DEVIL HUNTER

CHAPTER 9

After taking a few days off, I returned to the coffee shop. It was nice being here, lost in thought and enjoying a hot cup of coffee. The rain seemed to pick up more these past few days; I didn't mind. It was mid-April; what did I expect? The spring reminded me of my mother. She would pray it rained every day so her plants could grow. It was the one time of year she didn't have to work as hard in her garden. I took a deep breath and stared down at the light brown liquid in front of me. Jin would scold me if he caught me having these thoughts.

My head was spinning, my body aching, but I willed myself to rise. My limbs felt like lead, but I forced them to move. I used one hand to push off the ground, giving myself some leverage as I hauled myself to my feet. Jin stood a few feet away twirling the wooden stick in his hands with ease.

"You're distracted."

"I'm not," I said breathlessly.

"You are," he said, slamming the stick into the ground. "You're fueled by hatred, and that's going to get you killed. Stop focusing on what Azreal did and focus on what you want to protect."

He kept saying that, but I didn't know what he meant. How was I supposed to put that in the back of my brain when it haunted me every night in my dreams? "How?" I asked, placing my hand on my hip.

"You need to forget about home. Forget it ever existed that includes your mother."

Was he serious? How the hell was I supposed to do that? "Let me guess, you did it?"

"I'm from Japan; I grew up an orphan and never knew my parents. After being attacked by a devil, I devoted my time to protecting others."

"That's not true."

"Right, but I made myself believe it was. You need to do the same. Tell yourself whatever you need to to forget. If you keep being fueled by that hatred, you'll die. Trust me, I've seen it happen. Now, let's go again."

I sighed, staring out the window again. The rain was coming down heavily now, and I knew I would be here till it slowed down.

"Alix, we meet again."

I looked up when I heard Vincent's voice. He pulled the chair out and sat across from me.

I forced a smile, "so are you."

He chuckled, "You didn't lie when you said you come here often."

"I like the coffee here."

"l had time to think about it since I last talked to you. You're Alix Monroe, aren't you?"

My eyes went wide. I knew I looked like a deer that had just been caught in headlights.

"I knew it," he said, moving closer. "Where did you go? You stopped showing up for school."

I didn't know what to say. Should I act like I didn't know what he was talking about, or come clean?

"My mom had to relocate last minute for a job. I finished the rest of school at home." I did finish school through a home school program, that wasn't a lie.

He frowned, "I went by your house a few times, but no one was home each time I went. I started to get worried. I'm glad you're okay. How has everything been since then?"

I didn't understand why he was so worried about me. We would hook up from time to time. I didn't know why he wanted to do that when he could have cheerleaders instead.

"I've been busy," I mumbled. "What about you?" I wanted to turn the attention around on him. The less we talked about me, the safer I would be. I didn't want to go back to how I was in the beginning. It took me months before I was able to sleep without my mother's death haunting me.