Releasing the Hunter

He moved carefully off the bed so as to not rouse Ivy. When he was up he looked down at her. She slept like she did everything else—with fierce conviction. Her forehead was wrinkled in concentration and it looked like she was grinding her teeth. Both hands were curled into fists. It looked like she’d bolt up at any moment and punch him in the gut.

But despite all that, she was riveting. She had the quality that made men stand to attention. Made men want to stare into those fierce blue eyes for an eternity, to wait, to hope that she would press those amazing full lips to theirs.

Not that Ronan was thinking of kissing her. It was just she possessed a mouth made to be kissed. It was hard to imagine wasting that tasty pout.

Grabbing his gun and both his knives, he crept out of the room and went around to the back of the motel to the barren, abandoned field that was there. It was a perfect setup for what he needed to do next.

He cleared a spot about six feet in diameter in the soil. After finding a decent stick, he drew a pentagram in the circle of dirt. Then he inscribed the symbol for one particular demon he knew. Daeva. She was a lust demon. Lust demons were more apt to make deals than the other denizens of hell.

Once that was done, he needed to activate the “call.” Taking out one of his blades, he cupped it in his palm and drew the blade across his skin. The immediate sharp sting of the steel made him suck in a breath. Holding his hand up over the sigil, blood ran down his hand and dripped onto the dirt. The black spots immediately soaked into the ground.

It wouldn’t be long before the call was answered. Daeva was usually quite prompt.

Ronan pulled out a thin piece of gauze from his pocket. He always came prepared. He wrapped it around his palm, stemming the flow of blood. Just as he finished tying it off, an audible pop sounded before him. The smell of brimstone and some exotic spices filled the air. He looked up to face the demon.

She smiled. “Well, hello, Ronan. What can I do you for?”

Ronan shook his head at her play on words. It was an old joke.

“Get it? What can I do you for?” She laughed; the sound was like tinkling bells.

“Yeah, I get it, Daeva. It just isn’t funny.”

She took a step toward him, mindful of the lines of the pentagram that she was bound inside. “So, honey, what can I really do for you?”

Out of all the demons he’d run across, Daeva was the only one he liked. She was fun and funny and sexy as all get out with her long crimson hair and startling gray eyes. And she really didn’t follow the usual demon code. She didn’t look for ways to get out of the pentagram and rip your innards out. As long as he’d been doing business with her, he’d yet to see her do any real harm to anyone. She just liked to seduce people. And he really didn’t see the harm in that.

“I need information.”

“About?”

“Sallos.”

“I see.” She tapped one long fingernail against her cherry-stained lips. “I heard he was being a really bad boy.”

“Yes, he’s murdering women. Lots of them. He needs to be stopped.”

“Oh, I agree, Ronan, no doubt about that. But what will you give me in return for my information?”

“What do you want?” He knew it was a mistake to ask an open-ended question to a demon, but he trusted Daeva. Sort of.

“I want to meet her.”

“Who?”

“Who do you think? Ivy Strom, of course.”

“Why?”

She pursed her lips, then fluffed her hair. “I have my reasons.”

“And those would be?” The voice that came was as frigid as the Arctic winds. Ronan whirled around to see Ivy walking out of the shadows to stand beside him.

“None of your business, really.” Daeva smiled at the unexpected arrival.

Ivy bristled a little, and Ronan sensed she was about to do something stupid, but at the last second she seemed to settle down and sighed instead. “Well, we’ve met, so now you can tell us about Sallos.”

“We haven’t been properly introduced.” Daeva looked at Ronan. “Will you do the honors?”

He sighed and shook his head. He had a bad feeling that he was going to pay for this in some way. Either from Daeva or from Ivy. There seemed to be some rivalry between them that he couldn’t figure out. “Daeva, Seductress of Shadows, this is Ivy Strom…”

“Hunter of all Demons,” Ivy finished for him.

Daeva chuckled, then offered her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ivy Strom. I’ve heard so much about you.”

Ivy looked at the offered hand, then to Ronan. He shrugged. He had no clue what Daeva was up to. He’d never seen her behave this way.

“From who?”

“The word gets around. Hell’s not that big, you know. When one of us comes back, sent back by you, you can bet he’s right pissed about it.”

Ivy took a step forward so the edge of her boot touched the line of the pentagram. She reached through the binding and grasped Daeva’s hand.

From the look of rapt fascination on the demon’s face, Ronan almost expected her to pull Ivy into the pentagram. He reached over and grabbed Ivy around the waist.

The two women shook hands, and then Ivy pulled back and whipped around to glare at him. “What the hell are you doing?”

He released his hold on her, then sheepishly took a distancing step away. “Nothing.” He looked at Daeva; she was giving him a similar look.

He found the whole thing strange. It was like some weird female bonding thing that he just didn’t get. Next thing he knew, they would be going out shoe shopping or something.

He cleared his throat of the awkwardness he felt. “Okay, now that that’s done, tell us where Sallos is located.”

Daeva cocked her hip and wrapped a finger in her hair, playing with it both innocently and seductively. “Give me a piece of paper and I can give you an address.”

Ronan opened his duffel bag and came away with a notebook. He tore off a piece of paper and handed it to her. The demon took it, then ran her index finger over it. “There.” She handed it back to Ronan.

He looked down at it. There was an address scrolled on the paper in bright red. He didn’t even want to consider what she’d used for ink.

Ivy took it from him. She glanced at it, then at Daeva. “This better be right.”

“Oh, it is, honey. Don’t you worry your pretty little head.”

By the look of fury on Ivy’s face, Ronan decided it would probably be best if he ended the “call” and sent Daeva back to wherever she came from. “Thank you, Daeva, for the information.”

“My pleasure, Ronan, darling. I always love it when you come a-knocking at my door.” Then she put her gaze on Ivy. “It was a pure pleasure meeting you, Ivy Strom. Say hi to your brother for me, will you?” She smiled, blew her a kiss and then snapped her fingers. She was gone in a flash and a puff of spices.

“What was that about?” Ronan asked.