My demons (book 1)

A finger

Few hours later, Lucas slowly woke up and gasped in pain. "I didn't know it's going to hurt so damn much..." he complained.

"You literally died..." Aisha shook her head in disbelief.

"We don't heal faster...but if your demons are nice they can help you numb the pain...unless they are already suicidal from living in your head for so long," Claire said, giving him a feigned concerned look.

"They love living in my head, what do you even mean?" he responded, closing her eyes.

Meanwhile, Claire was still looking at the bullet she had retrieved from her shoulder. She knew the markings.

"How did they find us? Didn't you say that we are safe in your old place?" Alina asked carefully, eyeing the killer with a mixture of fear and concern.

"This is bigger than just a hunt for jay. That girl got to a group of serial killers, true, but they know me, they know us. They have been trying to locate and kill us for centuries since they believe we are spawns of Satan and shouldn't be alive. I'm sure they figured out what Jay actually is. They want us all dead. And we need to run."

"Or we can stay here and kill every single one of them," Lucas groaned despite knowing that was never an option to start with.

"We are outnumbered. We will stay here until it's safe to escape. We would draw too much attention right now," Claire dismissed him, as he had expected.

"What if they attack again?" Aisha asked.

"Do any of you know how to use guns?"

Before anyone could answer, there was a knock on the door. After making sure no one was outside, Claire opened it and brought in a small package.

"A gift, how thoughtful," she remarked sarcastically, looking at the small box from every angle.

She opened it and heard Aisha gasp next to her, as a neatly cut off human finger was revealed. "Charming," Claire remarked, huffing at the audacity.

"Does anyone recognise the nail polish or something?" Lucas asked.

"Well every woman that ever mattered to me is either here or dead so I don't think so," Aisha answered, shrugging uselessly.

Everyone but Alina agreed.

"It's not my mom, she doesn't wear nail polish...and my aunt doesn't like this colour...it could be my sister but I don't think she could ever spend as much as a minute with a crooked nail like this one..."

"It's not one of yours, why would it be?" Claire stopped her rambling. "This goes down to me or Lucas. Any flings you had in the past few years dear brother?"

"Many. You?" he said, grinning up at her.

"The only one who semi mattered doesn't wear nail polish so let's focus on yours. Anyone special?"

"Not really."

"They probably assume you cared about one of them."

Lucas chuckled. "Well they are very much wrong. Too bad for that girl."

"What if it was me?" Alina interrupted, clearly taking his nonchalance as a personal offence.

"Alina... it's not you and if it was I would kill them all," he said calmly.

"Or would you laugh saying I don't matter?" Alina didn't let him off the hook.

"Enough," said Claire coldly her voice leaving no room for arguing. "Lucas is a dick but you are not a one night stand and this is not a competition so stop. If it was you we wouldn't rest until we find you and kill every single one of them."

"I just don't get how you can care so little about a human life," Alina said quietly.

"You are asking a contract killer and a psychopath," Claire nearly laughed, shaking her head.

"I prefer a term human with no feelings," Lucas declared, feigning offence.

"This would make a lot more sense if you were actually human," Claire informed him, making him roll his eyes in response.

"Either way, it's pointless thinking about saving the girl since the finger was cut off post-mortem. It would be a heap more useful if we decided on what to do now instead," Claire said before sitting back down on the bed, leaning against the bedpost. "But first, we should get some rest. Especially you, Lucius."

After they all agreed, they got ready for sleep. Aisha snuggled herself next to Claire and she hugged her with her right arm, starting to draw shapes on her shoulder. "I'm so thankful you are next to me," she admitted before closing her eyes. Aisha kissed her on the cheek before replying. "There is no place I would rather be."