Demon Huntress

When she'd first seen him at the back wall, she'd wanted to throw herself at him, to apologize for her role in hong's death, but he'd kept his gaze averted, his fists balled at his sides. He definitely hadn't invited conversation, and with his brothers standing there, talk would have been awkward, anyway.As they cleared the back half of the zoo where they'd come in from over the wall, yuan moved off on his own toward the big-cat habitats, moving silently, all coiled danger on the prowl. A moment later, chen peeled away, slipping into the darkness and disappearing right in front of her. ming jie hadn't been kidding when he'd said chen could turn to shadow in the presence of shadow."I'm heading to the bear pens," ming jie said, his voice low, scratchy, as if he'd been up all night the night before. "Be careful.""You, too." As per plan, she'd sweep the bird-of-prey habitat and then head to the place where ren fu was supposed to meet her handlers. she would hide and wait to see what—or who—showed up."Hellboy?" She grabbed his forearm, feeling his muscles tense beneath her fingers. "Look, I know I have no right to ask this of you, but will you please not kill any humans?""After what they tried to do to you, you still defend them?""I want them to face berus justice for what they've done.""What they've done is what The berus has taught them to do, shu lan. Do you really think they'll be punished?""If they've been operating against the Regents' orders, then yes, they will."ming jie stared over her shoulder, his gaze turned inward where she couldn't follow. Finally, he nodded."I'll see what I can do."And then he was gone, and she was alone.For the first time in her life, she didn't like the feeling.The bird-of-prey cages were a bust. No demons fitting ren fu's description were being held there. Some sort of winged demon occupied a cage, but having no idea if the thing was dangerous or not, she left it imprisoned.Disappointed, she used abandoned buildings and trees as cover as she worked her way to the old koala habitat. Quick and sure, she slipped through underbrush and overgrown hedges, easing up to the viewing area, a pavilion built against a glass-enclosed habitat. The rustle of movement and soft crunch of footsteps on pine needles alerted her to the presence of others even before she elbowed aside some prickly branches.What she saw nearly paralyzed her.In the center of the pavilion, ren fu knelt, head down, while ting tied her hands behind her back. Where was hao?"When can I see my parents?" ren fu asked."I didn't say you could speak." yat sen slapped her hard enough to make her nose bleed, and it took every ounce of self-restraint shu lan possessed to keep from bursting out of the bushes and tearing him apart.Hatred and defiance blazed in ren fu's eyes, but when she slid a covert glance directly into the brush where shu lan crouched, one corner of her mouth turned up in satisfaction. Emotion nearly sapped shu lan's strength at the realization that struck her. ren fu wasn't afraid, wasn't even worried. No, she knew that as grim as her situation appeared to be, nothing bad would happen to her. She had backup. She had shu lan and ming jie and his brothers. She had family.Yeah, they were all one big, happy demon family. And shu lan needed to put a crush on the sap factor, because the mission hadn't ended yet. It was time to put on the game face and worry about touchyfeely moments later.ting finished securing ren fu's wrists. yat sen checked the knot, and then, in a move that shocked shu lan to the core, he grabbed ting by the hair and brought her face to his. "I wish we could kill her.""We have orders.""Yes," he murmured, and ran one finger over her lips. "But someday, I want to make love to you in the blood of our kill."Dear God. They were lovers. Twisted, evil lovers. Though shu lan had to admit that ting didn't appear to be thrilled at the idea of rolling around n.a.k.e.d in demon blood. In fact, when he kissed her, practically crawling down her throat, she struggled against his hold."What. The. F.u.c.k."Oh, shit. daquan stood at the far side of the koala viewing area, his expression a mixture of shock, devastation, and rage. ting gasped and jumped away from yat sen as if her husband hadn't already seen her kissing another man."daquan—" she said, but he wasn't looking at her. His gaze was fixed on yat sen, and there was murder in his eyes. The men stood deadly still, and then, like two rival lions, they met in a furious explosion of blood and limbs."Dammit." shu lan burst from the foliage and darted toward ren fu. Sobbing, ting backed away from the battle, her hand over her mouth as if she wanted to scream. But she didn't. She turned on her heel and bolted.shu lan grabbed ren fu and dragged her out of the way of the two men, who didn't care what got in the way. daquan and yat sen, both expert fighters, were normally graceful, purposeful, beautiful to watch in combat. But not tonight. Tonight was about pain—who could dish out the most and draw the most blood. There was nothing graceful or beautiful about it. This was raw, brutal, a fight to the death."Sister?"shu lan tore her rubbernecking gaze away from the battle. "Sister?" It was the first time she'd been addressed that way. Sister. It felt strange. But good."Yes, sister," ren fu said. "But yo, I'm the tied-up twin.""Right." shu lan whipped out her stang and sliced through the ropes binding her sister's wrists. "Where's hao?""I made him stay at the front when my parents hadn't made it through the gate by the time I was supposed to meet my contacts here."