Demon Hunters 1: Blood Sacrifice (Stand Alone Series) (Demon Hunters.) by Avril Sabine Page A

demon on the cover. Alex reached for the book. Her hand landed on it first as she tried to tell herself it was only a picture. Not the real thing. She was safe. Her eyes rose to meet his quiet ones.
    He stared at her for a moment before he stepped back. “No need to save my place, I’ve read it many times.” He paused. “I’ll get you something to eat.” He left the room before Alyssa could speak.
    She picked up the book and closed it to stare at the front cover. ‘Demonology’ by Patrick Hunter. She turned a couple of pages and the inscription caught her eye. “So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will fight without danger in battles- Sun Tzu sixth century BC.” She ran her fingers over the words, ‘know your enemies’.
    She closed the book and stared at the demon on the cover. He was different to the one she’d faced. No wings for starters. This one had short horns coming from his shoulder and upper arm, five on each side that became progressively smaller as they went down the arm. They looked more like talons than horns so she wasn’t sure what to call them.
    Opening the book again, she turned more pages, stopping at the contents. She frowned at the titles of some of the chapters. Holy Objects, Dangers of Unfulfilled Promises, Weapons and Uses, Temptation, Demon Hierarchy, Binding and Banishing Demons. Her eyes were drawn back to ‘Weapons and Uses’. Now that chapter sounded helpful, the rest, not so much.
    “My great-great grandfather wrote it.” Alex entered with a bowl of soup and a glass of water on a tray. He placed it on the coffee table. “Gran asked if she could see you once you’ve eaten.” Alex sat across from her. “She’s actually my great-grandmother.” He fell silent a moment. “Aren’t you going to eat? It won’t taste as good if you let it go cold.”
    “I’m not much for soup.”
    “At least have a couple of mouthfuls. Gran said it’d be the best thing for your stomach after not eating much recently.”
    Alyssa reluctantly put the book beside her and pulled the tray onto her lap. She hesitantly had a mouthful of soup. “It actually tastes okay.”
    “You don’t have to sound so surprised. Although I’m sure a big part of it is hunger.” Alex smiled slightly.
    “Does it bother you?” Alyssa asked between mouthfuls.
    “What?”
    “Having to be a demon hunter?”
    “You’re wrong. No one’d force that decision on any of us. We’re actually discouraged.”
    “Do you all end up hunters anyway?”
    Alex shook his head. “Riley’s brother, Blake, isn’t one anymore.”
    “What happened?”
    There was silence, then Alex spoke, “He decided it wasn’t for him.”
    “And you can do that? Just decide not to do it anymore?”
    “Yes. We have free will.”
    “Why did Riley ask me if I believe in God?”
    “Where do demons reside?”
    She swallowed her mouthful of soup before she answered. “Hell, I guess.”
    “And the opposite of hell?”
    “Heaven. So you’re saying that because they’re opposites they can be used against each other?”
    “Not quite. More along the lines of calling on the power of heaven to help fight the powers of hell.”
    “Does that mean I wouldn’t have been able to win against the demon?”
    “It means we must never leave you alone after dark and try and have you in a holy place by then.”
    “It… he’s coming back? The demon. Not just Nathan, but both of them?”

Chapter Ten
    Alex stared at her for a moment before he nodded. “Yes. Some demons can’t handle the day. You were lucky in some ways he isn’t a minor demon as most of them aren’t bothered by the sun rising.”
    “How do we get rid of him?”
    “That’s something we have to figure out.”
    “What do you mean? He’s a demon. Aren’t you demon hunters?”
    “If only it was that simple. Scarlett already tried to banish him. No two demons are the same. I guess you could say they’re all a different sin. They’re called by