Page 56 of Demon Hunter

And stops. Because there’s another armchair, but one of us will have to sit beside Raum on the couch. I’m not ready for that, and I’m pretty sure Matt isn’t either, so when I let my knees win the fight and sink to the rug beside the coffee table, he joins me.

“Okay,” he says, then pauses. “Okay. Maybe we need the full version after all.”

Raum resumes his seat on the couch, and Marc sinks back into his armchair. Ian perches on the arm. “The ‘full version,’ as you call it, would take far too long. It’s my understanding that human lives are somewhat limited.”

I elbow Matt before he can make a smartass comment. We need to keep things moving, not get derailed by insults. Though, if this guy is going to stick around, I’ll need to do nearly as much work on his image as I’m doing on Marc’s.

He’s not sticking around, right?

Putting that aside for the time being, I say, “Sure. So… the relevant facts we need to know, then.” I pull out my phone. “Do you mind if I record this to refer back to later?”

Raum’s eyes narrow. “That is a communication device, correct?”

“Not spent much time on Earth, huh?” Matt mutters, but I ignore him.

“Yes. It has other features as well.” If he wants a lesson in Earth technology, I’m his guy, but I’d prefer it waited until after the demon trafficking conversation.

Demon trafficking. Holy Jesus Christ in a bucket. That’s not a thing I ever thought would happen.

Raum, meanwhile, seems intrigued by my phone. “By all means, do record. Perhaps you could share the recording with me later? Such a device would be fascinating.”

Note to self: set the new higher demon up with a phone and watch what happens.

“Perhaps we could…?” Marc prods, and Raum nods.

“For what amounts to the past century in Earth years, I’ve been assigned to the missing persons department, my primary role being to investigate the whereabouts of any demon, spirit, or other being reported missing by their loved ones. Shortly after taking the job, I noticed that one of my cases had several similar factors to an older one that remained unsolved. Unfortunately, I was unable to make headway on either of them, but over the years, other cases that crossed my desk had those same similarities. Approximately forty years ago, I requested that any case with those factors be assigned to me, as I considered them to be linked. My supervisor agreed.” He pauses, probably because I’ve picked up my phone and am rapidly typing notes to myself. I don’t want to interrupt his flow, but I’ve got questions.

“I’m not certain how much you all know about the situation in Crmærdinesgh prior to the change in government when thebarrier was rebuilt, but many lesser demons and other species didn’t feel that our police force would aid them if they needed it.” His expression turns sour. “They had good reason—a great many of the missing persons cases thatdidget reported turned out to be at the hands of Cato and his government”—he spits that word as if it tastes foul—“and we were effectively powerless to help. The regime change allowed us to work to rectify those wrongs, and within the past year especially we’ve begun to see a true shift in how others perceive us. More and more beings are coming forward in the hopes that we can help them, and I’ve received an influx of new cases—that sadly aren’t new. Demons have been missing for centuries but their disappearances were never reported.”

“And those missing demons have the same factors as the cases that concerned you?” Ian asks.

Raum nods again. “The majority of them, yes. The best timeline we’ve been able to establish to date is two demons missing per Earth month for the past one hundred and seventy-nine years.” His mouth twists in disgust. “It may go back further, but the records just aren’t there.”

I do rough math in my head. “That’s over four thousand demons. You think they’re here, on Earth?” No way.

Beside me, Matt shakes his head. “The Collective would have noticed that many—a lot of them must have been banished already.” He pulls a face. “Two demons a month… that could slide under the radar, I guess, but it’s still a lot of summoning activity. Gatekeepers would have noticed—hunters would have noticed. What makes you think it’s humans trafficking them and not just random idiots summoning?”

“All humans are random idiots,” Marc interjects idly. Ian pinches him.

“You’re supposed to say ‘present company excepted.’”

“Am I?”

“There’s a pattern,” Raum says, casting Marc a sidelong glance. “These particular demons are from three species only—visier, ternerum, and carnarius.”

“All species that are humanoid,” Matt murmurs, and while that’s true, my mind has gone in a different direction. Visier demons are known for their strength and stamina, ternerum demons for intelligence and fine motor skills. Carnarius demons, though… they’re where the mythology about incubi come from. In basic terms, they’re sexy as fuck. Which means these people are monsters on every level I can think of.

“Yes,” Raum agrees. “In some cases, there were witnesses to their summonings, and those witnesses report that the summoner wore a hood to conceal their face?—”

“Cultists, maybe? Some of those mystic wannabe demon worshipers?” Matt suggests, but Ian shakes his head, face pale.

“—and leather cuffs around their wrists,” Raum finishes. My heart sinks. “We have also managed to trace the site of the summoning, and it’s the same in all these cases.”

“You can do that?” Matt asks, even as I perk up. That’s useful information.

“Not for a single summoning, or even dozens. But once the number reaches a hundred or so, there are ways to cross-check, yes. I cannot prove every one of the demons on my list was summoned to this site, but the other similarities remain, so I consider them to be related cases.”

Looking down at the notes I’ve taken, and considering all the background data hehasn’tgiven us, I can’t disagree. “Are you sure about the leather cuffs?” I ask desperately. Haven’t we done enough to stamp out corruption in the Collective? How could this have slipped past us—we’ve been working exhaustively for nearly seven years to track down everything that might be a sign of hunters behaving badly.

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