Demon Witch (Paranormal Hunter Academy Book 3)

by Rae Hendricks

  A woman comes through the door, a needle in her hand. I can only imagine what's inside of it and how long I will be drugged.

  Maybe they’ll do experiments on my blood in my sleep. Maybe keep me comatose until they think that I won’t be a threat any longer. I don’t know.

  I fight with everything in me. Even as the needle comes down and touches my skin, I fight.

  Fire erupts all over my skin, bright lights fill the room and burn my eyes.

  It looks like it’s at least my angel powers, but also does me very little here other than the fact that Reyes is a vampire. He does back away just far enough that he’s not injured.

  “Oh my. This is what I was worried about. Yes, you definitely need more time to rest.” It’s the last thing I hear as the injection starts to take effect, moving through my veins.

  There is no way for me to scream for help or let anyone know I'm here. I don’t have my things as far as I know. All I can hope is there will be a way for someone to find me and get to me.

  An all-out war is on the horizon, and I don’t know if Jake and my men can or will fight it without me.

  As a last ditch effort of the dying ember of my mind, I call out to Ursula, wherever she is, hoping what we have done has connected us anywhere and she will know how to find me. Maybe she is my ticket out.

  Soon, I am swimming in the depths of nothingness.

  Being asleep, knocked out, and being in a medical induced coma are not the same. I am aware. I mean I hear people around me. Listen all the time. I may not be able to identify everyone and everything, but I remember how I got here.

  I remember where my body is and about all the people I care about.

  I use every moment of coherency to call to my familiar, knowing the Magistrate wouldn’t dare kill her. She is too powerful. They hoard things like her.

  And I trust her implicitly above all others to come through for me.

  I have no ability to count the minutes, hours, days or weeks I am like this. For all I know it has been months and everyone I know has already graduated from Paranormal Hunter Academy.

  But I do know at the moment that I’m no longer in a coma. I’m not completely conscious. I can’t get my limbs to move the way I want or form a coherent sentence. But I do feel.

  I feel a massive headache, I feel the different machines being ripped off of me, and I feel fire.

  It’s hot, burning, but not Angel Fire. This is hellfire. The all-consuming bright red flames filling the facility.

  Is this my doing? Or has someone come to fight this war for me? To burn down the Magistrate?

  If they all die for what they’ve done, and I burn with them, then that's okay.

  But just maybe since I have hellfire myself, I can’t be killed.

  Then, I am floating. And as more sensations come back, I realize someone is holding me. I imagine that it’s someone I love. That it’s Adriel the same way he carried me to bed that night. Though, these arms are different.

  Whoever has me, I curl into them, my head on their strong shoulder, and I wait for my body to decide the wake the rest of the way. Wait to finally be out of this nightmare.

  The heat is still surrounding us.

  My eyes finally flutter open, my fingers finally move just to twitch, and I twitch my toes too. I smell the charred smell of burnt flesh. I get a look of two dark eyes, and I see the blonde hair.

  I know now who has risked everything to save me, but now he has exposed himself. Exposed both of us.

  And I don’t know where we will go or what we will do, but I press a gentle kiss to his cheek as he sits me down on the ground and asks me to walk on my own. Because there is a journey ahead of us. A journey to safety and journey to justice.

  Chapter Twelve

  Outside, it is starting to rain. It is the cold kind, the kind I believe will give way to snow if it doesn't warm up.

  It’s early morning, the sun just starting to show through the mountains.

  My movements are slow, but I can walk, and Dru takes off his trench coat, wrapping it around me.

  I still hurt, but I know I need to push through it until we get to safety. I need to be at my best even if it seems impossible.

  I look back at the building to see the whole thing is up in flames. With hellfire.

  This is bad. This is not the scale that I wanted this war to start on. It’s too fast, too soon. But is anyone ever ready for all-out war?

  Probably not.

  "What did you do?" I ask Dru, the consequences finally hitting me as hard as the pain in my body. I still have no idea what was done with me in my coma, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it involved more experiments.

  "I'm not the only demon disillusioned by the way the majority of us see things. There are vampires and demons out there who are just like me, especially the younger ones. They are going to take your side. They don’t agree with their own kind or the Magistrate. They’ve come here for me so that we could get you out. Shouldn’t you be grateful?" Dru says, taking my hand and trying to pull me away.

  I know we need to get out of here in case any of the members are still alive and lingering to make sure I don’t make it out of here, but we need to think about this. My body and brain don’t want to let me multitask right now.

  "Of course. of course, I am, but this is crazy. They'll know this was you. They know you’re my boyfriend, my demon boyfriend. Now neither of us can go back. What will we do?"

  "I don’t know, okay!" he screams, just as lost as I am. "I just wanted you safe. I am the only one that could do something."

  "Riley! Riley!"

  I whip my head around at the sound of the voice interrupting us. I don’t know who it is, and I instantly regret the sudden movement as my head revolts with a strong pulsing. Then, I see a familiar figure running at me with heels on, scratching against the concrete. Her ponytail swings behind her, and she has something in her hand.

  “Eva?” I ask. I cling to Dru just in case this is some kind of trick. I know from the look on her face and the way that she handled things. When I was here being tortured, she didn’t agree with what was happening, but she works for the Magistrate. She has been loyal to a fault. So, she could easily try to get me back in.

  I don’t know if she has the power to take down Dru. I’m never seen her use her magic, so I don’t know. For all I know they’ve given her demon or angel blood to strengthen her.

  I wouldn’t put it past them. I wouldn’t put anything past them anymore. “I know you have no reason to trust me, and I won’t ask you for your trust right now. But I knew that when he came for you and this place was going up in smoke, there was something you needed to see. Just like you, I’ve been trapped. Not everyone that works for the Magistrate is bad. Not everybody agrees with them, and one day you could use that to your advantage if you continue down this deadly path. But even if you don’t, these should belong to you.”

  She reaches out her hands and has three leather bound volumes in them. Journals or diaries. I simply take them, not knowing what to think. “What are these?”

  “We’ve kept them in the archive all this time. I know this isn’t all of them, but these are the ones I could get out in time. They belong to your father, and maybe the answers that you need are in there. I don’t personally know what happened to him, but I’ve heard things. I work so closely with them. And I don’t trust them anymore. I’m going into hiding, so please don’t ask me to help you. I’m too afraid and too weak. But if you need safety, I think you can trust Julian. He is a newer member, and he doesn’t agree with some of the things they’ve been doing either. I believe he’s been kept in the dark as much as they can, and he’s on break. He’s not here. Which is why they got away with keeping you here.”

  “And how long have I been here exactly?”

  I don’t know which one of them I’m asking, it’s Dru who answers my question. “It’s been three weeks, Riley.”

  “We need to get out of here.” My teeth chatter as my prediction co
mes true, the rain turning icy. And under this coat I am in little more than underwear. “Where the hell do we go? Do you know where Julian is?”

  Dru gives me a look. “Are you sure we can trust him? Not to mention, this involves Kagan. Can you handle seeing him right now? I haven’t even been able to reach him to get him to help me.”

  “It doesn’t really matter what I can handle. I don’t see any other option. So, is he in California? Or is he here?”

  “I think that he is actually staying with Kagan right now. Since Julian likes to see him on his breaks. However, Kagan can’t leave school, not until Yule break. And by then, Julian will be required to be back the Magistrate. Well, he would’ve been.”

  There is a bit of humor in his voice, and I appreciate the moment, the fact he could laugh about this a little bit. It’s a tiny victory, the fact that the Magistrate building is destroyed, scattering them and making the figure something else out. Hopefully, it also means the lab is up in flames.

  “It may be a little bit close to the Magistrate right now, but maybe Julian will have somewhere for us to go. It’s our best bet.”

  So, I clutch the leather bound books tightly, and Dru decides to scoop me back up. I guess I move too slowly, right now, for his liking. He carries me all the way to the edge of campus where the apartment complex is. Part of me wants to go in my own apartment and gather things. And I want to know where Ursula is. But I doubt there’s any time for that right now.

  I don’t want to find myself looking into pair of blue-gray eyes again. Not until I get to drive a stake through his heart.

  I knock on Kagan’s door frantically, hoping that I don’t wake up too many people with my early-morning antics. Also, I hope Julian is actually here. It’s only an assumption, and as much as I would hope we can make it to California if we need to in time, I sincerely doubt it.

  To our surprise, the person who opens the door is neither Kagan nor Julian. Instead, it’s a young woman.

  Even though she’s probably stayed here overnight, her blonde curls are still perfect. They frame her beautiful, petite face. It has this perfect heart shape and she’s perfectly symmetrical. Even though I’ve never met her in person I can tell she’s got to be a Cottrell. They all have the long lashes, blonde hair, and green eyes. They’re known for it. The daughters of the Cattrall’s are all beautiful and very eligible. Lots of people fighting for their hand in marriage, I’m sure.

  It’s like the dark ages or something.

  At least she's not in one of Kegan’s tee shirts or something. I don’t think I could hold myself together if that was the case.

  "I'm guessing you're Mariam?" I ask her, though there’s no point since I already know the answer.

  She looks me up and down in the coat and underwear, soaked in the cold rain. "I am guessing you're Riley then?"

  I roll my eyes. "Look, we can hash this shit out later. We need to talk to Julian. Is he staying here with Kagan?" I want to move on from this issue for now and focus before we run out of time, to get to safety. There’s no way of knowing where Reyes and the others are right now and if they're looking for me or if they think I died.

  "Oh. Yes, he is here. Why don’t you go ahead and come in?"

  The awkwardness grows as she opens the door wide and lets in, and I see Kagan is there on the couch. Mariam goes straight to him, her arm setting on top of his. At least she doesn’t kiss him or anything.

  Kagan looks at me, and I can see this is affecting him too. Kagan looks at me, and I can see the this is affecting him too. As much as it would be easy to believe that he has no more feelings for me and he’s moved on, it’s clearly not the case. You can’t just snap your fingers and get over someone even if you want to.

  Mariam must notice the longing looks as she starts to pet his long dark hair like he’s some animal. I say curse words under my breath and roll my eyes, waiting for Julian to come out.

  “Julian.” Miriam calls him in an annoying line. You know how they could stand to be around her.

  Julian comes out and looks stunned to see us. Probably stunned to see me in the state, actually. I know that I have bruises and have probably lost weight since I’ve been in a coma.

  I don’t give anybody time to ask questions. I take Julian into the other room, Dru following me. Mostly because I don’t want him to start fighting with Kagan.

  And then I do a spell so no one can know what we’re saying, not even Kagan. I have no way to know if I should trust Miriam with this information, and I don’t know the extent of the relationship. I don’t want to put him in an awkward position to make him have to hide something from her.

  “I don’t know if you got the news yet, but the Magistrate has been destroyed. Burned down by hellfire. Hellfire that Dru and some friends had to use in order to get me out because I was a prisoner in a coma for three weeks, apparently.”

  Julian recovers from his shock quickly, but it takes him longer to form coherent words. “I tend to keep my phone off during my time off so that I can enjoy it with my son, but I could see now that the reason that I got this time off may be to keep me away. I think they know I never would’ve allowed such a thing. You may not have a lot of time, I guess. So, summarize. Tell me what you can, and I will find a way to get you in hiding for now. It’s the best I can do.”

  Going with the fact that Eva said to trust him, I tell him everything. I give you a rundown of all the events, including what happened to Jake. I know we don’t have much time, but I need him to be in the know if he’s going to be on our side. If he’s going to fight the Magistrate with us and protect us. He needs know it all.

  He takes it all in stride, and I give him credit.

  “Willow will be able to take you to somewhere safe. He is on loan for your protection for now, and I will see if I can get a hold of Ursula to get her to you. I’m assuming they’re holding her at the school. I don’t know what this means for the future or who all is to blame. And I’m afraid a lot of the solution will be on your shoulders. But I want you to be as prepared and as safe as possible, in the meantime. If you need to get a hold of someone other than me, I will say to contact Phaedra. I know she is intimidating, but trust me when I say, she has plenty of reasons to go against Reyes if we need someone like that.”

  I am shocked by that, because I’ve always thought that she is on Reyes’ side and possibly the most intensely creepy one of them. Maybe there’s something there that I haven’t noticed. It’s good to know that there might be another one on our side. That means three, three in the Magistrate can be on our side. That feels better. Though, I worry about Adriel and what will happen to him if they find out that he’s with us, he’s the one that started all this to begin with. And I hope we will be able to get a message to him safely. Or that we still know something is wrong.

  “So, what happens now?” I ask looking back and forth between Julian and Dru.

  “I think that there’s going to be war. Reyes has been the unofficial leader of the of the Magistrate for a long time. He will not give anything up easily. I think you will need to prepare for battle and to build a case against him. I will go to the school and make sure that the students are safe. Any allies you can gather, you should. It’s not something I’ll be able to openly do. As I’m sure you realize. But stay safe. Stay strong. And don’t let Willow or Ursula out of your site. They will prove to be your greatest allies and protectors.”

  I nod, not bothering say goodbye to anyone. I follow Willow out, hesitating at the door. I can feel Kagan’s eyes on me, questioning me. He wants to know what happened. Obviously, he know something’s wrong, but I’ll leave that for his father to decide to tell him later. This is not the time or place. We certainly can’t make up even if we want to in front of the woman who is probably his new love interest. My part in his story is mostly over. I need to accept it and move on to the next part of my story. The part where I save everyone and kick some ass.

  Dru can sense what I feel and takes my hand, a rare show of compassi
on as we walk back into the day, and out of the territory of the Magistrate.

  I don’t know where we will be going, but I do know I probably won’t see Salt Lake for a long time.

  Chapter Thirteen

  When I envisioned going into hiding, I assumed we would be in the mountains in some kind of secluded cabin. Wind howling and snow piling outside so that no one would be able to get to us even if they knew where we were. But instead, we're hiding in plain sight. In one of the busiest cities in the entire United States.

  We have an apartment we are renting right in the middle of Las Vegas itself. Sin city. A city that never sleeps. People gambling, eloping, and drinking throughout the night. The streets are always crowded, and there is always someone making noise outside. No one complains because no one expects any different.

  The place is small but nice. It looks more like a motel than an apartment building, but most of the apartments here, that aren’t high rises, look like this.

  And maybe the intelligence of this plan is the way we blend in. Everyone here is from somewhere else. If we have to leave, we disappear into a crowd of partiers. It’s not an easy place to find someone.

  Still, we don’t go out much. During the only quiet hours of the day, the ones when most people are sleeping off a constant hangover, we go to the large gym that’s bigger than the apartment. That’s where I do my training. If we try and do it outside the building, we will surely be found, drawing too much attention to ourselves. In here, we can use protective spells to keep from being tracked to our specific location. Protecting a whole city that way, not as easy.

  We both know we'll have to come out of hiding eventually. Especially if we are going to find and fight the Magistrate.

  In order to do that we'll have to talk to the others, especially Adriel, but Dru thinks it isn’t time yet, though I feel it coming soon.

  We just need to buy enough time for Ursula and me to become stronger. Willow and she have become a team just like we have. I have even begun to connect to him in much the same way as Ursula. It isn’t as strong, but we are a fearsome three. We will be hard to take down.