Demon Hunters (10 page)

“I guess demon hunting isn’t conducive to a
healthy personal life.”

“Among other things. It can be a lonely
life, I admit. It’s hard to find people who understand me and why I
do what I do.”

“I understand.”

“You’re drunk.”

“All the better to understand you.” Our eyes
held each other for a moment and the warm feeling I had in the pit
of my stomach when I first saw her, was growing quickly.

“It’s getting late.” I just then noticed we
were the last two in the bar. I looked to my watch but my eyes
blurred.

“Yeah. This was fun. I guess I’ll see you
around.”

“I guess you will.” I pushed myself up from
my seat, but my legs gave out and I fell to the floor. Kassie ran
over and pulled me back up, but I was unable to get my footing.

“I think I had a little too much to drink.”
Kassie wrapped my arm over her shoulders and tried to walk me to
the door, but stopped.

“Yeah. Me too. I can’t carry you.”

“I can’t stay here.”

“Sure you can.”

“I can?”

“Yeah. My room’s just upstairs.”

“Your room?”

“You heard me.”

“Is that a good idea?”

“What? You think I won’t be able to resist
your charms?”

“I do have pretty nice charms. Not to
mention a big...smile.”

“I’ll admit, you’re cute, but you are way
too green for me, sweets.”

“Even though I’m a Corba?”

“Come on.” Kassie turned me around and took
me to the stairs in the back of the bar that led up to some rooms.
I struggled up the creaky steps as best I could. I held tightly to
Kassie with one hand and the banister with the other.

We finally made it to the top and I saw a
small hallway extend out before us. We walked over to the second
door on the right and Kassie forced it open. She pushed me in and
it was dark until a light came on suddenly. Her room was small and
quaint, just like mine. There was an old brass bed up against the
wall with a fluffy, pink quilt on it. Kassie quickly turned me
around and pushed me down onto it and then began to pull my shirt
off.

“What are you doing?”

“Making you comfortable. Lift your leg.” As
I did, she slipped my shoe off.

“Is that all?”

“Don’t push your luck,” She then pulled off
my other shoe and grabbed my legs and spun me around onto the bed.
“We’re sleeping, okay?”

“Whatever you say.” I wasn’t even sure what
I was thinking. My brain seemed to have disconnected. I laid there
still for a moment. I could hear Kassie doing whatever it was she
did to get ready for bed. She finally came around the bed in a
tight t-shirt and some skimpy shorts.

“You asleep yet?” She crawled under the
covers.

“Not yet.” I felt my arm slowly reaching
over to her. She quickly grabbed it and gave it back to me.

“I’m giving you a pass on this because
you’re drunk. Probably for the first time, but you really need to
sleep.”

“I know. I just thought we were
connecting.”

“We were, Jake. Honest? There was a time I
would jump your bones in a New York minute.”

“Then why not now? I’m easy. Even when I’m
sober.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?” Kassie then turned to me and even
through my drunken haze; I could feel the gravity of her eyes.

“I envy you.”

“Why?”

“Because I barely remember what it was like
before all this. Before the demons. Before the hunting. There was a
time my life was simple, predictable and totally boring. I see you
now and it all comes back to me. How blissfully ignorant I was
before my world, my life, was turned upside down. I love my life
now, but there are times I miss who I was. I wonder about what I
could have had if not for all this. A husband? A family? Who
knows?” I could see a tear forming along her cheek. I instinctively
reached out to wipe it away. Kassie tried to resist my touch, but
finally relented. Her skin was soft and warm.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. Someday maybe you’ll
meet someone and you’ll know what I’m talking about now.”

“Maybe, but right now I’m not thinking about
demons. I’m just thinking about the beautiful woman next to me who
is just about the only person on Earth who knows what I’m going
through, and how completely un-lonely I feel right now. You
know?”

“Yeah.” She smiled. I reached over again to
wipe another tear from her cheek, but before I could pull back, she
had her hand wrapped around my wrist. She then gently pulled me
closer and just as my eyes began to close; I felt the sensation of
her warm lips on mine.

The Morning After

I felt the warmth of the sun and heard the
hustle of the morning rush of Diablo Luto. I opened my eyes and as
light filled my sight, a pain stabbed through my head. I groaned as
I turned over, away from the brightness.

“Up and at ‘em, big guy.” I bolted up and
saw Kassi dressing at the foot of the bed. I looked around in a
panic. My thoughts were fuzzy at best, and I barely remembered
coming up to her room. I somehow recalled she had put me on the
bed, above the bedspread, but I was underneath it. I lifted it up
and saw that I was completely naked. I looked back at her.

“Did we...?”

“No. You passed out after I kissed you.”

“Then why am I naked?”

“You took your clothes off. You had a lot of
enthusiasm, but try as you did, you just couldn’t stay awake.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t feel bad. It would have been fun, but
it’s probably for the best.”

“Where are you going?”

“Got a call out of town. It’s been a while
since I’ve been traveling, so I’m kind of looking forward to it.”
She checked herself in the mirror.

“Will I see you again?” She turned to me
with sympathetic eyes and smiled.

“I don’t know. You think you’ll still be in
town in a few days?”

“
I don’t know.”

“Well, I guess we’ll just see,” She pinched
my cheek. “I have to get on the road now. Leave the key at the bar
downstairs when you leave, okay?”

“Sure.” I got out of the bed and grabbed her
arm. She turned to me and I could see a look of almost pity in her
eyes.

“Don’t make this out to be more than it is.
You’re probably just feeling like this because of my own powers.
It’s not real. I like you, Jake. I do. Maybe in another time, if we
were different people, something could happen here.” She gave me a
final kiss on the lips. I watched as she walked out the door. As
soon as she was gone, it felt like a spell had passed over me and
my mind was clear again. I wasn’t sure if it was the tequila or
Kassie playing some kind of mind game on me. As my hangover came
roaring back, I decided to figure it out in bed. I slept up in
Kassie’s room for a good five hours before finally dressing. I went
downstairs and left the key with the bartender just as I said I
would.

I stepped out onto the street of Diablo Luto
and felt the hot sun wash over me. The daily life of the town
seemed to move at a snail’s pace. At any given storefront, there
were several people sitting around and watching as the shadows
crawled along the ground. There were a few older guys laid out like
cats, sleeping in the radiating heat.

As I headed back to my hotel, I stopped as I
saw Ivar charging toward me.

“Where have you been?”

“Out.”

“Out where?”

“I met someone.”

“Who could you have possibly met out
here?”

“An old friend of yours. Kassie.” Ivar’s
face went white and he seemed genuinely surprised.

“She was here?”

“Yeah. She says she lives here. She came
knocking at my door last night and after a little talking, we went
out for a drink and I guess I had too much. I stayed with her.”

“I see. Where is she now?”

“She left. Out of town call.”

“I haven’t heard from her in a long
time.”

“She seemed pretty excited when I said I was
here with you. Is there some kind of history there?”

“That’s not important. When I went to your
room and saw you were missing, I began to worry. I don’t think I
have to remind you there is a demon seeking to kill you.”

“I’m fine. Just a little hungover.”

“Good. I think we should go back to your
room and discuss our next move.”

“Okay,” Ivar and I went on to the hotel.
“So.”

“I’m not going to talk about it.”

“Come on. She was hot! If you don’t tell me
you at least tried to get some of that, I will lose all respect for
you.”

“Kasandra is a very complicated person.”

“I know. She told me all about the cupid
thing.”

“She did?”

“So what happened with you two?”

“When we first worked together, the
situation tended to become intense at times. I promised her I would
not share any intimate details about that time.”

“I knew it! You did it with her!” I was
finally satisfied that there was something human about Ivar. He
looked down at me and his expression was similar to the look I got
from many school principals over the years.

“We are not having this conversation.”

“Wuss.”

In my room, I was on my bed while Ivar sat
at a small wooden desk in the corner writing all over his map. I
just stared at the white ceiling, forcing myself to stare into the
swirls of light as they shifted with the sun’s movements. Ivar said
he was picking up the energy that was supposed to guide us to our
next destination.

“There.” I sat up and looked over at Ivar as
he turned around. He held his map up at me like a gold medal. I
noticed he had a large dot circled several times. It looked as
though the dot was several miles outside of the town, in the middle
of a large, vast desert area.

“What?”

“I know where we must go.”

“Great. Where’s that?”

“There really is no geographic location to
describe. The One is sending us to this point. That is where we
must go. It must be hallowed, sacred land so we must enter humble
and pure.”

“I can do humble, but we’re a little late
for pure.”

The Church

I looked up and saw the sun slipping below
the horizon. The sky was dim and glowed subtly with gentle hues of
red and orange. The heat of the day had dropped to a warm,
comfortable sensation. I looked over to Ivar as he was sitting in
the jeep trying to start it up.

“Are you sure it doesn’t need some work?”
The jeep looked no better for wear than the rest of Diablo
Luto.

“I am certain,” The machine finally sprang
to life. The engine roared like an animal and a large cloud of dark
gas spewed out and blocked out the lovely sunset. The entire jeep
trembled violently as it coughed and belched loudly. Ivar motioned
me over to get in. With a little trepidation, I took his invitation
and belted myself in, or rather tied myself in. Ivar put his hand
around the gearshift and then looked to me. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.” Ivar pushed down on the
pedal and the jeep jerked forward. My seat rope cut into my waist
as I flew up from my seat.

As we left the town, Ivar pulled off the
dirt road and we tumbled down through a thick field of dry brush. I
was about to ask Ivar exactly where he was going, but considering
things, I wasn’t sure he’d have an answer for me, so I let it
go.

The sun was completely gone and there was no
light save for the two headlights of the jeep. I looked around and
there was nothing but inky darkness all around. I looked up to the
sky and marveled at the millions of stars hanging above us. I held
tight to the sides of my seat to keep myself from jostling around
too much, and I was able to better concentrate on the twinkling
lights above.

I had never seen the sky so full and
beautiful before. I knew there were billions of stars in the sky, I
knew that, but I had never actually seen them before. There they
were, far above us, as they had been for millions of years before
our existence. I started to understand why contemplation of the
stars was such a big deal for some people. It was hard to look up
and not think about your place in the universe. I then began to
wonder out of the billions of people in the world, why did I have
to be me?

We hit another steep hill of sand and as we
crashed down from it, the jeep stopped. The engine hummed loudly
and shook like an Earthquake. I looked over to Ivar and saw his
gaze fixed solidly forward.

“What?” Ivar merely pointed and by the
meager light of the headlights, I saw a small building at the
bottom of a small valley. I couldn’t see it very well, but it
looked old and had a small tower on top of it. Next to it was an
oddly green patch of grass with a large, blackened tree sitting
nearby. Its branches were large and spread far. “What’s that?”

“The church.”

“Okay.”

“That is where The One wants you to go.”
Ivar shifted the jeep into gear. We drove forward and sped down to
the church.

The church was built of what looked like
stone or large brick. There were pretty stained glass windows
running along the side and there was a large door made of a dark
wood in front. Ivar parked the jeep a few yards away.

“We could park closer.”

“No. We can’t. From here, you must continue
alone.”

“What?”

“I cannot guide you any longer. You must
face what is inside the church alone.”

“Okay.” I slid out of the jeep and dusted
myself off. I started toward the church, but I heard Ivar call out
to me.

“Jake! Here!” He then threw me something
large wrapped in paper. I grabbed it and pulled it open. I was
holding the guns Ivar had given me and a belt loaded with ammo. I
looked up at him. “Just in case.”

I came closer to the church and I felt a
chill run up my spine as I approached the door. I wrapped my hand
around the handle and I began to pull. I felt the full weight of
the door as I struggled to move it. It creaked as the hinges
stretched against years of rust and dirt. I looked inside and saw
nothing but darkness. I went on in and after a few steps, a loud,
dull crash shot out and I spun around to see the door had shut
behind me.