Soul of a Demon

by Lacy Andersen

  SOUL of a DEMON

  Lacy Andersen

  HEART of a DEMON

  Copyright 2018 by Lacy Andersen

  All Rights Reserved

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  lacyandersenauthor@gmail.com

  First Edition

  Cover by Christian Bentulan

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Soul of a Demon (The Dark Angel Wars, #2)

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  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Epilogue

  Death of a Demon Excerpt

  About the Author

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  Chapter One

  She glared at me with blood lust in her dark eyes. The tip of her tongue traced the plump lines of her lips, ready to sink into a piece of my flesh. I stood deadly still with the 9mm gun aimed at her heart. Inside the chamber were twenty bullets coated in blessed silver. One wrong move and she was going straight back to Hell, where she belonged.

  “Come at me,” I growled. “I dare you.”

  With a snarl, the demon lunged forward, raking the air with her wicked talons. She swung to the left in a whirl of long dark hair, narrowly missing my first shot. The second hit her in the gut. The wound hissed and steamed, causing her to scream out in pain. I took advantage of the distraction and backhanded her angelic face with the butt of the gun, sending her spiraling to the ground.

  In a flash of inhuman speed, I dove on top of her and pinned her right arm. With my other hand, I worked a silver dagger out of its sheath from my boot. This would be my fourth demon kill this month. A feral demon—the lowliest demon on the food chain, but still lethal.

  I was beginning to relish these trips into the Black Hills National Forest. Every day, I grew stronger. The fibers of my muscles moved with a new strength and confidence that I had never felt before. It was intoxicating. I wanted more.

  With a flick of my wrist, the dagger flipped downward and I plunged it into the demon’s heart. Her black eyes grew wide, a silent scream ripping at her throat. I rolled off and crouched at a short distance to watch.

  This was my favorite part.

  Her thin frame began to disintegrate into a dark shadowy cloud. It held her body’s shape, but only for a moment. As if sucked down by a black hole, the cloud sank into the earth until every wisp disappeared. All that remained was my silver dagger. It lay firmly embedded in the soft soil beneath the ponderosa pines, ready to find a new demon heart to shred.

  “Not bad, not bad.” Gabe appeared behind a cluster of trees only feet away.

  In his right hand he held a long thin sword with a wickedly sharp edge. He wore his dark brown hair cut short, just long enough for it to occasionally fall into his eyes—vivid green eyes that could sear right through me. A shadow of a beard darkened his shapely jaw and hid the few battle scars that marred his skin. Towering over most humans, he was built like a warrior—broad shoulders, strong muscular arms, and well-defined abs.

  By all accounts, he was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen in my life.

  A proud smile lifted at the corners of his usually stern mouth. “You’re getting fast. Couldn’t have done that better myself.”

  I grinned and retrieved the dagger, sheathing it in my boot. “I’m four for four. One more, and I’ll beat Ashley this month. Then we don’t have to listen to her brag for another four weeks.”

  He rolled his eyes and shook his head, but the smile lingered on his handsome face. His green eyes flashed in the twilight of the woods, capturing the last of the sun’s rays emerging through the pine needles. My breath caught in my chest and my heart began to pound. Gabe Cael and I had been partners for months, in more than one way. But I still felt shaky every time he smiled at me. It was a good kind of feeling.

  “I think we’re done hunting for the day,” he said, sliding his sword into the sheath strapped across his back.

  I groaned. The hunt was far from over for me. An urge pulled at my sternum in the direction of the Hell Gate, nestled in these woods, in the hopes of finding another demon that had escaped the clutches of Hell. It was an urge that had flared to life upon the discovery of my Nephilim heritage. Forever fated to guard one of the six gates of Hell with my fellow warriors.

  I’d never had such a purpose before. I embraced it entirely. It had become my life goal to become worthy of the Nephilim clan and my fierce warrior partner. No longer was I the weak young woman nearly sacrificed to a demon on a pyre.

  Now, I had purpose. Now, I had strength.

  I opened my mouth to argue with him, but before I could make a sound, he sped to my side with inhuman speed and placed a single finger over my mouth.

  “There are other things I’d like to do tonight.” A wicked grin passed over his mouth. “Things that require a...more private location.”

  An intense warmth blossomed in my stomach. Gabe trailed his finger over my lips and along my jawline, chuckling at the way I trembled under his touch. His fingers worked their way down my neck and entangled themselves in my long brown wavy hair. With his free hand, he pulled me closer, until I could feel the heat of his body pressed against mine.

  Staring at his full mouth, I let out a heavy breath. “I suppose I could call it a night.” I grinned and looked up into his smoldering green eyes. “You are most persuasive, sir. I thought angels weren’t supposed to corrupt the innocent.”

  “I’m only part angel.” He tightened his grip on my hair and leaned closer to my ear. “And after last night, I’m not so sure you’re very innocent after all.”

  His whispered words brought back a rush of memories that made my cheeks flush. A bottle of wine, a thick blanket on the floor of the manor’s observatory, and our two bodies exploring each other. It’d been nearly impossible to keep my hands off of him.

  The only reason we hadn’t already moved in together was because of my promise to my newly discovered Nephilim father that we’d take it slow. Otherwise, it would’ve been all too easy to fall into bed with Gabe, my warrior angel.

  “I’m not making you blush, am I?” Gabe ran his lips ever so lightly down my jaw, planting a warm kiss on my neck. “I thought warriors didn’t get embarrassed.”

  I pushed him at arm’s length and grinned at the challenge. “Of course not. I am the world’s toughest warrior. Nothing can make me blush. But you, on the other hand...”
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  Stepping up on my toes, I pressed my lips roughly against his. He opened his mouth in surprise, leaving enough room for me to touch my tongue to his. With the superhuman speed I’d honed over the last few weeks, I shoved him hard against a tree and jumped to wrap my legs tightly around his torso. It didn’t take long for him to catch on. His hands moved to cradle my rear and he returned the deep kiss, sighing against my mouth.

  We would’ve been lost to each other, but the sound of voices in the distance made us freeze. A crowd of people, not more than half a dozen, crunched through the fallen pine needles. Gabe and I disentangled ourselves and crouched low to the ground, our hands close to our weapons.

  Feral demons couldn’t talk. So, either the group in front of us were humans or deceivers, the second and far more vicious class of demons. I swallowed hard, hoping they were harmless hikers out for a stroll. Even I wasn’t foolish enough to think we could take on a handful of deceivers all at once.

  Gabe caught my eye and nodded toward a rocky hill with a pair of fallen pines. I tilted my head in understanding and we crept to the spot, careful not to make any noise. The crowd was just coming into view. My heart plummeted into my stomach at the sight of their leader—a frizzy gray-haired woman with rough wrinkled skin and dark eyes.

  Granny.

  The same Granny who had tried to sacrifice me to a demon only months ago. The grandmother who had stood by and watched as her only living relative was nearly consumed by a roaring pyre. She would’ve killed me and it wouldn’t have been any skin off her nose. A rage that I didn’t know existed burned behind my eyes, nearly blinding me to Gabe’s concerned expression.

  “Come on, it’s time to go,” he said, pulling on my hand.

  I resisted his tug and leaned toward the crowd of women walking deeper into the forest. What did they want out here? This was far beyond the town boundaries of Hanna. When I lived in that tiny town of all women, it had been expressly forbidden to stray out this far. Of course, that didn’t stop me from breaking the rules every week.

  Granny grumbled something to the person behind her, a tall woman with a crazy mane of brown spirals and a dozen bracelets on her wrists. I recognized the remaining four of the party, townspeople from Hanna, but I’d never seen this woman before.

  Something about her hippy style of dress and the way she flung her hands when she spoke told me she was already on Granny’s nerves. Granny didn’t waste time on air-headed or ditzy women, especially the kind that dressed like gypsies. If she was hiking through a forest with a woman like this, she clearly had bigger priorities.

  Dropping Gabe’s hand, I took a step forward. “They can’t be out here. They have no right.”

  He grabbed my elbow. “Lizzy, don’t. Just let them be.”

  I turned with a scowl and pulled my arm free. “She doesn’t get to encroach on my world. It’s not right. If it had been up to her, I’d be a pile of ashes right now or a demon’s permanent blood bag.”

  He sighed and rocked back on his heels, his eyes resting on my face. We’d been through so much after Margaret Thatcher’s demon set its sights on me. I’d nearly died the day it had come to collect me. So had Gabe. And so had many of the townspeople.

  It was all Granny’s fault.

  I couldn’t take the silent lecture of a warrior’s duty to protect oozing from Gabe’s solemn face, so I turned back to focus on the hikers. They had already passed us, fading into the thick branches of the pines. Any bits of conversation they were having reached us in garbled bits that made no sense.

  Every muscle in my body tensed to run after them. In only a few seconds, I’d catch up. The shock on Granny’s face would be worth Gabe’s lecture afterwards. Maybe, I’d even flash my gun in front of her eyes, see how she liked it when death was staring her in the face. It was the least I could do, after all the courtesy she’d shown me. A little fear might do her good. She thought she was so invincible.

  I nearly sprang into action, when Gabe’s warm hand on my shoulder stopped me.

  “Lizzy, let’s go. She’s not worth another moment of your time.”

  Angry tears stung the corner of my eyes. He couldn’t understand the utter betrayal of having a family member toss you aside like a busted toy. Granny’s actions had left deep wounds in my heart. There was no telling how long they’d take to heal.

  Despite my anger, I took a deep calming breath and finally nodded at Gabe, letting him lead me in the opposite direction of my grandmother. A few more miles southeast and we’d be safe on the lawn of Westward Manor, home of the Nephilim warriors who guarded the Hell Gate on the North American continent.

  It was the place I now called home. Decked out with a sprawling mansion, training complex, and stables, it was unlike any home in the South Dakota Black Hills. I’d never get used to the luxury that spanned every nook and cranny of the place, although I certainly didn’t mind trying.

  We were only a mile away from home when I caught a flurry of activity out of the corner of my eye. Coming in fast were two ferals, their teeth bared. The first took the shape of a tall curly-haired man and the second, a tiny blonde woman. I barely had time to shout out a warning and wrap my fingers around my gun before they pounced, throwing both of us to the ground.

  “Watch out,” Gabe yelled, yanking the sword from his back and jumping in front of me.

  My head rang with a fierce joy. Finally, my chance to beat Ashley and show Gabe my worth as a Nephilim warrior. I could use a little stress relief and demons made the perfect punching bags. Unholstering my gun, I stepped out from behind Gabe’s protective stance and steadied my aim on the little blonde’s chest.

  “Lizzy, get back,” he yelled, swinging his sword to slice through the man’s chest.

  I ignored his warning and pulled the trigger of my 9mm, burying a silver bullet in her torso. He had nothing to worry about. I’d taken out demons twice her size. If anything, she should be afraid of me.

  The gunshot only managed to enrage the demon. Her lips peeled back into a snarl, revealing a black hole where her mouth should’ve been. In a flash, she charged and knocked the gun out of my hand, sending it spiraling far out of reach.

  “Lizzy, get out of the way.”

  Gabe skewered the tall demon with a smooth lunge of his blade, sending him back to Hell in a shadowy cloud. He turned to swipe the blade at the blonde, but found me in his path and stumbled.

  “No,” I shouted. He’d seen me take down plenty of demons. There was no reason to start babying me now. “This one is mine.”

  A weightless sensation had begun in my chest. It grew until my skin glowed with an intense light that burned like a thousand paper cuts. In the back of my head, something stirred. Intense pain or abject terror, I couldn’t name it. Panic erupted in my temples, but I didn’t have time to react to my strange new glow. The demon took advantage of my momentary distraction to charge at us both, her claws wrapping around our ankles.

  We fell hard on the ground in a dull thud. The demon clung to my torso and dragged her claws along my stomach, shredding my flesh. A scream tore from my throat, but I still managed to yank the silver dagger from my boot and sink it between her ribs. Not a kill shot, but enough to get her to roll off of me.

  Lying next to me was Gabe’s still body. The small trickle of blood running down the side of his cheek indicated he’d banged his head on a rock.

  Violent red filled my vision. She’d hurt my partner. For that, she had to pay.

  “Come on,” I hissed. “Come and get me.”

  She crouched down like a lion ready to pounce, the thin strands of her hair lifting in the gentle fall breeze. Eyes as dark as coals watched me, cool and calculating. I’d seen dozens of demons just like her speed through the forest since I began training. They were fast, but I was always faster.

  It was at that moment that she sprang forward at a speed unlike any demon I’d faced so far. Her sudden lunge left me unguarded and unprepared. Without so much as a fight, she plucked the dagger from my loose g
rip and returned it, sinking it deep into my flesh. I screamed in agony as she sent me hurling toward the ground in a bloody heap.

  My eyes darted back and forth, desperate to fight off the painful shock of the injury. I had to stay awake. To fight.

  Before my eyes clouded over, I turned my head and gazed off into the forest. Despite the blurry pain, I was sure I could see a woman standing in the distance, watching us intently with dark eyes. She appeared like a ghost, her blonde hair whipping around her pale face in a sudden burst of wind, her thin white blouse making her appear translucent.

  I blinked hard, trying to focus on the mysterious woman. Why was she here? Was she crazy? She needed to run. The feral would catch her in an instant. I needed to save her.

  But, the pain was too much. Darkness enveloped me, driving away all memories of the woman and her strange appearance in the woods.

  Chapter Two

  For the brief few seconds that my eyes closed, I could see Granny’s face. Her wrinkled mouth was turned down in a disapproving frown, her dark eyes disinterested and cold. It was the expression she saved especially for me. An expression that screamed failure.

  My stomach hardened into a tight knot and I threw my eyes open, ready to drive my fist into the demon’s chest. It wasn’t right that Granny was still allowed to go free after all she’d done to me. She’d treated me like dirt, tried to kill me, and then acted like everything in her life was normal. It wasn’t fair. I didn’t get justice. Luke, my long lost father and chair of the Nephilim board, would never allow it.

  But if there was one thing I could do, it was destroy this demon.

  Throwing all my hate and anger into the charge, I lunged with angelic speed and caught the demon in her torso. It screeched and thrashed, but I had it pinned beneath my body weight before it could squirm away. My weapons had been lost during the fight. The only thing I had left to send this demon back to Hell was the silver dagger sticking out of my shoulder.

  With a ragged cry of pain, I yanked it from my flesh and fought off the dark clouds that loomed over my vision. Droplets of blood splattered from the wound and across the demon’s pale face, like a macabre painting. A scream tore from my throat as I plunged the silver blade into its heart. The dagger sank into the false flesh as easily as sticking a fork into a roasted potato. The demon jerked and twisted, but she was finished. Gabe woke up as the remnants of her black spirit sank into the ground.