Chapter 1

1

The worst part of dealing with Djar demons was the blood. It was as thick and sticky as tar, and had the same high, sharp smell. As far as Jesse Madding knew, it was impossible to remove it from clothes. Once a drop landed on a pair of jeans or a T-shirt, that was it. The clothes were lost forever. And Gideon always made him clean the weapons they used, which could take a full day of continuous work. That was really the only reason Jesse decided to forego using a blade in favor of his bare hands. He could get the thick, gooey substance off his skin much easier than he could the metal.

The nest they found in the abandoned “no-tell” motel was relatively small. Their packs could get up to twenty individuals, but Jesse and Gideon only found five Djar demons. Unfortunately, they also found the remains of at least four people. And they weren’t really remains so much as hintsof the victims scattered through the ancient hotel room. A pair of glasses here. A shoe there. A wallet in the corner. Gideon had been straining for a fight, and as soon as they knocked in the door, he practically jumped into the room, with a smile of what could only be described as exuberance.

Jesse, for his part, took the time to get a good idea of just how many awaited them before he followed Gideon’s lead.

The fight was short and brutal. Believing Jesse to be a regular human, all five of the Djar demons turned on him, their long snouts dripping with white saliva, their teeth clicking together with unrestrained hunger. Jesse didn’t mind being the center of their attention. As long as they were focused on him, they weren’t paying close attention to Gideon. Jesse fended off each attack with a graceful ease, his body moving automatically, each blow nothing more than a logical follow through from his previous act. He could have done more than fend them off. He could have killed each one of them, but he preferred to watch Gideon deliver the final blows.

Flashes of his pale, powerful arms caught in the dim light. Gideon had been pragmatic about this fight. He’d deliberately opted for a form-fitting T-shirt, something that wouldn’t get snagged very easily, with less fabric to worry about staining. Jesse hadn’t been surprised when he’d spent over half an hour deciding what to wear, but lounging on the bed, watching a half-naked Gideon shuffling through his wardrobe, had been worth every second of the wait.

It was good now, too. Because he moved like a shadow between the stouter Djar, twisting beyond their reach to land crushing punches where they least expected them.

Two charged Gideon at the same time. He crouched as if to take them on, then leapt forward at the last moment. He caught a slobbering snout in each hand, heedless of razor-like teeth digging into his palms, and used the holds to twist the demons’ necks as he soared over their heads.

The distinctive cracks made the hair stand up on the back of Jesse’s neck. The other three snapped their attention away from him to fix black eyes on Gideon and the two bodies he tossed casually aside.

He smiled at them, his fangs glistening. “First blood, boys.” He flicked a few thick droplets from his fingers in their direction. “Too bad they didn’t live long enough to actually taste it.”

The three remaining demons completely lost interest in Jesse. He had never studied the anatomy of the beasts, but he was pretty convinced they relied on smell far more than sight. Their immediate reaction to Gideon’s blood confirmed that theory. They honed in on the scent, all three charging Gideon at once. Without thinking, Jesse teleported to place himself between Gideon and the demons. He took advantage of their stupefied shock, smashing one in the snout with enough force to send it flying across the room.

“Hey,” Gideon complained good-naturedly behind him. “I was just starting to have fun here.”

“You’re welcome to the other two,” Jesse tossed back.

Gideon growled his pleasure at the response, snatching Jesse out of the way when one of the remaining two went for his legs. Gideon took the collision instead, and the pair went down in a heap, all flashing teeth and surly snarls. Blood sprayed from a fresh wound, but the rake down his bare arm only enraged Gideon further. He drove his fist into the demon’s chest, the muscles in his forearm flexing. Several beats passed with the two frozen in the macabre position. Then, the demon went limp, the life literally squeezed out of it.

The demon Jesse had tossed pushed itself to its feet, clearly stunned, blood pouring from its ears. Instead of following the scent of Gideon’s blood, or the sound of its struggling comrade, it lowered itself to the ground and barreled toward Jesse’s legs. Jesse waited until he felt the demon’s hot breath right on his legs, and then teleported again, sending the demon into the opposite wall. A crack formed beneath its head, traveling up to the ceiling. Cockroaches streamed from the plaster.