The Demon's Gift

Untitled Part 3

 Christine and Colton had been dating since I arrived. For the first five months I was at headquarters, I was on close surveillance. Only Colton was allowed to talk to me, and if I was to leave my room, he had to come with me. It took Nat exactly one month to break these rules, stealing the keys and breaking into my room every day. I didn't respond to her at first, but after a while I cracked. We talked for hours each day, and on Fridays she'd bring up pizza and cards before she had to go on a hunt. It was Natasha that really convinced Colton that I was safe after five months of him questioning me and going through all my files, and even though he was hesitant, he allowed me to leave my room with either him or Natasha at my side.

No one but Nat talked to me for a long time. I knew what Colton had told them, and I didn't blame them. Natasha eventually forced some of them to, though, starting with Justin, who was terrified of me. That terror gradually seemed to turn to attraction, though, as I watched him grow more and more nervous around me, and then start to follow me, trying to talk to me every second. I should have at least tried to return it, but I was far too busy watching Colton from afar.

I never expected him to look back at me. The more he did, the more he clung to his girlfriend. It was a typical dance of denial that I didn't have the time for, but I found myself getting sucked into it all the same. I'd be in the training room trying to work on technique, and I'd end up looking at him out of the corner of my eye, only to find him staring at me. It was six months before they let me even be on clean up crew, which I usually did with Nat, who was training to be my partner. But the first hunt I ever went on was with Colton so he could supervise me. He was a little preoccupied watching me go to the door to retrieve my dagger, probably making sure I wasn't going to walk out, when the demon slashed open his entire back, leaving him on the floor in a pool of blood.

I killed that demon faster than I'd killed anything in my life, going directly for the heart and striking him before he even saw me coming. I wanted to tear his body to shreds, but I forced myself to leave him and go to Colton, who was gagging blood at that point, almost gone. I cradled him in my arms, letting my warmth flood through me quickly, filling me to the brim. And then I pushed, pumping him full of it next. He screamed as it started to enter him, but calmed as his wounds started to heal, slowly but surely, his ripped intestines fixing themselves and going back into place, his skin closing over them after, making him whole again. His eyes slowly opened all the way once he was healed, and I stopped the warmth, feeling it dim to a buzz and then fade completely.

I gripped him tighter once he was fully awake, looking down into his eyes desperately. "You were... You were dying."

"You saved me?" he asked, his face filled with confusion.

"Of course I did," I told him, my head shaking gently. "Of course I did." It was silent for a moment before I picked him up, standing with him in my arms.

"I can carry myself," he scoffed, trying to roll out of my grip.

"All I did was close your wounds. You still lost a lot of blood," I said, nodding my head towards the red covering both of us. He looked down at his once white shirt and sighed, realizing I was right. I carried him back to headquarters, and into the same room where he now lead Natasha and I. Christine was already there, waiting.

The moment we were beside her and unmoving she went to Colton, wrapping herself around his arm. He smiled down at her a moment, but then shifted his gaze to me, as if waiting for my reaction. I showed nothing.

"What did you want to talk to us about, baby?" she asked sweetly, a grin on her face. I did my best not to roll my eyes at her.

"New partners," Colton said, causing all of us to look directly at him, eyes wide. "I know, I know, but hear me out. The demons have started flocking more, and we're encountering pairs and trios every day. Auden and I together could take out a trio without a problem, and I'd have to send two groups together to do that in the formation we're in now. We're more efficient doing things this way."