Hunting Light: Hunter her Lovers (Demon Hunter Book 2)

by Savannah Rose

  When I make it back, I’m feeling much more clear-minded and ready to face the mob. But when I walk into the office, thinking about the kiss Lucifer planted on my cheek while I laid limp and useless on his bed – right before he left for South Africa – I realize that I’m not really ready for them at all.

  Still, once they notice me, they all rush me, Luna pushing her way to the front.

  “Where the hell did you go?” she demands, clamping one strong hand over my wrist and hauling me through the throng.

  Clear-headed my ass. I hadn’t even thought of an explanation. So, I say the lamest thing that comes to my head. “I had to go clear my head.”

  At least I’m not lying, although that doesn’t serve to soothe my nerves in the slightest. Shouts and accusations raise up in the room and if Luna hadn’t successfully managed to steer me away from them, I’m sure they would have made a grab at me. For a split second, I wish one of them would attempt to just so I can have an excuse to release some of my pent-up frustration.

  “I knew she wouldn’t be a right fit for the job.” Of course, Karla is here, baring her teeth at me as usual. “She’s just an irresponsible child.”

  “Yeah, who can kick your ass to the moon and back if you don’t shut it.” I close my eyes against her audible gasp, falling into the chair. The room is still littered with glass and papers and I hear the crunch under their feet as they shuffle around, annoyed and restless. Alright, Melody. Time to stop poking the lions.

  “I’ve chosen my teams,” I announce.

  Everyone perks up, even Luna who has been pinching the bridge of her nose impatiently. But of course, Karla speaks again, tone laced with annoyance and outrage. “Who are you to choose the teams? Luna is the one who’s been Mr. Black’s assistant this entire time. She should be the one to do this.”

  Before Luna can speak, I shoot Karla a piercing glare. “A mouth like that is the exact reason why you won’t be a part of the search.”

  She sputters, blinking, face reddened with fury. “That doesn’t make any sense –”

  “I could always change my mind. Care to make that as impossible as you knowing when to shut the fuck up?”

  She folds her lips back. I nod, accepting it. Uncharacteristically, I feel no satisfaction at that. I just want them all out.

  “Good thinking. Ben, Karla and Leon will be working with Intel to locate the strongest sources picked up on the radar. Whatever did this is either strong, or they had help. Either way, it’s worth looking into to find the attacker. You three are leaders of your teams, so you’re in charge of finding suitable hunters to bring with you. No less than five,” I say, giving them all a pointed look. “Is Julissa here?”

  “Right here, chief.” Julissa steps around the body of a burly hunter, holding her hand up. Her tone is familiar and just a little bit casual, nothing like the tense air in the room. It makes me relax. “Of all the people in the Intel division, I trust you the most, so I’m putting you in charge of allocating jobs.”

  “Oh, I’m flattered.” She places her hand on her heart, cocking her head to the side as she smiles gently. The smile falls a second later and she pushes her glasses up her nose. “Consider it taken care of.”

  “As for the rest of you, if you aren’t on any of the search teams, then I suggest you all go find something else to do. Try to remember that the city will be overrun with demons if you aren’t there to stop it.”

  Dissatisfied murmurs course through the lot of them this time, but I’m done talking. I lean back in the chair, releasing a heavy sigh and wave my hand dismissively. “I’m done. You may all leave.”

  I close my eyes and then, soon enough, I hear them all shuffle out the door, but not before muttering a few things under their breath first.

  A few more seconds of beautiful silence pass by before Luna speaks. “You handled that quite nicely.”

  I pop one eye open to look at her. “Just like my father?”

  “No,” she says in a tone that denotes surprise. “Nothing like him, which I expected. You two are nothing alike, except for your strong-headedness. What I did expect was no one to listen to you.”

  Despite her lack of faith in me, I laugh, looking at her directly as she perches on the edge of the desk. “You thought I was going to just put myself in a few arguments, didn’t you? Maybe even punch one of them in the face?”

  “I thought you weren’t going to illicit any faith in them. And when you left, I half expected you not to come back. I thought you were going to run off and do your own thing. Whether that be find your father or celebrate his disappearance, I wasn’t very sure. Although, I am surprised you didn’t break a few noses, yes.”

  “I’m as sad about that part not happening as you are,” I say dryly.

  She chuckles, flicking nonexistent lint off her skirt. “I’m proud of you, is what I’m trying to say, Melody. You’ve grown into the woman I hoped you would become. I’m sorry it took circumstances like these for me to notice that.”

  “There’s no need for you to apologize.” Uncomfortable now at the sudden tender tone, I squirm in my seat. A tiny smile appears on Luna’s lips as she watches me. “I’m just glad you’re here, to be honest. If it weren’t for you, they would have torn me apart in no time.”

  “And you would have died fighting them off.” She chuckles again, then a second later, sobers up. “Do you think your delegation was wise?”

  “You don’t think it was?”

  “I think it was fine. I also think there are other, more detailed ways you could have gone about it. Leaving it all in their hands might not be such a good idea.”

  “I trust them,” I say. She gives me a deadpan look and I concede, “Fine, I didn’t know how else to go about it. I’m not the best strategist and just like the rest of them, I have no fucking clue where to start.”

  “So, you just let them take care of everything.”

  “Yup. And I’m not sorry.”

  “I don’t expect you to be.” And I don’t expect the tremor of mirth I detect in her voice. When she faces me again, there are no traces of a smile on her lips. “We’ll have to call an urgent meeting with the other Guild leaders.”

  My heart sinks. God, I just want this all to be over. I’m not cut out for this work. “State or international?”

  “State,” she says. “For now, there’s no need to contact the other countries. Calling a Guild Summit will take too much time, valuable time we could use to find Mr. Black.”

  “And I assume you want me to conduct this meeting?”

  “I can’t do it,” she states simply. “I’m not the Guild leader.”

  Neither am I, I want to say, but the words don’t pass my lips. Instead, I blow out a breath of frustration. “I hate this fucking shit.”

  “So did Mr. Black, at times.” Moving on, she says, “I’ll do the relevant preparations. All you have to do is show up and say what you have to say.”

  “And what do we expect to gain from this meeting?”

  “Their support. And they stand to gain awareness. They’ll know to watch their backs.”

  “Fine then. You know what’s best.”

  She nods. “I’ll do what I need to do then. Is the day after tomorrow a good enough time for you?”

  “Yeah, yeah. That’s fine.”

  “Good. I’ll get someone to clean this all up soon.”

  “Yeah, that should probably get done. Luna?” I call as she turns to leave. She stops and faces me again.

  “Yes?”

  “Thank you. For everything. For being here and helping me.”

  “Don’t worry about it, Melody. It’s the least I can do.”

  11

  Later in the night, I lay in my bed, staring up at the empty ceiling. The others I share a room with are off on missions, which leaves me alone to my silence and my thoughts. Thank God for that. I don’t want to have to deal with the questions they’ll no doubt be throwing my way.

  It doesn’t seem like anyone can believe
that Mr. Black is gone and I’m filling in for him. I can’t believe it either, and sometimes I have to stop and remind myself that that’s the case. Everyone else though, they watch me, whisper about me. Something I’m used to, but now it’s more than usual. Even when I went down to the cafeteria, every single one of their eyes followed me, and the boldest ones dared to approach me, asking to be put on the search team. Of course, after a few words from me, no one else decided to take that chance.

  Even so, I couldn’t stomach the eyes, and so I decided to eat in Mr. Black’s office. The mess was still there, since Luna – busy with organizing the meeting – hadn’t gotten someone to clean it up as yet. And so, I sat there amongst the broken glass, eyes scanning the chaos, looking for something I might have missed before – though if something like that did exist, the many people that had gone in and out of the office might have already gotten rid of it. But I looked anyway, preferring that over my overwhelming thoughts.

  Luna had suggested that I take Mr. Black’s elevator to his private bedroom, but I told her plainly that I would rather push a knife into my eye. Sleeping in his bedroom would feel too much like I’m replacing him and the plan is indeed to bring him back alive.

  I roll over, tucking my hand under the pillow. If everything goes as planned, tomorrow I’ll be on my way to the meeting location, preparing to see the other bigshot Guild leaders who’ll no doubt look down their nose at me. And I’ll need Luna there to keep me from acting out like I’ll be tempted to do. The thought makes me put the pillow over my head.

  Who the fuck started all this? It has to be angels. It’s the only valid explanation for the note I found, though it doesn’t explain why they went after Mr. Black. What does he have to do with the extermination of demons? That had been Charmeine’s aim, the impetus behind her outrageous yet genius plan. Mr. Black wasn’t doing anything to interrupt their demon extinction plan. In fact, he’d have probably applauded them for the effort. So there’s no way whoever did this is connected to Charmeine. And if they are, I can’t seem to make any sense of the motive behind the mission.

  The fact that I have more questions than answers makes me groan in frustration, rolling over onto my other side. Hopefully, Lucifer’s right. Hopefully, whoever did this will come back. Hopefully, they’ll leave a sign, a clue that will help me to figure shit out before the others find out just how useless I am.

  Suddenly, I feel a finger. Not against my skin, but inside my mind, brushing against the walls of the room containing my thoughts. I recognize that touch, the tender request to let him in. I don’t even hesitate.

  You there yet? I ask as soon as I know he can hear me. I have no idea where he is, nor how much distance will be too much before our soul-bond won’t allow us to communicate anymore, so I grab onto the chance I get, desperate to hear his voice.

  And it comes, a soft echo in my head that soothes me instantly. I’m almost there. On the plane.

  Ah, the lavish life. Must be really nice.

  The chuckle he lets out brings one out of me. I wanted to see how you’re doing. How did it go?

  As well as I expected it to. They were ready to take my head off, but I handled it.

  Like I expected you to. I didn’t doubt you for a second.

  Yeah, well, I won’t lie and say I didn’t.

  Well, it’s over now. Do you know your next move?

  Luna says a meeting with the nationwide Guild members needs to be called, so I’ll be on my way to that tomorrow. As for what I plan to tell them, I have absolutely no clue. Fake it til I make it, I guess.

  I’m not surprised he doesn’t ask who Luna is. He only hums, the sound purring over my mind. You’ll handle it.

  So much faith.

  Well placed faith, Melody.

  So, Thing 1 and Thing 2, are they going with you?

  He chuckles again. I understand why you would call Merlidon that, but I thought you liked Brotus.

  Hey, he gets it by association.

  Well, no, they aren’t. After what happened to your father, I thought it would be best to let them stay behind.

  And watch me.

  Be there for you when you need it, he corrects gently, and I roll my eyes. And watch the kingdom. I doubt there’s anything they’ll need to do on that aspect, but you can’t ever be too sure. Especially with the unrest amongst the demons lately.

  So, basically, their full time job is to monitor me.

  You don’t sound very happy by them staying behind.

  I don’t like the idea of them keeping tabs on me, that’s what I’m not happy about. But, whatever. I’m too tired to argue. What do you plan on doing when you arrive?

  Whatever I need to, to find out what’s going on.

  Merlidon didn’t do enough of that? I figured he was the spy.

  He is. But he didn’t get much information before he reported back to me. And he doesn’t have much say over the demons in the area.

  I get it. You’re going to get your hands dirty.

  I sense rather than feel him smile. That’s the plan.

  Well. I pause, hesitate. Be safe.

  Lucifer pauses as well. I will. Get some rest, Melody.

  I’ll try. Then I close the door, not wanting to hear the words he might say next. I block him out and hope that my mind – and body – will relax so that I can get some sleep for tomorrow. It’s going to be a long day.

  12

  “Do you have everything?” Luna asks me for the third time, and, as much as I hate getting agitated with her, I feel like I’m about to snap.

  She can sense my annoyance, though and only clucks her tongue. “You can’t blame me for asking so many times. You always tend to forget something.”

  “Asking me the same question ten minutes apart isn’t going to change the answer.”

  She shrugs and tucks her notepad into her purse. From the way she keeps questioning me, you’d never guess that we’re already on the plane, sitting comfortably in first class while the pilot tells us over the intercom that we’re almost ready for take off. “I just want to know what items I’ll need to get you when we arrive. But alright, Melody, whatever you say.”

  “You’re coddling me.”

  “I’m not coddling you, Melody.”

  “Yeah?” I crook a brow at her, watching as she innocently sips her drink. Sitting in first class, unbothered by any other passengers, it’s just us alone. Even the flight attendant is off somewhere else, leaving us with the privacy to talk without fear of someone overhearing. “I’m surprised you haven’t gotten out of your seat to brush the crumbs off my lap.”

  She scoffs, but her lip twitches as if she’s trying to hold back a smile. “Do I look like your maid, Melody?”

  “No, but you sure do like acting like you’re my mother.” Smirking, I brush the crumbs off my lap myself, the remainders of a devoured cookie. I ease into the cushioned seat, enjoying the peace and quiet I’m surrounded by. This plane ride will be the only thing I can enjoy before we land in Missouri – Missouri of all places – and I have to meet with the other Guild leaders. I have no doubt in my mind that it’s going to be as taxing and as bothersome as I expect it to be, so I’m glad for the rest I can have on this ride.

  “We should go over what you’re going to say at the meeting.”

  And leave it up to Luna to get right back down to business. I sigh, looking back at her. Her notebook is out again, and her drink half finished. She’s looking at me expectantly. “Now?”

  “Yes, now. I want to make sure you have everything under control when you see the others. You’ll learn that they aren’t an easy bunch to deal with.”

  Confirming my thoughts right down to the T. “A bunch of old, self-righteous men in one room forced to listen to a twenty-two year old woman? Hard to deal with? You must be kidding me.”

  “Alright, get it all out. They won’t appreciate all that sarcasm either.”

  “Sorry, Luna,” I shrug, reaching for my own untouched drink. “It’s a never-ending tap ove
r here. They’re going to have to get used to it.”

  Luna sighs. I stifle the urge to laugh. “Melody, can’t you focus? This is a really serious matter.”

  “I know it is. And I’m as serious as you are.” When I catch her look, I force myself to sober up. The laughter felt nice while it lasted. “Alright, alright. I’m serious now. How do we go about this?”

  She reaches into her purse and pulls out a brown folder. She hands it to me. “In here is the name and information of every Guild leader in the United States. You’re going to want to know everyone before the meeting, because I doubt they’ll be willing to sit and introduce themselves to you.”

  I pull the thick stack of papers out the folder and sigh. As usual, Luna is painstakingly detailed. She doesn’t just give me the basic information like their names, ages, Guild state, etc. She even goes on to explain each ones’ background and personality type. Then categorizes them by the latter.

  I flip through the papers, watching each leaf go by with a yellow marker, to an orange one, to red. “I’m guessing those in the red are the ones I’ll need to steer clear from.”

  She nods. “They’re the worst of the lot to deal with. Whether it’s by personality type, or a hatred for your father. It’s likely that it’ll take a bit more effort to convince them.”

  “I don’t see why that’s necessary. We don’t need the help of every single state. Hell, we could even take care of this ourselves.”

  “True, but highly unlikely,” she says with a shake of her head. “We’re trying to cover all the grounds here. We’re trying to make sure that everyone can sufficiently protect themselves against whatever is was that took Mr. Black. We’re going to be issuing a warning, and it’ll be wise for them to listen. It’ll be even wiser for us to band together to fight whatever might be out there.”

  “Still seems excessive to me,” I murmur. My eyes scan the papers. “You sure you don’t want to be the one to sit in during the meeting? You know more about all this than I do. It would go much easier.”

  I know I’m trying my luck where there is none. Luna knows too, and she simply says, “I’m not the stand-in. You are.”