Demon Huntress

"Give it a rest already." yuan used his tongue to c.a.r.e.s.s one of his fangs as though tasting the blood that had flowed over it when he ate the human junkie. "The Vamp Council won't touch me, and you know it."

No, they wouldn't. As a Balberith demon with vampiric tendencies, he fell into a gray area between both species, and the Councils had nearly gone to war over the laws he should be required to obey. Punishment for various offenses was an especially sticky and s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e matter, and both Councils had finally, with Chen and Ming jie's help, agreed to a compromise. yuan didn't know about the agreement, and if Ming jie had his way, he never would.

"Arrogant asshole," Chen muttered, as he pinned one of yuan's arms and then tugged the cap off the syringe with his teeth.

yuan hissed and struggled. Ming jie roughly slammed his knees onto his brother's shoulders to hold him in place while Chen shot him up with the Narcan, one of the few human medications that worked as intended in demons.

"I'm so sick of babysitting you," Ming jie said, knowing he should be more understanding.

Eating a drugged-up human—always male, since yuan wouldn't touch a human female for s.e.x or blood—usually meant something had set him off, made him remember the trauma of either his childhood or his torture. It was something he didn't talk about, other than to say that he'd been forced to watch human females suffer and would not be responsible for doing the same. As a result, he fed only from other demons and human males. The occasional junkies were an escape for him, but Ming jie was the one who would pay for his transgressions.

yuan snarled, his eyes already losing the glassy sheen of his drug high. "You should be babysitting your whore."

"You should have been eaten at birth." Consumed by rage, yuan stood before he killed his brother.

"Chen, did you get hold of Ren fu?"

"Ah, yeah. And brother, she had a message for you. Said to tell you the twenty-four hours is up. What's she talking about? She was riled. Definitely channeling her inner demon."

"It's nothing," Ming jie lied. "Did either of our ambulances survive the explosion?"

Shaking his head, Chen came to his feet. "Nope. And the parking entrance collapsed."

"Shit. Has the glamour spell been repaired?"

"Yeah. The entrance is hidden from human eyes."

The entrance was generally hidden anyway, since it sat on the bas.e.m.e.nt level of a condemned parking garage Ming jie had purchased, but still, what a f**king mess. He glanced at Shu lan, who stood in the doorway, her expression haunted in a way that seemed to go deeper than the immediate situation.

"What the hell are you staring at?" yuan snapped, the downslide from his high doing nothing to improve his mood. He levered into a sit and leaned back against the wall, head back, glaring at Shu lan with hooded eyes.

"I didn't know demons did drugs," she said, and Yuan grinned coldly.

"I don't. I do blood." He ran his tongue over the points of his fangs. "Come here, and I'll do you."

She snorted. "Dream on."

"Ah, so you're selective about the demons you do?"

"yuan," Ming jie said, his voice low, edged with warning that his brother ignored.

"What? Seems a little hypocritical. Anyone with as much demon in her as she's going to have—"

"Shut it."

This time yuan listened, but Shu lan had moved closer. "What do you mean, I'm going to have?" She turned to Ming jie. "I'm already half-demon. How much worse can it get?"

"You haven't told her?" yuan laughed and leaped nimbly to his feet, the effects of all drugs completely worn off. "Allow me."

"Told me what?"

"Nothing," Ming jie said, but yuan was moving toward her, blue eyes as bright as a cat's before it pounced.

Ming jie stepped between them, but Shu lan grabbed his arm, swung him around. "Please . . . tell me."

He'd wanted to wait until her body had taken her as far as it could go so she'd realize she needed his help, but yuan was forcing his hand. And maybe now was the right time after all. The Berus had betrayed her—her own kind had cast her out and tried to kill her when they should have protected and cherished her. Learning she belonged to another world might open her mind up to new possibilities.

"Shu lan, let's go into my office—"

"Don't jerk me around," she said, planting her feet and crossing her arms over her c.h.e.s.t. "Whatever it is, I can handle it."

Ming jie ran his fingers through his hair. "Fine. I told you that you were half-demon. What I didn't tell you is that the reason you're having the problems is that when the Alu bit you, it activated dormant DNA."

"Dormant DNA?" She swallowed and licked her lips. "What are you saying?"

"Geez, humans are stupid," yuan said, propping a shoulder against the wall. "He's saying it's taking over. It's either going to kill you or rob you of everything that makes you human."