Prey by Carlos King Page A

shoulder into a nearby wall. “I’ll be fine.”
    Jade doesn’t understand why Alex wants her to keep her distance. He saved her life twice and now he’s acting like he wants nothing to do with her. She spots a small, round-shaped object in Alex’s hand. He’s keeping it tucked off to his side in what seems to be an attempt of keeping it out of her sight.
    Jade asks, “What is that?”
    “Nothing.” Alex readjusts the object so it’s hidden behind him entirely. Keeping it in this position, Alex walks to the broken balcony door and tosses the object through the opening where glass once existed. Jade develops a notion of what she thinks it was Alex just tossed.
    “Was that—”
    Alex cuts her off, “There’s only one way to put a demon down permanently.” Staring out the balcony, he further explains, “You have to sever the spinal cord from the brain base of whatever body they’re using. Breaking their neck usually does the trick. Sometimes the best way, though, is through decapitation.”
    Jade is speechless. She has a great deal of trouble fathoming the brutal confession at first, but quickly comes to grips with the lethal tactic. “What happens next?” she asked.
    “We run.” Alex said plainly. “We run as far away from here as we can. Like I said before, demons and angels are all linked together. The link that demons share amongst themselves is a lot more complex what angels share. If one of them knows something, they’ll all know. If Markus knew how to find you, the rest of them know by now, too. They’re closing in on us at this very moment. None of them are within an hour’s distance, but with their speed and heightened sense of smell, they’ll be on our trail in no time.”
    Jade isn’t oblivious to everything that’s occurred within the last twenty-four hours, yet despite what she’s seen, she still has her drawbacks about completely feeding into it all. Her viewpoint is ultimately changed, though, when she catches a second glimpse of Alex’s face. The scars and bruises that covered his face just moments ago have healed, leaving no trace of any trauma whatsoever.
    With a lost and confused expression, she states, “Your skin…it’s healed.”
    Alex rubs the lower part of his face to verify the restoration of his flesh. “I guess you believe me now, huh?”
    “I don’t know what I believe anymore. People are trying to kill me. A man who looked like he could’ve been the Devil incarnate kicked my front door down like it was nothing. And you both seem to be stronger and faster than anything I’ve ever seen. And somehow, cuts that would’ve taken weeks for a normal person to heal from, you healed from in a matter of seconds.
    Alex picks up on Jade’s uncertainty and tries to help relieve her mental strain. Subtly making his toward her, he says, “Did you know that when someone prays to God or to anyone else in Heaven, that person can hear them just as if they were in the same room? That that same person you were praying to can also talk back to you. They do it by appearing in your dreams.
    “Up until a few nights ago, every night for the last two years, right before you’d go to sleep, you would say your prayers and then follow them with an amen. And then at the very end, you’d tell me you still love me and how much you missed me.”
    Jade’s facial expression lights up in amazement. There’s no way anyone could’ve guessed that with such exactness.
    Alex continues, “Human words can’t describe how powerful a love like that is. To have as much sincerity in those words the very last time you said it as you did the very first time is truly indescribable. It’s that same love that gave me all the energy I needed to come back.”
    Jade decides to ask a definitive question that will help determine once and for all if the man in front of her is legitimately Alex Henley or not. “In my dreams, there were a lot of times where I did see you. I think it’s safe to say that not a