“Ryder?”
He didn’t respond to his name. Shaking him, she prayed for yet another miracle, but he didn’t react.
Okay. I can do this. I can get him out of here.
But first, I need to make sure I don’t bleed out. Her arm was starting to ache, and she wondered if half of her light-headedness was coming from losing too much blood. Grabbing one of the white suits from a peg off a wall, she used her Splicer to cut it into strips and quickly wrapped her arm. Even so, the dark blood running down her arm made her stomach churn. That’s a lot of blood.
Outside the portal room, the pounding grew louder.
Instinctually, she shifted into a crouch, picking her Splicer back up. The pounding continued, but the metal doors held. But for how long?
“And there’s no other way out,” she whispered to herself.
Scanning the room, she prayed for a large vent. Anything. But there was no other way out than the door. So, I guess I’ll have to fight them. I can do that.
But she didn’t have to just fight her way out, she had to carry the massive demon beside her too.
There’s no way you can carry him.
“Logic, you’re a bitch,” she muttered to herself.
Reaching for Ryder, she forced him into a sitting position and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Moms lift fucking cars when they need to. I can lift one giant demon.”
Clenching her teeth, she tried to rise with him. Several times they fell back over, but she finally managed to drag him to the door. Panting, she went back to her weapon. As it touched her palm, she felt a spark.
Freezing, she opened her palm. The angel’s golden magic still glowed softly. What does that mean?
More pounding at the door drew her gaze. Hurrying back to Ryder’s side, she tensed, watching as the doors were slowly drawn apart. On the other side, she caught the sight of a room full of security guards.
Shit. If only...
She imagined one of the first spells she practiced with. One that knocked out an opponent and left them confused and disoriented. To her shock, her Splicer began to glow a light blue.
I can use magic in this realm!
I really owe that damn angel...
A smirk twisted her lips. The odds had just evened out, at least a little bit. Crouching over Ryder’s body, she waited until the doors were fully opened. The security guards had their guns drawn, but they parted.
The Director stood in the center of them. He wore a grey striped suit, his large belly straining the buttons in the center of his jacket. His thinning hair was combed back, as always, and his hazel eyes held a familiar hard edge.
“Sharen, tisk tisk tisk, I’m disappointed in you.”
You think I’m going to play your game old man? Sorry, but I’m not your puppet anymore.
She tightened her grip on her weapon. “Why? Because I discovered your little secret?”
His large lips curled into an unkind smile. “We all have secrets, Sharen. Only a naïve fool would believe otherwise.”
Her gaze slid to the security guards. “But you don’t think humanity deserves to know that not all demons are bad? That some of them are more like us than even the angels? That we have no right to keep them imprisoned in their realm?”
To her shock, he laughed. “Is that what they told you? Oh, you are a naïve, little girl aren’t you?”
“You said they were little more than wild animals,” she said, her voice rising with each word. “How do you explain intelligent human-like demons?”
He tilted his head. “Do you have any idea what the most dangerous animal is?” When she didn’t answer, he continued. “Humans are. And Level 10 demons are more dangerous than anything you can possibly imagine.”
Her weapon glowed more brightly. “I don’t believe you.”
His gaze slid to her weapon, and his eyes widened. “I know you’re probably feeling scared and confused. You have every right to be. Level 10 demons plant ideas in your mind and feed them like a fungus. You aren’t the first Hunter to succumb to their manipulations.” He took a small step toward her. “Put your weapon down. Give us the demons, and you’ll be forgiven.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Is that what you did to Elaina? You showed her forgiveness?”
His confident expression melted away, deepening the frown lines around his mouth. “I won’t talk about her.” His gaze moved to Ryder. “I remember him... and he had two brothers right? The story of what they did was all over the news, but then, you were probably too young to remember it.”
Her heartbeat sped up. Don’t let him get to you. “You’re changing the subject.”
“You don’t want to hear what they did.” He was smiling again. “They ran into a room full of men and killed them all. In cold blood. They’d never even met them before.”
She gripped her weapon more tightly. “You’re lying!”
“I’m not,” he said. “And that’s what bothers you the most. You don’t know.” He cocked his head. “So this, Sharen, is your last chance to end this. Your last—”
She fired, striking him, her magic exploding out onto the guards like fireworks. Curling over Ryder, she continued to fire, even as bullets whizzed around her.
One struck her shoulder. She clamped her teeth down on a hiss and continued shooting.
These fuckers have no idea how much pain I can take.
A buzzing filled her ears. The scent of burnt flesh reached her nostrils. Still, she didn’t stop.
She couldn’t stop.
I have to save him. I have to.
Time seemed to slow. Bullets moved leisurely toward her, and she frowned, easily shifting her body to avoid them. Is this the angel’s magic? She didn’t know, but something seemed to change within her. To stir.
After too long, she realized everything had grown quiet. She blinked, as if awakening, and stared at the room full of guards. All lay at various angles on the floor.
I... beat them? Shit.
She rose from her crouched position. None of the guards moved.
No time to rest. They won’t be knocked out for long. An hour or two at most.
Even though her legs trembled, she clutched her weapon more tightly and reached for her demon. I can do this. Dragging Ryder to his feet, she staggered under his weight, moving around the bodies as she headed for the door. But just as she was feet in front of it, the door began to open.
You’ve got to be kidding me...
Chapter Eighteen
Lily and Rorde stood on the other side of the door. Sharen pulled back her magic, waiting. She didn’t want to hurt her students. The idea sickened her. But I’ll do it if I have to.
Please let them just get out of my way.
Their gazes widened over her, lingering on her blood-drenched arm, and then moved to the room full of bodies. Lily was the first to speak, “what happened?”
“I have to go,” Sharen said. “Before it’s too late.”
A painfully slow second ticked by.
Lily’s hazel eyes flashed with something. “Rorde, help her carry that man.”
“Man?” Rorde sputtered. “I told you, it’s the demon from the last realm. It must have got her ring. She’s under its control.”
One of her sculpted brows rose. “Mrs. Bran, are you under his control?”
Sharen shifted Ryder on her shoulders, not sure how much longer she could hold him. “No. I can explain everything. But I have to go now.”
Lily nodded. “Help her.”
Rorde swore. “Are you two out of your fucking minds?”
Moving as fast as lightening, Lily caught him by the throat and shoved him against the doorframe. “I’ve trusted Mrs. Bran with my life a hundred times, and I’m going to do it again now, so you either get out of the fucking way, or you help us.”
Rorde shook his head.
Lily made an annoyed sound and smacked his head back, knocking him out cold against the doorframe. Dragging his body in, she laid him down among the other bodies
. With a cold efficiency, she moved and placed Ryder’s other arm over her shoulder.
“My car’s just outside.”
Sharen shook free of her shock. I knew I liked this girl.
They started down the hall, huffing as they shouldered Ryder’s weight. In the elevator, they hit the button, and Lily stared at her.
“Can I get a little info about what’s going on here? Because I’m thinking it’s a hell of a story.”
I’ve only got a few minutes with her. And after she helped me, she deserves the truth.
Sharen held her gaze. “They’ve been lying to us, Lily. Not all demons are bad. Not all angels are good.”
To her shock, Lily simply grinned. “Glad to hear you think so.”
She stared in surprise.
The girl laughed. “Half-breeds understand a hell of a lot more than humans do about the complicated problems with labels, and the struggles of the different realms.”
Wait... what?
“You’re a half-angel?” Sharen asked, shocked to her core.
Lily winked. “Who said I was an angel?”
The doors opened, and they shuffled out on instinct. Sharen’s head spun with confusion as they approached Lily’s car. There were actually half-breeds running around? How was such a thing possible?
I really didn’t have a clue about my own world. Not a clue.
They made it to a gray car, parked right outside. The lights were on, and rock music was blaring inside. As they made their way around the front, she spotted Lily’s fiancé, Blake, in the front seat. They shoved Ryder inside, and Lily climbed in the front, while Sharen sat with her demon’s head lying in her lap.
Blake turned down the music. “Uh, what’s up? I thought you were here helping Rorde with some emergency.”
How much does he know about all of this?
“Things have changed,” Lily said, her voice too calm. “Let’s head for Mrs. Bran’s house.” She looked back at her. “Right?”
She found her voice. “Right. Just turn left. It’s a few miles down Main Street.”
Blake did as he was told, but his eyes stared back at her in the rearview mirror. “So, what’s with the... hopefully drunk and not dead guy?”
Lily spoke before she could answer. “He’s a demon.”
Her fiancé hit the brake, causing the car behind them to honk and swerve. “You’re kidding me, right?”
The young woman shook her head. “Just keep driving. We need to get as far from here as possible, and we need to shut up while Mrs. Bran explains.” Lily gestured at her. “Start talking.”
Blake muttered something, but started driving once more.
So she talked, giving them the PG version of what happened as they bounced along the road to her house. When she finished, her very abbreviated tale, Blake spoke first.
“We’re all going to be thrown in jail for the rest of our lives. You know, if they don’t just kill us.”
Lily laughed. “I’m going to have a friend delete the security footage, so no one will know you and I were there, except Rorde, but I’ll handle him.” She picked up her phone and started typing, while continuing to talk. “Mrs. Bran needs to get the hell out of town, but we’ll be fine.” Then, she set down her phone and picked up a paper and pen.
Sharen heard the sound of ripping paper, and Lily started to scribble something down. The car grew uncomfortably silent, and her thoughts started to invade her mind. Lily’s right. When the Director and his men came to, they were going to start a massive search for them. Helicopters, Hunters, police cars, the works.
There’s no way we’ll be able to escape this city.
Goose bumps erupted on her flesh. What if we did all of this for nothing?
They stopped in front of her house, and Lily folded the paper and handed it to her. She stared at the girl in confusion.
“Read it when you get inside. It’s important.”
Blake turned fully around in his seat, glaring down at Ryder. “Okay, I can’t just sit here silently any longer. That thing is a demon. We just helped a demon escape its realm. This is against everything we’ve learned. We’ve become criminals. And neither of you see a problem with this?”
Lily placed a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll talk later. I’m sure I can help you—“
He shrugged her hand off.
A pained look came over her face, and then she glanced back at her teacher. “Read the note. And don’t waste any more time.”
“Thank you,” she said, shoving the paper into her front pocket.
Getting out of the car, she went around to the other side and pulled Ryder out, staggering under his weight. The second the door closed, Blake sped off. She didn’t blame him for not wanting to be involved, but she hoped he came around to the idea that not all demons were bad. Otherwise, she doubted his marriage to a half-breed would work out.
Lumbering toward her door, she barely made it halfway before her demons came pouring out. They took the weight of their brother from her without a word, and they all rushed inside. She locked the door, and they laid Ryder on the couch, before turning to her.
“What happened to him?” Alec asked, his dark eyes filled with concern. “And what happened to your arm?”
She ignored his second question. “He went through the portal to help me.”
Alec’s face paled. “How is he still in one piece?”
Her throat felt raw as Kade knelt down beside his brother and bowed his head.
“I—“ There was so much to explain, but time was ticking away with each moment. “Don’t interrupt me. We need to pack and go.”
“Wh—?” Alec began.
“I said don’t interrupt.” She took a deep breath. “One angel helped me. She gave me magic to bring him back safely, but I haven’t been able to wake him. She also killed another angel who stabbed Elaina, and slashed my arm. The Director of our organization found out somehow, and he and his men tried to attack us. We escaped, but they should be after us soon.”
Alec’s expression was thunderous, but Kade spoke first. “We don’t have time to pack. We need to get in the car and go. Now.”
“Go where exactly?” Alec asked, his voice tense.
But neither of them had an answer.
Instead, she scrambled to her room and grabbed her duffel bag. Opening her safe, she threw her various weapons, a few daggers and a couple guns in, and her stash of money, about three grand in total. And then... she reached for the four aged books in the back. Her most precious treasures. Putting them gently in the bag, she felt a small measure of relief. As she stood up, Lily’s note fell out of her pocket.
Heart racing, she unfolded it, hearing the sounds of Kade and Alec arguing in the living room. Scribbled in the note was an address, and the following words:
A safe place for people who know the truth.
“Guys,” she shouted. “I know where we’re going.”
Chapter Nineteen
“You’re sure we can trust her?” Alec asked, running a nervous hand through his hair.
Sharen nodded. “She’s a half-breed. And she’s the reason we got out of there alive.”
Kade moved to pick up Ryder. “It isn’t like we have another plan.”
Alec made a frustrated noise and went to help his brother.
She looked one more time around her house. A home she would likely never see again. And then, she stared at her demons. In so many ways, they were still strangers. Their world was still a mystery to her, and why they had been condemned to the demon realm. But no matter how illogical everything she had done for them so far had been, her heart told her she was making the right decision.
They headed toward the door. Her hand reached for the light switch.
The smallest sound came from behind them. She turned, swinging her bag out in front of her. The angel’s sword sliced through it, her possessions spilling out and crashing to the floor, just as her demons spun around.
Frink, the angel that had died just a short time ago,
pulled back his sword. His dark hair moved strangely slowly around his inhumanely beautiful face. And his expression... it was murderous.
“You died,” Sharen whispered.
Behind her, her demons set their brother down.
The angel sneered. “For the second time.”
Alec shifted her behind him, and Kade moved in front of her. But still, she could see the angel between their massive shoulders.
“Angels are like cockroaches, you can never kill them.” Alec’s voice held a coldness that made every hair on her body stand on end.
A warmth crawled along her skin, and suddenly, both her demons held swords with blue flames dancing along their edges. Demon magic. Sharen’s heart sped up. Every demon-hunter in the area would have felt their magic. They’ll be coming for us too now.
The angel’s green eyes flashed with rage. “We’re cockroaches? You die and are sent to a world without light. In a pit in the deepest part of the demon realms. But you crawl out, don’t you? Like an infestation. You work together, using your filthy magic, to conceal yourselves as you move higher and higher through the realms. And then, when you get high enough to pass through into the human world, you gather your strength. Or,” and his gaze snapped to her, “you trick some weak-minded human to let you through earlier. We are not the disgusting vermin of the world, you are.”
Alec roared, his skin suddenly shifted to a pale red. “And who decides if we go to that dark hole or to the heavens? What monstrous being?”
“You’ll never know that, you murderous demon.”
Kade’s voice came soft and deadly. “Five men raped and beat our little sister, and they got less than a year in jail, ‘because they had so much potential.’ They didn’t have potential. They were monsters who deserved to die. Our sister had potential. Our sister who faded away, terrified of the day they’d be released, needed to feel safe again.” He moved his sword, rotating it in a way that made the angel take two steps back. “Killing them was the best thing I did in my life. And when their friends jumped us, and killed us, the last thing we deserved was to be punished for extracting the justice our sister deserved.”
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