Demon Huntress

Chen inspected his brother's face, his touch tender and light. When he finished, he lowered Ming jie's head and spoke in a soothing, low tone as he ran his hands over his ribs, belly, and extremities. Ming jie's teeth chattered, but he didn't make any other sounds even though the exam must have been excruciating.

"Hunter, open my jump bag and hand me the syringe in the right inside pocket."

Glad to have something to do, she fetched the item and handed it to Chen, who injected the contents into Ming jie's shoulder with professional efficiency. The guy might have the fun-loving personality of a pissed-off pit bull, but he exuded confidence in his medical abilities, and, she couldn't help but notice, a raw masculinity that was every bit as powerful as Ming jie's.

"Was that for the pain?"

"Antibiotic." Chen pulled some tubing and a bag of blood from his kit. "Painkillers are against the rules."

"Rules? There are rules for being beaten nearly to death?"

Instead of answering, he started an IV with the blood, and hung the bag from the door handle. When he finished, he laid his large palm on the back of Ming jie's neck, one of the few uninjured areas, c.a.r.e.s.sing in slow circles.

"Bro, your pulse is off the charts, and your resps are all over the place. I need you to relax." Chen closed his eyes, and for a moment it seemed as though Ming jie's tension had slipped away, but then he convulsed, and his breathing grew labored again.

Without thinking, Shu lan covered his hand with hers. Chen's eyes flew open, and at his dark stare, she jerked her hand away, afraid she was hurting rather than helping.

"No," he said, grasping her wrist. A low growl erupted from deep in Ming jie's c.h.e.s.t, and Chen's eyes narrowed. "Well, now, that's interesting," he murmured, and very carefully placed her hand over Ming jie's again. "Your touch seems to calm him. Leave it there until I put him to sleep."

Gently, she stroked his fingers, the ones that had saved her life and brought her p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e, and a few minutes later, Chen nodded.

"He's out. He should stay that way for a couple of hours."

"He'll be all right though, yes?"

"Yeah. We're not easy to kill. Just FYI, berus." He gathered his gear and gestured for her to follow him into the kitchen, where he washed up. "If yuan calls, don't speak a word of this. If he comes over, don't let him in."

"Why not?"

He hesitated for so long she didn't think he'd answer, but as he dried his hands, he said, "Ming jie was punished, not for something he did, but for something yuan did. yuan can never know."

"So this wasn't about what happened at my apartment? I don't understand."

"You don't need to."

"Yeah, I do. I'm not going to hurt Ming jie, or I would have done it instead of calling you, right?"

Chen bared his teeth at her. "If you hadn't, I'd have—"

"I did," she snapped. "So tell me why he's nearly been killed for something your brother did."

"I. Don't. Like. You."

"Feeling's mutual, buddy. So spill already."

Chen blew out a harsh breath, as if that would cool him off. At least it got him talking. "Yuan is part vampire. But he's also a balberith demon. Vampire and balberith law don't always mesh, and he falls into a crack between the two. Neither Council can agree on how he should be punished for various transgressions. But they both want someone to pay."

"Why Ming jie?"

"Because Yuan wouldn't survive it."

This was seriously twisted, and it fired up all her protective instincts, which she hadn't known she even possessed.

"I don't understand why Yuan would allow this to happen. Why doesn't he stop doing whatever it is that gets Ming jie beaten?"

"Yuan thinks he's untouchable . . . he has no idea Ming jie is suffering. If he did, if he knew what Ming jie has gone through . . ." Chen shook his head. "We'd lose him. He can never know."

"That's crazy. You've got to tell him. This has to stop. What if next time they kill Ming jie?"

"It's none of your concern. Like I said, not a word. If you even hint to Yuan that this has happened, I'll take you out, Hunter."

She slapped her palms on the counter and leaned forward to snarl, "Try it, asshole."

Chen's eyes flared gold, reminding her of the man suffering in silence in the other room, reminding her that now wasn't the time to pick a fight with the demon who had helped him. He seemed to come to the same conclusion, and the gold melted away, to be replaced by the eerie brown-black, which always seemed to shift, as though a shadow lurked behind his eyes.

"You look like Ming jie," she said quietly. "But you're so different."

He grunted. "All balberith demons are nearly identical to their siblings, but our behavior varies because we're raised by different species."

"But . . . Yuan. He's blond."

"Bleached."

"His eyes are blue."

"That's because they aren't his."

"They aren't his eyes?"

Chen slung his bag over his shoulder, done with the conversation. "Ming jie will be healed by morning. Try to get him to drink fluids, and . . ." He trailed off, averted his eyes before boring those ch.i.p.s of stone back into her. "Stay with him. He usually goes through this alone."

He slammed out of the apartment, leaving her standing in the kitchen, her heart pounding. Emotion like she hadn't experienced in years nearly brought her to her knees.

The brothers loved each other fiercely, something she wouldn't have believed if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes. They protected each other, healed each other, and clearly, they'd die for each other. She doubted anyone but her mother would have died for her, and even then, most of her life, her mother had been too stoned to lay her life on the line for anything but the next fix.