Page 51 of Higher Demon

A man three rows back, dressed in hideous plaid flannel, asks, “If we were able to sharpen or hone quartz stakes, would we still need swords?”

Several others wince, one woman rolls her eyes, and a few just look thoroughly disgusted. Ian stands and turns to face him. “Marc won’t be answering questions about weapons. I did say that at the beginning, but maybe you missed it. These sessions are about building knowledge and understanding to protect lives onbothsides.”

The man doesn’t like that. “As long as demons are still trying to kill us?—”

“Is something wrong with your hearing?” Ian snaps, and the man stands, shoulders squared.

“It’s fine,” I say calmly, trying to convey to Ian that there’s more here than meets the eye. “The question is relatively harmless.” I turn to the man I’m almost certain is Cal Highett. He’s certainly not a hunter, so if he isn’t Highett, Ian and the Collective have a bigger problem on their hands than we thought. “Theoretically, a sharpened quartz stake could be effective in killing some species of lesser demons. But you’d need to get close enough first.” I smile at him, trying to make it a friendly one and not a challenge. This man has no ability to eventryto kill me. “I’m certain part of your training covers the need tonotlet a demon get within arm’s reach.”

“Yeah, like day one,” someone else says, and the tension shatters as the hunters laugh.

“What about quartz bullets?” Highett persists, and Ian’s eyes narrow. Before he can speak, though, the woman who rolled her eyes earlier cuts in.

“C’mon, Cal, be serious. We’re constantly replacing the quartz in our weapons. It’s tough, but not tough enough to be shot from a gun. You need to get back out into the field if you’ve forgotten that.”

Cal Highett scoffs. “There has to be a way. We need to stop being afraid to try new things.”

That’s so patently ridiculous in this context that I can barely stopmyselffrom rolling my eyes. He’s clearly trying to throw off any suspicion that he could be associated with a demon himself. Not for the first time, I wonder how whichever higher demon is pulling the family strings keeps them under control. They live full-time in the Collective, surrounded by hunters. Raised among them with their teachings and beliefs. Yet in over four hundred years, none of them has tried to leave? That speaks of constant mind manipulation… or compliance.

Whichever it is, Ian won’t like it.

“Wearetrying new things,” Ian says, his tone conveying his opinion of Cal Highett. “Or have you previously been able to ask a higher demon questions and just forgot to tell the rest of us about it?”

He’s playing a dangerous game—Titus is still trying to track down the higher demon associated with the Highett family, so we don’t know if Cal’s harmless or a sleeper agent. From what Ian—with Dylan’s help—has been able to find out on this side of the barrier, the Highetts have never even tried to climb the ranks of the Collective. They seem happy enough to stay at the bottom of the food chain, “underpowered,” but an old family that everyone knows. That’s reassured Ian and helped him relax, but I’m not so certain. From my perspective, that makes them even more dangerous. Those in power are watched, but people like the Highetts are justthere, part of everything. Nobody would question them or their loyalty, because they’ve always been around and never showed ambition.

Plus, the fact that Titus has foundnothingis concerning. If the higher demon in question was only interested in news and gossip, they wouldn’t be keeping their worm so secret. Firsthand news from Earth, especially from within the Collective, would bring social credibility—a status symbol. Titus has found several others who were more than happy to share all the details of their worms.

Ian’s reluctant to hear all this, however, so I’m biding my time. If Titus can’t find what we need to know in the next month, I’ll take my concerns to Vestia. Nothing can threaten this truce.

Cal Highett’s cheeks flare with color as the others in the room chuckle. They all think it’s a joke; the question is, does he think Ian’s being sarcastic, or does he think Ian knows?

I’m tempted to scan his mind. I won’t get much if he’s under the protection of another higher demon—not without them noticing, in any case. But I’ll be able to see his surface thoughts.

If only I hadn’t sworn not to. When did I start feeling protective of grubby little humans?

“I think we’re done for tonight,” Ian says, glancing around the room. “We hope it was helpful for you all.”

People begin to stand, gathering their things and breaking out in conversation. I stay where I am, perched on the table at the front of the room. While most hunters in the compound are used to my occasional presence after all these years, it’s not out of the question that, gathered in groups like this, some might get the not-so-clever idea to try to destroy me. Therefore, I never leave any group meeting alone—Ian is always with me as a witness, so if I’m required to defend myself, he can confirm I didn’t attack first. And if the last Q&A was any indication, he’ll be here for a while, chatting with other hunters. They gravitate to him, no matter how much older or more experienced they are. His brother, Connor, has the same kind of casual charisma. It was part of the reason I selected him and Gabe to assist me before the Battle for the Barrier. People listen to them and respect them, even if they don’t like them.

Though, to be fair, Connor’s very difficult to like. Not at all like Ian, who can be smart-mouthed but is charming and patient. Not to mention sexy. So, so sexy.

And intelligent. I knew that about him, but somehow, I hadn’t fully grasped it. Between his unofficial liaison role and our shared penchant for sexual acrobatics, we’re spending far more time together now, and not all of it is naked. His mind will never work the same way as mine, but I can actuallytalkto him and not be frustrated or bored. It’s disturbing.

This was supposed to be sexual. It was supposed to be casual. It was supposed to be a mutually agreed satiation of urges, a new way to demonstrate the trust between us.

It wasn’t supposed to be something I can’t get out of my head.He’snot supposed to be.

“Marc?”

I tear my gaze away from Ian to look at the woman standing in front of me. It’s the one who rolled her eyes and told Cal Highett he needed to get back in the field.

“Hello.” How interesting. One of the hunters has approached me voluntarily.

“I’m Gayle,” she introduces herself, surprising me again. “Do you have a minute to talk?”

Curious, I nod. “Yes.”

“My daughter, Anna, is in Ian’s class. Your class, too, I guess. When she came home that first time and we realized how unprepared she is… well, we were appalled. Whether things change fast enough that she’ll only need mediation skills, or if she needs to be able to fight, the more she understands demons, the better. So thank you for agreeing to help.”

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