Page 40 of My Demon Manny

"Not for me, no," I promised. There wasn't much a dark soul could do to a demon, since we were made to punish them. But if the dark soul found some humans to target…

Archer nodded, then cleared his throat. "Then you should go."

"Are you sure?"

Archer smiled, then leaned forward to press a soft kiss on my lips. "Of course. This is why you're here, isn't it?"

Actually, I wasn't sure if that was true anymore. While the mission was why I'd come to the human realm, if we caught all the dark souls tomorrow, I'd still want to stay here, because this was where Archer and Gunner were.

Still, I simply nodded in answer, and then turned to Maximus. "Do you need me right away?"

"As soon as possible." I was pretty sure that once upon a time, Maximus had been a knight somewhere. He had that temperament, and his loyalty to the King of Otherworld was second to none. Well, except his loyalty to his mate, I guessed.

"Okay, give me two minutes, please."

Nodding, Maximus walked out of the door, though I knew he hadn't gone far.

Archer pulled me into a hug the moment the door closed behind Maximus, and I breathed him in.

"Be safe, okay? Even if they can't hurt you, you can't be too careful. They have a demon on their side too, don't they?"

"Yeah." And Mammon was one of the oldest demons alive, which made him much stronger than me. Star could probably take him, but not me.

Pulling back, I held my palm out, creating two charms with my magic. They were simple blue crystals, with smooth edges so Gunner wouldn't get hurt even if he put it in his mouth, and I added a leather cord to them so they could be worn like necklaces, then offered them to Archer.

He took them instantly, then gave me a questioning look.

"They're protective charms, one for you and one for Gungun. Put them on, okay? It'll keep you safe from the dark souls, and alert me if you're in danger of any kind."

"You should have one too. One that alertsmeif you're in danger," he grumbled, but I could tell he didn't actually mean it. He couldn't really tackle the type of things that would put me in peril.

"Okay," I said, taking a step back. I glanced toward the living room, wondering if I should go give Gunner a kiss before I left, then shook my head. If I went there, I had a feeling I wouldn't want to let him go.

Archer

Watching Lux leave, knowing he was heading toward danger and there was nothing I could do to protect him from it, was awful.

I knew it was his job, and I knew he was powerful. I'd seen him in his demon form a few more times since that first time, and I was stunned each time by the utter strength of him.

Lux's sweet personality sometimes hid just how powerful he was, and even I had a tendency to forget it. I knew he could handle himself, but that didn't mean I could stop myself from worrying.

It wasn't like I could talk to someone about this. As far as everyone else knew, Lux was simply a manny. The most dangerous thing in that job was probably a rude parent...or a kid with diarrhea.

Shaking my head at my wayward thoughts, I walked back into the living room, slid the pendant Lux had given me around Gunner's neck—I'd already put mine on—then fell onto the couch.

"Um, hello!"

I jumped to my feet at the sound, whirling around to face the intruder, then blinked, taking in the man before me.

He was barely 5'5", a little curvy, with short black hair, and black eyes, and he had a hesitant smile on his face.

"Who are you? And what are you doing in my home?"

"Oh, sorry! We didn't mean to scare you." I walked backward until my back hit Gunner's crib, my eyes narrowing as I realized there wasn't one but four intruders in my home.

"I told you we should've come through the front door!" a tall man with a ponytail said, his eyes on the other tall guy, who was dressed in pajama pants and looked for all the world like he was getting ready for a nap.

"I thought Lux would be here," the pajama dude said with a scowl, and I blinked. Suddenly, their weirdness made a lot more sense.

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