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I smacked his shoulder and got up with a huff. "Don't start. I can't tan. You know this. I don't plan on giving it a go no matter what you say."
Aidan pulled a face and stood up as well. "Cheers. Think on it, and then I'll book the tickets. A change of pace should help take your mind off whatever’s bothering you. If not, at least I'll get a vacation out of it."
"I see," I mumbled, smirking. "So that's your real motive here."
Aidan offered me a cheeky grin and shrugged. "Maybe."
I wasn't so sure a week or two away from demon hunting would help, but anything was better than leaving myself open to another demon attack.Anything.Even a sunny vacation spot.
IT WASN’T EVEN THREE MINUTES into our vacation to some obscure place Aidan found on the internet when everything went to shit—when my baseball bat was put to good use by cracking one demon at the side of his head and throwing another back. I flipped my favorite weapon over and drove the handle of my bat into the demon's stomach the second the bastard tried to attack me from behind.
This pent-up chick wasn't complaining, not after another vision or dream—or whatever the fuck it was—in the middle of our plane flight. Now I was all hot and bothered and ready to give some deserving assholes hell.
My boot broke into pavement from the strength I put into it before I kicked another demon under the chin, who was running at full speed to tackle me. In slow motion, the bastard took flight and landed with a sickening thud on asphalt. His limbs flopped around and several unattractive grunts left his throat before I crushed his skull with the heel of my boot.
If I could've avoided the gross experience of brain bits covering my favorite pair of boots, I would have. But I was angry and vindictive because of a terribly long flight and a much-too-intense meeting with the Devil, so something about his brain soaking into the cracks of black asphalt appealed to me right now.
I evaded the arm another demon asshole swung at me, then crouched low before kicking the jerk's legs out. Each knee bent the way it shouldn’t, and the demon collapsed. Clicking my tongue, I smashed his head in and moved onto the next one.
With how quickly he and the others were taken down, it was an easy five minutes of fighting before we conquered the ambushing demon dude crew. Too bad. Six against two were good odds when all we fought were the bottom of the barrel wannabe boss demons. These guys lacked street smarts and skill. Couldn't even call what they'd done an ambush, really.
Stupid motherfuckers.
Aidan swung his sword out, the one that went from five to fifteen inches in seconds flat and had inspired a multitude of dick jokes at his expense, mainly from me. With a graceful spin befitting a prima donna, my partner lopped a demon head clear off. "Shit. Where'd these guys come from? Were we followed?" He eyed the slain bastard at his feet. "But why?"
Probably my fault, but what wasn't these days?
"Nothing but hired grunts," I remarked, pummeling my fourth demon of the night before crouching over him and punching his face in with the butt of my bat.
It never got old, the unique sound of bone fracturing and dreams dying. Knowing it was done to someone who would destroy lives—and likely already had—gave me an intensely satisfying feeling with every sound of agony.
I held onto his muffled, pain-filled cries for as long as I could before delivering the final blow and then dousing the asshole in soul-sealing powder. "They all have the same mark," I commented gruffly, pointing out a strangely familiar symbol at the base of their necks.
Where have I seen that before?
Shit. That was going to bug me all night if I didn't figure it out. But nothing came to mind, and distraction could get a person killed, so I did my best to ignore the brief spark of familiarity.
"Then they're here under orders," Aidan concluded, wiping sweat from his brow. "It's likely they're just the welcome wagon."
"Not much of a welcome if you ask me. What, we don't even deserve talent at this stage? Just some dudes they threw together and hoped would be enough?" I clicked my tongue and kicked one of the dead demons in their side, glad they found a spot completely removed from the public eye. "Assholes."
That was another thing. Demons out here in the human world tended to be dudes. It wasn't clear why or for what reason women rarely frequented the streets of the mortal realm with a demon face, but Aidan once explained that women tended to be more powerful. So, it would make sense they'd send hired grunts in their place.
They weren’t demons we wanted to face on our own, sort of thing. I hadn't met one yet, but I'd heard stories from the boys about their ancestors fighting one. It didn't ever end well. Most female demons enslaved male demon hunters and turned them against each other.
Clever, honestly, to create mindless slaves and make them attack their brother in arms. The sexist Shadow Stalkers of previous generations would've never seen that one coming. Hence why being a half demon and a woman gave me an edge not many had, or so I imagined. Some of the Shadow Stalkers even claimed one day I'd turn on them.
They weren't wrong. Maybe one day I would. I was half demon. I had evil lurking inside my blood, so it wouldn't be unthinkable that someday I might flip the switch and go rogue by killing them all.
But today wasn't that day.
It was also suggested female demons concealed their demon face better than their male counterparts. Really any strong demon could. Disguising their presence was the entire reason they were so deadly. They could mask themselves as a friend or potential lover, and then one day they were cutting your heart out.
Literally.
But again, even Aidan didn't know everything about demons. He knew enough to win or escape any encounter we had, but things existed that were still a mystery to us. Like my issue with a certain dream demon whose persistent use of pleasure had nearly turned me into his voluntary slave. If I thought about it, Nova wasn't far off from the stories about female demons.
Coincidence? Perhaps.
