Shadow of the Ghoul (Halfblood Legacy Book 2)

by Devin Hanson

  “My neck was broken,” I said, and paused to swallow back the surge of remembered terror. “Ribs as well. I think I had a punctured lung and probably a broken hip.”

  “But… but… you’re alive. Walking, even. How is that possible?”

  “There isn’t a simple explanation,” I said softly. “The best I can do is show you.”

  I pushed off the couch and knelt down to unlace my shoes. I kicked them off and undid my belt. Sam sat frozen as I peeled my jeans off and threw them in a pile on top of my jacket.

  “Alex,” he muttered, “I don’t…”

  “You wanted to know, Sam. This is the best way. You have to see it for yourself, or you won’t believe.” I turned to show him my leg. My whole right side was a mass of bruising, every square inch of skin was mottled with purple and red and yellow. “Look. Touch me. Feel the bruises. They’re real.”

  I stepped up to him so I was straddling his knees. He didn’t move, so I reached down and grabbed his hand and placed it on my side. I sucked in a breath as the bruises protested the contact, but I didn’t pull away as Sam ran his hand down my side to my hip, his touch gentle. Strangely, the simmering lust I was feeling started to fall away as the concern on his face deepened.

  It was touching. How many men could sit in front of an all-but naked woman and feel nothing but empathy?

  “Okay, I believe you. They’re real.”

  “And up here, on my arm. The scar is real. Not plastic or makeup.”

  He touched the scar, and when I didn’t pull away, he gripped it tighter, prodding past the flesh to the bone beneath. I could feel the ache of the partially healed break under his fingers. And then, while he was distracted with my arm, I reached behind me with my left hand and undid the clasp on my bra.

  The cloth fell away and my breasts swung free. The cool air tightened the tips of my nipples. Sam’s eyes widened and locked onto them. The lust came surging back and I bit my lip to keep from moaning as it washed over me.

  “And now, I’ll show you how it works.”

  I knelt on the couch, straddling Sam, and pushed my hips forward against his. I leaned forward and kissed him, pushing my tongue between his lips. His hands came up, hesitantly brushing up my sides. When I didn’t flinch or pull away, he grew bolder, sliding one hand between us to cup at my breast while the other gripped my hip.

  I ground down on him and didn’t try to hold back the soft moans as his fingers drew sensation from my nipple. It had been so long since the last time I had had sex. It felt so good to have a man’s hands on me again.

  I reached down and pulled his shirt up, running my nails over the tight muscles in his stomach. Between my legs, I could feel him getting hard. I pulled back from the kiss and scooted back so my weight was resting on his knees and I had enough room to tug his shirt open and peel it back off his shoulders. I ducked down and sucked one of his nipples into my mouth.

  Sam gasped and his grip on my hip tightened. “Alex, wait.”

  No, I wasn’t going to let him get out of this through some misguided chivalrous impulse. I pulled open the buckle on his belt and yanked his pants open. I slipped my hand inside and found him rock hard. He groaned as I tightened my grip on him and straightened up to kiss him again.

  “I’m showing you,” I said a little breathlessly. “This is part of it.”

  The last of Sam’s reticence abandoned him and he arched his back, lifting his hips, and me, up off the couch long enough for him to pull his pants down to his knees. I didn’t release my grip on him as I rode him back down to the couch.

  The rising tide of lust coming from him told me exactly what to do to pull him to even greater heights. He was almost ready. I pressed against him, enjoying the feeling of his hot skin against mine, and fed him my nipple. He closed his mouth over it and I felt his tongue flick back and forth over the tip. I moaned and ran my nails through his hair, pulling his head tighter against me.

  Sam’s hips thrust up toward me, lifting me off the couch a little. I heard his shoes hit the floor and his pants followed a moment later. His lust hit a plateau, and I knew instinctively that he was ready for me. Not that I cared right then. I needed him just as badly myself.

  I pulled the crotch of my thong aside and lowered myself onto him with a shuddering groan. Lust washed through me, along with a rush of burning fire. Sam’s hips flexed up under me, impaling me even further and I gasped aloud.

  His hands caught at my shoulders, holding me down as he drove upward into me. I crushed my mouth against his and dug my nails into his chest. The fire in my arm and neck started to subside, and pleasure welled up to take its place. I cried out as the flowing energy merged with the electric pulses rushing through me.

  Sam’s grip shifted down to my hips and he stood up with me still impaled on him. I wrapped my legs around his hips and ground down on him, trying to get him as deep inside me as I could. He grunted, then turned me around and dropped me onto the couch on my back.

  He caught up one of my legs and lifted my ankle up onto his shoulder, spreading me wide for him. His renewed thrusts reached even deeper inside of me and I gasped with every push. Inch by jolting inch I slid across the couch until my head hit the armrest. I didn’t have anywhere else to go, and could only receive him as he slammed into me.

  “Give it to me,” I groaned. “Come for me!”

  My words spurred him on and my gasped encouragements mingled with his grunts of effort. I felt the energy coming from him spike upwards and it triggered my own orgasm. The spasming of muscle inside me set him off and he pulled out of me a moment before hot cum splashed up my stomach and onto my breasts.

  Sam slumped over me, supporting himself on his elbows, his eyes closed as he panted after breath. I reached down and grabbed him. He was slick and still twitching with the aftermath of his orgasm. I stroked him gently until he softened in my hands, then I hinged up at the waist and pressed my mouth against his.

  It took him a moment, but he returned the kiss hungrily.

  “Jesus,” he groaned. “You’re incredible.”

  I chuckled and kissed him again. “Thank you. You’re not bad yourself, you know. But I was going to show you something.”

  “Alex, I—”

  “Shh.” I gave him a quick peck to quiet him. “Up. Time to take a shower.”

  He laughed ruefully and followed me as I led him to my bathroom. If there was one thing I loved about living in a fire station, it was the water heater sized to keep up with a dozen people showering at once. There was no way I could ever run out of hot water.

  I spun the knob as hot as I could stand and dragged Sam into the shower with me. The first seconds of water ran ruddy with blood as it softened the matting in my hair and sluiced away the crusted blood from my skin. I handed soap to Sam and he lathered his hands before running them gently over my stomach and chest.

  After only a few seconds, his ministrations slowed and he stepped back to get a better look. “Alex… your bruising! Your arm!”

  I turned, letting him get a good look at the healthy skin of my right side. “Gone.” I brushed my hand over my right arm where the scarring had been. The skin there was slightly pink, but where the knotted scar tissue had been was smooth and free of blemish.

  “But. How?”

  I went up on tiptoe to kiss him. “Sex,” I said simply.

  “I’ve had sex plenty of times—”

  “I could tell.”

  “—but I’ve never regenerated because of it!”

  “Hand me the shampoo.” I lathered up, letting Sam’s unspoken question hang in the air. How much could I tell him? I had promised him answers, but how much would he believe if I told him the full truth? Worse, what would happen if he did believe me?

  I rinsed my hair and got the last of the blood out. When I was able to open my eyes again, I found that Sam was watching me, a slight frown on his face. “Do you believe in God?” I asked.

  His frown deepened. “No. Not in the sense of an omnipotent
greybeard sitting up in a cloud somewhere pulling strings.”

  I nodded. “Fair enough. That’s probably just a human interpretation of divinity, and any theologist with two brain cells to rub together agrees with you.”

  “So, you’re… what? An angel?”

  I snickered, then remembered Zerachiel in David’s cavern and the amusement was wiped away. I cleared my throat and rubbed conditioner into my hair. “Not as such, no. Though technically I guess I’m related.”

  Sam looked away. “Fine. I suppose you don’t have to tell me.”

  I grabbed his hand before he could step out of the shower. “Wait, Sam. I’m trying to be truthful with you. To be perfectly honest, I don’t know exactly how it works, but I know that I gain energy, strength, whatever you want to call it, from lust.”

  “Lust? That’s one of the seven sins, isn’t it? Not exactly angelic.”

  “I never said my mother was an angel, Sam.”

  I watched him put it together and the wary disbelief on his face turned into trepidation. “Wait just a moment. You think your mother was a demon?”

  I gave him a sad smile. “I’ve had it confirmed by someone who would know, and by people I trust.”

  Sam gave an incredulous laugh. “Christ. And I thought I had mother issues.”

  The unexpected humor jerked a laugh out of me and after a moment Sam joined in. It felt like a long-awaited catharsis, all the stress and fear and worry of the last two months came boiling out. I laughed, I cried, and laughed some more until finally an attack of the hiccups put an end to it.

  I don’t know how long I had been in the shower for, but when it was over, I was sitting on the tiled floor next to Sam, the conditioner long-since washed out of my hair. My fingertips were wrinkled and my sides ached.

  “You must think I’m crazy,” I finally said. I pulled myself to my feet and gave my hair a quick reapplication of conditioner so I would be able to brush it out, then spun the tap off.

  Sam had climbed out of the shower and was waiting outside with a towel for me. “I’ve seen crazy,” he said, “and that isn’t you. I don’t know if I agree with everything you’ve said, but I think you’ve told me what you believe to be the truth.” He scratched his head and shrugged. “I can’t deny the results, though.”

  I nodded and wrapped the towel around myself, more relieved than I would like to admit. “Thanks, Sam.”

  “I do have a question, though.”

  “Sure?”

  “Tonight. Us. Was that something real? Or were you using me for my… Lust.”

  “I’ve always liked you, Sam.” I could feel the lingering lust in him still. It would be so easy to assure him of our mutual attraction, but that would only lead to more sex. More amazing, fulfilling sex. Sam had a strong mind, backed with solid values and determination. How long would he last before he couldn’t think on his own anymore? How many times could we have sex before that was all he could think about?

  He must have seen my concerns on my face because he dropped his gaze and nodded. “Okay. I get it.”

  “Sam…”

  “No. Just… don’t, okay? I don’t know what I’m…” He trailed off and sighed. “You’re a beautiful woman, Alex. More than that. You’re independent and strong-willed. You have goals and purpose that drives you. Most men would find you perfect, I think, if they weren’t insecure and intimidated. I don’t know what you’re looking for in a man, but I get it. It’s not me.”

  “You saved my life tonight,” I said quietly. “Can we just leave it at that?”

  He looked at me a little bleakly. “I suppose that’s true.”

  “Maybe, when I learn more about what I am…” I trailed off as Sam shook his head.

  “Don’t lead me on, Alex. You’re better than that.”

  I nodded and hugged myself. “I’m sorry, Sam.”

  He smiled at me, and I think it was only a little bit forced. “You shouldn’t be. I don’t regret a moment of it. I just need some time, I think. To wrap my head around what you’ve told me. Just… don’t expect me to be there the next time you need some lust. That’s not what I want in a relationship.”

  I nodded again. I didn’t know what to say.

  Sam touched me briefly on the shoulder, then left the bathroom. I heard him getting dressed, and then a minute later, the SUV started up and drove away.

  I was all alone. Again. I swear I only cried a little bit.

  Chapter Eight

  I woke with a start when my front door slammed. For a moment I thought it was an intruder, then I remembered Ryan had stayed out last night with the blonde from the gym. I must have been restless last night, because the blankets had been kicked off and I was tangled in the sheets.

  Groaning a bit, I climbed out of bed and took a moment in front of a mirror to make myself at least somewhat presentable. I wasn’t used to having other people in my home.

  By the time I wandered into the kitchen, Ryan had found my stash of cereal and was sitting at the counter eating while he messed with his phone. He looked up when I entered and gave me a cheerful wave.

  “Morning!” he said.

  “Ugh,” I replied. I hauled open the fridge and stared glumly at the contents. Nothing appealed. I started coffee, then Grim jumped up on the counter and glared at me. “Shit. I forgot to feed you last night.”

  Grim twitched his tail, accepting my apology with gracious aloofness. I found his bowl and served him some cereal as a temporary solution to being out of food. Grim was glaring at Ryan when I set the bowl in front of him.

  “Leave Ryan alone,” I said. “He hasn’t done anything to you.” I eyed Ryan. “You haven’t done anything to him?”

  Ryan shook his head. “Nah, man. I wouldn’t mess with a cat that big. What is he, half puma?”

  “I don’t know. He was here when I moved in.” I reached out to scratch Grim behind the ears and he stopped eating long enough to stab me with a look of pure disdain. “Sorry. Jeez.”

  “Biggest cat I’ve ever seen, anyway.” Ryan shook his head.

  “But still just a cat. What do you have planned for the day?”

  “Oh. I don’t know. I was thinking of getting started on the junk in the garage. There’s a lot of old parts and things in there, a bunch of metal, all of it pretty heavy. What do you think about ordering a dumpster?”

  “Sure. Call around and let me know how much it costs.”

  “Shouldn’t be too much. A few hundred dollars for the rental and hauling.”

  It was a good thing I had a new case with the police department. It wouldn’t break my bank account paying for the dumpster, but I probably had to buy another jacket since mine was soaked in blood, and if I kept dropping a hundred here or a few hundred there, Grim and I would be eating ramen before the new year.

  “Okay. Maybe a small dumpster?”

  “You got it, boss. How about yourself? Any big plans?”

  “Just work. I’ll be out and about for the morning, at least. Do we need anything while I’m out?”

  “I saw a grill out back. Get me some hamburgers and some fixings and I’ll make us dinner.”

  “I can do that.” I poured myself a mug of coffee. “You have fun last night?”

  Ryan grinned at me. “Can’t complain.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Is Trina looking for something permanent?”

  “Why, trying to get rid of me already?”

  I shrugged.

  “No, I don’t think so. At least, as far as I’m concerned. Just a night of fun.”

  I sipped and grimaced at my coffee. I had made it a bit strong. “She’s got the bags for it, I guess.”

  He chuckled. “You’re not jealous, are you?”

  “Please. I’ve seen inflatable dolls with more realistic boob jobs.” I went to the fridge for cream and put a healthy splash into my mug. “Do you have something to do to keep busy until the dumpster arrives?”

  “I’ll figure something out. There’s no shortage of work around here.”


  “I suppose you’re right. Give me a call if you need anything.”

  I took my mug back to my bedroom where I could have a little privacy and called Tovarrah.

  “Good morning, Alexandra,” Tovarrah greeted me. “Do you have news?”

  “I do.”

  “That’s fast work! I knew you were the right person.”

  “Yeah, well. I tracked down Steven’s address and found a hidden sex dungeon in the basement. There was a woman handcuffed to a bench inside. She would have died if I hadn’t come looking.”

  “You see, Alexandra? Even you can be guided by the Lord.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t find anything that suggested the name of the demon. But going by Steven’s online footprint, he’s the forty-year-old-virgin type, definitely not a dominant personality. The sex dungeon was newly built. I’d put money on that’s the weakness the demon exploited to reach him.”

  “Lust.” I heard the distaste in Tovarrah’s voice.

  “Does that narrow it down for you?” I asked hopefully. With any luck, Tovarrah would guess the demon was Mahlat and find some way to expel my mother.

  “Not really. It is likely a succubus of lust, but there are dozens of them. We’ll need more to go on before we attempt an exorcism. Getting the name wrong could be fatal for Steven and catastrophic for us. What are you doing today?”

  I had planned on going to the precinct to follow up on the ghoul investigation. “Work. I have to make a living, you know.”

  “Sacrifice is the path to salvation, Alexandra.”

  “Great. I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “See that you do. You will be happy to hear that Steven is conscious, but unresponsive. I would like you to come by the hospital as soon as you get a chance.”

  “Wonderful.”

  “Isn’t it?” Tovarrah said enthusiastically, completely oblivious to my sarcasm. “You succeeding in drawing the demon to the surface last time. Perhaps you can achieve success a second time.”

  I wouldn’t call a patient being rushed into emergency surgery a success, but I guess we had different standards. “I don’t know, Tovarrah. I had a really long day yesterday and I’m still pretty beat. If I have an opening in my schedule, I’ll consider it.”