Between the Bleeding Willows (The Demon Hunters Series Book 1) Read Online Free

cleared his throat.
    “What happened to him?”
    Killian took a moment before answering. “A demon named Rya caught him off guard, tore his heart out, and devoured his soul, powers included. She was a threat before, but now she has the upper hand.” Killian looked down at the ground, clearly lost in a thought. “It’s hard to lose someone who has fought beside you for so long. Then she took his powers, stealing a part of him that will forever be lost to the demonic side.” He stood and walked to where the tinctures adorned the wall. “Anyway, we’ve had to run extra patrols since then. Jace crossed over when he shouldn’t have, and I had been tracking him for a week. Tonight was the closest I’ve…”
    “Wait! Are you trying to tell me Jace is a demon?” This man was crazy. Jace was no demon. He helped move trees, trim bushes…he loved me. He was no demon. Killian looked at me but said nothing. “You’re crazy. And you’re wrong. I’ve known him for years.”
    Killian looked at me with sympathy and said, “He may have been nice when you knew him, but demons find their way into the weak-willed or exposed and consume their energy. Your boyfriend must have been suggestible and vulnerable—”
    How dare he talk about Jace that way! “What—”
    “Hold up, Cassidy, I’m just telling you the facts. Demons are looking for easy targets, and your boyfriend may have had a bad day. Sometimes that’s all it takes.”
    “You expect me to believe that? Wouldn’t I have noticed?” His words swirled around my head along with the fact that I saw Jace in the cemetery tonight when he should be buried six feet under. Killian could be right, but my heart did not want to accept the information he presented. My heart wanted to shield my relationship from this upsetting news, to preserve the fun and loving Jace I remembered.
    “No, it may not have been obvious. Were you always with him?”
    “No, of course not. We mostly saw each other at school and a little on the weekends.”
    “Did he look or seem tired lately?” Killian asked as he came over to sit on the stool again.
    “Yeah, but we’re teenagers. Sometimes we stay up late watching TV or listening to music.” His interrogation was upsetting me. “Can you just stop now? I’m over you psychoanalyzing my boyfriend.”
    “Just one more?” He held up his hands in surrender. “I promise I’ll stop after this one.”
    “Fine,” I growled.
    “Did he have any injuries lately? By injuries, I mean enough to require medical care.”
    “Yes, he got a bad cut on his leg a few months before he died.”
    Killian nodded his head, absorbing the information I offered him.
    “But he was jumped! There’s an explanation for his injury.”
    Killian rolled the stool toward a table along the wall. He grabbed a pen and paper and wrote down some notes. This felt like a dream, so unreal and improbable.
    The redhead entered the room, walked over to me, and checked my IV bag. “Almost done. How are you feeling?”
    “Fine.” The word came out clipped.
    “Funny, you don’t sound fine. Killian, what did you do to our patient?” Who was this girl rushing in to care for me? She had a beautiful and kind face. Her skin was milk white like Killian’s and smooth like a porcelain doll. She raised her arm to check my pupil response, and I couldn’t help noticing the black tribal tattoo on her forearm matched Killian’s.
    “You always blame me,” Killian complained.
    The girl looked at him knowingly before turning toward me. “You are going to be fine. I know it’s a lot to take in, but we’ll get you home soon.”
    She turned back toward Killian and advised, “Get her something to eat, then you can cross her over.” She removed my IV and unhooked the almost empty bag connected to it.
    “Thank you,” I said to her quietly. She acknowledged me with a smile and helped me stand. Killian stood in the doorway looking into the hall, waiting for me to join him. He wasn’t the