by Jen Pretty
I scowled. How dare she smile at me?
Julian crossed the distance and stood in front of me, blocking my view of my birth-giver. “She will meet us at the hotel and you two can talk there,” he said.
I raised my eyes to his. “Why do I have to talk to her?” I asked, trying to hold back new tears. My plan to be mad instead of sad wasn’t working very well.
“She is a half-demon.”
Well, there ya go. My momma was a half-demon; like I couldn't have put that together by now. Duh. She was a lousy mother and an awful person in general. This should not come as a surprise. But as Nick turned me to walk towards the doors out of the airport, the gravity of that information settled in my stomach and made me want to puke. If she was a half-demon, what did that make me?
I tossed that idea around for so long the cab we had piled into had already stopped in front of a hotel & casino called Lucky River. I was certainly not lucky to be here. They better have pizza and a mini bar.
The cab driver fished our luggage out of the trunk. I wasn’t sure where Julian's came from as I didn’t remember him having any, but maybe it was some VIP magic. I dragged my rolling suitcase behind me over the interlocking brick of the front walk to the doors, following Julian and Nick who had started a conversation about stocks of all things like that was important in a time like this. I was having a midlife crisis. Or existential crisis.
It was a crisis anyway.
“Hello, Mr. Doyle,” the woman behind the desk said as we approached.
Julian gave a small nod and the woman handed him two key cards and a little stack of notes. “Your messages,” she added. “I hope you enjoy your stay.”
Julian said nothing. He handed one key card to Nick and the other to me, then led us to the elevator.
Once we were on and the doors closed, he turned to face me. “I have to take care of some business. Your mother should be here shortly. You can discuss things with her, and when I get back we can go talk to some half-demons who have seen Collin in the area.”
“Sure, boss,” I said snidely.
He ignored my tone and instead turned to Nick. “You got this?”
Nick nodded.
“Are you two managing me? This is not cool. I’m in the middle of a family thing right now. You can both fuck off and I’ll handle it myself.” I pushed the button on the elevator to try to make the doors open, but it kept sliding up like I hadn’t given it a command — stupid electronic crap. I pushed the door open button a bunch more times and finally it made a cheery little beep and the doors opened.
“Your room is there.” Julian pointed, then stepped back onto the elevator and the doors slid closed. Jerk.
I dragged my suitcase down the blue-carpeted hall to the door he had indicated. It took me a few tries to get the key card to work but finally the light switched green and the door opened to display a bright open suite. It must have been the penthouse, or whatever the fanciest one was, because it had floor to ceiling windows looking out over the city and a separate bedroom. The furniture was all classic: leather armchairs and matching desk chair sat in front of an office-sized desk. There was also a small dining table and a TV on the wall. I rolled my suitcase into the bedroom and plopped it on the bed, which was so tall I could have used a step stool to climb on. I flicked on the light in the bathroom and almost did a happy dance, even in my sour mood, because there was a big fancy tub with jets.
There was a knock at the door and I thought about not answering it. If it was my mom, I might avoid her a bit longer. Then I heard Nick's voice through the door and decided he wasn't the enemy. Right now, anyway.
“Hey,” he said, then he looked around. “You have a way nicer suite.”
“Well, Julian likes me. You not so much.”
Nick chuckled. “Yeah, no kidding.”
We sat in silence for a moment. It wasn’t as awkward as before, but it was still weird.
“I ordered you some pizza.”
Oof. If we had been in Vegas, I would have married that boy. I wrapped my arms around his waist and he held me for a minute. “Thank you, Nick.”
“I got you, Har.”
A knock on the door sent my stress level rocketing. “Here we go.”
I opened the door, and she stood there, a near mirror of me: the same blond hair, the same face. We were nearly the same height, too. For some reason, she was taller in my memory.
“Harlow,” she whispered and then cleared her throat. “How have you been?”
I scoffed. “Yeah, like you care.” Nick cleared his throat behind me, sounding for all the world like Len reminding me of my manners. “I guess you might as well come in.” I left the door open and walked to the small sitting area with the fancy leather chairs.
She walked in behind me and the heavy suite door slowly clicked shut. Nick still stood by the small dining table, his face as blank as Julian's.
The room was quiet for several long agonizing moments. I tried to form words but I hadn’t even pictured this day. I had convinced myself I would never see her again and now here she was.
“Harlow, I hoped we wouldn't have to meet like this.”
I glared at her. I was innocently trying to capture some half demon and she was standing there apparently waiting for me.
She looked down at her hands, having the good grace to look guilty as she spoke. “I wanted you to have a better life.”
I kept staring at her, her eyes averted. It had only been three years but she looked the same as I always remembered.
“Are you immortal?” I asked.
She nodded.
“You were a shit mother.”
She nodded again and swallowed hard. I wanted to shake her.
“Why?” I said on the edge of anger.
“I couldn't let anyone find you. They couldn't know.”
“Couldn’t know what?” I asked, getting frustrated with the tiny little answers.
“Half-demons can’t have children. Well, not until you.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Are you saying I am the only… quarter demon?” If I wasn’t still angry, that might have been funny.
“That's exactly what I’m saying,” she said.
My eyes slid to Nick. His face was as shocked as I felt. This was the twilight zone level of crazy. Then I realized just how shit the deal I got was. I was some part demon and didn't come with any cool powers. I also didn't look like a demon, so the tradeoff was probably fine. Who wanted to have scales or wings or horns on their head? Not me.
“So, you abandoned me because?”
“I knew as soon as Lincoln came sniffing around after the demon-possessed you that he would take you on. The town needed a new hunter, and you were strong enough to survive the possession. You have our will, if nothing else. Your stubborn will to live would save you and Lincoln, and the Demon Division would make sure you were well compensated.”
Once Linc fessed up to hoarding my stash, I discovered I was well compensated. I had enough to buy my own house, though I still hadn’t found one I liked as they were all too big and empty. I was better off with Linc anyway, since being alone again wasn’t part of my plan.
“What about before that? You would leave me alone for days.”
“I didn't leave you alone. You had Len. He promised he would take care of you.”
“Oh, well, it's fine then!” I jumped to my feet. “Who needs a parent when I can have a pizzeria owner? He wasn’t my mother!”
Her eyes flashed red. Apart from the fact she was the worst mother ever, she also had glowing red eyes. My mother, the demon.
I fled to the bedroom and slammed the door. Then stormed into the bathroom and slammed that door, too. I considered throwing something at the door for a third exclamation, but I ran out of steam and collapsed to the floor.
I ugly-cried for a while. The kind of sobs that don't make any sound, then you hiccup and your nose makes snot bubbles.
I tried to remember one happy memory of my mother; I didn't hav
e one. We lived together and then she left. My life had improved upon her departure because Lincoln was always there, and so was Len. They were the family I got to keep. It didn't take the sting away from the fact my mother abandoned me, though.
Once when I was in 5th grade, I painted a picture of a horse in art class. It was a true masterpiece, and I got an A on the assignment. One of the few times I got a good grade. I raced home to show my mom, climbed the stairs to our apartment, and flung open the door only to find my mom wasn’t there. I had seen her before school and she said she would see me later. “Later” turned out to be two days later. By then I had thrown my art away. I dropped it in the dumpster behind Len’s while I was looking for something to eat because the cupboards were bare.
That was the first time Len fed me. He scooped me out of the dumpster and sat me on a stool in his kitchen while he made me a pizza.
I was curled up on a plush towel on the floor when there was a gentle knock. “Harlow?” Nick's voice carried through the bathroom door. “You want to come out and have dinner?”
I cleared my throat before I spoke because it was full of frogs and I knew I wouldn't be able to speak clearly. “No.”
“She left. You could come lie on the bed.”
That sounded drastic. I was okay on the floor in the bathroom. I had the towel to soak up my tears and nose snot bubbles, and I had water to drink. I pushed myself up and turned on the tap, sticking my head under to take a sip. I splashed some on my face too and then looked down at my nest on the bathroom floor. It was awfully close to the toilet. I wondered how good the room cleaners were.
Defeated by the possibility of germs, I tip-toed out into the bedroom. Nick was standing by the door but I didn't look at him, just crept to the bed and slid under the covers. I buried myself in the warmth, pulling my knees up to my chest.
“You want some pizza?” Nick asked.
“No,” I replied, not peeking out from under my blankets.
“Hamburger?”
“I’m not hungry,” I said. Closing my eyes and trying to convince myself to go to sleep. My mind was on constant replay. She said she couldn't let anyone find me. Who would have wanted to find me? I knew that half-demons only cared about powers—what the demon half of their parent equation had given them. The more powerful they were, the higher they ranked in the hierarchy or some such garbage; like being more demonic was a good thing.
Nick had left, at least I didn't hear him breathing anymore, so I assumed he was in the living room. I hadn’t heard the door open.
I sighed. I seemed to be all cried out but I still wasn’t falling asleep.
The quiet slide of the suite door proceeded low muttering from the living room. I stayed hidden under my blanket, assuming it was Julian returned from wherever he had gone.
The bed dipped beside me, but I pretended I was asleep. A heavy sigh from beside me sounded like Julian and the crinkle of a newspaper confirmed it. I had never seen Nick reading. Someone was still shuffling around in the living room until I heard the suite door open and click shut again, then the only sound was my breathing and the occasional sweep of paper as probably-Julian turned the page.
It could have been a murderer, though. I didn't know for sure it was Julian. Maybe Nick left me here with a demon. Or maybe Nick had gone long ago and demons surrounded me. My heart started to race in my chest. I wanted to peek out and be sure but if it was a demon I had no protection. I reached up slowly and counted my amulets still around my neck.
They would burn a half-demon. Maybe I was no-part demon. like a recessive gene. I had learned about those in high school, sort of. I mean. I passed biology so I must have learned something about them, but it was all just a haze now.
“You want to talk about it?” Julian’s voice broke through the silence so smoothly I didn’t even startle.
I went back to pretending I was asleep, but his chuckle gave away he didn't think I was asleep at all.
“You know, being demon-kin isn’t the end of the world. We are good people. Mostly.” He tugged on the blanket that was covering my head until it pulled down enough to display my eyes. I looked up at him, my hair all over my face with static.
His eyes locked on mine. I wanted to say something, but I was so overwhelmed with everything I’d learned and the heaviness in his gaze that my brain scrambled for a way to release the tension.
“What did you find out about Collin?” That did it. He dropped his gaze and folded his newspaper properly.
“I spoke to a local half-demon who has been in hiding since Collin arrived. He only got the word out last week that things in Jackson had gone to hell. He wouldn't say more on the phone. He said Collin has taken control by force, chasing their former leader out of town. Those who could left the city and are in hiding, but he has security at the airport and train stations.”
“So, he knows we are here?”
“Most likely.”
We fell into silence again. I chewed on my nail. I didn't want Collin to come after me. I might have been scrappy but I was not a fighter. Even if I could move as fast as Collin, I wasn’t as strong as him.
“This was a terrible plan,” I muttered, pulling the blanket back up over my head.
I must have finally fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, I was being shaken awake.
“Harlow, you have to get up,” Nick said.
I grumbled, but once the tone of his voice registered, my mind sprang into action. “What’s happening?”
“Julian went out to meet a contact and hasn't come back.”
I sat up and looked beside me. He had been there when I fell asleep. His newspaper still lay on the bed-side table. “What time is it?”
Nick was already walking back out of the room, but called over his shoulder, “Three a.m.”
I had been asleep for most of the night. I stumbled out of bed and rooted through my suitcase, pulling out clothes and changing quickly. In the living room, I found Nick on the phone. He was listening to it and cursing.
“Why are you freaking out already? Maybe he is still talking to whomever he went to see,” I said, hopping in place and pulling on my sock.
“He said it would take him an hour tops. That was four hours ago.”
Well, that was a reason to worry. I took out my phone and dialed the number I had been avoiding the last few months. It rang twice and then he picked up.
“Julian, where are you?” I asked, not waiting for him to say hello. There was a dark chuckle and then some heavy breaths. It didn’t sound like Julian. “Who is this?”
The breathing continued but didn't answer my question. The echo of feet on a hard ground came through the line and then a rusty door swinging open.
“Hello?” I said.
Nick crossed the room and stood beside me.
The line was so silent I thought maybe whoever had the phone hung up but then the sound of a man screaming cut through the silence. I startled and almost dropped my phone. The scream drifted farther away, and then the deep laugh came back.
“I wonder if he is truly immortal. I’ll let you know.” It was Collin’s voice, I would recognize it anywhere. That is when the pieces fit together…
Collin had Julian.
CHAPTER NINE
Nick grabbed the phone away from me but Collin had already hung up.
“We need to trace his phone,” I said, frantic. I didn’t want to think about how I was going to catch Collin without Julian. I just knew I needed Julian back and the sound of him screaming was still ringing in my ears.
Nick was on his phone talking to someone, but I had nothing to do and no one to call. I returned to my room and grabbed my net as if that would help this situation. I dropped it on the bed. It was useless.
Back in the living room, Nick put up a finger in the universal wait sign. So I stood and waited.
“Shit. Okay, thanks.” He hung up and turned to me. “The phone has been destroyed. It was off when I tried to trace it earlier.”
“H
ow did he know I was calling?” I gazed around the room like it might be bugged.
Nick scoffed. “Good point.” He started looking around, too.
I caught a reflection in the top corner of the TV and realized it was a bit more than a television. It had a video eye in the top corner just like a laptop. I pointed it out to Nick who reached around and unplugged the TV from the wall. Problem solved. Except not really, since Collin had Julian and was torturing him.
“How are we supposed to find him?” I stood frozen. I couldn't decide my next move. Would Collin kill Julian? Julian was immortal, but I was betting if you cut someone up small enough, they couldn't put the pieces back together again. Like Humpty Dumpty.
“We need to make contacts and get to the underground. There are people there who can help us. We have to find out where they’re hiding.”
I nodded — Time to get to work. I slipped back into the bedroom and shut the door behind me. I changed into hunter gear, that would probably help get the attention of the local half-demons and hunters. The comfortable protection of the leather pants calmed my racing heart. I pulled on a clean, fitted t-shirt that wouldn't impede movement and then pulled my hair up into a high ponytail. Once my boots were laced, and I was basically superwoman, I stepped back out into the living room of the suite and found Nick sitting at the table, texting wildly on his phone.
I had my net in my hand, but I wasn't sure if I would need it tonight, so I set it on the back of the couch. I watched Nick for another minute, and then he turned to me.
“There is a club called Half-Life in the downtown area that is a typical hangout for half-demons. It’s a hole in the wall and they might not let us in, but we can try.”
“Good enough. Let’s go.”
Nick rose, and I noticed he had geared up too. His leather pants fit snug, making me wish I had other plans for tonight besides hanging out with a bunch of half-demons. We didn't talk on our way down the elevator or through the reception area. Outside a taxi huddled in the half-lit loading area. Nick opened the door and the driver folded the newspaper he was reading.