Read (SPECTR 1) Hunter of Demons for Free Online Page A

at the scene. Now, go give Mr. Jansen the good news.”
    *   *   *
    Caleb sat on the floor, trying not to think, trying not to feel.
    The exorcism hadn’t worked. Of course it hadn’t; what had he expected from a bunch of Specs? Maybe it had all just been a show, trying to punish him for going unregistered.
    What were they going to do with him now? Take him away, definitely. Lock him up somewhere, most likely. Wait for the monster inside him to take control permanently…maybe?
    Something stirred within, a tiger awakened from a semi-doze. “Why would I do such a thing?”
    Caleb pressed his lips together, but he couldn’t silence his thoughts. Demons—NHEs—whatever the fuck you wanted to call them—possessed people. Everyone, mal and normal alike, was warned from childhood not to strike bargains, not to do anything to attract the attention of etheric entities. Community relations officers came into schools twice a year: don’t do drugs, don’t drink and drive, don’t play with loaded guns, don’t summon demons. He’d never thought much about it, except as one of the perils of life, like looking both ways before crossing the street.
    And now here he was. Doomed.
    “Are all mortals so illogical?”
    It was trying to trick him. The thing in his head, the thing which had killed Ben—
    “Mortals are not prey. Our prey is demons. And now we are too late, and I cannot even smell it anymore.”
    Not “our,” there wasn’t any “our,” no matter what the monster inside wanted him to think. And yet the urge to get up and run into the night, to track the demon down, to bite and kill, twisted around Caleb’s spine.
    No. He dug his nails into his palms, hard. He was still human. He wouldn’t give in.
    “Caleb?”
    He straightened with a soft hiss of surprise. The agent had returned unnoticed while he was arguing with the thing in his head. Starkweather dropped into a crouch, putting them on eye-level. Probably some sort of bonding technique they taught at the Academy.
    He swallowed against the dryness in his throat. “What now?” he asked, and cursed when his voice shook.
    “I’ve had a talk with my boss.” There were dark shadows under Starkweather’s eyes, but his smile hadn’t lost any of its wattage. Well, he’d find out Caleb Jansen wouldn’t be swayed by a nice smile and vividly blue eyes. Or broad shoulders.
    “How would you like to go back to my place?”
    A dozen scenarios sprang instantly into Caleb’s mind, all of them wildly inappropriate. “I…what?”
    Starkweather arched his brow, as if he knew what Caleb had been thinking. “I’d like to keep a close eye on you for a few days, until we get this straightened out. You don’t mind, do you?”
    Caleb tried to ignore the flirting—was it flirting?—and focus on the important part of the sentence. “You think there’s still a chance of reversing this?”
    “Absolutely. I’m going to work on it night and day—you’re my top priority right now. My condo is fairly secure and has a nice guest room. It makes sense for you to come back with me.”
    There was a trick here. Starkweather was definitely up to something. “No way is this standard procedure,” Caleb said, narrowing his eyes into a glare. “You don’t expect me to believe you regularly take possessed people home with you, let alone unregistered paranormals.”
    A long breath escaped Starkweather, turning to steam in the cold air. Caleb realized the chill didn’t bother him in the slightest, and hadn’t since he’d…died.
    No, since he’d awoken. “Awoken” sounded better. Like he’d just been knocked out, not…
    “Can I be honest with you?” the agent asked. His voice was quieter now, more subdued.
    “A Spec, be honest with an unregistered? Has hell frozen over?”
    A spark of annoyance showed in Starkweather’s eyes. Good. “I don’t know what you’ve heard about SPECTR, but you don’t have anything to fear. Normally you’d go straight to SPECTR-HQ and