Page 70 of Broken Moon

“Let you face a demon alone,”he said, his eyebrow cocked, “while I run and hide? Do you know me at all, Ms.Silver?”

I gave a quiet laugh. “Yes,Detective, I do. So here’s what we’re going to do.” I took the kit off my backand dropped it to the floor, then knelt and rummaged through it until I foundwhat I was looking for.

“Is that…”

“Salt,” I told him, standing.“I carry an extra bag for times like this. I’m going to put you in a circle ofprotection. I need you stand inside it for as long as you can. The demon can’tpossess you if you’re inside it. He can’t hurt you.” I emptied the salt aroundhim. “Don’t break this circle.”

His stare turned just a littlecool. “I’m not a child, Kait. I—”

“Don’t turn into a fuckingalpha now, Detective.Ican fight these things. You know you can’t. I’mnot—” I clamped my lips together, realizing I’d been right on the edge oftelling him I wasn’t human. “It’s what I do,” I finished. “Stay inside thecircle.” I softened my voice and reached out to squeeze his arm. His musclestensed immediately, but he didn’t pull away. “Please, Rick.”

He didn’t soften. “I’ll do whatI can do.”

And that’s all he’d give me.

I knelt once more and beganrummaging through my kit, pulling out everything I thought I might need againstthe demon who was inside my friend. First and foremost, the coveted demonblade.

I couldn’t let him take it fromme. If he got the blade, he got everything.

“He might not find us here,”Rick said. He left the circle and went to peer out the window. “He might bewaiting for us to hunt him down.” Then his voice changed. “Shit.”

I jumped up. “What is it?” ButI knew what he’d seen. I knew, because I felt it. “He’s coming.”

“He’s here,” he murmured. “Juststanding in the front yard staring at the house. And here come the assholeswith the guns.”

“This is not good.” I leapedtoward the front door, then yanked it open. “Come and get me, demon,” I calledas quietly as I could, waving my blade at him. “I got your precious knife.”

Lucy immediately hurried towardthe house. She knew the danger and chaos that would happen if the patrollinggang spotted us. “Kait! Kick this demon’s ass!” Then abruptly she went away andthe demon was there, peering out of her eyes.

“Lucy,” I muttered. “You’ve gotsome fucking ‘splaining to do.”

I had the blade ready. I hadthe trap ready. “Detective,” I said. “The circle. Please.”

Because the demon was mad, andhe was going to hurt as many people as he could as quickly as he could—butfirst, he wanted my blade. He wanted my soul. I stood back, waiting for him torush inside so I could shut the door. I wasn’t going to keep him out of thehouse. I needed to keep him in.

The detective took my arms frombehind, squeezing gently. “Steady, Kait. I’m here with you.”

“But the salt—”

“Fuck the salt.”

Then the demon—Lucy—was racinginside, and I slammed the door just seconds before the patrolling men rumbledby in their jeep with their guns and their attitude. Then everything happenedat once.

Lucy began fighting the demonin earnest, trying to slow him down now that she thought he was trapped andthat I could kill him. Rick grabbed her from behind, trying to hold her stillso I could cut her and get the trap in place.

Technically, I didn’thavetoput the snare over her mouth to capture the demon, but that cut down on hischances of escaping. When he was expelled, there’d be a few seconds where hewas vulnerable as he dealt with the transfer out of her body. Those were theonly seconds I had before he either escaped or possessed the detective.

He couldn’t possess me becauseof the anti-possession tattoo on my right shoulder. After this night, if wesurvived it, I was going to suggest to Rick and Lucy that they pay a visit tomy tattoo artist.

There were only three people inthe room—four if you included the demon—but there was such sudden chaos it feltlike a dozen. Rick attempted to hold on to Lucy’s possessed body, but the demonwas supernaturally strong. Even as I leaped toward her, my blade and snareready, she threw Rick into a wall. Hard. He collapsed to the floor and didn’tmove.

Lucy was trying with all herstrength to help, but she couldn’t control herself. She couldn’t just holdstill and let me do what I needed to do. I rammed her body finally, corneringher, and as I slammed the snare against her mouth and lifted my knife, shegrabbed my hand and forced the blade to her chest.

“God,” I cried, desperate. Shewas going to shove that blade into her heart, and the demon believed that Iwouldn’t be able to bear it. He thought I’d give him possession of the knife tosave her.

He was wrong. I didn’t want tosacrifice Lucy, of course I didn’t. But I would if I had to. The demon had tobe contained, and I would have sacrificed anyone—myself included—to make sureit happened.

I ground my teeth as I puteverything I had into keeping that blade out of her chest. I needed to cut herto get my blood and the magic of the demon knife inside her, but if I wasn’tstrong enough to move the blade someplace less vital, she was going to die.