Denny lay back down and closed her eyes. She went over all the lessons Ames Walker had taught her so far. He was an astute mentor who knew when to push and when to let go.
“I can’t have you cutting an ear off,” he had said earlier in the week, showing Denny how to snap her wrist. “That’s why she bit back at you. You need to treat your weapons as if they were alive, because they often act as if they are.”
Denny had gotten pretty good at it after about an hour and a case of carpal tunnel pain. She had only nicked herself five times, but Ames said that was not bad, considering she knew nothing about the weapon.
All five nicks were fully healed by the end of the night, compliments of the Hanta. That was why the special weapons were needed. A demon needed to implode so the Hanta could consume the spirit.
Denny had been there and done that, and it wasn’t pretty.
After they had spent about four hours with the weapons, Ames showed her some rudimentary defense moves he said she would not need if the Hanta stepped in. Ames explained that the Hanta never really possessed the body, only cohabited with the owner. Its job was to protect the hunter so she could do her job and kill demons, thereby feeding the Hanta. To that end, the Hanta was like a babysitter who understood that protecting the baby was its one and only real function.
“A demon doesn’t need to know Tae Kwon Do in order to kick your ass into tomorrow. They are stronger, more resistant to pain, and they are target-oriented. They’ll kill a hunter if engaged, and few of them will allow someone who knows they are demons to walk away. In the Hanta’s eyes, everyone is an enemy until proven otherwise.”
When Denny was physically spent, Ames had fed her like he usually did while lecturing her on Demonology 101. She learned the demons were more prevalent than ghosts and that they feared, more than anyone else, the demon hunter––more specifically, the legacy hunter.
“Legacy hunters have more power because they have the Hanta,” Ames had said. “You will garner respect in the hunting world the likes of which you’ve never seen once you survive your first encounters. Legacy hunters are the rock stars of that world. So if you ever pair up with another hunter, do not expect them to hold up their end of the battle like you would. You will be expected to lead and be expected to win.”
Denny knew that losing was not an option. It could, quite possibly, mean her death or the death of others––Others who were vital to her success as a hunter.
Ames.
Now
there
was an odd duck. He was a gifted instructor who seldom smiled or laughed —though he always did whenever speaking about Gwen. He was intense, serious, and ferociously private. He did not answer one question she asked about his own hunting abilities, so Denny didn’t even try to ask about his personal life.
But there was one lingering question she could not dismiss. She couldn’t help but wonder...when had the exchange of the Hanta occurred?
And why her?
As her eyelids got heavy and it felt like she was going to finally doze off, she thought about those days after the car accident...days when it didn’t look like her mom was going to make––
Denny’s eyes suddenly popped open and she was wide awake again, the answer hovering before her mind’s eye.
She
knew
when it happened—knew exactly when the exchange had taken place and could see it in her mind’s eye as if watching a movie.
She’d been standing next to Gwen’s bed right after the accident, holding her mother’s hand. The others had gone to eat, but Denny refused to leave her. It didn’t feel right, somehow. She thought if she left Gwen alone, she would just let go.
Which is exactly what happened when she coded five minutes later.
Just before her heart had stopped, her grip became so strong Denny thought maybe she was coming out of the coma.
She’d squeezed so hard one moment, then coded the next, never letting go of Denny’s hand. Denny thought it was just a reaction from the seizure.
When one of the nurses rushed Denny out of the room, she’d felt dizzy and disoriented, and figured it had been because of the stress when Gwen coded, nearly dying.
Nearly.
Denny blinked, and the movie reel in her head came to an end.
When Gwen coded, the Hanta Raya must have thought Gwen was a goner and leapt from Gwen to Denny. Was it possible it had been waiting for Denny? Had it just been lying within her waiting for the moment Denny finally understood who and what she was?
That time had come. The switch has been flicked. The Hanta was now awake and ravenous...and Denny was able to remember other moments when it had made an informal appearance she paid no heed to.
There was the time Victor was being harassed by a bunch of homophobes who were throwing rocks at him. One hit Denny in the eye, and she started whipping on those rat turds like there was no tomorrow. She kicked the shit out of three of the guys before the others took off. Denny had been like a dervish, all arms and legs, hitting whatever she could.
Victor, quite aptly enough, had said she looked possessed.
Denny remembered a couple of other times, and each time she had had some lame explanation. She didn’t feel the Hanta then like she did now, but she just figured teen angst feels a lot like the beginnings of the Hanta anger.
Denny jumped out of bed and back in the lair, scouring the bookshelves for any of the titles Ames had scrawled on the sheet of paper in her hand.
The first two books did not yield the information she was looking for, but the third did.
~~~
A
mong the positive attributes with which the Hanta Raya endows the host is an unnaturally swift healing capability and a heightened sense of awareness. Some Demon Hunters have been known to walk in the spirit world as if whole––feeling emotions and physical sensations as if they were alive. This is due to the Hanta’s connection with both the spirit and corporeal worlds.
~~~
D
enny read that passage over and over.
So that
was how she could make love to Rush and feel it as if it were really happening. It wasn’t Rush’s capabilties at all.
It was Denny’s.
So Denny bookmarked the page and set the book on the desk, too tired to read any more without frying her brains.
One thing she knew for sure, she was done dropping back and punting. She was going on the offensive
.
***
T
he demon leaned against the car and smiled when Pure bounced over to him. True to her name, she was, indeed, Pure. He found corrupting her innocence to be a harder task than he’d first thought. How hard was it to bed a horny teen? To get her to try drugs? To tempt her into shoplifting?
Hell, so far, he hadn’t even felt her up or gotten her drunk, and it wasn’t for lack of trying. She said some bullshit about setting higher standards for herself and that she refused to give her self-respect away. Blah, blah, fucking blah.
Self-respect?
Teenage girls
had
no self-respect. Their entire world revolved around everyone else’s opinions of them. The mirrors they held to their faces were distorted by the subjective scrutiny of their peers.
So how in hell did he get the only one who actually cared about her self-respect?
This was proving to be a pain in the ass and the demon just wanted to slit her throat and be done with it.
But that wasn’t part of the plan.
Pure Silver was Plan B. If they couldn’t lure the hunter to them with the ghost, they would be able to do away with this priggish little sister, the puritan of the family, the pillar of society.
His biggest pain in the butt.
“Hi,” Pure said like some hyped up cheerleader. He hated that about her. Syrupy sweetness made his butt itch.
The demon had the same stupid smile plastered to his face he had since he’d met her, but inside, he was bristling. Humans were most annoying when joyful. They were irritating at best, downright obnoxious at worst. And the females were the worst with their puppy dog prancing and annoyingly high voices that lilted up at the end as if every sentence was a question.
“You ready to go?” The demon asked. “I thought we could spend some time alone, you know, skin-on-skin kinda stuff. I think it’s time, don’t you?”
“Ooh, sounds fun, but I really do need to get home and check in with Denny.”
“Your sister’s a big girl. She’ll be fine.”
Pure cocked her head at him. “It’s not like that. Ever since our parents left us, she’s been the one who always watches out for me. She sorta needs me now and I’ve been so wrapped up in your yummy goodness, I haven’t been there for her. I need to be there now, you know?”
“Can’t your other sister take care of her? I mean, come on, baby, we haven’t had much alone time.” The demon pulled Pure to him and kissed her sensuously, his hands holding her waist a bit too tight.
Pure returned his affection before peeling his fingers from her waist. “Mike Cockerton, you’re going to get us in PDA trouble.” Pure stepped back and adjusted her clothes. “We can go out Friday night, but tonight I’m going to check in with my sister, do some chores, and show her I’m not an irresponsible teenager.”
The demon forced his smile to remain. He wanted to bitch-slap the goofy grin right off her face. He wished he would have taken the other assignment. “Friday night.”
“For sure we’ll spend time together, yes.”
“Your kind of time or mine?”
Laughing, Pure flitted away as quickly as she’d come, not answering the question.
The demon wanted to bash her face in. The only thing these human bodies were good for was sex.
That
was a fun time, but
this
Silver,
this
sister of the demon hunter, did not seem interested. And that royally sucked. Here he was with this hard body, this thick dick, and this enormous sex drive, and he was stuck babysitting this Pollyanna.
Of course, that might very well be the one thing that would make the hunter come running—if she thought he was defrocking her little sister.
The demon smiled a genuine smile.
He knew exactly what he would do and it was going to finally put some zing into this incredibly dull task. At least then he’d have a good time.
***
“A
re you sick?”
Denny struggled to open her eyes. When they finally opened, she found herself staring up at Pure. “What, what time is it?”
“Almost four. Are you okay? You never take a nap in the middle of the––” Pure spotted her pajamas. “Den? What’s going on?” She sat on the edge of the bed.
“I’m fine. Fine. Just tired.”
“Bullshit.” She touched Denny’s forehead. “You must be sick. Are you sick?”
“Not sick. I had a séance last night, hoping to locate Rush...it went south pretty quickly.”
Pure was on her feet in an instant. “Without me? You had a super cool séancie-thingie without me? Man, I miss out on all the fun.”
“Sorry, but it was time-sensitive and I couldn’t wait. I was trying to locate her.”
“And? Did you find her? Did you get to see her?”
Denny shook her head. “It’s...complicated.”
“Are you okay? You don’t look so hot.”
Denny’s bravado faltered. She broke down and started crying. Pure sat down and wrapped her arms around her.
“I just miss her so much.”
Pure held her and caressed her back. “I’m so sorry, Den. I should have been here.”
“No, no, you have a life––a life with the
living
. I want you living it. This is
my
battle,
my
problem.”
Pure pulled away. “Uh-uh, Sis, that’s not how we’ve ever done things. Ever. And we aren’t gonna start now. If there’s anything I can do, you tell me. I mean it.”
Wiping her eyes, Denny leaned against the headboard and blew out a big breath. “What you can do is keep your grades up, keep your nose clean, and stay out of trouble.”
“Done, done, and done.”
Denny got up and dressed and finally asked the question she didn’t want to ask. “What about Mike Cockerton? How’s that going?”
“Really great. He’s a super nice guy and really respectful of my feelings. You’d like him if you gave him a chance.”
Denny paused as she laced up her orange running shoes. “Respectful? Does that mean he wants something you don’t?”
A blush instantly appeared on Pure’s cheeks. “No. We haven’t really even talked about
it
, but he’s a guy, you know? It’s always on the tip of their tongue.”
“As long as that’s all that’s on the tip of his tongue. You have a good head on your shoulders. I trust you. I can handle this thing with Rush. I really can.”
“Handle what? It’s not like you have experience ghost hunting. Maybe...maybe it was just her time. Don’t ghosts eventually have to go somewhere? I mean, they don’t always hang around, right?”
Denny forced herself to nod as she grabbed a sweatshirt. “Maybe. Look, I’m fine. Rush is going to be fine. Don’t worry about me. I was just up really late and the emotions got to me.”
“You going jogging?”
“I need to wake up, get my blood moving. I have a lot to do today.”
“Oh? Like what?”
“I’m taking Tae Kwon Do. I have an appointment at six. I have a paper to write and chores to do. I’ve kind of let things slide around here and I’m sorry.”
Pure waved this off. “Judo? Really? How come?”
Denny shrugged. “It’s a good way to keep my weight down. What about you? What’s on your agenda?”
“A bunch of us are going to watch the play rehearsal.”
“With Mike?”
Pure laughed. “No. I think he’s more of a NASCAR guy. You know, there’s something mesmerizing about cars going around and around.”
“Mesmerizing or stupid?”
They laughed together.
“Okay, you enjoy yourself. Don’t be too late, okay?”
“No later than ten. I promise.”
***
A
s Denny’s legs started churning, she felt her stress melting away. The fresh air cleaned her senses and cleared her mind. She loved the jog around Grayson Stadium with the Daffin Park geyser jumping twenty feet high. One mile stretched into two, two into three. At the three-and-a-half mile mark, Denny sensed a car coming up behind her.