Page 14 of My Demon Hunter (Hell Bent #2)

13

MIST T H E MARK

L ily stood frozen by familiar fear, her thoughts whirling. And spiraling. He said he wants to hunt me. He could kill me as easily as breathing. He could eviscerate me with his claws, strangle me with his tail, or finish the job of tearing my throat out with those sharp teeth.

He’s an honest-to-god demon. Demons can kill witches with no repercussions. Not only should I let him leave, I should run screaming in the other direction. I should learn every anti-demon ward in existence and cover my flat with them. I’ll never go outside again, and I’ll get my groceries delivered so I don’t have to—

“Shut up,” Lily hissed at herself, cutting off the anxious thoughts with a firm hand. She was so sick of that cowardly, defeatist voice in her head. The one that made her second-guess and overthink everything she did. The one that made her feel weak and insecure.

From now on, whatever that voice told her to do, she was doing the opposite.

So, after finally switching off the rogue shower, she raced out of the bathroom and down the hall. “Mist!”

The front door was open. She ran outside to the edge of the balcony, leaning out to look down the street. She didn’t see him, so she hurried down the steps to the sidewalk and spun around, checking both ways for a glimpse of his looming form. When there was no sign of him, she shouted, “Mist!” as loud as she could for good measure.

Someone passing by on the opposite sidewalk shot her a wary look, but besides them, there was no one else around and no response to her call.

He’d probably changed into mist and disappeared, and she was surprised at the intensity of her crushing disappointment. It hit her so strongly, she trudged over to the steps leading back up to the balcony and sat heavily on the bottom one. She proceeded to bury her face in her hands and sigh tiredly.

She’d gone to all that trouble to summon him, nearly getting herself killed, only for him to walk out the door and be lost again. She couldn’t summon him a second time either. Her brain was mush, and she could feel the depletion of her psychic energy. She would need time and rest before performing any more magic.

I will hunt you and bite you and taste you, all of you, and I will do it in this form that repulses you.

She groaned into her palms as her stomach fluttered at the memory. Why couldn’t she have just spoken her mind? All she’d had to do was say, You don’t repulse me. I’m just scared because I’d never seen a demon before now, and I’d always been taught to fear them. This is a lot to take in. Was that so difficult?

Then again, she thought with a sudden scowl, it was pretty damn difficult, considering everything. And he’d sure taken off fast. He’d been so sure she was horrified by the sight of him that he hadn’t even given her a chance to come to terms with everything he’d just unloaded on her.

I mean, come on. He’d gone from almost killing her to passing out on the floor to destroying her shower to stalking out the door. Was it too much to ask for five minutes to wrap her head around the complete upheaval of her formerly uneventful life?

At least she’d gotten the answers she sought. There’d been no ulterior motive behind their date. He’d broken the rules to be with her, and he was apparently controlled by some other powerful demon. She’d never been in danger, and she wasn’t going to be as long as she stayed away from him.

So did she really want him to come back?

She scoffed. Who am I kidding? She was bursting with questions, and despite everything, she wanted to understand him better. She wanted to learn everything about him. There was no way she was leaving things like this.

Her instincts had been right. He was in trouble and he needed help, and for some absurd, ludicrous reason... she wanted to be the one to give it to him.

How well do you really know him? the little whiny voice whispered from its dark corner. You don’t really know for sure he won’t hurt you. How are you supposed to do anything anyway? You’re nothing special.

“I said shut up, damn it!”

“I didn’t say anything.”

With a yelp, she dropped her hands and leapt to her feet.

The largest man she had ever seen was standing right in front of her. His hair was an incredible platinum blond that gleamed in the sunlight. He was so tall, he had to drop his chin nearly to his chest so he could pin her with his piercing blue glare. And she was certain his broad shoulders were double the width of hers.

He was easily the scariest person she had ever seen, and that was saying a lot considering who had just been in her shower. She shrank back while inwardly wanting to kick herself. She kept saying how sick she was of being timid, but it appeared old habits did indeed die hard.

“I had to come here and track you down myself,” the blond giant said, “and I’m not happy about it. Don’t make it worse.”

She immediately recognized his voice as that of the demon who’d threatened her on the phone. His jaw was set, and his eyes were narrowed. He looked mad, and it was terrifying.

“Wh-who are y—?”

“Where’s Mishetsu? I can feel the magic from here, so I know you summoned him, however the bloody fuck that’s possible.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, suddenly looking exhausted. “How the bloody fuck is that possible?”

Lily forced her chin up, though its trembling definitely gave her away. “I’m a powerful witch. It was easy.” Yeah, right.

His brow arched. “Is that why you have a bite mark on your neck?”

She slapped a hand over it. “Who are you?”

“Where’s Mishetsu?”

“I— He left.”

“Why?”

“Because...” Because he thinks he repulses me. “He said he’s... branded, and he broke the rules. He said his mistress found out and threw him in a pit of monsters the size of airplanes to be eaten. He killed one, but there were five more.”

The demon cursed in a rumbling growl. His voice was so deep she could feel its vibration in her bones.

“Raum.”

Lily blinked. “Huh?”

A large black bird suddenly swooped right over their heads, and she shrieked and jumped back as a man suddenly appeared beside them. He pinned the huge blond with a flat stare, his eyes an unusual bright gold that contrasted with his dark skin. He ignored Lily completely. “Yeah?”

“Go find Mishetsu. He’s probably sulking around somewhere in mist form.”

“If he doesn’t want to be found, I won’t be able to find him.”

“Try.”

The two demons glared at each other for a second, and then the newcomer rolled his eyes. “Fine.”

Before her very eyes, he transformed into a crow and flew off again.

Her head was going to explode before this day was done. “Wha— Who— He—”

“For a witch who just summoned one of the most powerful demons in Hell, you seem pretty shocked by a simple shapeshift.”

“I haven’t—” Lily Donovan, I will slap you in the face if you stutter one more bloody time! “I’ve never summoned a demon before. Actually, I haven’t practiced magic in almost ten years.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“That’s not my problem.” Crap, she’d jumped from startled rabbit to overconfident. Where was the middle ground?

The demon didn’t look impressed either. She had the distinct impression he wasn’t used to getting attitude, and it was probably because he killed anyone who tried to give it.

A silent staring contest followed. Lily looked into his blue eyes and tried not to cower, and the demon looked blandly back at her. The power he radiated terrified her.

Who was he? She was suddenly afraid of finding out.

A moment later, he sighed, and the tension dissolved. “I know you know how easily I could kill you, but I’m not here for that. Just... stay out of my way, and don’t fuck with me, my brothers, or Mishetsu, and I won’t fuck with you, your sister, or your coven. If you tell anyone—anyone at all—that you met us, I will come back here, and I will kill you. It will be slow. It will be painful. You won’t escape. Got it?”

Lily swallowed and nodded.

“And don’t think you can keep me out with wards or any magic because that will only piss me off. And we’ve already established that bad things happen when I get pissed off.”

She nodded again weakly.

“Good.” Without another word, he turned and headed down the street, moving with surprising grace for someone of his size. He made it halfway down the block before she realized it was now or never.

She started running. “Wait!”

He turned back, and as she skidded to a halt in front of him, she saw flames flicker in his eyes. Hellfire. She recoiled.

“What?”

“I— I—” No more stuttering! “I want to help Mist.”

He blinked. “Why?”

“I just... feel like he needs help.”

“He’s got help already. He doesn’t need you. And what can a little human like you do anyway?”

She gritted her teeth and planted her hands on her hips. Screw the middle ground. “I summoned him out of a pit of monsters and saved him from getting eaten. And I summoned him out of the cuffs.” She still didn’t quite understand what that meant, but she was hoping the other demon did. “You couldn’t have done that without me. Demons can’t summon other demons. You need my help.”

His eyes narrowed. “Demons can’t summon demons, but they can kill witches.”

“He won’t hurt me.” As she said it, a wave of conviction rose, that inner whisper assuring her she was speaking the truth.

His brow lifted. “Won’t he?”

“He won’t.”

They held each other’s stares once more, and then out of nowhere, the demon smiled. It was such a change from his terrifying scowl that she blinked in astonishment. Smiling like that made him look oddly... angelic.

“Well, well. Seems the Hunter found himself a human after all.” He waved a hand, and the smile vanished. “It’s not up to me what he does. If he wants to see you, he’ll come back.”

“Can you just tell him I want to see him if you find him? He won’t come otherwise. He thinks I’m scared of him.”

“Aren’t you?”

“I’m not .” She said it for her benefit as much as his. “I just needed a bit of time to adjust to seeing his demon form, but I’m over it now. I don’t care what he looks like, and if he’d given me five minutes before he took off, he would know that.”

The demon looked briefly skyward. “Why am I always in the middle of this soap opera shit? Fine. If I see him, I’ll tell him you still love him despite his monstrous appearance, and you’re the key to his redemption or whatever.”

“I didn’t say I—”

“Take it or leave it, witch. I’m not your friend, and this isn’t a goddamn fairy tale. Now, goodbye. I hope I never see you again, but something tells me that’s too much to ask.”

He turned and started walking, muttering, “The shit I put up with. No wonder I can’t control my temper, for fuck’s sake.”

The cloud of mist wedged itself tighter into the corner of the flat roof’s ledge, but it didn’t make a difference. The crow perched beside him just cocked its head, unimpressed.

With an inward groan, Mist gave up the pretense of hiding and took physical form. His skin and hair were still wet from the shower, but at least his pants were dry.

A moment later, the golden-eyed crow beside him shifted into a golden-eyed man.

Mist crouched on the ledge and picked at the brick with his claws. His companion sat on the ledge and faced the opposite way. Neither of them spoke. Mist was glad for Raum’s stoic demeanor. He was not in the mood for jokes and idle conversation.

After a time, the crow demon broke the silence. “Why don’t you go talk to her?”

They had both overheard the conversation between Lily and Belial. The only reason Mist hadn’t flown down and growled at Belial when he threatened Lily was because he didn’t want her to know he was there.

“It’s pointless,” Mist said. “Already Paimon summons me again.”

“The brand is burning?”

He nodded.

“How long do you have?”

“Less than two weeks.”

“So that’s it? You’re just going to give up without even trying?”

“I’m not giving up,” Mist growled. He didn’t appreciate the insinuation that he was weak.

“Bel’s helping you. Lily’s helping you. Hell, even Eva’s dad is helping you. And you’ve got a bit of time before you have to go back. A lot can happen in two weeks.”

Mist’s digging claws managed to break a piece off the brick, and he watched it topple over the balcony rooftop onto the sidewalk below. He didn’t correct Raum’s assumption that he’d return to Hell when the time came.

He wasn’t going back. If it meant his death, so be it.

“And even if we don’t find a solution in that time,” Raum said, “Lily can just summon you again, right?”

Mist shook his head. “Paimon won’t make that mistake again. If she hadn’t removed the chains, Lily would not have been able to.”

What he didn’t mention was that it shouldn’t have worked with just the cuffs on either. He didn’t know how that had happened, but he presumed it was a fluke that wouldn’t work a second time.

“Your human is no regular witch,” Raum mused.

“No.”

“Blood-born?”

“Must be.”

“That’s rare.”

Mist growled. “She’s mine.”

“Is she? Because it seems to me you’re being creepy on her roof rather than claiming her.”

His claws dug back into the brick. “It’s for her safety.”

“Well, if you don’t want her, maybe I’ll—”

Mist swung his head around and snarled, simultaneously ripping the entire brick out of the wall and throwing it at Raum.

The demon ducked and then held up his hands with a rare smirk. “Just proving my point.” He stood. “If you’ve only got two weeks, maybe you should spend it with her instead of hiding on a roof. Just a suggestion. The rest of us will keep digging for info on the brands.”

Mist’s growl died in his throat. He’d done nothing to warrant their help. The contract they’d made only stated they had to provide him a place to live and assistance with understanding humans. There was nothing about helping him be free of Paimon.

It didn’t matter whether they succeeded. The fact that they were even trying... It meant something profound.

Raum nodded in farewell and then jumped off the side of the building, transforming into a crow as he fell. With a few pumps of sleek wings, he vanished into the afternoon sky.

Mist went back to his gargoyle-like perch on the edge.

It didn’t matter what Raum or Lily said. She was better off without him in her life. He was still branded. He was still trapped. He still only had a few days of freedom left.

He told himself to spread his wings and fly away as Raum had, to leave the witch to live her life. He told himself to make the smart choice, the one that would save him the most pain later when things inevitably went south.

And yet, no matter what warnings he gave himself, he couldn’t seem to leave.

Meph appeared at Belial’s side just as he turned the corner at the end of the block.

Bel groaned. “I thought I told you to stay home.”

After Lily hung up on him, Belial had threatened Meph with creative torture until he told him where she lived. Then he’d threatened more torture if he or Raum tried to follow him when he went to pay her a visit.

So, of course, they both had.

He’d seen Raum perched in a tree in the neighbor’s yard, but he hadn’t noticed Meph until now, and that pissed him off.

“And I told you to be nice,” Meph shot back. “Big fail.”

Bel made a low noise in his throat. Okay, it was a growl.

Meph didn’t take the hint. He never did. “Did you have to be such a dick?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Why?”

“Because.”

“Because why?”

“Do you ever shut up?”

“Nope. Why?”

He growled again. “Because if she’s actually going to be hanging around Mist, she needs to be tough. Things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. If they get better. The last thing we need is some shrinking-violet human screaming every time she sees a demon.”

“So you wanted to scare her a bit to test her.” Meph grinned. Then again, he was always grinning, so maybe his face hadn’t changed. “Pretty devious plan, bro.”

“Shut up. I told you to stay home. Where were you even lurking?”

“I can be sneaky when I want to be.”

A crow swooped out of nowhere and transformed into Raum, who fell into step beside them. He craned his head up to scowl at Belial. “Did you have to be such a dick?”

Bel clenched his fists so hard, his knuckles cracked. “I swear to god if you both don’t shut up, I’ll rip your tongues out, shove them up your asses, and then strangle you with your own intestines.”

“Sounds kinky,” Meph said, still grinning.

He groaned. Just kill me now.