal pretty self. You don’t bruise, Rowyn. You never have.”

  I clenched my jaw, an uneasiness settling in my stomach. “Just drop it, all right?”

  Tyrius jerked his head at my wrist. “That is not a normal bruise. I might be wrong… but I think that’s a mark.”

  I forced a pleasant expression. “I’ve always wanted an angel mark.”

  “Don’t be a smart-ass,” snapped Tyrius. “If that thing doesn’t disappear in the next few days, I’m really going to start worrying.”

  “You’re starting to sound like my grandmother,” I said stiffly, knowing he had tagged along because he was worried for my safety. “I can take care of myself.”

  “I’m not leaving you alone,” said Tyrius. The worry in his voice made my skin prick. “Not after what the angel did to you. He marked you, Rowyn. And I have no idea what that means. I thought only demons marked mortals and other demons. But that”—he jerked his head up again toward my wrist—“is an angel’s mark. What do you think it means?”

  I pulled my sleeve over the nasty bruise. “I don’t know. Nothing. He was just trying to scare me. Possibly kill me. Don’t forget I did trap his sorry ass in that star. Given the chance, he would have killed me.”

  “Which is exactly what worries me about that mark,” said the tiny cat as he sniffed the side of the walkway. “A male German shepherd urinated here.”

  I shook my head, not sure how he could possibly know that. “Good to know.” I glanced at the front door, and I felt my pulse quicken. I didn’t know why I was nervous. It’s not like I hadn’t been here before. Twice. When I’d left, Jax was still unconscious but alive. Pam had said the serum was working. Jax should be fine.

  “Remember,” I said, taking a breath, “Pam’s a little…”

  “Flaky?”

  “No,” I said. “Edgy? Overly sensitive? She really cares for Jax, and I think I scare her a little. Just be on your best behavior and try not to freak her out. Okay?”

  “Piece of cake,” said Tyrius, the tip of his tail curling. “Women love me.”

  I pulled open the door and stepped into the small foyer. “Hello? Pam?” I ventured. There was a scuffle of feet on tile, and Pam appeared in the hallway.

  “Rowyn!” She beamed, her large breasts bouncing as she rushed toward me.

  “Hi, Pam—” The breath escaped me as the larger woman squeezed me into a bear hug. My arms were pinned uselessly against my sides. I hated hugs. They were way too personal, and there was touching involved.

  I wanted to pull away, but she kept on squeezing and squeezing. Her hair tickled my face, and she smelled of potpourri and coffee. Finally, she drew back, her oily face flushed. “Jax is going to be so happy to see you.”

  “So, he’s conscious?” I asked, the relief evident in my voice.

  “Yes, he is.” Her eyes found Tyrius, who had been watching the exchange with a strange expression that I knew was amusement, but to everyone else would seem like a normal happy cat.

  Pam’s eyes widened in delight. “You brought a kitty for Jax? Oh, look at his eyes! A Siamese! He’s glorious. They’re a highly intelligent breed. I always wanted one growing up, but Mom’s allergic.” Pam was down on her knees faster than I thought possible. “Hello, kitty, kitty.”

  Tyrius flicked his tail. “The name’s Tyrius, lady. Hello Kitty is a fictional character with a red bow on its head. Do you see a bow on my head?”

  Pam screeched and scuffled back on the floor, pointing with a trembling finger. “He’s a… he’s a…”

  “Demon,” I finished for her. “A Baal. He’s harmless. I promise. He happens to be one of my closest friends.” Her eyes kept on getting larger and larger. “He’s already met Jax. It’s totally fine,” I said as I saw her starting to panic.

  Tyrius padded over to Pam and sniffed her. “I think she’s about to seize,” he said, turning to me.

  “Give it a rest, Tyrius,” I said, moving over to Pam and helping her up. “He can be a complete ass sometimes, but he can also be useful. He’s very good with computers.”

  “I’ve never seen one before,” said Pam as she brushed the hair, stuck on her forehead, from her eyes. “Only images and what I’ve read about witches and their familiars. Is he a witch’s familiar?”

  “The correct term is baal,” said Tyrius as though he were talking to a child. “And there’s an accent on the second a… ba-aaa-l.”

  Pam clasped her fingers. They were shaking, and so were her lips like she wanted to say something, but the words were stuck in her throat. Her face was flushed and getting redder. Guilt cascaded over me. I had put her through enough stress as it was. She didn’t deserve Tyrius’s pestering. The woman’s eyes were red, and dark shadows marred the skin beneath. I figured she hadn’t slept. She’d probably watched over Jax the rest of the night. I felt worse.

  “Tyrius,” I growled when Pam turned and headed down the hall. “If you don’t behave yourself, I’m going to strap a collar on you… with bells.”

  Tyrius stiffened, his mouth open, clearly appalled. “You wouldn’t.”

  “Watch me, Hello Kitty.” I smiled at his horrified look and followed Pam.

  16

  As soon as I entered the room, I felt my tension ease out of me. Jax was sitting up in the bed, his skin a beautiful golden color, not the sickly gray I’d last seen on him. He looked healthy. He met my eyes and flashed me a smile that made me catch my breath. My face flushed. Why did he have to be so damn pretty?

  “Rowyn? You came?” His voice was a little bit rough, like he had a sore throat.

  “Of course I came,” I said as I crossed the room. “The last time I saw you, you looked like one of those extras for a zombie movie.”

  Pam said nothing, but she was smiling as she pulled away the TV that
hung from the ceiling so I could stand next to the bed.

  “That bad, huh?” Jax said. He tugged at something behind his right ear, which had turned a little pink.

  “Yeah, that bad,” I said, leaning against the bed. I took him all in—his large shoulders and thick arms. My mouth went dry, and I dragged my gaze down his muscled chest I spied through the low V of his T-shirt, which was probably from Pam, over the planes of his chest and to the thickness of his thighs. When I realized I had been staring far beyond what would have been an acceptable amount of time, I pulled my gaze back to his face to find his smiling eyes on me.

  “See anything you like?” he teased as he studied me.

  My face flamed, and I knew my skin had darkened two more shades of red. Tyrius jumped up on the bed, saving me from further humiliation.

  “You look pretty good for a nearly dead guy,” said Tyrius as he nudged up against Jax’s knee and made himself comfortable on the bed. Cats.

  “Hi, Tyrius.” Jax smiled. Even though it was tight, with no teeth, I could see it was still an improvement over the first time they’d met. “I can see now why Pam came in here looking like she’d seen a demon. Because she did.”

  If it were humanly possible, Pam turned another shade of red. “He surprised me, that’s all. I wasn’t expecting him to speak.” She glanced at Tyrius, her fingers twitching like she was dying to pet him but still couldn’t.

  “Yes, you do look good—” Oh my God. What am I saying? “You look well,” I added quickly, avoiding his eyes. I’m such an idiot. He was enjoying this.

  Jax’s eyes moved to my neck, and I knew what he was looking for. “Pam told me that you were bitten,” he said, his eyes gleaming with concern. “But you didn’t change. You weren’t infected with the vampire virus?” I could see his mind turning, trying to work out why I was so different from everyone else. “I didn’t know anyone could be immune to the virus.”

  I gave a little shrug. “That makes two of us.”

  “Three,” said Pam, holding her fingers in the air.

  “Four.” Tyrius sat up in the bed, his ears back. “You were bitten by a vamp, and you didn’t think to share that with me?” he said in a low voice that had more concern in it than anger.

  “Nothing happened,” I dismissed with another shrug. “I didn’t vamp-out, so I didn’t think it was worth mentioning.”

  “It was worth mentioning,” said Tyrius. “All these things, Rowyn. What’s happening to you… it’s all connected. How could you be so selfish?”

  “I was busy.” I seethed, not wanting to get into what I had done last night. “It must have slipped my mind.”

  “Nothing slips your mind, Rowyn Sinclair. Ever.”

  I flinched at the way he said my name, like it was a curse in itself. “Leave it alone, Tyrius. I’m tired. Too tired to argue with you right now. Okay?”

  Tyrius glared at me as he settled back against the comfort of Jax’s knee. “Fine. But this conversation isn’t over.”

  “Well, I’m glad you’re here,” said Jax, trying to cut the tension. “You saved me. I don’t think Rowyn the vampire would have brought me here.”

  “No, I would have bled you to death and then eaten you.” I smiled at him, broad and without restraint. His eyes fell on my mouth, and my pulse throbbed. “I’m just relieved you’re okay and happy your crazy ass is here and resting where Pam can watch over you,” I said quickly. Why is he still staring at my lips? “I can’t believe you stabbed that vamp. We’re lucky to be alive.” His eyes peeled away from my lips, and he silently stared at his sheets like they were going to give him answers.

  My chest tightened at the pain I saw on his face. I knew he was thinking of his sister. It didn’t excuse his actions, but I still felt sorry for him.

  For a long moment, I just stared at the raw emotions on his face—maybe his true face, the one beneath all the masks he wore to keep his people safe and to find his sister’s killer.

  “I’m sorry about your sister,” I rasped. I watched him as he shot an accusing glare at Pam, who didn’t look at all taken aback by the subtle attack. She looked at him and shrugged as she leaned against the wall across from us.

  “And I’m sorry I still haven’t found the demon that killed her,” Jax said with equal quiet.

  “If you had been open with me, as I was with you,” I said, leaning forward to get a good look at his face, “I would never have let you come with me to see the head vampire. I should have known demons were a sensitive issue when you flipped out at the sight of Tyrius at my grandma’s.”

  “I don’t bite, you know,” said the cat as he yawned. “Well, only if aggravated.”

  Jax was silent for a moment. “Are you saying you don’t want me as a partner anymore? I told you. I come with the job. You can’t have it any other way.”

  I stiffened. “I have a troubled past, and so do you. But I don’t let mine affect my job, my life, or the lives of others. When you let your emotions take over, mistakes happen. In my line of work, mistakes get you killed. And I intend to keep on living.”

  “I’m sorry.” A tightness wound around Jax’s shoulders, and tension coiled around him like a blanket. “I never meant for that to happen. I wasn’t thinking.”

  “Clearly,” mumbled Tyrius, and I shot him a glare.

  I sighed through my nose. “Hell, I do need the money. But I value my life more than a few bucks. If you can’t control yourself in front of demons—because there’ll be more, a lot more—then I don’t want you as a partner. I’ll still look for Degamon on my own, though. So help me God, I’ll find that SOB Greater demon and finish it.”

  “You got a name?” Jax sat up straighter, looking from me to Tyrius. “How did you find that out?”

  “We got lucky,” I lied. I wasn’t about to get into the details of my stupid stunt of performing an illegal angel summoning and getting a nasty bruise in the process. “I’ve got connections.”

  “And you’re sure it’s this Degamon demon?” inquired Jax.

  I nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure. Degamon rules over an army of igura. The Greater demon must have left the Wentworths just before we got there, probably leaving the three iguras in case Cindy came home.”

  “Do you know where to find this demon?” Jax’s tone was all business, and I saw the anxiousness on his face, the mounting fury in his eyes.

  “No.” I frowned at the heavy sigh coming from him.

  He peered at me with his brow furrowed and tightened his grip on the sheets. “You must have an idea of where to look, though, right? How else do you plan on finding it?”

  I breathed through my nose. “I don’t. I don’t know where it is.”

  “Um, Rowyn?” Tyrius stretched, elongating his body and crossing his front paws. “Isn’t it your job to find the demon? I mean, didn’t the Council pay you half up front to find it?”

  “Yes.” I shifted my weight and waited to get everyone’s attention. “But I’m not going to go looking for it. I know it’s hunting me… and now that I have its name…” I said, confidence pouring out of me as I ignored the sudden change in Tyrius. “I can summon it. I can trap it and kill it. I’m not waiting any longer. It’s time. I’m doing this.”

  I looked at Jax and waited for his reaction. Apart from the slight frown on his brows, his face was blank.

  “You crazy woman!” shrieked Tyrius. “Didn’t you learn anything from what happened last night? Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Tell her, Jax. Tell her how ridiculously stupid this plan of hers is. Jax? Are you with me?”

  Jax was silent for long enough that I lifted my head to scan his face. But his eyes were bright, and I didn’t understand what was there.

  “I’ve done it before,” I continued, and I saw Pam shifting nervously, from the corner of my eye. “This isn’t the first demon I’ve summoned. Demons can also be bound if properly summoned and trapped by the use of their true name. I have its true name.” I could feel the strain rolling off of Tyrius. I hadn’t told him, but I had alread
y made up my mind about it.

  I’d decided on that plan the moment I came to after Vedriel had left. I knew the only reason the angel had given me the demon’s name was because he knew I would try and summon it, and he hoped I would die in the process. He didn’t believe I would survive the encounter with a Greater demon. He was wrong.

  Moreover, summoning a demon on my own terms made more sense to me than roaming the city in search of it. I knew soon it would come for me if I didn’t kill it first.

  “Have you ever summoned a Greater demon, oh wise one?” said Tyrius dryly, his whiskers flinching and his front teeth sharp as needles as he curled his upper lip in a snarl. “You’ve only just summoned lesser demons. This isn’t the same, Rowyn. You’re going to get yourself killed!”

  “If I don’t do something soon, it will kill me. I have to do this. I am doing this. There’s nothing you can say that’ll change my mind.”

  “You’re going to summon the demon using its name and bind it,” said Jax, in more of a statement than a question, shaking me out of my thoughts.

  “Yes, that’s exactly right,” I said and felt a flutter in my stomach. “In order to cast the dark binding spell, I need to know its true name. We have it. I’m not waiting for Degamon to jump me when I’ll least expect it. I’m going to summon this demon and then…” I added, smiling, “I’m going to kill it.”

  17

  “Can someone please tell her this is crazy talk!” yelled Tyrius as he leaped up on his four legs, his body a crazed fluff of beige and black fur. “What’s wrong with you mortals?” His blue eyes flashed with his demon magic, and my nose wrinkled at the smell of rotten eggs. “Can’t you see how dangerous this is? No one in their right mind wants to summon a Greater demon! It’s too dangerous. It’s like putting a bunny inside the lion’s cage and expecting it not to eat it. It’s madness—”

  “It’s brilliant,” said Jax, and Tyrius rolled his eyes back into his head and keeled over.