The Demon Hunter (26 page)

“What was she like?”

“Blonde, beautiful.”

Just like him.

Ellie rested her head on his shoulder, drawing her fingers down his chest.

“Charming. My wife was…friendly.”

Ellie frowned, confused by his tone. Friendly? As in slutty? She rested her hand to his heart, wishing she knew what he was thinking. Wishing she knew the full truth, although why it mattered, she wasn’t sure. Perhaps she was looking for his wife’s one negative character flaw that would make her feel better. Jealous of a dead woman. She almost laughed at her own ridiculousness.

“She was very close to Cristian. And for some time, I was happy about that, pleased that my best friend and wife got on so well.”

Ellie stiffened, sliding Devon a glance, but could read nothing on his face. Holy hell, had his wife cheated with Cristian?

“Cristian’s father killed mine. While they were battling, my wife got in the way. She died as well. His father disappeared. I couldn’t fight his father, so I blamed Cristian. One night on the moors, having had enough, I caught up with Cristian. I blamed him for my father’s death, my wife’s. We fought. I fell. I died.”

The words were stunning, yet spoken in a casual manner that she wasn’t sure how to respond. Sure, he was here, now. She could feel the beat of his heart, the warmth of his skin. Yet, she also knew that by tomorrow, the next day, sometime soon, he could be gone… again.

“Why did Cristian’s father turned?”

Devon shrugged. “He let his human emotions get the better of him. Greed. Jealousy.” He was silent for a moment. “After I died, I was basically stuck for decades, here on this earth as a spirit. I wasn’t even sure who I was, or why I was here.”

“How did you end up at this pub?”

He sighed, rubbing his forehead as if the memories were too painful to relive. “I suppose I bonded to Cristian and he brought me here.” He frowned. “Or maybe I came with my sword.”

“Your sword?”

He wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her close. “Every warrior has a sword, a weapon gifted by God. It’s very much a part of us.”

It’s what he had been searching for when she’d first met him. She’d help him find it, if he was stronger with the weapon. Outside, early morning birds had begun to chirp their hellos. Life surrounded the house, yet death was there too…lurking in the shadows.

“What was it like being a ghost?”

He was silent for a moment, as if thinking over his response. “There were times I’d be places and wasn’t sure how I’d gotten there. Flashes of life and then the world would go black. Flickering, like one of those television screens you have in your modern world.” His hand moved down her back, caressing the skin as he stared unblinkingly at the ceiling. “I wasn’t sure where I was, who I was or why I was there. Half the time I couldn’t even control my own body. I’d appear in rooms without knowing how or why. I was angry half the time, lost, confused… It sure as hell wasn’t a pleasant experience. And then Ashley arrived…”

The emotion in his voice was almost her undoing. They hadn’t known each other but for more than a week. Perhaps he truly cared for her, perhaps he didn’t. But one thing was sure, he loved this Ashley woman.

“She and her witch friend, Camile, brought me back to life, hoping I’d have answers. But I didn’t come back alone. There was a demon buried in this house, a demon spirit who used me to do his deeds. That demon is Cristian’s father.”

Ellie bolted upright, clutching the blanket to her chest. “Cristian’s father is the demon we’re trying to kill?”

He watched her warily. “Indeed.”

She released a wry laugh. “The same man who slept with your wife? Who practically killed you?”

Devon sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. “He didn’t sleep with her. But she did fancy herself in love with him, I suppose. She fancied herself in love with many men. And he didn’t kill me, although I tried my damnedest to blame him.”

He seemed awfully ready to forgive and forget. She wasn’t so easily swayed. “You’re sure we can trust him?”

Devon nodded. “Indeed. They’ve both saved my life more than once.”

“And what about this Ashley?”

“
This
Ashley?” He pushed himself upright and leaned casually against the wall. She didn’t miss the grin upon his handsome face. He found her jealousy amusing, lovely.

Ellie turned, settling her feet on the cold floorboards, her back to him. “Honestly, I’m not sure we can trust her.”

Devon laughed. She threw a glare over her shoulder.

He pressed his lips together, attempting to keep his mirth at bay. Gently, he reached out, rubbing her back as one would do to soothe a wild animal. “What is it you’re not telling me?”

His face might have been serious, but his blue eyes still twinkled. He knew exactly why she was upset and he loved that she was jealous.

“Nothing at all.” She surged to her feet and jerked the blanket from him, leaving Devon completely naked upon the bed. “I’m not an expert on relationships,” she said, wrapping the blanket securely around her. “But your girlfriend seems a bit suspicious. Why hasn’t she called? Why can’t we get ahold of them? They bring you and the demon back to life, then disappear?”

Devon reached out, grabbing the edge of the blanket and jerking her toward the bed. Off balance, she fell into his hard chest with a gasp. Before she could escape, he rolled atop her, trapping her boldly beneath his weight.

“Is that what your sudden anger is about?”

“What anger?” she grumbled, staring at his lips, not daring to look him in the eyes for fear he’d see the truth.

Devon slipped his finger under her chin and tilted her head back, that amusement still in his gaze. “Ashley is not my girlfriend. Perhaps I thought myself attached to her at first, but not now.”

The relief she felt was completely ridiculous, yet she still couldn’t help but ask, “Does she know that she’s not?”

“Yes, as well as Cristian, the man she’s in love with.” He brushed her hair from her face. “Now, you tell me something.”

She looked up at him warily. Although she supposed he deserved a question or two after the grilling she’d given him. “What do you want to know?”

His face grew serious. “Why are you here?”

She stiffened underneath him, not understanding his question. “With you?”

“No, why did you leave your homeland. You said you couldn’t go back to America. Why?”

A guilty heat crawled up her neck and into her cheeks. Her instinct was to lie, but Devon had trusted her with the truth, she owed him the same. “I’m kind of wanted by the police.”

He lifted a golden brow. “Why am I not surprised?”

She slapped his shoulder, frowning. “A woman was attacked in the park I used to hike through. I didn’t do it.” She smoothed her hand over the area where she’d hit him, as if she could soothe away the pain.

“I’d hope you didn’t.” He rolled off her. Laying upon his side, he wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her body close to his. “What happened?”

She curled into him, resting her head on his shoulder. “I was the only one who saw the woman attacked. The culprit disappeared.”

She closed her eyes, breathing in his musky scent. She didn’t want to think about her past. “I realize now that the attacker must have been a demon. The thing disappeared and there were no other witnesses. With my iffy past, well… let’s just say the police were very interested in me.” She shrugged, feigning indifference, although even now, a year later, she felt the stirrings of anxiety. “I got tired of the questions and decided to skip the country.”

Run away, like she always did. Damn it all, she was tired of running. She’d thought, perhaps she’d found a place where she’d belong… here, in England. But now that she was most likely wanted for stealing Miranda’s car, she’d probably have to hightail it to another country the moment Devon decided to return to Heaven. She swallowed hard, the thought of being alone again too much.

As if sensing her melancholy mood, Devon pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Go to sleep. The sun will be up soon and we’re to start training today.”

But she didn’t want to sleep and she sure as hell didn’t want to think about their time together ending. “I can’t sleep.” She trailed her fingers down his chest. “But there are other ways we can welcome the morning.”

“I like your way of thinking,” he said, right before he lowered his mouth to hers.

****

“Try again,” Rose grumbled, crossing her arms over her sagging breasts. “Ye have to sense their energy field before you can block it.”

The old witch was slumped on a stone bench in the back garden, the surrounding skeletal woods providing only a little shade from the hot sun. A sun much too hot for spring. Ellie was close enough that Devon could see the trails of perspiration rolling down the sides of her face.

Rose was obviously disappointed in her performance, although Devon wasn’t sure what the hell the old woman wanted from her. Ellie hadn’t grown up around the supernatural, she didn’t understand her powers. He shifted, biting back the urge to call it quits for the day.

“I don’t like her,” Ellie whispered, before turning and taking a few steps away from Devon.

She wore a fitted blue t-shirt and jeans that hugged her arse, borrowed from Ashley’s room. Despite his dour mood, he grinned. “No one does. But she knows what she’s doing.”

For a good hour they’d been standing in the garden, attempting to teach Ellie how to control her powers. And for most of the lesson, he’d been lost in thought. Thoughts of last night, thoughts of the past, thoughts of the future. Thoughts of Ellie.

“Sense his powers,” Rose demanded.

Ellie’s brilliant gaze focused on him and hell, if he didn’t feel her attention all the way to his soul. Wisps of golden brown hair had come loose from her braid and hung around her heart-shaped face adding an innocent allure to her being. How could anyone think she would attack an innocent woman? And that’s just what they suspected. If he left,
when
he left, she’d be alone once more, dealing with things she didn’t quite understand. At the mercy of a world that didn’t understand her.

Devon took in a deep breath, holding her gaze. He’d fought demons, vampires and things best left to the imagination. Yet, this slip of a woman frightened him more than any, for Ellie made him want to be human. She made him want to live.

“Relax, Devon. Yer blocking her,” Rose snapped.

Reluctantly, he forced himself to breathe deeply, to relax his muscles and allow his abilities to seep outward. He wasn’t used to being so open with another, at least not on purpose. Hell, last night, lying next to her, he’d actually felt vulnerable. And when he’d realized she was jealous of Ashley, he’d been thrilled. Not very angelic of him.

Ellie closed her eyes.

He could barely look at her without wanting to go to her, touch her, kiss her. Disgusted by his weakness, he looked away. He’d told her his life’s story. Practically handed over his soul. It was so damn easy to talk to her. For some reason he felt she understood him more than any other. And now he was supposed to relax so she could take his powers as well?

“I feel it. I feel his strength,” Ellie said, a smile of bewildered wonder across her lips. “It’s amazing. To feel his energy almost entering me.”

Startled, Devon watched her more closely, checked his body to see if he felt anything. But he felt normal, completely and utterly normal. How could she take his energy without him knowing? Even as the thought should have bothered him, he found it only a minor complication. Her face was stunning in its purity, as if alit from within. The midday sun shimmered against her hair, making it sparkle a golden brown. Even birds filtered near her, as if sensing her power, her innocence. When he should have been uneasy about her taking in his abilities, there was something magical about the moment for he knew he was making her shine. His energy was giving her that glow.

“All right, now imagine that crystal around yer neck. Imagine there is a bubble around ye, protecting ye. Nothing can git through it.”

Ellie’s smile faded somewhat as she lifted her hand and touched her neck, but the crystal was with Rose. “I… can’t. I can’t stop his powers.”

“Yer not even trying!” Rose snapped.

Devon frowned at the witch.

“Try again,” she demanded.

“You sure?”

Her hard gaze found him. “If she doesn’t learn tae control her powers, she could die.”

He resisted the urge to argue with the old woman. He knew he wouldn’t be here to protect Ellie, she had to know how to protect herself.

“I can’t!” Ellie gasped, her chest rising and falling with each sharp intake, her anger almost palpable.

“Are ye positive ye can’t?” Rose asked.

Ellie quirked a brow, lifted her hand and a ball of fire appeared. His powers. “Sure enough.” She lowered her hand and the fire disappeared. “Or do you prefer rain?”

She looked up and thunder rumbled above them, a threatening storm as volatile as her emotions at the moment.

“Try again,” Rose snapped. “Ye want to spend yer life at the mercy of a crystal? Knowing if ye don’t have it, ye’ll die?”