The room was silent, no one exactly sure where to begin. Finally, Derik decided on a starting point and broke the silence.
"Jade did research on Incubi, learned how to bind and banish them, then we made plans. We got everything ready here and waited. Everyone had fallen asleep when Jade left." Derik began.
"The Incubi and Succubi link. Their prey will have the desire to find the Incubi or Succubi when they are close. It's how they find their prey that escape." Mr. Parke explained.
Derik nodded in understanding, and Jones bobbed his head in excited wonder.
"I woke up and noticed she was gone. We rushed to the alley where we had made the pentagram previously in the day." Derik continued.
Mark looked at Derik suspiciously, knowing he had woken up because of the sexually created bond between them both.
"We found her there, the Incubus attacking her. We rushed to help, Mark and I distracting the Incubus, and Jones attending to Jade." Derik nodded towards Jones, for him to take over.
"She was barely conscious when I found her, but she soon woke up. She took in everything quickly and got to work. She was still dazed, so I got her the supplies and set up the stones. She sure scared me when she cut herself though." Jones said, glancing over at her.
"Cut herself? Where?" Mr. Parke asked.
"Her wrist. She said her blood was needed for the banishing thing." Jones replied.
Mr. Parke went silent but nodded for him to continue.
"Anyway, she started the thing, said a sentence in English, then in another, weird language." Jones tried to explain.
"Latin. She was speaking in Latin. It's the language of power, and many witches and Hunter's use it in spells and rituals. Although I noticed something different when she spoke the spell." Mark mentioned.
"What do you mean?" Mr. Parke asked.
"She not only spoke the spell of banishing, but she invoked a strong, ancient power," Mark said.
"Power?" Mr. Parke asked.
"Yes. An ancient power. It was impossible to ignore, and more than a little terrifying. A human should not have equal power to a True or Hellspawn, and yet that is what I felt." Mark continued.
Mr. Parke went silent in thought. He didn't like the sound of this. His mind jumped to the week his father, Jade's grandfather, had taken her. Jade had discovered he did awful things, and Mr. Parke had a feeling he did something to his sweet little Jaderyn.
A groan sounded from the bed, and in an instant, Derik was at Jade's side.
"Hey, everything is okay now. Easy." Derik said, taking Jade's hand.
Jade struggled to sit up, but Derik held her down.
"Relax," Derik said.
Mr. Parke was right beside Derik.
"I'm here sweetheart." He said, smiling down at his daughter.
"The Incubus?" She asked, finding it hard to remember what had happened after she started the banishing ritual.
"Gone. You banished it." Derik said.
"Yeah, sent it straight back to hell." Jones chimed in.
"You're safe now, try to sleep." Her father.
She closed her eyes, thankful her father and Derik and Jones and Mark were all safe. They had won. She had actually banished a Demon. With a swell of pride, Jade sank into sleep.
Jade was sitting at her father's desk, struggling through math homework. The entire Incubus Banishing stuff happened two days ago, but Jade was still grounded. It wasn't like she did something illegal! Yes, Hunting was now illegal, but she had banished a Demon that had been plaguing Gun City! But did her father care? No! She got grounded for "Doing something dangerous without telling him first". Not to mention her father was suspicious of her and Derik's relationship.
Groaning, Jade put her head down on the book, closing her eyes and letting her mind wander. The founders of Gun City had invited her and her father over for dinner. Jade had done something they couldn't, and they wished to thank her properly. Derik assured her that nothing bad would happen the last time they were together, A.K.A. last night. Begrudgingly, her father agreed. She couldn't just brush off the founders of the city they were living in.
So her father would go along and ensure Jade and Derik wouldn't find a dark corner to be alone in. As much as Smith Parke trusted his daughter to make the right choice, he remembered what it was like to be a teenager, so he wasn't taking any chances.
A sharp tap on the desk had Jade's head shooting up. Her father was standing over her, a ruler in his hand, which was resting on the desk.
"Doesn't look like you're doing homework." Mr. Parke said.
"Aw, c'mon Dad! I was taking a break!" Jade said.
"Conveniently." He said.
When he noticed her puzzled look, he continued.
"It's time to go."
With a bright smile on her face, Jade closed her textbook and jumped up, ready to go.
"Let's get going then! Don't want to be late." She said, the excitement apparent in her voice.
"Something tells me that excitement isn't meant for Mr. And Mrs. Heath." Her father mumbled.
Jade acted like she didn't hear him, walking out of the police station doors.
Jade and her father entered the large mansion and warmly greeted the founders of Gun City, Mr. And Mrs. Heath. Much to Jade's disappointment, Derik was nowhere to be found.
Following the couple, Jade and her dad entered the large dining hall and took some empty seats. Derik walked in a few minutes later, his brown hair gelled back, and his black eyes brightening as they landed on Jade. Taking their seats, the Heath's began to speak.
"Smith Parke, lovely for you to join us." Mr. Heath began.
"Ah, yes. It's an honor to meet you, Sir." Mr. Parke replied.
"Ah, but the honor is mine. The famous Hunter of Demons, an officer for our humble city." Mr. Heath continued.
Jade struggled not to scoff. Gun City was anything but humble. It was bright, full of vibrant colors, magnificent skyscrapers, and lots of huge, fancy, expensive mansions. Derik chuckled beside her.
She had gotten used to this. It seemed when they had sex, a bond was created between the two. Jade had been reading about it, and they could feel each other's emotions and the Demon could hear thoughts, if close enough.
Jade smiled over at him before listening to the conversation again.
"As much as we adore having you here, it was your daughter we wanted to speak with." Mrs. Heath said.
Jade looked over at her and met her cold, black eyes. Jade struggled not to squirm in her seat, something about Mrs. Heath seemed...dangerous. Instead, she smiled the brightest smile she could manage.
"It seems you have done something unusual. Banishing the Incubus with a blood binding. While that is considered a dangerous way to do a banishing, there is something less known about it." She said.
"Which would be..?" Jade trailed off, her curiosity caught, even if those eyes scared her.
"To perform a blood binding with a Demon and not only live but also have no lasting damage, requires nothing less than power, either light or dark." She continued.
"What are you saying?" Her father asked, going on the defensive.
"We're saying, Mr. Parke, that your daughter may have something inside of her worth watching. We heard from our son's friend, he felt an ancient power from her." Mr. Heath said.
"And so? Many Hunters are powerful." Mr. Parke defended.
"And so, we have an offer for you, Ms. Parke. You are gifted, and we'd hate to see those gifts go to waste. Be the first member of a new police division. It would be made up of gifted young men and women such as yourself, and you can continue the Hunter work, receive training for your abilities, and assist your community." Mrs. Heath offered, smiling a smile that froze Jade inside.
"No. Absolutely not." Mr. Parke said. "My daughter will not-"
"I accept." Jade said, partially out of spite for her father, who was denying her offer, and partially because Derik was encouraging her, and although she didn't trust his parents, she trusted Derik.
The Heath's smiled.
"Wonderful. We will contact the station shortly and you will have the new side rooms for your division. I wish you luck." Mr. Heath said.
Smith Parke stared at his daughter with contained fury. She had never before so openly ignored his decision. To be an officer at such a young age was not something he thought smart, but it was too late now, the decision had been made.
"We look forward to your help in the future, Ms. Parke." Mr. Parke said, smiling at her.
'Yes, congratulations on the job. Now, where do I sign up?' Derik asked her in her mind.
'Sign up? Please, you're already a member. So is Jones and Mark.' Jade replied mentally, adoring the closeness their bond gave them.
Jade smiled at Derik, and he smiled back. And though Jade was happy, she felt a sence of foreboding, and something stirring within. Something big was about to happen, she didn't know what, but she knew it as much as she knew her and Derik were bonded.
It startled her, warmth spreading through her, along with something else, something foreign, but she had never felt so certain.
So powerful.
So...Her.