by Kyra Quinn
“They notice it,” Michael says, his tone flat. “They rationalize it away to protect their illusion of safety.”
He’s not wrong. For as much as people bitch about wanting the truth, most can’t handle it. They couldn’t sleep at night if they allowed themselves to admit monsters might exist. Best to logic everything away and forget about it.
“The police are blaming an animal attack,” Zeke says, his icy eyes sweeping over each of our faces. He lingers for a moment on mine. His frown deepens. “The sheriff somehow convinced himself a bear or wolf passed through Miami murdering women unnoticed.”
“Werewolf?” Jade asks from her spot perched on the edge of the pulpit.
“That’s my suspicion, but we won’t know until we check it out. I want Fury and Wanderer on it.”
Jade cocks her head to the side and flashes Zeke a flirtatious smile. “And what do you have in mind for me this evening, boss?”
The corner of his mouth twitches into the ghost of a smile. “Something special. We’ve got a lead on a vamp nest inside of an abandoned school in the Grove. I’m sending you with Twitch and Calamity to investigate.”
“And me?” I step forward, folding my arms over my chest. “You can’t expect me to sit on my ass all night.”
Zeke shakes his head. “You’re talented, but this isn’t an average case. Too much could go wrong. We need our most experienced hunters on this.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it.” My voice trembles with rage. “I’m one of the best hunters on this team. Ask anyone. I killed Treznor last night!”
“No one is disputing your skill level,” Zeke says, raising a hand. “But someone needs to stay behind and guard the prisoner. If we lose him, we lose your best shot at finding Kane. It won’t kill you to sit this one out.”
This isn’t the first time Zeke has invented some hollow excuse to leave me behind. I’ve killed more monsters than half the guys on our team, but Zeke and Michael still refuse to see me as anything more than a little girl in over her head. They’d never let me hunt at all if not for Jade. They trust her enough to babysit me most nights.
“This isn’t fair. Why recruit me at all if you won’t let me hunt with everyone else?” I soften my voice and hope a fresh approach might sway him to my side. “I can help.”
Zeke sighs and places a hand on my shoulder. “We need you to take one for the team tonight and guard Marax. It’s only a matter of time before the Knights send someone for him. Don’t drop your guard.”
“Fine,” I grumble, dropping my eyes to my worn combat boots. “Whatever you say, boss.”
“Don’t sulk. It’s not a pleasant look for you.” Zeke removes his hand and reaches two fingers under my chin, tilting my head until our eyes meet. “Stay here and stay out of trouble.”
I jerk away from his touch. “This isn’t what I signed up for, Zeke. I want that demonic son of a bitch dead.”
“I know, doll. Trust me, you’re not the only person who can’t wait to watch Kane take his last breath. If you keep Marax safe, I’m confident he can lead us to your retribution.”
“Yo guys!” Gear calls, hurrying into the sanctuary. His spiky mohawk, dyed to match the stripes of a tiger, bounces with each step. “We got something.”
Zeke lifts a brow. “Such as?”
“A report just came in over the police scanner about a man with glowing red eyes terrorizing kids at Riverside Park.”
“A demon.” Zeke rubs his chin. “This changes everything.”
Hope bubbles in my chest. He can’t leave me behind now. Not with so much to handle in one night. Marax will have to babysit himself for a few hours.
“I can take care of the demon,” I offer with a hopeful smile. “No backup required.”
Zeke groans. “Michael won’t like this.”
“He will when I bring him the bastard’s head. Stop treating me like I’m still some lost kid. I’ve proven I can handle one pathetic demon without causing a scene.”
He snorts. “You? Do anything without a scene? Never.”
He waits for me to smirk, but my expression remains stone. He lowers his head and adds, “I’ll let you take this one, but not alone. Take Sage or Nova.”
I grit my teeth and nod. At least he isn’t forcing me to take one of the guys. Sage is a little mouthy and difficult to work with, but Nova knows better than to get in my way. She’s not the worst person to end up stuck with for the night.
I tuck my pistol into the waistband of my pants and stash a small sheathed dagger inside one of my boots. The blade isn’t blessed and won’t do much against a demon, but it’s better than nothing. Depending on who the bastard is, I’ll need every advantage I can get.
I find Nova and tell her to gear up and meet me outside. The air is thick and muggy, but at least it’s an improvement from the stale, moldy oxygen trapped inside the ruins of the church. I lean against the bark of an aged oak tree and wait, drumming my fingers against my arm. Anxious energy fills my body, desperate for the excitement of a hunt to help it escape.
“Come on, Nova,” I mutter into the darkness. I should have insisted on a teammate with a better sense of urgency.
I have little connection with most of the other hunters. Aside from the grim nature of our work, Jade is the only person I have anything in common with. Nova is sweet, but she’s at least five years my senior and obsessed with her horoscopes and tarot cards. I had a hard enough time buying into mainstream religion before my first demon encounter.
Nova emerges from the church after fifteen minutes, swirling a set of keys on her index finger. She’s pulled her deep turquoise hair into a high ponytail. The rest of her body is draped in black down to her combat boots. A gun identical to my own sits holstered to her hip. She doesn’t wear any makeup—she claims the chemicals are like slathering poison on your skin—but she doesn’t need any. Nova looks more like a sorority girl on her way to a costume party than a slayer of the supernatural.
“The park’s a bit of a hike on foot. Zeke’s letting us borrow his wheels.”
How generous of him. It’s only the least he can do after the way he tried to saddle me with babysitting duty.
“Let’s hit the road,” I say, cracking my neck. “Before this fucker does more than scare a few kids.”
* * *
Even without traffic, we take twenty minutes to reach the park. Nova refuses to drive over five miles above the speed limit. She grips the steering wheel with both hands and sits at the edge of her seat, unnerving me more than the mission ahead of us. I should have asked if she had a driver’s license before getting into a vehicle with her. If this is how I die, I’ll never forgive myself.
Nova parks the car near the back of the park under a row of palm trees a few yards from the playground. The streetlamps and lights around the park are still on, a feeble attempt by local law enforcement to deter drug deals and criminal hijinks after hours. I scan the parking lot for police cruisers or flashing blue lights, but there’s no one else in the area. Even the demon appears to have moved on to terrorize somewhere else.
“Damn it,” I growl, climbing out of the car and slamming the door. I bury my hands in my pockets to restrain myself from wrapping them around Nova’s skinny little neck. If we missed this bastard, it’s because of her refusal to put more pressure on the gas pedal.
The park is nothing out of the ordinary, and not a place I’d picture a demon hanging out. The swings rock in the gentle night breeze. A metal jungle gym sits across from a pair of slides and a sandbox. Paint chips off the carousel, half buried in the sand below. No hellfire or demons.
“Any sign of him?”
She appears next to me with her weapon drawn and raised. Her topaz eyes flicker around the playground for signs of movement. “This is the place, right?”
“Unless Gear misheard the scanner.”
But Gear is one of the sharpest hunters in the field. The odds of him making a mistake like that are about as high as the chances of snow in July. I stalk closer to the cl
uster of picnic tables a few feet from the rusted slide and lopsided swings. A gentle breeze blows across my face, carrying the faintest trace of sulfur.
“He was here. He must have gotten bored and left after he scared the kids away.”
Nova nods and creeps closer, running her fingertips along the closest tabletop. “Or he realized this isn’t the smartest area to fuck around in.”
A chuckle escapes me. Little Havana is nowhere near as dangerous as it was a few decades ago, but it’s still not a place where I’d want to piss off the residents. Many of the homeowners learned how to defend their community the hard way.
“Should we canvas the area?” Nova nods towards the street behind the park.
There’s no point. The more powerful demons can teleport with a snap of their fingers. Unless the demon we’re hunting is some low rank nobody, he could be anywhere in the city by now.
But I’m not ready to admit defeat. If we return to Zeke without a kill, he won’t care what excuses I offer about Nova’s driving or how the demon vanished before we reached the park. Zeke will take our failure as confirmation I’m not ready to hunt without him or Jade watching over my shoulder.
“The car is too noticeable. Let’s split up and circle the area on foot.” I reach into my waistband and retrieve my pistol. “Meet me by the swings in twenty.”
She gives me a two-finger salute and dashes off into the street. A breeze kisses my neck as I watch her go. She’s nice enough, but I don’t need to worry about watching out for her while tracking a demon. It’s easier to focus if she’s out of sight and mind.
I give up on searching the park within the first five minutes. The area near the picnic tables and playground is undisturbed, and I don't spot any smears of blood or signs of a struggle. There’s nothing but the fading whiff of sulfur to suggest the demon was ever in the park.
I whirl on my heel and head for the parking lot, but the soft snap of a twig behind me freezes me in place. I'm not alone.
“Nadia.”
My blood turns to ice.
"So nice to see you again," a voice familiar from my nightmares purrs.
My heart pounds so hard against my chest so hard my ribs ache. This can't be real. My imagination is playing an especially cruel trick.
Memories I fought hard to suppress crash back to me like tidal waves. I can almost feel the heat of his palms burning my flesh. My first kiss, my first heartbreak, and my first hard lesson about the real world all came from this man.
No. Not a man. Though every inch of him appears human at first glance, I will never forget the way his eyes glowed red after he murdered my mother. He’s the most deadly and seductive monster I’ve ever crossed paths with. Sweat covers my palms until I almost drop my weapon.
“You look great,” he continues, as if we're two old friends bumping into each other in the grocery store. “The Hunt suits you well. And the all-black look is nice.”
Kane. My gaze narrows. I raise my weapon and turn to face the monster who murdered my mother. He hasn’t changed a bit since the last time we spoke, down to his dark hoodie and chilling onyx eyes. The realization that I once dreamed of his mouth on mine makes my stomach churn. Manipulative murderous bastard.
“I can't tell if you're arrogant or stupid, but I appreciate you making this easy for me,” I tell him through clenched teeth. After the way he burned my old life to the ground, I’ve dreamed of this moment every night for the last two years. Aiming the gun for the center of his chest, I suck in a deep breath and prepare for the bittersweet taste of revenge.
I squeeze the trigger. Nothing happens. I squeeze harder, but not even a click follows. What the hell?
Kane’s lips curl into a savage smirk. With a dramatic wave of his hand, the gun flies out of my grasp and onto the ground with a thud. He cracks his neck and takes a step closer.
“Nice try, but I think you have me confused with a lesser demon.”
My hand flies to the dagger holstered to my left hip. “Fine. I’ll enjoy killing you this way more.” It’s only fair he should die the same way he murdered my mother.
Kane laughs, his voice booming through the empty park. He swishes his hand through the air again, and the blade in my hand wobbles until it slides from my grasp. It floats a few inches above me before soaring across the park and burying itself inside the trunk of a tall palm tree.
“Is that the best you’ve got? It’s like fighting a small kitten.”
I move to lunge at him just as rough hands grab me from behind. I kick and thrash with all my strength. There’s too many of them. They drag me towards the ground, indifferent to my struggling. I scream until my throat burns, hopeful someone might hear our struggle and intervene. They throw something over my face. My vision plunges into darkness. The demons yank my arms behind my back and fasten my wrists together.
“What about the other girl?” A nasally voice asks. “They said to grab both.”
“She’s not here,” Kane answers. “We’ll have to work with what we’ve got. And for the love of all that’s unholy, will someone please shut her the fuck up?”
Something hard lands in the center of my gut, knocking the air from my lungs. I double over and gasp. A hand snakes around my neck, pulling me onto my feet.
“I-I’ll kill you, Kane,” I choke. “I’ll kill every one of you fuckers.”
“That’s enough for now, pet.” Two fingers press into my right temple. “We can catch up more when you awaken.”
Haziness settles over my thoughts. I try to protest, but my jaw refuses to open. Against my will, my entire body shuts down. My limbs go weak until the only thing keeping me off the ground is the demon holding a fistful of my hair. But the pain in my scalp disappears with my vision and control over my body. Within seconds, there’s only Kane’s face and darkness.
CHAPTER FOUR
Kane
“You summoned me?” My voice drips with sarcasm. I lean against the doorframe to Dagon’s study with my arms crossed. Leave it to my brother to piss all over my fun. Another few minutes alone with Nadia and my self-control would have snapped. Seeing her exposed and bound, waiting for me, put thoughts in my head I’m now powerless to dispel. Never have I wanted to break someone so badly. Maybe once I finish it won’t nauseate me to see what she’s become.
It’s my fault, as usual. I ruined Nadia’s life the same way I destroyed Dagon’s happiness with Hollie. She’s convinced I killed her mother, and nothing I say will change her mind. Not after she found me at the scene of the crime covered in Alana Gray’s blood. It’s almost ironic how everything I do blows up in my face, eventually. Losing my temper and saying too much caused Hollie to disappear in the wind. Not telling Nadia the truth about Zeke and the war between Heaven and Hell burned any chance I had of earning her trust or cooperation. Now, I can only hope to motivate her through fear instead.
I shouldn’t give a singular fuck about Nadia. She’s my ticket to a promotion at best, another body on my hands at worst. One pitiful human life isn’t worth much when you’re cursed to an eternal existence. Yet her face occupies every spare second of my thoughts.
Dagon doesn’t even glance up from the book in his lap. “Lilith called while you were setting the prisoner up in the attic. She’s eager to move onto phase two of her plan.”
“Which is?” I pause, tilting my air and sniffing. “Are you burning incense? It smells like an old lady’s basement in here.”
He brushes my insult off with a grin. He’s unapologetic about his eccentricities, from the expensive artwork adoring his walls to the weird incense and instrumental music he indulges in. Like most of the demons who spend a lot of time topside, he’s found more than a handful of strange human pleasures to enjoy. “Levi is dropping by sometime soon to help us film a ransom video for Michael.”
I scoff. “What’s the point? Her life is disposable to them. They won’t run to her rescue.”
“Doesn’t matter. Orders are orders. Has she said anything yet?”
“
Nothing useful. We roughed her up good, though. Doubt she’ll say much until the pain fades.”
Dagon snorts. “She’s scrappy for someone so small. Maybe it taught her a lesson.”
Unlikely, but a demon can dream. Nadia strikes me as headstrong to the point of self-destruction. Unless we knock her out to protect her from herself, it wouldn’t surprise me if she broke a bone struggling against her restraints.
“Where is Kazzon?” I ask, shooting a glance down the hallway.
His eyes finally lift to meet mine. “Why?”
“A little medicine for the pain might loosen her tongue.” Or knock her the hell out. Either outcome works for me.
Dagon frowns. “Are you high? Since when do we give a shit about her comfort? This isn’t the Hilton.”
He’s right, but I’ll never admit it. I step further into the study, careful to keep my expression neutral. With any other prisoner of war, I’d relish in the sounds of their suffering. But Nadia isn’t just any hunter. Lilith wouldn’t have ordered us to kidnap her if she were.
I doubt Nadia knows anything about Michael’s weapons or his next moves. She doesn’t strike me as someone high in the Dark Hunt’s food chain. But if I don’t put on a show of torturing the information out of her, all three of us will suffer for it. Dagon’s chances of joining the Knights will vanish, and Lilith will banish the two of us to the pits of Hell. Levi or Moloch will torture Nadia in our place, an experience I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.
“Lilith wants her for a reason, and I intend to find out what it is,” I tell him. “She won’t tell me shit without a little incentive. The sooner we figure out what Michael has planned, the sooner we can dispose of her and take the promotions we’ve worked our asses off for.”
“So you plan to bribe her?”
“I plan to do whatever it takes. Torture her, bribe her, burn her alive—it’s all the same to me. This petty bitch is the only thing standing in between you and a place with the Knights.”
His expression darkens. “You recognize her, right? I had my suspicions from the moment Lilith showed us those pictures but seeing her in the flesh confirmed it.”