The Unlikeable Demon Hunter: Fall

by Wilde, Deborah

  “Save your magic for Sienna.” His face was twisted in pain.

  “Dummy.” My voice cracked. I dug deep, but all I got was the tiniest spark. It was like I was walled off from all my power.

  My hands were slippery with Rohan’s blood, but no matter how much I attempted to send my Lilith-boosted healing power into him, pop the bullet out, and stitch his internal injuries together, my magic was barely a flicker. Nothing happened.

  Nothing except Rohan leaching of all color, his skin growing cold and his body spasming as blood pooled beneath him.

  I’d used Lilith’s magic once too often and now she’d gotten strong enough to cut me off.

  Help me, I begged Lilith. Give me the magic. You’ll be free.

  Payback is a bitch, she whispered in my head. She was willing to stay imprisoned just so I could lose him?

  I was the spark that brought him back to life. I couldn’t leave him alone in the dark. I swore I’d always be with him. I pressed harder on the wound, tears streaming down my face.

  “Get help!” I screamed at Mandelbaum, who stood there frozen, the gun in his trembling hands.

  “I–I thought I’d hit Hybris.”

  “You idiot!” I yelled through my sobs. “She’s a demon, you know a gun won’t stop her. Now run, you asshole! Get a doctor!” One of those scientists had to be able to help.

  He jerked into action, but hadn’t gotten more than a few feet before Hybris grabbed him.

  “I don’t appreciate double-crosses,” Hybris said.

  The rabbi sailed over my head, hitting a concrete wall with a meaty thwack. He bounced on to the dirt, and lay still, moaning.

  The demon swaggered over to us. “I told you my face would be the last thing you saw.”

  “I don’t think so,” Sienna said.

  Hybris spun to face the new arrival, but Sienna waved a hand and the demon crumpled into a ball in short jerky movements.

  Rohan gave a choked sob. “I have to kill her. Can’t let Asha down again.”

  His words weren’t even a whisper. More an exhale, his breath raspy, punctuated with gurgling noises.

  With a roar, Hybris cast off Sienna’s magic. “Not today, hunter,” she said to Rohan and was gone.

  Ro scrabbled weakly at me, his fingers barely moving. “Go. Her.”

  I turned pleading eyes on Sienna. “Help him.”

  “You’ll turn yourself over to me? No tricks?”

  I nodded. I couldn’t get her in the Tomb even if I gave a damn.

  Sienna crouched down beside Rohan, brushing me aside to take over.

  I held my breath, squeezing his hand and praying that between her dark magic and her nurse training that she could save him. Finally, the bleeding stopped and his color improved. A bloodied bullet lay on the ground beside him.

  Sienna wiped her brow. “His natural healing should take over now. Say goodbye. You’re coming with me.”

  The gun fired again.

  Rabbi Mandelbaum lowered the barrel from where he’d shot into the night sky to train it on Sienna and me. “I’m taking Lilith.”

  That’s why I had more value now. Hybris must have told him and now he had the witch that could bind demons and salvage his plans. That’s why he’d arranged to get the Tomb.

  “Want to bet on that?” There was death in Sienna’s eyes.

  I stepped in front of the rabbi.

  “Move, Nava,” she said. “If you want me to help you live.”

  Rohan sat up with a wince, swaying slightly. “Nava, step away. We’ll solve this.”

  He must have been broken inside over Hybris getting away, but all I saw was the depth of his feeling for me, shining pure and strong. This man with his passion and his noble impulses and his arrogant certainties that everything would work out.

  Except it wouldn’t. Not if either Lilith or Sienna emerged victorious or Mandelbaum got hold of either of them. I had to take all three out to save the world.

  I wouldn’t survive.

  I’d loved and been loved for less than half a day and even though I was about to die, my only regret was the time I’d wasted hiding the truth of my heart. The time I’d wasted letting my pride and my fears keep me from being hurt, when I’d failed to understand that opening myself up to love wasn’t a vulnerability.

  Love was strength.

  It was truly go-big-or-go-home time.

  “Hey, Rohan?”

  He mustered up a strained smile for me. “Yeah?”

  “I love you. And I love your nicknames for me. Okay, maybe not Lolita, but Sparky was pretty inspired.”

  With that I cast my final spark into Lilith’s box. It was so thin that the box burned away in a wisp of smoke.

  Her magic danced through my body and I lit up the night like a beacon with pure, unadulterated power. My blood was stardust, dancing with a nebula in a far-off galaxy.

  I was the cosmos. I could fly. Hands outstretched, I reached for my foes. I only needed a couple of seconds and it would be done.

  But like Sienna had said, the human body wasn’t designed to take that much power that fast.

  Or ever. Even two seconds was time I didn’t have.

  Before I could turn the magic on Mandelbaum, Sienna, and Lilith and neutralize them, that beauty dissipated into a million dark magic maggots that consumed me, threatening to flay the skin from my bones.

  Lilith’s cruel laughter shivered through my veins.

  My heart sped up, skipped once, twice, then fell into chaotic convulsions.

  I clutched at my chest, falling to my knees, my body bowed backward.

  Witches swarmed us from one side, Mandelbaum’s men from the other.

  Rohan fought anyone who got between them and me.

  Sienna was screaming at people to stand down and freezing anyone using magic as fast as she could, but the chaos was too much for her to fully contain. She’d stop six people and two would unfreeze and jump back into the fray.

  I had my hands full battling Lilith for possession of my body. She was disoriented, attempting to gather her magic up and disengage from me, but when she couldn’t get herself out of me, she forced me out of myself.

  Although being trapped in that magic prison had fucked with her abilities, I was still outmatched.

  My spirit left my body with a whoosh, but the connection between my spirit and my physical self hadn’t been severed.

  I dive-bombed back into my body, hitting an invisible blockade preventing me from getting in. Again and again, I attempted to regain possession.

  And seconds later, there was no point.

  You’d think that my death might have registered like some kind of fireworks moment: YOU. ARE. DEAD. But there was just a gentle sag-and-release feeling. An untethering.

  Then a lot of shock and me staring down at my motionless form.

  Rohan single-handedly carved a path to me and gave me mouth-to-mouth with a ferocity that was terrifying. Nice idea, but pointless.

  Lilith flickered out of me, still incorporeal. For a woman who’d been unconscious for a month, she looked pretty good.

  And pretty angry.

  With a flick of her fingers, she killed a few of Mandelbaum’s men.

  The witches looked around in shock.

  “Get her!” one woman cried. She fell dead, as well.

  Sienna sent a rush of magic toward Lilith but the stream broke into prisms that fell harmlessly to the ground like water droplets before they could find their mark. Sienna tried a second time.

  “No,” Lilith said, her arm carelessly outstretched in Sienna’s direction.

  Sienna shot backward.

  The other witches went ballistic on Lilith, but she was still transparent, and their magic passed harmlessly through her, blowing up a nearby generator.

  The lights in half of the compound died.

  “I’ll deal with you later,” Lilith said to Sienna.

  Had I been able to laugh at Sienna’s look of surprise, I totally would have, but the world was
growing hazy and cold. Everything was gray except for a single pale silver thread connecting me and Lilith.

  Lilith made a slashing motion through the thread and I shivered, like a saw was buzzing through it, but the thread didn’t break. She glared at me like that was my fault.

  All around us, the rest of the rabbi’s faithful and the witches fell into chaos. No one could get to Lilith, so everyone became a threat.

  Four Rasha grabbed Rohan and started beating the shit out of him. His wound opened up, but Rohan was in berserker mode, fighting to get back to my body.

  I tried to stop them, but I floated right through the chaos.

  Like all cockroaches, Mandelbaum had managed to keep himself alive and untaken. He scuttled out to grab my dead body.

  “Oh no, you don’t,” Sienna said.

  Everything crawled into slow motion: the black light erupting from her hands, hissing and snapping toward me, Rohan’s distorted and drawn out “No!” as he flung himself sideways and knocked me loose from Mandelbaum, the dark magic that enveloped Rohan instead of its intended target.

  From my fading consciousness’ vantage point, hovering over the compound, I watched the world snap back into real time.

  Lilith stood stock-still with an expression of intense concentration, her ghostly image slowly growing more solid.

  Sienna glanced over her shoulder at Lilith, then scooped me up and stuffed my dead body into the Tomb of Endless Night.

  A broken scream tore from Rohan’s throat, his body on fire with black magic that danced over his skin. His gold eyes slithered with dark serpents.

  Mohawk Witch gasped. “Sienna. What have you done?”

  Sienna didn’t answer, staring at Rohan with horror stamped over her features.

  Go big or go home had reached its tragic consequences. We were all going down.

  Even lifeless and outside my own body, I swear I felt tears running down my cheeks.

  The Tomb slammed shut, nulling Lilith’s magic.

  Her translucent form disappeared from the courtyard. She was the architect and she’d designed a very fine product that stood the test of time and the most powerful magic a human had ever possessed.

  Hers.

  Her time was up, but so was mine.

  I winked out of existence.

  There was no white light. No fiery pits either.

  Just nothing.

  Until I came to with a gasp, my nose pressed against the inside of the Tomb door. Somehow it had gotten open again, just a hair, just enough to let me see outside. I couldn’t move my hands or my body. Lilith must have kickstarted my heart and brought me back to life, but gasping and shaking was all I had energy for.

  I couldn’t even budge this damn door on my own.

  If you’re alive, I stay alive, Lilith whispered sadly in the back of my head. It wasn’t just our magic that had bonded. Our consciousness or essence had bonded as well. Her barely-there life force mingled with mine.

  Was I even still me?

  I tried to yell, but my throat was dry and raspy.

  If Sienna heard me, she did nothing. Men and women fell to the ground in cascades of magic outside, the action happening faster than my rebooting brain could process.

  There was, however, one thing I could see perfectly, even though it haunted me: Rohan, still engulfed in Sienna’s twisted black flames, crying out like a man in Hell. Like he was being taken apart, consumed from the inside.

  I struggled, thrashed, yelled, but I was too weak and it was useless.

  Finally, a shadow blocked my view. Thank God. Help was here. I was nearly crying with relief.

  Rabbi Mandelbaum leaned down to meet my eyes, head bruised and wrist still bent unnaturally, and hissed, “You’re mine now.”

  The sliver of light vanished as the door clicked closed and my world went dark.

  END OF BOOK FIVE

  * * *

  HAVEN’T READ BOOK ONE YET?

  See where it all began: the demons, the explosive chemistry with Rohan, and the questionable welcome she received from the Brotherhood.

  Deep breath ... and go.

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  Thank you for reading

  Dear fabulous reader,

  You didn’t really think book five was going to end well for our gang, did you? Heh heh.

  All I can say is “trust in the big picture.”

  Thank you so much for all your emails and Facebook comments. I’m loving getting to know you and hearing your thoughts on these characters who are near and dear to my heart.

  Now, I have a favor to ask. It’s your reviews that help other readers to find my books. You, the reader, help make or break a book. So please, especially if you want more Nava and Rohan, spread the word. Leave an honest review of The Unlikeable Demon Hunter: Fall on Amazon, Goodreads, your blog, etc.

  xo

  Deborah

  Get a free download!

  If you enjoyed this book, then how about some free short stories set in this world? Demons and sexytimes, galore! There are mild spoilers in each one, so it’s best to enjoy them in the proper reading order. Click on the cover images to claim.

  1) Slay: Rohan’s POV (Book 1.5)

  2) Crush: Drio’s POV (Book 2.5)

  3) Seize: Rohan’s POV (Book 3.5)

  4) Lick: Ari’s POV (Book 4.5 - m/m romance)

  Acknowledgments

  Huge thanks to all my friends who always answer my many questions, be it about language, local attractions or the latest in douchey clothing brands. You amazing people go above and beyond for me and I love you for it.

  A special thanks to Adele for finding me the most appropriate Hebrew swear words and letting me pester her about Hebrew names when I needed to procrastinate with a series I have yet to write. And also to Nisha Shankar for Corn Man. This book and my L.A. trip would have been so much less without that.

  I’m always a bit sad when I’m writing my thanks here to my editor Alex Yuschik because it means that it’s going to be a while before I have another draft to work on together. This collaboration brings me incredible joy and makes my books infinitely better.

  To my snarky, brilliant, wonderful readers, can I just say how much I adore you? Especially my Wilde Ones. Not only do you all make me laugh, pimp me new reads, and virtually hang out with me on a regular basis, you give me the best gift of all. Of the gazillions of books out there, you choose to spend your time and money on mine. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. ❤️

  About the Author

  I’m Deborah (pronounced deb-O-rah) and I write sexy, funny, urban fantasy.

  I decided at an early age to live life like it was a movie, as befitted a three-syllable girl. Mine features exotic locales, an eclectic soundtrack, and a glittering cast–except for those two guys left on the cutting room floor. Secret supernatural societies may be involved.

  They say you should write what you know, which is why I shamelessly plagiarize my life to write about witty, smart women who kick ass, stand toe-to-toe against infuriating alphas, and execute any bad decisions in indomitable style.

  “It takes a bad girl to fight evil. Go Wilde.”

  Check out Deborah’s titles.

  @wildeauthor

  DeborahWildeAuthor

  www.deborahwilde.com