AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"I think they'll give him the same treatment they'd give you," Thane admitted. "They'll offer you a chance, but if you fuck up, there won't be a second. I also warned Dahlia and Cain already. Those two seem to be the leaders of this, since they're the oldest."
"Oldest there?" Laird asked.
"Oldest still around," Thane corrected. "Yeah, that's why she thrashed us so easily. New fucking creation my ass." Because even as Thane was leaving, the Bishop had still been trying to say Dahlia was something new rather than admitting they'd missed her for so long.
"And the less the Church knows," Laird pointed out, "the safer she'll be. But, speaking of them... Do you have any idea why my ancestry would have anything to do with which demons they want to pick? I'm supposed to prove I've mastered these new Words on demons in a room with me. I can't figure out why my great-great-grandfather's immigration would matter to that."
"I have no fucking idea," Thane admitted, "and I don't think I should ask my friends. This sounds like the sort of thing where they're going to try to make you kill eidolon with a new Word or something. Pretty sure Dahlia would not be on board with that - but no matter what, Laird, you do whatever youneedto. Just make sure you fucking stay alive, ok? And as soon as you can get out of there, head this way. Dahlia's on board with our plan, and I'm not leaving you behind."
"Good, because not dying is definitely the plan," Laird promised. "Just keep yourself alive until I can get there. Congratulations on the wedding, little brother. Glad you finally found a woman who can keep up with you, but if we don't want people to wonder, I'd better go act like a priest again."
Thane ended the call with more questions than he'd started with, and headed back inside. There, it seemed that Dahlia, Nikki, and Cain had been having their own discussion. Nikki used her hands to talk, gesturing emphatically to make her point. Dahlia had an expression that was almost a smile, making it clear she was amused at something Nikki was saying. Then there was Cain. The man was watching Dahlia intently, and the way he looked at her made Thane's jealousy flare up.
Then Dahlia noticed him. She looked over and that twist of her lips turned into an honest smile that made his heart thump in his chest just a bit too hard.
"Anything from Laird?" she asked.
He shook his head. "The best he can think of is that it might be natural ability. The same way some of us guys got the great luck to be hunters."
"Not a chosen thing?" Cain asked.
"Power burns out our ability to make the next generation," Thane explained, "so, since we can't make babies, we're turned into cannon fodder against your kind. The Church calls you demons, which means we're demon hunters."
Cain just grunted, making it clear he wasn't impressed with that. "Well, that means the Words won't really help us then, and I'm not sure I want Dahlia to keep using them."
"I'm not sure you can stop her," Nikki pointed out.
Thane just gestured at her, making it clear he agreed. "Twice, she tried that Word, and neither time had any problems. If nothing else, it makes a good emergency thing to protect her," he said.
"But," Dahlia said, stopping the debate, "Cain needs to feed. He's conscious, but if the ghosts are planning something, I'd rather not have him vulnerable."
Thane bobbed his head, hearing what she didn't say. "And you two are going to make sure he doesn't get jumped, right?"
Nikki laughed. "See, Dahlia? The more he talks, the cuter he gets."
Dahlia just flashed her a grin. "Are you hitting on my husband?"
"Or on my wife?" Thane countered before waving them away. "Go. I want to memorize a few of these Words anyway. Laird says he marked the ones he used the most. I'm thinking that if I can get about ten of them, then it's one more layer of protection." So he held out his hand. "Keys? You go get your meal, and I'll get mine." Then he looked at Nikki. "Just make sure she eats too, ok?"
"Promise," Nikki said, and everyone started moving.
When they left Cain's apartment, the girls took Cain to the right. Thane turned left, heading up the length of the parking lot towards the breezeway he knew best. His mind was locked on Nikki's plan. He hated the idea of the eidolon shooting each other, but it did make sense. Then again, he was pretty sure they shouldn't be the only ones worrying about it. He and Laird could help with body deaths, but how hard would it be to use Words while keeping an eye on the people fighting on the front line?
This whole thing felt like they were planning a war, and Thane had a bad feeling that it would turn into one. A silent war, where the battles were hidden inside magic bubbles and the rest of the world had no idea the next evolution of humanity was struggling for supremacy. It sounded like something out of a dystopian movie when he thought about it like that.
Unfortunately, he wasn't some kind of tactician. The strategies the hunters used on demons were simple: get close and put a clavum into their heart. Besides that, it was basically a free-for-all. Figuring out how to use witches, ghosts, and a wendigo - what did one of those do anyway? - was a very different scenario. Still, it also made him think that they might actually have a chance.
He was thinking over every World War documentary he'd ever watched as he turned for the stairs, but he never even reached the first step. Just as he grabbed the banister, something hit him from the side, shoving Thane against the wall. A woman's mouth followed - kissing him!
He gasped in surprise, and her tongue shoved between his teeth. Thane hadn't even gotten the chance to see her face, but as he struggled to get his hands between them, he felt the pull. This wasn't the way Dahlia fed on him. It was harder, less gentle, and almost delirious. He managed to grab a handful of her hair, then kicked with one leg, knocking her off balance enough to wrench his mouth away.
"Back the fuck off," Thane warned, finally able to see who'd jumped him.
It was the pretty little brunette from that first night. The one who'd been in Dahlia's apartment and had leaned in when passing Thane on her way to the kitchen. The one he was pretty sure was a succubus, and the bitch had no intention of giving up.
Her hand landed on his neck and she squeezed, proving the undead were a hell of a lot stronger than the living. "But you taste so sweet, priest. I promise you'll enjoy dying like this."
And then her mouth was on his again.
