Chapter Three

CHAPTER THREE

Colt didn’t like the sound of that. If demons were targeting her, that meant they were probably going to have to deal with a lot more shit before this was all over. And he was running this op all on his own. Where were his brothers when he needed them?

But he knew there was no use crying over spilt milk. He had to get on with it and do the best he could. These were the cards he’d been dealt, and this was the mission he had to fulfill. Keep the girl safe. Help her get where she was going to deal with whatever they would find there. Hopefully, it wasn’t going to be some sort of demon horde that would overrun Houston and kill everyone.

Colt shook his head. Such happy thoughts. Could be he was becoming a pessimist in his old age.

“Well, they won’t stop you if I have anything to say about it,” Colt tried to reassure her.

“I appreciate your help, but you need to know I can handle myself with the creatures. I had the situation back there well in hand, and you didn’t have to intercede, though I thank you all the same for jumping in and helping.”

She sounded as if she was trying not to insult him, but somehow, he still felt a bit marginalized. It was an uncomfortable feeling. Her thanks-but-no-thanks for the help rankled. If he wasn’t here to fight demons for her, why had he been sent here? Colt shook his head. He’d have time to think about that once they were back on the road. But he had to make one thing clear to her.

“Look, I was sent here to help you. I’m a warrior by nature and profession. I’ve fought a lot of bad guys—including magical ones—in a lot of places all over this world. I was sent here to help you, and I’m going to do that to the best of my ability. I’m glad you can handle yourself, but that was just one demon. If you get into a situation with multiple threats, I think we’ll need to work together. Like your aunt said, everyone needs a little help once in a while.”

She eyed him for a long moment, then the corners of her mouth quirked up a bit. “You would throw Aunt Gloria’s words back at me. For the record, that’s no fair. And neither is listening in on my phone calls.” Her eyes narrowed, but the humor remained.

He pointed to his ear. “Shifter hearing is acute. You’ll have to be a lot farther away if you want true privacy. I didn’t even have to strain to hear both sides of the conversation.”

One of her eyebrows rose. “Huh. Well, I did not know that. I guess you learn something new every day.” She shook her head as she looked back at her car. “The rain is easing. I’m going to get my stuff and head back into the building to change.”

“I’m going to do the same,” he told her. “I’ll keep watch while you’re in the ladies’ room, just in case we get company.”

“I don’t feel any more demonic energy approaching here right now,” she clarified.

“There are always threats, not all of them originating in the other realms,” he said quietly. “The Venificus has been very active lately, and Mrs. Entwistle was last seen summoning something called a Tauror to send against my brother, so we can’t discount possible threats from Elspeth’s followers.”

Her eyes widened momentarily, and then, she nodded. “You’re right, of course. I’ve been so caught up in the demon thing since this all started happening that I haven’t really been paying attention to who must be summoning them and getting them all riled up.” She held out her hand to him. “In that case, I would indeed be happy to work with you, Mr. Kinkaid. I guess you’ve figured out by now that my mind works a little differently than most people’s, and I don’t always focus on this realm and its possible threats.”

He took her hand, warmed by the tingling of their magics combining. “It would be my honor to keep you safe—which is sort of my raison d’etre —while you focus on what you can do to end this demonic threat.”

Never in a billion years would Colt have ever thought he’d be so casually talking about demons to anyone, but stranger things had probably happened. Somewhere. He just wasn’t sure what could be stranger than this. Yeah, this had to rank right up there among the weirdest situations he’d ever encountered.

“Deal,” she said softly, shaking his hand then letting go. He was sorry to lose contact with her soft skin, but they had work to do. The mission had to come first.

She jogged off to her car, and he went to his pickup. They were still the only cars in the deserted parking lot, though he could see traffic moving past them on the adjacent highway every few minutes. He threw his wet shirt into one of the storage compartments in the back of the truck, then moved around to the cab and grabbed a fresh one out of his go bag. He threw that and a dry pair of pants and socks into a plastic bag that had been floating around the cab since the last rest stop where he’d bought a few sandwiches. Then, he followed Faith into the small building.

She was just disappearing into the ladies’ room as he went over to the men’s room. Once inside, he quickly stripped off his wet pants and redressed in dry gear, including the shirt. He took a moment to use the facilities and washed up a bit before going back out into the lobby and stationing himself as if to peruse the vending machine offerings. He would wait until Faith came out of the ladies’ room, just to be sure she was safe. He’d taken on the job of protecting her—whether she wanted him to or not—and he’d be her shadow for the foreseeable future.

She came out a few minutes later, looking happier, though her hair was still damp. It was brown, he decided, still unsure of the shade given the dampness. But he did see a few golden glints peeking through, so it might be a lighter brown than he’d originally thought. He couldn’t wait to see it fully dry, to know for sure, though why such minor details mattered to him, he couldn’t explain.

He chalked it up to his inner cat’s native curiosity. Yeah, that had to be it.

They walked out to the parking lot together and established that she would drive in front, and he’d bring up the rear and watch her back. He’d already planned out the calls he’d have to make as they drove closer and closer to Clan territory, and he wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about any of it. But he had a job to do, and he’d do it. Even if it meant dealing with more Kinkaids.

They pulled out onto the highway, and Colt started placing calls. He checked in with his brothers first. Billy called his new friend, Gavin, and gave him Colt’s number. A minute after hanging up with his brothers, his phone rang again, and it was Gavin.

“I’m going to have to tell Sam about this,” Gavin said at once, before even saying hello. Colt sighed. He’d wanted to deal with the Kinkaid Alpha about as much as he wanted a hole in the head.

“Yeah, I figured,” Colt replied, resigned. “Your people need to know about the increase in demon summoning anyway, so I would’ve been calling you either way.”

“More demons? Shit. I thought the one Billy and I fought was bad enough. I don’t like the idea of seeing more of those things around here,” Gavin growled. Colt felt the same.

“I just killed one out behind a rest stop on the highway,” Colt told him, feeling a tiny spark of camaraderie with this other lion shifter who had fought a demon recently.

“Did you just leave it there?” Gavin asked quickly.

“No, the woman I’m escorting did something magical, and it sort of disintegrated into the earth. She said she drained its magic away, and the thing disappeared. She’s a Priestess—or training to be one—I’m not sure exactly. But she has apparently dealt with this sort of thing before, and especially in recent days as she’s been making her way toward Houston,” Colt reported.

“Why is she coming here exactly? Billy said she was being drawn here, but he wasn’t sure if it was a magical thing, or a spiritual thing, or what?” Gavin asked.

“It’s probably a bit of both. She and I have only just met, and we didn’t have a whole lot of time to talk. We’re going to stop at the next truck stop and have a meal. Hopefully, I’ll know a lot more after that, but the gist I got was that she was being drawn to Houston—or somewhere vaguely south of the city—because something big is going to happen that needs her special talent,” Colt clarified.

“Her special talent being fighting demons.” Gavin’s voice was flat and a bit edgy.

“She says she’s a Demon Slayer. She claims that’s why she’s being drawn here. That’s also why the demons on her path toward Houston have been either sent or drawn—we’re not sure which—to try to stop her from getting there.”

“Well, shit,” Gavin cussed. “That sounds ominous. Someone is calling a demon convention in our town, and nobody sent us an invitation.”

“That’s how it sounds,” Colt agreed. “What I need from the Clan is safe passage wherever Faith’s nose leads her.”

“And backup,” Gavin advised. “If there’s more than one demon to fight at a time, you’re going to need backup. Lots and lots of backup.”

“The one I killed just now wasn’t that bad,” Colt protested.

“What did it look like?” Gavin sounded curious now.

“Sort of a weird cross between a goat and a crocodile but standing on two legs. It was really gross, but it went down with relative ease. Its blood was acidic, and Faith thought it was poisonous to anyone without magic of their own. As it was, I spat it out and rinsed my mouth before shifting back to human. The shift did the rest.”

“That is gross,” Gavin concurred. “Faith is the woman you’re escorting?”

Colt was reluctant to give her name, but knew he had to be as open and honest as possible, because technically, he and Faith were trespassers on the Clan’s territory. They had to explain why they needed safe passage and not do anything that might make the Clan rescind their protection once they were in the territory. There were strict rules of behavior among shifters, and Colt always tried to adhere to proper etiquette. He’d just never had to deal with the Kinkaids before.

“Faith Peabody. She’s the great-niece of one of the coven ladies from Long Island. Demon Slayer. Priestess in training. Firmly committed to the Light,” Colt affirmed.

“Well, that all sounds good. I’ll have to meet her. And you, of course,” Gavin said. “When do you expect to hit town?”

“Well, as I said, we’re going to have lunch at the next truck stop, and then, unless she wants to do something else, I was planning to get to Houston tonight and get a hotel for us both,” Colt explained.

“Don’t bother with a hotel. The Clan has a number of safe houses. I can snag you one for as long as you need it. South side of the city, you said?” Gavin sounded as if he was making notes.

“Yes, that’s what she’s said so far, but I’m not sure it’s an exact science. Things might change,” Colt warned.

“That’s okay. We have a few options to play with as to where we put you up. And you’ll be safe.”

And under control of the Clan , Colt thought sourly. It couldn’t be helped, and maybe they were trying to be helpful. Colt had to fight down the knee-jerk response to think everything the Clan did was bad. Billy trusted Gavin. Gavin had saved Billy’s life, for which Colt was grateful. So, the least Colt could do was give the guy the benefit of the doubt. At least until he proved otherwise.

“Much appreciated,” Colt replied quickly, just giving in to the inevitable. He was on the Clan’s land. He had to play by the Clan’s rules. For now.

“I’ll text you an address,” Gavin went on. “Go straight there when you get into town. I’ll meet you there, and I’ll even bring dinner.” Gavin sounded altogether too pleasant to suit Colt’s mood at having the deal with the Clan, but he had to be gracious.

“Sounds good,” Colt replied, shaking his head even as he said the words.

They ended the call with Colt still shaking his head and throwing in an eyeroll for good measure. How had he ever ended up in Houston, of all places?