Page 30 of Demon Hunter

“That’s okay,” Matt says blithely, like an idiot. “I can repeat it if you like.”

“Matt,” I murmur, wondering if a dead ghost can have a heart attack. Like, I know he doesn’t actually have a heart anymore, but if he gets a shock bad enough, will his soul let go and cross over? I don’t want to be the reason that happens. The guys complain about him and how nosy he is, but they love him deep down.

Way deep down.

“Dylan, we’ll finish this conversation later,” Norval says grimly. “I have some things to say to Matt.”

“Actually, Norval,” I break in, trying to defuse the situation so I don’t have to spend the next few hours listening to a lecture-slash-argument, “could you save those for later, when the two of you have some privacy, and help us out in the meantime?”

That gets his attention. The only thing Norval likes more than lecturing people is “helping” them. To be fair, heishelpful. He’s been around a long time, he knows a lot of stuff, and he’s deeply invested in the Collective. I’d go so far as to say nobody cares more than Norval.

“What’s this about? Are you two in trouble? Is that why Matt got beat up?”

Matt groans and mutters, “I can’t believe you asked for this.”

“We’re not in trouble. Not because of something we did, anyway.” I think. “But we have discovered something concerning about Matt’s attack.”

Norval harrumphs. “Other than the fact he was attacked to begin with? A fully trained demon hunter, caught unaware. For shame.”

Coughing so I don’t laugh, I say, “Yes, other than that. Though it may be connected—it may not have been Matt’s fault.”

My boyfriend shoots me a grateful glance and rests his hand on my thigh, leaving it there as I explain everything to Norval.

When I’m done, his bushy brows are drawn together. “I can’t say I understand all this code whosit, but if you say it doesn’t look right, I’ll believe you. So someone lured Matt here?”

“That’s right. Someone who knows the Collective exists, what we do, and that Matt’s part of it.”

“And enough about our processes to know I probably wouldn’t have been missed immediately. Like… they didn’t want the job sheet deleted right away,” Matt adds, and I nod.

“That, too. Unfortunately, checking the code on Marc’s test file didn’t help—it was flawless, but then my code is flawless too.” It’s not boasting when it’s true. “The code on the faked job sheet is also really good.” I can’t bring myself to use the word “flawless.” I’ll find something wrong with it, if it’s the last thing I do. “So it could have been created by a demon, but it could also just have been a human.”

“You’re the expert,” Norval prompts. “What do you think?”

I bite my lip. “I think it was a human,” I admit finally. “I can’t get past what Marc said about intention being the key element. If a demon created the job spec and their intention was truly that it should be deleted five days after Matt was attacked, then it shouldn’t have mattered that Ian changed the creation date. I might need Marc to create a few more files for me before I can call that conclusive, though.”

Norval grumbles for a minute, then sighs. “You don’t think it was one of ours, do you?”

I shake my head, then pull a face. “I don’t think it was the Collective,” I say carefully. “The sheet was definitely not created through the usual process. If it was an active hunter who has a grudge against Matt, which is one theory, then they either have a lot of computer knowledge—which I doubt, since Iknowall those people—or they hired a hacker to handle it.”

“Hmm. What’s the other theory?” Norval doesn’t sound convinced.

“That it’s someone who used to be in the Collective but got booted out,” Matt answers. “Which is where you can help.”

He catches on immediately. “Names, dates, compounds, last-known locations?” he asks. “How far back do you want me to go?”

That takes me by surprise, and from the way Matt glances toward me, he feels the same. “I guess… I don’t know? I was just thinking recently. But there’s no reason they couldn’t have been holding a grudge for a while.”

“Ten years, maybe?” I suggest. “Before that, you were a kid. It would be unlikely that any adult would have hated you, and if it was a kid, they wouldn’t have gotten thrown out when they were underage.”

“This is why you need me,” Norval proclaims, and I brace myself. “You’re thinking too small. They targeted Matt directly, but that doesn’t mean their grudge was with him. What about people who hate Gabe—or even Connor? Or your parents? Come to that, let’s assume that Matt wasn’t targeted for personal reasons, but because he’s one of the Collective’s top hunters in the US.”

“Thanks,” Matt says, straightening. Norval smacks the back of his head. “Ow! Uncle, I’m driving!”

“Don’t get distracted by empty compliments. You’re a good hunter, but even the best can get beaten nearly to death.” The comment is so pointed, I’m surprised it doesn’t stab us.

“So we’re assuming that Matt was targeted because this person got access to our statistics and saw that he’s good,” I remind Norval, not wanting him to go off on a tangent.

“Yes. But this person doesn’t need to have been arecenthunter. A good grudge can be nursed for a long time. Generations, even. And it can be passed down from parent to child.”

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