by Terry Spear
Although with recent changes, she truly was all there. It was her other half, still sitting in the classroom, that was left in limbo. She envisioned the school bell ringing for the class to let out, and Samson guiding her out of the room, while he frantically called on Hunter to let him know Alana wasn’t all there.
“Did someone summon you?” she asked, folding her arms, trying to act all innocent, as if she’d been summoned also, and maybe he could be her protector. As if.
Matusa demons were the strongest of all demons and fighting him head-on was not a viable option for her. Hunter could manage with a good fight, but not her.
She just had to stall the Matusa long enough for Jared to tell Hunter that he was seeing two Kubiterons on his tracker device. One standing in front of the Matusa here, and one at the school with Samson. Samson would probably be calling him at the same time. Any moment, Hunter would be wheeling around the corner in rescue mode.
She didn’t hear any sign of him. And that totally annoyed her. What good was he at being her all-protective, hot, half-Matusa demon boyfriend if he wasn’t here to protect her?
“Come with me,” the Matusa said and stalked toward her.
She backed up. This was where the trouble came in. She couldn’t return to her human form back at school. She still didn’t have any control over that aspect of astral travelling. At least not yet. Before, if he tried to grab her, his hand would go right through her. But now? He’d grab her and haul her right out of here.
“Don’t be afraid, little one.” His eyes were dark brown like Hunter’s, his hair dark brown, the same shaggy length, only he was older, maybe in his late twenties, but he was muscular like Hunter, who, when he wasn’t taking classes with her, was practicing swordsmanship and martial arts.
Anything to keep in shape to take down the demons who entered Earth world with the intention of ruling here.
“Where is your summoner?” the Matusa asked, still moving forward, and she continued to move backward toward the street where Hunter had disappeared.
“Anytime would be a good time to make your appearance, Hunter,” she told him telepathically. She’d learned early on she could communicate with him in that manner, only he couldn’t telepathically communicate with her back. So it was always a one-sided conversation. If he didn’t hear her because he was too far away, she wouldn’t have a clue.
The Matusa was walking cautiously, as if he was afraid she would bolt. As tall as he was, he’d catch up to her easily if she took off running. Instead, she held his sympathetic gaze with a feigned, frightened one of her own. That was the only way to make him believe he had the upper hand. Well, more so than he already did.
Though she did have some demon and witch’s tricks up her sleeve.
“My summoner is dead.” Though in truth, she was born to a human mother, who was also a witch, and was perfectly alive, and ghostbusting, as was her job.
The Matusa smiled. It was a smile borne of intrigue and desire. She would be the Matusa’s. No one would stand in his way.
And no one would if Hunter didn’t get his butt back here and protect her.
Well, there was only one thing for her to do. And it wasn’t anything she ever wished to do. Nor was it something she should do.
But she thought if she could draw him into a portal into the demon world, and she could turn around and reenter Earth world fast enough, she would close the portal, and he’d be back where he belonged. It was great that, since she and Hunter were half demons, they could open portals into the demon world, but that full demons, even like Jared and the rest of their guardian team, couldn’t. Which meant any full demon would be stuck back in their world unless someone summoned him here. And if it was a Matusa? They killed their summoners. Simple as that.
Her plan was sound as long as: She could draw him into the portal. He didn’t grab her in the demon world before she left there. Someone else didn’t grab her. Or something else happened that she hadn’t even thought of.
In other words, there were some holes in her otherwise brilliant plan.
“Don’t…be…afraid,” the Matusa said, his voice dark and appealing, like Hunter’s was.
All Matusa had that dark appealing voice down pat. It was probably similar to the sweetness of the siren’s lure, the mermaid’s, if they existed. Or a vampire’s gaze and commanding voice, if they existed.
She was trying really hard not to grind her teeth, annoyed with Hunter to the max.
“Okay, Hunter, if you’re not here in sixty seconds, I’ve got to do this myself.”
She didn’t have time to wait sixty seconds. The demon charged after her, and she dove down the street where she’d seen Hunter’s truck disappear.
It was now or never.
She was going to kill Hunter if she got herself out of the pickle of a mess she was in, if she lived to do the deed.
* * *
Hunter hated how much his world turned upside down when Alana was in trouble. First, Jared warned him that there were suddenly two Kubiteron demons, one at school, and one facing off the Matusa, when there was no sign of a portal. And that probably meant only one thing. Alana was astral traveling.
Before Hunter could check with Samson, the Samuria called Jared, which was getting to be an annoying habit of his, instead of calling Hunter, the one in charge. Unless Samson was afraid to call Hunter, then that was fine. All lesser demons were to fear the Matusa. It was just the way of things.
“They’re both headed down the street we took,” Jared said, his voice on edge. He was always calm, almost always, so Hunter knew it was bad news. “He’s… he’s chasing her. And she’s running, but he’s going to catch up to her.”
“I can’t turn around in here.” The construction on either side of the street as they’d dug up the asphalt while working on water lines precluded that. Hunter was ready to have a meltdown.
“Watch out!” Jared yelled.
A woman pushing a baby stroller was crossing the walk at the stop sign, the same one Hunter wasn’t about to stop for so he could get back to Alana in time. He swore the next time he went anywhere, she was going with him. Though it wouldn’t have mattered. It was her astral form that was in trouble for now.
He slammed on his brakes, skidding to a stop right before the painted line that indicated cars needed to stop behind it as the woman glowered at him.
“What’s happening?” Hunter asked, as the mother and her baby reached the sidewalk, and he pulled through the stop sign. He tore around the corner, driving like he was on a racetrack, hoping no cops were in the area.
Jared didn’t answer him.
Hunter glanced over at him, right before he turned onto the street where they’d seen the Matusa. Jared was staring at the monitor, but Hunter knew it wasn’t good. “What?”
“He got her.”
“Where are they headed now?” They couldn’t just vanish. Well, Alana could. If she had control over her astral travelling. She’d be right back at school, safe and sound.
“They… aren’t headed anywhere. They just… vanished.”
“He couldn’t have taken her to the demon world,” Hunter said, furious.
“Right. Exactly. She had to have taken him. It’s the only way.”
3
Seplichus! No way had Alana intended to be pulled into the demon world with the Matusa. It was storming here, on top of everything else, and she was already drenched to the skin.
Alana raised her fingers and cast a levitation spell at the Matusa demon, but she reacted too late. He grabbed her arm and at the same time, she managed to elevate both of them.
Which didn’t do her any good.
She set them both down, then tried to jerk her arm free from his steel grip.
“You are so going to hurt when my mate gets hold of you.” She hoped her strong declaration would make the Matusa demon pause.
Not that Hunter was her mate, but she hoped that this Matusa might decide she wasn’t worth the aggravation. She thought they st
ayed with their mate until death do us part, but then again, he might very well intend to kill Hunter to have her.
“You,” the Matusa said, “are not mated. No ring. I am Viton and you are?” he asked, his strong grip on her arm never loosening as she wished she could return to her astral form. When she was stuck in the demon world, that made rejoining her physical form more difficult. Impossible, most likely.
“Alana.”
“Kubiteron are healers,” he said, stalking toward a train station. “They don’t do whatever it was that you did back there to get us here.”
“Well, for your information, I do. Which means you really don’t want to have me around. Where are you taking me?”
“Porto. The storm city. My residence. Where you and I will learn more about each other.”
No one was out in the rainstorm, the violent wind blowing it sideways, and lightning flashed overhead.
Alana was soaked, her jeans, her running shoes, her T-shirt, and hair. She swore she stepped in every puddle she could manage, not missing any of them, before they reached the train station. Northwest Station the sign said.
She telepathically communicated her location to Hunter, in case he was anywhere in the vicinity. As if he’d figured out where she was and created a portal to come through and rescue her.
“Delay him,” a male voice said in her head.
Her heart nearly stopped, and she tripped, fell to the wet pavement, yanking her arm free from Viton.
Viton came back for her, but she again used her levitation spell, raising him high as the rusty red-painted train pulled into the station. The doors opened, and she tossed him inside as he howled revenge. The doors were still open, various demon kinds peering out the window at her. She just hoped another Matusa wouldn’t bolt out of the train for her while she held Viton in place. Viton screamed in fury.
Had Hunter telepathically communicated with her? He’d never been able to before. But she had to concentrate on Viton. “Close the blasted doors,” she said under her breath.
They finally slid shut and she released Viton, who would have fallen to the floor. He was cursing so loudly, she could hear him over the sound of the train clacking on the metal tracks as he stared at her through the glass door.
He probably wanted to kill her. She never knew how the Matusa would really act. They were deadly. At the same time, they could surprise her.
She heard someone running toward her in the cold rain and turned to see another Matusa rushing toward her.
“I’m leaving here, Hunter. I can’t wait for you. Return home! I’m free.” She quickly opened the portal and jumped through it. So did the Matusa.
This was so not her day.
* * *
“Come on, Jared. She’s safely back ‘home’ now,” Hunter said.
“When is she ever safe?” Jared asked. “I know it’s her calling, that she’s a gate guardian, but I wish she had better control over it. Or that we could disable the trigger that makes her astral travel to the open portals so she would no longer feel the pull of them. We have enough work as it is without having to rescue her all the time.”
Hunter opened a portal in Seplichus so they could return to their world. As soon as they jumped through it, they found themselves about a mile from where they’d left the truck. They were soaking wet from their journey to the demon world, while it was sunshiny here.
“Okay, so where is she?” Jared asked.
“Hunter!”
“In trouble, it sounds like, if her shrieking my name in my head is any indication.”
“She didn’t leave the Matusa in Seplichus? Give a girl a job and see what she does with it? Mucks it up!” Jared grumbled, still eyeing the tracker.
“Are you tracking their demon signatures?”
“Yeah, yeah. She’s straight ahead, quarter of a mile. Matusa and Kubiteron. Wait. The Kubiteron…”
“What?”
“She’s gone. At the school it appears. The Matusa is still straight ahead, just standing there. Probably wondering where Alana just disappeared to.”
Hunter shook his head. “Just like we always do.” He got on his phone. “Samson, is Alana back?”
“Yeah. Finally. Text later.”
“Okay. We’ve got to take care of a Matusa.” Hunter mentally prepared himself for fighting him and hoped, when he opened a portal to send the Matusa back to the demon world, it didn’t summon Alana here again. She needed to hurry and finish school so they could tie the knot. At least that way the Matusa demons would leave her alone. Or…so he hoped.
4
Alana had just returned to her human form where Samson had taken her to the cafeteria. She was starving for a large slice of peperoni pizza, when she was pulled back to where Hunter and Jared were standing. The blue-green portal’s swirling lights mesmerized her for a minute until she focused on the threat. One older Matusa was tossing a fireball at Hunter. She immediately cast a water barrier protection spell, and the fireball hit the water and sizzled and fizzled out.
“What are you doing here?” Hunter asked, as if he didn’t know.
“Not my choice, and if you didn’t see what I did, I am protecting you.”
Hunter shook his head, but he was raising his hands, and she knew he was trying to give the man a heart attack, like he’d done with other Matusa demons before this.
The portal was beginning to close, and she reopened it. Hunter rushed forth and struck the Matusa in the chest with a hard kick, sending him back into the portal. Alana hurried to close it. “Sheesh, I was about to get some lunch. Can we put a hold on all this until I’ve eaten?”
Before Hunter could say anything, she vanished and was sitting beside Samson in the lunchroom where he was texting someone. “I’m back.” Then she smiled. “You got me a pepperoni pizza.”
“You were eyeing it and smiling, before you vanished again, which meant that’s what you wanted. I just didn’t expect you to leave again so soon. We are meant to be a match.”
She let out her breath. “Says you.”
“You know I’m the one for you. Admit it.”
She had to admit he was cute, blond hair, green eyes, muscular, ready to dish out some punishment to the bad guys—while protecting her.
They saw the girls who had asked them about summoning demons, and the girls smiled at them, but sat at another table.
“Should we join them?” Alana asked.
“I think we’re playing with fire here,” Samson said.
“They are. They don’t know what they’re getting themselves into. Come on.” When they moved over to the girls’ table, Alana asked, “Can we join you?”
“Sure. So, are you coming tonight?”
“Yeah, sure,” Alana said.
Samson was picking at his pizza. “Do you ever consider how dangerous it could be—dealing with demons?”
They laughed. “We know just how to deal with them.”
Hunter and Jared crossed the floor to join them. Hunter was a little taller than Jared, more muscular. He looked like he could really kick demon butt. Which he could. “We need to talk,” Hunter said to Alana.
She smiled up at him, raising a brow. Telepathically, she said, “How in the world were you able to speak to me this time?”
“You are mine. You should know that by now.” Hunter smiled back at her, his look pure evil.
She loved him for it.
“Come on, we really need to talk,” Hunter said.
She finished her last bite of pizza and intended to go with him, figuring Jared and Samson would butt out, but both of them tagged along.
“So what happened this time?” Samson asked.
“How can you protect the gate guardian if you can’t keep her from astral traveling?” Hunter asked him, his tone irritated.
“I was protecting her. All right? And I got her favorite pizza for her.”
“I saved her life.” Hunter was still trying to prove she was better off with him than with Samson.
“Are w
e really going to that demon meeting tonight?” Jared asked.
“Yeah,” Hunter said. “So be prepared for anything.”
* * *
That night, Hunter, Alana, Jared, and Samson met near where they were supposed to join the demon hunters. Hunter gave them last minute directions. “Be wary of what they’re going to do. If they’re doing anything illegal, we’ll stop them. Otherwise, we just wing it, listen to what they have to say, and agree.”
“Or disagree. I’m not just going along with this,” Alana said. “It’s not that long before we go to Seplichus for spring break, and I don’t want them messing up our plans. We learn what we can, do something about it, and we’re all set to go to the demon world.”
“Which we really shouldn’t be doing,” Hunter said. Again. He really did worry about taking her there.
“Does anyone know where Celeste is?” Jared asked.
“Skipping school,” Alana and Samson said.
“Who knows where she gets off to,” Alana added. “As for Indigo, I felt his icy presence a while back. He might already be at the meeting, trying to listen in on what’s being said before we get there.”
“Okay, let’s go,” Hunter said. This was where they belonged: Earth world, protecting humans. Not traipsing around the demon world looking for family. Though he understood why the others would want to.
Hunter was certain his half brother would be here in Earth world, but he didn’t have any idea where. Would the hall of records have information about his dad’s other half human offspring? He’d learned about his father in the hall of records, but Hunter hadn’t checked to see if he was listed in there also. Everyone had to register where they lived. But did they register where half human offspring lived if they were still in the human world? He doubted it.
Alana took his hand and wrapped it around her waist. “Protect me from the human demon hunters, oh Dark One.”
“You laugh, but you could be right about this.”
“I know. I hope it’s just some foolishness, but we have to be sure.”
