Page 44 of A Shadow of Betrayal

“You're right. This story is much better. The girl, who is already a badass,” he says with a soft smile, looking up at me as he grabs more things from his trunk. “Learns how to kill Demons properly and doesn’t need the prince to save her. You’ve got this, Meyer,” Jordan whispers, standing up. “I believe in you, now have a little faith in yourself.”

I take a deep, shaky breath and nod. I can do this; I can be a Hunter for the first time in my life. Not the prey.

“Knives,” I tell him, feeling slightly better after his pep talk.

“What?”

“Knives. I need some throwing knives and maybe a sword or something. I don’t think I can shoot a bow,” I admit, eyeing the cool-looking arrows he's strapped to his back.

“Yeah, I would rather not be a Theo and Jordan Kabob, and I have a feeling that’s what would happen if I gave you some arrows,” he teases, trying to lighten up the mood. “The pointy end goes into the Demons,” he instructs as he kneels and straps a black leather sheath full of short throwing blades to my thigh. I grin down at them, stroking the small handles, and get almost a thrill of excitement at the thought of throwing knives again.

The whole time I’ve been here, I've been trying to learn new things, but this? This I know. “Yes, I'm actually pretty good with them,” I admit, and Jordan arches a brow.

“You've been holding back on me, Meyer?” I shrug in answer because, no, I haven't really been holding back, I already mentioned I’d done target practice in my Grandpa’s yard. He never asked, but I didn't offer further information either. “Alright,” he says, standing back up and grabbing the blade Monroe had let me borrow during hand-to-hand training, flipping it in the air and catching it by the blade before offering me the handle. “Let's go find Theo and kick some Demon ass.”

TWENTY-TWO

Meyer

“Does this happen often?!” I ask as Jordan and I barrel down the steps of the Castle, rushing to aid the Umbra Hunters and Rangers who have already gone outside to fight.

“What? Demons attacking the Castle?”

“Yes. Is this a common occurrence that I need to be ready for?”

Jordan grins and shakes his head, his excitement building as we make it to the lower floors of the large gray stone structure. His brown hair is tousled as he bounces down the stairs in front of me, acting like we are heading to a party instead of a battle against Demons. “Nope! The last time that I know of was maybe eight or nine years ago. So it does happen, but not often. Something must have led them here.”

“Ten bucks on it being Lennox. The Viking practically shoved me out the door so he could chase after Elaine with his giant ax,” I mutter, rolling my eyes, then letting a startled squeak burst from my lips when Jordan suddenly stops and spins on the stairs, facing me.

“You saw his ax? Was it freaking awesome? I’ve heard it's enormous, and most guys can't use it because of how heavy it is. Wait, not important…” Jordan mutters, waving his hands in the air, stopping that train of thought. “Where were Elaine and Lennox going?”

“I-I don’t know. Elaine and Razar came in, talking about Theo’s dad and how something happened too close to the Castle. They were all worried and in a hurry to go…” I stall my rambling and wince. “Crap, he said not to talk about it.”

“Seriously?” Jordan whispers, leaning closer to me while raising his brows. “I thought we decided Lennox is an ass, and you are our friend. I mean, yeah, you're old,” Jordan teases and shrugs. “But you are ours, and you’re still willing to keep stuff from us? Where’s the loyalty?” Jordan holds a hand over his heart like he’s hurt, fake pouting, and I glare at him, kicking at his shins and ushering him forward.

“I’m not old! And yes, Lennox is an ass who would be happy for me to croak at the first moment of convenience. So forgive me if I don't want to give the man any more reason to want me dead.”

“Nah,” Jordan puffs out a laugh and waves a hand in front of him. “I’m onto our Senior’s games. The man stares at you whenever you two are in a room together. I’m guessing he's sensing a compatibility link, and it’s pissing him off,” Jordan grumbles, turning and rushing back down the stairs. He throws his arms out to the side to catch himself and me when the Castle shakes under our feet again, this time followed by the echoing sound of an explosion. “That doesn't sound good,” he says with a wince.

I catch myself on Jordan's shoulders, then groan when my forehead smacks into the back of his head and push myself back up, relieved when I see the end of the stairs only a few steps below. “What the hell is a compatibility link?” I ask, rubbing my forehead as we wobble down the rest of the stairs and then run through the big formal entry toward the courtyard. The giant wooden doors that are typically closed are opened wide, and I can hear shouting coming from outside.

“Later, get your Kalis out. Sounds like we are running straight into the action,” Jordan hoots, adding a skip to his step as we run outside and into the windy, frigid night. Instantly, a chill rushes down my spine as I take in the scene of the courtyard, so different from what it had been earlier today.

People are running everywhere, and arrows fly through the air, coming from all directions, yet never hitting one of our own.

It’s chaos, but as I look around, I realize that it works. Rangers and Hunters are staying together in groups, taking on several Demons that have already breached the walls of the Castle.

A large bonfire is blazing at the center of the area, illuminating everything with a warm glow, but the wind is causing the fire to wave and snap, sending bursts of embers dancing up in the air with the snow. My eyes catch on a few Rangers fighting a Demon on top of the wall, the pair of them moving perfectly in sync as they slice and cut the big Demon to bits. It roars at them, batting its razor-sharp claws in the air, but the Rangers easily evade them.

The guys are wearing red and black fighting leathers, similar in color to the shirt Theo was wearing, and I shift to the side, trying to see if it's him or not. More shouting comes from my left, and I can feel my lips part in shock as I watch Monroe and Sabrina take on one of the biggest Alpha shifter Demons I have ever seen, only coming second to the one I saw the night Creed stumbled into my yard.

Sabrina jumps and twists mid-air, landing on the back of the Demon and sinking two identical blades into the back of the beast's neck, giving her the leverage she needs to throw her weight to the side and tear the blades through black flesh. By the time her feet hit the snow-covered ground, the Demon’s head is falling off it’s now still body and rolling to where Monroe stands, beaming in pride at the younger girl.

“Meyer move!” Jordan shouts, and I spin, only just realizing that Jordan had continued to move forward when I had stalled at the bottom of the steps to the Castle. Turning, my eyes widen when shadows dance over the snow by my feet, their inky black figures darker than night, rolling over the ground like oil on water.

“What the hell?” I shout, jumping back and yanking a few blades from the sheath at my thigh, palming them as I watch the shadows grow larger. “That's new,” I mutter to myself as the shadows slowly shift to form what looks like a really tall and skinny werewolf that has been dipped in tar. “And gross,” I add, stepping back a few more feet.

“Meyer,” Jordan yells, panic rising in his voice as I keep staring at the Demon forming in front of me. Only it's not fear I’m feeling, but the sick sense of excitement that starts in my chest and curls through my body.

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