Risen (Haunted Series Book 22)

“If you want a way off the island, I will accommodate you, if you call off Lamia.”
“But you’re an assassin,” a voice responded.
“True, I was bred to be an assassin, but I have never assassinated any demon that didn’t do me ill.”
“Ill?  Explain that?”
“I don’t know, if they tried to kill me, tried to harm my loved ones - oh wait, you’ve done just that…”
The low laughter gave bass to the whirling treble of the approaching storm.
“About that,” started an attractive man who was walking out from the dark of the jungle.  “I may have been hasty.  I just took in your genetic makeup and didn’t consider your mind.”
Mia couldn’t resist asking, “I thought it was in my mind that you were looking to rent space?”
“No, it was that frail creature.  You call her Sabine.”
“My cousin?”
“Oh now, that’s a lie.  You forget I can tell.”
“My aunt doesn’t know we’re not related, so shush, you’ll give it all away,” Mia said, her eyes dancing.
“Why would you help me?” the demon asked.
“I have people/beings I love on that boat.”
“What about the man that loves you on this island?”
Mia was confused for a moment.  “Whit?  Oh no, you have that wrong.”
“You forget I can probe the human mind.”
“I was just in his mind, and I found no mementos of our relationship,” Mia lied.  Mia had seen his innermost thoughts.  There was regret for his loss of her, but that was surrounded by his suspicion of her regarding his wife’s death.  She looked over at the body in which the demon had housed himself and said, “Alright, if you want to lump him into this basket, go ahead.  The result is the same.  Call off your beast, and I’ll take you off this island.”
“I doubt you can do this,” the demon said.
“I’m a strong vessel like my cousin.”
“No, the weather is setting in.  You can’t fly or cross that reef safely with the watercraft at your disposal.”
“You’re right.  But I have other ways.”
The rain started, and Mia winced as small pebbles of hail fell along with the rain.  “Is there any place dry where we could continue this conversation?”
“Come with me,” he said, reaching out and taking her gloved hand.  “Why do you wear these things?” he asked.
“Vanity, I have age spots,” Mia lied.
“You humans are so caught up in looks,” he scolded.
“Seems to me, you could have chosen an ugly man to possess.  But instead, an Adonis.”
“Mrs. Martin.  Wait, which Martin are you married to?” Anders asked as he led the way to one of the secret entrances to the cavern.  “The handsome man on the beach or the string bean on the boat?”
“He’s not a string bean. He’s a genius, and he’s handsome to me.”
“How does the genius feel about what you’re offering me?”
“He’s not happy.  Would you be in his shoes?”
“I’m not sure.  You could be a pain in the ass.”
Mia laughed.  “I am?” she questioned.  “I never asked.”
“Careful, it’s slick here,” Anders said, guiding her down a set of carved stone steps.  “I used to know Aosoth.  You remember Aosoth, don’t you, assassin?” he accused.
“She was going to take my child.  It figures that a fellow flesh-eater would know another.  But if you’re a flesh-eater too, then you must have a name,” Mia said.  “What is it?”
“You tell me.  They took it from me.”
“Who’s they?” she asked.
“I can’t remember that either.  Which is good for them, because when I do…”
“I’d hate to be in their shoes.”
“Don’t you worry about them, assassin.  They aren’t innocents.”
“For my sake, can you stop calling me assassin?  People call me Mia.  It’s simple. It rolls off the tongue,” Mia said.
“I’ve hit a nerve.  Now you’re not going to like me anymore,” he teased.
Mia had to stop and look at the possessed man before her.  She had to remember why he was so dangerous.  “It was a horrible day when I found out what I was.  There was a long game in play.  I was genetically engineered to be able to seduce a former archangel and kill him.  The beings that participated hurt me deeply until they thought they had nurtured me to be a stone-cold killer.”
The demon turned and took her hand again.  “I sense your sorrow.  I can’t understand why you don’t just destroy them all and… oh…  Then you would be an assassin, and they would win.”
“You’re very perceptive,” Mia said dryly.
“Damn, you’re starting not to like me again.  I thought I had you there for a while.”
“It would be nice to like the being I’m transporting,” Mia mused.
“Let’s stop at that.”
Mia wrinkled her nose.  “What is that appalling smell?”
“Rotting flesh.  I’ve gotten used to it.  Lamia likes her meat aged.”
“While you?”
“Oh, I eat just the brains, and I try to eat them fresh.  This last kill had me up to my armpits in brains.  I do believe I gained weight.”
Mia’s stomach turned, but she held it together by tuning out the glee with which the demon spoke of his consumption.  They had walked into a large cavern.  She stopped and looked for a place to use her chalk successfully.
“Why have you stopped?” he inquired.
“I need to find a place that isn’t Lamia.  Firm hard rock would do.”
“Why?”
“You want off this island.  I have superhuman genes; I shall call a portal.”
“Will that work?” he asked, excited.
“I have transported humans and ghosts through portals.  Why not you?  It’s worth a try.  And if it doesn’t work, then we’ll wait for the weather to change.  In the meanwhile…”
“I’ll ask Lamia to stand down.  We shall have a cease-fire.”
“That sounds like an excellent idea.”
“But if your loved ones attack during this time, I can’t