Demon Hunter: Demon Guardian Series

by Terry Spear

  “Thank you, Celeste, for putting yourself in danger when the Matusa tried to kill him.” Wendell’s mother gave Hunter and his father a worried look, like she shouldn’t have said anything bad about the Matusa in front of them.

  “If there’s anything we could do to thank all of you for bringing him home to us, anything at all, just let us know,” his dad said.

  Wendell said, “If you’d like me to, Celeste, while you’re gone, I’ll keep searching the hall of records for any more of your family.”

  “I was only three when I was taken from my parents. I don’t know their names or the name they would have called me even.”

  “How many Camaran parents would have lost a female child to a summoner around the time you were adopted?”

  “I guess that would narrow it down some.”

  “Wendell told us about your parents, and after we lost him, we know just how it feels. But you were just a baby. At least, we’d watched our son grow up. We all want to help you with this,” Wendell’s father said.

  “But I have no idea where I was even summoned from or where I ended up. I was moved from foster family to foster family because of my psychic visions.”

  “We’re Camaran demons like you. Your parents would be also. We have tons of family. We’ll network with them, check the hall of records, and put out the word that we’re looking for parents whose young daughter was taken when you were,” Wendell’s dad said.

  “We will do everything we can,” his mother agreed.

  “You can stay with us and help, if you’d like,” the dad said. “If we locate them, we’ll want you to see them right away.”

  “We’re going to look for Jared’s parents in Earth world,” Pappalios said. “But I’ll return, and you can decide what you want to do at any time, Celeste. Stay here as long as you want to search for them, or return and finish out your school, then come back for the summer with Alana. Since you eat human food, you can always come here to eat. My home is open to you at all times.”

  “Can I eat here too?” Wendell asked, looking hopeful.

  “Wendell,” his mom scolded.

  “Absolutely and you can keep Celeste company.”

  Jared smiled. “You’ve got to do it. Even if it doesn’t work out, you’ve got to give a shot. And staying here would be easier on you than running around all over the place from Dallas to Amarillo and who knows where else.”

  Celeste looked at Alana.

  “Dad will take you to Baltimore to my mom’s house, when you’re ready to return. I’ll be there too, at the end of spring break, no matter what. I have to get my high school diploma.”

  Samson agreed. “As long as they protect you, Celeste.”

  Celeste smiled.

  Hunter said, “We’ll see you one way or another. Good luck, Celeste.”

  Everyone wished her luck, and then Wendell wheeled her out to their van, and Samson hurried to help him load Celeste into the vehicle.

  “Good luck to you also,” Wendell and his parents said to Jared and the others.

  “We’ll miss you,” Alana said, giving Celeste a hug. “If you find them and decide to stay here, that’s your choice. Know that I will always be visiting my dad during the year and will want to catch up with you. And if you want to return to our world, Dad will open a portal for you, or I will.”

  “Thanks, Alana. But I don’t plan to stay.”

  “All right,” Hunter said, wanting to get this show on the road. He knew things could change for Celeste when she finally found her parents—for good, or bad.

  “Hey, you know we’re getting so much publicity from the train wreck, as long as something else doesn’t take over the news, maybe telling the reporter Celeste’s story will help spread the word,” Jared said.

  “We’ll get right on it,” Wendell’s dad said.

  Then they say their goodbyes, and when they left, Pappalios said, “It’s getting so late, why don’t we stay the night and leave early tomorrow morning? After all everyone’s been through, I think a good night’s sleep is in order. I have a bachelor pad for Hunter, Jared, and Samson, your own kitchen for late-night snacks even. And Alana has her own room, next to mine. Bentos, you can take your pick of any of the remaining guest rooms.”

  Hunter had figured the rings meant he and Alana were married in the demon way, and he wanted to be with Alana tonight.

  “After graduation,” her dad said to Hunter, as if he knew just what Hunter was thinking.

  Bentos was watching the exchange and laughed. Hunter was afraid he knew they weren’t yet truly mated.

  But Alana gave Hunter a hug and kissed him before she retired to her room.

  Bentos stood next to Hunter as they watched Alana close her bedroom door, her dad retiring to a suite next to her room, and Jared and Samson checking out their new digs.

  “Well, when you wear the rings, you’re mated. Doesn’t Alana know that?” Bentos asked Hunter.

  “Not yet. But she will.” Hunter smiled. He’d tell her after they returned to her mother’s home.

  “You are a Matusa, even if you are half human,” Bentos reminded him. “But I’m proud of you.” He slapped Hunter on the back and entered his room.

  Hunter seriously considered telling Alana tonight. She’d probably have a meltdown, and her dad would be angry with him. Better to wait until after they returned home. He retired to the bachelor pad that had one bedroom and a living area with two fold-out couches.

  Wisely, Jared and Samson were busily making their beds on the sofas.

  “What do you think will happen if we find your parents?” Samson asked Jared.

  “No sense in speculating,” Hunter said, walked into his bedroom, and shut the door.

  “What Hunter said,” Jared told Samson.

  Hunter smiled. That’s what he liked to hear. Complete agreement. Then he thought of Alana’s stubbornness about waiting to be married until after college graduation. As much trouble as she was having with staying in school because of her astral traveling misadventures, he couldn’t wait for an eternity for her to graduate from college too.

  Then he smirked. Until Alana could control the pull of a portal, he was going to see her.

  He sat down on his bed and opened the portal.

  Alana appeared in a pair of hearts, magic wands, and unicorns pajamas.

  He grinned.

  She folded her arms.

  Alana’s dad showed up too in a pair of black boxer shorts. He raised his brows.

  Hunter quickly closed the portal and both Alana and her dad vanished. Well, that didn’t work.

  16

  Early the next morning, they all sat down to breakfast before they left for West where they would open a portal to Dallas. Alana smiled at Hunter, thoroughly tickled that he’d called not only her to the portal last night, but her dad. Hunter gave her a wicked smile back.

  Her dad had said nothing about it, but she suspected he’d been more amused than anything, thwarting Hunter in his game. She knew Hunter wouldn’t try that again while they stayed at her dad’s place. Hunter had forgotten the part where her dad was a gate guardian too.

  Bentos and her dad were talking about demon world politics.

  “I swear that whole business of them failing to come for us any earlier than they did was a political mistake,” Bentos said.

  “I agree with you there.” Her dad was eating eggs, bacon, and toast along with everyone else. “Heads will roll over that, especially since so much publicity came of it. And human-raised demons had to save so many lives. There’s a public outcry about it already.”

  Bentos turned to Hunter and Alana. “Did Pappalios tell you? We have to make a quick stop in West to pick up a couple of medals.”

  “What?” Hunter said. “How long will that take?”

  “Hopefully not long,” Pappalios said. “The mayor was gratified to learn that you two have found your demon parent, but he wants to help both Jared and Celeste find theirs. Which could be a good thing. It means positive p
ublicity for him and more help for us.”

  “But he can’t go to Earth world to find them,” Jared said.

  “No, but he assumes Celeste’s parents are still here. With learning that Treikal and a reigning prince are your distant relations, he wants to beef up the program wherein when our people go missing, there’s more of a network to locate them. It’s really disorganized right now. We have to be born as gate guardians, so we can’t just hire people to do the job. But he wants to have as many organizations assist us when we’re trying to track down individuals.”

  “That’s good news,” Alana said. “We’ll keep working in Earth world to send demons back whenever we can locate them.”

  “That’s the other news.” Her dad smiled. “From here on out, you’ll be paid for your services.”

  “Demon currency won’t help us in our world,” Alana said, having rethought that scenario last night.

  “Right. You’re the only demon who works as a gate guardian in your world, so they’re trying to devise a way in which we can convert the money.”

  “She can do that with her witch’s skills, can’t you?” Jared asked.

  “No. No more than I can turn a metal object…or you…into gold.”

  “They’re working on it, Alana,” her dad said. “You’ll get back pay for the ones we can verify were returned to their world, for both you and Hunter. They want you to do this full time. No one knew a gate guardian could come about from the union between a gate guardian and a human. Of course, the witch part makes you even more special. I think they had the idea that gate guardians should try to create more, but that’s not something that should be tampered with, I don’t believe. You’ve had such a time of dealing with this. It’s not fair to you or your mother.”

  “I’m glad for what I am, but you’re right. I’m sure not everyone could handle being part demon all that well. What if they turned out to be trouble?” Alana said.

  Hunter looked at Bentos.

  Bentos ignored his pointed look and continued to eat, but Alana knew Hunter was making an unspoken point about his half brother. What if he turned out to be a bad Matusa, despite his human half? He could open a portal to the demon world at will, summon demons, be worse than any summoner out there. Bentos had been fortunate that Hunter was one of the good guys.

  “Is everyone ready?” her dad asked.

  “Why, if you have so much money, don’t you have a car of your own?” Alana asked her dad.

  “I rarely use one. The train system is excellent here. Normally. But rest assured, I’ll have one before you return in the summer.”

  “We can take the van loaned to us,” Bentos said.

  “Okay, let’s go,” Hunter said.

  * * *

  As soon as they reached the city of West, they were mobbed.

  “Who told them we’d be here?” Hunter asked, annoyed. They needed to take care of business, not be treated like celebrities.

  A group of Matusa were standing off to the side, their expressions growly, their arms folded across their chests. They didn’t appear to be happy that a couple of Matusa had done good deeds and made such a name for themselves.

  “We need—” Hunter said, as they were pushed toward a building. “We need to take care of business.”

  A group of officious-looking demons made them go with them, police officers keeping the crowds from grabbing at them further. Not at Bentos or Hunter, though. They might have proved they could do some good, but the lesser demons weren’t so naïve to think that would pertain to them if they manhandled them.

  They were led into an amphitheater filled with more officious-looking men and women, police officers at every exit.

  “The mayor,” Pappalios said, as they were escorted to the stage.

  “Pappalios, we have a special seat for you here,” a man said.

  Hunter noticed that Wendell’s parents and Celeste were there. Pappalios took a seat next to the dad.

  A whole line of train passengers, who had helped others during the crisis, were seated on the side in a special box. Hunter and the others were directed to go there, but Alana and Hunter had reserved seats, even there.

  The mayor talked on for a good hour, and Hunter knew his eyes were glowing red. This was such a waste of time. Unless, it helped Celeste to find her parents. He only hoped if she did, everything would be good between them.

  Finally, the mayor finished his political talk and recipients for awards were called out. For all the help that Bentos had done with organizing everyone to take care of the injured and provide comfort for everyone else until a rescue, he was awarded a medal. He gave the mayor a dark smirk.

  Hunter smiled. That was the highlight of this for him.

  Then Alana and Hunter were called up together because they’d worked together and were given the highest award any demon could receive: the Medal of Valor.

  He hoped they wouldn’t have to give a speech next. But nope, the mayor spoke for another hour, captive audience, and then finally released them. There was to be a celebration later that afternoon. They thanked the mayor, said goodbye to Celeste and Wendell and his parents, had to wade through a bunch of thanks from passengers on the train, once again, and left the coliseum. They headed for the hall of records next door. Once they were inside, Hunter hurried to open a portal. They all went through, and ended up near their hotel room, where he shut the portal.

  “All right, time to go to Amarillo,” Hunter said.

  “Ha! My Uncle Stephen and my mother left messages while we were away.” She texted her mother, then called her uncle and put the call on speaker. “Uncle Stephen, we’re back.”

  “Your mother was worried about you. She said you skipped your last two days of school to leave to see your dad early.”

  “Yes, we found a tortured demon and had to take him home. I won’t tell you how we ended up getting demon Medals of Valor. But now we need to go to Amarillo because we’ve gotten word about where Jared’s parents might be.”

  “It’s only an hour flight there,” her uncle said. “Or six and a half hours if you drive.”

  “I sort of had a problem when I flew the last time.”

  “What happened?”

  “I astral traveled from the plane. If a portal opens when I’m flying again—”

  “I should be able to keep you safe,” her dad said.

  “What about a protective barrier? I could provide that,” her uncle said.

  “Are you going to come with us?”

  “Yeah, you know I will,” Uncle Stephen said.

  “Were you at a conference?”

  “Uh, not quite. I’m checking with one of my friends, and he said he can fly us out there. How many are we talking about?”

  She told him.

  “Okay, meet you at the airport in an hour.”

  “We’ll be there.”

  “And you can tell me on the flight about the demon you rescued and took home. I take it you didn’t have any trouble. But this business with you leaving school is a problem. If I have to, I’ll homeschool you so you can earn your diploma.”

  Jared was nodding. Samson was shaking his head.

  Hunter knew her uncle was such a perfectionist, he’d drive her crazy.

  “Uh, no, that’s all right,” Alana said. “I’ll work extra hard to finish it on time.”

  “Okay, I have friends in Amarillo, and they can help us too. I’ll let them know we’re coming.”

  “Thanks, Uncle Stephen.”

  “See you soon.”

  When they ended the call, they piled into the rental car to head to the airport, and Jared drove them, though Bentos wanted to.

  “You don’t have a human driver’s license, do you?” Hunter asked his dad.

  “Sure I do. I see your half brother and his mother here from time to time. She taught me how to drive, and I got my driver’s license.”

  “Can you really stop me from astral traveling if it happens?” Alana asked her dad.

  “Yeah. At leas
t I think I can. I know what works for me. The first sign of a portal opening, and I sense it, I meditate. You’ll have to practice at it like I told you before.”

  “Well, Uncle Stephen knows some barrier spells, and once he wrapped around me to prevent Hunter from calling to the portal.”

  Her dad glanced at Hunter. He only smiled.

  “Okay, sounds like we’ve got the solution then,” her dad said.

  Hunter sat in the back seat with Alana, and she snuggled against him.

  “You didn’t open another portal in your bedroom last night,” she said against his ear and smiled up at him.

  He laughed. “I was trying to see if you could control the draw of the portal yet.”

  She shook her head. “You did not. You wanted to see me! Admit it.”

  He kissed her. “Yeah, but not your dad.”

  She chuckled.

  “I should have known.”

  * * *

  On the private plane, Jared went into his storytelling mode to tell Alana’s uncle everything that had happened, Samson nodding, while Alana and Hunter sat in seats in the back of the plane, cuddling.

  “I don’t think he’ll ever get tired of telling that story,” Hunter said to Alana, not wanting to hear it again. He and Alana and their friends did what they had to do because that was their mission in life. Not to obtain awards for it. Then again, they were used to working “undercover,” so to speak. In Earth world, no one could know what they were or what they did.

  “At least, he doesn’t embellish the story. Not that, as wild as it already was, there would be any need to,” Alana said.

  Suddenly, Hunter felt a frosty chill. “Indigo.”

  “Yeah, we missed you.” She snuggled closer to Hunter to get warmer.

  “Missssed you.”

  “How much do you want to bet, Jared will share this with his kids and grandkids someday,” Hunter said, trying to ignore the ghostly Indigo.

  “And about you saving his life.”

  “Ha! He saved my life by bringing you to me.”

  “I saved your life,” Bentos said.

  Hunter was amused he wanted the credit. “Yes, but only because Alana and Jared risked their safety by searching for you. And my mother had to summon you, which meant she also risked her life. But she was willing to so that she could save me.”