Demon Hunter

Chapter 22

“No.” I whispered. I stared down at the message before unlocking my phone and trying to call the number. I walked away from the Lycan’s followed by Gabe. The number didn’t even ring. I pocketed the phone and ran a shaky hand through my hair. “Did you call Jacob?” Gabe nodded. “He left yesterday, already on their trail. But it’s getting cold real fast. He said he’s going to Washington for the key, and then Las Vegas to get the equipment.” I shook my head and cursed under my breath. “It’s no use.” I said and Gabe perked an eyebrow. I went into the house and up the backstairs. I made my way to Castiel’s room, our room, and dug around in the pockets of my jeans until I found the ring.

“It was at the house. I found it the day I went to see Jacob.” My voice was shaking and Gabe dropped down on the bed. “You think he’s ok? They’re ok?” He asked quietly. “They have to be. They have to.” I looked down at Henry’s ring and inspected it for the first time. There was blood smeared on the inside of the ring. “Damn it!” I yelled beginning to pace. I put my thumb in my mouth and chewed nervously on it. How could I have missed it? It was a sign, a message from Henry or whoever took him. No way would he ever leave it at home. How could I have been so reckless.

“Come on.” I said to Gabe. He jumped up, not asking any questions. Henry had always been in charge. He’d always known what to do whenever something went wrong. He was the big brother, the one who’d stepped up and taken dad’s place when he died. He looked after us, and never let anything happen to us. I couldn’t even read a simple sign. I flew down the stairs and out of the front door. My car was sitting in the driveway and I sighed with relief. I popped the trunk and checked the weapons there. I did one side and Gabe did the other. “Low on holy water.” He said and I nodded. “Salt.” We were making a mental list of the things we needed. Gabe pulled out his demon knife, and handed me my own. I closed the trunk and took it from him, tucking it into the waist of my pants. “I figure we get to Jacob’s, get some supplies, and then meet up with him from there. You think Lana will be busy?” Lana was Henry’s on again off again girlfriend. Gabe snorted and got into the car. I fired her up and he buckled himself in. “Lana is never busy when it comes to Henry.” It was true. She was deeply in love with him. Henry was too blind to see it, or just didn’t want to.

“Aurora?” Castiel banged on my window and I rolled it down. “Where are you going?” He asked and I tapped my hands on the steering wheel of the car. “My brother was kidnapped by God know’s what and I’ve been sitting around on my ass sipping tea and baking cookies.” Castiel’s eyes widened and his jaw locked. “You weren’t going to tell me?” I rolled my eyes at him, frustrated that I wasn’t already doing something to find Henry.

“There’s more in this world than you Castiel. Other people matter to me too.” I rolled the window up and sped away from him. A few minutes passed and then I saw five cars in my rearview mirror. “My God they are one loaded bunch.” I mumbled pulling onto a main road. I was forced to slow down and do the speed limit. The speedometer needle hovered over seventy and I hoped it was fast enough to get to Henry before something truly bad happened.

We met with Jacob in Jackson, Mississippi, he had an apartment there that they’d been staying at. He explained to us that he’d sent Henry, Drew, and Weni to investigate the odd number off demon omens in the town. There had been an extreme spike in murders as well. Jacob had said there would be a senior Hunter in the area if they needed back up, he hadn’t been worried. They were all excellent Hunter’s, especially for their age. Henry had checked in saying that they were close to finding the headquarters of sorts, all was well, and that was the last time he’d heard from him.

I’d driven the entire 11 hours it took to get there. I was running on pure adrenaline. I got out of the car and Gabe followed behind me. Lucian and Annabeth had taken off to go ask around to the other Alpha’s. Corena and Adela had stayed at Jacob’s house, per request of Castiel. He’d wanted to be in the car with me but I needed to focus on Henry, Drew, and Weni. I couldn’t do that with him there.

“They were here when they last checked in.” Jacob said. Lana was going to meet us here. She’d been in New York, working a job. We could use all the Hunter’s we could get so Jacob called around. Everyone was on high alert for them. Hunter’s had each other's backs when it came down to the wire.

The apartment was over top of a small furniture store. Jacob unlocked the door and stopped in his tracks. I took a deep breath and pushed past him. Bloody hand prints were smeared on the walls. There were drops of it on the stairs leading up to the door that opened up to the flat. I ran up the stairs and burst through the door. The apartment was a mess. Furniture was overturned, feathers all over the place from the couch being ripped open. The smell was horrible and I took another breath to give me the courage to go deeper inside. I held my hand over my mouth and nose, my eyes watering from the stench. There was blood, and a lot of it. There was splatter on the walls and pools on the floor. Bloody drag marks lead further into the apartment. I followed them, taking slow, silent steps. I pulled my demon knife from the back of my pants and held it ready to be used. I counted to three, and then showed the door at the end of the hall open. The smell hit my nose like an avalanche and I had to take a few steps back to keep from throwing up. I nodded to myself, trying to convince myself I could do this. I stepped back into the bathroom, holding my breath. The drag marks lead right up to the bath tub. The curtain was drawn and there were bloody hand prints on it. I grabbed the fabric, counted to three in my head, and yanked it back.