Chapter 99 Chapter 99
“I don’t know either. He called me a burden, so I’m assuming that he probably didn’t want to die because of my weakness,” she mumbled and kicked a loose pebble, sending it flying into the grass. The forest was quiet and serene, a stark contrast to her chaotic thoughts and jumbled emotions. She was torn between anguish and anger, sometimes even longing.
“Possibly,” Travis said, mulling over it. “Demons are selfish; it’s in their nature to think of themselves first, but they get protective once they’re bonded. I don’t understand why he left you, taking that into account.”
She sighed, not wanting to speak about it anymore. Her mood was bad enough already; she didn’t need it to get even worse! “What were you doing in the woods, Travis?” she asked in an attempt to change the topic.
“Oh, I was looking for a low-class demon that recently killed someone,” he said nonchalantly. She widened her eyes, realizing that this demon was possibly close by and she hadn’t even known. “I’m working as a demon hunter, and I usually go after demons that terrorize humans, for whatever reason that might be. A witch paid me to get rid of this one, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do now.”
“Then that means… there’s a mad demon on the loose?” she asked.
“Yup,” he smirked, too excited in her opinion. “Want to join the hunt? Would love to see your magic in action.”
“Uhm… isn’t that dangerous, though?”
“Nah. If we work as a team, it’ll be fine.”
Knowing that this would be the perfect distraction and a chance to let her anger out, she decided to accompany him. “Okay, then let’s do it.”
\---
In the following weeks, meeting up with Travis and accompanying him on his hunts became a habit for her. She got along with him even though he could be painfully honest about some things, his mouth not having a filter. His sarcastic remarks reminded her of someone, and in a really weird way, they helped to pretend that things were completely normal.
Valerie had fun helping Travis out and learned a lot about magic and self-defense in the process. They were a good team, working together and trusting each other. Admittedly, in the beginning, he had to help her out a lot when she got in trouble, but now she was able to hold her own against the demons and creatures they fought.
Only last week, they had received a new call for help from a superstitious woman living at the edge of the woods who had been convinced she had seen a ghoul in the area. Valerie soon learned that ghouls were absolutely disgusting monsters that consumed human flesh. Their bodies were rotten and surrounded by a terrible stench. Her eyes had watered while she had fought it with Travis, and she had been extremely relieved when it had finally perished, not standing a chance against the combined force of their light and fire magic.
The woman had thanked them for their help and ended up giving them a large tip on top of their payment, which they split evenly among themselves.
“You’re getting better at this.” he said as they walked back to his car. “Maybe we should move on to more dangerous jobs soon. The poltergeist last week didn’t stand a chance either, despite the illusions it used.”
She smiled proudly, a skip in her steps as she walked. “Thank you! It’s rare to get a compliment from you,” she grinned cheekily, referring to his endless nagging whenever she made a mistake. It could get annoying from time to time, but she knew that deep down, he was only worried about her, hiding his concern behind his complaints. “What do you suggest we do?”
He sent her a cautious look, carefully gauging her reaction to his next words. “A witch I’m friends with told me something interesting. There’s a high-class demon lingering close to New York, one that appears to go after humans just for the heck of it. He has killed a few unsuspecting people before, and the police are unable to find him for obvious reasons, so she asked if I was willing to help.”
Her eyes hardened and became steely with resolve. High-class demons were arrogant bastards—most of them, anyway. This one couldn’t get away with murdering innocent people just for fun; she would do all it took to stop him. Not all humans could defend themselves with magic… It was incredibly rare, and therefore it was even more important that she stepped in to help.
“I’m accompanying you,” Valerie said determinedly.
Travis nodded, a small smile playing with his lips. “That’s what I wanted to hear. You should be confident in your abilities. However, don’t forget that your body is still human and very fragile compared to those of demons. When we go after him, you need to be more careful than ever.”
She decided to take it with humor and laughed, nudging his side. “I may not be able to lift a car like certain other people here, but I do know how to kick a demon’s ass,” she said, prompting him to chuckle.
“Sure you do.”
They reached his car, and he unlocked it, sitting on the driver's side and closing the door. Valerie, on the other hand, lingered next to the vehicle for a moment, turning back to the dark woods looming behind her. Her eyes narrowed and darted over the shadows in between the trees in suspicion. She felt watched, like an invisible pair of eyes kept track of her every move, and it had her feel uneasy. When she didn’t spot anyone, though, she sat in the car as well, never voicing her concerns in front of Travis.
\---
Juggling her newly acquired job with Travis and her work as a journalist became harder and harder as time went by. It was exhausting to be busy with interviews and reports all day, only to go home to spend half the night hunting supernatural creatures, but she had chosen this for herself and didn’t plan on backing out now that things were getting interesting.