Read Demon Bound for Free Online Page B

Alejandro and Jake had slain one in Philadelphia, but not before hundreds of vampires had died.
    Though the nephilim usually lived in the bodies of the humans they possessed, not much stronger than vampires, they were almost unstoppable in their own form. And although they both originated from Hell, the nephilim wouldn’t hesitate to kill a demon.
    Any intelligent demon would flee a city a nephil inhabited.
    “I caught it with a bullet,” Jake said, rapping his knuckle against his temple to show where he’d shot the demon, “and Alejandro got him through the chest.”
    Jake jabbed the air in front of him, miming a sword and drawing a protest from the mice as they were jostled. “But he missed the heart.”
    “Alejandro had a sword and he missed?” Alice said, and held out her hand for the box. When Jake ignored her outstretched palm, she lowered it again.
    “Unheard of, right? I was like this.” Jake’s eyes widened, and Alice had to firm her lips against a laugh. He’d had the same expression after kissing her. “But the assho—Er, the demon dodged at the last second. So Alejandro got him right here instead.” He tapped his sternum. “And the demon had ahold of him, so Alejandro couldn’t back up for another strike. So he just . . .”
    Jake twisted his wrist, as if carving a tight circle with his blade, then yanked his arm back. “And the heart popped right out. Along with some ribs and lungs and sh— stuff .”
    “And Alejandro calls Irena barbaric,” Alice murmured. An upward slice would have sufficed.
    “Does he?” Jake shrugged, and his arm dropped to his side. “So the heart was whole, but the demon was dead. Instantly.”
    A Guardian and a demon had similar powers—and similar weaknesses. What had killed a demon would likely kill a Guardian, too.
    Disappointment swept through her, stronger than she’d expected. She hadn’t truly believed removing the heart whole might be a solution, but however tiny the spark of hope had been, it was still a hope extinguished.
    And she needed to go, or soon there would be some histrionic scene, after all. Alice signed a thank-you to Drusilla and set off for her apartment at a brisk walk.
    “Hey!” Jake jogged up beside her, kept pace. Blades rang behind them as Drusilla and Pim began their fencing practice. “Hey. Uh, Alice—”
    Blast and bother! She’d forgotten the box. “You’re terrifying the mice,” she observed tightly.
    “And being eaten by a giant spider won’t?” But he steadied the carton. “Does he use your shoulder as a table?”
    “Romulus is an adult, and doesn’t feed,” she said, and paused to return him to his web. “Nefertari eats the mice.”
    “Nef—” He gave his head a shake. “And the vampire blood?”
    “Is for the young and the females.” She faced the novice. “Did Selah ask you to bring that as well?”
    “No, I’d just heard that you used it.” He glanced over her shoulder, into her quarters. Searching for Nefertari? He was looking too high. “But if you want it, I carry some in case I need to heal or transform a human. Or if I run into the nephilim.”
    Vampire blood weakened the nephilim, and might save a human. Her spiders did not have priority over that. “Keep it.”
    Alice began to turn away, but stopped when he said, “Well, it’s Mackenzie’s, so I can get more tomorrow night when I’m in San Francisco. I have two units, anyway.”
    A plastic bag appeared in his hand. Alice took it, and regretfully vanished the liquid. Blood would spoil if not stored in her cache, but it left a distinctly unpleasant taste in her mind and on her tongue.
    “Thank you, Jake.” She saw his surprise and sighed. She was not incapable of niceties, and she performed one more—though only because she was certain he’d refuse. “Would you like to come in?”
    His grin surprised her, and his “Hell, yes” left her on the verge of incomprehension again. He winced and ran his hand over the dark stubble of his