Renegade Hunter: A WhyChoose Demon Romance (Mates of the Realms: Mortals Book 1)

by Lacey Carter Andersen

  His roar came like a thousand angry lions, and the demons stopped in their pursuit.

  “Go through the portal! Now!” he ordered them. “This isn’t my horde. They won’t listen for long.”

  Sharen grabbed Elaina, but Ryder shoved Sharen through first. She went tumbling into the waves, the awful feeling of being stretched and pulled, of being too hot and too cold came and went in a flash, and then she was crashing into the chairs in the room. A few seconds later, Elaina barreled straight into her.

  She helped her friend up, then turned to wait for Ryder to come flying through.

  But everything happened faster than she could comprehend. One moment the portal was there, the next, Elaina was erasing the address above the door.

  The portal closed.

  “What the hell?” Sharen shoved her back, and Elaina hit the floor.

  “He’s still in there! What are you doing?”

  Elaina caught her hand, which she promptly pulled free. “He told me to.”

  “Who told you to?” Sharen asked, grabbing the chalk with hands that shook and praying she remembered the right address.

  “Your demon,” Elaina said quietly. “He said he didn’t have enough power to come back, so I should close the portal as soon as I got through, and then he shoved me in.”

  Sharen froze, feeling tears prickle her eyes. He sacrificed his freedom for me? “That can’t be true.”

  Elaina stared. “It takes demons years and years to gather enough power to cross over.”

  “So... so how do we get him back?”

  Her friend was quiet for too long. “We don’t.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Like hell I’ll give up!

  Sharen went to her cubby and pulled out her ring. “I’m going back in, and I’m going to leave him this. He can use it just like last time.”

  As she ran back to the portal, her friend caught her arm. “Sharen, I have three demons I love too, but this is insane. That horde will have torn him apart by now. If you go back in, they’ll just kill you too. Don’t do this!”

  There has to be a way to take on that many...

  She froze. There had been a spell. In an ancient book. It was a dangerous, reckless spell, one she’d never been brave enough to try, but maybe it could stop the demons.

  But there had been so many warnings in that book. And the pages had been stained with blood. As much as she’d liked experimenting with spells in her younger days, she’d avoided that one like a dead body.

  And yet I’ve never forgotten it.

  Perhaps somewhere in the back of her mind she always knew it was a contingency plan. A spell to try when death seemed certain.

  “You’re not thinking of trying something from one of your damned books, are you?” Elaina knew her too well.

  Sharen shook out of her friend’s grip. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “This is insane. You can’t—“

  “I’m one of the best fucking Leader’s our school has ever seen. I’ll kill every one of those assholes before I let them lay a finger on me or him.” She headed for the portal.

  Elaina followed closely behind her. “Just wait. Maybe he got away from them. Maybe if you go to his brothers they can find a way to help. But one thing I’m sure of, if you go in there, if he isn’t already dead, he will be. Seeing a human female will drive those bastards crazy, and he’ll have to protect you.”

  She whirled around and glared at her friend, shouting. “Am I supposed to just leave him there? Huh? Is that what I’m supposed to do? Just let him die!”

  Tears ran down Elaina’s cheeks, creating more lines in the white powder that covered her body. “I’m so sorry.”

  A flash of bright light filled one end of the room for one horrifying second before the angel appeared. He was a beautiful man, with flowing locks of hair, and intense green eyes. But in his hand, he held a dangerous looking sword.

  Sharen stared, unsure what else to do. Angels fought the demons alongside the Hunters, but she’d never been face-to-face with one before.

  “What are you doing here?” Elaina asked, her voice shaking.

  The angel’s lips curled into a cruel smile. “Why, killing the demon-whores, of course.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  His blade caught the edge of Sharen’s weapon, sending sparks flying.

  The angel looked surprised. “You’re faster than most humans,” he said, then a cruel smile twisted his lips. “But I’m faster.”

  In a blink of an eye, he used the broad side of his sword to smack her behind her knees. Playing with her.

  She crumpled to the floor, only just raising her Splicer in time to catch the blade he slashed out at her stomach.

  Elaina was dragging herself toward the weapons on the back wall. Sharen shook her head. She’s going to get herself killed! But her friend couldn’t see her.

  The angel slashed out again, but Sharen rolled and climbed back to her feet, glaring at her opponent. I need to get to Ryder. I need to save him in time.

  But for the life of her, she’d never heard of someone killing an angel before. Is it even possible?

  “Just let us go,” she said, narrowing her eyes at him. “We aren’t going to cause any problems.”

  “And I bet your demon husbands won’t either, huh?”

  He twisted his blade and struck, cutting a deep slash into her arm.

  Sharen hissed, jumping back. Ignoring her injury, she kept her eyes trained on him, willing him not to look behind him to where Elaina was slowly sliding a weapon down from the wall.

  “You angels think you’re so perfect. But look at you, attacking humans is beneath you.”

  He scowled. “Sometimes angels save lives, and sometimes we take the lives not worth saving. You’ve killed enough demons to know what I mean.”

  Asshole.

  Elaina looked like she could barely hold her Splicer as she crept up behind him and raised the blade over her head.

  “Oh, and you’re so innocent! I’ve heard all about how much you angels like to sleep with humans. To feel alive again.” she accused him.

  Anger filled his expression, but just when she thought he was going to attack her with all his strength, he turned around and buried his blade into Elaina’s stomach.

  Her mouth opened. Blood poured out.

  No! No!

  Sharen rushed toward her as the angel pulled his blade out of her stomach. She attacked him, striking, kicking, dodging... but nothing helped. He was just too fast. Too good.

  Ryder was being killed by a pack of demons in the other realm.

  Elaina was bleeding to death before her.

  What could she possibly do to save them?

  And then, it hit her.

  I can die.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Sharen let her sword tumble from her fingertips. She and Elaina had helped demons. They would go to the demon-realm when they died. And once there, Sharen would do everything in her power to bring her friend and Ryder back to the human world.

  All she had to do was die first.

  “What’s this?” the angel asked, raising a brow. “Have you decided to give up?”

  She gritted her teeth and nodded.

  His awful smile returned. “That was the smartest decision you ever made. Because, unlike your friend,” he looked back at where Elaina had collapsed onto the floor, blood still bubbling up from her lips, “your death will be quick.”

  Fighting every instinct inside her, she curled her hands into fists and waited for the blade to come down onto her. But behind the angel, a bright light came and went in a flash.

  He turned around, frowning. “Surcy, what are you doing here? I said that I would deal with the traitors.”

  The angel before him was a young woman, with long golden brown hair and gentle eyes. Unlike the male angel, her wings were a stunning black. She curled them behind her. But even though she wore a simple tanktop and jeans, she radiated an ethereal quality that marked her as something o
ther than human.

  “Oh, Frink, I simply came to watch you.”

  His spine stiffened. He turned back to Sharen.

  Her heart began to race once more. This is it.

  A flash of steel, and a second later, the male angel’s head toppled from his body.

  Sharen looked at the female angel, eyes wide. The woman held her blood-soaked blade.

  Their gazes met and held.

  “You’re on our side?”

  The angel smirked. “A demon-hunter and an angel. Who would have thought we’d suddenly be on the side of the demons, right?”

  Sharen felt dizzy with relief. And then Elaina coughed.

  Racing to her side, she knelt down in the growing pool of blood around her. “Come on, stay with me!”

  The angel knelt down too. “I can get her to safety and heal her.”

  Even though trusting her is hard, I don’t exactly have another choice.

  Sharen almost nodded, but stopped. “Take her. There’s something I still need to do.”

  The angel shook her head of long, beautiful hair. “Our enemies know you’re here. They’re coming for you even now.”

  “One of my demons is trapped in the other realm. I have to... have to save him.”

  The angel’s eyes widened.

  “He doesn’t have the power to come back through, but I—“

  “I can help you with that too. At least a little. I make no promises.” She reached out and touched Sharen’s chest. A golden light spread, glowing just beneath Sharen’s skin.

  “That might give you enough to bring him back here, but it’ll be dangerous.”

  Along with my magic in the demon-realm, we might just have a chance.

  Sharen nodded. “Thank you.”

  The angel didn’t say another word. One minute she was there, and the next both she and Elaina were gone.

  Hurrying to the door to the room, she used her Splicer to pound the control board until it sparked and the lights died. That should stall them from getting in here.

  Turning back to the portal, she scribbled the name of the portal on the dark stone, and it opened.

  Ryder may be dead.

  The horde may be waiting for me.

  I’m risking everything for a demon who I barely know. A demon my foolish heart thinks I might love.

  But do I?

  Taking a deep breath, she stepped through.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Sharen righted herself as she came through the portal and into the demon realm. Her head spun, but she gripped her weapon with certainty. Ready for a fight.

  Bring it!

  But to her surprise, no demons attacked.

  Her gaze snapped to the battle a hundred feet in front of her. Ryder, his blood-red skin shimmering with sweat, fought the vicious Level 1 demons with absolute certainty. He’d called his demon blade to him, and his dark steel seemed to sparkle as he slashed out at the creatures. Many died at his feet, but more quickly replaced the dead ones.

  He continued fighting, but his movements were clumsy. Like a tired warrior. When two demons leapt onto his back, he staggered onto his knees.

  Shit.

  Her instincts screamed to join him in battle. To use her Splicer to shred the beasts to ribbons. But even together, we aren’t enough to stop them. I need to try the spell.

  Time to do something dangerous as hell.

  Closing her eyes, she imagined the ancient spell, praying it was as powerful as the book had warned. She had no idea what it would do, but hopefully, it would be enough.

  It has to be.

  This magic... felt different than any she’d tried before. She sensed power gurgling out of her, the sensation prickly. Wrong. But she didn’t stop repeating the spell, no matter how her heart raced, because there was no other magic she knew that had any chance at defeating the horde.

  Of saving Ryder.

  Her pulse pounded loudly in her ears. She had to focus on the spell. Not on the hungry demons just a short distance from her. Not on the possibility that Ryder could be dying.

  In her training, she’d learned that distractions killed.

  And I’m not dying today.

  Her weapon warmed in her hand. Opening her eyes in surprise, she watched as her Splicer glowed, a deep blood red. After a second, flames erupted along the sharp edge, dancing dangerously.

  The blade seemed to pulse. As if it had a heartbeat of its own.

  Whoa. She’d never seen anything like this before.

  Taking a deep breath, she turned her focus onto the hundreds of two feet tall demons. The dark red creatures were everywhere, encircling Ryder. He fought gallantly. Even with demons on his back and his chest. Gashes covered his red flesh, and there was a wildness to his expression that said he knew he wouldn’t survive the day’s battle. And yet, he kept fighting.

  Hold on, I’m coming!

  Pointing her weapon to the side of him, she decided she couldn’t risk attacking the demons directly, not with Ryder so close. First, she needed to see what the spell would do.

  Willing the magic to obey her command, she fired.

  Flames raced along the ground from where she stood, leaving a bright trail. Beneath the fire, the white sands melted, caving in. Black smoke billowed above the hungry flames, darkening the bright sky.

  She took a step back, shocked by the heat, by how the heavy scent of smoke filled her nostrils. The demon world always felt so surreal. Like a nightmare. But in that moment, it felt more real than any other moment of her life.

  As if the human realm was a dream.

  It took the demons a minute to notice, and then the flames reached them. They screamed, high-pitch wailing sounds that made every hair on her body rise. The little creatures went tumbling into the abyss created by the flames, falling into darkness.

  The demons attacking Ryder stopped. Their gazes went to the ever-widening gash in their world, and raw panic twisted their strange faces.

  That’s right, time to run, shitheads!

  The flames continued to spread, melting the earth, and widening the cavern. And for the first time, she realized that she had no idea how to stop it. Or how to control it.

  But that’s a problem for another time. All that matters right now is that I save him.

  Ryder.

  As if he heard his name in her thoughts, he turned and looked toward her. Their eyes met across the flames. Shock filled his expression, followed by a terrifying desperation. He tore through the remaining demons and circled around the cavern. A few demons followed him, but he turned, picking them up and tossing them into the flaming abyss with a roar that seemed to shake the ground.

  When he at last reached her, to her surprise, he picked her up and pulled her into his arms. “What the hell are you doing here? And what happened to your arm?”

  My arm? Adrenaline had almost made her forget the cut from the angel’s blade. “It’s just a scratch.” Best not to think about that now. What matters is saving Ryder.

  His hold on her gentled. “I told Elaina not to let you return. I have no hope of getting back through.”

  To her surprise, she felt tears prick the corners of her eyes. “That’s why you were an idiot to come here in the first place!”

  “I had to save you,” he whispered against her hair. “But you returning for me changes nothing, if I step back through the portal, it’ll tear me to pieces... sending me back to the lowest level of our realms. You have to go back without me.”

  Pulling away from him, she touched her chest, which still glowed softly with the angel’s powers. “An angel helped me. She gave me enough magic to hopefully take you back to our world.”

  He touched the glowing space on her chest, his expression one of wonder. “Angel magic? I can hardly... why would one help us?”

  She smiled. “I guess a couple demons stole her heart too.”

  Behind them, a demon leapt on Ryder’s back.

  Sharen cried out, and acted without thinking, driving her Splicer throug
h its neck. The demon hit the ground without a sound.

  She looked back at the horde. Most were still panicking over the growing flames spreading through their world, but a few were staring right back at her.

  “We should go,” he said. “Now.”

  She nodded and turned to the portal. “Our enemies may be waiting on the other side.”

  He stood straighter. “And the angel’s magic might not be enough to take me through in one piece.”

  Her eyes widened. “Are you sure—“

  “There’s no other choice.”

  He took her hand, squeezing it in his much larger one. Something wondrous coursed between them, something that made her feel an unfamiliar fluttering in her heart. Looking at him one last time, at his stunning face, she sent a prayer that what she was doing would save his life.

  That he would arrive in one piece.

  And then, they stepped through the portal.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Sharen stumbled onto her knees, her head spinning. She’d gone through the portal too many times. More times than she ever imagined possible in such a short period of time. It left her feeling weak, strange.

  Next to her, she heard someone hit the ground.

  Ryder!

  Turning, she froze. He lay on the ground. His eyes closed. His body limp. Even though the wounds on his flesh were already healing.

  “Ryder?” Dropping her Splicer, she reached for him, touching the side of his neck.

  There was no pulse.

  “No!” Panic clawed at her lungs, but she laid him on his back and started CPR. Over and over again, she pressed on his chest, creating a rhythm she’d practiced countless times. Then, leaning over him, she breathed into his cold lips.

  Outside the door to their room, someone began to pound.

  Please, please, Ryder, come back to me!

  Something unfamiliar warmed within her chest, and he suddenly took a deep breath. Sitting back on her heels, she watched the rise and fall of his chest, wiping at a stray tear that ran down her cheek.

  I owe that angel more than she could ever imagine.