AllFreeNovel
Share Us
No, he isn’t.I walked toward him, and no one flinched. Both Danvers and Cruise had to think I was on board with caging my demon, and while it sounded like a good idea, if this poor man had to live with his demon at all, that was too much demon.Focus made my ears ring, and I knew that my demon would take vengeance for everything I did once again.
That’s fine.At some point, she’d kill me, and then I’d be done with the whole mess. I wasn’t looking forward to death, but I’d rather help than hide. Maybe it was my angel blood?
I stared at Ben. “I think he does more than that. It must be a little bit like living with an illness. You learn to handle it, but it still makes you tired.”
“That’s very…intuitive.”
Well, time to call me doctor, Bennie Boy. There it was, that other thing inside of him—I could see it. My hand tingled.At least know what to do this time. He carried the thing long enough, and while it was encouraging to hear he could function with it, I am a big believer in cutting out things that make you sick.
Or at least I decided I was right then. I never thought about it before. But what if he hurt one of his kids one day?
Regardless, I ripped the demon right out of him. It was older, the age of the thing hitting me in a cloud like dust and ash. Everyone screamed, Ben falling backward onto the couch and Cruise pulling me with him, as if the demon could get me. It couldn’t. It stared up at me, and I gave it right back to him.
“Enough,” I said simply. In front of my eyes, it shriveled away into ash, crumpling into nothingness. Danver’s demon hadn’t done that. I blinked fast, not sure what happened. Maybe it was weak because they contained it for so long?
Ben’s mouth fell open. “No one could get it out of me.”
I shrugged. “I could.”
He got to his feet. “You’re theone. Cruise, she’s the one.”
I was okay, I thought, dusting myself off, but Cruise shook as he held me. Had he been that startled by the demon? He busted into the hunters’ lair and stole me back from them; he wasn’t cowardly.
“Fuck.” He shook his head. “She doesn’t need that. She doesn’t need to be that.”
“What isthe one?” Danvers looked between us. “Here, pull your shit together, Cruise. Give her to me.”
I let myself go into Danvers’ arms, clinging to him easily. It really was nice these guys were so huggy. At least with me. I doubted Danvers walked around hugging people, and I knew Cruise didn’t. He was sort of scary when he wasn’t with me.He puts criminals in jail.
And destroyed the hunters’ lair.
“The strongest of us,” Ben held his head. “Died about ten years ago. He was the purest angelic blood among us. He made Nathan seem like he was nothing, and Nathan’s pretty strong. He told us there would be one more born, another like him. He said she would change things because she would be able to do what you’re doing. Just rip them out. That’s not how exorcisms work, by the way. Not even for people like us, when we’re doing them. You…you’re the one they were talking about.”
I could see why he’d find it interesting. Prophecy and all that—still sort of creepy and magical, even in a world where I was possessed.Still, though.“Why does it matter?”
“Because he said if we wanted any chance at beating the demons, we had to keep that person safe. Honestly, we’ve failed at it.” Cruise looked away. “We failed before we even knew we were failing. I knew him briefly. I wasn’t really concerned with possessions. The girls hadn’t been taken yet, but I studied law in college. One night, a speaker predicted what would happen—with letting the possessed out of jail.” He stared at me. “He told me to come with him after his speech. We had a beer, and he said he’d heard about me. He called me smart, and he said he had a feeling I’d end up wrapped up in things big time. I didn’t agree, but again, I didn’t know what would happen to my sisters. This life was never my plan. But he told me about what he saw.He was that guy, the last one. Before I even knew what it meant, I met him. His name was Rafe, and he’s gone now. I never saw him again after that.”
Ben rose. “He always did stuff like that.” When he would have fallen over, Cruise pushed him back down.
“Let’s get an IV going for you. Addalee, that was amazing, but…he was going to teach you how to box your demon.”
Yes, he was. I nodded, remembering. “Did anyone teach you or did you just figure it out?”
“I just did it one day.”
We’d have to hope I would figure it out, too. I sat down next to him. “I’m not the one. Look at me. Do I look likethe oneof anything?” The mere idea of it was sort of funny. “I’m just a nobody girl. Danvers, you need to get out of this situation. You’re free. No joining. No helping. Just be human and make a life for yourself. Cruise?” He left and then reentered the room and began to start a line on Ben. I blinked at him, wondering how he’d learned to do it. “You need to stop, too. I’m not getting better. I’m not the one, and I’m just…Addalee Ackers. That’s all I’m going to be.”
“The demon’s getting her again.” Danvers sighed. “Come here, let’s get you some hugs before you don’t want them anymore. Consider it a favor to me. I need them, too.”
Danvers wrapped me up. Maybe he was right, I thought, blowing out a wobbly breath. Maybe I needed to be held tightly for a long time. Cruise crossed the room and put on some music—jazz, like when we watched the snow together. I sighed. Okay. Maybe it was nice.
I lifted my head to meet Cruise’s gaze over Danvers’ shoulder. “There was never anyone in my whole life who could keep me safe. It was never your job to keep me safe. Not ever. We didn’t even know each other. You’re so far out of my league, I can’t even see you from where you’re sitting. And you, Danvers?You’re going to remember who you used to be, I just know it. Maybe we would’ve met, but you wouldn’t have wanted anything permanent with me. No one ever has, and I honestly don’t think I’m built for it.”
“Ryker wanted forever.” Danvers swayed to the music with me while Ben closed his eyes on the couch. “I realize he’s the competition, but someone should say it. Cruise did. And Ryker did.”
I shook my head. “It wasn’t meant to be. We never connected like that, not until it was too late. He had a girlfriend until last week. And Nathan? He just wants to save me. That’s what he does. I’m notthe one. You should keep looking for her. It’s not too late to keep her safe.”
“When you talk about yourself like that, it makes me want to throw something.” Cruise took me from Danvers, and his hands were a bit rough. It was sort of fun, how they passed me back and forth to each other. It made me feel small and feminine and protected in strange ways. “Regardless of whether you’re prophesized or just Addalee Ackers, I’m going to keep you safe. That means I’ll find someone to get that thing out of you. If I can’t, I’ll figure out how to do it myself.”
