I hate being isolated here though, with no news making it to me other than when Ursula finally came bounding through the door, making me fall to my knees and cry happy tears.
I had been so worried I’d never see her again, but she came back and with some news. Julian and Adriel had both conferred with her.
Julian was part of the school administration now, to protect it, under the ruse that it was a target for demons. That’s what everyone had been told about the fire at the Magistrate headquarters. That demons were revolting and returning to Earth in hoards.
Adriel had gone back to confer with the angels to see how they could help. At least, that’s what Reyes had been told, but they are readying for war. They are getting ready for me.
I have gotten better at focusing on what’s in front of me rather than worrying about the far future. As much as I want to look forward to a day when the war is won and we've all lived through it, I know better than to be unrealistic. I can hope, and I DO! I hope that all my men will come back to me and we can live happily ever after, but that isn’t the reality right now.
The tension between Dru and I has been growing, and now that we are living together with nothing but two familiars to interrupt us, I am sure what Adriel and I did had little effect on my feelings for Dru.
Now that I have some of his blood, I have begun to observe and understand him more. There is a compassionate side to him. It’s much different than anyone else, and it always will be. He is a demon, even if he’s not a bad one. And it only serves to make me fall harder for him and want him more.
He’s been protective of me, truly ready to put himself in harm’s way for me no matter the cost, and he has also been making me wait to fulfill my ache, my need with him.
If I wait any longer, though, I think I'll explode.
We’ve just made it back to the apartment after a long and grueling training session. I could feel in my bones Ursula is close to taking a form. She trusts me implicitly, and she knows it could come down to this. There are no more nerves or regrets from her. It’s just finding that form that she wants to take.
Dru’s good at making me angry, lustful, and any of those other strong things to help bring out my powers. The Angel Fire, the one that almost killed me, is the only one I have a trouble with.
Dru agrees that it was trying to overwhelm me, was harming me, and burning up my very demon blood inside of me and trying to enact justice. It has a life of its own, and so I have suppressed it for now. Until the time that I need it desperately.
I focus on Dru. He is all sweaty, and he walks into the bathroom. Probably to shower. I watch him all the way in, and he happens to leave the door open.
And I’m ready to find out now if there is more to us than the witty words and the lust.
I march into the bathroom and pull back the shower curtain, and his body is completely bare. Though, his back is to me.
“Come for a show?” Dru says turning his head toward me with a smirk. If he wants to play a game, I’ll give him a game. But I’m determined to win.
“No, I came to see if you want some company.” I strip off my clothes in front of him, causing him to turn around fully. I let my eyes wander as my hand is on my hip, my body also fully exposed to him.
"We don’t have to rush this just because we are locked up together and bored," he says.
I know he’s challenging me.
I shut the door for privacy, knowing that even though Willow and Ursula are little more than animals, they do have a human form and consciousness. It feels strange having them know exactly what’s happening here. Always having them able to watch.
“Are you scared of me?” I tease him. Though, there’s no laughter or smile when I say it.
“Scared of you? What do you mean by that?”
“Are you scared of what I can make you feel? Are you scared that you won’t make me feel anything? That you can’t live up to the others?”
Challenge accepted, Dru. That’s what I think is a way for his response.
He scoffs and rolls his eyes, turning back around to soap up, but I step into the shower with him without invitation. I use all my strength to turn him around, which is no easy feat. I think it’s only my want of him that makes me stronger than him right now. That, or all the trainings worked, and I actually have gotten stronger than any demon or angel I encounter.
“I dare you.”
“You dare me to what?” Dru glares at me, not a single blush coming to his pale face as he looks right at me, our bodies only an inch or two apart.
“I dare you to take me right here. I dare you to show me the desires I know you have. I dare you to not hold back.”
“You be careful what you wish for, little demon.” His voice is sensual, raspy. It only seeks to incite me more. The only fear I have is the fear of never getting to have this moment.
My breath catches in my throat as he lifts me up, pressing me against the side of the shower. The water continues to come down, mostly only against his back. It falls to the ground unsatisfied, not being able to get the kind of action I’m about to.
I wrap my legs around him tight as he forces himself inside but holds himself there. No movement, no thrusting.
His eyes flash at me, and my fingers dig into his shoulders. “Are you sure you’re ready for this, little demon?” Instead of answering with words, I make him bleed, I thrust my hips forward. Forcing the feeling of something he doesn’t want to stop. And then he takes me, my back scraping up against the side of the shower, but I don’t care. Delighting in the pleasure and pain mixed together, both of our skins ignite with hellfire. But it can’t really hurt either of us. It’s just a symptom of what we are doing.
I feel the end is more like an explosion. No, an eruption. My body feels like it has been ravaged, but it’s about the most satisfying thing I can ever think of.
He nips at my lips and then slowly lets me down.
Afterward, he ends up resting, and for the first time I dare to pick up one of my father’s journals and I begin to read it. I don’t know why I waited so long because I am supposed to be finding out the truth. The truth shall set us all free, as they say anyway.
I told myself I wasn’t afraid of finding out the truth anymore, and here I was avoiding it yet again.
I skim the pages, trying to put dates together in my head of what happened before I was alive and after. Of which dates are closer to his death.
Some of it is completely mundane. Talking about meeting my mother, about fighting battles with her and how that feels.
It kind of reminds me of me and my men.
Every mention of Reyes, I pause and read several times this evening. And then something that makes my blood boil. I know I found part of what I need to know, and need to control my emotions so I don’t erupt this whole apartment into flames.
The Magistrate must go. They can no longer be allowed to rule, and Reyes can no longer be allowed to live.
Chapter Fourteen
Today, I found out that my wife is carrying another one of my children. This should be a happy time, not a time for us to fight about it. I think of Riley having a little brother by her side, and I love the vision it gives me in my head. The problem is, this is not the world I want to bring any more children into.
There is a divide among the hunters and even among the Magistrate. A new member has come on board, his ideals progressive, and I have been listening. He is milder in his punishments, not quick to kill anything just because it looks like a demon or vampire.
I look up, thoughtful. Is he talking about Julian?
I don't understand the strict rules of the Magistrate to begin with, not now that I have been on the front lines for so many years.
I have conferred with demons and vampires, many of them innocent children who didn’t ask to be born into this life any more than hunter children ask to be sent away to the academy and forced to become fighting and killing machines.
Not that I am not grateful for my position. I
am. This is what I wanted, but my wife, does not feel the same. Her family sent her there with pride and glory on their minds, but she is such a non-violent woman, opening up my eyes to justice and mercy. And now I see how black and white doesn’t work in this world now.
My mother didn’t want to be a hunter? The more I read from my father’s journals, the more I feel I don't know either of my parents at all.
I know I was young when I lost the both of them, but this is all news to me. My father’s compassion for the enemy and my mother’s hatred for the life that was chosen for her. Maybe that is why I have never met my grandparents on her side. My uncle has not even mentioned them.
I continue, striving for reasons that my father was taken from me and that no one could see things his way.
Why do beings we created so long ago, the familiars, have to suffer and die for our sins in the name of control? Why do demon children have to flee and hide in fear only to be dug out of their homes and killed, enslaved, or imprisoned?
It feels like I am doing the wrong thing, and I think it’s time I said or did something about it.
I saved demon children last night. And I know there will be consequences if anyone finds out what I did. Consequences that I can’t bare my pregnant wife having to face.
I don't want to be locked up while my wife brings new life into this world. But there is little room for forgiveness in our laws. All I can hope is that my position and my years of service might get me leniency or maybe grant me room to speak to change things.
My thoughts are instantly on Dru. I can’t prove that this aligns with that exact night and have no way to know how many times my father might have saved innocent demon lives. But my heart goes out to him.
Though, I never remember him being reprimanded for anything. Don’t recall any fights my parents had when my father was home to see us while my mother was pregnant. So, I don't know that this has anything to do with what was done to him.
Or maybe it was all conjecture, and nothing happened beyond the horrible event we already believed.
I turn the page, craving more and waiting for the answers to come.
I took my concerns to my best friend, and my best friend revealed his true colors to me.
I have never judged him for what he is – a vampire, turned just two years ago in battle. He was one of us, not using his rank among the Magistrate to get out of fighting in the front lines like the rest us.
It’s why we have bonded. His work ethic, his unwavering morals. He is a good man, or so I thought.
I don't want to blame the blood that now runs through his veins for corrupting him like everyone else might. I have seen innocents among the purest of demons. But I fear he will use it as an excuse. And this excuse could ignite a full out war that could kill many, even me. Even my own family.
Each day my daughter shows new potential, and my wife, knowing what is happening in our world, invaded by even more demons each day, tries to hide it from everyone. To suppress it. But I don't think that will be possible.
I think my time is better spent creating a better world for Riley to grow up in and become a hunter in. Surely, they will call for her to be one. She is so young and already as powerful as I am.
But Reyes, he has become corrupted. When I mentioned how I felt about the fact that there are innocents, he brought a proposal to me I did not expect. He wants to use the demons. To get rid of the angel influence over us all.
It is angels who are our allies, who have made sure that demons cannot overwhelm the Earth and kill all humans. And they have sacrificed much to make sure of it. But Reyes has begun to despise the angels and the rules they give us and the control he feels they have over the Magistrate.
He resents that one always has to be a part of the Magistrate. And he wants to make a deal with the demons. He wants to give them dominion to an extent and thinks that I will be his ally in this.
While I do believe the innocents should be spared, trained, taught a different way, I know that most demons are still a great danger and something we could never hope to control. Every time we think we have beat them. They come up with a new way to beat us, to get around anything we do.
I don't think this will be an exception.
But Reyes has become obsessed with this, and I can tell he will follow through regardless. I have had to play along so I can stop him, but I am afraid it will be my ending. I saw evil in his eyes tonight.
My friend is gone and maybe he has been for some time.
All day, I have been reading and rereading the pages in the last journal he kept before his death. The first time I saw everything about my father suspecting he could be killed or imprisoned. I told Dru, and Dru decided he needed to risk leaving this apartment. He had me respell it for my protection and left me with Ursula, taking Willow with him.
He didn’t say when he would be back or where he was going, and as always, wouldn’t accept any kind of teary eyed goodbye from me.
I suspect he believes it's close to time for action and wants to see if he can get a message to anyone. Hopefully, he makes it back to me alive and with a plan, but if not, I suspect that Willow will.
He is a fox in every regard, easily slipping through the cracks. And he wouldn’t remain loyal to a demon, only to his original orders to protect me at all costs.
I catch myself biting my nails, not a typical habit for me, but probably just another mechanism to try and keep from exploding. I don't know how long I should give Dru to come back before I try to take action by myself.
I think about what I might do if I needed to.
My only true point of contact is Kagan. So, if Dru doesn’t come back, I will have to use that connection whether I like it or not. And even if we aren’t together, I am sure he still wants the same things as I do for this cause. He wouldn’t be okay with Reyes’ behavior just because he does not love me anymore.
I look down at my phone, more than tempted to say something to him. I’m supposed to have limited contact with the outside world so that no one can track me, to where I am.
The place is spelled either way, but someone could still track my phone to Vegas which will make it that much easier to find me. Dru hasn’t answered anything I’ve sent him, to see if he is alright. I know better than to call him in case he is in a bind. It will just draw attention to him.
And Jake would already be in danger under suspicion and possibly lock and key because they think he will be helping me.
Kagan has been with someone else long enough that there should be no suspicion other than Julian’s involvement with the school. Even still, I’m sure Julian is being as subtle as he can.
Finally, once it’s dark and the real partiers are out and about, I do the thing I have been dreading and send that first message, reaching out.
Hi.
Riley? No one has heard from or seen you in weeks. Don't tell me too much, but are you safe?
I guess so… I mean, I was, but I found out some things now, and the person protecting me went out this morning and hasn’t returned. I don't know when they should be back.
I don't like that I am revealing any weakness to him right now, but it just feels so natural. He was the first one, other than Jake, I became close with at the school. I had promised him I’d tell him everything, and then the moment things were looking up, he had to go and ruin us.
It still feels comfortable to speak with him without watching him, with another woman; without having the reminder in front of me that he’s no longer mine.
Do you need help?
That’s a good question, and it should be an easy response, but it feels so loaded. I don't know if I am just overreacting. I should have pressed Dru to tell me how long to give him to get back, but I was too entranced by what I was reading. And now I am stuck possibly asking my ex to show back up; to act like some knight in shining armor for me, and muck things up all over again.
Things with Dru are good, and as far as I now Adriel and I are still madly in love. Why do I ne
ed anything else?
Or maybe it’s closure that I need. I never felt like I understood what happened between us. If it was all a game that went to far to protect me, if we drifted apart, or if he really was falling in love with Miriam and the life she showed him he could have the whole time.
I don't know. I am probably just being paranoid and impatient. I shouldn’t have bothered you.
No, I’m glad you did. I don't like the note we left it on. I want to talk, Riley. I have so many things I never got a chance to say the day you left…
My heart forgets how to beat properly, and its rhythm is all over the place. I feel like I am choking on my own air as I read again, what he wrote. He can’t mean that. There’s nothing left between us to say, right? Just more things that will hurt.
No, I don't want to break you up and rip apart your new life. You deserve peace and normalcy. I’ll be fine.
Even as I read back my own text I know it sounds more desperate and sadder than I mean it to. I actually want him to believe it. Hell, I want to believe it. I’ll be fine without him. I always find a way, but that doesn’t mean I don't want him to come tell me whatever it is I somehow missed, when I walked out the door without saying a word.
Where are you? I’m coming, like it or not.
I can’t tell him in a message, shouldn’t he know that? I bite my lip, trying to think of a way to get the message through without revealing it to anyone who doesn’t need to know. If nothing else, maybe he can give me news on what’s happening with the Magistrate and I’ll know what my next move should be. I can’t stay locked up in here all winter even if it sounds appealing.
Even if I tell myself that winter will be calm with all the holidays.
If Reyes didn’t care about the life of his best friend, then why would he care about the holidays?
Ask your father.
I leave it there and then feel like a fool when the door bursts open and in walks Dru and Willow.
I fake faint into the large chair in the room and then look at Dru with a sheepish grin. “I think I screwed up,” I tell him.
Demon Witch (Paranormal Hunter Academy Book 3) Page 10