But, because of such a bond, I know Lucifer can feel my fears. He can tell that, while I’m not actively considering it, the thought pops up here and there, then roots itself into the very back of my mind. It’s not like I can help it. All my life, I’ve only aspired to be the best hunter there is. Even better than Mr. Black.
Being the best means killing demons. It’s the only thing I know and, when I met Lucifer, it’s what had held me back from my instantaneous attraction to him. Now that we’re bonded, that part of me hasn’t completely disappeared. He knows it. I know it. It’s why I haven’t gone back to Hell since I woke up from nearly dying after killing Charmeine.
Now, with that connection surpassing Lucifer to include Brotus and Merlidon, I don’t know how to not be afraid.
I don’t care to explain my thoughts to anyone right now, not even to myself. So, I stand. “Tell Lucifer I’ll see him when I see him and that he should stop sending you guys to check up on me. I’m not a child.”
That last bit is said with more annoyance than I want to show, but I can’t help it. I’m not one to hold back when I’m upset.
Brotus stands with me. He towers over my average height by more than a foot. Brotus’ width matches his height, making him so huge his presence alone is intimidating.
“I wish we could have been here for you,” he finally says after staring at me for way too long. “Natalia deserved a proper funeral.”
“You didn’t even know her,” I snap and I know I’m only as upset as I am because his words hit home. She did deserve a proper funeral. And the part that hurts is that Brotus is the first person to have said those words like he meant them rather than out of courtesy. When I meet his gaze with mine, I can see the sincerity shimmering in his eyes.
“I didn’t need to know her,” he says. “The fact that you cared about her says a lot about what kind of person she was.”
Brotus takes my hand in his and squeezes it gently. His touch seems to radiate through my entire body and I have to suck in a deep breath to settle my nerves.
“Thank you,” I say. “That means a lot.”
Before I can even stop to think, Brotus moves closer, pulling me into a hug. As soon as his hands wrap around my body I feel every pent up emotion in me fade. All the resentment and anger, all the sorrow and fear, it just disappears. I stiffen at first, not knowing what to do. I’m not used to being comforted.
After a while, I relax and a second later, I hug him back. His arms tighten at my acceptance, and then his hand rubs gently against my back. “You’re strong,” is all he says to me. “Don’t forget that.”
I nod.
I thought I was strong. I’m not so sure anymore.
Unlike Lucifer, Brotus can’t read my thoughts. He’s been sworn against it, and even if he tried, they’re locked away from his viewing. So, he takes my nod as acceptance of his words, as confirmation.
When Brotus pulls away, I feel the chill of the air rush back over me and it takes everything inside me not to pull him back in for another one. I allow him to step back.
He does so reluctantly, as if he wants to keep holding on to me, as if he wants to do more. I don’t move, waiting to see what move he’ll make, half hoping that his arms will find their way around my body once again.
But, he doesn’t embrace me. The anger, the resentment, the fear – all of it seeps back in. More forcefully this time, I repeat “Tell Lucifer I’ll see him when I see him.”
All of a sudden, he’s large again. It doesn’t intimidate me though, and I meet his eye defiantly, daring him to say something. Not surprisingly, he only nods. “I will inform him of your wellbeing.”
Which can mean anything. Great.
A grimace I can’t help distorts my features but Brotus isn’t fazed by it.
“This isn’t just about Lucifer,” he says, “we all miss you, Melody.” There’s no mistaking the hurt in his voice as the words fall from his lips. Before I can recover from the shock of them, Brotus nods curtly, then in the next moment he disappears, leaving me alone with the droning rain and the chill of Natalia’s grave.
2
The Guild is in full swing again, and, for once, I can hardly stomach the noise. Usually, the bustle of the hallways as hunters rush from Intel to the war room, half of them clad in their casual clothing and the other half in their hunter gear, comforts me – makes me feel at home. Now, I feel stifled.
Since Lucifer and I eliminated Charmeine and stopped her from carrying out her self-righteous plan to get rid of the demonic race – and the human race, by extension – demons have started coming out of hiding. They had virtually gone underground once they realized that, when killed, the wouldn’t be brought back to life. Instead, their souls would be stolen from the Purgatory to be added to what I assumed was a big pot of demon and human souls. To this day, I’m not very sure. I never saw it. All I know now is that it’s gone, the demons are back out and hunters have a lot of work on their hands.
I’m sitting at the back of the cafeteria, watching the hunters grab food for their extended missions as a bowl of soup grows cold before me. It’s funny how odd it makes me feel seeing them like this when, before everything went down, they had been content in believing they were the reason there hadn’t been much demonic activity in the city. Now, they seem almost eager to get to work, as if bolstered by what I told them had transpired. Even the ones who hadn’t believed a word I had said have a bit of pep in their steps. Instead of satisfaction at the sight, I feel empty. Not a feeling I’ve been very unfamiliar with these past weeks.
I look away from them, spooning a bit of the food into my mouth. I hardly taste any of it. Instead, my thoughts are bombarded with the demons I left behind in Hell. Merlidon. Brotus. And of course, Lucifer, who, though I have a feeling he isn’t, could be watching me this very moment. I’ll feel him if he is – not because we’re bonded, but because he has an unmistakable depth of power that overrules everything in its midst. Others might not be able to sense it, but as the daughter of an angel who was once a demon, I suppose I’m more sensitive to such things than most. It’s a bit of a blessing, though the woman who gave me such a skill was nearly the death of us all.
That thought makes me flinch and for a split second the memory of the pain I felt that night rushes back in. It’s not emotional pain, though if I’m being honest with myself, I’ve been waiting to feel that kind of hurt ever since the night I met her. I still am, but I feel nothing but slight satisfaction and acute emptiness now that she’s gone. Even when the memory of driving the sword she left me into her abdomen flashes through my mind, I feel nothing.
I shovel some more food into my mouth, not caring that I’m hardly chewing. I know eyes are on me, but I ignore them. It’s nothing new. It comes with the territory of being Mr. Black’s daughter.
This time however, those eyes are not just curious. They’re also suspicious. They watch me as if they’re waiting for me to snap and, honestly, I can’t blame them. I’m waiting for the same thing.
I look up just in time to see Ben making his way over to me. I pick up my half-eaten bowl of soup and skirt around the benches without looking at him. He stops and I can feel his eyes on the back of my head as he watches me pass. I dump my bowl inside the receiving section of the cafeteria and, without looking at anyone, I leave the room.
Automatically, I turn in the direction of the training room, but then I pause. Attacking lifeless dummies isn’t going to make me feel better. Maybe attacking moving demons might. That used to be the one thing that could take the stink out of my day.
I switch courses and make my way to Intel. Julissa is at her desk as usual, eyes focused on the detector before her, a frown of concentration on her face. She pauses just a second to push her glasses further up her nose before she continues her rapid typing, doing God knows what. I take the usual empty seat beside her, ignoring the hush of silence that falls over the room when I enter. Of course, Julissa is too caught up to notice I’m even there.
; “Tell me you have something good for me,” I say and she jumps at the interruption of my voice.
Pressing a hand against her chest, she widens her eyes at me. “Why do you insist on scaring me like that?”
“You wouldn’t have been scared if you just focused on your surroundings a bit more. I’ve been sitting here for the past five minutes.” A lie, but one she’ll easily believe.
“It isn’t my fault you have feet as light as a cat’s.” She pushes her glasses further up her nose, leans backs and fixes her eyes on me. “I’m surprised I haven’t seen you in here in the past few weeks.”
“I’ve been a bit busy.”
“So I’ve heard. Saving the world and all must have been really tiring.”
I wave my hand. “Not something I want to talk about right now,” I say. Not something I really want to talk about ever again. “I needed some time to rest but I’m ready for my missions now. I hope you have something good.”
She stares at me a bit longer. I have absolutely no doubt she knows I’m lying through my teeth. But, instead of commenting on it, she turns to the detector and flies her fingers over the keys again. The map to the side takes up the entire screen and zooms in on a section of New York I know all too well and really don’t care to be in.
Julissa taps her finger on the screen then leans back in her chair and gives me another careful look. “I’ve been saving this one just for you actually. The energy here is off the charts which means we either have a cluster on our hands, or a few high ranking demons. If you’re unlucky – or lucky, depending on how you choose to look at it – it could actually be one demon causing all that chaos on my detector. I doubt it though. There’s no reason a demon like that would be in an area like that.”
A cluster is what we call a group of low ranking demons who come together for whatever cause. Usually, it goes no further than the simple-minded aim of feeding on as many humans as possible, thinking moving in numbers will help them against any hunter that comes their way. Sometimes it works, most times it doesn’t. Against me? They don’t stand a chance.
A cluster will take me mere minutes. High ranking demons, on the other hand, will take a bit longer. Even so, the thought inspires a spark of excitement in me and I grab ahold.
“How long have they been there?”
“Going on an entire day now. Wait any longer and you just might lose them.”
“Thanks for holding them for me. I’ll get going now.”
Julissa nods and faces her detector again. “I know my words will only be falling on deaf ears, but are you sure you want to do this alone, Melody?”
I stand, the makings of a smirk playing around my lips. Julissa never fails to remind me that I should be doing my missions in groups. Sometimes I relent, other times I don’t bother. Now, the thought is only aversive to me, especially since Mr. Black hasn’t lifted the mandatory rule that missions should be done in groups of five or more. Attempting to do this mission with four other people breathing down my neck would likely end up with me wrapping my hands around someone’s throat.
“Just send the location to me,” I say to her.
Julissa sighs. “You got it, Melody.”
My phone dings with the information before I’m able to leave the room. Without stopping, I head to the war room. It’s one of the biggest rooms in the Guild, where elite hunters like myself come to prepare for missions. Newbs, like Abigail had been, prepare in the armory.
Lockers cover nearly every inch of the room. It almost resembles that of the average high school and is even more similar in the way we battle for the best ones. As I make my way to mine, I pass Natalia’s, situated in the very centre of the room. It’s fitting, since she was always the centre of attention, and I can almost feel her energy clinging to the locker. I don’t stop to investigate the locker, fearing I might find that her things have been replaced. Instead, I keep my head straight and continue to the far corner.
As soon as I open the locker door, I spot my mother’s sword. I stare at it, remembering the way her blood ran down the length of the purple blade, the shock and pain in her eyes when the blade broke through her body. I’m still waiting for the sadness that comes with not only meeting my mother for the first time, but also killing her within hours of meeting her. I’m also still waiting for an ounce of remorse, of regret, or even resentment. But I feel nothing. And that nothingness stirs anger within me.
I grab my hunter gear and slam the locker door shut before heading to the showers. A few other hunters are inside, deep in conversation. As soon as they spot me, they drop their tones to a whisper. I ignore them, tying my long black hair up into a knot and washing up as quickly as I can. Once I’m done, I dry off and slip into my suit.
The black leather covers me from neck to ankle, clinging to me like a second skin. It’s resistant to demon venom, and has a built in temperature gauge so I don’t freeze to death or die of a heatstroke. Around the hips are holsters for my guns and other weapons, as well as suitable attachments for my sheaths.
I leave the sword behind and make my way to the armory and pick up a heavy bow and a quiver of poison infused metal arrows.
By the time I make it to the underground parking lot and mount one of the sleek, black, modern bikes, I’m anticipating this mission even more.
It feels nice being active instead of moping around like I have been.
It feels nice getting into the groove of things again.
It feels nice not having to think about Lucifer and how I’m going to face him when the time comes. Because I know the time will come.
For now, I have demons to kill.
For now, I ride.
3
I take my helmet off my head and stare up at the modern apartment building where Natalia had an offsite home. The security guard, John, perks up at my approach, recognizing me instantly. He tries to tuck his portly belly under his belt and fails as he grins at me. “Hey there, Melody. I haven’t seen you in a while. You’re getting rarer and rarer as the days go by.”
“Hey, John.” The smile I plaster onto my face is as fake as the hair on his head. “Just been really busy with work.”
Not a complete lie, at least. He nods, accepting it gaily and grins even wider. “You two must have a really demanding job. I haven’t seen Natalia around at all either.”
I blink once and then twice, trying like hell to steel myself against his words. John knows nothing about Natalia’s demise. Guild business is guild business. Hunter business is hunter business. The normals aren’t privvy to what happens in our world. I almost feel guilty knowing that I’ll have to play this off like it’s nothing. Plastering on a smile as fake as his, I clear my throat. “You know, Natalia,” I say, inching past him. “Never in one place for long. Always on the move. You try to get a read on that girl and you’ll drive yourself insane.”
John barks a happy laugh at that, turning as I walk past him. “Gee, a woman like that probably drives half of New York insane.”
“Not just half of New York,” I say, holding up my hand in farewell. “See you, John.”
“Take care, Melody! Don’t be a stranger now.”
I step inside the elevator and close my eyes, trying like hell to steel myself against the emotions that threaten to rip me in two. Only an idiot would put herself in a situation like this. It’s not just about physical safety, it’s about the emotions I try to pretend that I don’t have.
I pull out the small burner phone I carry on missions, reprogrammed to also work as a semi detector. It isn’t nearly as strong and extensive as the ones at Intel, but given its size, it does a fine enough job. As long the demons I’m searching for is within a three mile radius, I’ll them.
Right now, the radar is active but passive, meaning the demons I’m searching for aren’t on this floor. I go up to the next.
The next floor yields nothing either and I continue to do the same thing until it finally beeps. Luckily, no one is here to witness my odd behaviour. I’m not really keen
on the idea of having to bring in cleaners to wipe their memories.
Once I get to Natalia’s floor, the detector starts to beep wildly. My heart isn’t exactly in my control either and the beats pound themselves rampantly against my chest. Sucking in a deep breath, I follow its directions, watching as the radar on the screen blinks more rapidly the closer I get to her room door.
I tuck the phone back into my pocket and sigh. Usually, hunters don’t use detectors because demons have grown sensitive to it. They pick up on the gamma rays the detectors exude and, if cowardly, take off before we can get to them. So normally we just sit and scope out the area until we spot our target. Of course, that is not something I can do in an apartment building like this. Not if I want the neighbors to go wild dialing 911. My detector is, therefore, the only thing I can rely on, and I’m lucky the demons I’m searching for haven’t taken off running. Which means, Julissa is right – there is either a very overconfident cluster on the other side of this door, or a very strong high ranking demon.
Judging by the fact that it’s Natalia’s room hosting my target, I’m betting on the latter.
I open the door.
And, not very much to my surprise, sitting right on the couch, atop the mess Natalia had left behind, is Lucifer – the King of Demons himself.
He commands every inch of the room, the force of his power nearly knocking me off my feet. I grit my teeth as I take in the sharp planes of his devastatingly beautiful face, the deep smolder of his red eyes and the seamlessly perfect fitted suit. He stares me down just as forcefully and, for a second no words are passed between us.
Closing the door behind me, I break the silence. “Bitch move, Lucifer.”
His jaw ticks and as much as I know that he’s angry – furious, maybe – the sight of it makes my insides quiver. I can feel his every emotion, overpowered by the strength of his quiet rage. Even then, it’s not quite able to mask the inner lust he has for me. And the strength of that lust is a force to be reckoned with.
Hunting Light: Hunter her Lovers (Demon Hunter Book 2) Page 2