Demon by My Side(31)

She rolled onto her back and stared up at the cracked ceiling. If anyone had told her last week she’d be feeling bad about outsmarting a demon she’d have laughed them out of the room. Yet here she was.

“Sorry,” she whispered to her phantom partner. A word she’d never be able to say to his face.

She sighed. None of her hunter friends would be able to understand. They’d applaud her ruthlessness and leave it at that. None of them had ever weakened for an enemy.

As soon as the thought crossed her mind she knew it was a lie. One hunter had fallen for the wrong man, and her decision had landed them in this mess.

Had Kerilyn had these same misgivings? Had she been torn between duty and desire? The older hunter had never been a close part of Darcy’s circle but they had worked together more than once. Kerilyn was tough, moral. Yet she’d gone off to be with a spirit.

How had she done it?

A knock at the door interrupted her musings. Wearily she pushed herself from the bed, wondering if something had gone wrong with her check-in. She wasn’t too tried to grab one of her sharpest daggers from the bag before heading for the door.

The motel was too old to boast a peephole so she drew the chain in place the door and opened it a crack.

“Hello, hunter,” Jaral greeted.

“Crap,” she swore, slamming the door shut. Or rather, she tried to slam it. The demon held it open with one hand while he tapped the chain with the other.

Darcy watched the metal glow red-hot and melt before her eyes. Abandoning the door, she dived for her weapons bag. Jaral slipped into the room just as she rounded on him with gun in hand.

“Stay where you are,” she ordered.

The demon closed the door behind him, unconcerned with the weapon trained on his heart. “Couldn’t you have found somewhere nicer?” he asked, glancing around.

“How the hell are you here?”

He turned back to her. “You have a piece of my power inside you.”

“So?”

“So I can feel the loss. It calls out to me wherever I am. Which means, darling, that as long as a part of my magic resides in you, I can find you anywhere.”

“No.” She shook her head, wanting to deny his words. She couldn’t be a demon beacon. Surely at some point in her mission to save humanity the universe would give her a freaking break.

Jaral moved forward, his gaze locked on her. “What, no hello kiss?”

“Go to hell.”

He tsked. “And here I thought we were making such progress.” He took another step forward. “Or do you only like kissing me while planning underhanded, nefarious attacks?”

She flinched as his accusation hit home. “I won’t apologize for doing what I need to in order to protect my people.”

“I didn’t ask you to.”

Darcy blinked. What game was he playing? She’d been ready for any number of attacks but instead he did nothing. “Your magic won’t work on me,” she reminded him, shifting from foot to foot. “Your fire can’t burn me.”

Jaral stilled. For the first time anger lit his eyes, banishing the easygoing humor. “You think I would hurt you?”

She opened her mouth to speak but found no words. He was a demon she’d tricked, one she’d bested.

Jaral stepped forward and she clicked the safety off the gun, not willing to take chances. He sighed and reached out to tap the gun. The weapon turned to molten metal in her hand. Startled, she dropped the mess to the ground and stared at her perfect skin. Not so much as a singed finger.

“No weapon,” he murmured, stepping up before her. “What’s your plan now, hunter?”

Darcy lifted her chin. He might be able to trump her in magic and strength but she didn’t back down for anyone. “Tell me what game we’re playing this time,” she demanded. “I dumped a sleeping potion on you. You should be livid.”

“Yes,” he agreed. “And I was at first. But then a curious thing happened.”

“What?”

“I realized I was…” He paused, as if searching for the right words. “Proud. I was proud of you.”

Again she found herself at a loss for words.

“Where I am from,” he told her, “no one challenges me. No one would fight this hard for what they believe in if it meant crossing me. And now here you are. One small human woman with no sense of self-preservation and an inability to make sane choices.” He reached out to touch her cheek. “You know who I am and yet you still tried to best me.”

“What’s the worst you could do?” she tried to joke.

The hand dropped from her face. “You don’t ever want to find out.”

She didn’t doubt him. Darcy cleared her throat. “So we are…even? You try to force me into this partnership and I dump a sleeping potion on you?”