The Demon Within (A PeaceKeeper Novel Book 1)(29)

"As you once did yourself. The only difference between us is you can survive on your own. To separate me from what remains of my demon would kill me." She sounded like she almost wished it had. Caly knew that feeling, the self-loathing.

Then she became aware of what had been revealed. Caly stiffened at the absolute stillness behind her, too horrified to turn and see the disgust on Ruman's face. She had only herself to blame. But in the choice between keeping her secret and saving the lives of her friends, she couldn't kept her mouth shut. She'd pick her friends every time.

Parthina stood and gathered her coat and whatever weapon hidden inside. Caly refused to look at Ruman, focusing on Parthina as she walked away, knowing her carefully constructed world was now ash at her feet. Parthina hesitated almost like she felt she had to explain.

"What remains of my demon allows me to do my job and survive. It grants me an edge to fight when a normal human would've died." She turned, revealing the scarred side of her face. "A word of advice."

Caly braced herself for a blow.

"Kill yourself before you allow yourself to be captured. Save me the trouble of hunting you." The sharp click of her heels on the cobblestone echoed eerily in the silence. The feminine way she walked reminded Caly of a cat. All sleek muscle. Unpredictable and dangerous.

The other group had sent an assassin either suspecting a trap or to get rid of her group if deemed necessary. They couldn't allow the main group to become endangered. Caly's group could expect no help from that quarter.

Caly remained tense well after the woman had disappeared. There it was. Her shameful past out on display. Not sparing a glance to Ruman, Caly replaced her knife, ignoring the way her fingers shook.

"Would you like to explain?" The words were casual, and she risked a quick glance at him. The gathering storm she saw in his eyes belied his tone. The naked distrust slashed through the already fragile shell of her emotions.

She dropped her gaze, her chest so tight she could barely gather enough air to speak. "Not particularly."

His hand snapped out, and he grabbed her arm with bruising force as he whirled her toward him. The dark expression on his usually placid face shot a fissure of cold through her gut. The warmth she saw just hours ago was gone.

"Release me." A twist of her body forced his hold to loosen. This time, instead of a tussle, he did as told, almost like he was disgusted to touch her. The cold spread, wrapping around her heart with numbing frost.

She knew this would happen. She'd let herself believe he would be different. The half-formed hope she had for them shriveled into dust.

Ruman despised demons. Even she couldn't stand what she'd become. How could she expect someone else to.

Pivoting sharply, Caly blindly walked into the hotel. Unwilling to remain trapped in the elevator with him, she opted for the stairwell. Of course, he followed with his damming silence.

The story he'd told her of how he let one of his assignments die without offering assistance haunted her. Now that he knew the truth, she'd be a fool to trust him. When she least expected it, when she needed him most, he'd turn against her without a qualm.

Like everyone else she allowed to get close, he would disappoint her in the end. Once the group back at the base learned the truth, she'd become their number one target.

Demons were evil, dangerous creatures. She'd been told that often enough. They always left a trail of destruction in their wake. Proof she had seen firsthand.

She'd kept her past a secret for years. Oscar made sure she remained quiet. For her own good, he said. Ruman almost made her believe that Oscar wanted to protect her. Now that the truth was out, she knew he'd give her a different answer.

Caly finally understood why Oscar remained distant from everyone. Fellow hunters might kill her if they found out, but friends would rip her heart out without lifting a hand.                       
       
           



       

Passkey in hand, she let herself into her room and collected her cases. Ruman would be over in a few minutes. She heard him in the other room even now. It'd be best to be gone before he could kick her out. She touched the leather strip he used to tie back her hair, reluctant to part with the only thing she had of him. Her hand tightened around the strap, and she wound it around her wrist instead. Careful not to make a sound, Caly allowed the door to latch silently behind her.

Downstairs, she hailed a taxi. "The nearest library, please." Although her Arabic was atrocious, thanks to Kelly's crash course, the taxi driver understood.

They'd traveled to Egypt to find Dudael, a legendary desert mentioned in the Bible as the place Azazel had been imprisoned. Ruman carried the answers, and without him, she had to do some legwork. She might not be able to read Arabic, but she could read maps. She stared through her reflection in the window. All that mattered now was to make sure her friends stayed alive.





Chapter Seventeen





Things clicked into place for Ruman. The way she moved, the way she sensed him when he watched her from the shadowy world of the Between, especially the way she sensed other demons. It galled him to admit it, but he completely missed the signs.

Ruman had thought Caly was something Other. Not human, not a demon or an angel, but a combination of all three and accepted by none.

The woman had gone through hell and come out stronger when few humans even survive something as traumatic as possession. Anger had churned in him at the secret, the jibes she'd thrown at him for being a demon and the distance she maintained because of it. But the anger burned away by the time they finished climbing the stairs. He watched her disappear inside her room, forcing himself not to follow and allowing her time to come to grips with what they'd learned.

"Hello, Ruman."

Shock widened his eyes, and Ruman's head snapped up. "Melech? What are you doing here?"

Then he made the connection. "You're Parthina's angel." The joy of see a fellow angel dimmed. Caly's request to view the angel still had fury riding him hard.

"You always were a smart one." Melech straightened from his relaxed pose, stepping away from the wall. "Still getting into trouble I see." He nodded to Caly's room and smirked.

A low growl rumbled from his chest and it was all Ruman could do not to snarl. She was his, and he didn't like the extra attention Melech directed at her.

"Hey," Melech held up his hands. "I have my hands full with the one I guard. I have no interest in yours."

Ruman snorted, and his fists slowly uncurled. When the proprietary emotions cleared his mind, he saw the strain around his friend's eyes, a certain tightness around his mouth. "You're not the guardian type."

Melech looked all the more disgruntled at the comment. "She found a spell book and accidentally summoned me. It's a long story."

"Accidentally summoned?" Ruman raised a brow at the almost unheard of action of capturing an angel.

"What concerns me the most is the increase in demon attacks around my charge and the lack of any type of angelic assistance. Have you had any contact with any of the others in the last few days?"

He considered Melech's question carefully then shook his head. "My sentence allows only limited contact at best. I've had no contact with anyone since my awakening."

"Nor have I." Melech paused. "You're the only other angel I've seen."

The slight hitch caught Ruman's attention. He glanced quickly at the connecting door, uneasy at Caly's silence, but he couldn't give up this opportunity to gain information if it meant it could help him save her life. "You hesitated."

"Lailah's here on her yearly … sabbatical."

Ruman grunted. Lailah was an angel. Most of the time, anyway. Once a year, she was sent to earth to live life as a human in punishment for some un-angelic character flaws. "I don't think she counts."

"Then we are the only angels left to keep our women alive." The ominous words echoed in the room.

One question lingered at the back of Ruman's mind, a tenuous leap at best. "Have you had any complications with your powers?" It was obvious Melech didn't want to answer in the way he avoided his gaze, so Ruman spoke first. "Since I met Caly, my powers have … altered."

Melech rubbed his forehead as he paced. "Same here." The big angel looked more drawn than when he first appeared. "I've not been called home."

Ruman crossed his arms. "And I wouldn't have been." What he didn't say was that even if he could leave, he'd refuse. He belonged by Caly's side.                       
       
           



       

Melech massaged the bridge of his nose. "Could the women block us? Unintentionally or not?"

"Because of the demon, you mean?" He shook his head. "I don't believe so. I'm part demon, and I can still communicate with those who are willing to demean themselves to talk to one such as me."

"Good point." Melech threw up his hands, clearly disgusted. "Then I am not sure where that leaves us."