7even Circles: Moon Is Calling (7even Circles Series Book 1) (9 page)

Chapter 14

Her first time hunting a blood trail should have been a momentous occasion, but it wasn’t. All she could think about was Leeza. Was she alive? Did Michael get her out before the place blew up? She felt her hands shaking and she was almost on the edge of breaking down into tears.

“Concentrate!” Ari growled out.

“I’m trying! I’ve never done this before, so a little patience would be nice!” Her panic faded in the face of her anger at Ari for being impatient and at this demon for hurting her friends. Now that she was more focused, she found it easier to move. Her senses were on alert, and she felt a thrill go through her. Was this what hunters felt when they were after a prey? She smelled it first—blood. She ran around the alley and stopped to inspect the side of the brick building.

“The blood is fresh here.” She touched it, and this time didn’t close her eyes. She saw images of someone watching her and Ari from high up. She looked at Ari.

“He’s here.”

“Where?”

“On one of the buildings. He’s higher up, watching us.”

“Are you sure?”

She glared at him. “Look, I may not have all my powers honed, but I know what the fuck I saw.”

“Okay, okay. You stay here where it’s safe. I’ll check out this first building. If you see him, call out and I’ll come. Don’t try to take him on yourself.”

She snorted. “I’m not stupid, Ari. I know I’m not a fighter.”

“Not yet, you just haven’t been trained yet.” He turned and disappeared into the shadows. She was amazed at how easily he could do that. Was it a half-demon thing or an Ari thing?

She didn’t want the demon to know that they were on to him, so she acted like she was continuing to search for his trail. Man, she deserved an Oscar for this shit.

She continued to worry, but now it was over Ari. She just hoped he would be okay.

*****

Ari could smell demon blood; it was getting stronger and stronger. Drey hadn’t tried to conceal it; it was like he wanted them to find him. The trail led him to the fourth floor of the building. A bloody handprint had been left on the wall outside a partially open door. Ari moved closer and pushed the door open.

The demon wasn’t even hiding; he stood by a broken-out window, watching the alley below. Ari knew he was watching Cass.

“We were friends once, Ari. What changed?”

“You tried to kill someone I care about.”

Drey snorted. “The Child of Light is a thing, a weapon that will only hunt us and kill us.”

Ari shook his head. “She’s more than that. Besides, she’s not going to hunt demons, not demi-demons.”

“You think she’ll care about the difference? Those Arkangels don’t care. They want to destroy anyone with demon blood, which includes you.”

“Good thing I’m her friend then.”

“Why do you care about that bitch?”

“She’s mine. Mine to care for, mine to protect, and I won’t let you or the angels hurt her.” Ari drew a hunting knife with silver blade that he’d dipped in holy water earlier that day and approached Drew cautiously. He would keep her safe, no matter what.

“Are you that delusional? She has angel blood in her. That angel blood will repel you.”

“That’s for me and her to work out.”

Instead of fear on Drey’s face, he saw a smile appear. “You think yourself so clever, don’t you, Ari?”

Something was different. Drey wasn’t worried; he looked happy. Ari felt a stab of panic. “What did you do?”

Drey raised his arm. “Take this off.”

“Why would I do that?” He slowly made his way over to the window. He just needed to see Cass, to make sure she was okay.

“You think I didn’t have friends I could call?”

A scream had Ari bounding forward, looking down into the alley. He saw two demons appear on either side of Cass. They took her arms and held her between them, struggling.

“Let her go!” He turned to glare at Drey.

“My friends will, once I have this off of me. You know what you have to do.”

Ari growled. He had no choice. He moved forward and used the hunting knife to slice his palm, then approached Drey and took hold of the bracelet. He heard it snap open and the bracelet fell to the floor. Drey kicked it to the other side of the room.

“I should kill you myself for putting that on me, but I don’t have time. I have a portal to get to.”

Ari was hit in the back of his head and he fell to his knees. “Fuck!” He hadn’t even seen that there was another demon in the room.

“What do you want me to do with him, Drey?”

“Kill him. I’m taking the Child of Light through the park portal.”

“I want to come too.”

“Then you better hurry.” Drey went to the window and leaped out to the alley below.

Ari still had the hunting knife in his hand. He gripped the handle. No way would he let anyone take Cass to the inner circles. He would die first.

*****

Cass was standing in the alley alone and frustrated that she couldn’t be with Ari. What if he got hurt? She was supposed to be this prophesied demon hunter, but she felt useless and powerless.

She paced back and forth until she ran into something—or someone. She looked up, and a tall man was suddenly there, his eyes glowing red. A demon! She turned to run, but another one just appeared. They took her arms and held her still. She screamed, hoping to warn Ari. “Ari!”

“This is the Child of Light?” The demon with red hair frowned, looking at her.

“That’s what Drey claims. I don’t really know, and I don’t really care. We’ll help him take her through the portal, and if she is who he claims she is, we’ll all be welcomed into the inner circles.”

“I say we leave without Drey.”

“He’s got our money.”

Cass was listening to all this. Evidently demons were available for hire. Who knew? Her biggest concern was what was happening with Ari.

“Finally, you took long enough,” the red-haired demon called.

She turned to see Drey walking towards them. He was bracelet-free and his wounds were already healing. “Get ready. We need to leave for the portal before—”

The red-haired demon holding Cass’s left arm was suddenly yanked up into the air. She glanced up and saw white wings. Michael.

“Get her, we’re leaving now!” Drey started to run down the alley toward a dark SUV.

Cass tried to fight the demon holding her, but he hit her in the back of the head making her dazed and weak. When he opened the back of the SUV he took out some rope and tied her hands behind her back. He tossed her in the back of the vehicle and shut the door.

“If the bitch tries to get out of the car, feel free to make her bleed.”

“No longer want to kill her?” The other demon asked.

“I think bringing her alive through the portal will actually be more profitable.” Drey said, getting in the driver’s seat. He turned on the vehicle and stepped on the gas.

Cass struggled to get to a sitting position. Drey’s erratic driving made her hit the back of the seat. She did a faceplant into the side of the car when something landed hard on the roof. Drey swerved, and the SUV tilted over on its side, sliding. She cringed at the sound of metal against pavement. Then the vehicle hit something and came to a jarring stop.

The back door of the SUV was ripped open and she rolled out onto the road, hitting the feet of someone with hard boots. She looked up, blinking the blood out of her eyes. Ari.

“Hi.”

“Hi? I thought I told you to hide somewhere safe?” Ari helped her to get to her feet.

“Well, next time I promise to do that.”

Ari growled but turned his attention upward to the top of the SUV. “You weren’t supposed to wreck the SUV.”

Michael was standing there with his wings fully extended. He shrugged. “I stopped it, didn’t I?”

A door being shoved open made all three of them turn to look down. “Damn it! Drey is getting away!”

Ari took off running after Drey. Cass moved at a much slower pace, holding her side. It hurt like a son of a bitch. She glanced up, catching a glimpse of Michael weaving in and out of the trees. That did look like an awesome ability. The crunch of boots against sticks made her glance backward. The other demon had made it out, too. They stared at each other.

“Why are you helping Drey? If it's money, I can pay you more than him.” That was a lie, but he didn’t need to know that.

“The money is one thing, but you—you’re my ticket to the inner circle.”

Oh fuck!
She’d left the only weapon she knew how to use on Ari’s motorcycle. She did the only thing she could do without her bow and arrow—she ran. She heard him coming after her and tried to speed up. Ignoring the throbbing in her side, she searched for something inside of her, something that was there but hidden and blocked.

Everything became clearer to her. It was pitch black in the park forest, but she could see every tree, every bush, and every rock. She leaped and ran, feeling something break free in her. A warm light surrounded her as she ran, and the pain in her side faded almost to non-existence. Everything became a blur, and finally there were no more sounds of anyone following her. She came to a slow stop and looked around. 

“What the hell? I’m on the fucking wrong side of the park.” She leaned over at the waist and took in deep breaths. She’d left Michael and Ari back in the middle of the park to deal with two demons. If this was what she was born to do, then she needed to step up and do it.

Determined, she rolled her shoulders and began running back the other way. She let her mind focus on where she needed to be, with Ari and Michael. The glow came again as her speed was enhanced, but this time she had more control. She heard the fighting and knew she was getting closer. She slowed down and followed the sounds.

Stopping at an opening in the woods, she froze at seeing not two demons but five. Evidently Drey had called more of his buddies. There was a big swirly red-and-white circle of light wavering in the air. That must be the portal, and it was active.

Chapter 15

She couldn’t just stand there doing nothing, watching Michael and Ari fight when they were outnumbered. She looked around the ground for something she could use for a weapon and found a big stick, which she picked up. As she turned back to the fight, a demon charged her way.

“Oh fuck!” She raised the stick up, and it went through his stomach. The gushy sound was nauseating. The worst part was that it didn’t kill him. The demon moved backward slowly, and the stick was stuck there. He ripped it from his flesh.

“I’m going to throw up.”

“You will die, bitch!” The demon was pissed, to say the least. He took two steps, and then froze, looking down at his chest.

She followed his line of sight and saw a steel point poking through his chest where his heart was located. Then the blade retreated. The demon clutched at his chest as he fell to his knees. Right before her eyes the demon disintegrated into nothing. After the small cloud of demon dust faded she saw Father Raphael standing there looking at her.

“Father, what are you doing here?”

“I can still kick demon ass.”

She gasped in shock. “Father!”

He just shrugged, brandishing his sword. She tilted her head. “Did you bring something I could use?”

He gave her a wink and pulled something off his shoulder. She smiled at him. “My bow and arrow! I could kiss you!”

“Please, my dear—even an old priest can be tempted.”

She took the bow and nocked an arrow. It felt right in her hands, like putting on a pair of gloves.

“Now, just keep your distance and aim for the heart. A demon can only be killed two ways: silver through the heart or decapitation.”

She shivered at the thought. “I don’t plan to get that close.” She looked up to see another demon coming their way. “Look out, Father!” She raised the bow without thinking twice and let off an arrow. It struck the demon dead-center in the heart. He was ash before he hit the ground.

“Well done, Cassandra,” Father Raphael praised her.

She smiled for a moment, then frowned. “Congratulate me later. We’ve got demon ass to kick.”

They both turned to face the fight. There were four more demons coming through the portal. Cass planted her feet and took aim. One demon went down but she missed his heart. She had to scramble to get another arrow ready. The demon moved closer to her, and she let the arrow fly true. He turned to dust, but another demon was right behind him, almost on top of her.

“Not today, demon!” Father Raphael yelled out, swinging his sword at the demon’s legs and making him fall. She took the opportunity to move back far enough to aim an arrow and shoot him in the heart.

She looked up just in time to jump out of the way of a fireball that was thrown her way. She glared over at Father Raphael. “You didn’t say they could throw fucking fireballs! I get a bow and arrow and run real fast while glowing, and they get to throw massive balls of fire? How is that even fair?”

Father Raphael helped her up and they moved to stand partially behind a few trees to give them cover. “Stay here and fire your arrows.” He turned to leave, but she reached for his arm and halted him.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“To help my fellow Arkangel defeat these monsters.”

“But—”

“You can help more by staying covered here and shooting the demons from a distance.”

“Father, more demons are coming through the portal!” She pointed to the swirling circle.

“We need to close it.”

“How?”

“A demon’s blood opens the portal, an angel’s blood can close it.”

“You don’t mean that you’re going to get close to that thing?”

“I have to. You’re not trained, and we’re not sure if your blood is strong enough to close it anyway. Michael is battling several demons, and your half-demon is busy too. I’m the only one that can do it.”

Cass knew he was right, but she hated sending him by himself. She looked down at her bow. “I’ll give you as much coverage as I can.”

He squeezed her shoulder, and she felt calm and reassured. “You will do fine, my dear. Let your inner self take over a little, but always maintain control. You have demon blood coursing through your veins and if your power goes unchecked, it would be very bad.”

How much worse could it be? She watched as Father Raphael made his way slowly across the field. There was less cover the closer he got to the fight. He would be vulnerable to an open attack. She saw a demon raise his hand and a fireball slowly formed.

“Oh no you don’t, you bastard,” she whispered as she raised her bow. She drew the bowstring with the arrow to her cheek, then released the arrow along with her breath. It struck true, and the demon literally went up in flames, screaming and screeching. She didn't have time to think as another demon was running toward Ari with a knife aimed at his back. She fired off another arrow, and another.

She lost sight of Father Raphael, she couldn’t see him through the trees. Where was he?

She couldn’t stay there and help if she couldn’t see. Cass moved slowly out of the crops of trees. She shot a few more arrows grateful, she had the endless supply.
Thank you, God, for these babies.

She looked around and spotted Father Raphael. He was on the ground, looking winded but still trying to crawl his way to the portal. He was flanked by two more demons. He’d cut his hand but the demons wouldn’t let him near the portal.

She ran toward him, shooting arrows in quick succession as she went. Golden light radiated from her body as her speed picked up. The faster she ran, the slower things around her seemed to be moving.

She was shooting at the demons as they came through the portal, but her concentration was interrupted when she heard Ari yell out. She came out of her run and stumbled to a stop. Ari was on the ground; a demon had stabbed him in the shoulder, pinning him. Michael left him to go help Father Raphael.

Drey was about to cut off Ari’s head. No...no… “No!” She shot her arrows at Drey but he was turned sideways, keeping her from hitting him in the heart. She would not let him kill Ari.

She let out a war cry as something powerful and dark inside of her came forward. She leaped on Drey’s back and pulled him away. He gripped her hair and threw her over his head onto the ground.

“You think you’re a match for me physically? You’re wrong, little girl.” Drey kicked out, and his foot connected with her jaw.

She fell back to the ground, furious. She didn’t see anything or anyone around her except for the demon. He would die. She didn’t have time to raise her bow, but she did have an arrow clutched in her hand.

Ari was getting back to his feet and coming for her. “Run, Cass!”

“No. No more running.” She stood up and jumped at the demon with all the speed and strength she had. The impact felt like hitting a brick wall, but she did make the demon fall backward to the ground, with her on top of him. She sat up while he was still dazed. He wrapped his hand around her throat and tried to choke her.

“Go to hell, bitch!”

She pulled on her strength and fury. “Save me a seat!” She raised her arrow, her power coming forth with an electric glow, and struck him through the heart. Drey didn’t slowly disintegrate; he burst outward into tiny dust particles immediately.

Power surged inside of her, giving her strength, speed, and energy. She’d never felt so strong before. All her life, she’d suffered from being smaller than everyone else. Cass had been an insignificant nothing that no one wanted. Not now—now she felt the power coursing through her veins, and she loved it. She got to her feet, ignoring Ari, her full concentration on the hunt.

She sent another electrified arrow through another demon, and then another. She was running out of demons. On the other side of the portal were plenty of demons for her to kill.

*****

Ari watched in awe and horror as Cass tapped into her hidden powers and began to demolish every demon in her way. This was the weapon the Arkangels had created, but where was his Cass? She was lost somewhere in that killing machine.

The demons that had come through were dead or had retreated back through the portal, but Cass kept trying to kill them. She had a strange gleam in her eyes that he didn’t like at all, and knew she planned to go through the portal too. He couldn’t let that happen. She wasn’t ready for the other side yet.

He glanced over at the priest and Michael. “Get that portal closed before she goes through after the demons!”

Michael was helping the priest stand up. “Good, she should go through and get rid of as many demons as possible.”

Father Raphael shook his head. “No, Michael, she’s not ready for that yet.” He walked over to the portal and lifted his bloody hand. Drops of his blood fell to the ground, and the portal began to close.

“No!” Cass screamed out, running in a blaze toward the portal. When the doorway had been completely shut down, she turned her anger toward Michael and the priest.

“How dare you! Open it back up!”

“Child, it cannot be opened right now.” Father Raphael tried to calm her down.

Michael stepped in front of the smaller man. “Calm down..”

“Back off!” She leaped forward, using speeds that Ari had never seen before. She was a whirl of golden lightning. She struck out at Michael, who was surprised by the attack and fell backward.

“Stop, Cassandra! You must stop!” Father Raphael stumbled toward her.

Ari couldn’t let Cass hurt the priest, she would never forgive herself. “Stay back, Father. I’ll help her.”

Raphael looked at him, shaking his head. “I don’t see how. She’s lost control.”

“Cass, look at me.” Ari approached her, holding up his empty hands.

She looked at him, but her eyes were glowing. That couldn’t be good. “Come on babe, let’s calm down, maybe grab a beer.” He moved his body between her and the priest.

She hissed at him.

Okay, words weren’t getting through to her. Maybe actions would. He slowly moved toward her and gave her a sexy smile.

“You’re kind of hot right now with those glowing eyes of yours. I wonder what else is glowing.”

She blinked at him, a small sign that he was getting to her. He moved closer and closer. “I bet I could make you glow even more if I licked you all over.”

She licked her lips. “Open the portal.”

“You don’t need the portal, you need something else, don’t you?” Her eyes were now her normal blue, his favorite color. More than her eyes being normal again, there was a spark of desire in them.

“Ari?” She groaned with need.

He reached for her, pulling her to him and kissing her. He felt the sizzle of electricity racing through his body and knew it was coming from her. He didn’t let go, but held on and helped her channel her powers through a different outlet.

“Not this again.” Michael’s voice broke through his consciousness, reminding him that they weren’t alone. This time, though, he didn’t want to stop.