Warrior (Relentless #4)(17)

“So the archangel Michael came to Earth to create a race of warriors to destroy the vampires. He took a middle demon called a Mori and put it inside a human male, and had the male impregnate fifty human women. Their offspring were half human/half demon and they had the speed, strength, and agility to hunt and kill vampires. They were the first Mohiri.”

I watched the play of emotions across her face: revulsion, amazement, disbelief.

“The Mohiri are demons?” she asked hesitantly.

“Half demon. Each of us is born with a Mori demon in us.”

“You mean you live with a demon inside you like…like a parasite?” Her face paled, and she pulled back several inches. If I had any question about whether or not she knew what she was, her reaction answered it for me.

“Exactly like that. We give the Mori life, and in return, it gives us the ability to do what we were created to do. It is a symbiotic relationship that benefits us both.”

She stood abruptly, and I thought she was going to run. Instead, she walked to the edge of the wharf and stared at the water.

“You’re not planning on jumping, are you?” I asked lightly, trying to allay the fear I sensed in her.

She looked at me, and my gut twisted at the confusion and anxiety I saw in her eyes. “Why are you telling me all this?” she asked in a small voice.

Her distress drew me like a magnet, and I moved to stand in front of her.

“Because you need to hear it.”

Her eyes widened. “Why? What does this have to do with me? Or my parents?”

“I’ll get to them in a minute. First, tell me, haven’t you wondered why you’re different from everyone else you know?”

Before I told her what she was, I needed to know what she felt around me. Bonds were not one-sided. I could sense her Mori, and all mine wanted to do was touch her. How could she stand this close to me and look so unaffected? Even if she had no idea what she was, she should feel something.

“D-different? I don’t know what you mean.”

“I think you do.”

She shook her head. “Listen I –”

My eyes locked with hers. I felt for the new bond stretching between us and pushed against it gently. Immediately, her demon responded and reached out to me. My Mori fluttered happily, and I felt a deep sense of satisfaction. She might not recognize our connection, but her Mori did.

Suddenly, it was like a wall slammed down between us, pushing me away from her. I barely had time to react before she spun away from me, her eyes dark and frightened.

“Sara?” I reached a hand toward her.

“I have to go.” She moved past me without looking in my direction.

I sighed. “Running away won’t change anything, Sara.”

She ignored me so I tried another approach. “I didn’t take you for a coward.”

She stopped walking but didn’t look at me. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“I think we both know that’s not true,” I said to her back.

Her eyes were ablaze when she turned to confront me again. “What about my parents? Did you know them?”

“Not your father. But I knew Madeline Croix for many years.”

Disbelief crossed her face. “You’re only a few years older than me.”

“I’m older than I look.”

The fire left her eyes. “So what are you trying to tell me? How do you know Madeline?”

There was no easy way to say it; she was going to find it hard to take no matter how I put it. Sara had to hear the truth about her mother so she could accept who she was.

“I watched her grow up.”

Her head moved from side to side, and denial filled her eyes as she stared at me. I watched emotions cross her face as she processed my words. I wished there was something I could do or say to make this easier for her.

“No!” She turned and fled.

“Sara,” I called, but she ran faster. “Damn it,” I muttered, going after her.

I moved past her and stopped. As she collided with me, her palms pressed against my chest to steady herself, and I felt their heat as if they were touching my bare skin. A wave of need pulsed from my demon, but I refrained from touching her. She was as skittish as a colt. The last thing I wanted to do was frighten her more than she already was.

A gasp slipped from her. “How –?”

“Demon speed, remember?”

“Someone could have seen you.” She backed up, pressing her lips together.

“You and I both know that people see only what they want to see and believe what they want to believe. But just because a person chooses to not believe something, doesn’t mean it’s not real.”

The double meaning in my words was not lost on her, and she wrapped her arms around herself defensively.

“How can you be so sure?” Desperation filled her voice as she fought the truth. “There must be more than one Madeline Croix.”

“I was sure of what you are before I heard her name. As soon as I saw you the other night, I knew.” I stared at the water, afraid of what she might see in my eyes. “My Mori recognized yours.”

“What?”

“Mori can sense each other when they are near. It is how one Mohiri always recognizes another.” And my Mori would know yours anywhere.