Demon Slayer

by Linsey Hall

  “So, no demon on board?” I tried one more time.

  “No.” She was telling the truth. I was pretty good at spotting a liar, and this chick was genuine. “But another ferry left a couple hours ago. He could have been on that one.”

  I’d bet big bucks he was.

  “Okay, thanks. I’ll take a ticket.” I tugged the bills out of my pocket and paid her.

  She shoved them in her jacket and hiked a thumb toward the second story of the ferry. “You’ve got berth eight if you want to catch a few Zs. It’ll take about five hours to get to Supernalito.”

  “Thanks.” I climbed on board, finding myself a secluded spot at the front. The boat was a lot bigger than I’d realized, probably since we were headed into dangerous waters.

  I kept my footsteps silent as I explored the ship, starting at the main deck. If that stupid sexy bounty hunter were here, I wanted to know about it.

  And throw him overboard.

  The deck was quiet though. Not another soul on board. No wonder the captain had been quick to take my money.

  I found some stairs down into the hull next, which appeared to be the captain’s quarters along with the machinery. I was no boat expert, but from the size of the engine and all the giant metal bits, this thing looked like it could be fast.

  It was quick work to explore the two top decks. They were nothing but hallways with little doors leading into tiny staterooms. I didn’t dare open them. Busting in on another passenger was a quick way to get booted off the boat.

  Anyway, my new nemesis’s magic was powerful enough that I’d probably sense him if he were here. He wasn’t.

  I went back to the main deck. Ten minutes had to be almost up. We’d take off soon.

  The captain was climbing back onto the boat when I found her.

  “Want any help with the ropes?” I asked. “I can untie us.”

  “Ready to get to Supernalito?”

  Ready to leave the sexy bounty hunter behind, more like. I just nodded. “Yep.”

  “Fine, thanks. Untie the front lines first, then the back.” She strode toward the little room at the front of the boat that contained the steering wheel.

  I hopped off the boat and started at the front, untying the rope and tossing it on board. The engine roared to life as I made my way to the back, removing that rope as well. I jumped onto the boat and hauled myself over the railing.

  I grinned.

  Job well done.

  I was on my way to Supernalito, and the sexy bounty hunter was still stuck in Magic’s Bend. At this rate, I’d beat him to the demon faster than a hell hound ate a steak.

  I brushed my hands off and turned to watch Magic’s Bend disappear.

  My gaze caught on a figure racing toward the boat. Strong, tall, handsome as the devil himself.

  Damn it.

  I scowled at him.

  The boat was pulling away from the dock. We were six feet away. Eight. Ten.

  He wouldn’t make it. And if he did, I didn’t want to be standing here as his welcome party, ready to put a lei around his neck.

  Quickly, I retreated toward the bow, finding a shadowed nook to hide in while I watched him approach. Sure, I looked like a creepy stalker, but I was okay with that.

  We were twenty feet away by the time he reached the edge of the dock. Even I couldn’t jump that. I grinned. This was the part where his shoulders would slump and he’d look all dejected.

  Except, it wasn’t.

  He didn’t stop running.

  Instead, enormous black wings sprouted from his back. They were tipped with silver, and so beautiful that I gasped. An aura of silver light seemed to surround him, and somehow, he was even more gorgeous.

  Ah, shit.

  Fallen angel. Right. Of course the bastard had big, magnificent wings.

  He launched himself into the air, flying gracefully toward the boat.

  I shoved myself back into the shadows, then scowled, immediately horrified by the fact that I was hiding.

  But what the hell. I needed a chance to recover from the sight of him.

  He glanced toward me, just briefly, as if he could see me in the shadows. I just barely resisted giving him the finger. I had a tendency to act before I thought, and I was trying to limit that these days.

  Maybe it was maturity; maybe it was a self-preservation instinct. Whatever it was, I limited myself to a glare.

  The corner of his lips tilted up in a cocky smile, and my stupid heart kicked up a notch.

  Dumb heart.

  He turned and walked toward the little room where the captain was steering. The bridge, I thought I’d heard it called on TV once.

  Well, damn. It looked like my competition was keeping up.

  I strode to the back of the boat again and leaned on the rail.

  My stomach grumbled, a combo of stress and actual hunger. I called upon the ether and withdrew a mini bag of Cheetos. I had a weakness for junk food, especially in iffy situations, which was something that no one would associate with my ice queen side. Neon orange Cheetos were one of my faves, and it cost a pretty penny to store them in the ether like this. Most people just stashed weapons and a few other valuables there, paying a mage for the magic.

  I created it myself and found it to be well worth the effort.

  I chomped down on the cheesy, crunchy treat, keeping an eye on Magic’s Bend as it shrank against the horizon. The buildings of the business district rose tall against the backdrop of the mountains, their lights glittering like diamonds. The rest of the town was pretty low to the ground, and I leaned on the railing as I watched it disappear.

  Home.

  More home than Grimrealm had ever been.

  I shook my head, driving the thought away, and focused on the goal.

  Catch the demon. Kill the demon.

  Not so hard.

  I was about to turn and head to my bunk when a voice caught me. It was low and rough, twining around me like smoke. “Ice queen.”

  The stupid sexy winged man had found me. And I probably had Cheeto dust on my face.

  Fantastic.

  I shoved the Cheeto bag back into the ether and licked my lips. There was nothing I could do about my fingertips except hide them. I composed my expression, then turned slowly, raising a brow.

  But I didn't speak.

  Damn, he still looked good. The wings were gone, but his dark hair was mussed from the breeze and his eyes glittered with appreciation as he looked at me.

  I liked it.

  No.

  He had a connection to Grimrealm. And he was still a bounty hunter. A major no-go.

  “I thought I recognized you,” he said.

  “Can’t say the same.”

  “Sure you do.” He grinned, calling my bluff with his smile. His damned fallen angel smile. He was so sexy it annoyed me. “Don’t forget my time at the Wild Stallion.”

  “What the hell are you?” Even though I knew what he was, I didn’t want to let that slip until he told me. Nothing worse than being caught as a stalker. Just a minor stalker, but still. Embarrassing.

  “Fallen angel.” He strode to the railing and leaned his arms against it, looking out at the ocean.

  I turned and leaned on the railing, too, my shoulder a good two feet from his. It felt like two inches. “Get kicked out of heaven?”

  “Something like that. Not pure enough, I suppose.”

  Oh, I could guess what he meant by that. Warmth unfurled within me. Especially at the sight of the cocky half smile that seemed to be his signature. But was there something tortured in his gaze? Hard to tell, but I wanted to know more.

  Fates, get it together, Aeri.

  Many of the world’s religions had angels. The reality wasn’t too far off of what humans believed, though they didn’t represent any one religion specifically. More like the forces of good. Angels were immensely powerful celestial beings that were inherently good. They were basically the counterparts of demons, opposite in every way.

  I was itc
hing to find out why he had fallen, but clearly he wasn’t going to give details. And I definitely couldn’t ask about Grimrealm without sounding weird. He had no idea I knew about that.

  “What are you?” he asked.

  “You know what I am.”

  “Blood Sorceress. But why would a Blood Sorceress be going to Supernalito?”

  “It’s pretty much America’s top stop for buying ingredients for potions. You can find anything there.” I was pretty sure that was true, at least.

  “But that’s not why you’re going.”

  “You’ve got me. I’m meeting my boyfriend.”

  “Maybe, but I doubt it.”

  “Vacation, actually.”

  “Nope. It’s a terrible destination.”

  “Maybe I’m weird.” Scratch that, I was definitely weird.

  “I think I like that about you.”

  I warmed a bit, then mentally kicked myself. “You don’t know me.”

  “I know enough.”

  “Like what?” Nerves skittered along my skin. This guy didn’t know me. At least, he didn’t know anything important. He didn’t know my secrets. He didn’t know what I hid from. Who I hid from.

  “You’re hunting the necromancy demon too,” he said.

  I kept my face motionless. “What necromancy demon?”

  And how could he know? Simon wouldn’t rat me out. My snitch in the Assassin’s Brew was too loyal. And too afraid of me.

  “I saw you coming out of Snakerton’s. Don’t play dumb.”

  “I was just getting some ingredients. I’m on a buying trip. Restocking the shop.”

  “Not from the look of his place. It was pretty beat up. And there was an empty vial of truth serum.”

  Damn, this guy was quick.

  I spared him a glance, and he was looking down at me, his expression interested. I looked back at the horizon, but Magic’s Bend was gone. There was nothing but darkness with the glitter of the moon on the water.

  “You’re after the demon.”

  Snakerton couldn’t have told him what I was after, but the fact that I was on this boat, right after visiting the last place the demon had gone, was too much of a coincidence. This guy was smart enough to know that.

  I shrugged. It wasn’t a huge secret, anyway. There was something about this guy that made me want to play my cards close to my vest, but sometimes the truth—especially a harmless truth—was worth it.

  “Yeah, fine. I’m after the demon too. I use their blood in my magic.”

  He nodded, clearly buying it. He’d already known it, so it was more like he’d wanted me to admit it. To get under my skin.

  Well, it was working.

  “We can hunt him together,” he said. “Before I take him alive, you can have a bit of blood.”

  “Alive? Why the hell would you take the demon alive?” See, this was what I hated about bounty hunters. The alive part of dead or alive. It should always be dead or dead with demons.

  “That’s the terms of the deal.”

  “Demons are evil.” Full demons, at least. Half demons were iffy since their other blood could dilute the darkness that came with their demon side. “They should be sent back to their underworld.” Or outright killed. “Doing anything else is foolhardy. What if he escapes?”

  “He won’t escape. That’s why they hired me.”

  “Who?”

  “Confidential. But rest assured, he won’t be able to get out and wreak havoc.”

  “Oh, well that makes me feel a lot better.” I added a bit of extra sarcasm to my words and nodded. I was definitely going to kill this demon when Declan wasn’t looking.

  He turned to me and held out his hand. “I’m Declan O’Shea, by the way.”

  I know. But obviously I didn’t say it. Yeah, I was really interested in you and asked around was the last message I wanted to send.

  I stuck my hand out and gripped his, trying to ignore the shiver of awareness that rushed up my arm, followed by a wave of heat. “I’m Aerdeca.”

  “Just Aerdeca?”

  “Just Aerdeca.” I withdrew my hand from his, and was immediately colder.

  “Let’s work together on this. We’ll catch him faster that way.”

  “I work alone.”

  “Even though we have the same goal?”

  Yeah, we don’t. “I work alone.”

  “Then it’s a race?”

  “Looks like it.”

  “Then if I win, you won’t get the blood you’re after. Take the sure thing. Work with me. It’ll be fun.” He was so cocky, yet somehow still charming. It should have been impossible.

  “You won’t win.” I was damned certain of that.

  “Oh, I will.”

  Annoying and sexy. Yep, those were the two words to describe him. And I wanted to make out with him.

  Gah, I’m an idiot.

  I stifled a huff and pushed myself off the railing. “I’m going to bed.”

  “Want company?” A devilish light glinted in his eyes.

  Yeah. “No.”

  I turned and walked away, vibrating with awareness. Ugh. I needed to get my head in the game.

  I hurried away without looking back—points for me—and made my way to cabin eight. It was a tiny space—just a bunk against the wall and a little round porthole. I threw myself onto the bed and winced.

  “Like a freaking rock.” I rubbed my lower back, then pressed my hand to my comms charm. “Mari? You there?”

  “Here.” She was breathing fast, almost like she was fighting.

  “You okay?”

  “Just dealing with…a little…”

  “Problem?”

  “Demon.” There was a distant shriek, and she was back, sounding calmer. “He’s dead.”

  “How’s the portal? You find anything out about our necromancer friend?”

  “Portal had almost disappeared, but I’m trying to stabilize it to see where it goes. Little problem with a second escaped demon, but I fixed it. How are you?”

  “Good, good. But the sexy bounty hunter is here.”

  “Oh, is he?”

  “And he’s a fallen angel.”

  “Damn. No wonder he felt so powerful.”

  “Yeah.”

  “And he’s hunting the necromancer demon.”

  “Right on the first guess.”

  “Any idea how you’ll beat him?”

  “Quick wits.” I grinned.

  “It’s worked before.”

  “You can do it. Just stay safe.”

  “I will.”

  “Oh, and Aeri? Maybe give the guy a chance.”

  I nearly sputtered. “Wait, what?”

  “I can hear in your voice that you like him. You haven’t gotten out in ages.”

  “Gotten out?”

  “I was trying to be a lady. I mean, get laid. You haven’t gotten laid in ages.”

  “Well, I’m not sleeping with the fallen angel who is a freaking bounty hunter. I hate bounty hunters! And he has connections to Grimrealm. Don’t forget that.”

  “I know, I know. But he doesn’t need to know where you’re from. And maybe he’s not the total worst. He didn’t seem like the total worst.”

  “High praise.” I scowled. “Safe hunting, okay? I’ll see you soon.”

  “Safe hunting.”

  I cut the comms charm and squeezed my eyes shut, commanding myself to go to sleep. Unfortunately, my mind was an idiot traitor, and all I could see was Declan, smiling down at me.

  Jerk.

  5

  The dream crept up on me, teeth bared and claws raised. One moment, I was nothing—dreamless in a black sleep. The next, I was a child again. Fourteen, maybe. It had been hard to tell time then, back when we were in Grimrealm.

  “Do it,” commanded Aunt.

  Her face was in shadow, and her voice made me shiver.

  My gaze dropped down to Mari, who knelt at her feet. My sister was gaunt and pale, just like me. Shortly after Aunt and Uncle had learned of our
dragon blood, they’d figured out that the only way to make us use it was by threatening the other.

  This time, it was Mari.

  Her black eye was motivation enough.

  “Okay, okay! I’ll do it.” I hated trying to make new magic. It hurt and was really freaking scary.

  Aunt shoved Mari toward me. “You too. Both of you—become alchemists. Now.”

  It was so mundane, but better than the killing power she’d tried to make us learn last week.

  That had failed—maybe because I’d made it fail.

  Mari knelt across from me, her dark eyes big in her pale face.

  “It’ll be okay,” I whispered. I didn’t know if it was true. “Just do what I do.”

  She nodded, her expression stark.

  I drew my fingernail over my wrist, making a long cut. Pain flared, and I winced. White blood began to pour, and horror opened up a hole in my chest.

  I’d never seen so much of my blood before.

  I drew in a ragged breath and watched.

  This had to work.

  Mari hesitated, just briefly, then mimicked my motions. She opened one of her veins, making a small noise. Black blood dripped onto the stones.

  I sliced my other arm, agony shooting through me. My stomach turned.

  To make new magic—real, true magical skill that stayed with us forever—we basically had to die.

  My head spun as my blood poured onto the ground, pooling around my knees. It mixed with Mari’s, and I reached for her hand, gripping her tight.

  Together, we began to pour our magic out of us, along with our blood. I gathered it up from every corner of my body and forced it out of me. It sparkled in the air between us, cocooning us against Aunt’s hard stare.

  As the magic drifted lower toward the blood that had pooled around us, I envisioned lightning. We needed a weapon, not gold.

  I met Mari’s eyes and mouthed the word, “Lightning.”

  Her eyes flared wide, but she nodded once, almost imperceptibly. Then she dropped her gaze to the pool of blood.