Page 91 of Demon's Desire

I reached into the back seat where Soul was sitting and took his hand. We both told her the story. They told me that Kelly had told Soul what I’d said, that he should run, but they’d both agreed that was stupid, so Kelly had tracked my location and given it to Soul. He’d run into Jackson on the way and had agreed to go with him to keep me safe.

“I can’t fucking believe you killed a guy and a demon!” Kelly remarked as we pulled up to the apartment. “What the fuck?!”

I smiled and nodded. I had made my peace with it surprisingly easily. If you’d have told me yesterday that this would happen, I’d have assumed I’d be a wreck, but I felt okay. “Well, I didn’t kill the demon. Soul did. Humans can’t kill demons.”

“About that,” Soul said as he opened my door and helped me out of the truck. “We need to discuss something.”

I blinked but nodded. “Well, let’s get inside then.”

We all headed up to the apartment, where Soul was able to make himself visible again. He began to speak as soon as we shut the door. “Mia, what have I told you about demon hunters?”

I shrugged. “You told me that they’re the only humans that can kill demons. If I tried to kill you, you’d be fine. Not that I’d ever try to kill you, of course.”

He pursed his lips before nodding. “Demon hunters… they aren’t born. They aren’t random. The power transfers itself, like a disease, almost. A hunter can ‘infect’ someone else, who then becomes a hunter.”

“What?” I cocked my head. “How?”

“By dying,” he answered. “If a demon hunter is killed, the one who kills them takes their ability.”

“What?” I repeated, not quite understanding. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Not particularly, no.” He shrugged. “But it’s how it works. I made Tiernan’s death faster, but your blow was going to kill him either way. When you killed Jackson, you became a demon hunter.”

My face fell, and I put my hand against the wall to brace myself. “I… What? What does that mean?!”

“Is it dangerous?” Kelly glared, as if it were his fault.

“Not inherently.” He shrugged. “Demons will be able to sense you. If they feel threatened, they may attack. But if you let them be, they’ll likely leave you alone. There are no real side effects to being a demon hunter besides that. Your life doesn’t have to change. And this is likely the reason that you weren’t traumatized by the events today. You killed a man and you hardly blinked.”

“I was protecting you,” I argued. “I would do it again.”

“I believe you.” He gave me a slight smile. “But nonetheless, the demon hunter soul, the gift, the power that you have now… all of it is helping you stay grounded.”

“Oh…” I looked down, unsure how to feel. Obviously if I’d known this ahead of time, I would still have done what I did. Like Soul said, it wasn’t going to ruin my life. Still, it was just another strange thing I’d need to get used to. “So… What happens now?”

“When Tiernan’s family hears of his death and realizes I was involved, they’ll probably come after me,” Soul said. “Because of them, because of my connection to Covey… there’s a chance that I’ll never really be safe. Unfortunately, that means you’ll never be safe either. So… you have a few options. You won’t like it, but I should remind you that one of the options is to kill me. You’ll be safe. You don’t have to worry–”

“No,” I said firmly. “Next option.”

He sighed. “Well, we could go into hiding, or on the run. Try to avoid it. But that requires you to give up… far too much. Just to be with me.”

I frowned for a second before shaking my head. “You said I’m a demon hunter now, right?”

“Yes.” He nodded.

“Good.” I stood up straight and crossed my arms. “Then I say we choose the other option. We stay right here. Whatever demons or demon hunters come after you, I can protect you now. You won’t be facing anything alone.”

He looked shocked at the suggestion, like he somehow hadn’t considered it. “You… Mia, just because you can kill demons doesn’t mean you know how.”

“So you can train me,” I offered. “You can teach me how to fight. I can take classes and shit. And I can keep you safe. Then we can stay right here. You shouldn’t have to spend your life running for something someone else forced upon you, and neither should I. So we stay here. We fight.”

Soul looked at me in surprise for a moment before shaking his head. “Kelly, I need to speak to Mia alone.”

Kelly gave me a look, but I just nodded to confirm with her that it was okay. She headed through the kitchen and into the living room. When she was far enough away, I looked back at Soul, prepared to keep arguing, but before I even had a chance, he grabbed me and kissed me hard, backing me against the wall.

“Mm…” he moaned. “That is the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard…”

“Wh… What is?” I laughed. “Let’s kill demons and demon hunters together?”