Starfire (Grim Gate 2)

“Oh, goodness no. We’re going to use it for storage, and we thought about turning it into a home gym. Though, I’m not sure how we’d heat this place.” Sundance nudges me with his face, as if he’s telling me to go get him more hay. “I used to play out here as a kid,” I tell her, though I leave out the part about how I don’t really remember it. “—so it has sentimental value to me that way. It’s just not really set up for horses in the way I’m used to, and we thought it was better to preserve the historic integrity of the structure and build something new. Plus, we’ve been spoiled with a heated barn for years and neither of these guys like being so bundled up all the time.” I run my hand down Sundance’s muzzle and then toss hay into everyone’s stall.

“It’s peaceful out here,” Yuma says softly, watching the donkeys eat. “I love horses but with my lifestyle, it’s not really possible to have any sort of pet. Though, I did find a senior dog on a hunt a few years ago. She went everywhere with me until she passed away from old age.” She reaches out and Rachel sniffs her hand, thinking she has a treat.

“Here.” I pick up a bucket full of treats and hand it to Yuma. “She likes the peppermints best.”

Yuma takes the lid off the bucket and the second the donkeys hear the crinkle of the peppermint wrapper, they both crowd forward.

“They didn’t know what treats were when we got them.” I take two peppermints from the bucket to give to Sundance and Mystery.

“That’s so sad.” Yuma gives each donkey their treats. “They’re lucky to have you.”

“I hope so. Donkeys are surprisingly different than horses and I’m learning as we go.”

“Well, they seem happy.”

“I think they are.” We give everyone one more treat and then close up the barn for the night. Hunter is out in the back of the pasture somewhere, patrolling the property. He’ll come in when he wants to, shifting into shadow form so I don’t have to open or close a door for him.

“I’m going to guess you and Sam met while hunting demons.” I kick snow off my boots and open the back door, stepping in and to the side so Yuma can come in behind me.

“Yeah, a few years ago.”

“So, you’re in the Order too?”

“No,” she says as she unzips her coat. “My mom would skin me alive if I joined.” She widens her eyes, silently telling me she thinks the Order is the cult-like organization I suspected it to be.

“I didn’t realize there were demon hunters not associated with the Order.” I put my boots on the shoe rack and hang up my coat.

“Oh, there are tons. Probably more hunters are not in the Order at this point. The Order is…it’s, uh…”

“Archaic, at best?”

She lets out a snort of laughter. “Yeah, and that’s putting it lightly. I wish Sam would leave but she’s too far in.”

“Ethan doesn’t seem to be a fan,” I say and then wish I could retract my words. It’s not my place to be talking about this, and I don’t know Yuma at all.

“He’s not and, if it wasn’t for his dad being a number-one Order fan, he would have left and joined our little tribe instead. We don’t have anything official,” she quickly adds. “We just keep in touch with hunters we’ve become friends with over the years. It’s nice having someone to call for backup or to ask if they’ve come across a certain type of monster before. And we have no one to answer to.” Her brows hike up and she slowly shakes her head. “The Order creeps me out, to be honest. They say they’re doing God’s work yet none of the hunters in the trenches have even seen the so-called “higher-ups”. They just blindly follow orders.”

“I didn’t get the best feeling about them either,” I admit, going to the cabinet to get wine glasses down. “I wouldn’t want anyone keeping tabs on me like that, no matter what.”

“Right? Did you know they put spyware on their phones?”

“What?” My mind goes to the risqué photos I’ve sent Ethan over the last few months.

“Don’t worry. Even David drew the line at that and let Julia, Sam, and Ethan disable it.”

“Good, or they would have seen my boobs more than once.”

Yuma laughs. “I try not to judge since that’s what they were born into, ya know?”

“Yeah. I guess they don’t know any different.” I open the fridge and take out a bottle of Pinot Grigio. “Do you like wine?”

“I do, actually. Do you have any dry red?”

“I think so.” I walk into the pantry, coming out with three bottles. “I’m not sure what’s good or not. I never drank much before.”