Part 11 (1/2)

”You'll probably have more that you haven't even thought of yet.” He said gently. ”But if you need to ask, go ahead.”

I had so many, but which to ask first?

”So, do they take just any person, or are there certain people they go after most?”

”Not really. Though they are drawn to fear; it's a strong emotion.”

”So does that mean happy people are safe?”

”No. Any spirit will make them strong, but fearful spirits are easier to take, so they go after that first, but the thing is, there is always a sense of fear in the human spirit, and if anything out of the norm for an everyday person were to happen to them, that fear will spike. Fear is easy to come by.”

”Okay, so what would have happened if some normal person had hit that demon we saw tonight? I mean...if normal people can't see them...”

”First off Remi, we are normal. We just have an extra...sense. It doesn't make us freaks just because we can protect ourselves and others from something they can't see. But, if someone else had hit the demon and got out of their car to investigate, they'd see nothing, and most likely a.s.sume they hit a deer or another animal and that it ran off into the woods. Although, on most occasions, getting out of the car to investigate probably wouldn't end well for the normal person.”

I ignored his emphasis on normal and frowned.

”How did you become a hunter?”

”It runs in my family. I didn't have to find out the way you did, my dad had been preparing me since I was little. Ryan we found years ago on the side of the road; he'd had an accident and we found him fighting a demon. I found Ana at my last school...”

I frowned again.

”Ana is a teenager?” I would have put her older.

”Yes, she's my age. Eighteen.”

”Why isn't she still in school?”

”She dropped out when she started seeing them. I went looking for her one day after she'd missed about a week of school and found her holed up in her house. Her parents had pretty much had enough of her. It took a couple days, but I finally got her to come out and see my dad. The rest is history.”

”So, this is a new group of hunters then?”

He shook his head, it took him a few seconds to speak.

”No. Ryan and Ana are fairly new, but this has been my dad and my uncle's team since before I was born. People don't always survive this line of work Remi.”

I really wanted to avoid that line of questioning for as long as I could.

”Um...if the demons prefer to go after fearful souls, what do you do then when you hunt? Skip off to battle thinking happy thoughts?”

Jake laughed softly.

”In theory that should work, but like I said, they'll take any kind of spirit. As for us being hunters, the demons will destroy us just to get rid of us. The thing we've got going for us though is bravery. It's the hardest emotion for a human to accomplish and it anchors our spirit to us. Very hard for a demon to take without a pretty intense fight. So, can we die? Yes. But we're pretty tough to kill.”

I still very much wanted to avoid that conversation. The thought of Jake battling demons in the woods in the middle of the night with the possibility he could die at any given moment was not something my brain would accept at this point in time.

”How do you find other hunters? I mean, it's not like you can advertise on craigslist, right?”

He thought on this for a moment, like he was trying to find the right words. He watched me closely as he finally spoke.

”You know that pull I was telling you about? The one I felt with you, and you for me the first time we saw each other?”

I couldn't help my sharp intake of breath. That was a definite blow. I had a.s.sumed that ever so magical pull he felt towards me was just because he wanted me. I had to admit, this hurt a little.

”It's not like that with you Remi.” Jake explained, seeing my expression. He reached out and grabbed my hand. ”Yes, I felt a pull to you that I should have been suspicious of, but that day I first saw you...you were the most beautiful person I'd ever seen. I was from that second on truly attracted to you. In many ways. Okay? I mean, think about it, I feel a pull towards my uncle, but it doesn't mean I'm attracted to him. And I was so attracted to you, I didn't even stop to think that it could have been something else as well.”

It was a good explanation. I smiled, albeit weakly.

”I still don't understand why you were attracted to me. I mean, with all the pretty girls around school...”

”Come on, Remi. You're beautiful, and you know it.”

”Well, now! But last year? Not so much.”

”Yes you were. Do you seriously think that baggy clothes and your hair in your face could hide that fact?” The look he favored me with made me feel a little ridiculous.

”It did. Look at the way people talk about me.” I defended myself.

Jake shook his head.

”You're so clueless. Half the guys in that school have a thing for you. You weren't hiding anything from them. Which in turn made girls jealous. So they started saying things about you, and everyone else just sort of blindly followed along.”

”Did you? Follow along? I mean, why did it take a year to talk to me?”

”No, I didn't follow along. I was actually your biggest fan. Unfortunate circ.u.mstances kept me from approaching you. You were never around, you ran from place to place, I could never catch you. You'd disappear after school. We had one cla.s.s together and you were rather good at evading me there too. I could never get to you, and trust me, I tried.”

I smiled at that. Little did he know that had been on purpose. I regret that now.

”So, imagine my extreme pleasure when I saw you in my very first cla.s.s on my very first day of school this year.”

I covered my face with my hands, embarra.s.sment colored my cheeks.

”Oh my G.o.d, I was so rude to you!”

”Yeah you were.” Jake laughed and grabbed my wrists to pull my hands from my face. ”But luckily for you it only made you more attractive. For a year I had nothing but my imagination where you were concerned and I imagined you as...different. So, imagine how disappointed I would have been if you had turned out to be some giggly flirt like all the other girls at school.”

Oh wow, he had imagined what I'd be like for an entire year?

We stared at each other for a span of time. A truly t.i.tanic moment, cue the cheesy romantic music in the background. He used my wrists to pull me to him, since he was still in a sitting position I had to lean against his chest to meet his lips oh what a truly erotic moment! Four days ago I'd never even kissed a boy and here I was laying halfway across a supremely hot one's naked chest! We kissed...and kissed...and kissed. When it started to intensify to a very dangerous level Jake wrapped one arm around my waist and rolled me very smoothly I might add, he was entirely too good at this. Not that I was complaining or anything- so that I was laying on my back and he was now halfway across my chest. He continued to kiss me as I felt his hand leave my waist and push my tank top up over my rib cage, his hand played across my bare stomach. It then snuck under the fabric and just before he'd worked his way up to my breast I broke from the kiss and pushed at his shoulders.

He didn't argue, he backed off well, he moved away slightly anyway.

”I can't.” I said on a strained breath that I couldn't quite catch. ”I don't think...” gasp for breath, ”I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet.”

While there was definite disappointment in his gaze there was also understanding. He nodded and backed further away.

”Okay.” Now he rolled away entirely. He laid back on his back, not touching me at all, and I panicked.

”Are you mad?” I asked. His head whipped over to look at me. A bit incredulously if I do say so myself.