Page 34 of Demons In My Head: Exposing the Exiled
He roared with laughter.
“I have to admit," Scorpio said, standing over Hunter, completely at ease as though nothing could ever threaten him, "seeing the two of you together again brings back memories." His hand rested on Hunter's shoulder, squeezing until Hunter winced. "Remember our training days? The three of us were quite the team before everything went... sideways."
I took another step forward, my hands raised to show I was unarmed. "Let him go, Slade. This is between us."
His eyes crinkled at the corners—he was smiling behind that mask. "But that's where you're wrong, Palmer. You see, Hunter here made it his business when he clearly came here looking for you." His grip on Hunter tightened. "Tell me, did Asrael send him? Or did you?"
Hunter's eyes flickered to mine again, and I caught his meaning this time. Whatever had brought him to Port Black, itwasn’t me, but it was important enough that he'd risked crossing paths with me on his own mission. I had no idea Slade and Scorpio were the same person, so I could only imagine how shocked Hunt had been when he figured that out.
"Neither," Hunter ground out, his voice rough with pain but still steady. "Maybe I just missed your charming personality."
Scorpio laughed, but the sound was hollow. "Still the smartass, I see. Though I have to wonder..." His free hand moved to Hunter's throat. "Are you two finally going to admit you’re more than justfriends?" He practically spat the word.
Hunter grunted as he sat up higher, attempting to loosen the Scorpio’s grip on his neck. "We don’t have to admit shit to you, you fucking psychopath."
I shot a death glare at Hunter.Shut up, idiot.
Scorpio's grip tightened on his throat, cutting off his words. "As touching as this reunion is, I'm growing rather bored."
I felt Jasper's presence shift behind me through our bond. He was moving into position, but for what? My mind raced, trying to think three steps ahead like we'd been trained. Hunter never did anything without a reason.
"You've changed," I said, drawing Slade's attention back to me. "The mind control—it's different. Stronger." I gestured to the crowd of possessed people around us. "Even with the gas you created, what did you do toyourself?"
His eyes flashed that toxic green again. "I evolved. Something you'd understand if you hadn't been so busy playing house with Asrael." He tilted his head, studying me. "Though lately you've been keeping interesting company. A ghost? Demons? Really, babe? I expected better from you."
Hunter's good hand twitched at his side—a subtle movement that would have been imperceptible to anyone who hadn't trained with him for years. It was one of our old signals:he's about to move.
I barely had time to process what that meant before Hunter drove his elbow back into Scorpio's ribs. The move was desperate and sloppy, so unlike Hunter, I almost missed what he was really doing. As Scorpio shifted his weight to absorb the blow, Hunter swept his leg out, aiming not for Scorpio but for the floor beneath them.
The sound of shattering wood filled the air as Hunter's boot connected with what I now realized was a trap door. They both went down, and seconds later, there was the distinct thump of two bodies hitting the floor.Oh fuck, let him be okay.I scrambled to the hole in the floor, trying to see through the darkness.
"Palmer, move!" Hunter shouted, suddenly materializing in the darkness as he awkwardly climbed the ladder toward me with his injured arm.
I was already in motion. I reached down and grabbed his good arm, pulling him up and out of the hole. We breathed heavily as we looked into each other’s eyes. It felt like time had slowed to a crawl, for just that moment. Then, all at once, reality came crashing back in as the mind-controlled crowd surged toward us. Years of training with Hunter kicked in, and I found myself falling into our old rhythm—back-to-back, just like at Montague.
But this wasn't a training exercise, and Slade was done playing games. We were surrounded, and sadistic laughter filled the air as Slade jumped out of the trap door, landing on his feet. I had no idea what he’d been doing to enhance his abilities, but it wasn’t natural.
The first punch came fast, but I was faster. I dropped and rolled, sweeping my leg out to catch one of the puppets in the ankles. They went down hard, but two more took their place. Behind me, I heard Hunter grunt as he engaged Slade directly.
"You always did have a death wish," Slade snarled. The sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed through the club.
I wanted to turn, to help Hunter, but the crowd was pressing in. Their movements were different now—more coordinated, more lethal. These weren't just random people anymore. Slade was using them like an extension of himself, each one moving with trained precision. Fuck, it wasn’t looking good. I needed to do something—
The mate bond flared with sudden energy.Jasper.
I spun just in time to see Jasper materialize behind Slade, his ghostly form solidifying enough to land a crushing blow to Slade’s spine. The impact sent him staggering forward, his concentration breaking just enough for some of his puppets to falter, but only for a moment before he regained control.
“Holy shit,” Hunter gasped in shock, tossing me a quick “did you just see that?”expression.
"The ghost appears," Scorpio laughed as he straightened his back, but there was an edge to it now. "How convenient."
I ignored him. We’d rattled him, I figured it was probably best to keep that going. "Hunter," I called out as I dropped another mind-controlled fighter, "want to tell me why you're really here?"
He ducked under a wild swing from Scorpio, moving to stand beside me. Even with one arm hanging uselessly at his side, he was still deadly. “It’s a long story,” he panted. “I’ll tell you after we kill this fucker.”
"Enough!" Slade's voice boomed through the club. The green in his eyes blazed brighter, and suddenly every person under his control went rigid. "I tried to do this the easy way."
Goosebumps erupted on my skin as the temperature in the room dropped dramatically. I felt Jasper's alarm through our bond a second before it happened.
