Demon Hunters 3: Tainted (Stand Alone Series) (Demon Hunters.) (15 page)

Cassidy stared at the object, half afraid to take it. She could see a faint glow to it and sense the power. Taking the ring from him, she slipped it on her finger. “Why didn’t you tell me what’d happen?”

“It was an unwilling binding. Of course he was going to fight it with all the power at his disposal. We’re just lucky he wasn’t allowed to harm us.” He looked down at himself. “Although with the amount of blood coating us that’s hard to believe.”

Cassidy’s gaze returned to the ring she wore. “We did it.”

Gabe grinned at her. “Yeah. We did.”

Cassidy laughed. “We did it.” She threw herself at Gabe, then pulled away when she felt Remedy arrive behind her. She spun, keeping herself between the two of them. “You can’t hurt him. I’m allowed to touch him now. We made a deal.” She moved forward, stepping out of the salt circle. Gabe followed her and she was tempted to tell him to wait in the circle. “Castigate can’t hurt either of us.”

“You’re lucky you managed with the stunt you pulled earlier. Didn’t I tell you not to call me while he still lived? Well?” Remedy looked past her, his eyes narrowing when they landed on Gabe. He pushed her aside and pulled Gabe close, peering intently at him.

Cassidy tried to drag Remedy away from Gabe. “Leave him alone.”

Remedy released him, pushed Cassidy away again and swung at Gabe. His fist connected with Gabe’s chin. “How dare you,” Remedy roared.

Cassidy screamed, throwing herself in front of Remedy, pushing him away from Gabe who’d landed on the ground. “What are you doing? We bound Castigate. What more do you want?”

“He had to get himself caught up in this.” Remedy pushed her to the side so he could glare at Gabe, the air around him crackling. “Was that your plan all along?”

Gabe rubbed his chin as he stumbled to his feet. “I wasn’t about to let her do this alone.”

Cassidy stared at Remedy. “You hit him because he helped me?”

Remedy turned his flame streaked eyes towards Cassidy. “I hit him because eternity will be long enough with one of you. Two is going to make me want to kill. Probably myself.”

“You… he… what?” Cassidy turned from one to the other.

Gabe shook his head. “Stop looking at me, I haven’t got a clue what’s going on.”

Remedy grabbed hold of Gabe and shoved him towards Cassidy, one hand on his jaw as he turned his head. “Look at him. Tell me what you see.”

Cassidy gazed into Gabe’s eyes, her mouth slowly opening. No sound came out. She reached out and touched his face beside his left eye, like he’d done to her so many times. “Gabe.” His name was a whisper.

“Cass?” Gabe pushed Remedy’s hands away and reached for her. “What’s wrong?”

She finally managed to speak. “Fire.”

“What? No.” Gabe stumbled back from her.

“What’s wrong… demon boy?” Remedy’s lips twisted into a smile. “It’s alright for Cass to be tainted but not you?”

Cassidy could only stare at them, her arms wrapped around herself as she took a step away from Gabe. Was Remedy right?

“No.” Gabe reached out for her, stepping forward when she backed away further. “I didn’t mean it like that. I was shocked. I didn’t know that’d happen. I don’t have a clue how it could have happened.”

“You mingled your blood with Cassidy’s and Castigate’s during the ritual,” Remedy said.

Gabe shook his head. “Impossible. I’m not even cut. All the blood on me is Castigate’s from when I was helping hold onto him.”

Cassidy stared at Gabe, her mouth dropping open. She went to cover it with her right hand, but it fell away when she saw all the blood on it. Her blood, Castigate’s blood and the blood she’d accidentally smeared across her palm when she’d applied Gabe’s blood to her wrist. “I didn’t mean to.” She backed away further. “I’m so sorry.” She hated those words. “It was when I was putting your blood on my wrist. I didn’t know.”

Gabe advanced on her as she retreated, eventually managing to wrap his arms around her. “It’s okay.” He pressed her head against him. “Cass? Talk to me. Please?”

Cassidy lifted her head to stare up at him. “Your family hunt demons. What will they do about us?”

Gabe’s lips curved slightly upwards. “Pray for us.” He touched her face beside her left eye. “Demon girl, they don’t hunt demons, they hunt demons who’ve done wrong. Sadly most demons tend to do wrong the moment they leave hell.”

“What about Remedy? Will they send him to hell?” Cassidy continued to stare into his green eyes, watching the flames that flickered in them.

“We have his true name. You can call him back any time you wish. No sacrifice needed. Now, about our date tomorrow night.” He grinned at her.

Cassidy returned his grin as relief rushed through her. “We’re not staying home.”

He laughed softly. “It was worth a try.”

Remedy made a noise of disgust from behind them. “I’ve got better things to do than stand around watching this sickening display.”

“Don’t get in trouble with any hunters,” Cassidy said.

“Define trouble,” Remedy said.

“Like, I don’t know, sacrificing virgins or something.”

“As if.” Remedy started to walk away. “It’s rare to find a virgin these days.” He disappeared into the shadows of the trees.

Cassidy stared after him. “I’m damned if I know what to do with him half the time. I feel like I should kill him for the part he played in my father’s…in…” she still couldn’t bring herself to say the word.

Gabe reached out and touched the ring. “You have the true culprit here. Remedy was protecting himself. Demons can’t leave alive anyone who knows their true name. It’s suicide.”

“It’s all so confusing.”

“Then stop worrying about it. We’ll figure it out one day at a time.”

“And what if it takes me forever to figure things out?”

Gabe grinned. “Then it’s a good thing we have forever.”

Cassidy laughed. “Let’s go home.” She looked down at herself. “I need a shower, this blood’s starting to dry.” Power still raced through her veins. “But after that, I need to hunt. I just don’t think we should be doing it looking like we’re actors from a slasher movie.”

Gabe nodded as he pulled out his phone and started typing in a message. “Give me a sec then.”

“What are you doing? We’ll barely have enough daylight left to get in a single hunt. I’ll never get to sleep at dawn if I don’t use up some of this energy.”

“I’m organizing someone to come and deal with this blood so it can’t be used against us.” He tucked his phone away. “Okay. Let’s go home.” He slid an arm around her waist. “And how about tomorrow you get your motorbike license. We both can.”

“I’ve got my learners. Had it for ages.” She pulled away as they reached her motorbike. “I just didn’t bother with my P’s since it would have taken too long.” She glanced around. “What about the weapons we’ve hidden? Should we collect them?” Although that would probably cut too much into her hunting time. She frowned.

“If the clean up crew doesn’t find all of them we can collect them another day. Let’s get out of here.”

Cassidy slid her helmet on. “Okay.” She swung her leg over the motorbike and waited for Gabe to join her before she headed home, going much faster than she should. As Gabe had already pointed out, she had a Remedy for if she was pulled over for speeding. She grinned. And a ring with a demon who had to do her bidding. It would be much more satisfying making Castigate sort it out. When they arrived, Cassidy headed for the bathroom.

“You want me to scrub your back for you?”

“Nice try.” She shot him a glance over her shoulder.

“We don’t have to worry about interruptions from Remedy anymore.”

Cassidy only shook her head, a smile forming as she closed the bathroom door behind her. She locked the door and moved to the basin to wash her hands. She stared at the painted mirror, several scratches in it. She didn’t need the paint anymore. Removing a dagger from her boot, she used the edge of the blade to scrape a large part of paint away. She stared at herself through the streaky patch.

Flame flecked hazel eyes, reddish brown jagged hair and smears of blood on her face. But the shadows had disappeared from beneath her eyes and the hollow hungry look was gone. Leaving the dagger on the basin, she moved away from the mirror and stripped off her blood soaked clothes before she stepped into the shower.

Maybe next weekend she’d invite Amy over. She might even try and take her clubbing one night. Surely one of her demons could arrange false ID for Amy so she didn’t have to wait for her eighteenth birthday that was still several months away. She’d ask Remedy first. No, she’d definitely tell Castigate to arrange it. He would hate that. As she turned the shower off, there was a knock at the bathroom door. “What?”

“If this blood is left to dry any longer I’m going to need to have my clothes surgically removed. Or get help at any rate.”

Cassidy finished drying herself and wrapped her towel around her body before she opened the door. “Nice try.” She smiled at him. “There’s a knife on the basin if you need any help getting your gear off. And don’t take too long or I’m leaving without you.” She strode to her room to get dressed, her smile widening as she heard Gabe chuckle. Kicking her door shut behind her, she dressed and took out another set of daggers. Heading for the front door, she searched until she located a demon close enough to take on before dawn.

She frowned. There was a demon in her house? A minor one? Turning she watched Gabe walk towards her. Her frown deepened. “You feel like a minor demon.”

Gabe reached for her, drawing her close. “So do you. Well, not so minor these days.” His lips met hers and his arms tightened around her. Eventually he drew back. “Still going hunting? Or would you like me to help you burn off all that energy some other way?”

Grinning, she pulled away from him, opening the door. “Nice try.” She stepped outside, ignoring the sense of demon near her to seek out one she could hunt. The demon she’d noticed before was now a little closer. Which was good since they had less than two hours until dawn. “Let’s hunt.” She strode to her motorbike and swung her leg over, glancing over her shoulder. “Well? You coming?”

The door was closed behind him and he stood there looking at her, a half smile on his lips. He remained silent a moment longer before he grinned and strode towards her. “Always.” He got on behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist as she took off.

Cassidy pulled away from Gabe as the song ended. When the nightclub instantly filled with the sound of the next song, she leaned forward to speak into his ear. “Back shortly. Bathroom.”

Gabe nodded and pointed to the bar. At his questioning look she nodded before she turned away and headed to the bathroom. She blinked at the brightness in the bathroom after the dim lights of the nightclub. She quickly finished in there and started to leave when she felt a demon arrive in the area. At the end of the corridor was a fire exit. Smearing blood over her demon mark, she slipped through the fire exit quickly enough that the alarm didn’t go off, and found herself in an alley behind the nightclub. And there was the demon, fresh blood on him. Human blood.

She stopped mid stride along the alleyway and planted her hands on her hips. “And don’t I just live a perfect fairytale existence. Were you saving this dance for me, Prince Charming?” She was glad now that she hadn’t given into the temptation to dress in something other than her usual black jeans and shirt for her night out with Gabe.

The demon stared at her. “I’ve done nothing against you, sister.”

A mirthless smile twisted her mouth. “Now that’s where you’re wrong. I’m not your sister and your crime against me is harming one of my fellow humans.” She drew her daggers from her boots. “Shall we dance?” She felt movement behind her, but after initially tensing, she realised it was Gabe.

“Dancing with other guys already? We have an eternity and you’re already bored with me?”

“I’ll save you a dance, but this one is his.” She sent him a glance as he came to a stop beside her. “And I’m not sharing.”

Gabe waved her forward. “Go ahead. I love watching you fight, demon girl.” He grinned and lowered his voice. “It gives me all sorts of ideas.”

“Huh. You get ideas just breathing.” She turned her attention to the demon that was backing away. “Oh no you don’t.” She leapt forward, her daggers flashing through the air, both striking their target. “You’re not welcome on Earth. Go to hell where you belong.”

The demon fought back, but he was only a minor one and no match for her. Several times he tried to escape. She was too quick for him, blocking the attempt each time. He also pleaded with her to let him go, that he wouldn’t hurt another human. She didn’t believe him.

The fight was over quicker than she expected and she turned to Gabe, energy still humming in her veins as she slid her daggers back into her boots. She scowled. “He could have put up more of a fight. Now I’m left with heaps of energy.”

“I’ve got a suggestion for that.”

“Nice try. Let’s hunt.”

Gabe grinned. “That’ll work too. So much for a night out. We didn’t even get to have a drink.” He slid an arm around her waist and walked with her to the front of the nightclub where her motorbike was parked. When they were nearly there, he stopped. “Wait here.” When she nodded, he strode towards a woman carrying a basket of individually wrapped, long stemmed roses.

Cassidy watched as he pulled out his wallet and bought a single red rose. When he returned to her side, she gestured towards the wallet. “When did you get that?”

“My family returned it and my ID this arve when they dropped off all our weapons. I guess they figured I’m a hopeless cause.” He held the rose out to her. “It might not be blood, but I’m hoping you like it better.”

Cassidy laughed as she took the rose. “I don’t think it was being a hopeless cause. It was probably your stubbornness that got through to them.” She stepped close to him. “It tends to have a wearing effect.” She pressed her lips against his, one arm holding him close.

Gabe kissed her, his hands splayed on her back. He finally drew away slightly. “Stubborn? I think you could teach me a thing or two about that.” He grinned. “If we’re going hunting we better head now before I try and convince you we should go home.”

“We’ll get home eventually.” She reached up and touched his face lightly beside his left eye. “Demon boy.”

“Eventually. Sounds good to me.” He reached for his helmet. “Let’s hunt so we can go home.”

Cassidy grinned as she took her helmet off the handlebar, tucking her rose down the side of her boot, beside one of her daggers. “Sounds like a plan to me.” She hopped on her motorbike and waited until Gabe’s arms were wrapped around her before she took off, heading for the nearest demon. It wasn’t a minor one. Energy sang through her veins and she hoped he was causing trouble. Because she needed to hunt and he felt like he might be enough of a challenge for them. Although he wasn’t enough of a challenge to warrant ordering Castigate to fight with them. She was looking forward to that moment. He would hate every second of it. She pulled up in front of a park that was full of large trees and plenty of shadows, getting off the motorbike as soon as Gabe hopped off.

“Now remember, no attacking him unless he’s up to no good,” Gabe said.

Before she could answer, a scream broke the silence of the night and, grinning, Cassidy dropped her helmet to the ground. “It sounds like he’s up to no good to me.”

Drawing her daggers she ran towards the demon she could sense in the darkest section of the park, Gabe at her side, energy coursing through her body. It was time to hunt. There was a demon that needed to be returned to hell.