Authors: Unknown
“You can’t possibly smell anything other than yourself.” He passed the handle of the battle-axe back and forth between his hands, keeping the demon focused on the weapon. “Who is this master you work for? Maybe I’ve seen his mate around.”
He glanced at the empty doorway.
Please let her see my note and stay inside.
The demon stretched his neck up and out, elongating it like a snake while his head swooped back and forth, following the ax’s movements.
“He knows you, slayer.” He hissed, exposing sharpened fangs dripping in demon saliva. “And he knows you have her.”
“You’re full of shit.” Gabe lunged forward, burying the sharp edge of his battle-axe in the demon’s chest. He yanked it free, hoping to land another blow, but the demon staggered back, retreating. Green blood oozed through its shirt, and Gabe reached for his crossbow. The demon stared down at his wound, growled, and then charged with fangs bared. Gabe nailed him with two silver-pointed arrows in the torso, but they barely slowed the thing.
Gabe launched his battle-axe next, sending it soaring end over end toward the oncoming demon. The hissing abomination shifted, and the battle-axe skimmed his side instead of splitting him down the middle.
“Damn it.”
The beast collided with Gabe, knocking him to the ground. Gabe grappled, getting his hands around the demon’s scaly neck and squeezing until his eyes bulged. The creature’s fangs bore down on him, inches from Gabe’s face. Viri venom would paralyze him long enough for the monster to grab Tegan.
Not on his watch.
Gabe focused on the teeth, and keeping them far from him. Now the stench of sulfur and rotten eggs was more than just a mere discomfort. It blew Gabe’s hair back and turned his stomach.
Enough of this shit.
Gabe released one hand from around the demon’s neck and snatched his crossbow from his shoulder, walloping the demon in the side of the head. The creature hissed and rocked back. Taking advantage of the brief shift in power, Gabe rolled the demon under him, punching him in the throat with his free hand.
“Holy crap!”
The battle paused, both Gabe and the demon looking over at the new player.
Damn it.
Tegan stood in the doorway in bare feet, jeans, and a tank top. She was pale and slack-jawed, her hair still wet from the shower. Gabe scrambled to stand, putting himself between her and the demon. He backed up toward Tegan, trying to figure out how to get her inside so he could focus on finishing this fight. Worrying about her was a distraction he couldn’t afford. He’d shove her inside and shut the door if he had to.
He kept his eyes on the threat. “Tegan, get in the dojo and lock the door. Now.”
…
An inhuman, creepy snake man flicked his tongue out, his voice hissing each word as he spoke to her. “You are the woman for my master. He marked you as his.”
A chill crept up her spine, and the scar on her collarbone ached, burning.
“That’s horseshit.” Gabe stepped back, nudging her. “Demons lie, Tegan. Come on, I need you to get back inside.”
The placating, calming tone of Gabe’s voice yanked her out of the fear-induced stupor. She blinked as though she was awakening from a nightmare. Only this one was real, and she had a chance to make a difference.
She trained for years to protect herself. Sure, this was some sort of reptilian demon-thing from God knows where, but it still…bled? She stared at the large green stain on the demon’s side. Gabe had wounded it. She glanced at her hired muscle. He clutched a crossbow, but the demon’s wound was larger than an arrowhead. Scanning the area, she noticed a battle-axe sticking out of the telephone pole across the parking lot. Apparently it had only skimmed the demon’s side.
The creature lurched toward them. Gabe raised his crossbow and bashed the demon in the side of the head. Tegan seized the opportunity and raced across the lot for the ax. Adrenaline pulsed through her muscles, strengthening her, drowning her fear in action. She gripped the handle and jerked it back and forth until the wood finally released the blade.
It took her a second to gauge the weight of the medieval weapon, heavy and dangerous. Perfect. She ran back, her bare feet barely registering the rocks from the asphalt digging into her soles. The demon turned from Gabe, facing her, and Tegan pulled the ax back to swing. He pivoted, his arm backhanding her. She lost her balance, and her ass connected with the pavement. Hard. While the demon leaned toward her, Gabe shot two more arrows into his back.
Tegan forced herself to wait for the right moment before springing to her feet and using the forward motion to power the ax across the base of the bastard’s long neck.
“No! Not the head!” Gabe shouted.
But it was too late. The demon’s head thumped to the ground, and bright-green demon blood sprayed onto her hands and arms.
“It burns,” she shrieked, fighting the pain to keep the ax in her hands. Why didn’t the demon body collapse? She’d heard that chickens ran around headless, but this was worse. The thing’s body lurched forward, arms flailing blindly as though he was…searching for her.
Gabe rushed to her side, grabbing her around the waist, and before she could protest, he carried her and the ax back to his car. He set her on her feet at the trunk and pulled out a rag, wetting it with a canister of water. He kept glancing at the still-not-dead demon body as he worked on her.
“We’ve only got a couple more minutes.” He started wiping the green goo off her. The skin still looked red, but there were no blisters. Not yet anyway. “Get all the blood off. It’s like a mild acid.” He opened the driver’s-side door and handed her the keys. “Once you’re clean, get out of here. I’ve got to finish this.”
Tegan kept wiping, fast, but she had no intention of leaving Gabe to fight alone. Not a chance. She tossed the rag back in Gabe’s trunk and stopped when she saw the cache of weapons. In order to complete her third-degree black belt, she’d trained and mastered ninja stars,
nunchaku techniques with
nunchakus, and, her weapon of choice, the sword.
Without hesitation, Tegan grabbed the katana, sliding it free of its sheath. After a couple of practice swings she almost smiled. It was sharp and hummed through the air. She turned around and went to help Gabe as he landed another ax blow to the demon’s shoulder. But the body still wouldn’t
die
.
He frowned, keeping half his attention on her, and half on the demon. “This isn’t a game. I told you to get in the car and drive away.”
Good thing her hands were full or she would’ve socked him. “When I came out here you weren’t winning this fight. Now you’ve got your ax back and a dying enemy.”
“Not exactly.”
She glanced over at the demon. Three reptilian heads pushed their way through its neck. Black forked tongues and orange eyes, and more green blood oozed down the front of its shirt.
“Holy shit. That is disgusting.” She tightened her grip on the katana. “This is unreal. How do we stop it?”
“That’s what happens when you cut the head off a Viri demon.” He looked her way. “You get three more.”
“How was I supposed to know?” She stayed close to Gabe, her shoulder pressing against his jacket.
“You were
supposed
to stay inside.”
They moved together toward the pissed-off three-headed demon.
Tegan rolled her eyes. “Or maybe you could’ve told me how to kill the freak.”
“You have to go for the body with this one.” He took another step closer. “And stay away from the fangs. The venom will paralyze you.”
“Got it.” Together they lunged into battle, and while Gabe dodged the heads to get in closer to the body, Tegan spun the katana, slicing off one of the demon’s arms, keeping the demon’s attention on her.
It squealed and hissed, heads bobbing in her direction, flashing sharp fangs. “You’re an ugly son of a bitch.”
Gabe swung the ax at its chest while she dodged a head, followed by a swing of its last arm. Tegan countered with a side kick into the open wound in the demon’s side.
The demon screeched and toppled to the ground. Lifeless. Gabe pushed it over with his foot, displaying his ax buried in the creature’s scaly chest. For a minute, she froze, immobile. A pool of green blood spread around the demon. The three heads lay still, eyes wide open.
Gabe walked over and took the katana from her hands. “Are you all right?”
Tegan nodded, relieved to see Gabe’s chiseled features instead of the horror in her parking lot. “I think so.”
“Good.” He guided her to his car and used the rag to wipe the blade clean before sliding it back into the leather sheath. Once the sword was safely in the trunk, he came toward her. He didn’t look ready to high-five her for helping him kill the monster in her parking lot. The demon blood on his shirt and arms made the green of his eyes brighter, but it did nothing to lighten his expression. A muscle in his cheek clenched.
“Next time I tell you to do something, it needs to happen. This isn’t a sparring match in your dojo.”
Her eyes widened with shock before her temper caught up with her. “In case you already forgot, you killed this thing because
I
helped you.”
He stepped into her personal space, but she was too pissed off to back up. Being this close to him, she had to look up in order to meet his eyes. Another unexpected fire smoldered inside of her until she almost wanted to go inside rather than face him.
This close she could see the light shadow along his unshaven jaw, and the way his lips parted made her pulse pick up.
“We got lucky.” He swallowed, his eyes locked on her face. Time slowed, and her lips parted. He leaned a little closer. His breath caressed her skin. Her heart pounded in her ears.
Shaking his head, Gabe spun on his heel and stormed over to the body. He turned so suddenly, Tegan gasped to catch her breath.
“I’m a slayer,” he said, without looking in her direction. “I can take a lot more damage than you and live to fight another day.”
Tegan watched him start tossing all the body parts into a pile. What would he have done if she lived in an apartment complex? For the first time she was actually lucky she couldn’t afford the rent on a building in a higher-traffic area.
“Slayer or not, you needed me, and I helped you.” He didn’t even glance her way as he pulled his battle-axe out of the body. Apparently he thought the conversation was over. Infuriating.
Tegan shook her head, walking toward the dojo. As the adrenaline drained from her bloodstream, the pain of the demon blood on her bare feet flared. She was going to need another shower.
She stopped at the door, glaring at him over her shoulder. “You should be thanking me, not giving me a lecture on hiding. I’m not a victim, Gabe. I hired you to find the thing that attacked me. I didn’t hire you to fight my battles for me.”
She got inside the dojo and slammed the door. Resting her back against it, her hands started to tremble and her breathing went shallow. “No… The danger’s over. I beat it.” She whispered to the anxiety rising in her chest. “Not now.”
She made her way up the stairs on the back wall of the dojo, talking herself down from the panic attack that made her limbs tingle. Yesterday she’d laughed about demons being real and today she’d helped kill one.
And that thing called her his master’s
woman
. She touched the scar on her collarbone and forced herself to breathe. She’d die before she let that demon touch her again.
But maybe that was his plan all along.
Chapter Four
Gabe heard the door slam, and his chest tightened. He’d been a total ass.
But it needed to be done. He wouldn’t have her blood on his hands, too. They were dirty enough already.
He carried his battle-axe back to the trunk and wiped it clean with a sigh. He looked up at her window. He’d never met a woman like Tegan Ashton. She had moxie. She also had lips that drove him to distraction, not to mention those dark-brown eyes shadowed with wounds no one should have to carry, and so much fight and courage that it twisted his gut.
All he could do was walk away before he pulled her into his arms. Another second of staring into her eyes and he would’ve kissed her.
The kiss of death.
Seeing her attacking the demon, cutting off its head, had made his heart stutter. She could’ve been killed. And if he didn’t keep this all business, she would. It would only be a matter of time. The fucking demons would butcher her just like every person he’d ever cared about. Not that he
cared
about her. It was just the passion and adrenaline of the fight, he told himself.
The sobering thought kept him focused as pulled out his canister of necro powder. He walked back to the dead demon and drizzled the powder over the body. The demon’s skin sizzled and hissed, drying until flakes of it blew away in the wind. Gabe capped the container, returning it to his trunk. He slammed it shut and leaned against the bumper to regroup.
Through the open bathroom window, he heard the shower come on. Tegan’s hair hadn’t even dried from her first shower. Welcome to the world of demon slaying. Frequent showers were a way of life. He glanced up at the window, his mind wandering, imagining her naked, wet. She’d probably roundhouse kick him in the jimmies if she had any idea what he was thinking. He smiled before he could stop himself.
Shit.
He needed to stay focused.
Gabe shook his head, walking over to the spot where the demon’s body had been. This job needed to get done quickly. The sooner, the better.
When he was satisfied all traces of the Viri demon were gone, he wandered over to the far side of the lot, taking a slow breath. He only smelled the salty sea air. For now.
…
Tegan rinsed out her hair, her mood swinging like a pendulum from “That’s it, I’m firing him” to “Maybe I should just kiss him and get it out of my system.” For the past four years, she’d worked hard building this emotional armor. She didn’t go out dancing anymore. Dating was also no longer part of her life. All of her passion, her focus, her
everything
went into defending herself.
And today she had actually done it, proven her hard work had been worth it.
So why didn’t she feel strong and victorious?
Instead, anger, lust, and hurt commingled into a mild terror weighing down her chest. The realization that demons were really a part of the world had been shocking, but she’d held her own. She’d stayed strong.
Yet something about Gabe made her feel weak. Vulnerable, maybe. He also made her want to strip his clothes off and explore the scars of his muscled body.
She closed her eyes as the warm water rolled down her body, imagining Gabe’s hands in her hair, her lips caressing and kissing every inch of his body.
Every
inch.
Her eyes popped open. This had to stop. A demon was after her. She couldn’t let some stupid attraction make her lose sight of the danger. And she needed to call all her students’ mothers to cancel the orange belts’ karate class this afternoon before she and Gabe went to check out the hotel.
The front door slammed. “Tegan?”
Hearing the rough baritone of his voice made her flush with heat. She turned off the water. “I’m in the shower.”
“I know.” Now his voice came from the other side of the door, startling her.
She stepped out onto the mat and wrapped herself in a towel. The rough fibers in the terry cloth awakened her sensitive skin. She wet her lips and leaned her ear closer to the door. “What’s wrong?”
“Besides a Viri demon showing up on your doorstep?” The sound of his muffled chuckle made her breath catch. “Just need to wash up before we check out the hotel and hit the mall.”
“The mall?” Her brow puckered.
“Well, unless you want to explain green demon blood to your mother tonight…”
Did he seriously think she was taking him to her mother’s party? He seemed to have a hard time remembering that
she
hired
him
. And not as a male escort.
Tegan jerked the door open only to find Gabe’s forearm above her head, propped up against the doorframe, his body extremely close to hers. Her exposed skin tingled with awareness. Maybe kissing him wasn’t such a bad idea. If he was a horrible kisser, she’d be able to think straight when he was nearby.
At least she’d be able to stay angry, then.
“Forget the party.” She shook her head. “I’m not paying you to be my date.”
“Today is on me.” She couldn’t help but notice the way his gaze wandered down her towel-wrapped body, but instead of making her uncomfortable it made her feel…powerful. He stepped back, breaking the tension building between them. “I’ll wait over there.” He tilted his head toward the main room.
“We’re not done here.”
He turned toward her again, his hair falling over the side of his face. No way in the world that man would be a bad kisser. Kissing him was
out of the question
.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s free or not. I’m not taking you to the party.”
“That demon out front didn’t convince you of the danger you’re in?” He shook his head, pacing her small studio. “You can’t go anywhere alone until we find the—”
“I get it. There’s danger. But you still can’t come.” She went to her dresser, pulling clean clothes and underwear from her drawer. She could feel his stare. Sighing, she turned to face him. “It makes me feel pathetic, okay? Are you happy now?”
“Pathetic?” Confusion lined his features. “How so?”
“I’m through talking about this.” Tegan gripped her clothes tighter, unwilling to let him any closer. “You’re not my shrink.”
“Not my fault you’re not making any sense.”
“Not making sense?” She was getting dangerously close to yelling, but she couldn’t help it. “Nothing about this makes any sense! Hello? I helped you kill a demon this morning.” Now her hands joined in the conversation, her bra and underwear waving around as she spoke. “Yesterday I thought I was hiring some ghost-hunting geezer to help me track down an asshole who attacked me and is apparently still preying on women, but somehow I ended up with a young, good-looking guy sharing my shower. Then you go from being nice and funny to bossing me around and not listening to me. And instead of thanking me for helping you kill a demon you turn into a total ass. But I’m the one not making sense?”
The corner of his mouth quirked up just a little. “You think I’m good-looking?”
“Give me a break!” She hustled for the bathroom, calling out, “You’re not coming with me tonight.” She slammed the door and pressed her back against it, closing her eyes.
I’m definitely never kissing that man.
…
Gabe looked like a fish out of water on the beach wearing his long black trench coat, but he didn’t seem to care. He showed her the weapons stashed in the garment’s inner pockets, and after the experience in her parking lot, she understood his desire to be armed at all times.
She shaded her eyes and looked up toward the sun for the webcam. Once she pointed it out, they walked the beach in the area that would’ve been in the webcam’s line of sight. The police had been right about no sign of disturbed earth. This was a beach. The tide would wash away any evidence of a new grave. The demon wasn’t stupid.
Tegan sighed inwardly, but she appreciated Gabe’s careful inspection of the area. At least he tried.
He walked toward her and glanced around to be sure they were alone. Shaking his head, he kept focused on the waves. “It’s too late. The bodies only need to incubate for a few hours. She probably dug out of the sand just before sunrise yesterday.”
Tegan cringed. “She’s alive?”
“No. She’s a demon now. It’s just wearing her body like a costume.”
“Jesus…” A cold chill ran through Tegan. That could have been her. Her legs wobbled, rubbery. “I need to sit down.”
He pointed out a concrete bench along the boardwalk. “How about that one?”
His large hand rested at the base of her back, guiding her toward their destination, teasing her with his support. It was a tender caress with an undercurrent of strength, as though he was ready to sweep her up into his arms at the first sign of her legs giving out.
Tegan made it to the bench without assistance and rested her elbows on her legs, pulling in a slow, deep breath. The waves frothed up the shoreline, but all she could see was the horror of a woman clawing her way out from under the sand.
“I could’ve been a demon suit.”
Gabe shrugged. “But you’re not. You’re a survivor, and you’ll get through this too.”
“How does it work when he turns them into demons?”
He stared at her for a second. Probably trying to gauge just how freaked out she would be. Finally he replied, keeping his voice down. “Hingo demons reproduce by ingesting the flesh of females and then regurgitating it back into the wounds.” He paused. “Her body becomes a cocoon of sorts. They bury the female for a few hours and the new Hingo demon digs its way free.”
She shivered in spite of the warm sun on her skin. “We need to stop him.”
His rough voice was heavy with conviction. “We will.”
Tegan turned toward him, the wind pulling at her hair. “That demon in my parking lot. He said his master was looking for me. You were right—it is me he wants…”
Gabe watched the waves and then stared at his hands.
“Damn it.” Her fingers tingled, her lungs constricting. Tegan closed her eyes, forcing herself to breathe, slow and steady.
“You okay?”
She shrugged without opening her eyes. “I forget what okay feels like. Just give me a second to shake this off.”
His large hand rested on her back, and for a moment she tensed, ready to bolt. Slowly his touch moved up a couple of inches and then back down, and gradually she realized she found it almost soothing.
Once the anxiety dissipated, she sat up watching the waves. “Sorry about that. The anxiety attacks still dog me when things start feeling out of my control.”
“Nothing to apologize for.”
“The day we met, when you took me to get a burger.” Her gaze met his. “Now I get what you were saying about taking the time to watch a sunset. If I accept these demons are real, that the one who attacked me is still out there, who knows which sunset could be my last?” Her voice drifted off as she swallowed her emotions and turned to watch the waves. “I’m going to my parents’ tonight.” She let out a humorless chuckle. “Might not get another birthday with them.”
He took her hand in his, and the awareness of him reassured her, calming some of the panic that welled in her chest. “I never said that. We’re going to find this thing and kick its ass all the way back to hell.” His voice softened. “But there’s strength in family. You’re going to need all you can get.”
She glanced over at him. “You sound pretty confident.”
His gaze connected with hers again. “If you lose hope, it’s too easy for fear to settle in.”
Her mouth tugged at the corner as she nodded. “That’s pretty Zen for a guy who killed a demon in my parking lot this morning.”
His smile warmed her all over until her toes curled in her shoes.
“I’m full of surprises.” He glanced down at his jeans, stained with green demon blood. “I’m also in need of a clean pair of pants.”
“There’s a mall not far from here.” Tegan stood up, grateful that her legs were stable again. “But you’re still not coming with me tonight.”
…
Gabe wandered through the H&M men’s section in search of new jeans. No sense spending more money than he had to on clothes. Most of them were ruined within a couple weeks anyway.
Tegan had barely spoken on the drive to the Forum Carlsbad shops other than to complain about not having her car. It was probably for the best, but he had to fight to keep from trying to get her to smile. Seeing her unhappy chafed him.
I shouldn’t give a shit.
But apparently he did.
He grabbed a pair of blue and a pair of black jeans. “How dressy is this party?”
“You’re not coming.” She kept scanning the men’s shirts.
“Well
if
I were going with you, would either of these be all right?” He held up both pairs.
She shrugged, but he thought she might be holding back a smile. This woman left him hungry for more. “The black ones would be all right,
if
you were going.”
He tucked the jeans under his arm and made his way to the table of shirts. He stood behind her, trying not to notice the spicy sandalwood scent of her hair. The temptation to get closer ate at him. Memories of seeing his past girlfriend’s eviscerated body outweighed the temptation, though, and he kept his distance.
“Think I should wear one of those button-downs?” Before she could correct him, he added, “
If
I were going with you.”
She lifted a dark brick-red shirt from the rack and held it up to his chest, her fingers so close to his neck he could feel the warmth of her skin. Electricity zipped through him, but neither of them closed the distance to touch.
“This one would look great on you.” She hung it back on the rack. “Too bad you won’t be going.”
He reached over to grab the shirt, his hand covering hers on the hanger. The touch jolted him. “Why don’t I get it just in case?”
She slipped her hand out from under his and shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
He watched her hips sway as she walked away. She didn’t swing them like most of the beach chicks he hooked up with. Those women were a distraction, a way to scratch an itch. Tegan was more his type. Not that he had a type, not anymore.