Possession (14 page)

He reasoned he was just going to find the
girl to warn her and make sure she was alright.

The friendly thing to do.

Demons kept a low profile nowadays, since
some idiot had done a spell and flooded the world with demon
hunters that could sense them. Anything wanting to keep its head
kept an ear to the ground and hightailed it out of town the second
another bunch of the hyper demon killers stepped foot within city
limits.

Julian was better off than most, having the
funds to move around quickly and easily, as well as pay for
information.

He’d been following Catherine’s crumbs for
months while keeping track of Lorcan at the same time, never
staying more than a few days in any one place. Alana was happy to
take over the reins of the business. She’d already been handling
most of the daily operations, anyway.

Moving about like this again, Julian realized
he was lonely. Before, his concentration had been focused on Celia
for one reason or another, and he’d only been alone when they had a
fight and she ran off. Those bouts never lasted more than a few
weeks, though, before she was using their bond to call for him,
needing him to care for her and cater to her whims. Celia had
fascinated and enchanted him, but she’d never been a great
conversationalist.

Now, truly alone, Julian realized he liked
company and intelligent company even more so.

He missed Catherine.

***

November, one year later…

Catherine walked through the parking lot of
the university at night. She’d made it to her second year and was
looking forward to the Thanksgiving holiday.

Humming the latest pop hit, she neared her
car, seemingly unaware of the man following her with silent
footsteps.

Lorcan darted from car to car behind his
prey, his diabolical mind coming up with all kinds of tortures he
could subject her to as punishment for running off. It’d taken
paying too much for a highly recommended seer to find the girl, but
seeing her like this, blissfully ignorant of his presence, he had
to smile. It was all worth it.

He crept up on her until he was about to
throw his arms around her and grab her, only to have her spin
around in front of him.

Catherine plunged a stake through his heart,
the stunned look on Lorcan’s face a pleasure in its own right.

“Please. Did you really think I didn’t know
you were there?”

He disintegrated into a little pile of dust
at her feet. She took a plastic bottle and spoon out of her
backpack and scooped the ashes into the container.

“All too easy,” she sighed--bored, but
happy.

The drive to her nearby luxury apartment was
short.

Her grandmother passed away in the last year,
leaving her enough money to live off-campus plus pay tuition. The
result had been a nice one-bedroom, complete with protective wards.
She took the secure elevator up to the third floor and walked down
the hallway to the corner apartment.

“Honey, I’m home!” She dropped her backpack
in the hall.

“How was class?”

She walked into the living room to see her
boyfriend reclining shirtless on the couch, reading the
newspaper.

“Last one before the break, so it was
awesome.” She tossed him the plastic bottle. “Got you a
present.”

He arched a brow. “Dust? How thoughtful of
you.”

She plucked the paper out of his hands and
straddled his lap. “
Ashes
, to be more precise.” She raked
her nails down his pale chest. “A thorn in both our sides?”

He grinned, catching her meaning. “Do
tell
. This is really him?”

“Mm-hmm. Knew you’d want a souvenir. Idiot
was so arrogant, he didn’t even sense me.”

Julian sat up and nipped at his mark on her
throat. “You’re lucky he didn’t.”

She pouted. “I staked him, didn’t I?”

Catherine got up and walked into the kitchen
to stand in front of the open refrigerator.

He came up behind her and brushed her hair to
the side. “You’re still new to this, kitten, all I’m sayin’…”

“Thought you said I’m a natural talent.”

He started kissing the skin he’d revealed. “I
did, but that doesn’t replace experience.” One of his hands snuck
underneath her jeans. “You’ve gotta watch out for the baddies that
know just where to hit you the
hardest
.”

He plunged his fangs into the mark at the
same time his fingers flicked—

“
Julian!”

A mouthful of blood, and then he sealed the
wound, holding her up against him.

“Lucky me I have a good teacher, then,” she
said.

He chuckled. “Got anywhere you need to be in
the mornin’?”

She turned to face him. “Nope, it’s
Thanksgiving. Just football and pumpkin pie.”

He crouched and tossed her over his shoulder.
“Good! I’ve got some lessons in mind, and they’re going to take
all
night.”

Catherine pinched a butt cheek. “Yes,
sir
.”

The End

Author’s Note: Thanks for reading
Possession
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