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A part of me wants to scoop Lily up and get far away from this hellhole—pun intended—as quickly as possible, but I know that won’t work. Besides, I’m not Brooks. I’ll always give her a choice in everything she does, even if I don’t like it.
This new Lily Dean will want to stay here and fight.
But fuck…what are we even fighting?
I try to think through everything I know of demons, but even I can admit my knowledge is abysmal. Our parents tried to teach us everything they could on all of the creatures that go bump in the night, but I’m more of a hands-on type of learner. School is a better fit for Orion or even Brooks. I dozed off more than once during those lessons, daydreaming about the next-door neighbor with the kind smile, glimmering eyes, and red, cascading hair…
“What the fuck was that about?” Brooks snaps for the one billionth time in the last second.
I would like to say I’m exaggerating…but I’m not. I’m pretty sure my older brother is broken, and those are the only words he’s now capable of saying.
I grit my teeth together to keep from shouting anything I’ll come to regret, like—why the fuck do you care, you ass-licking, cunt-sucking, dick-kissing dildo turd?
I don’t want to believe that my brother would betray Lily like that—betray Orion and me like that—but I can’t turn a blind eye to the facts.
Fact one…Lily’s parents were murdered the same day we left town. Brooks refused to allow us to return to the house to pack our stuff. Instead, he did it for us. When we asked if he ran into Lily, he told us he hadn’t.
Fact two…Lily was covered in blood. How did Brooks not notice? I find that hard to believe. Brooks is more observant than anyone I know, coming second only to Orion. If Lily so much as had ahangnailwhen we were kids, he would notice.
Fact three…Brooks refused to allow Orion and me to check up on Lily, even online. The few times we tried to, he discovered it, and we were forced to be on centaur duty for an entire week. And if you don’t know what centaur duty is, I can promise you, you’re not missing out on anything.
Centaurs are invisible creatures that can only be seen with a witch’s eye, which is immensely hard to come by. They’re relatively peaceful, but their shits…well… Let’s just say that a lot of acid barrels are stock full of centaur shit.
As hunters, our job is to clean up all of the shit piles before humans take notice. Normally, hunters in training will be assigned such a task, but that week—
Fuck, I don’t even want to think about it. I still have nightmares of centaur crap burning my hands.
“So it seems as if we’re dealing with a demon.” I’m not surprised that it’s Orion who gets the conversation back on track. He’s always been the most level-headed of the three of us.
Brooks is the domineering asshole of the group, I’m the one with a nasty temper, and Orion is…Orion. Calm, collected, and gentle.
Sid’s ghost watches from the corner of the room, a sad expression on his face. I wish we could help him cross over, but that’s not really our job, unless he’s hurting people.
“Am I the only one worried about Lily?” Brooks snarls, gesturing towards where Lily lies on the bed.
“She’ll be fine.” My tone comes out sharper than I intend it to be. “She just needs to rest.”
“She’s too young to be dealing with a demon,” Brooks insists. “We need to call this in and get more experienced hunters on the case. Perhaps a negotiator—”
“Do you really believe Lily will leave knowing what we do?” Orion taps his black-painted nails restlessly against his knee. “Really? You obviously don’t know this new version of her as well as you think you do. She’s the fucking Shadow, Brooks, not some defenseless little girl in need of rescuing.”
Brooks’s eyes flare at the accusation in Orion’s voice. This time, I’m the one hurrying to say something to stop the impending argument. It’s not because I care if Orion smashes Brooks’s face in. I just want Lily to rest while the three of us are here to look after her, and I know that if she wakes up, she’ll kick us out of the room so fast I won’t even be able to say her name.
“The first thing we need to do is figure out what type of demon it is,” I say. “If it’s a lesser demon, we may be able to send him back to hell. But if it’s a mid-grade demon or higher, we’re in trouble.”
We know it’s not a top-level demon, at least. I can’t see any of the Princes of Hell setting foot in this dank hotel to murder a few random guests.
“It could be a telekinetic demon.” Orion scratches absently at his wrist. “Maybe that’s how he’s getting in and out of the roomswithout anyone knowing. He could use his powers to unlock doors and then lock them up behind him.”
“But would he go through all of that trouble?” Brooks questions. His tone is still slightly growly, and I know he doesn’t agree with our decision not to go to the higher-ups with this case.
But I know Lily. At least, I think I do.
And after what I learned about her parents…
There’s no way she’ll leave this case, not when a demon’s involved.
“It could be a shape-shifting demon,” Orion suggests. He continues to scratch at that one spot on his arm, and when he moves his hand away, the skin there is red and blotchy.
