Hells Angel

by Kim Faulks

  "And are you the only one that came through, Superior?" She asked, her words stopped shuddering as they left her, and now they were slick, sexy, enticing the demon closer.

  He reached her body, pressing his hardness into her groin as he licked at his lips and whispered, "Yes, but do you want to know something?"

  "What?"

  "There are more of us coming, lots more." He turned and looked back at where Hunter and Lucy stood, his voice hidden from their ears as he spoke to her. "You see, I like it here and I've already send word to the others. We are so powerful on Earth, and these humans are so fucking weak. We can have eternal fun bending them to our will. Taking those that they love, and watching them die before our very eyes."

  He gripped her arms, holding them still as he lowered his head to her body. She closed down in that moment, allowing another to take her blood freely was the same as whoring herself for her own survival. As the Superior took her blood into his mouth, she watched as Hunter stood on trembled legs, lifted the muzzle of the gun to her, and fired.

  Chapter 30

  He brought up the muzzle of the gun, stilled his shaking hand, and fired. The pieces of his life were blown away the instant the bullet hit flesh, and he heard the sharp intake of her breath.

  The voice that lived inside him was screaming, and for the second time in his life, he felt out of control. The icy snake still crawled along his skin, leaving a slippery trail that he knew was sweat. It had taken some time for him to swim through the blackness of his mind, and when he did become fully awake, he saw Liam Russell standing before Kellah.

  She bent before him, and as he placed the knife in her hand, Hunter wanted to scream at him to stop! There was something going on here that he didn't understand, some communication between the two. Kellah stood gripping the knife and tearing her shirt open at the seams to expose her breasts. He looked away at that moment, even though some part of him wanted to stare.

  He heard her ask Liam, are you the one that killed Hunter's family? The icy cold grip of fate wound tight inside him as he heard the other officer answer, Yesss, and that was when he pulled himself slowly up, gripping onto the door frame to steady his aim and fired.

  The bullet hit the other officer in the back center of mass, and he watched as his body jerked. Kellah's brown eyes called to him, drawing strength on his sight alone, and then darkened her black pupils, filling her eyes until that's all he could see.

  She shimmered, changing before him, her flesh melting away until it hung from the remaining skeleton. His mind screamed at him that he had made an awful mistake. It was this creature that killed his family and tried to kill him. As he raised the muzzle of the gun to fire again, he felt his hand lowered by the woman at his side.

  "Stop, don't you see what's happening?"

  He tried to push her back behind him, giving her the best opportunity to survive what was about to happen.

  "She is trying to save us, you idiot. Look at her!"

  He tried to see what this woman could, but all he saw was a monster, a hideous thing that saw his own disgust. It opened its mouth and screamed as it bit deep into the one that killed his family.

  The other officer screamed and pulled back from where it licked at her chest. He roared, his features changing rapidly until he mirrored what remained of Kellah Slater.

  "What the fuck..." he muttered, and felt his breath leave his body in one complete wave. His knees buckled, threatening to take him down, but he found hands wrapped around his waist, steadying him as the woman whispered in his ear.

  "Kellah saved my life," she whispered to him, urging him to watch the fight before them.

  "God, what are they?"

  "Look, Kellah’s a demon, and I’m suspecting that other one is, as well. He's the one that killed your wife and daughter, and my sister Francine."

  He swiveled his head toward her, "Francine was your sister?" and felt the impact of his words.

  "Yes. But now we have to concentrate on staying alive, and hope to the Devil that Kellah is strong enough to kill him, because if she can't then no one can and we’re the next ones to die."

  How could he have been so wrong? Everything pointed to her, everything you wanted to believe, is what the voice inside of him said. Help her. Allow her to see what you so desperately try to hide. She was brought here because of me, but she will survive because of you, that voice told him, and he knew by the settling of his stomach and the hardening of his mind that it spoke the truth.

  He turned back to her, watching as she thrashed with the other demon, sinking her teeth into its flesh and tearing its body with her hands. The other demon was stronger, quicker, and her screams shattered the air around him as Liam Russell shoved his fist inside of her stomach, pushing until it met his elbow and further. It was as though he reached for her heart, tearing it from the confines of her body.

  Help her ... said that voice inside of him, and he pushed himself forward out of the woman's grasp and launched himself on to the back of the demon. He was thrown as though he weighed nothing, but he dug his heels in and held on. All he needed to do was to give her an edge, a second where she could fight back.

  "I was on to you, you know?" Hunter turned as he whispered in, what he was hoping was, his ear. The hollow tube looked as though it had been drilled into his head. As the demon moved, Hunter thought he could see the white flesh of his brain. His stomach lurched, and he fought the urge to spill his dinner all over this demon, but he held on instead, creating a diversion like no other. The truth. "I don't know why, or even how, but I'm in l…” He shook his head, unable to voice the feelings inside. How can he now after knowing what she is?

  The demon underneath him went slack, falling back on his steps and grabbing Hunter from behind him. "Your kind disgusts us. My kind intend on eradicating you like insects of the plague."

  That was all she needed, and as Hunter turned back to her, the demon underneath him screamed. Tearing flesh and the sickening squelch of tearing organs completed what he had tried so hard to fight, and Hunter lost his dinner all over the demon underneath him. The demon buckled, falling to the floor, and Hunter fell with him. A skeletal hand flicked out, grabbing him at the last minute before he fell on top of the demon that he now knew murdered his family.

  This living, breathing, terminator like being waited until his feet found the floor before letting him go, while she stood there gripping the demons black heart in one hand and letting his shirt carefully go with the other.

  The black heart beat strong and steady in her hand, alive but with no body to run. She pulled at her neck, reaching for a golden stone that swirled and flicked out orange flames towards him. The straps of the stone tore and it fell into her palm, its energy growing stronger with each second that passed.

  "I never wanted to hurt you," she whispered, looking into his eyes as she placed the stone over the heart. The heart turned from black to a grey ash and finally to white before it crumbled in her hand and fell away.

  The body of the demon in front of him did exactly the same, growing grey, then white, and turning to ash where he lay.

  Chapter 31

  Hunter was safe, Lucy was safe, and she hurt like a bitch. The Superior was turned to ash before her, his physical body melting away while his spirit journeyed to No Man's Land. He was gone for good. His words were the only thing that remained here in this world, and their impact she would feel for a long time to come. Her body shuddered as her human form took hold once more, and she couldn't help but stare at Hunter.

  She never wanted to cause Hunter pain. As her own black heart throbbed inside her chest, she knew that his words spoken not minutes ago reflected her own true feelings. She was in love with Darrion Hunter.

  He cleared his throat and shifted nervously, pointing to her now bare human body. "You might want to put something on."

  She walked to her bedroom, her bag sat on top of the bed, all of her belongings in one tiny bundle. She pulled on her favorite jeans and a t-shirt, as well
as her boots. She poured half of the diamonds into her hand, and shoved the tiny black velvet bag into her pocket before walking out. She stepped in and searched her bathroom, finding an old crumpled note Xeno had once given her, and in her scrawled writing, outlined what needed to be done, her obligation to the shelter fulfilled.

  Gerry would know what to do, and the animals would be spared. As for Hunter and Lucy ... well, they stared at her nervously as she walked towards them. Lucy nodded towards Hunter, urging him on, for what she didn't know.

  "Well," said Hunter, trying to find his voice as though his brain failed him. "So, what do we do now?"

  The growl of motorbikes caught her attention, one motorbike specifically. Sandy blonde hair and quick eyes drifted to her mind and she looked down at her orb, its swirls moving in one direction, then changing to move in another. She focused on it, using her will to call forth what she needed, for what she wanted stood before her, his gaze pleading with questions she didn't understand herself.

  Bright blue eyes with a desperate need caught her call, and she sensed him heading towards her now at a breakneck speed. Kellah shrugged at Hunter as she breathed deep, taking his scent and image deep into her brain for safe keeping. She would do the only thing she could do under the circumstances.

  She would run.

  Epilogue

  In the weeks since Kellah left a lot has happened. Superintendent Harris was forcibly removed from his office, paving the way for a number of investigations into police corruption. This included the very public display of abuse of power between the legs of the prostitute, Renee. It was a sad day indeed to see Riccardi and a number of his crew suspended, pending investigations. Hunter even made time for a guard of honor, his middle finger extended in salute.

  Although he required no other evidence, the apartment of Liam Russell was seized and searched. Fisher was placed as the officer in charge of the investigation, leading a team of experienced Detectives who tore the apartment down, literally. There had been talk of a wallet and pink teddy bear found during the search, whispers of his and his daughters name now held in a different regard, respectful and somber. Fischer tried to contact him a number of times, but by then it was too late, he had already taken a leave of absence.

  He was determined to put his past behind him and with that in mind he packed an overnight bag and left Red Valley behind. He drove for ten straight hours, pulling up at a small motel outside of Bella Vista. He slept peacefully for the first time in ten years that night, woke early and drove to an all-night store and bought two bunches of roses, red for his wife and pale pink for his daughter.

  It had been a long time since he had stepped foot in the cemetery where they were buried, but in a way it was as though he had never left them at all. The early morning dew clung to the cuffs of his jeans as he made his way to where they lay side-by-side. He stopped before their graves, the granite shining as brightly as it did all those years ago.

  He wanted to say something profound, something that echoed parts of the present, and lay to rest the ghosts of his past. In the end he sat there saying nothing at all, until somewhere along the line his breathing became words and those words flowed, unearthing his heart.

  The sun rose in the sky, warming the air around him while he voiced his cries. His memories turned to laughter as he remembered Naomi's look of sheer disgust at the bowl of pickles dipped in chocolate ice cream, consuming her third helping anyway, her belly firm and round. He hadn't realized how much he had missed them, missed everything about them, their laughter, their smell, the softness of their skin. Two perfect women who had given him more than anyone ever could. When his conversation stilled and there was no more to be said he laid a kiss on the cold granite stone, whispered his undying love and walked away.

  He slid back into his car and sat there, looking out at the rows of stones and flowers, the groundskeeper making his rounds and smiled. He didn't know what his future held for him, not a day, a week, a month. All he knew was right now, this very minute. His overnight bag lay on the seat next to him and he zipped it open, pulling out the thick folder of maps.

  He turned the engine and spun the wheel, the cemetery fading behind. He was a Hunter by name and a hunter by nature, but his prey was still one and the same. Kellah Slater may be a demon, but she stole his heart and future and he was determined to reclaim them back ... all three. Whispered words urged him on, and he accelerated harder, his heart matching speed. This time she wasn't getting away.