Blood Prize {Bloody Dance Series #1} BoyxBoy

TWO

Shu was overreacting. I could go at least eight months without food, the same way that I could go twelve months without sleeping. Of course after a while my demon traits would start to show. First they would be small unnoticeable things to anyone but me.

Then I would start to display the outward traits. Shifting into my demon form when I was around Aya and Dante wasn't something that I wanted to do. What would the two of them think when the boy they both worried over looked like the monsters they hunt? It was a question I didn't want the answer to.

Blood, in the end blood, was the most important thing. Blood was life, in its simplest form. Humans and demons alike needed it. It was the one thing that linked us all together. I needed blood to bite back the hunger that would nag at me in a few more months.

Once upon a time any human that came close was good enough for a meal. After finding Shu's grandfather, I learned a different way of hunting. There are people in this world that deserve to die. The outlaws that Bounty Hunters chased down were some of those people. Men who killed without regard to life. Why shouldn't I hunt them the way they hunt other humans?

Bounty Hunters had the same setup as Demon Hunters. You needed a license and then you could hunt the scum of the earth. There were bars in every city, every town. All of them had a board inside. Pinned to the board was wanted posters and the reward.

Walking into the Bounty Hunter bar the owner looked up at me. I've been coming in here for a few years now. We lived close to this bar so it was easy to come in here and pick my next target. The ones that could be turned in dead or alive was always my favorite kind of pray.

I could feel the eyes of men in the bar on me. These were men that all thought they were big and strong. I wanted to laugh at the noisy bunch. If they wanted to see the strongest men in town, they should find a Demon Hunter's bar. Catching humans were child's play. Hunting a demon and coming home to your family, that was true strength.

"You haven't been in here for a while," the owner called. He was still drying out the glass he had in his hand. My eyes shifted over to the old man with the happy smile on his face.

"Been chasing demons." Most Demon Hunters had the license to be a Bounty Hunter as well. Demon jobs were hard to come by. Even when you took one, you had to find the demon, plan out a way to kill it. There could be months between earning credits. It was always smart to find an outlaw just to keep your funds up.

"You should focus on outlaws. A kid like you shouldn't be chasing demons." He sounded shocked and outraged at the thought that I was chasing demons. Was it wrong that I wanted to laugh at this man? Chasing demons. Why not? I was one.

"I don't see the difference." I was chasing scum one way or another. Demons paid more. Humans offered me the blood that I needed.

"Outlaws won't eat you." His voice was sobering. I smiled at the statement. It depended on the outlaw. I'm sure some humans had the same taste for flesh as a demon. "What happened to bringing your father with you?" Had I told him I would? Probably, he was always asking for my parent.

My father? My father was dust by now. I couldn't bring him anywhere. His soul was in heaven or maybe it was burning in hell. I didn't know where the man was. I just knew he was no use to me anymore.

"He's away." I lied. I could have brought Shu here but why? It didn't matter who my father was. Sixteen was old enough to be a hunter. I didn't need a father to collect my credits and pick bounties.

"Demon hunting?" He mocked me. My eyes shifted to the man. I only nodded my head. My father demon hunting. My father only encountered one demon. The same demon that killed us all. I couldn't picture the lawyer with a weapon in his hand getting bloody as he hunted anything.