Demon Huntress

For a moment ren fu looked as if she would refuse, and then she nodded, slowly, sadly. "I guess you need to." Closing her eyes, she concentrated. A low m.o.a.n dredged up from deep in her c.h.e.s.t. Her entire body began to vibrate, and then she just . . . exploded. Like a kernel of popcorn. One second she was a cute Goth chick, and then next . . .

Sweet Jesus.

"Well? This is my other side."

Knees practically knocking, she forced herself to move closer to the beast in front of her, a strange cross between human and Soulshredder, a terrible, beautiful creature with red skin, black claws, and ren fu's eyes.

"I have to change back," ren fu said. "Every second like this reduces my human instincts."

The vibration started again. shu lan leaped back, and then ren fu was standing there, sweating bullets.

"Man, that stings."

Shaking a little, shu lan circled the other woman, checking for . . . what? Leaks? "So, you can control yourself when you shift?"

"To some extent," ren fu said, watching as shu lan came around front again. "I can't when it happens spontaneously, which is why I got the tats."

"So if I were to integrate, I could control it?"

ren fu grinned. "Does that mean you're thinking about it?"

shu lan looked down at herself, wondering how her body would change should she be integrated. Then she sighed. "It might not be an option anymore. ming jie hates me."

"What happened between you two?"

"Mainly, I killed his brother."

"But I just saw—"

"It was Hong."

ren fu blew out a long breath. "God, shu lan. He was devastated when hong died."

"Did you know hong?"

"Not well. hong wasn't around much. He and yuan fought like vamps and slayers—" She shot shu lan a sheepish smile. "Sorry, hunter. ming jie was always afraid they'd kill each other, especially after hong went through his s'genesis."

shu lan rubbed her eyes, exhausted and bitterly regretting what had happened between her and ming jie. She should have kept her mouth shut about hong. Had she known more about the s'genesis and the mating requirements, maybe she wouldn't have flipped out like she had. But then, how was she supposed to have known? The berus had an extensive library at its disposal, but anything but the most basic of books had to be ordered from headquarters, approved by the Regents, and now it was too late to do any of that.

"shu lan? Are you okay?"

Not at all. "I just wish I knew more. About balberith demons. About Soulshredders."

"Yeah, well, don't beat yourself up. I grew up with demons, and I know exactly squat." She straightened her skirt, which had bunched up during her transformation. "Have you checked out Ming jie's library?"

shu lan resisted the urge to thunk herself on the forehead. "You're a genius."

In the den, they sifted through the hundreds of tomes on the shelves until ren fu found what amounted to an encyclopedia of demon species. shu lan sat down with it, started with the section on incubi, and specifically, balberith demons. The information, while a bit more generic than she'd hoped for, still gave her some insight into balberith behavior, mating rituals, and dermoire symbols.

"ren fu, you've been friends with ming jie and his brothers for a long time, haven't you?"

ren fu glanced up from one of the medical texts she'd been reading. "Years. My parents took me to their hospital for most of my medical appointments."

"Has . . . has ming jie really been searching for a mate for so long? Is he really that desperate?"

"God, shu lan, I'm sorry I said that—"

shu lan cut her off with a shake of the head. "yuan said something like that, too."

"Listen to me." ren fu slammed the book closed with such force that shu lan jumped. "ming jie isn't an idiot. He's one of the most logical, annoyingly intelligent males I've ever met, human or demon. He isn't so desperate that he'd lock himself into a lifetime of misery with a female who might turn on him or who might be a bad mother to his children. Yes, his life and his hospital mean everything to him, but he'd rather die than be bound to a female he doesn't love. He loves you, shu lan."

"I don't think—"

"I can see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice. We're Soulshredders, sis, which means that we can sense weakness and pain in others. ming jie's weakness is you. But you could also be his strength. He loves you, even if he hasn't admitted it, even to himself."

shu lan slouched in her seat, feeling miserable and lost and guilty as hell. "Doesn't matter. I hurt him. He wants nothing to do with me."

"I know how that is," ren fu muttered. She glanced at her watch and laughed, a bitter, scornful sound.

"Perfect. It's time to get to the hospital. daquan should be there soon."

"He isn't involved in what happened to your parents." shu lan spoke with the confidence she wanted to feel.

ren fu's black-painted mouth tightened into a grim slash. "I hope to God you're right. If anything has happened to them . . ."

ren fu didn't have to finish the sentence. shu lan knew what would happen, knew now what lurked behind the cage of ren fu's protective tattoos.

"I'm right," shu lan said. "Let's go prove it."

A deep-seated ache throbbed through her. She had a feeling that after meeting with daquan, whatever hope she'd had to somehow maintain her relationship with The berus would be as dead as her relationship with ming jie.

Just as ren fu predicted, daquan arrived at Mercy General with two hunters in tow. shu lan watched covertly from around the corner of the main waiting room, her heart pounding with nervous energy as ren fu approached him. Dressed in blue scrubs that looked tame and out of place alongside her funky hair and piercings, ren fu said something that lured him away from the two hunters, and they disappeared into an examination room.