Heart of a Hunter Read Free Page B

know about. No information about her snakes past me. I have the perfect guise as the transient best friend with a dead family and no ties. She expects me to come and go as I choose, and that means no questions from her and the rest of them.” Her tone relayed her utter disgust. “Why would any female, human or demon, want to make something as revolting as children? Whining, puking, demanding, worthless bags of flesh.”
    “Then, we should both be glad motherhood was never an option for you, my dear.” Pyro’s voice was mock soothing, and he watched in amusement as her eyes flashed angrily. “Her meetings with the bastard angel, Tagas, are still frequent, so I can only assume that he is training her. He has the whole warehouse fortified with his power, and I can only get so close. I imagine that she’s about five times stronger now and just as deadly to almost any demon.”
    Cascadia cocked her eyebrow. “All the more satisfying a kill when I take her down. Tagas is untouchable, but his protégée is human and, therefore, not immortal.”
    “You already have a plan for her eventual death in place?”
    Cascadia’s smile was nothing pretty, full of dark twisted promises of excruciating pain for those who stood in her way. As much as Pyro wanted to ascend in Hell’s evil hierarchy, she wanted it twice as much. My ambitious hell-bitch. To her he said smoothly, “Do not fail me in this matter. Remember, my failure is your failure with severe consequences.”
    The flame-haired demon nodded, turning to leave the alley. Pyro’s hand snaked out, catching her waist and drawing her into him. His body was burning with sexual need, and he placed her hand on his crotch with a smirk. “I require servicing before you go about your busy day.” He knew that, most of the time, she hated him and his sexual demands thoroughly but didn’t dare tell him no.
    Cascadia leaned into his body with a venomous glare. Her fingers closed around his erection, kneading and stroking him through his black pants. In the next moment, she slid his zipper down.
    ****
    Elle finished lacing the second black boot on her foot and stood in front of the small shoe mirror. She smiled in satisfaction. Perfect fit, perfect look. The knee high black boots were crafted in supple leather, with a four-inch stiletto heel. When she first laid eyes on them in the window of the mall shoe store, she knew they had to be hers.
    Tagas had earlier handed her a small wad of hundred dollar bills, with instructions to purchase a large set of durable hunting clothes. Smiling at her wide surprised eyes, he peeled off another two bills and handed them to her. “The extra is for your upcoming eighteenth birthday tomorrow. Happy birthday, young Elle. Enjoy yourself,” he had told her.
    She unlaced the boots, slipping them off and placing them back into the box. She headed to the sales counter with it under her arm. And this is how to hunt demons in style…
    ****
    “Brandon, can I please take this scarf off my face? I can’t see anything.”
    Elle let Brandon lead her with a gentle guiding hand on her back. She couldn’t see more than a few feet ahead of her from beneath the blindfold. This was the night of her birthday, and he had planned a secret celebration for them. She already felt more special on this birthday than she had since she was a little girl, before her family life had soured. Now, all she got from her parents was a brief acknowledgement with an obligatory gift and hurried embrace. She and Brandon had been steadily and exclusively dating since their wonderful second date, which ended with the passionate kiss she had been aching for. She supposed that she could now consider him her boyfriend. Her first real boyfriend.
    She had bought a little black dress and matching heels, leaving her hair in a riot of rich brown curls after she dressed and painstakingly applied makeup. She knew she looked good and she felt pretty, confident because Brandon had given her a long