Fourteen

"You appear troubled." Demetri's voiced from where he stood in the doorway, breaking me from my thoughts, and I turned to face him.

I rolled my eyes. Demons. They just didn't get it.

"Yes, most people become troubled when someone tries to kill them." My voice was thick with sarcasm, and he narrowed his eyes at my tone.

"That is not something I am familiar with. I am normally on the other side of this." His right eyebrow lifted, and a cough rattled through my chest in surprise. Did he just make a joke?

The corner of his mouth twitched as I stared at him. "Ah, of course. How could I forget? You're the hunter, not the hunted."

"See, now you're getting it." He gestured his head for me to follow him out of the attic.

The visit with the lawyer had gone well, but I didn't have it in me to watch the people come take away my parents' belongings for donation. Packing it up was hard enough, but watching it get taken away was something that I just wasn't ready for.

After they left, I stowed