Jenna started moving. Her eyes blinked vigorously as her back stiffened at an awkward angle. I clenched my fists, afraid he was hurting her, but I remained in control, despite the magic slowly slipping from my fingers.
Ethan walked over to me, placing a hand on my back and rubbing in circles. “She will be okay,” he murmured.
Jenna’s head suddenly snapped back, her mouth gaping open. She started making gurgling noises, blood splattering out. I pushed Ethan away, hurrying to Jenna’s side, but Dan had already moved away, Eric’s arms around him pulling him back.
“What the fuck did you do?” I screamed. Turning to Jenna, I saw her breathing normally, blood splattered on her face. Once again, she was in a daze, staring at the floor. “What happened?” I looked at Dan.
“I had to stop. All I could get was a face,” Dan said, panting.
“Who?”
“Someone who looks like the demon, but isn’t.”
I frowned, then looked at Ethan. “Roark?”
“Has to be.” He furrowed his brows. “Why would he do this?”
Clenching my fists, I gritted out a smile. “I don’t know. But I aim to find out.”
ROARK DIDN’T ANSWER my calls, which was strange. He wouldn’t be avoiding me, would he? Was there a way the minion could alert their master when you entered their mind? I guessed there could be. But why would he make her a minion? I didn’t understand what the hell was going on.
Ethan watched me as I paced my office. We needed answers, coming up with none. Merlin went to explore the campus. I bet he just wanted to find people to mess with. Most were leery of him because of the rumors concerning his mentality.
The Mages whispered back and forth as they shot glances in my direction. Sure, I heard them, but they obviously didn’t care. They wanted me to know they had plans to take care of Drake themselves. Only thing they left out was how. Their attempt to ambush him before didn’t work. Why didn’t they bring the whole team to take care of him this time?
I leaned a hip against my desk. “Why is it just you two? Why not bring the rest of your people to take care of Drake?”
Eric frowned and looked over at Dan. “They think it’s a Witch concern and whatever happens will be the fault of the Witches, all because you and Drake were an item. What they fail to realize is that allowing the Demon King to be released will destroy everything. He’ll take control and extinguish the humans. In the end, it’s our job to make sure they remain protected.”
“Maybe they don’t understand how serious the problem is.”
Dan shook his head. “They’ll clean up the aftermath, but they’re relying on your kind to fix it before it’s too late.”
“We should be working together!”
I was annoyed. Ethan came up behind me and rubbed my shoulders. Poor guy had to keep an eye on me. I sighed, letting him work out the tension. He probably appeared whipped to the other guys, but he didn’t seem to care. I grinned, earning strange looks from the Mages.
“That’s why we’re here,” Dan said, nodding at Eric.
I rolled my eyes. “Please. You obviously think you can handle this yourself, but neither of you seem to know of a way to kill this demon.”
“My friends are coming to help us.” Carlos entered the room, looking badass in his leather. He pulled a book from his bag, then started flipping through the pages. “I found some interesting information.”
Ethan walked over. “What?” he asked, leaning over.
Carlos scanned the book, one finger pressed to the paper. Finally, he stopped. “The solution to killing the demon. His name is Desmon, Bael’s second-in-command. He’s strong and hard to kill, but according to this book, a knife dipped in demon hunter blood will kill him. But it has to be a clean slice through the heart.” He grinned.
“Where did you get this book?” Ethan asked, closing the cover and looking at it. He gasped, dropping it. “You went to the Caves?”
“Caves? What are those?” I asked, reaching for the book.
“Don’t touch it!” Ethan grabbed my arm, yanking me away. “I don’t trust anything that comes from that place.”
Sighing, Carlos closed the book, pressing a hand to the cover. “We did an even trade.”
“An even trade? Carlos, you know that bitch takes advantage of anyone looking for information. What did you give up?” Ethan demanded, glaring at his friend.
“Nothing. She knows the end of the world is coming if we allow this to happen.”
Ethan shook his head. “You’re lying.”
His shoulders slumping, Carlos looked away from Ethan. “I promised her the heart of the Vampire. She said something about it being special since he was possessed by a powerful demon.”
“His heart? Why the hell would you do that? Who said we were going to kill him?” I started toward Carlos, my power sweeping around the room in a sudden burst.
Carlos stood still, back straight and gaze meeting mine. “You know he has to die. That demon isn’t going to leave his body willingly.” Anger was written all over his face as he grasped the book. “You’ve put this off long enough. Two more people died last night because of you. Had you let me act upon my own judgment, he would have been put away until I could figure out his death.”
I laughed, no humor in the sound. “You think you can hold him? Where did you plan on doing this? Probably my facilities, right? You leave him alone, Carlos, or so help me—”
“You will risk more people’s lives for the sake of this Vampire? Is he worth that much to you?”
Ethan placed a hand on his friend’s arm. “That’s enough.”
“She’s ridiculous!” Carlos snapped, pushing Ethan away. He stared at me with cold eyes. “We end this tonight, whether you are willing or not. I will do my job as a demon hunter. I don’t answer to
