Jordyn (A Daemon Hunter 1)

"And what about the rotten-as-sin souls?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow at me.

I cringed at his words. I didn't like to think about the Daemons that claimed those souls.

"Or what about the questionable souls? The ones your Light hasn't decided what to do with. Should they be forsaken?"

"The Guides save them," I defended, thinking of my friends and family who were created for that purpose.

"So, you're telling me that Guides manage to save every questionable soul?" he chided me like I was a naive child.

"Well, no, but they do the best they can," I retorted, aggravated at what he was insinuating.

"Ah, well, that's where I come in, right, Haniel?" he asked.

"Correct," Haniel bit out, still clearly bothered. "Jordyn, we must go. Humans are approaching. It would not bode well for you to be found with cadavers from the mortuary and an unconscious human," he added, latching his fingers around my wrist to drag me away.

I dug my heels in to the sand, not quite ready to go. "Wait, I have more questions for..." I floundered, realizing I didn't know his name.

"Emrys," he answered, grinning wickedly at me.

"Emrys," I repeated, rolling the unfamiliar word off my tongue.

"It means immortal," Haniel said, dragging me quickly across the sand toward the steps that would lead us to the parking lot.

CHAPTER TWO

"I wasn't done talking to him, Haniel, for frick's sake," I griped, keeping pace with the Arch Angel's long effortless strides.

"It was time to go. Why did you not call me when you became aware of the Daemons?" he demanded, glaring over the roof of my Honda.

"I knew I could handle it," I said, throwing myself into the driver's seat. Watching Haniel trying to fold his imposing seven-foot frame into the passenger seat almost made up for how pissed I was—almost. "You know you can just meet me there," I added, knowing he could be at my house in seconds.

"I believe it would be wise of me to accompany you home," Haniel replied dryly.

"Fine," I said, slamming my foot on the accelerator, which earned me "the look" after he had to grab the dash to brace himself, but it was so worth it. I was sick of everyone treating me with kid gloves. I was different, I got that, but seriously folks, let's move on already.

The ten-minute drive home was quiet after that. I had a ton of questions racing through my head about Emrys, but now didn't seem like the time. I had been given a hundred and one lessons on the origins of my family over the last year. Stories of good versus evil and how my family was directly connected to all of it. I came from a long lineage of Guides and Protectors known as Links, or soul mates, I guess you could call them. They were created long ago by The Light to help battle evil on earth. Guides were the female counterpart and were attuned to the feelings and emotions of humans. They used their gifts to cleanse the human soul in order to turn away from evil. Protectors were exactly what they sounded like. They were created to protect their soul mate. Protectors were wickedly strong, but could not live without their Guides. My Uncle Mark's father, Victor, had been a Protector long ago before he turned dark and betrayed the other Guides and Protectors in his Band. He killed them all and split up their offspring, waiting until the kids were older to swoop in and try to harness the power they held. He cherished the power, but hated the idea that the Protectors perished if their Guides died. What he never understood was that the Protectors did not want to live without their Guides. Their Guides held their souls and hearts in their hands. His goal was to kill off the Guides once and for all, thus freeing the Protectors from their bonds. My aunt and uncle had fought him off, suffering through a separation that nearly destroyed them, but in the end, they emerged as the first ever Ascended links. They were no longer a Guide and Protector, but something so much more.

And then there was me. I wasn't a Guide or a Protector. I was something in between. I couldn't feel the emotions of humans or help their souls, but I could sense Daemons, and I was unusually strong, which was the reason Haniel came around so often to train me.

Having an aunt and uncle who were kickass angels that visited the heavenly realm periodically was a tough act to follow. Even worse though was watching my friend Lynn reap the benefits of the bond that I just couldn't really understand. Loving someone unconditionally in that way was foreign to me. I've never come close to feeling that way about anyone. I adored Lynn to death, but obviously that was different. Plus, I never understood the sensitivity to emotions. All I know is it sucked when she told me she had to join Robert on some mission that had gotten out of hand. The Link they shared was a major pain in my ass. It had me thinking Mark's father, Victor, may have been right in resenting the whole Link thing.

In essence Victor did accomplish what he wanted. He'd managed to destroy the lineage in our Bands forever. I had no Link, and Logan, my distant cousin, had lost his Link before she was even born. Her mom died when she was pregnant, and from what I understand, the new generation of Guides and Protectors would be unable to conceive. I knew my Aunt Krista and her best friend, Sam, had been devastated when they found out. It was just another decision The Light had made without any consideration for those involved. Haniel said it was for the best, but seeing the pain on my aunt's face anytime she saw a baby made me call bullshit on that. Because of Victor, eventually the Links would cease to exist.

I pulled up behind my aunt's SUV and watched as Haniel disappeared from the front seat only to reappear outside the car in the blink of an eye. It was a cool trick, but I'd seen it a hundred times, so I really paid no attention as we headed up the cobblestone path toward the pretty beach cottage my aunt and uncle had painstakingly designed and built last year. The property had been in the family for years, but the previous house held bad memories for my aunt and uncle, so they finally decided to bulldoze everything and start over.

I was sliding my key into the lock when the front door swung open. The tall imposing stature of my uncle filled the doorway. The disappointment on his face said it all, but I raised my chin in defiance and swept past him. He could sigh all he wanted, I wasn't going to buckle. One way or another, I was going to get some independence here.

"Jordyn, are you okay?" my aunt asked, gathering me into her arms.

I hugged her back for a moment before stiffening up. "Krista, I'm fine. It was just two measly Daemons. I could've taken them with my eyes closed."

"Jordyn, Guides and Protectors have lost their lives battling two Daemons at once. You could have died."

"Gah, Krista, chill. They can't even touch me without becoming a fireball, let alone the fact that I majorly kicked their asses," I said, sinking down on my uncle's beat-up leather mess of a chair that he wouldn't allow my aunt to throw out.

"Jordyn, we've told you hundreds of times, one of these days they may figure out how to get past your defenses," she said, pacing back and forth.