Heart of the Hunter by Vivi Anna Page A

cars and on top of them. There were honks and tires screeching, but no accidents. Jake had to wait a bit before he could follow. After the last car raced away, he ran across the road and picked up the demon’s trail.
     
    It wasn’t hard to find, since the demon was swinging from the white metal decorative structures that lined either side of the trendy shopping district. Like Spiderman, the demon swung from one to the other, but there was no webbing holding him up, just sheer supernatural strength.
     
    Incredulously, Jake ran after him, careful of running into anyone. A bum sitting on one of the benches watched as the demon swung over top of him.
     
    As Jake sprinted by, he yelled, “Are you guys making a movie?”
     
    “We sure are,” Jake responded, hoping to keep this strangeness out of morning papers. He also didn’t need the police around either. They’d just want to arrest the man, when Jake needed to kill him. They’d probably arrest Jake as well. There were laws against carrying concealed weapons in Canada.
     
    The demon was nearing a glassed-in walkway that spanned the shopping lane. Instead of dropping to the ground and going under, it jumped onto it, breaking glass panes as he went, and landed on the other side at full throttle.
     
    Jake’s boot crunched the glass fragments as he ran under the pedestrian bridge. The police would definitely be alerted now. The damage wasn’t immense but it was enough to draw attention. He had to end this quickly.
     
    He had to get the demon off the streets.
     
    Reaching under his jacket, he withdrew a weapon. It was a small crossbow he had modified especially for this type of work. It was already cocked and loaded with a silver-tipped arrow blessed with holy water. It might not kill the demon, but it would slow him down enough that Jake could drag him off the public street and deal with him in private.
     
    The demon rounded the corner before Jake could get an arrow off. Running with his weapon at his side, Jake sprinted after it. It ducked down another alley. This was perfect for Jake, except now it was dark and he couldn’t see much. He only had four arrows with him, so making a bad shot and losing an arrow wasn’t really an option at this point. He needed all the weapons he had to complete his job.
     
    As he ran, he kept an eye on the shadow bouncing around in front of him. Then the shadow bounced up and kept going skyward. Was it flying? He’d never heard of a demon with flight ability. But as he got closer, he could see a set of fire escapes leading to the roof. Damn it. He really didn’t want to go up there. He hated heights. It wasn’t that he was afraid; it was the chance of falling he didn’t relish.
     
    Jake reached the bottom rung of the metal ladder and pulled it down. He mounted the steps and climbed as fast as he could. In a matter of minutes he was at the top and clambering onto the seventh-story rooftop.
     
    It was lighter up top so he could see fairly well. The demon was nowhere in sight. He didn’t hear it jump off so it had to be up here somewhere, hiding, waiting to spring out at Jake and rip out his throat.
     
    Cautiously, Jake moved across the gravelled roof, careful not to make too much noise. But it proved difficult especially with the crunching of stones underfoot. Pointing the crossbow forward, he did a sweep of the area, tensing at every shadow.
     
    He neared a large metal box on the roof. It probably contained electrical equipment for the building, or was an air filtration system. Either way it was a perfect structure to hide behind.
     
    Sweat soaked the back of his shirt under his jacket and it beaded on his top lip. Adrenaline pumped through his body, making him keenly aware of every movement, every sound around him.
     
    That was why the slight swish of fabric on fabric made him stop and spin around.
     
    Its face twisted in rage, the demon levelled its razor-sharp claws at Jake’s throat. As if in slow motion, Jake could