Heart of a Demon (The Dark Angel Wars 1)

Gritting my teeth, I took a breath to calm the frustration that was beginning to build inside my head.

"I'm sure, Kate. He's not like the other demons. He's different."

I looked at Gabe lying restlessly on the bed. He hadn't tried to kill me the first day I saw him in the woods. And yesterday, we'd even had a nearly normal conversation. He wasn't going to hurt us.

Kate reluctantly held out the penicillin and I grabbed it, plunged the needle into the top, and drew out just enough into the syringe.

"Okay handsome, this is going to sting. Just thought I'd warn you."

I approached the bed and leaned over Gabe's elbow to reach his arm. If I'd learned anything from my doctor’s appointments as a kid, it was best to get the shot without over thinking it. So I sunk the needle into his arm and emptied the syringe.

Gabe trashed from the pain of the shot, nearly throwing me across the room before I could take the needle from his arm. He strained against the ropes, growling like he had done yesterday when we first met. The muscles along his neck bulged with the effort. He even opened his bloodshot eyes for a moment before sinking back down into the bed.

Kate flew through the door of the shack, pulling me alongside her. She slammed the door behind us and turned to face me with an angry scowl on her face.

"If that's different from other demons, I hope I never have to see another demon for the rest of my life," she panted. "I can't believe you didn't leave him here to die."

I shook my head at her. "You don't understand, Kate. He's sick, that's why he's acting like that. But he's had a chance to hurt me before and he didn't. I know he's different."

The look she gave me told me she didn't believe me, but I ignored it.

"This is just like the time you found that wounded raccoon on the side of the road and tried to nurse him," Kate continued, her voice getting louder. "Or that stallion that bucked you off a dozen times and you nearly broke your neck. You're attracted to wounded things. You want to fix them, but you can't."

I didn't look at her. The raccoon had eventually died and the stallion was sold to a farm that used him for hard labor. I hated to think about those animals and how I'd failed them.

"He isn't an animal," I muttered.

"Might as well be one," Kate snapped back. "He's going to get you hurt. Or hurt someone else. I don't want to be responsible."

I raised my eyes to her face. "You're not going to turn me in, are you?"

Kate knew what could happen if she ratted me out to Granny or the other elders of Hanna. I'd lose that college slot faster than you could say dropout. I'd never get another chance to leave Hanna. This was my only shot.

"No..." The anger melted from Kate's face. She grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "I just don't want to see you get hurt. You're my best friend, Lizzy. I can't survive without you."

I smiled at her. "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

She nodded and smiled weakly in response. I sure hoped that I was telling her the truth and that Gabe wouldn’t hurt anyone. I'd hate to disappoint her.

Chapter Nine

Gabe’s fever had begun to break by the time I left him that night. Kate was long gone – she went home hours ago. Since tonight was the night of Granny’s town elder meeting, I risked staying longer so that I could clean up the shack and make Gabe feel more comfortable.

If he kept getting better, I would let him go tomorrow. That’s what I had decided. No more back and forth on whether he should live or die. I couldn’t kill him. Not after today.

We hadn’t said much to each other while I cleaned up, but Gabe had been awake for some of the time, observing me. I could feel him studying me, like he hadn’t quite made up his mind about me.

His attention made me nervous, no matter how hard I tried to ignore it. Anyone could’ve said I was behaving like a sixteen-year-old girl, not a twenty-one year old woman, the way I dropped things and fiddled under his gaze. Good thing no one would ever have to know.

The walk to Granny’s house was darker than I was used to. I picked over the trail more closely and watched for the nightly predators that came out at twilight. Mountain lions were becoming much more common in the Black Hills, along with the brown bears and their cubs.

Nothing would be worse than straying into the path of an animal and her babies. Even the peaceful elk wouldn’t hesitate to trample me down if I got too close to one of their young. I didn’t blame them. It was all a part of normal life in the forest.

As I approached Granny’s house, I noticed the lights shining through the kitchen windows. She must’ve already ended her meeting with the elders. I racked my brains for an excuse as to why I was out so late. She’d find out fast if I lied about being at the bowling alley or the diner. The only safe excuse was to claim I’d been at Kate’s house. It wasn’t unusual, so she’d buy it without too much of an interrogation.

I rounded the house and went in the back door, slipping off my hiking boots in the mud room. A rumble of whispers came from the kitchen. More than one person was in there with Granny. She must’ve invited the elders over for coffee after the meeting.

“Hi Granny,” I called, strolling into the kitchen.