Demon Hunters 3: Tainted (Stand Alone Series) (Demon Hunters.) (3 page)

The next few weeks passed in a blur of questions and sympathy. The faces of strangers and familiar ones all carried the same expression, said the same words. We’re sorry. Cassidy wanted to tell them she was sorry too. Instead she fell silent. If she didn’t speak, those words couldn’t escape. Her nights were filled with blood soaked dreams and she stopped attending her self-defence classes. Instead she spent hours on the internet, watching how-to shows on kickboxing and karate followed by videos on using weapons like knives and swords. There were enemies who’d seek her out and she wasn’t going to rely on the demon to keep her safe. She didn’t trust him even though their lives were bound together.

It took two months before the police stopped questioning her. And it was another month after that before she no longer expected them on her doorstep. During that time, her mum was admitted to a nursing home and her family’s solicitor tried to talk to her about where she’d stay. She spoke to none of them. Walking away to close herself in her room instead of answering. She ignored her phone, hurling it across the bedroom one day when it wouldn’t stop. Emails remained unchecked and she rarely opened the front door. Eventually people started to give up, including Amy who she’d known since the start of primary school.

Even Christmas had passed with no celebrations and when she was notified her father’s life insurance would provide for her and her mum she still didn’t speak. She couldn’t. The only words she wanted to say were ‘I’m sorry’. Even her eighteenth birthday on the sixth of January didn’t help. So she’d finally reached eighteen. She’d lived long enough to see eighteen, but her father wasn’t around to help her celebrate. And her mum might as well be in a grave beside him for all that she knew what was going on around her. She couldn’t even bring herself to visit her mum. It hurt too much to be reminded her father had died for nothing. His wife was still the same. Absolutely nothing had changed.

By late January she was still being woken most nights by blood soaked dreams. Each time she dragged herself from bed, dropped to the ground and did push ups. Wearing herself out until she could no longer think was the only way to return to sleep. Not that it helped for long.

“You can’t fight them like that.”

Cassidy was instantly on her feet, turning on the bedside lamp and reaching for the kitchen knife she kept under her mattress. As soon as it was in her hand, she faced Remedy. He leaned against her door, his arms folded across his chest. “What do you want?” It was the first time she’d seen him since the night her… she broke off that thought, unable to even think about it. Especially not straight after dreaming of it. She had no idea where he’d been all this time and didn’t care. She didn’t need Remedy hanging around to remind her of what had happened that night.

“I found some demon hunters to teach you.” He pushed away from the door.

“I don’t need your help.” Her hand tightened on the knife. Nor did she want his help. Hate and anger filled her, replacing the guilt and sorrow that had woken her.

“You will take all the help I offer. I won’t have you dead. Understand?” He stopped in front of her, his eyes meeting hers. “You might not want to live, but I do.”

Cassidy forced herself to hold her ground. The knifepoint was almost against his chest. Only centimetres and she could drive it into him. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She wanted to live. Turning away, she slid the knife back into place, her back to the demon. “I don’t need your help. I don’t trust you.” She straightened, still keeping her back to him. He reminded her too much of her nightmares.

His hand on her shoulder turned her to face him. “I don’t care what you want. You chose to bind us, now you live with the consequences. Get dressed and I’ll take you there.”

“How?” She eyed him suspiciously.

The demon laughed sharply. “Not with a click of my fingers. You’ll drive your car. I’ll direct you. Now get ready.”

Cassidy shook her head. They’d expect her to talk to them. “I can’t. I don’t want to see anyone.” It had been weeks since she’d seen anyone, months since she’d wanted to see anyone.

“You can and you will.” Flames leapt in his eyes and he growled, “Get ready.”

She knocked his hand from her shoulder with her forearm. “Stop bossing me around.”

“Then stop sulking in your room. What have you to worry over? You still have an entire life ahead of you. A very, very long life.” His lips curved into a smile, the flames in his eyes settling to a flicker.

Cassidy frowned. Was he clairvoyant? “How do you know it’ll be long?”

“Because I don’t plan to die.”

It took several moments for the pieces to fall into place. “No.” This time she did back away from him. She didn’t get far. Her legs hit the bed behind her and she dropped down to sit on the firm mattress. She shook her head. “No. Impossible.” She hadn’t tried to do anything like that. She’d just wanted to live through the night and somehow avenge her father. She hadn’t been thinking any further than that.

The smile became a grin. “Most people are overjoyed at the thought of living forever.”

She struggled to form a clear thought. “Will I age?”

“Imperceptibly.”

“How long will I be eighteen?”

“A very long time.”

This comment brought her to her feet and she struck out at him. He grabbed her wrist, imprisoning it. “Damn you,” she hissed. She stopped struggling, allowing him to hold her wrist. There was no way she could break free from his iron grip.

He let her go. “I was damned a long time ago by far better than you. Now get ready. I might have forever but that doesn’t mean I wish to waste time on this useless conversation.”

With one last glare, Cassidy turned and slid past the demon. She pulled clothes from her built-in wardrobe and retreated to the bathroom to change into black jeans and a black t-shirt. She looked down at herself. How was she meant to carry a weapon? She had no idea. The demon better not let anything happen to her until she could find a way to arm herself inconspicuously. Better yet, he could provide her with some weapons. She flung open the bathroom door and nearly ran into Remedy, who now stood in the hallway.

Her eyes narrowed. “You can’t see through walls, can you?”

“Worried about your virtue, little girl?”

“I’m not a little girl,” she muttered as she pushed past him. She rubbed at her left wrist, wondering at the burning sensation. She pushed that thought from her mind. There were other things to deal with. A glance over her shoulder showed the demon hadn’t moved. “You will get me weapons. Ones that are easily hidden.”

He smiled slightly as he started to follow her. “I will, will I?”

“Yes.” A sharp nod of her head. “You can’t be at my side all the time. I need something to protect myself with until you arrive.” Hopefully she’d be able to deal with any danger without having to call him for help. There was no way she wanted to see him any more than necessary.

“There’s some merit to your suggestion. I’ll think about it. But right now we have other matters to deal with. You need to be trained by a demon hunter.”

“Aren’t you worried I might use what I learn against you?”

The demon laughed, the deep sound seeming loud in the normally silent house. “You don’t strike me as being suicidal. Not after everything you’ve done to stay alive.”

If he was talking about her father then he was wrong. That hadn’t been so she could live, that had been because he’d begged her for help. Even to save herself she wouldn’t have been able to do it if he hadn’t begged her to. If she hadn’t known that he was dead anyway. “You never know what the future might bring. Especially since it’ll be a really long one.” She glared at Remedy when he laughed again, sounding like he mocked her.

“I’ll take my chances.”

She fell silent again. Three months of barely a word and she’d broken her silence by having a conversation with a demon. She’d have been better off staying silent for all the satisfaction she’d gained. But he was the one person, if you could call a demon a person, that she wasn’t tempted to say the words ‘I’m sorry’ to. No, she wanted to say ‘I hate you. I’m going to kill you. Somehow’.

Cassidy grabbed her handbag and automatically glanced towards the mirror. But it was impossible to see how she looked before she went out. She’d painted every mirror in the house with house paint when she could no longer stand the accusations in her own gaze.

She recalled the moment she’d been about to smash the mirror she’d stood in front of. Her father’s eyes had stared back at her from the mirror, accusing her. But she hadn’t been able to smash it, remembering how her mum had told her many years ago to be careful of the makeup mirror she’d been playing with. Taking it from her, Sylvia had returned it to her handbag warning her that she didn’t need seven years bad luck. So she’d found some house paint in the garage and painted every mirror, crying the entire time as she tried not to meet her own gaze, barely managing to hold back the words ‘I’m sorry’.

Turning her back on the mirror, she headed for the front door. Who cared how she looked? She’d lost weight, she couldn’t remember when she’d last slept through an entire night and black had never been her colour. It always made her look too pale. Ghostly. She grabbed the car keys and paused in the open doorway, staring out into the night. It had been so long since she’d been outside. She took a hesitant step.

“Once it’s daylight you’re on your own. You might want to move a little quicker if you wish to prevent that.”

“What happens at daylight?”

“Ask a hunter.”

Cassidy glared at the demon for a moment, wishing for a second she had used the knife on him. Then she spun away from him, striding to her car. “Lock the door behind you.” She didn’t bother to look at him, just hopped in the car and turned on the ignition, waiting for him to join her. “Where to?” She continued to avoid looking at the demon, even when he sat beside her.

“Drive. I’ll direct.”

Cassidy mockingly repeated the words under her breath as she reversed onto the road. She ignored the demon’s chuckle as she headed forward. Great, now she was the entertainment. Anger rushed through her and her hands tightened on the steering wheel. She couldn’t believe she was sitting beside one of the demons responsible for her father’s death and wasn’t trying to kill him. But he was right. She wasn’t suicidal. And there was another one who was more at fault. Other than her.

“Turn left.”

She felt the demon’s gaze on her and ignored the urge to turn and look at him. Maybe it was a good thing she didn’t have any weapons on her. She didn’t think she could guarantee she wouldn’t use them on him right this minute. How was she going to manage a lifetime of putting up with Remedy? A very long lifetime. She had no idea.

“At the least you should make eternity entertaining for a while. Just don’t make my patience wear too thin. There are things worse than death.”

Cassidy struggled to recall the words of her binding, but the night was awash with blood. It had overshadowed everything else. All she recalled was his name, the blood and her father’s pleading. There was something she’d said, but she couldn’t recall the exact words. No matter what had been said, she wasn’t going to be submissive. Forever was a very long time. She opted for bravado. “I guess you better heed those words too.”

He nodded his head. “Turn.” He gestured towards the direction.

Silence fell between them, broken only by directions until the demon said, “Pull up in front of that house.” He pointed to a spacious timber house nestled amongst flowering gardens. It was painted in neutral creams and browns with white backed curtains at the windows. The place was dark, only the streetlight providing any light.

Cassidy reluctantly pulled up and made her way to the front door. Did he really expect her to knock on someone’s door after midnight when they were probably sleeping? She glanced towards him. It looked like it. She hesitantly knocked, the sound seeming week and pathetic. Her next knock was louder.

“Alright. I’m coming. Quit with the banging,” an irate voice called from inside before the door was flung open.

She eyed the young man framed by the doorway. He had extremely short, sandy blond hair. Green eyes stared at her intensely and he had to be over six foot. She noticed he absently rubbed at a mark similar to hers on his wrist. His only went around twice.

The young man slowly smiled. “Well hello, bad influence. You took your time in finding your way to me. And they thought leaving me here would get me away from all bad influences.”

“You’re not here to lose your virginity, quit ogling him.”

Cassidy turned on the demon, masking her embarrassment with anger. “Ogling? No one says words like that anymore. And I wasn’t ogling him. I was thinking. Why don’t you talk to him if you’re so worried about wasting your valuable time?”

Another young man joined the first one in the doorway, nearly as tall. He also had very short sandy blond hair but with a little more length at the front. At his throat was a gold cross on a leather cord and he had a silver stud, in the shape of a cross, in one ear. His demon mark went just over twice around his wrist. His warm brown eyes fell on Cassidy before they went back to the young man in the doorway. “Who’s this, Gabe? Not one of your friends from Sydney, is it?”

Gabe grinned. “I have no idea Riley, but I’m hoping she’s going to disagree with the demon about why she’s here.” He held out his hand. “I’m Gabe Hunter. And you are?”

She took his hand. “Gabe? As in Gabriel? The angel?”

“Don’t start,” Gabe muttered.

The demon brushed her aside to stand in front of the young men. “Demon hunters, train this girl to kill demons.”

Riley laughed. “Now I’ve heard everything. Why would a demon want a human taught how to kill demons?”

Remedy’s gaze narrowed, flames leaping higher in his eyes. “You will refrain from meddling in my business. Train the girl. That’s all you need to do.”

Riley’s laughter disappeared. “We don’t take orders from demons. The girl can stay if she needs our help, but you aren’t welcome here.”

Remedy grabbed Cassidy’s arm, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Our business is to remain exactly that. I will collect you an hour before dawn. If you’re not ready you’ll have to find your own way home.” He released her before she could speak and disappeared into the night.

Gabe stared after Remedy for a moment, then stepped out of the doorway. “You might as well come in. No point standing out here for what’s left of the night.”

Cassidy looked from one to the other, then glanced in the direction Remedy had taken off in. “I don’t know. I think maybe I should head home.”

“You’re lucky you can go home,” Gabe muttered.

“Do you want me to wake my grandmother?” Riley asked.

“You live with your grandma?”

Riley grinned. “She’s actually my great grandmother. And no, not usually. But I’m here babysitting him.” He nodded towards Gabe.

“I didn’t ask my mum to ditch me here after Charlotte’s wedding. It’s not like I’ve got any way to get home. I can’t walk to Sydney from Brisbane. Although I have been tempted. And it’s a bit hard to get a job when you’ve got no references.” He looked pointedly at Riley.

Riley took a step back, holding up his hands as if to protect himself. “I’m not about to interfere. Your mum’d kill me.”

“No she wouldn’t. That’s a sin. And we all know that sin must be eradicated.” There was bitterness in Gabe’s voice.

“So maybe she wouldn’t kill me, but I’d probably wish she had by the time she was finished with me.”

Cassidy shook her head with a frown. There was already enough craziness in her life. She didn’t need any more. “Nice meeting you pair, but I think I’ll be going now.” She waved with her left hand. Feeling the demon mark writhe on her skin as her hand came close to the house.

Gabe grabbed her arm, tugging her forward to watch the marks twitch and turn like snakes slithering across her skin. “That can’t be good.”

Riley stared too. “Maybe we should wake Gran.”

Gabe continued to hold her arm, even though she tried to tug it away. “She’s tainted, isn’t she?”

Riley nodded.

“Let go of me,” Cassidy said between gritted teeth.

“What deal did you make with him?” Gabe released her arm.

Cassidy took a step backwards. “That’s none of your business.” She wasn’t about to spill all her secrets. Spilling her father’s blood had been bad enough. There was no way she was going to discuss it.

“Does he think we can help?” Riley asked.

“Who?” Cassidy frowned again.

“Your demon,” Gabe said.

“He’s not my demon.” At least she didn’t think so. Did she own him in some kind of way because of the ritual she’d performed? “Look, I’m going. You don’t need to worry about any of this. I haven’t got a clue why Remedy brought me here.”

“I’m guessing it wasn’t to train you to kill him,” Riley said.

“I bet there’s another demon involved somehow,” Gabe said.

Riley nodded. “There’d have to be. But why a human? It’d make more sense if he’d enlisted another demon to help him.”

Cassidy took a step backwards. “Like I said, it was nice meeting you.”

Gabe turned away from his discussion with Riley and stepped forward, placing a hand on her back so she couldn’t retreat further. “Whoa, not so fast. Demons don’t like to be ignored. Are you in any danger from him? Do you need help getting rid of him?”

Fear skittered through her. “No! You can’t.”

“Why not,” Riley asked.

“Because…” her voice trailed off and she rubbed at her demon mark.

Gabe swore. “Don’t tell me you bound yourself to him. What if he takes over your body? Did you ever think about that?”

Cassidy’s legs began to tremble and she desperately needed to sit down before they gave out. “He can do that?” Her voice sounded unnaturally small. No, lost was the word and that was exactly how she felt. Lost, alone and scared. She didn’t like the feeling one bit.

Riley stepped to her other side. “Come on.” He cupped her elbow. “Come inside and sit down. We’ll figure out what he can do.”