The Ghost Hunter (30 page)

Cristian’s gaze flickered toward Ashley so quickly that someone watching would think he didn’t care. He couldn’t let his father know how much she meant to him. He couldn’t let the demon know that at the moment, looking down at her battered body, he would slit his own wrists if it meant she could go free.

“I connected with her as soon as I realized she wasn’t going to leave,” he explained, surprised his voice came out as strong as it did.

The demon lifted a dark brow, the face so similar to his own that it made him sick. “She’s stubborn, I’m surprised she gave intae ye so readily.” He said the words as if they were discussing the weather. He had no conscience. Perhaps he never had.

Cristian’s jaw clenched. “We didn’t bond that way. There are other ways.”

The demon smirked. “Not sex? Ah, yes. Blood then.”

Cristian didn’t answer, merely continued to stare at his father. He wouldn’t cower to the demon, he would show no fear. He was done giving his sire information. Blood. Yes, blood. That day they’d closed the portal when he’d clasped his wounded hand to hers he’d given her his strength. He hadn’t needed her blood for the spell. And thank God he’d done it, for she’d be dead right now if he hadn’t given her his blood.

The demon clapped his hands together, although the contact made no noise. “So yer connected. Brava. And what, pray tell, do ye think tae do with yer strengthened power?” He paced slowly back and forth, watching Cristian with that knowing look upon his face. A look he’d seen so many times when he’d been a child trying to pull one over on the old man. “Ye still think ye can kill me? Ye tried before, didn’t ye. I’ve had years tae gather my strength.”
 

He was right, why give the bastard more time to recuperate? It was time to take care of the demon once and for all. Cristian moved forward, positioning himself between Ashley and his father. “So have I. The lord is my shepherd,” he mumbled, throwing holy water into the air. The droplets sprinkled harmlessly to the cavern floor, sparkling like diamond chips.

As if sensing something wasn’t quite right, Ashley stirred, managing to sit up. Cristian’s heart leapt. He wanted to tell her to lie still, to pretend she was unconscious. But by even looking her way, he’d only draw attention.

His father laughed, a deep chuckle that vibrated the stone walls. “Ye tried this all before, my son.”

“I shall not want.” Cristian held out his hand and a blue powder appeared. He threw it into the air. It burst like a fireworks, sparks of aqua, then sprinkled to the ground.

Suddenly, his father disappeared and the tunnel grew dark. Cristian’s senses went on alert. He knew the demon was there somewhere, lurking.
 

“Cristian?” Ashley stood and blindly reached out for him. “Oh my God, you’re real.” She gripped his shirt and buried her face into his chest. He wrapped his arm around her waist and squeezed her close. He could have this one moment to feel whole again.

“Shhh,” he whispered into her hair. “Everything will be all right.”

Her body trembled against his. What had his father done to her? Disgust and anger combined in a lethal combination. Cristian raised his arm, palm up. A glowing orb of light appeared. He’d kill the demon. Destroy him slowly; make him suffer. The familiar domed walls arched above them. Without moving a step, they’d somehow ended up back in the main room. The lid of the coffin still split, had fallen to the floor, the tomb empty.

“How? Did you teletransport?” Ashley looked up at him.

“No, we were here all along.” He shook off that uneasy realization and pulled her closer, taking comfort in her warmth merely for a moment.

“Where’s my father?” she asked, her voice quivering.

Cristian stepped back from her. He needed distance in order to think. “He’s here. He can see, hear everything. But he’s too weak to appear.” Cristian raked his hand through his hair, desperately needing time to come up with a solution. “I knew he wouldn’t be strong enough to contain my father for long.”

“Why?”

He closed his eyes briefly. Time to admit the truth. “Ashley, my father is hundreds of years old. Yer father was a newborn compared to him. My father is even more powerful than I’d expected.”

“What do we do?”

He cupped the sides of her face and peered into her beautiful hazel eyes. Blood was trailing down the side of her head, brilliant red against her pale skin. His body heated with anger. Damn it all, this was his fault.

“Ye do nothing but go.” He released her as he noticed Devon hesitantly entering the room, Camile behind him. Ashley didn’t need him, she had Devon to take care of her. And Devon would take care of her, he’d already promised. Cristian turned and strolled away, forcing himself to move toward that coffin. Forcing himself not to fall for her soft voice and large innocent eyes. What he did was for her own damn good.
 

“But…but what do you mean? I’m here to help.”

He paused, his back to her, and forced himself to laugh, a harsh sound. “Ye think ye can help?”

She paused for a telling moment. “I don’t know.”

She was questioning herself, just as he’d hoped. She couldn’t be here. He needed her to leave for her own good and for his. He couldn’t concentrate with her near, he couldn’t see her hurt again. He spun around to face her. “When the time is right, yer father will disconnect. He’ll use the last of his powers tae do so. Ye can’t be here or ye’ll be destroyed. Now, please, go. It would be best for everyone.”

She didn’t look upset, she looked angry. “You don’t make sense. You insisted I be here and now you want me gone?” She shook her head. “Tell me what you’re going to do.”

Cristian gritted his teeth. Why did she have to be so stubborn? “Get her out of here, now!”

His voice echoed across the room, so loud Ashley jumped. Devon wrapped his arms around her before she even knew he was there.

“No!” She screamed, but Devon ignored her, dragging her backward, further away from her father, further away from Cristian, further away from death. And all he could do was stand there and watch her go. Stand there and regret that she’d ever gotten involved. Mostly, regret that he’d never see her again.

“Please, Cristian! Please let me go!”

He turned his back to her. He didn’t dare look at her again. If he saw her face, he’d fold.

“Tell me what you’re going to do!” she demanded.

“He’s going to bind himself to his father so your father’s spirit will be released. It’s the only way. He’s the only one strong enough and old enough to hold him,” Devon finally responded.

Cristian silently cursed the man. Why hadn’t they left? He stopped near the coffin and dared to glance back at Ashley. Just one more time. Their gazes clashed. She jerked from Devon’s hold and bolted toward Cristian.

Red light suddenly flared through the room. His father was coming. Ashley froze, her gaze pinned to Cristian. “Don’t,” she whispered, but he heard her all the same. “Don’t, we can bind him, we can contain him here.”

It wouldn’t work, she must know that, yet it didn’t matter. None of it mattered because in that moment Cristian realized that she cared. She cared so much that she wouldn’t leave him.

Nothing else mattered. It was all he needed. He looked at Devon and nodded, a silent command.

Devon gripped Ashley’s arms. “No!” She struggled in his hold. “I can stop him. I can hold the demon just as well. Maybe not for long, but until you can find a way to destroy him.”

Cristian blanched at her comment. She couldn’t be bloody serious.

Devon voiced his outrage. “Don’t be ridiculous! You’d be destroyed within moments.”

“Devon,” Cristian demanded. “Get her out of here now!”

But Devon hesitated. As the ground shook below them, he merely stood there. What the fuck was the man waiting for? The apocalypse?
 

“I can’t do it, Cristian,” he said.

Cristian started toward them, his steps angry. “What the hell are talking about? We had an agreement.”
 

Devon disappeared. In a blink, the man was gone. Ashley stumbled, caught off guard. Damn him! Devon was supposed to leave with Ashley and Camile. What was he planning? He had no doubt he was planning something. Devon was a bloody hero, he wouldn’t abandon Ashley.

“
Pater Noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum,
” Cristian murmured, rushing the ritual. Devon was going to do something stupid, he could sense his presence.
 

Suddenly, Devon appeared next to him.

“What the hell are—”

Devon slammed his fist into Cristian’s face. The pain was overwhelming and immediate. Cristian stumbled back, not far, but far enough. It happened in a split second, so quickly that he could have blinked and missed it. Devon held out his hand and the silver sword appeared.

Cristian knew immediately what the bastard planned to do. He burst forward, determined to stop him. “No!”
  

Devon lifted the sword and shoved the blade into his own chest. The point moved through his body easily, killing him instantly. Devon was gone, his essence slipping away. Cristian froze only inches from the man who, at one time, had been like a brother. He was too late. Once again he was too late. Sorrow burst anew through his chest, pain exploding inside of him.
 

“No!” With a growl, Cristian latched onto the hilt and pulled the sword from Devon’s chest. Brilliant red blood poured from the wound, soaking his light-blue t-shirt and pooling to the floor. Devon stumbled, falling forward into the tomb.

The red light flared through the cavern, shaking the walls. Pebbles tumbled from the ceiling and scattered across the floor like raindrops. It was over. Done with. There was nothing they could do. Devon had bonded himself to the demon, the tomb was closing.

Cristian looked at Ashley, the bloodied sword still in his hands. She was staring at that coffin, perhaps praying Devon would come back to life. Would she blame him, as she did before? The room trembled, sending them all off balance.

“Ashley!” Camile said, grabbing onto her arm. “Devon did this for you. He’d want you to be safe. We have to leave now!”
 

But Ashley didn’t move.

“Go,” Cristian said, looking directly at Camile. “We’ll follow.”

Camile glanced at Ashley one last time before darting into the tunnel toward that door. Devon was gone. Dead. She’d loved him. It was obvious. She might care about Cristian, but she’d loved Devon and he’d let Devon die. She’d never forgive him. He might not have been able to save Devon, but he would see Ashley safe.

“I can’t leave him here in this hell,” she whispered, confirming Cristian’s suspicions.

Cristian gripped her upper arms. “We have to go.” Still she didn’t move. “Bloody hell, Ashley, we have to leave now!”

“I won’t!”

Blue light seeped from the coffin. The magical color swirled around the top of the dome, hovering over them. He knew without a doubt that light was Ashley’s father. Just as suddenly as it had come, the blue light was fading, fading.

“No!” she cried, apparently realizing the same thing. She shoved Cristian in the side, attempting to run from him. He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tightly.

“He’s gone, Ashley, to Heaven.”

“No!” she cried, slumping into him.
 

Cristian’s heart broke, falling into the pit of his stomach. He wrapped an arm around her back and another under her legs. With ease, he lifted Ashley and cradled her close to his chest. She might love Devon, but Devon was gone. He was here. He’d see her safe. He owed them that much. “Shhh, it will be all right.”

Cristian moved quickly through the tunnel, his human emotions in turmoil. Her dad was gone. No goodbye. Gone, just like Devon. Whereas her Dad was in heaven, Devon burned in a perpetual hell. The bastard was intent on making Cristian feel guilty for the rest of his life. The tunnel turned and the noise from the chamber faded.
 

“Ashley?” Camile called out, her voice echoing down the tunnel. “Is she all right?”
 

That door was just ahead, the light like a beacon of safety. Ashley didn’t seem to notice. She started shaking, her entire body trembling in his arms. The familiar basement gave her no comfort. Camile held the door open wide, waving them into the room. Cristian set Ashley on her feet. He would comfort her later. He turned and slammed the door shut. Just that easily, it was locked once again. It would only open under his hands.

He had failed. He had failed the Heavens. He had failed himself. Worst of all, he had failed Ashley. They were silent as they stood there wallowing in their own defeat. No sound penetrated the door. No rumbles, no red light, nothing but silence. A façade of safety.

“The others?” Cristian finally asked.

“Fine,” Camile whispered, but she was watching Ashley, concern in her eyes.

Ashley remained focused on that door. She didn’t need to say a word, he knew what she was thinking. She blamed him. She was in love with
Devon
, and she blamed Cristian for not protecting them. But she didn’t need to blame him, he blamed himself plenty enough for everyone.