Part 20 (2/2)

'Jake, ready?' she asked 'Ready!'

'Team down!' she commed.

They dropped to the ground and Jake fired the laser, a thin blue line arcing across the neck of one of the demons. Beautifully pinpoint, the demon stopped, tilting its head as if regarding them curiously. Then its head slid clean off its neck.

'Bull's-eye!' Gina yelled with an exuberant pump of her fist. She twisted halfway to give Jake another thumbs-up. 'Way to go! All right, Jake, fire again!'

Another shot of the laser to their right and demon four was history.

Hot d.a.m.n, this was fantastic! Exhilarated, Gina turned to give Jake another thumbs-up.

'Yes!' Jake said, standing up from his crouched position and pumping his fist in victory. He looked to Gina, his eyes sparkling in excitement.

'You did it, Jake!' She felt his thrill, knew how much it meant to him to partic.i.p.ate, turned to Mandy and Dalton, who grinned back at her.

h.e.l.l, yeah, this new weapon rocked! When she looked back at Jake, her heart slammed against her chest, horror replacing her excitement.

Standing behind Jake was a demon, a human-looking one, a smug smile on its pale face, its long claws embedded in both sides of Jake's neck. Blood poured from the wounds in Jake's throat, sliding down his chest in lethal amounts. Jake's thin fingers fought against the claws embedded in his neck, but it was a fruitless effort.

It all happened so fast her mind barely registered it as real, and yet it happened as if in slow motion, every single frame as vivid as a picture in a photo alb.u.m. The look on Jake's face would be forever frozen in her memories. Shock, fear, disbelief, the light and life in his eyes quickly extinguis.h.i.+ng as the demon lifted him in the air. Jake struggled, kicking his feet out for a few brief seconds, then stilled.

Noooo! Her mind screamed it, her voice frozen into silence. Oh, G.o.d, no, this couldn't be happening! There were four demons. They'd killed all of them. So where did the new one come from? Where was Lou's alert indicating another had surfaced? Her mind screamed it, her voice frozen into silence. Oh, G.o.d, no, this couldn't be happening! There were four demons. They'd killed all of them. So where did the new one come from? Where was Lou's alert indicating another had surfaced?

Do something, G.o.ddammit! Her mind forced her body into action. Pulling her weapon, Gina lunged toward the demon, toward Jake, desperate to pull him away from danger, refusing to believe what she'd just seen. Punk grasped her arm, jerking her backward. Her mind forced her body into action. Pulling her weapon, Gina lunged toward the demon, toward Jake, desperate to pull him away from danger, refusing to believe what she'd just seen. Punk grasped her arm, jerking her backward.

She didn't understand. Struggling to find her voice, she screamed, 'What are you doing?'

'Look!'

She turned, horrified to see five of the hybrid demons appear out of nowhere. Rather than coming toward them, they flanked around the one holding onto Jake, as if protecting him. She didn't care; she'd take them all on if she had to. Struggling against him, she tried to pull away, but Punk held her firmly in his grasp.

'Woman, stop! You can't save him!'

The demon disappeared with Jake, dropping down into the ground. The other demons dropped down, too, vanis.h.i.+ng instantly.

Gina wrestled away from Punk and started to run toward the spot where the demon and Jake had been. Punk tackled her to the ground. 'Let me go, G.o.ddammit! I have to get to him.'

'No,' he yelled. 'You'll only end up getting yourself killed. More of them could appear instantly.'

She didn't care, had to save Jake. But Punk held on, refusing to let her loose, dragging her up to her feet by the back of her s.h.i.+rt.

'He's dead, Gina,' Dalton said as he stepped up beside her, his calm voice belying the rage on his face. 'There was nothing we could do.'

She brushed tears away with the back of her hand, jamming her fist in her stomach to fight off the pain churning there. 'Dammit, we can't just let them walk away with Jake! What if he's still alive?'

Mandy grasped her arm and turned her around, forcing Gina to meet her hard eyes. 'The demon cut into his carotid arteries. He's gone.'

'He's not gone! There's still a chance we can save him! We've got to go get him!'

'We can't battle the demons for Jake's body,' Mandy said. 'We've lost him.'

Chapter Sixteen.

B efore Gina returned to camp, Derek and the others knew what had happened. Dalton alerted Lou, who in turn announced Jake's death to the rest of the hunters. efore Gina returned to camp, Derek and the others knew what had happened. Dalton alerted Lou, who in turn announced Jake's death to the rest of the hunters.

s.h.i.+t. This wasn't going to go well.

Poor kid. Derek felt bad for Jake. Despite being a little pale and skinny, Derek saw something in him. He was a genius with weaponry. He'd have made a brilliant demon hunter who would have contributed much to the Realm of Light. They'd chosen Jake for a reason.

And the G.o.dd.a.m.n demons knew it, too. He'd bet his a.s.s they targeted him first, deliberately set out to isolate and terminate him because they recognized him as a major threat.

He'd also bet Gina was blaming herself for this.

In fact, he knew she was as soon as the team walked into camp, Gina cradling the remains of Jake's crushed remote in her arms like the symbolic evidence of his body.

She laid it on the table, unshed tears pooling in her half-lidded gaze as she barely made eye contact with them all.

'This is my fault,' she whispered, her voice shaky. 'I take full responsibility for Jake's death.'

She turned and walked away, heading to the bungalows.

Ah, Christ. He wished he could have been there. Maybe he could have prevented it. Right, and how could he have done that?

It wouldn't have made any difference anyway, whether or not he'd been there. Couldn't save the world all by him self. He'd learned that one a long time ago. They were all vulnerable.

After debriefing and dinner, Gina still hadn't returned.

'I'm going to go talk to her,' Derek finally said, tired of waiting for her.

'You do that,' Lou replied. 'Don't let her go on thinking this is her fault.'

He stopped off at his room for a quick shower and change of clothes, but he knew it was a stall tactic. He wasn't sure what he was going to say to her. He was the wrong person to offer sympathy. In the demon hunting business, people died. He'd seen it before.

It was bound to happen. Demons were smart and devious and couldn't be counted on to play fair. He'd warned all the hunters that death was a possibility, but he also knew none of them had really listened.

Most never do, until it happens. He'd been there and done that himself when he lost a team member. So just So just shut up and offer sympathy. shut up and offer sympathy. No, he should make her talk about it. No, he should make her talk about it.

Oh, right. Trying to get Gina to talk about her feelings had worked so well the other night, hadn't it?

But this time she'd have to.

He knew what it was like to try to run from your feelings. It didn't do any good, because they stayed right with you no matter where you went. Like demons, the memories were unshakable. She'd have to face them eventually.

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