Page 69 of Broken Moon

I put my mind on the situationat hand. “So what’s he doing? Why did he bring you here? Obviously he doesn’tcare about Marcy Davenport. Do you have any idea where she’s being held?”

“I only know she’s in thePocket. Lucy will tell us after you expel the demon. She’ll see it.”

“Why do you think that?”

“He’s in there with her. She’llknow everything he knows, won’t she?”

I shook my head. “No. Her humanmind wouldn’t survive that. If she knows where the girl is, it’ll be becauseshe asks him and he thinks of the place. She’ll get clues from that. That’sall.”

“She had a dream,” he said. “Thedemon was waiting for you to come home, and she knew it.”

“She deliberately gave herselfto the demon,” I hissed. Damn that girl.

“She was aware that he knewwhere Marcy was being held, because of her dreams. Once he was inside her…” Hegestured. “This. When she called me, she was already possessed. I could hearher talking to it. To herself. When I got here, she attacked me. They’ve beenplaying cat and mouse with me since I arrived. The demon left me alive so Icould bring you here.”

I nodded. “Lucy won’t let himleave, but if I’m here, he won’t want to. He doesn’t care if we find anabducted girl. He doesn’t plan on letting us live, either way. Not after hegets what he wants.”

“What the fuck does hewant,Kait?”

I squeezed the demon blade. “Ihave to kill him. I…” I shook my head, frustrated, then showed him the smallspirit snare attached to my belt. “I can’t kill him, really, but I can trap himforever.”

“Kait. What does he want?” Hisstare was steady and glittery in the dim, artificial light, and unrelenting.

“He wants his blade back,” Iwhispered. “I told you that. It’s the only way he can return to his world.” Istiffened when the sound of one of the patrolling vehicles began to growlouder. One of the gangs was a couple of streets over and coming closer by thesecond.

“You have to give him theblade,” he said, his voice quiet but full of shock and anger. “Give him hisfucking blade, Kait. You’ll find something else to fight demons with.”

I tightened my hand almostconvulsively around the hilt of my blade. “I can’t. My blood is in this blade.If he gets it, he’ll have part of me. He’ll have control of me. He can take meback to hell with him and....” I couldn’t help but shudder. “God only knowswhat they’d do to me.”

He stared at me for a fewseconds, then ran his hand over his head. “Son of a bitch.”

“Yeah.”

“Why didn’t he possess Lucy atyour house and wait there for you to come home?” he asked.

I snorted and cocked aneyebrow. “My place is so warded and protected that Satan himself wouldn’t beable to find a way in. If you ever need to escape a nasty demon, a hungryvampire, or a…” I hesitated, then plunged on. “Or a raging werewolf,then—"

“Vampires and werewolves,” hesaid, his brows low, his eyes narrowed. “Are you trying to tell me those twocreatures exist?”

I laughed, but it was not atall convincing, even to my ears. “Are you trying to tell me that aftereverything you’ve seen, you believe they don’t?”

His eyes lit with disgust. “Ican handle the spirits and demons, but I draw the line at vampires andwerewolves.”

Well hell.

“Hope you never have to meetone.” My words were light, but I couldn’t look at him when I said them. I’dalways felt the danger in my secret, but until now, I’d never really felt theshame.

“You should have left the bladein your house instead of carrying it around. He can’t force you to give himsomething you’re not carrying.”

“I could have, but then Iwouldn’t have anything to control him with. A regular blade isn’t going to gethim out of Lucy and into my snare.”

“You’re planning to stab Lucy?You can’t kill her to get to the demon, Kait. You’ll have to think of anotherway.”

“I’m not going tokillher.I just have to cut her. She’ll survive that a lot easier than she will thedemon. And since she’s aware in there with the demon, she’ll be able to help metrap him.” I hesitated. “I’m sorry about Beth.”

He only nodded and then changedthe subject. “What do you need me to do—or not do—when the demon comes?”

“I need you not to die,” I toldhim, my stare catching on his. “He will find us here, and he’s going to comein. When he does…” I grabbed his arm and led him to the opposite side of theroom, then pushed him up against the ghastly paneling lining the walls. “Thebest thing you could do would be to leave this town,” I told him. “Right now.Just get out and let me handle this shit.”