The Pull of Destiny (Undying Love, Book 2) Read online

  “You all think I’m completely different from you, but you’re wrong. I was a human just like you once, and like many of you, I’ve lost people I love to monsters, demons. I want to stop them from terrorizing and killing like you do.”

  “What do you mean you were just like us?” Sherri asks.

  “Exactly what I said. I was human. My family was killed by wendigos. I didn’t know anything about monsters then, and they would have killed me, too. They almost did, but an angel came to me and she gave me a second chance.”

  “Don’t listen to him, Sherri. You know this bastard is nothing but a liar,” Miguel says harshly, almost spitting the words.

  I shake my head. I know there is no getting through to Miguel, but maybe some of the others are taking something away from my words.

  I say, “Tasia is every bit as human as each one of you. She isn’t an angel, but she’s made her decision to fight with angels. Now it’s your turn to make your decision. No one is making you stay here.” I turn to Miguel, staring him down. “If you’re really so miserable and this place no longer aligns with your goals, leave.”

  “What’s going on?”

  All heads turn to Blade as she walks up to the group.

  “Blade, why haven’t you told these damn angels to leave yet?” Miguel accuses. “If they’re really so great and angelic, they’ll get the hell out if we want them to, right?”

  “I don’t want them to,” Blade replies.

  “What?”

  Whispers break out among the hunters.

  Miguel shouts, “Even with all their lies?! What about Rynne? He lied to your face!”

  Blade addresses me, “Thanks for all your help.”

  I raise my eyebrows and Miguel’s jaw drops open.

  “I don’t know where you’ve been, Miguel, but Rynne has helped keep us hunters alive ever since he joined us. That first demon we encountered? A lot more would have died if not for him. I think I can forgive a little lie.”

  “Little?!” Miguel balks.

  “Well, I was planning on telling everyone in the base this at the same time, but it seems you lot need to hear it now,” Blade says with a sigh. “I’ve talked to Valor, the angel in charge of the angels here, and sent out word to the other branches of the EEA, sharing everything we know.” She frowns. “Even the prophecy about Tasia. I’m sure you’ve all heard about that by now. Tasia has a link to this dangerous demon named Arsen. The angels are prepping her and she needs our support. Needless to say, the other branches want to send representatives to confirm all of this for themselves. What the EEA decides as a whole after that is completely out of my control.”

  “But where do you stand?” Sherri asks.

  “With the angels,” Blade informs. “Any of you who have a problem with that, feel free to walk away right now. I won’t hold it against you, and neither will any of the angels.”

  Some hunters shift their eyes back onto me. I’m about to say something when the confidant enters the gym to stand beside Blade. She must have been waiting, listening to what was going on, based on the look on her face. Blade isn’t surprised at all, like she knew Valor would be coming.

  “As your commander said,” the confidant speaks. “None of you are captives here. If you wish to leave, please do so.”

  Miguel is the first one to move. He has a dark look on his face as he walks past Blade and the confidant without another word. Sherri follows close behind him, and then the group of hunters disperses as a third of them leave with Miguel and Sherri. I watch them leave, but I don’t feel anything. I’m not happy they’re going, and I’m not sad either. I guess, I’m just not surprised. This was bound to happen with the way things were going, but it’s probably for the best.

  Blade isn’t explicitly showing it, but I think I can see a tinge of sadness on her face. I’d be surprised if she didn’t feel at least a little betrayed. She’s been working hard for this base, and two members of her elite team left so easily.

  “Guess I better let the rest of the hunters know what’s up,” Blade mutters as she exits the gym.

  The hunters who stayed go back to training in the gym, stopping all the chatter and leaving Confidant Valor and I as the only ones left stationary.

  “That was well done, Rynne,” she says.

  “You were listening to the whole thing,” I state.

  She gives a curt nod of her head. “You have an advantage.”

  “An advantage?”

  “You understand life in a way few can. You’ve lived one life and now another. You understand what it is to be human, and you understand what it is to be angel. Never forget that.”

  “I won’t. I can’t.”

  “Good.”

  STICKING TO FORESTS and any areas of land not heavily inhabited by humans, I make my way toward the East Coast with my new angel partner. Any direction I go is as good as any other at the moment. I haven’t decided what two natural demons I’m going to kill after all. I’m taking this journey on foot instead of taking a car to give myself some time to puzzle through what exactly I want to do.

  I glance over my shoulder at the obnoxious female angel behind me. She’s been quiet to the most part. If God wants her to live, she’ll keep quiet. Every word that comes out of her damn mouth makes me lament the fact I promised I wouldn’t harm her. Damn this situation and the human girl that made it so. My beast quells our anger. We aren’t mad at Tasia. Not Tasia.

  I shake my head, my logician reminding me of the problem at hand. What demons do I know here? Uden, of course, but he may still be useful to me. He’s been useful enough that I’d hate to off him over this.

  All of the young demons I knew in my servant team fled back to Ilenima when I offed our master—as far as I know. The same went for the young demons in Yuki’s team: Drake and Chloe. Both of them are dead now, thanks to whatever the hell they were doing in Reverie the night Tasia blamed me for her parents’ death. They’re likely the ones to blame for her parents’ death, but how and why would that be? Based on what Drake told me, he and Chloe were intent on doing exactly what the angels wanted, so why kill a couple of “good” humans?

  I shake my head.

  Focus. It doesn’t matter. I won’t find any proof, and I can tell Tasia I didn’t kill her parents until I’m blue in the face, but that isn’t going to help either.

  What other demons do I know?

  Beriste, the elder demon on my team escaped. I saw her once, after Yuki and I broke away from the angels and started my vendetta in this world, but I haven’t seen her for years now. I have no idea where she might be.

  Kiern, the elder demon from Yuki’s servant team also escaped, but I haven’t seen him since his escape. Neither he nor Beriste want anything to do with me, which I understand. No smart demon in Terra does—except for Yuki. Exones and Solanis are dead. I know their mother, but she is not a demon I will be tempting any time in the near future—if I could even find her. I’ve met other demons in passing. I have more names swirling around in my head, but I don’t know the whereabouts or anything much beyond the names for any of them except for Uden.

  “Just how long are we going to wander the woods aimlessly, demon?” Imae pipes up.

  “Shut up, angel. You’re supposed to be tagging along as a silent observer.”

  “Where’s your pet? Yuki, was it? She’d be an easy mark.”

  “Yuki is not my pet,” I say with a growl.

  Shorty watches me expressionlessly with her piercing yellow-green eyes as she comments, “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you actually care for her.”

  I sneer, “It’s a good thing you know better then. And in case you hadn’t noticed, Yuki isn’t here, smart ass.”

  “Surely she’d come if you called, Arsen.”

  “Who the hell was about to kill who back at the hunter base, angel? I seem to recall it was me about to kill you. Don’t tell me what to fucking do. I could kill you right here and now.”

  She comments, “Doubtful, and I know you
won’t follow through with your threat. You want to see Tasia too much to risk it on an outburst of anger.”

  Oh, sweet loving hell. How I wish I could prove her wrong. But I can’t.

  I need to focus. What two natural demons should I kill? Wait a minute. I can let my beast take over. My darkness will spread and my senses will sharpen. My beast could potentially bring other demons to me. I don’t have to worry about drawing unwanted angel attention because I’ve already got an angel on my ass, and they apparently don’t have any intention of killing me at the moment.

  I rip off my clothes, suddenly anxious to let my beast free. It has been far too long since I’ve allowed my beast to control every aspect of my physical appearance. I can feel it bubbling below the surface, begging for release.

  “What are you doing?!” Imae demands as she turns away from me.

  “I’m going to find a demon,” I reply.

  Those are the last words I say before my body is consumed by my beast. Midnight black fur and dark purple scales. I stretch out my wolf-like forelegs and back legs, raking my obsidian claws in the semi-frozen dirt below. I trot forward and scratch my spiraling draconic horns against one of those ash trees I hate, tearing off its bark. I stretch out one scaly wing at a time just to stretch them. I won’t fly until I reach a clearing. The trees are too close together and I’m too big to reach the sky without busting some branches.

  I glance at the angel to see her picking up my clothes. I chuff at her.

  “I’m not going to have you butt-naked for who knows how long when you decide to change back into your logician,” she remarks.

  I shake my head and snort. Angels and their issues about modesty. Well, I won’t complain. I won’t be cold when I change back this way. Besides, I like having an angel carrying my clothes like a servant. I bare my teeth in a wolfish grin, and then I run fast through the trees. My logician is far from slow, but its speed is nothing compared to my beast’s. However, as much as I’d like to run at my top speed, I have to keep track of the angel. Losing her would defeat the purpose of what I’m doing out here. With that detail in mind, my beast moves swiftly forward, tapping the earth below with padded paws.

  All that surrounds us is nature. I can’t feel the presences of humans or any demons. The East Coast is where my beast wants to go, so that’s where I’ll go. I know Uden is on the East Coast, but he’s farther north than where I’m heading. He isn’t who I’m going to kill anyway. I’ll find another demon in this direction. My beast is certain I will. I can already smell the faint salty spray of the ocean, and the trees have thinned. I’ve covered a lot of ground, but the angel is managing to keep up with me more or less. Good enough. Now it’s time to fly.

  I spread my wings and take to the sky. The sun is bright and penetrating on this cold winter day, but it doesn’t bother me much, and the cold is of little consequence to my beast. My beast chose an excellent route, far away from humans. I can’t remember the last time I’ve been allowed to fly like this without restraint. I see the ocean in the distance and a sandy beach. There’s a large stretch of rocks jutting out and an alcove facing the water. A demon scent is coming from there. It is well hidden in this empty place. It’s likely some kind of safe zone or perhaps a hunting ground.

  I’ll get there soon enough. For now, I’ll enjoy this moment. Imae fell behind, and my beast wants to enjoy the sky.

  I loop and twist in the air, enjoying the false sense of freedom it provides. By the time Imae is near, my logician debates with my beast on whether we should confront this alcove as my beast or my logician. The demonic presence is too subtle for any demon to be there right now. It’s almost like a residual trace of darkness rather than active darkness itself. If I go there as my beast, my darkness will be threatening to whatever demon or demons come back to this place. I’ll either invite a fight or chase the fight away, depending on how powerful the demon that senses me is. As my logician, I’ll appear much more neutral. It’s almost guaranteed I’ll be investigated at least. But how often do I get the chance to let my beast out? I’ll be quick and catch the bastard if they decide they don’t want to face me.

  My heart wins this time. My chest thrums as I drift down from the sky to land on the rocks and sand of the beach near the alcove. I pad around impatiently as I wait for the short angel. She’s at my side within a few minutes, my clothes wrapped up in a messy ball of fabric in her arms.

  “Are you going to check out that alcove?” she asks. “It feels like an immense darkness has been there recently.”

  I nod my head. Since she knows where I’m heading now, I flap my wings to fly around the jagged rocks protecting the alcove from the rest of the beach and hover over ocean waters a moment to inspect the place. I couldn’t see before, but bones are decorating the rock floor. This is indeed a refuge as well as a hunting ground. Someone has an insatiable appetite.

  After a quick thrust of my wings, I fold them flat against my body as I land inside of the alcove. It’s a decent size. It’s large enough to house my beast, but there certainly isn’t enough room to fly in here. Ocean waves lap up against the alcove’s edge, guaranteeing the ground is constantly wet. I move back father inside to where most of the bones are piled, icy from the weather. I turn my head when Imae hops down from one of the jagged rocks and lands inside.

  She drops my clothes and murmurs, “Disgusting.” She moves as far away from the bones as she can manage and leans back against a wall with her arms folded.

  I snap up one of the bones and paw at it as I crunch it between my powerful jaws. God, this feels good. I think this demon must feed on divers or sailors, based on the human bones. Their beast is probably water related. They hunt and bring their kill back here. They aren’t the type only interested in life essence. They eat their victims down to the bones.

  “Please don’t tell me you’re going to wait here for God knows how long for a demon to come,” Imae says, glaring at me.

  I bark at her and bare my teeth in a grin. That’s exactly what we’re going to do. The fact that my dear angel companion is so obviously bothered by this place makes it even better. With the way she’s avoiding these bones… I wonder if they can harm her the same way my blood harms her. These are all creatures that were murdered. A demon doesn’t need to feed, so this is an extraneous action on that demon’s part. That, at least, is in keeping with how repulsed she is by it. Interesting.

  “Enjoy this while you can, demon,” she mutters, eyes burning.

  Oh, I will. I continue chewing on my bone, and I wait. I wait for a demon to come. If I’m lucky, there will be two, and then I’ll be back to see Tasia.

  I’m coming for you, girl.

  My girl.

  “TASIA, IT’S TIME to wake up.”

  I squeeze my eyelids tight as I stretch and yawn in the comfy cloud bed. It’s way too comfortable to be my own bed. I yawn and open my eyes to see a gorgeous man wearing white robes at the side of my bed, looking down at me with kaleidescope eyes.

  “I would have let you sleep as long as you liked, but you’ll need to return to the hunter base today,” he says.

  The fog of disorientation begins to clear, and I remember everything that happened last night. Arsen, Cassius, and going to another world where I learned about things that go way beyond the supernatural. Another world. It’s so crazy.

  “I’m going back?” I ask. “But I haven’t even done any training. What about Arsen?”

  “You’re training began as soon as you accepted your destiny. Don’t you feel any different?” Cassius asks.

  “Like, how I feel more at peace? I thought it was just because of this place.”

  “Yes and no. You needn’t worry, Tasia. Arsen won’t be bothering you today. However, I don’t want to rush you, and you still have training to do as a hunter. It’s all productive.”

  “What about all my questions?” I ask.

  “You will have time to ask them.”

  “But not today?”

  “Patience.”
Cassius walks to the door. “Get dressed and then come outside. I’ll be waiting on the other side of this door.” He exits the room, shutting the door behind him.

  I took Cassius up on his offer to wear something more comfortable to bed, so I take off a light shirt and pants that must belong to Valor and put yesterday’s hunter training clothes back on for the trek back to the base. I’ll either change into a fresh set of clothes or take a shower as soon as I get back to the base, depending on what everyone there is doing today. After I’m fully dressed, I leave the clothes I used on the bed, and meet Cassius outside of the room.

  He’s standing against a frosted glass wall, looking at something in the distance. I try to see what he’s seeing, but nothing’s there.

  “Cassius?”

  “Are you ready?” he asks without looking at me.

  “Yeah… Are you okay?”

  Now he looks at me. He smiles. “Perfectly fine. Let’s get you back to the base.”

  I follow Cassius back into that room full of mirrors, which I learn is aptly named the Mirror Room. I get my coat back from one of the soldiers and bundle up before we go back through the Peacekeeper. I let Cassius carry me again, because I figure the sensation of going through the portal will be better that way than if I hold on to his hand for dear life. Going through the portal isn’t any better than last time, and recovering from it takes longer this time, so Cassius continues to carry me long after it’s probably necessary. I keep quiet the whole time, not because I want to, but it seems like there’s something on his mind. He didn’t say he doesn’t want to talk, but I get that feeling anyway.

  Once we arrive at the base’s perimeter, I’m on my feet again. I walk up to the gate, and I wave at the camera.

  “Tasia! Welcome back,” Divya says. I’d recognize her slight Indian accent anywhere, even with all the buzzing static coming out of the speaker.