Murmurs rush through the lot of them. I place the card back on the podium. In the corner of my eye, I see Merlidon straighten, his face grim. A second later, he disappears. Now, I can breathe a little easier knowing one of the demons I’m associated with isn’t standing in the room with me while I curse their race.
“For those who don’t know, this is alluding to the serpent-like monster of Greek mythology. Once you cut one head off, another grows back. Whatever – or whoever – we’re looking for is linked to this.”
“So how do we go about finding them?” The person asking the question is Ben. He sits forward, placing his elbows on his knees as he shoots me another question. “That isn’t very much to go off of. How do you plan to begin the search?”
“There’ll be specialized teams in charge of this.” Whispers of outrage rise from the crowd before me. I understand their anger. I was in a very similar position not too long ago when Mr. Black had announced Natalia’s disappearance. Not being a part of the search teams had driven me to do things I shouldn’t have. Although those things had ended up saving the entire world.
“Those teams,” I continue, pelting them with a harsh look in my eyes, “will be selected by Luna and me. For the rest of you, I want you all to continue doing what you do best. Hunting demons.”
“You can’t expect us to just sit back and do nothing!”
“Yeah, exactly! Mr. Black is missing! We have to do something about it!”
“And we are doing something about it.” Be patient, Melody. How did Mr. Black do this? I’m too close to slapping someone, anyone, upside the head. “While those teams are busy, the rest of you will be making sure that the Guild doesn’t collapse in the meantime. We can’t allow the Guild to forget its core function. Protect the city. At all cost.”
The whispers die down a bit. I straighten. “Missions will continue as usual. But rest assured that we will be doing our best to get to the bottom of this. We won’t allow anything to happen to our Guild leader. I swear my heart on it. The Guild swears on it.”
Luna comes to stand next to me. Impossible as I thought it was, she pulls her shoulders back even further, though not jutting her chest out. She cocks her chin upwards as she regards the hunters before her. Standing by me. Supporting me.
Ben rises. He doesn’t say anything, though his face is blanketed with the unmistakable look of pride. He clasps his hands before him, rigid in his hunter gear. He is also standing with me.
Then, one by one, the hunters all come to their feet, until everyone is standing. Both the reluctant and eager are putting their faith into my quick and unexpected leadership. They’re trusting me not to bring home my father, but to bring their leader back. And they’re trusting that when I do make true on my promise, there’s still enough life left in him to rule this place.
I can’t let them down.
After a while, I nod, acknowledging their support, accepting it. “The conference is dismissed.”
I turn away before any of them has the chance to come to me with questions, suggestions, or hopes of choosing their own teams. I don’t want to think about any of that at the moment, and I stalk past Luna, ignoring her attempts to curtail me in the direction of Mr. Black’s office. I don’t offer an explanation and I don’t care that I’m leaving. I need to clear my head. To think.
So, I escape through the back door, slamming it shut behind me, shutting out the noise behind me. The corridor it leads me to goes straight to Mr. Black’s personal elevator. Today is the first day I’ve ever set foot inside it. Before, when I was making my way to the conference hall, slivers of trepidation slithered over my skin, mingling with the discomfort of being trapped inside it, standing in the spot my father stood before he addressed us all. I don’t like it. And for the first time since everything has happened, I admit to myself that I don’t like that he’s gone.
Because now here I am, escaping the clutches of a slightly overbearing Luna and an entire Guild that’s expecting me to step up to the plate with as much skill and confidence as Mr. Black. As much as I don’t like admitting defeat, I know that is something I won’t be able to top him in. And I hate that I’m being forced to try.
Breathe, Melody. Breathe and think.
I rest my hand on the cool metal wall of the elevator, watching the red number blare red at me as I descend. Down, down, down, to the part of the Guild that leads to the basements. The only place I’m sure they won’t be able to find me. At least, not straight away.
I stumble out the elevator, almost colliding into the opposite wall. I manage to go a little bit further before my feet give way and I sink to the floor. Panting, sweating, I rest my back against the wall and tip my head backward. Breathe.
“Lucifer.”
It only takes a whisper, almost inaudible to my own ears, for him to appear. His power washes over me instantly, but this time, it’s stronger, even more overwhelming. And strangely, soothing.
He sinks to my side. I can tell he wants to touch me, to hug me and comfort me like a lover would be tempted to do, but he doesn’t. Instead, he says, “You don’t look so good.”
A laugh blurts free from my lips. I look at him, incredulous, but at the utterly serious look on his face, I can’t help but laugh again. The laughter increases in strength until I’m doubling over, holding my stomach. Tears peak their way past my eyes.
“I’m glad you’re laughing,” he says, humorously. “Although I don’t know what I said that was so funny.”
My laughter dwindles down enough for me to say, “You don’t know how crazy I feel right now. Laughing like this. I can’t believe myself.”
“Laughter cures many ailments.”
“Yeah? I should bottle it and sell it in drug stores. It’s sure to make me a few billion.” I wipe at an annoying tear running down my cheek, sobering up. “You got here pretty quickly.”
“You called.”
He says it so simply, it should make me want to turn away. Instead, I sigh, the urge to take his hand coming over me. But I don’t. “I need to get out of here. Luna’s going to find me soon and I don’t think I can face her – and everyone else – just yet. I know I have to but, just … not yet.”
“You could learn to teleport. Then you won’t have to call me every time you want to come and go.”
I look at him, crooking a brow. He faces me with that eternally amused look on his face, the one that had annoyed me endlessly before. Now, I just want to kiss him. “You getting tired of me already?”
“Impossible,” he says in that simple tone again. “But I know you aren’t a fan of having to call me like this.”
“I’m not, you’re right.”
“Then, I’ll teach you how to teleport then.”
I sigh, rolling my eyes. “Stop playing with me, Lucifer. You know that’s impossible. Humans can’t do things like that. Sometimes I wonder if you forget I’m not a demon.”
“Trust me,” he says. “I can’t ever forget.”
Before I can question his solemn tone, he turns to me. He takes my hand without warning, holding tightly when I instinctively tug back. Unperturbed, he says, “You are my soulmate. And it’s simple. In theory. Though, I’m not quite sure you’ll be able to pull it off with as much ease as the method suggests.”
“I just had to tell hundreds of hunters that their beloved leader is gone. Then went on to say that only a few of them will be helping to find him. There’s nothing I can’t do, Lucifer.”
He flashes me a quick grin. “Did I ever tell you how much I love your confidence?”
“Always nice to hear it again,” I say nonchalantly. But I face him, wanting to know more about what he has to say. Being able to teleport myself will make getting away from here much easier. “This whole soul-bond thing has more benefits than I expected.”
“It’s as beautiful to me as it is to you.” He grins, ignoring my grimace. “To put it simply, all you have to do is feel me. I have an energy I exude that will help.”
“Yes, I kn
ow,” I say with a nod. “I felt it the first time we met. The three of you have very distinct energies.”
“Yes, each demon exudes energy that is unique to him alone. You, however, are in tuned with mine. And mine is in tuned with other places in Hell, namely the mansion we have been staying at and my castle.”
“I never got to really see the castle.”
“Yeah, well, with you being here, I find staying at the mansion is much more enjoyable.” A wicked grin tells me everything I need to know to decipher his hidden meaning. I hide my own grin.
“So, you’re saying I’ll be able to teleport to your mansion and your castle if I connect myself with the energy you’ve linked to them.”
“In essence.”
“You’re right. I doubt that’s going to be as simple as you’re trying to make it sound.” I blow breath out my nose, thinking. Luna will be down here any minute now, talking to a demon that shouldn’t even be here.
Speaking of … “Are you glamored? Like Merlidon?”
He shakes his head. “No.”
“Lucifer, are you out of your mind? They’ll pick up on you! You’ve been sitting here this entire time and didn’t think to say something?”
He shrugs with all the casualness of a man who has nothing to fear. The sight makes my groins burn hot. “You called me for a reason. Something’s wrong. I wanted to know what it was.”
“You could have found out after we got out of here.” I scramble to my feet. “Let’s go. Before they find us here.”
That blasted smile of his is still on his face as he comes to stand by me. In one swift movement, he pulls me closer, his hand firmly on the small of my back. My breath whooshes out of my body at the sudden collision, but he only smiles wider as he gazes down at me. “I do love when you boss me around.”
“Well, I’m sure you’re not going to love when they put a sword through your back. Let’s go, Lucifer.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Laughter smiles and then the world goes black.
This time, he doesn’t bring me to the mansion. Instead of the bedroom I’ve stayed in on occasion, he brings me to one that tops that in every aspect possible. It’s bigger, more luxurious, and the power sitting in the air almost brings me to my knees.
I step away from him, roving my eyes over the place, then stopping short at the massive bed taunting me from the other side of the room. The sheets look soft. Having Lucifer on top of me while I lay on those sheets would feel great.
Focus, Melody, I tell myself.
I shake my head, banishing the thought.
Lucifer, of course, knows exactly what I’m thinking, if the wicked grin that spreads across his face is any indication. I roll my eyes, trying to ignore my body’s annoying reaction and go to sit in one of the chairs by the wide, almost wall lengthed mirror.
“When did you say you were leaving again?” I ask as I sit, turning to him. I’m not at all surprised by the look of predatory lust in his eyes, nor am I really surprised by my body’s instantaneous reaction to it.
He comes toward me, moving slowly, hands deep in his pocket. My mind is closed off, but I’m sure he can tell I want him. My eyes, my breathing – the need is practically exuding off my skin.
“I should be leaving about now, actually.”
My brows shoot to the air at that. He comes to sit on the arm rest of my chair, though there is another perfectly suitable one on the other side of me. “I’m not keeping you up?”
“Of course, you aren’t, my love.” He strokes my hair, watching me intently.
He knows. He knows how I feel about the endearment and is watching to see how I’ll react. He’s lucky I’m not in the mood to focus on that right now. In fact, I’m only in the mood for one thing, and that’s him inside me.
But there’s another reason I called him.
“I’m sure Merlidon told you that Mr. Black is missing. Something – or someone – took him.”
He pauses his tender stroking, then pulls away to sit in the seat next to me. “He did. You think it’s demons?”
“It’s the only proper explanation. I’m not completely ruling out other possibilities, but we are hunters. And it would be stupid of us not to go for the obvious choice.”
He doesn’t say anything to that. “Merlidon also tells me that you’ll be filling for your father during his absence.”
For some reason, I can’t help but laugh at that. “Absence,” I repeat, shaking my head on a chuckle while Lucifer looks over at me with veiled amusement. “You make it seem as if he’s gone out of the country for a meeting or something. He isn’t just absent, he’s missing. Taken. You should know how big of a deal that is.”
“I know,” he says with a nod.
“There was also a note. It said the same thing Charmeine told me before she died.”
At that, he looks at me again, though I know he isn’t at all surprised. Everything I’m telling him was probably recounted in more detail by Merlidon the moment he arrived back in Hell. “So, you’re thinking it might not be demons at all.”
I sigh. “I told the hunters that it was. I knew that was what they were already thinking and it was just … easier. They don’t know anything about Charmeine. They don’t even know about the existence of angels. I figured it would be easier to keep that bit of information to myself. At least until I know more about what’s going on.”
Outside, I see nothing but misty streets, dark and mysterious. Here and there, I see a demon dart by in the darkness, and I can almost hear its ugly shriek. The sight gives me little comfort and so I turn back to Lucifer.
“You told me once that angels can’t come to Hell, but they can teleport in and out of the human realm whenever they want, right? It would make sense that it might be them, wouldn’t it? There were no signs of a break-in in his office. And if a demon had teleported in, they would have been picked up on the radar but there’s nothing. Angels, however, they won’t be.”
“It seems you have this all sorted out in your head.”
“Hardly,” I scoff. “It’s a solid theory, yes, but there’s no way of actually proving it. I have no idea how to find angels. The others are expecting me to lead them in the right direction, but I’m as lost and confused as the rest of them.”
“And that’s why you ran.”
“Bitch move, I know. I didn’t know what else to do. They were coming. They were going to ask me for a concrete plan. And I have no sweet clue how to begin at all.”
He hums lightly. Casually, he reaches over to stroke my arm, staring out the window and watching hungry demons lurk by. They must have smelled me somehow. “Do you want my advice?”
“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.”
He chuckles. The finger he has running up and down my arm is making me more aroused than soothed, not that I’m complaining. “Whoever took Mr. Black took him for a reason. If he planned on killing him, he would have done so right there when he had the chance to. Whoever took him has a plan for him, which is likely to include the Guild as well.”
“So, you’re saying I should wait for the attacker to make his next move.”
“It’s likely that he will. And it’s almost as likely that he’ll contact you next.”
I sigh. “As his daughter or as the stand-in Guild leader?”
“Both. Perhaps he’s happy at the fact that you’re the one who stepped into his place. Perhaps that’s what he wanted.”
I frown at that. “You think he might want something to do with me as well?”
“I think it’s a possibility that you can’t overlook. The last time, Charmeine was searching for you specifically.”
“That’s different. Charmeine was my mother. She was just hoping I would join the cause.”
“Still something you can’t overlook.”
It makes sense. At least, more sense than I’ve been making in my own head. “That still doesn’t help me with what to tell them all when I get back.”
“It’s simple. Lead them on a wild goose chase while
you do the real searching in the background. Let them believe that what they’re doing is materially contributing.”
“So, give the children some toys to play with to keep them distracted.”
“While you do adult things.” He grins. “Exactly.”
“I guess you are useful for something.”
“Oh?” Lucifer turns to me. His hand stills. “Those are some harsh words, Melody.”
“Did I hurt your feelings?”
No trace of a smile now. Only those dark, smoldering eyes. “You don’t speak to me that way.”
“I speak to you however I want, Lucifer.”
“I’m going to have to teach you something called manners then.” In the blink of an eye, he’s on his feet, lifting me out of the chair and up into his arms. The breath flying out my lungs scarcely gives me any time to protest. Before I can even think, he throws me onto the bed.
“Roll over,” he commands.
My body is on fire now. Blood roars in my ears. Heat pools in my stomach and I’m so fucking wet, I’m sure he can smell it. But I meet his eyes. “No.”
Lucifer growls. He flips me over with one hand, and I can’t help the whimper that escapes me. Before I know it, he tugs my gear down until it rips, revealing all of me. He grasps my hips and buries himself inside me.
And he doesn’t slow. He pounds into me, so smooth against my wetness that it spurs him on. It’s quick, it’s ferocious. And it has me crying out his name within seconds. I grasp the sheets with all the strength in my body, tears pushing past my eyes as my body rocks with an earth shattering orgasm.
Then, he’s right there with me. He grips my hair, pulls my head back as he shudders around me, murmuring my name and cursing at the same time.
“You’re mine,” he whispers in my ear as his body slowly relaxes.
For once, I’m not inclined to disagree.
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Hunting Light: Hunter her Lovers (Demon Hunter Book 2) Page 7