Page 46 of Demon's Desire

“Oh. Yeah!” He nodded quickly. I didn’t believe him for a second. “Yeah, I live down the street from there.”

Which would explain why he got into his van when the fire was out, right?

“What are you doing here?” I didn’t make much effort to be polite. Something about this guy and the situations I’d seen him in made me uncomfortable. For all I knew, my apartment might catch on fire just because he was in the vicinity.

“Ah, well…” He thought for a second. “I’m doing some surveys in the area. We’ve gotten some strange reports, and we’re trying to make sure that no one is causing any real trouble. Have you noticed anything off recently? Animals acting up, things breaking or falling with no warning? Maybe windows?”

“You said ‘we,’” I pointed out. “Who are you with?”

“Ah, forgive me.” He laughed. “My bad. I’m with a group of private investigators. We’re working in tandem with the police, trying to track down the origin of these weird occurrences. So have you noticed anything?”

“No,” I answered quickly. “No, I haven’t noticed anything.”

He raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by my answer. “Hm… Interesting. You’d be the first person I spoke to who said that.”

I shrugged. “Just the truth.”

The truth was that I knew exactly what had been causing these “weird occurrences,” and I didn’t want anyone else finding out.

“Well, good.” He smiled, though there was something tense about it. “Which apartment here is yours?”

“I don’t live here.” I shook my head. “I’m visiting my friend and just getting some air.”

“Oh, right. Well, listen, so I can get some data, you know, find out why some people are having trouble and others aren’t… Would you and your friend let me come look around the apartment for a bit?”

“Absolutely not.” Now I was starting to get very creeped out. “I’d like to know what company you’re with, and I’d like you to leave now.”

He raised an eyebrow, any hint of friendliness gone from his face. “Hm. Well, that information is private, Miss…?” He was asking for my name, but I was not inclined to provide it. “Well, thank you for speaking with me. Sorry to bother you.”

He turned and started back down the sidewalk. I stayed put where I was and watched him for a little while. I noticed he didn’t go to any other buildings or stop anyone else on the street to ask them what they had experienced. I also noticed that when he was half a block away, he looked back at me, probably assuming I’d already gone inside.

It wasn’t until he was fully out of eyesight that I turned around, pulled out my key, and rushed inside. I practically flew up the steps to the second floor and threw the apartment door open as I ran inside. When I shut the door behind me, I leaned against it and closed my eyes for a second.

I heard Suldeargan’s footsteps approach me, so I opened my eyes.

“What did you speak about?” he demanded.

“What?” I frowned.

“You and that man!” he hissed. “What did you speak about?”

I stepped away from the door and went to sit on the couch. “I’m all right, thank you for asking.”

“Mia! It is important–” he tried to insist, but I cut him off.

“He lied and said he was a private investigator, and he wanted to know if I’d seen anything weird in the last few days,” I told him. “Then he asked if I lived here and if he could come up and look at the apartment, to which I said ‘of course not, now leave.’ Who was he?”

“Dammit!” he hissed. “I need you to go to the window and see if he’s still out there.”

“I will when you tell me who the fuck he is!” I insisted.

“He’s a demon hunter!” he snapped. “He’s been tracking me for months. Whether I’ve crossed into this world or make myself invisible or not, it doesn’t matter. Demon hunters can see me, and they can sense when we’re near. That one has been looking for me since May!”

“What?” I frowned. “I don’t understand. If you don’t hurt people, then why–”

“Because I’m not the only demon in the world,” he sighed, running his claws through his white hair. “And some demons do hurt your people. Most demon hunters don’t give a shit about who does what, they just try to exterminate any demons they can find. They’re the only humans who can kill demons in the first place. You could stab me through the heart, and I’d be fine. But him? He can end me. And this may come as a shock, but I don’t want that to happen. Now will you go to the window and see if he’s still there?”

I watched him in disbelief. Obviously, I hadn’t known Suldeargan for very long, but I had never seen him even slightly tense, much less panicked. It was a bit concerning. This was clearly serious. And Jackson must already have had an idea that he was here since he came to speak to me in the first place.