The Unlikeable Demon Hunter (Nava Katz #1)(39)

“You need new hobbies.”

“You know I can sit here all night saying–” I adopted the whiniest voice I could– “did you sleep with Kane? Did you sleep with Kane? Did you–”

He flung the pillow back at me. “No. Geez. Shut up already. I didn’t.”

“But you wanted to.”

Full credit to my brother, he nailed his poker face. The red flush on his neck, however, told a different story.

“You like him,” I teased.

“I really don’t. I may have at one time. Long ago in a galaxy far, far away.”

I snorted.

“But he’s toxic.”

I gathered my notes up, tapping them into a neat pile. “That’s not fair. He can’t help having that poison power.”

“I meant in his relationships. I wasn’t kidding about your power reflecting who you are. The magic reflects an aspect of the user’s personality. You shock. Kane poisons.”

I sat up straight. This was fascinating. Wrong about me but amazing insight to have about everyone else. “What about Baruch? He’s so Zen and strong. How does that fit?”

Ari worried at a hole in his jeans. “Baruch is a good guy.”

“Relax, president of his fan club. This isn’t gossip.” Ari raised a single eyebrow. “Isn’t just gossip,” I clarified. “Pay attention. These guys are the ones sent to protect me. After today, I’m thinking that having the cheat sheet on them may help keep me alive as much as any fighting skills.”

“Oh,” he conceded. “Smart thinking.”

“No shit.”

Ari rolled onto his side, laying his head on his bent arm. He rubbed a hand over his bleary eyes. At this angle, I saw the purple bags under them.

“How you doing there?” I asked.

“Neither homicidal nor suicidal so quit looking at me like that,” he said.

He lay his fist under his cheek, a lock of blond hair falling across his brow. It was so reminiscent of his little kid self, but without his even-tempered, good natured air, that it took all my will power not to hug him. He despised pity. Or sympathy, which he always took as pity. Stupid boy.

“My take on Baruch?” He scratched his jaw. “From what I’ve heard, he’s taken some bad hits fighting.”

I waited out his pause.

“He fights past the pain,” Ari said. “Not always in a good way. Like he’s denying its existence.”

“So my guard consists of the poison prince, the man who refuses to admit he’s human, angry Italian whose powers are still unknown to me, and the human blade. What do you know about him? Rohan?”

“Sorry, don’t know much about him either. As an initiate I was only in contact with Rasha who stayed at the chapter house.” Had Ari become Rasha that would have changed. He’d have been traveling the world, having adventures, and meeting his fellow brethren.

I sighed, motioning for my brother to hand over his phone. “You got a new one?”

“No longer an initiate. No longer worth tracking.”

My hand closed tight around his phone. “Bastards.” I calmed myself remembering that I was going to make this right for him. Since I couldn’t do anything about that at this moment, I typed Rohan’s name in to Google. Ms. Clara still had mine but hey, this way no one could track my search history on Snowflake. Millions of hits. I started scrolling.

“You’re not going to find Rasha intel online,” Ari pointed out. But he scooted closer to peer over my shoulder.

“Not Rasha. Break up. Dude has a fuckton of baggage. There’s something going on with him and Drio. Love triangle maybe? Though I can’t tell which of them was the loser in the scenario because neither strikes me as the girlfriend type.” Saying the word “girlfriend” in conjunction with Rohan left a bad taste in my mouth.

I gave up after about forty pages of search results, tossing him back his phone in disgust. “Nothing.”

“Maybe neither was the winner.” Ari checked his email. “Demons, remember? People die.”

I rubbed the back of my neck. If that were true, if they’d been in love with the same girl and somehow she died? It would explain a lot of the weirdness today. I turned bleak eyes on Ari. “If demons come after Rasha’s loved ones, what does that mean for our family? I mean, what if one of them follows me home somehow?”

My brother stuffed the phone in his back pocket. “The Rasha laid wards around the house earlier. It’ll keep us safe.”

“That’s good.” Why was he staring at the corner of my wall like it fascinated him?

“Spill.” I caught him in mid-rise, tumbling both of us on our asses on the bed.

“Why do I have to be the bearer of bad news?” he snapped, jumping up again. “I’m not even one of them and I have to do their dirty work? Screw that.” He stormed from my room.

I pursed my lips, reviewing everything we’d said in the last couple of minutes but try as I might, I couldn’t figure out what had set Ari off. I rewound further. Back to conversations at the Brotherhood’s mansion.

I slipped on a pair of sneakers, threw a hoodie over my pajamas and pushed up my window. I couldn’t see anyone out in the dark yard, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there. No way would Demon Club have left me unsupervised. It didn’t account for Ari’s freak out, but it did give me someone else to question.