Demon Huntress

"linzhou, maybe. But really, it could be anywhere. Another realm for all we know, with the parking lot exit at a gateway between our world and theirs."

Daquan cursed and checked his watch. "You two hammer out a battle plan. I'm going to assemble a team and retrieve Ya qin's remains before it gets dark."

He gave Ting a peck on the lips and left, and Ting continued to pace. "How did you get out of the hospital?"

Well, a demon doctor gave me a lift to a vampire nurse's apartment, where we fought demons together, and then he took me to my place, where we had s.e.x and chatted like old friends. Yeah, that would go over well. She thought she'd been prepared to give up Ming jie to them, but the truth could only go so far, and until she knew she wasn't going to be shipped off to the elders for interrogation, she was going to keep the fine details—and Ming jie—to herself.

"I convinced one of the doctors to let me go."

"And this doctor just . . . let you?"

Shu lan fought the urge to squirm. "I told him I was a Screamer, that if they killed me, my spirit would call out to all Hunter until they found the hospital and destroyed it." She licked her dry lips and hoped Ting bought the story. "You know how stupid demons are. He believed me. Figured it was safer to let me go than keep me and risk my death."

To her relief, Ting nodded. "Good thinking. They can't know how rare Screamers are." She pivoted in midstride. "What was the doctor's name?"

Shu lan didn't think it mattered, but what the hell. "Ming jie."

"And do you know what kind of demon he was?"

No way was she going to reveal that little detail. Ting would assume, and rightly so, that an incubus would use its powers on a weaker human, and Shu lan couldn't afford to be thought of as compromised. Even though she had been.

Her body heated, because yeah, she'd been very compromised.

"Some sort of corporate hellspawn, looks human. But he gave me a way to get in touch with him. He was stupid, but smart enough to try to gain my trust," Shu lan said, knowing neither was true. "I'll bet he thinks I'll give him info."

Ting's bright green eyes grew brighter. "Excellent. You've done great, Shu lan."

The door opened, and Yat sen, a life-hardened Hunter with an extraordinary number of kills under his belt and a string of demon teeth hanging from said belt, sauntered inside.

Her gaze locked with his dark one, the battle of wills never-ending. They had been rivals for years before either one of them had even heard of The Berus, bumping into each other in the revolving doors of the foster care system and then later, on the streets where they'd lived like rats. A police raid on one of their mutual hangouts had sent them scurrying into an alley together, where demons had ambushed them. Fortunately, Daquan and two other Hunter had been there, and Daquan'd taken Yat sen and Shu lan back to HQ, later saying that he'd seen promise in their lack of fear and their fighting abilities. She and Yat sen had been sworn in as hunters together, but nothing had changed. She trusted no one, but him least of all. Damned Scorpios.

"You're getting sloppy," she said, taking note of the twin punctures in his throat. "Got yourself tapped."

So did you, by a demon.

Yat sen shot her the finger, his Berus ring flashing. C.o.c.ky bastard was the only Hunter who didn't bother to hide the shield symbol on his jewelry. No, he liked to show it off, to strike terror into the hearts of the demons he encountered. Idiot didn't care that it made him a target for demons, said he welcomed the challenge.

"Daquan said you might need some brainstorming help. Some BS about a demon hospital." He stroked his chin, his fingers rasping over whiskers he kept trimmed into a permanent five-o'clock shadow, while she brought him up to speed. When she finished, he glanced at Ting. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Tracking spell?"

"Yep."

How interesting that Yat sen was so plugged into the cell's leaders. Shu lan really needed to start hanging out at HQ more. She'd gotten an apartment to maintain the emotional distance she required, but she definitely didn't like being kept out of the loop. And sure, she could admit to a little jealousy where Yat sen was concerned. He was such an a.s.s.

The a.s.s turned to Shu lan. "If you can contact your demon and tag him, we can track where he goes. We might be able to locate the hospital."

Your demon. Ming jie wasn't her demon. He was her captive. Visions of him chained to her bed clouded her brain again. She shivered and tried to tell herself it wasn't from p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e.

Liar.

"Sounds good." She smiled, but her joy felt half-hearted. The hospital needed to be destroyed, and Ming jie with it. All for the good of mankind.

She repeated that to herself as she hoofed it to the weapons room to replace those Hellboy had confiscated at the hospital, but for some reason, "for the good of mankind" didn't ring as true as it had just a few days before.