1 Chapter One: The Move

The skyline rose up in the distance, piercing the endless, azure blue sky. The skyscrapers and other various buildings were shiny, like precious gemstones, making the city a ball of light, too bright to look at.

'Too bad the residents are the exact opposite.'

She looked away from the city, staring off out the side window, watching the dry deserted plains go by. Country music played throughout the car, but her classic rock blasting through her headphones muffled it out. Sweat trickled down her forehead, making her head itchy. The heat was nearly unbearable, and it was only April.

'If my reputation doesn't kill me, the sun will.'

She reached for the air conditioner controls, about to turn the air to full blast for some relief. A large, rough, calloused hand covered hers, preventing her from turning the air up. She followed the arm up to the face of the driver. A man, with deep tan skin, and a gray cowboy hat resting on his brown hair, powdered with gray. He was reaching his fifties, but he hardly showed it. His core was hard, a six pack visible through his white shirt, a beige vest over the shirt, and blue jeans. A bulge was at his waist, a cold metallic black peeking from under his shirt.

Her eyes were drawn back to his face, and she was staring into the hazel eyes of the man, his lips moving, but no sound was audible. He took his second hand off the trucks steering wheel and mimicked taking something out of his ears.

'Right. My earbuds.'

With a sigh, she took her earbuds out of her ears. Immediately she was assaulted by country music, the guitar and country twang sounding annoyingly harmonious.

"Yes?" She asked, annoyed.

"No need for the air, open your window Sweetheart." He said, smiling at her.

"I don't want the window down, I want the A.C. on." She stated, going for the air dial again.

"Wind is natures, A.C. Jade," He said, that annoying smile still on his face.

"It'll mess my hair up." She stated. She couldn't really care less about her hair, she was just dead set on winning this fight and turning the air on.

"C'mon Jade. Open the window if you want A.C." He said again, his voice holding authority.

"Fine." She said, glaring.

She reached down for the old crank for the window and began putting the window down. She wouldn't have minded it so much if the truck wasn't so old.

"God, Dad, you're annoying." She muttered under her breath.

"Don't use the Lord's name in vain." The man beside her, her father, said.

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir." She muttered obediently, although she really didn't mean it.

Finally finishing rolling the window down, she sat back up, the hot Texas air assaulting her face and hair. She had to admit, although hotter than she liked, it felt good to have air rushing by her.

A smile graced her lips as she let the wind blow.

She realized her father was talking, so she forced herself to listen.

"You'll see Jade, this move will be good for us." He said.

With that single sentence, her mood plummeted. The smile she had vanished, instantly replaced by a frown. She propped her head up with an arm, and sighed.

"Sure. Whatever." She replied.

"Just give it a chance." He said, glancing over at her. "A week."

"And if I don't like it in a week? Then what? We move? Yeah right." She snapped.

Her father sighed and turned the dial of the radio up, signaling the conversation was over. Jade put her earbuds back in, turning the volume up to a point it almost hurt. They listened to their different kinds of music in silence. Her father was specifically ignoring her comment. Glancing over, she could see his lips were pressed into a thin line. He was thinking. About, she could only guess. But she was pretty sure it was about what he'd do with her.

She looked away from him, back to the city. The huge buildings seemed to grow as the distance between them and the city shrank. In reality, Jade couldn't blame her father too much for the move. She understand the reasoning, but that didn't mean she had to like it. Ever since the Demons had shown themselves to the world, people like her father were out of business.

His "business", as he called it, was a Demon Hunter. But not just any Demon Hunter, but The Demon Hunter. The best of the best. Famous Smith Parke, Hunter extraordinaire. He exorcized and killed Demons. But now that Demons were considered part of the population, killing them was frowned upon. It was like murder, only for monsters.

The Demons didn't act as part of the population though, going as far as to build an entire city for themselves. Declaring themselves superior in nearly every way. Even their buildings had to look better, evident in the City of Guns. The exact city they were now traveling towards at sixty miles an hour.

'Pretentious bastards.'

Since it was built, humans have been allowed to visit, even live there, but it was still majorly populated by demons. And its population of who-fucking-cares was about to go up two.

Her father was hired as a police officer, his history of demon killing somehow making him the perfect candidate. And of course, he jumped at the occasion, claiming it would be good for them both. So they can "Start Fresh". Although what they left behind was not only her father's old job, but also her entire life. Her friends and crush, her school, even her job. All of it was left behind, just so her father could "Start Fresh".

The more Jade stared at the shining city, the more her resentment grew, and the more it disgusted her. No city should look that brilliant. Even if Angels had built it.

'If angels even exist.'

The idea of angels had run through the population like wildfire. If Demons existed, wouldn't their opposites, their biblical equals of good? Of course, the demons, being the bastards they were, neither agreed nor denied the idea, leaving the human population to their curiosity and rumors.

Jade looked back out the window, ignoring the city. The closer they got, the more her apprehension grew. A new city. A new school. New people. But her same old reputation. The daughter of a famous Demon Hunter. A target for Demons.

'Kill me now.'