Heaven's Key (Demon Hunter Book 1) (2 page)

Cole threw the rosaries into the tub filled with water. He spoke a prayer in Latin and then stepped back. The Nybbus are invisible when they attach to a host. Their main defense is to go undetected. I needed to know exactly where this thing was and what end was up.

I decided to give her one more chance to back out. These things were small, but this one was wrapped around her neck and anything was possible. “Ms. Harwood…”

“I’m keeping my wish; now hurry up and do what I’m paying you to do.” She was in pain and she wanted it over with. It was her call; she was the client and she was paying us a huge amount of money to do as she asked.

“Pass me the big silver fork and the spray bottle.” Cole dipped back into my bag.

The fork was big enough to pick up a nice-sized turkey and the handle was carved with ancient symbols that warded against evil. Silver wouldn’t harm the demon, but since he was small, it was the perfect weapon to plunge him into the water. Cole passed me the oversized utensil and sat the bottle on the floor.

“Cole, can you steady Ms. Harwood? Sometimes these things will cling, but he should come off easily.”

I waited until he was standing behind her with his arms gripping hers in place. The spray bottle was filled with holy water and I used it to mist the area around the old lady’s neck. The thing made a high-pitched squeal and smoke outlined the place where he was seated. The little bastard was perched on her left shoulder with his tail wrapped around her neck.

He was visible now and he looked like the love child between a goat and a hyena. The pain had him fully awake and his bulbous eyes were tracking my every move. I didn’t have time to think about how aware those eyes were.

I jabbed the fork into his middle and my arms flung in the air as the little demon leapt from her shoulder a second too late. Barely keeping the creature under control, I lunged forward and, with one swift motion, we both plunged into the bath.

The water began to bubble and steam. The fork was slippery and hard to control, so I grabbed the Nybbus with my hands to keep it under the water. It should have been dead by now. A claw sliced into my arm. Ignoring the pain, I gripped him harder. If he didn’t die soon, I was going to lose the fight.

The tub was now red from my blood and the demon was doubling his efforts. I leaned in further, hoping my own weight on his body would get him under control. He was bucking and hissing for all he was worth.

“Jael, move. Let me help, for fuck sakes.” Cole let go of Ms. Harwood and positioned himself over me. I leaned to the side and he grabbed the demon. The two of us easily kept him under the water. Eventually, the fight left him and he dissolved.

My hands had been holding on so tight that my nails dug into my own palms. The long cut on my arm was oozing blood. I was starting to get a little lightheaded. Cole jumped up and snatched a towel from across the room. He had to pull me from the tub and wrap it around my arm. Shaking my head and trying to focus on what was going on, I put pressure on the wound with my good hand.

“Come on; I’m getting you to the hospital.”

“No, I’m fine. It hurts like a bitch, but I’m fine. Pack up our gear and I’ll help Ms. Harwood back into bed.”

Cole stared at me, his jaw tensing, and then he turned and started to gather everything up. It took every ounce of strength I had to get up and some I didn’t have to help the old woman. Deep down, I knew I was being stupid-stubborn. I was losing a lot of blood, but I hated hospitals, and if I could avoid them, I did at all costs.

Ms. Harwood was a little stronger than she had been, which was good because by the time I got her to the bed, it was hard to tell who was helping who. I tucked her in and then sat on the edge to catch my breath. The cut was screaming with pain, bad enough I was tempted to chop the whole arm off and be done with it. I’d regret it later, but it felt like someone was holding a blowtorch to my arm.

The old lady grabbed my good arm. “I know you think I’m a vain old fool and I won’t disagree, but this was all I had when I was young and to have it back, if only for me to enjoy…” She shook her head, trying to hold back tears. Her hand searched through the covers and came up with a cell phone, fingers flying surprisingly fast over the keypad.

“I’ve let Juanita know that you’ve done the job and to give you the bonus. It should be more than enough to get you stitched up.”

That was all I could stand of her. She ruined her health, I was hurt, and as long as she had her looks and money to make me go away, she was fine. I immediately left the room and waited for Cole outside. We walked silently to the door where the maid was waiting for us with a small canvas bag. Cole grabbed it from her and we left.

Cole had my bag and I tried to fish my keys from the back pocket with one hand. He let me try for a minute before he pulled the bag from my reach.

“You can’t drive like that. You know that, right?” He was angry and I didn’t know why.

“I can’t leave my car here; it’s full of all my gear.” There must have been something he saw on my face because the anger melted away to be replaced by frustration. He grabbed the back of his neck and squeezed before he retrieved the keys and unlocked the car.

“I’ll drop you off, then I’ll get a cab back here and pick up the Cat. My first aid kit should have what we need to fix you up, but if you can think of anything else we’ll need, then let me know.”

I was mad at myself for screwing up with the Nybbus. I had broken one of my cardinal rules. Never let your guard down. Now I had to rely on him to help me and it just felt icky. I didn’t want to feel grateful or warm towards Cole and both feelings were trying to take hold. He was taking charge and I was in no shape to challenge him.

“I’ll need some witch hazel. That little fucker’s claws were probably filthy.”

He opened the door to the passenger side and it took me a minute to realize he meant for me to get in. He helped me into the car and started up my old girl. She started on the first turn and that pissed me off more than the cut. Even my car was against me today. We pulled away and headed for the hotel.

I kept the towel on my arm until Cole left. The cut was bad, not going-to-the-hospital bad, but it was close. As soon as he pulled out of the parking lot, I let out a bagful of foul language. The gash was still oozing blood and it felt like my arm had been set on fire.

I had never been injured by a demon before. Most demons I ran into were possessing a human. I had heard from others that demon wounds always got infected and they always felt like an acid burn. Yay me. I held the towel around my arm as tightly as I could. Cole would have to stitch me up and he better not pass out halfway through. The cut was on my right hand and that meant I couldn’t do it myself.

Taking another drink of gin, I concentrated on the comforting warmth as it traveled down my throat. I took another peek at the wound. My arm was already infected. The skin around the cut was red and puffy. The witch hazel would help, but something this bad would need antibiotics. Fuck, I didn’t want to see a doctor. Why was I so fucking careless?

I knew the dangers of sleeping right now, but it was getting harder and harder to keep my eyes open. The gin was making everything so fuzzy and warm. It was nice. It felt like Cole had been gone forever. Maybe lying down for a few minutes wouldn’t hurt. I’d just take a short nap. My eyes drooped closed. Headlights flooded the room and I flew out of the bed like a husband caught having sex with his mistress. I peeked outside to see Cole with about ten pharmacy bags hanging down from his arms.

Bursting into the room, he shook his head at me when he saw me standing there. Silently, he dragged the small table by the door over to the bed and emptied the contents of all the bags, arranging everything until he was happy with how he had them. Finishing, he turned to me and grabbed the gin from my hand.

“Hey!”

“You’re bleeding to death and you’re drinking. Do you know how stupid that is?”

“This scratch fucking hurts. Now give it back.” I tried to grab the bottle, but all I got was air.

“No way. I’m not going through the trouble of getting you stitched up and then having you bleed out anyway. Now give me a second to get organized.” Stunned at how he spoke to me, I just stood there until he led me to the bed and sat me down. I felt like crying, but there was no way in hell I was crying in front of Cole Daine. Fuck him.

In a blur of activity, the pile of supplies became organized. All the packaging was placed in one of the bags and everything else was lined up in order of use. The last bag contained two towels and they were folded and placed to elevate my arm.

“The towels are new and far from sterile, but they have to be better than the ones in the bathroom. Lay your arm here.” He pointed to the center of the table.

The towel around my arm was more red than white. My heart was racing and I knew that couldn’t be good for slowing the blood flow. Cole gingerly peeled back the fabric from around my arm. The pressure I had put on it had almost stopped the bleeding, but now it was flowing again.

“Jesus, I’m going on record that this should be done in a hospital, but since you’re too stubborn for that to be an option, let’s get this done. Hold this gauze tightly over the wound.” I did as he said but watched him carefully as he went to work. He said his first aid was better than most, but I only believe what I can see.

Using the first syringe, he made small injections all around the wound until it was numb. I thought I was going to have to have it stitched up without freezing. It might have been the blood loss, the gin, or both, but I wanted to kiss that sexy bastard.

He picked up the needle and suture and threaded it. The pain was lessening except for the burning. Without the distraction of the pain from the cut, the burning was getting worse. Opening a large bottle of witch hazel, he emptied half into a bowl and then placed the needle and thread inside.

“Even though it’s numb, this is still going to sting. The infection is already bad. Okay, let’s do this.”

I lifted the gauze and the wound had a black tinge surrounding it. The gin in my stomach was threatening to make an appearance. He whispered sorry and then poured witch hazel all over my arm. It sizzled and snapped like frying bacon.

“Motherfucking cunt sucker asshole. Oh my fucking God, that hurt. I’m going to pull your balls off with my bare hands and feed them to you fuuuuuuuuucckkk.”

“Language, please.” He didn’t even have the decency to try and hide the smirk. I really wanted to kill him, but I didn’t have the strength or the complete use of my limbs. He really was a sexy motherfucker. Those blue eyes, chiseled chest, and his hair was so thick, I could run my fingers through it for days.

The pinch of the needle brought me back to reality. That weak moment of lust was the gin’s fault. Cole took the needle and began to stitch up my arm. The cut ran from just below the inside of my elbow, curved around, and ended just shy of the back of my hand.

“Oh fuck, why does this hurt so much if you numbed it. Stupid fucking Nybbus. They’re supposed to be easy to kill and they aren’t supposed to have razor sharp fucking claws.”

“I’d say maybe he was a half breed. Part Nybbus and part something else.”

“Demons hate other … Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, fuck me with a stick.” Cole was working fast, but he wasn’t even halfway done. My stomach was dangerously close to emptying all over the orange shag carpeting.

“Yet this one was strong and had claws; maybe it was just a mutant.”

“Maybe, whatever. The little fucker is dead and that old woman gets to wear her twenty-year-old face for however long she has left.”

“I would have left the old hag on the floor. She endangered your life for vanity.”

“Don’t judge her too harshly. Your packaging is still ahhhh...mmphh…is still all shiny and new. That six-pack I imagine you have hasn’t turned soft yet and your handsome face is still wrinkle free, but on the day you look in the mirror and do the double take because you didn’t recognize the old geezer looking back, then you can judge.”

“You act like I’m some kid and you’re an old hag. You’re not even forty, Jael. You look amazing and, despite my age, I’ve experienced a lot.”

Cole finished the stitching and bandaged the wound. The job looked more professional than if I had gone to a hospital. He arranged the bed so I could have the wound elevated. Then he gave me a shot of morphine and, just like that, we were friends again.

I watched him with a drug-fuzzed filter as he cleaned up the room. He didn’t stop until everything was neat and tidy; he even took a wet wipe and washed the remote before he turned on the TV. After I was tucked in and comfortable, he spread a blanket from his bag on the bed and lay down.

“What’s with the blanky?” For some reason, I thought that was incredibly funny.

“Do you have any idea the kind of filth that can be found on a bedspread in one of these motels?”

“Cole, you are one sexy piece of ass.”

He rolled his eyes. “Okay, someone’s enjoying the morphine.”

“Damn straight, this stuff is nice. Just because I think you’re hot doesn’t mean you don’t have to pull your own weight.”

“Noted.”

“At some point, I’ll likely try and fuck you. It’s just the way I am. I get horny after a good hunt.”

“Also noted.” He was grinning. If I remembered this tomorrow, I might have to kill him just so he could never bring it up again.

“How’d ya learn the stitchy stitchy stuff?”

“They teach that when you’re an army medic.”

“Go… go way.”

“I can’t go away. Who will watch over you tonight?”

“K, I’ll keep you. That will come in handy. I have so many scars. So very many.”

“Jael. Why don’t you try and sleep?”

“Oh okay, you’re so smart. Sleep is good.” He seemed way smarter than usual. Maybe I was wrong about him.

I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep. He was watching me; I could feel it. You didn’t survive hunting as long as I had and not know when someone was watching you. Even when your mind was as slow as mine was. I tried to open my eyes to tell him to stop when I finally slid down that long comforting slide into blackness.