“You’d think your — well, you’d think the people in charge might see it that way,” Michael remarked, and John shrugged.
“Yes, but rules are rules. It’s fine. I’m condemned to live a mortal life…but that doesn’t mean I won’t get back to Heaven eventually.” His gaze strayed to his wife’s face, glowing with happiness and looking ten years younger at the prospect of having the man she’d lost forever suddenly returned to her side. “Only next time, I won’t be there alone.”
She leaned her head against his shoulder, even as Audrey spoke. “And Belial is really gone?”
“Well, he’s stuck in Hell, where he should be,” Rosemary’s father said. “I’m not saying that someone might not try to summon him again, but the chances of their being successful aren’t very good. He took a direct hit from the gate collapsing on him, and he’s probably going to be licking his wounds for a while and in no shape to go anywhere.”
“And the Greencastle demons?” Michael put in.
“In Hell as well. Stuck there forever, because they were just human enough that they have no chance of ever being summoned.”
“Good,” Will murmured, but Rosemary remained silent.
It wasn’t that she mourned Caleb — God, no — but at the same time, she couldn’t help thinking about all the people the Greencastle demons had left behind…Caleb’s mother, the other wives…that girl Tiffany, who planned to get engaged to Sean. Except Sean was now gone, along with all the rest of the part-demons. Losing fourteen people like that at the same time would leave a gaping hole in the fabric of a town as small as Greencastle. How in the world could anyone come up with an explanation for what had happened?
They probably wouldn’t. Those men would just be gone, and it would be a crazy mystery that would get picked apart for the next ten years. But in the end, the world would be a better place with them gone. No worries about generation after generation of demon-kind populating the town and hatching their own dark plans.
It was better this way.
Her father gazed down at her. “You did well, Rosemary.”
“Me?” she said, then shook her head. “I don’t know how you can say that. I couldn’t come up with a single way to defeat them.”
“But you didn’t lose your cool,” he told her. “You stood up to them until you realized you couldn’t any longer, not without bringing harm to your own flesh and blood. Don’t be too hard on yourself — fourteen to one are pretty big odds.”
She supposed he was right. A little flicker of warmth grew inside her, a warmth she realized came from hearing her father’s praise. When she was a child, she hadn’t heard it all that often, and she’d done her best to excuse him because she knew he was busy with his work and often preoccupied. Now, though, as she looked at him and finally saw the tension gone from his face, she realized his detachment had only been a defense mechanism, a way of keeping himself from getting too close to the family he knew he would have to leave one day.
“He’s right,” Will said gently, and she at last allowed herself to smile.
“I suppose so.” She looked around at everyone. “We kicked some demon ass, didn’t we?”
“Definitely,” Audrey said. “You McGuires are a force to be reckoned with.”
Yes, they were. And now it wouldn’t just be her and her two sisters and her mother, but her father as well. And Will, and Kevin and Tyler, and Michael and Audrey…and probably Fred as well, even if he didn’t know it yet. All of them coming together in a circle of friends and family, doing what they could to drive back the darkness with their light.
She saw Will smiling down at her, saw the sunlight catch in his clear gray eyes, and knew the love that had always eluded her had come into her life, steadfast and true, better than anything she ever could have imagined. He would be there beside her, no matter what happened, no matter what challenges they faced. His actions had already more than proven that.
And it was enough. His love, here in the light, was enough.
The End
This concludes the Project Demon Hunters series. Thank you so much for taking this journey with me, and with Michael and Audrey and Rosemary and Will. Turn the page to see all of my books, including my brand-new series, the Witches of Wheeler Park!
Also by Christine Pope
THE WITCHES OF WHEELER PARK
(Paranormal romance)
Storm Born
Thunder Road
Winds of Change (July 2020)
PROJECT DEMON HUNTERS
(Paranormal Romance)
Unquiet Souls
Unbound Spirits
Unholy Ground
Unseen Voices
Unmarked Graves
THE DEVIL YOU KNOW
(Paranormal Romance)
Sympathy for the Devil
Charmed, I’m Sure
A Wing and a Prayer
THE WITCHES OF CANYON ROAD*
(Paranormal Romance)
Hidden Gifts
Darker Paths
Mysterious Ways
A Canyon Road Christmas
Demon Born
An Ill Wind
Higher Ground
Haunted Hearts
Books 1-3 of this series are also available in an omnibus edition at a special boxed set price!
THE WITCHES OF CLEOPATRA HILL*
(Paranormal Romance)
Darkangel
Darknight
Darkmoon
Sympathetic Magic
Protector
Spellbound
A Cleopatra Hill Christmas
Impractical Magic
Strange Magic
The Arrangement
Defender
Bad Blood
Deep Magic
Darktide
Books 1-3 and Books 4-6 of this series are also available in two separate omnibus editions at special boxed set prices. Chronicles of Cleopatra Hill includes the series’ two “back in time” novellas, Bad Blood and The Arrangement.
Or get the entire series in one enormous, specially priced boxed set! (Not available on Amazon.)
(Paranormal Romance)
Chosen
Taken
Fallen
Broken
Forsaken
Forbidden
Awoken
Illuminated
Stolen
Forgotten
Driven
Unspoken
Books 1-3 and Books 4-6 of this series are also available in two separate omnibus editions at special boxed set prices!
Or get the entire series in one enormous, specially priced boxed set! (Not available on Amazon.)
THE WATCHERS TRILOGY*
(Paranormal Romance)
Falling Dark
Dead of Night
Rising Dawn
The Watchers Trilogy is also available in a specially priced boxed set!
THE SEDONA FILES*
(Paranormal Romance)
Bad Vibrations
Desert Hearts
Angel Fire
Star Crossed
Falling Angels
Enemy Mine
Get the first three books of this series in an omnibus edition, or read the complete six-book series in one super-low-priced boxed set!
TALES OF THE LATTER KINGDOMS*
(Fantasy Romance)
All Fall Down
Dragon Rose
Ashes of Roses
One Thousand Nights
Threads of Gold
The Wolf of Harrow Hall
Moon Dance
The Song of the Thrush
Books 1-3 and Books 4-6 of this series are also available in two separate omnibus editions at special boxed set prices.
THE GAIAN CONSORTIUM SERIES*
(Science Fiction Romance)
Beast (free prequel novella)
Blood Will Tell
Breath of Life
The Gaia Gambit
The Mandala Maneuver
The Titan Trap
The Zhore Deception
The Refugee Ruse
Books 1-3 of this series are also available in an omnibus edition at a special boxed set price!
STANDALONE TITLES
Hearts on Fire
Taking Dictation
Night Music
Golden Heart
* Indicates a completed series
About the Author
USA Today bestselling author Christine Pope has been writing stories ever since she commandeered her family’s Smith-Corona typewriter back in grade school. Her work includes paranormal romance, fantasy romance, and science fiction/space opera romance. She makes her home in Arizona’s beautiful Verde Valley.
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Christine Pope on the Web:
www.christinepope.com