Page 4 of Broken Moon

The girl stayed close to myback, as though she were afraid the demon would return. I could have reassuredher, but my mind was full of other things.

Despite the full moon, my familiarpain seemed lessened after my encounter with the demon. “I might have to find ademon boss to fight every full moon,” I muttered, not entirely sure I wasjoking.

My blood on a demon blade hadkilled a powerful demon.

I was going to have to do someresearch and figure out what the hell had happened. What had changed. What itallmeant.

Maybe having the wolf trappedinside me for so long had mutated me somehow. Or was I born different? Firstthing I’d do was ask my mother.

That was going to be fun.

Chapter Two

Freeing the trio would besimple, sort of. I needed my kit, which was back at my house. I kept it in mycar, ordinarily, but I’d been in the process of cleaning, refilling, andsorting the items inside it, and I’d left it in my house. Not that I had my carwith me, anyway.

I’d figured out what to do onceI’d been able to quiet my mind and think about the situation. I used myblade—not the demon-blood one, that puppy stayed in its new home on my hip—toscrape the ash residue of his body into a little hill, which I’d then coveredwith dry leaves and sticks to keep it protected.

I would jog home, thoughbecause the human girl was with me I’d have to walk most of the way, to grab mykill kit.

The girl was a whole otherproblem.

She was also a talker. “You’rewondering how I ended up tied to an altar about to be given to a demon,” shetold me as we hurried through the woods. She seemed awfully chipper for a womanwho’d been abducted, nearly sacrificed, and exposed to the realities of a worldshe’d likely never knew existed. “Right, Kait?”

Like we were friends now. Istrode through the woods with one hand on the hilt of the demon blade. I foundthe feel of it comforting—which was all sorts of fucked up.

“Could you slow down?” sheasked, huffing. “My short little legs have trouble keeping up.” She laughed,but I heard the wobble in her voice.

I slowed down. “As soon as weget back to the city, I’ll drop you at the hospital. You’re going to need to bechecked out.” I hesitated, my stare going to the blood matting her hair andgluing it to the side of her face. “And you’ll need a story.”

“I’m fine, it’s just a littlecut. I’m not going to the hospital—therefore, no need to make up a story.”

She smiled brightly, but therewas fear lurking behind her eyes. Understandable. I’d have been worried if shehadn’t been afraid. “I’ll drop you at your place, then. Where do you live?”

“Don’t you want to know why Iwas here in the woods? Or how to keep me from talking? Or—"

“If you talk,” I interrupted,“people will think you’re high, mentally ill, or a liar. And I don’t need toknow your situation. It’s your business, not mine.”

“Fine,” she said, then trippedover something and nearly fell before I grabbed her arm. She immediatelywrapped both her arms around mine and insisted on walking the rest of the wayin that awkward position. “But I always talk when I’m nervous, so I’ll go aheadand tell you why I was in the woods with three silly young people and blood onmy face.”

I sighed. She didn’t seem torealize that she was one of those “silly young people.”

“First of all,” she continued,taking my silence for consent, “they didn’t drag me there. I agreed to go.”

I gaped at her. “You agreed tobe beaten and tied to a log while they summoned a fucking demon to come afteryour soul?”

“Well, now, Kaitlyn,” she saiddryly, “I didn’t expect that they’d actually be able to get the demon toappear, but I felt so badly for them that I agreed to help them try.”

I could only shake my head, butI was interested now. Against my better judgment, I prompted her to continue.And I didn’t miss her quick grin before she did.

“I met them at a bar,” she toldme. “I was looking for an appropriate hookup, because I like to have sex atleast a couple of times a week and I’m not currently in a relationship and thetwo…friends I have who usually take care of my needs were not available.” Sheshrugged. “I’m not interested in a relationship—just some no strings attachedsex. So that was why I was in the bar.” She cocked an eyebrow. “Jade’s, down onSeventh?”

“Yeah, I know it.”

“It’s my favorite place tounwind,” she chattered on. “And that’s where I met the three kids.”

I snorted. “You keep saying‘young people’ and ‘kids’ like you’re someone’s grandma. What are you, twenty?”

“Twenty-two. But I feel so mucholder than most people my age.” She cried out as she stepped into a hole and twistedher ankle, despite gripping my arm for all she was worth, and we had to standstill for a few minutes while she rested. She didn’t rest her mouth, though. “Ifound out that the girl—her name is Jessie—is dealing with an ex who isfighting her for custody of her baby. He’s an awful person, Kait. Just awful.He beat her, which is why she left in the first place, and she’s afraid he’llhurt the child. But she’s afraid he has a good chance of getting shared custody,she has no proof of anything. She didn’t go to the police.”