The Demon Within (23 page)

Then jerked to a halt.

“What—”

Caly held up a hand. “Someone’s here.”

“Where?” Ruman crowded closer, his body between hers and the would-be attacker. Idiot man.

“Close.” Narrowing her gaze, she swept the posh lobby. The café was clear, only a few people lingered. The place had a clean but empty air. They both moved cautiously forward, weaving around the few plush chairs. Caly slipped her fingers over the blade’s handle, cool leather met her fingertips like a reassuring presence, but refrained from pulling the weapon in public.

When they neared the entrance, the dark world outside came into focus. A petite woman with an exotic look that drew the gaze waited by the ancient stone fountain in the courtyard. Their contact. She’d bet her blades on that. Black hair shimmered in the light from the nearby street lamp. If she moved back a few more inches, she’d disappear into the darkness. Smart.

The girl couldn’t be much older than herself. It was the way she held herself, the lack of movement, that drew Caly’s gaze. “There.” She tipped her head, and Ruman nodded when he spotted her.

Deciding the direct approach would be best, she strode outside, Ruman a comforting presence at her back. The woman lifted her chin in acknowledgement, but her hand remained hidden under the jacket next to her, a subtle warning she was armed. Caly glimpsed a rough, badly healed scar across her right cheek before the woman tilted her head. Strands of dark hair slid forward, hiding her in shadows.

“Parthina Armor?”

“You would bring a demon?” Narrowed eyes focused on Ruman, rendering judgment from her ice-cold blue gaze.

Caly shifted in front of him, unnerved, but not surprised, at the animosity coming from another hunter. She let the blade strapped to her arm slide into her palm. No one touched him. “He’s my guardian.”

Her expression turned reflective. “Something like a guardian angel?”

The woman’s interest unnerved her more than the threat. Caly forced herself to relax. They needed this meeting. “You’ve seen another.” It wasn’t a question.

Parthina laughed. “I couldn’t get rid of the overprotective brute if I tried.”

A sigh escaped Caly. “I know what you mean.” She cast an annoyed glance at Ruman, then looked back. “Where’s your protector?”

Before Parthina had a chance to reply, Ruman wrapped an arm across her upper chest, shoulder to shoulder, pulling her back into his embrace.

“No.” The possessive growl came low in his throat, startling her almost as much as his action.

Although she couldn’t see his expression, she heard the threat. The woman paled but didn’t otherwise react.

“He’s right. Angels work best unseen.” She looked around the small square. “All the better to keep watch.”

Though Ruman slowly released her, he remained pressed tight against her back. Caly tried to stand firm, but her body melted into his. “You have some information on the killings?”

Parthina nodded sharply. “They’ve hit a few areas in America and need to be stopped. If your group can’t do it, they’ll send others who won’t care who’s caught in the crossfire. The killings are selective, targeting men and women who’ve survived demon attacks.”

Caly froze, the implications striking her mute for a second. “They killed my men.”

Wisdom shone through Parthina’s almost too-pale blue eyes. There was something eerie about looking directly into them, something not quite of this world. Something bad. “They were only in the way.”

“How do you know?” Caly stuck out her chin. Parthina had to be wrong.

“Did the demons test the blood of those they killed?”

“No.” The night of the temple remained imprinted on her mind. She didn’t have to think about the answer.

“They slaughtered your men because they got in their way. The ones they search for are special. The demons test the blood of the ones they capture. Fail the test and die.” She turned away, letting her hand trail in the water.

“Has anyone passed?”

A bitter smile curled her lips. “None they caught.”

Caly’s heart jumped at those dark words. Surely she must’ve misunderstood. “What do you mean?”

She looked up from under her lashes. “Do I need to spell it out?”

Horror cracked through her composure. David’s conversation this morning now made sense. The woman was not part of a main group. She was an assassin, a cleaner of sorts, called in to handle matters when things went bad and needed to be swept away. “Is there no other way?”

The dark headed woman shook her head, surprised at being asked. The answer was obvious in the sadness that swirled in her eyes.

“And me? Are you here to answer questions or kill me, too? Am I a complication that needs to be fixed?” Ruman’s absolute stillness let her know his whole attention was centered on the answer.

A nerve jumped in Parthina’s jaw. She cast a glance at Ruman, her gaze calculating. “I think not.”

The answer baffled Caly, and she moved away from Ruman for more room. She couldn’t allow herself to relax. Parthina agreed to the meeting to either warn her away or kill her. Neither was acceptable. “Why the special treatment?”

“Let’s say you’re different and leave it at that.”

“Let’s not.” She couldn’t afford to be looking over her shoulder every second to see if a trained assassin was on her ass. Enough people wanted her dead already.

The woman had the audacity to smile, although it faded quickly. “We’re much alike, I think.” She held up her hand before Caly could interrupt. “Answer me this first. How did you know it was me here when you first left the elevator? You knew in seconds.”

“You’ve been touched by a demon.” Even as she said it, Caly knew it wasn’t the whole true. In a flick of her wrist, Caly flipped her blade forward and crouched into a smaller target. “You still carry the demon.” The darkness surged forward, her demon snapping at the restraints. She was an idiot for not suspecting sooner.

“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

T
hings 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.