Demon Bound

One was that she’d helped a few of her students to “Ascend” with her blade, but vanished the bodies.
    What the novices said didn’t matter—much of it had probably arisen out of their boredom in the years after the Ascension and before they’d moved to San Francisco. It was the truth the stories were rooted in that had her turning away from him.
    Of all the mentors who remained in Caelum after the Ascension, only Alice had lost every student. She was the only one who hadn’t inspired a single novice to stay, to fight—to live.
    And she didn’t want to see his sympathy, or his pity.
    “Hey,” he called.
    Short of breaking into a run, Alice couldn’t prevent him from moving in front of her. She stopped, her lips set in a firm line.
    He shoved his hands into his pants pockets, but instead of appearing cowed when his shoulders hunched, he only seemed taller. “Look, I know you want me gone.”
    Her response was a lift of her brows.
    That must have amused him. His appealing smile returned. “I’ve just been waiting for you to sic Nefertari on me.”
    She should have. “Is that how you intended to leave? You wanted her to frighten you?”
    “Nope. Just to see if you’d do it. I hoped you would.”
    “I’m sorry I disappointed you, then.”
    “I’ll bet.” He laughed to himself again, closing his eyes as if to contain it. After a moment, he opened them. “I’ll be looking through the stuff you have in the library.”
    “I assumed as much, yes. You don’t need my permission—”
    “I’m going to bother you.” His gaze didn’t leave hers. “You’ve got twenty years on it already, and I’ll have questions.”
    He also had both knowledge and curiosity. If that continued, there might be someone to carry on the research when— if —she no longer could.
    Her fingers were clenched painfully tight, but she managed to perform a cool nod. “Very well. If, of course, it doesn’t interfere with your training.”
    “I’ll convince Drifter that it’ll be a good experience for me.”
    Considering that Jake was the youngest Guardian in the field—and that he’d been made active long before the typical century of training had been completed—Ethan was likely more concerned that Jake mastered his weapons and Gift.
    “I doubt that he’ll be so easy to convince.”
    “No, he will be.” Jake shrugged and looked over her head, his gaze moving keenly along her walls—already anticipating the opportunity to dig deeper into their mysteries, she supposed. “You’re pretty much the only female who doesn’t make me think about sex when I’m near you. So I’ll point out that you’ll be good practice for when I’m around real women.”
    Real women? Stunned, Alice could only stare at him. Her mouth was agape, she realized dumbly—and shut it at the same moment Jake’s mortified gaze snapped to hers.
    “Oh, shit—”
    Alice pushed past him, threw open her front doors. If he ignored the blatant message, she would toss him out.
    But she would not look at him yet; her control was too tenuous. She stared out into the empty courtyard and measured each icy word. “You may come to me, novice, if it teaches you how to behave around real women. But I suggest you return to Ethan’s training, where you might learn to behave like a real man.”
    His footsteps approached. She heard his deep breath as he halted next to her.
    “I’m sorry, Alice.”
    She closed her eyes. The sound of his heart beat against her ears. His remorse lay heavy over his psychic scent.
    And with three words, Jake had proved himself more of a man than some she’d known.
    “Thank you,” she said. “But please leave.”
    He did. Not by teleporting or flying, as she’d expected—but walking across her courtyard with a slow, even gait.

CHAPTER 4
    A fifteen-minute hike took Jake to the city’s rounded edge. From high above, Caelum looked like a giant white plate in a waveless blue sea; the surrounding water sat level with the marble pavers, forming a smooth, unbroken plane.
    As a human, Jake hadn’t seen the ocean until he’d been on a foreign shore, preparing to go into combat—and wearing the brave face and swagger that they’d all learned to put on. Everyone had been afraid then, but the fear hadn’t taken form yet.
    And piss-scared hadn’t come until later.
    But despite the memories the sight of the ocean could wash up, he preferred it to this eerie, endless stillness. There wasn’t anything out there. Not long