Page 3 of Take You Home (Redwater Demons #3)

W e’re discontinuing our investigation into the Jackson case.”

For a split second, Chester is sure he misheard. Next to him, Bryant looks just as stunned as he feels. “We’re discontinuing it?” she repeats, incredulous. “Councilwoman??—?”

Councilwoman Nasir cuts her off. “Initially, we believed that we might be able to bring Jackson back into the fold,” she says, lacing her fingers together on her desk and fixing Chester and Bryant with her usual steely gaze.

“However, recent events have shown that to be highly unlikely?—and we’ve now lost another hunter in the pursuit.

He’ll be considered an armed and dangerous fugitive, but we won’t be actively searching for him anymore. ”

Chester tastes bile. He’s never really been called into Nasir’s office for good news, but this is even worse than he expected. Over the past few months, it’s just been one blow after another, between JJ defecting and Roma defecting and??—

And the revelation that Sawyer Solomon and Naomi Gutierrez, the self-defense instructors who trained the four of them as teenagers, also shacked up with a pair of demons after they vanished six years ago.

Chester fights back a shudder at the thought.

It was bad enough when he thought their former mentors ran away so they could date without the looming specters of arranged marriages and bloodlines discrimination; knowing that they abandoned Chester and his friends to work alongside demons just adds insult to injury.

Bryant’s indignant voice brings Chester back to the present. “So we’re just giving up? Giving up on J?—on Jackson and Gutierrez?”

Chester hears her catch the slip just in time. Nowadays, their oldest friends aren’t JJ and Roma, two-thirds of Strike Team Kappa. Not anymore.

They’re defectors now. Armed and dangerous ones, apparently.

Councilwoman Nasir’s eyes narrow. “In a word? Yes.” Bryant flinches at the reprimand, and Chester resists the urge to put a steadying hand on her shoulder.

“The past few weeks have proven them to be beyond redemption. Not only did they allow themselves to be seduced by demons, but they’re overtly conspiring against the Sanctum.

That’s not something we can fix, Nehemiah. You’d do well to remember that.”

“But…” Chester’s voice comes out small and hoarse, and Bryant shoots him a sharp look.

The two of them usually have purebred Bryant do the talking, letting less-than-mixed-breed Chester fade into the background, but this is too important to be left unsaid.

“But that’s not the?—the Jackson and Gutierrez we know, Councilwoman.

It sounds like Chin and Laguerre and Smith brainwashed them.

Like they need to be saved, not condemned. ”

He holds his breath as Nasir considers him. He knows that he’s toeing a dangerous line here?—the Council’s authority isn’t to be questioned, especially by a neophyte hunter like him?—but damn it, JJ and Roma were his friends.

He was their friend, too. He knows he was .

To his surprise, Councilwoman Nasir leans forward, resting her chin on tented fingers and meeting his gaze. “According to our sources, Chester, you’re not entirely incorrect.”

Chester’s eyes widen. Bryant stiffens. “What?” she demands. “Councilwoman, if the demons enchanted them??—?”

“There’s no evidence of enchantments,” Nasir cuts in, “but there is evidence of a certain amount of psychological warfare?—specifically, psychological warfare against Jackson.” Her eyes shift back to Chester. “Chester, would you say that the Sanctum has helped you over the past twelve years?”

Chester blinks with confusion at the unexpected question.

Still, even with his precarious position in the Sanctum’s social hierarchy and all the tension that comes with it, his answer is easy.

“Of course. After my family was killed, the Sanctum gave me a home. A purpose. A chance to prevent what happened to me from happening to anyone else.”

That’s all he ever wanted, really?—to make sure no one else had to go through what he did.

Watching his parents and younger brothers get slaughtered by demons was the defining experience of his childhood, and even twelve years later, there’s a part of him that still hasn’t completely recovered from it.

In another life, JJ probably would’ve agreed with him. After all, Chester’s family was only half of the Jackson–Locke murders.

The councilwoman nods, unsurprised by his answer.

“You and Jackson were the first civilians we ever tried to train from scratch. Normally, if orphans were left behind after demonic murders, we connected the unfortunate children with social services to find placement for them. However, you and Jackson were a test of the idea that we could empower victims to protect themselves and others.” A smile curves on her lips.

“And you passed that test with flying colors.”

There’s a rare note of approval in her voice. Chester’s heart swells with it. His status as a neophyte hunter means that he’s usually ignored or forgotten entirely, so the fact that a member of the Council believes he’s an asset??—

Well. He’s going to be carrying that praise with him for years. “Thank you, ma’am. The Sanctum taught me well.”

Nasir inclines her head. “We certainly tried. What you might not know, however, is that while you and Jackson were the first survivors the Sanctum adopted, you weren’t the last. Once you proved yourselves, other Sanctums worldwide started to embrace our model, taking in orphaned children instead of sending them to civilian families who could never possibly understand what they’d been through. ”

The words jolt through Chester. “I?—I didn’t know that,” he stammers, an unfamiliar surge of pride washing through him.

Chester and JJ did that. They paved the way for survivors like them to take revenge on the demons who hurt them and protect other kids from the same fate.

He’s proud of them for that. He just wishes JJ were here to see it.

“I didn’t know that, either,” Bryant says slowly, her head tipping to one side. “Does it happen a lot?”

“There have been a few dozen cases worldwide,” Nasir says, waving a hand dismissively. “Thankfully, demonic massacres aren’t frequent enough for us to do it too often. But, so far, all of our neophytes have been just as successful as Chester.”

She doesn’t mention JJ. A tendril of unease creeps down Chester’s spine. “But what does that have to do with the Jackson case?”

The councilwoman’s eyes harden. “The demons have concocted a clever story,” she says, “no doubt helped along by Sawyer Solomon and Naomi Gutierrez. They’ve been spreading a rumor that the Sanctum commissioned those demons to kill your family?—and Jackson’s?—so we could prey on and indoctrinate the survivors. ”

Chester’s stomach drops. “What? ”

Bryant looks bewildered. “But that doesn’t make any sense. Why would we need more hunters? Especially civilians?” Her eyes flicker to Chester. “No offense.”

“None taken.”

“That’s the clever part,” Nasir says. “Because there has been a statistically significant decline in the number of hunters worldwide over the past few centuries. It’s nothing to be concerned about, of course?—we still outnumber demons nearly forty to one?—but they’re using that as their ‘proof’ that we need to swell our ranks. ”

Chester swallows hard. The story is barely hanging together by a thread, barely stuck together with paper clips and glue, but if the words were packaged correctly… “JJ believed that?” he asks haltingly.

“It appears so. And once he believed it, he would’ve been earnest in convincing Gutierrez, as well.

” Nasir’s frown deepens. “In a way, Chester, you’re correct: they were brainwashed.

But it was a lie they never should’ve accepted in the first place.

We think they simply wanted to believe the story to justify their defections. ”

Chester’s heart hurts. Bryant looks away. “So there’s no hope for them?” she asks quietly.

“Anything is possible,” Nasir says briskly, “but we’ve done all we can do. If they wish to return to us and plead their cases before the Council, it will have to be of their own volition.”

That’ll never happen. Chester’s chest aches at the thought. Roma is the most stubborn person he’s ever met, both a blessing and a curse, and if JJ truly believes that the Sanctum was responsible for his family’s murders, then he’ll die before he comes back.

Hell. If it were true, then Chester would be right there with him.

“In any case,” Councilwoman Nasir continues, “I wanted to inform you both in person that we’re ceasing our pursuit of Jackson?—and to warn you to be on your guard against the demons.

” Her eyes narrow. “You two grew up alongside Jackson and Gutierrez, and you were trained by Sawyer and Naomi. They might see you as easy targets. It’s your job to prove them wrong. ”

Chester squares his shoulders, but Bryant is the one who answers. “Understood, ma’am,” she says firmly. “We’ll keep our guards up. And we’ll protect each other, too.”

Warmth curls through Chester at the words. He and Bryant were never particularly close over the years?—a purebred associating with a neophyte hunter was nearly grounds for scandal?—but he always knew they’d walk through fire for each other, even if they complained about it every step of the way.

Especially now that they’re all they have left.

“Excellent. I look forward to ridding Redwater of the blight slandering our Sanctum’s good name,” Nasir says, and she waves them off. “You’re both dismissed. I’ll contact you with any further updates.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Bryant inclines her head politely before walking to the door, and Chester waits a half second out of respect before following her. He eases the door shut as soundlessly as possible behind them, and they slip down the hallway in silence.

But not for long. “So what do we think?” Chester whispers, his stomach tying itself into knots. “About JJ and Roma.”