The Hunt by Amy Meredith Page A

glad her friends were telling most of the story. It was still hard for her to remember that night, to think about how drawn she had been to Mal, how close she had come to giving in to him, to kissing him and forgetting about everything else, her town, her family, her friends … her soul.
    She pulled in a deep breath and forced herself to contribute. ‘He said that he commanded forty legions of demons. He said he was the Prince of Hell and he was going to rule the world.’
    Payne’s eyebrows shot up. ‘I find it difficult to believe a demon of that power was on Earth and my order didn’t know about it. And we knew nothing ofa Deepdene Witch.’ He shook his head. ‘I thought … We thought we knew everything about demons. Now it seems there is much more to learn.’
    ‘Lots more. You didn’t know there was another way to kill a demon either,’ Jess pointed out. ‘You thought only one of your swords would work. But Eve can do it too, with just her hands. I’m right that that’s why she has the demon stink, aren’t I?’
    ‘All the members of the Order have killed demons. I’ve never felt the pull of a demon from them, never sensed evil,’ Payne answered.
    ‘But you don’t kill demons the same way,’ Luke said. ‘Maybe that’s why.’
    Payne shrugged. ‘We will have to discuss it when I return to the Order,’ he answered. ‘Now, tell me this, where did Malphas come from?’
    ‘Ohio, I think,’ Jess offered. Eve, Luke and Payne all stared at her. ‘Oh, duh! That wasn’t really true. That’s just what Mal told people as his cover story. You know, I never realized that before!’
    ‘I meant what portal.’
    Eve could tell Payne was struggling to control his impatience, but she had no idea what he was talking about. ‘I don’t know anything about portals,’ she said. ‘There was nothing about them in the papers our oldminster hid, at least not in the parts Luke’s translated so far.’
    Payne gave a sigh of frustration. ‘How to explain it? Are any of you familiar with the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer ?’ he asked.
    Now they all stared at him, and Eve couldn’t help laughing. This scruffy man with a huge sword, who hunted demons and sensed evil … he watched TV?
    ‘Sure. We love Buffy ,’ Jess said. ‘When we were in sixth grade it was on every day after school, and we were in front of the TV!’
    ‘I’ve seen it a few times,’ Luke agreed.
    ‘Well, it got almost everything wrong,’ Payne told them, ‘but what the show called the “hellmouth” is a portal, a place where demons can pass from their world into this one. There are many such places, mystical centres where the boundary between worlds is thin. Did Malphas seem to have a home base?’
    ‘The Razor place,’ Eve said, just as Luke said, ‘The old Medway mansion.’
    ‘Which are the same house,’ Jess explained. ‘What you call it usually depends on how old you are. But it was the Medway mansion first.’
    ‘Take me there. It’s the most likely location of theportal,’ Payne instructed them. ‘This is something I have to investigate.’
    ‘We will. But not tonight,’ Eve said quickly, before either of her friends had a chance to reply. ‘I’m … I’m still really shaken up. I did almost get killed.’ She gave Payne a pointed look. ‘I need to wait until tomorrow, when it’s light and I’m not so freaked.’
    ‘Let’s meet at Java Nation in the morning,’ Luke suggested. ‘Then we’ll all walk over there together.’
    ‘Nine.’ The way Payne said it, it wasn’t a question.
    ‘Nine,’ Eve agreed.
    Payne left the church without another word, shutting the door behind him with a sharp click.
    ‘Wow.’ Jess shook her head. ‘That was – wow.’
    ‘Let’s give him a few minutes so he won’t see us,’ Eve said.
    ‘See us what?’ Luke shoved his fingers through his hair.
    ‘See us go to the Razor place. What else?’ Eve asked.
    ‘But you said you were freaked and you didn’t want