by Terry Spear
“Dead,” Alana answered for him. “This is really not the place to hang around.”
“All right, go then,” Hunter said to the Samuria. “You are full demon, and just recently brought over, right?”
“Yeah, but—”
“Sorry, dude, but it’s not happening.” Hunter knew what the Samuria was going to say before he said it. He’d laid claim to be Alana’s guard. Hunter shoved the guy through the portal and closed it. He didn’t want anything else entering their world, and he wasn’t going to stand around arguing all day with the guy. Then he saw a gang of young men who looked to be trouble. At least, they gave that impression if Hunter, Alana, and Jared had been ordinary humans.
The men were wearing knives, chains, their whole body postures saying this was their territory, and Hunter and his friends didn’t belong here. And they were leaning against their rental car. They hadn’t even heard them arrive.
“Can you do something with these guys?” Hunter asked Alana. “My choice would be heart seizure, fireballs, or send them to the demon world. But you might be able to do something that isn’t quite so lethal.”
“Wrap us in a protection spell? No way.” She opened a portal and then blasted them with a tornado-strength force of wind that pushed four of them into it. She elevated two more and sent them through. Three others were staring at the light and where their friends had gone. “Your choice. Either you take off running, or you end up in a black hole.”
One aimed to shoot her, and Hunter tossed him into the portal. She didn’t hesitate to sweep the other two up, using her levitation spell again, and moved them into the portal, and closed it. A few other guys had shown up and were watching from a distance. But no one else approached.
She wiped her hands together, as if brushing off the dirt she’d just handled. “Now where to?” She climbed into the car.
Hunter and Jared cast looks at each other, then climbed into the car, and Hunter tore off.
“We’re driving to Dallas. I’m not risking that you’ll be pulled to another portal while we’re flying.”
“I thought you were going to do something less lethal than Hunter was aiming to do,” Jared said.
Hunter chuckled. “That’s why I’m marrying her, after she graduates from high school. She’s my kind of demon. And if she doesn’t finish high school, she’s going to earn her GED.”
“Good. One senior year of high school was enough for me,” Jared said, though he’d already enrolled in college courses online through Georgia Tech.
“After college, you mean,” Alana said. “And that was less lethal than giving them all heart attacks, or shooting fireballs at them. Though once they arrive in the demon world, they won’t be so tough. I’d almost like to see how they handle their stay there, for as long as they live.”
“Have you ever thought of the consequences of us dumping our garbage on the demon world?” Jared asked.
“Okay, you’re right,” Alana said. “Should we rescue them and send them back to our world so they can continue to threaten innocent people?”
“No,” Hunter said, “but Jared’s right. Still, I’d loved to have seen their faces when they realize they’re in a world where the Matusa can make short work of them. I doubt they’ll be all that tough then.”
“Other demon kind can take them out too,” Jared reminded him. “Though we may be lower in strength than your kind, we can do some real damage too. We might be afraid of the Matusa, but not so much of humans like that. Not if they have weapons they threaten us with. And you know they will threaten them.”
“True. At this rate, we won’t make it to your uncle’s home until well after the rest of our group reach Dallas,” Hunter said. “We have six and half hours to drive to get there.”
“Not the way you’re speeding. What would you do if I couldn’t control a police officer’s mind, if one stops us for speeding? Slow it down so we can get there in one piece. I still can’t get ahold of my uncle anyway. The others will have to go to a hotel until we reach Dallas.”
“I’ll text them,” Jared said.
“We should have waited two more days before spring break,” Hunter said, “and left on Friday after school, like we planned.”
“You know you couldn’t wait for this any more than we could. Besides, this is our job. To return demons to their home. And Wendell needs to go home.”
“We could have waited two days.”
“I think you secretly like him because he’s afraid of you when no one else is. Must be your human half.” Alana smiled at Hunter.
He grunted. “Are you still trying to get ahold of your uncle?”
“Yeah, I’ll try again.” She shook her head. “Nothing.”
He glanced at her.
“He takes off like this from time to time so he can concentrate on conjuring up new skills."
* * *
Three hours into their journey, Jared was asleep in the back.
Alana glanced back at him. “I sure hope if we find his parents, he’s not disappointed. What if he wants to stay with them?”
“I doubt he would. He enjoys being in our world. He loves his human family.”
“He loves helping you,” Alana said.
“Yeah, and though he won’t admit it, he loves helping you too.”
Alana got a call from Celeste. “Putting it on speaker. Hey, Celeste, where are you?”
“We just checked into the hotel. Where are you?”
“Halfway there. How’s Wendell?”
“He’s fine. Samson’s pissed though. He wanted to be with you.”
“Don’t tell him that another Samuria wanted to be my protector.”
Celeste laughed. “I won’t. I imagine Hunter got rid of him fast enough.”
“Yep. Sent him through a portal. Get some lunch. We’ll get there when we can. We don’t want to have to eat in Seplichus,” Alana said. “We’ll have to pop into our world from time to time to get something to eat. We’ll call you when we’re close to Dallas.”
“Okay, well, no more detours for you.”
“I sure hope not. At least I don’t plan to.”
“I can’t believe you did that.”
“Neither can I.”
“Okay, having lunch. Samson said to hurry it up and no more portal diversions.”
“I hope she can avoid them,” Hunter said.
* * *
Three hours later, they ended up in Dallas, and met at the hotel where everyone was staying. “Are you ready for this?” Hunter asked.
Wendell agreed.
“Okay, let’s do it.”
10
Hunter had decided that he could find his half brother later. He wanted Alana to find her father, and Jared to locate his parents first. Celeste also. At least Samson didn’t need to find anyone. He was just stuck on Alana.
As soon as they arrived near the hall of records, Wendell gave them directions to his aunt and uncle’s house, thanked them for bringing him here, and took off. Hunter wondered if the kid really gave them good directions to his family’s home or not—afraid to tell his relatives a Matusa might be coming to dinner. He did appear grateful they had brought him home, and Hunter was glad for that.
The rest of them hurried up the steps before Alana caught a bunch of demons’ attention.
Inside, they met up with Treikal, the records custodian, a ruling prince’s cousin, and the reason he had such an important job. Jared was supposedly distantly related to Treikal also.
Treikal smiled at Jared. “You have come back to search for your family?”
“Yes, and Alana’s dad’s location. He’s a gate guardian. Pappalios.”
“He should be easy to find.”
They followed Treikal down the black marble walk to the records room where they would search for their families.
On the computer, Treikal pulled up the record on Pappalios, and inclined his head to Alana so she could contact her dad. “Good luck,” Treikal said, and left them in peace.
&n
bsp; Alana took a seat at the computer and glanced up at Hunter as he watched what she was doing. “I thought you were going to look for your dad to see if there’s any record of you and your half brother here.”
“I’d prefer to help you find your dad for now.” Hunter glanced at Jared, who was concentrating hard on what he was doing on the computer next to them. “Find anything?”
“Yeah, I think this might be my uncle. He’s close by. I could run over there and see him.”
“We’ll go with you,” Hunter said, but when Jared looked up at him, seeming surprised, Hunter thought maybe he was butting in where he wasn’t wanted. Still, he’d always had it in mind that he’d accompany Jared when he found his family. He didn’t want him to get into any trouble. And if his family wanted to keep him in the demon world, Hunter wanted to make sure it was Jared’s choice.
“Yeah, sure, but he might not like that you’re a Matusa. Just saying.”
Hunter was glad that was Jared’s only concern. His family would have to deal with it.
“Hey, Dad,” Alana said, sounding excited when she was able to get ahold of her dad on the on-view screen. “We’re here!”
“What are you doing at the hall of records?” her dad asked, looking worried.
“Trying to find you.”
“Is anything wrong with your mother?”
“No, no, she’s fine. I’m on spring break, well, a couple of days early.”
“I thought you weren’t coming until the summer, for a couple of months, after you graduated from high school.”
“I couldn’t wait. And it’s a good thing too. You have to teach me how to get this portal business under control. We were flying to Dallas, and I ended up being drawn to a portal!”
“Flying?”
“Yeah, in a plane. And we were at, like, I don’t know, 40,000 feet, or something. Has that happened to you before?”
“I don’t often fly in planes, but no. Is Hunter with you?” Her dad sounded really concerned.
Hoping Pappalios would know how to stop her from astral traveling when they were flying, Hunter moved closer so that her dad could see him. Her dad was a blond like Alana, the same sea green eyes, the same pleasing smile. “Yes, sir. Though I have to admit, Alana and I are at an impasse. She wants to wait until she graduates from college to marry me. I say we get hitched right after she graduates from high school.” He hoped her dad would convince her that she would be safer if they were married.
“Don’t delay,” her dad said.
Hunter smiled. He really liked her dad. “That’s what I say.”
He wasn’t sure if her mom would agree with him or would want to leave it up to Alana. Yes, they were young, but they weren’t like regular teens. Between being half demons, and Alana being half witch, they were well-matched in talents for dealing with the deadly Matusa. And though he’d like to say he was the one always responsible for saving her life, she’d saved his a few times too. He didn’t like to admit that he couldn’t live without her, or that she was always on his mind when they were apart. They were meant to be together. Waiting four more years wasn’t going to change that.
Her dad began giving them directions to his place. “Take the train that’s near the hall of records to East End. It’ll take an hour. Just let me know when you get a ticket.”
“Okay, Jared’s located an uncle, so he’s nearby, and we’ll see him first. Celeste is still looking to see if she can find any of her kin. She was only three when she ended up in Earth world.”
“All right. Just make sure Hunter is with you at all times,” her dad said.
“And me,” Samson said, peering down at the computer screen.
“The Samuria. Of course. I’ll expect you for dinner, unless you specify otherwise.”
“Demon food?” Alana asked.
“As a portal guardian, I can return to your world when I want. I stocked up on plenty of goodies. Human goodies. I’ve gotten used to a lot of the foods. Steak, in particular.”
“Okay, great. Is it safe for us to travel and to stay at your place?” Alana asked.
“As long as Hunter is with you at all times. I had some rings made for you to wear that will indicate Hunter has claimed you for his own.”
Alana tilted her chin down in a way that said she didn’t care for the idea that anyone had claimed her. Hunter couldn’t help smiling at her. Sure, it wasn’t that way in the human world, but in the demon world, rank had its privileges. Not that he would even consider claiming her for his mate if he wasn’t sure she was the one he wanted to be with always. But he did like that he got to do the claiming…in this world.
“He’s a Matusa,” her dad reminded her. “And will keep you safe.”
“I will keep her safe,” Samson said.
Hunter grunted, but then took Alana’s hand and gave her a smirk.
“Okay, see you soon. Love you,” her dad said.
Alana smiled at her dad. “Love you too, Dad. As soon as we have tickets and know for sure when we’ll be arriving, we’ll come back here and let you know.”
“Good show.”
Then she signed off. She looked up at Hunter, and he thought she was going to give him grief about claiming her, though when she beat on his chest to bring him back to life, he knew she had claimed him right back. Instead, she said, “Are you sure you don’t want to see if you can learn anything about your half brother?”
“No. We have too many others we’re looking for this trip. And…maybe my dad’s right. Maybe my brother isn’t ready to learn about his demon heritage.”
Jared was on the screen talking with a man who resembled him, and Hunter was glad he’d finally found one of his kin. He’d been looking for so long. “Okay, thanks, Uncle. I’ll be bringing some of my friends, if it’s all right with you. Hunter’s a half Matusa, half human, but we’ve been friends for years.”
His uncle didn’t look pleased to hear it, but Jared continued, “He’s saved my life numerous times. He’s not one of the bad ones. Believe me.”
“All right.” But his uncle looked skeptical.
“We’ll see you soon. We just have a Camaran friend who’s looking for her family.”
His uncle frowned. “You’ve all been living in the human world?”
“Yeah. Do you know what happened to my parents?”
“I do, but we’ll talk when you get here.”
“All right.” Then Jared signed off, but his expression had turned dark.
“It won’t be bad news,” Hunter said, though he didn’t know the truth, and he shouldn’t have speculated.
Jared shook his head. “Don’t you think he would have said if it was good news? That they lived near him?”
“We’ll just see what he has to say,” Alana said. “No sense in thinking up bad scenarios to explain it.”
They turned their attention to Celeste. She was wiping tears off her face.
Alana hurried over to her and rubbed her back. “What’s wrong?”
Celeste hesitated to say. Then she finally shut down the computer. “I couldn’t find anyone.”
Hunter wondered if something else was bothering her. Still, both Alana and Jared had found someone, so she could be feeling bad that she was the only who hadn’t.
“Do you want to go with us? Or do you want me to open the portal so you can return to the hotel in Dallas until we’re done?” Hunter asked.
“I have to stay here.”
“Okay,” Hunter said, but he was feeling uneasy about her declaration. Not that she wanted to stay with them, but that she had to stay here. Not even particularly with them. He didn’t want to lose her in the demon world. She had never indicated she’d wanted to stay here for any length of time.
So what else was the matter? Her psychic visions instantly came to mind.
* * *
Celeste hated when she had a vision, especially when she was so keen on learning if she had any other family. Not that she wanted to live with them, but she wanted to know, like Jared di
d, how she ended up in the human world. Jared’s adoptive parents were the greatest. Her foster parents had been too worried about her uncanny sense of knowing future events. She couldn’t help it. If she could aid someone by knowing what could occur, she had to warn the person. She also understood—to an extent—how that would freak them out. She was glad Alana’s mother had taken her in, and Celeste didn’t have to worry about how she felt about it. Alana’s mother was a ghost buster and a witch, so the unusual didn’t faze her in the least. It was good knowing Celeste could be different and accepted for who she was.
She did wonder if her real parents had the same talent as she did. Or someone else in the family tree had the ability. She glanced back at Hunter. She was certain he knew something was going on with her, but he was allowing her to be the one who mentioned it first. She appreciated him for it.
“It’s snowing outside. A blizzard, really,” Celeste said as they left the computer room and headed down the long corridor to the outside world.
Hunter glanced at her.
“Yeah, I saw it in a vision. So maybe it isn’t starting right now. Or maybe it won’t start for a while.”
“And?” Hunter asked, frowning.
“There’s going to be a train wreck.” This was when she hated the visions. Not knowing how to deal with it. How she could control anything that would help to change the outcome.
“And?” Hunter persisted, slowing his pace and eyeing her with suspicion.
“I don’t know.”
“That’s why you were crying?”
“We lose each other, okay? In the snow, the blizzard, the pile of train cars derailed. I don’t know all the specifics.”
“So we don’t take the train,” Hunter said.
“I don’t know. If we didn’t, then would I be seeing this in my mind’s eye?”
Pulling Celeste to a stop, Hunter growled. “We’ve had this discussion before. Sometimes, you can’t change anything and what will happen, will happen. Other times, you can. Do you ever have a vision where you see the future one way, and then you see a new future vision and things have changed because you’ve altered the direction you were headed?”
