Heaven's Key (Demon Hunter Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

out of my head.” Would I be possessed when I woke up? Oh fuck, if I’m possessed, please just let me bleed out in the middle of the night.
    “I can’t just yet. I have a proposition for you, and no, I don’t want to possess you. Not in the way you’re thinking anyway.”
    I gave him an eye roll. “I thought the second in command of Hell would be a little more original than coming to me with a deal. Let me guess: you get my soul in the end.”
    “No, nothing so mundane. Souls are a dime a dozen. What you are is rare. I have come to you because you are the key… the only key.”
    “Do you always speak in riddles?” He might be a powerful creature, but he was fucking irritating.
    “You, my hunter, are the Key to Heaven. My father found an old prophecy and a lot of boring cryptic text, a little torture with a splash of human sacrifice later, we know that you are the only being besides God who can open Heaven’s Gate.
    I didn’t see that coming. “You can’t be serious. I’m far from holy. Why would I be chosen for such an important role? Even if I was the key, the last person I’d be doing favors for would be the devil.”
    Cain winced. “He hates that name. I know you hate my kind, but think of it this way; my father will be gone and that could make your job easier.”
    “It could also make it harder. I suppose you’d be the one to take the throne if he doesn’t make it back?”
    “I would.”
    “I’ll stick with the devil I know, thanks.” I had enough of this. I wanted this to be a drug-induced fucked-up dream.
    He grabbed my hand tight enough that it hurt. He wasn’t letting go, so I stopped struggling. He pulled me close. I could feel his warm breath on my face as he spoke. “I’m going to do something I rarely do. I’m going to tell you the truth. My father wants revenge for being thrown away like a piece of garbage. God turned his back on him. He has forgiveness for humans. They can do anything, and as long as they repent, he welcomes them with open arms, but not his most beloved angel.”
    Cain lifted my head with his index finger on my chin. He held me there with his eyes. “He’s been searching for a way back into Heaven since the day he left. Finding the prophecy and you at the same time is the closest he’s ever come. He wants this, Jael.”
    “So why this pleasant conversation in my head? Why not just take me and make me do whatever it is that needs to be done?”
    He hesitated and something clicked in my medicated brain. “There’s a catch. I don’t know what, but he can’t just make me do it, can he? Do I have to do it willingly? Do I have to want to do it? What?”
    “You’re smart as well as beautiful. Yes, you need to do it willingly. You can’t be coerced. That doesn’t mean you can’t be dealt with. There have been many keys over the millennia. Your death would transfer the power of the key to the next host, but it’s random and it took a long time to find you.”
    “Kill me and start looking because I’m not going to do anything for the king of Hell.”
    “We’ll see. I can be very persuasive. I’m not like my father, Jael. I’m human too. If I was in charge, there would be much less suffering. We could rule together. I would agree to that.”
    “Fuck off. Stop messing with my head. This is crazy. I don’t even know what you are. I’m supposed to just take the word of some sexy GQ model in my head that I’m some key to Heaven’s back door and if I open it…”
    He kissed the back of my hand. “Fair enough. I can understand this is a lot to take in. Let me leave you with a gift. No strings attached, of course.”
    “I don’t want anything from you.”
    “Sshhhh. It won’t hurt, I promise.”
    He loosened his grip, but kept hold of my hurt arm. Terror pounded in my ears, making it hard to hear what he was saying. Laying my injured limb on the bar, he gingerly peeled off the gauze bandage. The ugly cut was red and oozing pus from around the neat