The only way to deal with this cleanly is to find the vampire creating these thralls and to convince it to give its thralls the command to kill themselves. That’s the outcome Blade is hoping for, anyway. None of us know how a bond between a vampire and their thralls works exactly.
This vampire is trying to become more powerful. If they can’t do it alone, they’ll do it by building an army. If Imae has taught me anything about demons, it’s to never underestimate them and the things they’ll do for power.
There’s this annoying itch in my hands that won’t go away. The people inside of this house are still human. I’m a soldier. I do what I’m told. Our top priority is to take out this vampire. I’m ready for that, but what doesn’t sit well with me is the fact that we’re basically using this family as bait. My orders are to follow Blade’s orders. She’s set up a perimeter around the house, confident that we’ll be able to take the vampire out like this. I’ve been assigned the front of the house. Without fail, Blade’s been keeping a sharp eye on me. She usually sets me up in places where she’ll be able to watch my every move, or she’ll just assign herself to me. I know she doesn’t trust me. Just like Miguel doesn’t trust me. But lately she has been giving me more freedom, and that’s why I’m stationed by myself tonight.
My eyes flicker to a shadow of movement. It seems the vampire is planning on using the front door after all. It’s not even sneaking around. It’s walking up to me with a steady pace, with confidence. It oozes darkness.
I strain my eyes to see in the night. I can see the vampire’s figure now. It’s undeniably female. The sensual curves of her body, the way she walks, and the skintight dress she’s wearing to accentuate those curves make her gender quite clear.
“I didn’t know angels worked alongside humans,” she coos. “Ah, you are an angel, right? I’ve never actually met one, but I’ve heard stories. You feel like you could be one.”
I shut out every word she says. I don’t make small talk with demons. Demons will do anything to corrupt you. As an angel, I’m protected from them in a way, but Imae assured me that even an angel can be taken by darkness if we allow ourselves to be swayed. There are stories, dark stories, of angels who have fallen. It’s very uncommon, but it has happened.
I have a stake made from golden ash wood ready in my hand. She’ll probably see my first strike coming and dodge, but I’ll take her on the rebound. I pose to leap when a piercing pain explodes inside of my chest. It hurts so bad I wonder if the demon hit me first, but I didn’t even see her move. Dumbfounded, I feel my chest with my free hand to find… no wounds.
The vampire’s eyes sparkle with interest as she inspects me. She’s standing on the porch now. I can’t believe that none of the other hunters have arrived yet. I can’t believe I just let her slip past me.
“You look rather pale, angel.” She smiles, flashing her white teeth and parting her plump lips. “Whatever could be the matter?”
My chest still hurts. There’s something wrong, but it’s not the kind of wrong that comes from a physical wound. It’s something else, like my heart is trying to tell me something. A thought pops into my head: Tasia needs me.
No, I shake my head, trying to clear my mind. She’s fine. She’s safe at the base. Imae is watching over her.
Tasia needs me.
Unable to focus, I fail to notice that the vampire is no longer standing on the porch. When her hot breath caresses the back of my neck, I know I’ve made a grave mistake. I react reflexively and dart forward, but she grabs me easily enough. She’s strong.
She forces my body to hers, making it impossible not to feel her curves. She hums and I can feel the rumble throughout my entire body. I’ve never been more repulsed in my life. The very smell of her, like rotting flesh, makes me sick. Her body’s contact with mine seems to sap my strength. My knees are weak.
“You are a handsome one,” she says, running her nails across my cheek.
Her touch is like acid burning through my skin. I never knew anything could be so painful. I only manage to half stifle my scream before she silences me herself, placing her hand firmly against my mouth.
“Believe me, boy. I don’t exactly enjoy touching you either, but it’s worth it to see you squirm.”
My vision is fading to black. I’ve been overpowered so easily, and this is how I’m going to die? Instead of my thoughts receding into all the memories that make up my life, I think of Tasia. She’s the only thing I can see in my mind’s eye.
She needs me.
Horrid, ear-piercing shrieks bring me out of my daze. I realize I’m on the cold ground, icy wind biting against my skin, but that’s the only discomfort I feel now. I’ll take it over being touched by a demon any day.
“Rynne, get up!” It’s Blade. She pulls me up with one arm as I grunt in protest. She continues speaking, “I shot her, but it wasn’t a fatal wound. Still, the wood should poison her body. Follow my lead. She bolted inside of the house. We have to stop her before she hurts this family.”
Blade dashes to the blown-in door and peeks inside, while keeping mostly hidden from sight. She has her gun ready, but she seems to think the room is safe for her to enter because she disappears inside of the darkness.
I chase after her without taking any precautionary measures. I stop her by blocking her path before she makes her way farther inside of the house.
“What are you doing?” she demands, though she manages to keep her voice hushed.
“You have someone watching Tasia, right? She hasn’t left the base, right?” I ask.
She hisses. “Of course! Now follow my lead. You’re going to get us all killed if you don’t get your act together.”
She’s right. What’s gotten into me? I know Tasia’s safe. Imae’s watching her. Imae’s watching her…
Tasia needs me.
I step out of Blade’s way. She eyes me suspiciously before taking the lead again. I follow close behind her, reminding myself I need to do whatever she says. I need to do whatever it takes to keep the hunters and this family safe.
Tasia is fine. She doesn’t need me right now. She’s safe inside of the base.
Please, Imae. Please keep her safe.
CHAPTER 35
Arsen
“I WAS HOPING YOU would be the one to give me answers,” I say, voicing my presence.
Glancing at her trembling hands, I take note of her funny little silver knife. She intends to hurt me, I suppose, maybe even kill me. What was it she accused me of? Murdering her parents?
I hold out my hands, inviting her to stab me if that’s really what she desires.
I gave in. The angelic presence around her faded for some reason, and then my logician couldn’t keep my beast on its leash any longer. Now, here I am. The fact that I can’t feel that presence now smells too much like a trap, but I took the bait anyway. My logician was certain the angels would have come by now, but it’s starting to feel like this isn’t a trap at all. Unless—is this girl supposed to kill me? Does she have the strength to?
I search her eyes and feel the war of light and darkness waging inside of her. There’s hate in those… somehow familiar eyes. She hates me enough to follow through, but there’s something holding her back. I’m standing wide open and she hasn’t taken a step toward me. The hatred in her eyes is receding, replaced with anguish. I want to get closer. I want to look into those eyes and see everything that she is. Will she submit to me if I try it? Or is that the moment the trap will be sprung?
Resting my hands back at my sides, I walk forward. Tasia shakes more violently with each step I take, but she doesn’t try to run. She doesn’t try to attack me either. She doesn’t move.
When I’m standing only a foot away from her, I disarm her before she can come to her senses. I toss the sad excuse for a silver knife, discarding it onto the floor behind me. The way she blinks when the silver lands with a bell-like clang against the cold, hard ground brings awareness back into her eyes. Now she tries to run. All I have to do t
o stop her is to reach out my hand and grab her arm. I do.
I grasp only her arm at first, making sure she knows she can’t get away from me as I grip her a bit more forcefully than my beast wants me to. My logician is buried somewhere inside of me, screaming at me to run away while I still have the chance, but I can’t. My beast is in control of 80% of my actions now. The only contribution my logician gives to my actions is in my forcefulness.
Tasia squirms half-heartedly in my grasp. She knows she can’t escape me. Has she already given in to my will? Will I be able to look inside of her eyes and see her? Will I understand why she shines brighter than she should, why her presence is so inexorably known to me? It’s like I’ve already seen into her core, like I’ve discerned the unique make of her soul that is only her. But it’s all hazy. My logician claims no part in this.
I yank on her arm and, against the desire of my beast to hold her gently, I lock her into a chokehold. I keep my arm tight around her neck, though I’m careful not to cut off her air.
Tasia grasps my arms with both of hers. She tries to bend down and step behind me to break out of my hold, but I don’t budge an inch. She smacks at my arms. She tries to stomp on my feet. She even tries to bite me, but I won’t let go. And still, no angel comes. Does this mean I’ve been overthinking this whole situation?
My beast is shredding my soul apart. It’s begging me to stop, but I don’t. I heed my logician now. I can kill her. I can do it in seconds.
“I’m going to kill you,” I tell her, brushing my lips against her ear.
She stops squirming when I say the words. She stops fighting entirely, like she’s ready to accept that fate. What did I expect? It’s not as if she can do anything about it.
“Do it,” she manages to say, though it’s hard for her to speak.
She wants me to kill her, then?
“Drink my blood. I hope you at least get a terrible stomach ache.”
I teasingly brush my lips against the back of her neck. She shudders in reaction, taking no pleasure from the exchange. My beast disapproves, and it makes sure I know. I don’t feel any pleasure from it either. I don’t feel any pleasure from this whatsoever. It’s agonizing being away from this girl and yet it’s agonizing being near her. My logician tells me to kill her and be done with it all.
“You do have some fight in you, sweet girl,” I tell her as I breathe in her scent. It’s a new scent, the scent of a body I’ve never known. But… then there’s also a familiarity somehow. It’s driving me crazy. Her scent is sweet, but not like an angel’s. It’s a sweetness that draws me in, like a bear drawn to honey.
I’m not in the mood for my usual banter, but I carry on. I have to carry on or give in to my beast. “You’re right. The vervain in your blood wouldn’t be pleasant, but it wouldn’t kill me.”
“What are you?” she whimpers. “What is a demon really? Nothing stops you. My parents couldn’t stop you. Our house was full of charms, full of everything that repels evil, and you somehow destroyed it all and killed them right there!”
I don’t answer. I can’t answer. I just need to kill her. I need to end this. My logician is right. I’m going to break if I don’t.
I sharpen my nails into claws, fully intent on slicing her carotid artery. I’ll make this simple, fast, easy… My claws barely brush against the skin of her neck when racking sobs shake through her entire body.
Searing pain stabs inside of my chest and I pull my claws away from her throat. The pain flares out into my entire body and I release her from my hold entirely. I’m burning! My flesh is burning from the inside out!
I grab at my chest as I stumble backward, away from the girl. My beast is punishing me for barely drawing a trickle of her blood. My very being is fighting against itself, and I don’t know if I’m going to survive it this time. I’ve never known pain until this moment.
“Argh!” I scream in agony as I fall to the ground. “What is this magic?” I gasp. I don’t know what else this could be.
The world around me is spinning and my senses are going haywire, but the strong blast of light that now encompasses this area isn’t lost to me. It can only mean one thing: an angel has come for Tasia. This is the part where I die. If I don’t kill myself first, this angel will. But then there’s another burst of energy, dark energy. But it’s more than that. I know this presence.
Yuki.
The light and dark eclipse each other. A battle between angel and demon, waging not far from this old warehouse. Maybe I’ll live longer than I thought.
The burning inside of me begins to subside enough for me to begin lifting myself onto my hands and arms, and then onto my knees. Tasia’s moving around me. She’s reaching for the silver knife a few feet away from me.
I watch her every move as I struggle to pick myself up off the ground. If I don’t recover soon, she’ll stab me with that knife, and though it’ll take much more than that to kill me, it’s something I’d like to avoid. Wounds made by silver have never been something I’ve looked forward to.
When she touches the weapon, she gasps and draws back, as if she has just been burned. That’s when she makes eye contact with me. Her eyes lock onto mine and then neither of us can look away from the other. There’s a deep understanding hidden in her eyes. Her eyes bring out a feeling inside of me that I’ve known for only one person. Her core, the very thing that makes her who she is…
I force myself to blink. Then I look away. I can’t handle this kind of contact with her. My beast tells me to look, to know her, but I can’t do it. It hurts too much. What I think I feel, what I think I see in her, it’s impossible. It’s a trick. It’s a sick perversion made by the angels.
Emma. Why does this girl remind me of you when she’s nothing like you?
CHAPTER 36
Rynne
BLADE AND I CREEP through the house and toward the sounds of whimpering.
“Let the girl go!” Donovan bellows unseen from somewhere down the hall.
Stopping, Blade looks back at me and puts her finger to her lips, signaling me to be quiet. She points at a cracked-open door with light streaming out of it.
“You miserable hunters,” the vampire shrieks. All the seductive nuances of her voice seem to have vanished. She can’t be bothered to try and use those charms on us anymore. She knows she’s in danger.
Danger.
Tasia needs me.
It’s like my heart knows something I don’t.
“As if life wasn’t hard enough,” the vampire continues, finding a fraction of her previous composure. “Still, you are meager creatures, aren’t you? Is that why you’ve recruited an angel?” She laughs.
“Angel?” Blade questions under her breath.
Miguel’s voice sounds this time. “Angels? As if angels have ever bothered to come down and help us. We have to take care of this shit ourselves. We have to protect our own. Screw angels, if there even are any.”
Blade and I are just outside of the door now.
The vampire cackles. “You’re purifying the world, or some such nonsense, aren’t you? And yet God is nowhere to be found. You claim the same is true of angels, so why are you even fighting me and those like me? Why not seek power of your own? If you’re lucky, you might even get a demon to notice you, and then you could become just like me.”
“You’re saying a demon made you into what you are?” Miguel demands.
“Where else would monster’s come from? Really, you hunters don’t know much of anything at all, do you?”
I flinch when I hear a child cry. I take a peek into the room after Blade. It’s hard to see since the door is barely open, but I can make out some figures inside, tied and seated on the ground. As far as I can tell, the children are okay. Judging by the adult lying limp on the floor, I can’t say the same for at least one of their parents.
I glance behind me when I hear a creak. I’m ready to attack, should it be another demon, but it’s just Sherri. She makes eye contact with me and Blade and then cr
eeps toward us.
“We’re going to have to rush in there,” I whisper as the vampire continues stalling with Donovan and Miguel. “I can’t think of a way to sneak up on her.” I’m relieved she hasn’t seemed to notice my presence yet, but I’m almost certain she will once I enter the room.
Blade nods. “But doesn’t she have someone she’s holding hostage? Donovan told her to ‘let the girl go.’”
“I’ll take care of it.”
Blade’s about to protest, but I don’t give her the chance to. It’s time I made up for my previous failure. I have to finish this job quickly. That sick feeling and pain in my chest aren’t going away. I don’t know what it means, but I need to see Tasia. I need to make sure she’s okay.
I ready my wood stake and lower myself to the ground. Then I slam open the door and speed into the room. I locate the vampire right away. She’s holding a small girl in her arms. Instead of overthinking my actions and giving her a chance to deflect me, I flick out a pocket knife and jam it through one of the vampire’s arms. The attack works to startle her enough that she drops the girl and reflexively pulls out the knife as her flesh starts healing. But by then I have the girl safely gathered in my arms.
“Get them out of here!” I shout to Donovan and Miguel.
They don’t question me and do as I say. Miguel scoops up the little girl I just rescued and ushers the other conscious people out of the room, while Donovan hauls the unconscious adult over his shoulder.
Blade shoots wooden bullets into the vampire’s flesh as Sherri sneaks in with her wood stake at the ready.
Demon Snare (These Immortal Vows Book 1) Page 24
