Malachi sneered at her. “If you weren’t my sister-in-law, I would have ripped your heart out and fed it to you right here.”
“Don’t call me that!”
“Helena is that you?” a stranger’s voice called from the other side of the short street.
Lilia turned her head to find one of the vampires who was closely affiliated with the Vampire Council. She backed up a step. From Helena’s memories, she knew this man was the lover of a maid.
The vampire’s face fell. “You’re Lilia, I take it?”
Malachi raised a brow. “Do you know him?”
“Not personally. My vessel knows him from the Vampire Council,” Lilia explained.
Hans started advancing towards them.
Malachi stepped in front of her and put his hand out to stop Hans from getting any closer. “Trust me, vampire, you don’t want to dance with me. Why are you here?”
“I need Helena’s help,” Hans pleaded, looking over Malachi’s shoulder.
Lilia clutched at her head. Upon hearing the cry of her friend, Helena began stirring with a violent force. Her head began to hurt, and she squeezed her eyes shut.
Malachi grasped her by the arms and helped her stay upright. “Lilia? Are you in pain?”
“My vessel wants control again…” she forced out between her clenched teeth.
“You haven’t erased her soul?” The demon sounded surprised.
She peeked at his concerned face. “It would go against my duty as a fate.”
“Fight her!” he urged.
Hans got closer. “Helena? Can you hear me? I need your help. Perri needs you!”
At the mention of Helena’s friend, Lilia lost control. She felt her knees growing weak and her conscience slipping into the background.
HELENA
It took everything she had to stuff Lilia back into her box. Helena opened her eyes and realised that she was held in a stranger’s arms. Past him, she noticed Hans who seemed distraught.
Pushing the stranger aside, she assessed her surroundings. “What is going on? Where are we?”
“You must be the vessel Lilia talked about,” the white-haired man said in a deep baritone. He stood up and offered her his hand. At the same time, Hans pushed out his hand in front of her.
She took Hans’ hand for support.
The stranger smiled. “You’re not the trusting type.”
Helena frowned and looked at Hans. “I don’t know what Lilia has been up to. She managed to keep her conscience separate from mine once I fell asleep. I think she’s getting stronger.”
“There are bigger problems we need to take care of,” Hans said quickly. “Arthemis has Perri. He wants you in exchange for her freedom. I know this is terrible of me to ask—”
“Where is she? Is she okay?” Helena demanded, grasping his shoulders.
His eyes widened at her reaction. “She was locked away in the dungeon beneath the property.”
Helena gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. “We need to get her out of there. She could get sick or—”
The stranger tapped her on the shoulder. “Helena, right? Are you seriously thinking of giving yourself up for some girl? Not to mention the fact that this is obviously a trap to capture Lilia.”
“Of course it’s a trap,” Helena said. “I’m not that stupid. But I can’t let my friend rot in some prison while I am out and about.”
“Lilia wouldn’t want you to do something so hasty. You need to weight your options carefully,” the man said.
“Look—” Helena bit her lip. She didn’t know what to call him.
“Malachi,” he offered.
She nodded. “I can see that you are Lilia’s friend and want what’s best for her. To me, my friends and family are a priority. I would do anything for them.”
Malachi rubbed his chin and raked his eyes over her. “You are an interesting soul. I like your spirit.”
“What?” Her brows drew together. He was an odd man.
Hans cleared his throat. “He does have a point. Although I have to bring you back by tomorrow morning, I don’t know if I can make you suffer in her stead. Arthemis is ruthless. He killed the delegates who came to pay respects to the new Council without batting an eye.”
“And what about Lucious?” Helena asked, clinging to Hans’ coat. “Did he survive after Stonehenge? Is he also imprisoned?”
“He…” Hans struggled to form words, and Helena’s heart shattered a second time. She had clung to the hope that he could be alive somewhere. It was the reason why she fought so hard to take back control. Without him, there was a void in her being that could not be filled.
“He is alive,” Hans finally said.
Helena burst into tears and hugged him. Her chest swelled with joy at the great news. But, when she pulled away and wiped at her tears with her sleeves, she didn’t find the same happiness on Hans’ face. She couldn’t blame him. Perri was suffering, and they had to come up with a plan to get her out of there.
“We could ask Ben and the other hunters for help,” Helena suggested.
Malachi rested his back against the wall and crossed his legs. “You are friends with vampires and hunters?”
She had almost forgotten about him being there. “You don’t have to stay. I will deal with this on my own.”
The man let out a harsh laugh. “I think you are closer to Diya than her sister is.” He pushed away from the wall and gave her a heart-warming smile that made his blue eyes sparkle. “Wherever you are going, I will tag along. You seem to be the key to finding my lover, and it would be best to stick to you like glue.”
“Lover?” Helena wasn’t sure what he meant, yet if he wasn’t going to hinder her plans, she didn’t mind him helping out. Knowing Lilia, she wouldn’t request help from a weak being. He had to have something up his sleeve.
Malachi winked in response without giving her an answer.
What a weird man.
“We will need as much help as we can get,” Hans agreed. “The Royals are keeping an eye on the vampires who go in and out of the Council. Some of them are scouring London for Lilia as we speak.”
“How did you find me?” Helena asked Hans.
He produced a nervous laugh. “Honestly? I got lucky. I had to stop and hide from the sunlight during the day. While I was waiting, I called the Council’s hounds and inquired about the locations they have finished searching. This part of London and two others remained unchecked.”
“I guess I’m lucky you were the one who found me first,” Helena said.
“We should get off the streets,” Hans suggested. “More vampires could be coming.”
“It must be Christmas,” Malachi mumbled. “This is the first time I’m seeing someone on a Vampire Council giving a damn about a mortal.”
Helena rolled her eyes. The new addition to their group was beginning to remind her of Alexander. Now that she looked at Malachi closer, even the platinum hair and good looks were similar. “Come with me. I’m sure we have a lot to plan and talk about.”
“I’m right behind you,” Malachi said with another pleased smile.
She rubbed her eyes. It’s going to be a long night.
16
COMPROMISES
HELENA
T hey were about twenty feet away from the pub when both Hans and Malachi stopped.
Helena looked over her shoulder at them, confused. “What’s the matter?”
“The barrier Lilia has put up is here. If I force my way into it,” Malachi began with a sheepish smile, “it would ruin her hard work and expose you to the vampires.”
“So what do I do?” Helena asked.
“Invite us in,” he replied.
She turned around and rested her arms against her sides. “Come in, you two.”
The men nodded and passed through the invisible line. Up ahead, she spied Ben standing next to a short, red-haired teenager with a thin moustache. She raised a brow. She hadn’t met that person before. He seemed too fee
ble to be a hunter. Most of Ben’s men were muscular with scars here and there.
The redhead turned to Helena and ran to her. “I’m so happy you’re okay! I was worried something might have happened after my vessel was ruined.”
Helena froze mid-step. Malachi and Hans stepped in front of her, blocking the guy from getting any closer.
“It’s me, Maya,” he cried. “I know this isn’t an ideal form for me, and I’ve never had something dangling between my legs before, but it’s really me. Though, I can understand why men adjust their pants all the time. It gets a little tight from time to time.”
Helena pushed past the men blocking her view. “You’re a guy now?”
“I could only find this body that was in a coma. Some soul collector has taken his soul, leaving an empty shell behind.” Maya’s eyes narrowed on Malachi. “Why is the exiled prince with you?”
Everyone looked at Malachi as if he had stripped naked and walked into a supermarket.
“You’re a prince?” Both, Helena and Hans said at the same time.
Malachi laughed at their reaction. “I have not heard that title in a long time.” His blue eyes fired a silent accusation at Maya. “You must be one of the elders on the High Council since I doubt that witch, Baal, would leave the Demon Realm of her own free will.”
“I have Lazarus’ memories…” Maya admitted.
“Ah, the demon who could weasel his way out of any situation finally succumbed to his greed and got killed?” He offered Maya his hand with disdain. “Call me Malachi. I can’t stand the formalities.”
Maya didn’t move.
He lowered his hand after a moment. “You don’t shake hands with ex-royalty?”
“You haven’t answered my question. Why are you here?”
Helena waved her hands in the air to get their attention and keep the two demons from fighting. The air around them was getting colder as the seconds ticked by, and she wasn’t about to start wearing more coats than one. “Malachi came here because Lilia summoned him to help her.”
He shook his head. “I am not her pet. I came here to find out where my lover is.”
“You’ve mentioned that earlier,” Helena said. “Who is the person you’re after?”
Malachi’s expression became guarded. He seemed to mull over his response and eventually said, “Diya.”
“The second fate?” Ben and Maya said in unison.
Helena’s body grew cold but not because of the demons. She didn’t know how to react to the fact that a demon was after her unborn sister. Lilia had said that her mother’s child was going to be the second fate in this realm.
Should I tell him the truth or keep it from him? She couldn’t endanger her sister needlessly.
“You know where she is,” Malachi said, towering over her. “Tell me.”
Maya jumped in between them, blocking his advance. “If you aren’t here to help, leave.”
“I must know where she is!” Malachi growled.
“I don’t know what your intentions are,” Helena reasoned. “You could be trying to kill her or eat her soul. I can’t be sure.”
His lips twitched upwards. “So she is someone important to you.”
“This isn’t some game, Malachi,” Helena snapped. “She deserves to have a peaceful existence!”
“And I will shield her from those who seek to harm her. Only I am powerful enough to protect her.”
Helena realised that her breathing became laboured. She tried to calm down and uncurl her fingers that made her nails sink into her palms. “Who is planning on harming her?”
Malachi looked around. Everyone was on edge and ready to attack him if he did anything. Helena was glad her friends were there. Their presence kept her level-headed.
“We will talk about it later,” he muttered and stepped back. “You have Lilia’s son to worry about.”
He had a point. With Arthemis on the loose and Perri in danger, they had to come up with a plan and get her away from him unharmed. Helena strode past everyone and entered the pub. She heard the others following her and murmuring to each other. Slipping into a seat at one of the pub’s long wooden tables, she placed her hands on its surface and waited for them to join her.
Ben was the first to speak. “I leave you for two seconds, and you come back with a vampire and a demon by your side.”
Helena managed a hint of a smile. “I must be cursed, I guess.”
“You’d know if you were,” Malachi said, looking her right in the eye.
His words surprised her. Has he been cursed before? It wasn’t the time for her to feel sorry for a demon who was trying to locate her family. She couldn’t trust him without knowing his true intentions.
“Whether she’s got bad luck or not,” Maya started saying in a pitchy voice that sounded like it was breaking. She cleared her throat and grimaced. “I can’t get used to this new body. I think it’s craving some tangerines, and I’m kind of horny.” She looked down at her jeans.
Ben blanched, and Helena snorted. Leave it to Maya to lighten the mood during such a serious situation.
Hans shifted away from Maya as if she was poison.
Helena’s expression sobered. She met Hans’ gaze. “What’s going on in the Council building?”
He ran his hand down his face. “Things are upside down. The hounds who were loyal to the Council are currently kidnapping people off the streets at night and turning them into vampires in warehouses all around London. They had abandoned their job of searching out the possessed vampires and eradicating them.” His hands shook. He clasped them together in an attempt to steady them. “The elders who came from Europe were slaughtered by Arthemis, drained of their blood for some magical ritual.”
“Didn’t they fight back?” Ben asked, intrigued.
“They couldn’t. One command from the original vampire and they were paralysed,” Hans replied in a sad voice. “Some of those elders Master Vincent knew and respected. Many of them did not deserve the end they got.”
“So Arthemis can control any vampire?” Helena asked next.
Hans nodded.
Malachi sighed. “It was the main reason why Lilia and Diya decided to take him out when vampires weren’t around, except for Hartwin. Clairvoyance wouldn’t be useful to Arthemis at the time when he was stabbed with a silver dagger.”
Helena scrunched her brows together. “I don’t understand.” She wasn’t the only one who was lost. The others leant in a little closer, too.
“Arthemis can connect to his seven direct children and use their powers on demand,” Malachi clarified. He pointed to the kitchen and grinned. “Mind if I grab a beer or something? I’m dying of thirst.”
Maya grimaced as he began to get up. Grasping him by the wrist, she said, “You have been in this realm for thousands of years. How many souls have you consumed to stay alive?”
“I don’t consume souls like you do,” he replied with a cocky smirk and tore his hand out of Maya’s grip. “My ability is to isolate life force of a human soul and ingest it during our…more pleasurable encounters. After all, energy tastes best when a mortal is in the middle of a climax.”
Maya stood abruptly and poked her finger at his chest. Her eyes turned black with her evident anger. “I don’t believe you. I’ve been here for months and found no way to stop eating souls!”
Malachi bent down to her level and whispered something in Maya’s ear. It was a weird sight, seeing Maya inside of a man’s body and blushing like a tomato. Across from Helena, Hans seemed uncomfortable for some reason. He must have overheard what the demon had said. Curiosity was killing her, but she ignored it. Questioning Maya could wait until they were alone.
Helena cleared her throat as Malachi disappeared into the kitchen and resurfaced with a bottle of opened beer. She, once again, diverted her attention to Hans. “What about Lucious? Did they lock him up with Perri? Is he hurt?”
The vampire wet his lips. “I didn’t want to say this because I know it would hurt your f
eelings. I don’t know if Lucious is going to come back.”
“Come back from what?” Helena half-shouted. She massaged her chest where her heart tightened with worry for Lucious.
“I overheard the conversation between the Royals. When Arthemis came through the gate, he needed a vessel because his body had been trapped between the two realms for so long that it dissipated. While he is restoring his original body through a blood ritual, he is…inside Lucious.”
Helena’s mouth hung open. Her eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat. It was as if her body decided to have a short breakdown to let her brain process the information Hans was spouting. After a few silent seconds, she muttered, “You’re joking… You must be. This isn’t funny, Hans. Please, please tell me that what you’re saying isn’t real.”
“I’m so sorry, Helena,” he whispered.
She slumped back in her chair. Her hands quivered in her lap, so she wrapped her arms around herself for warmth that was quickly leaving her body. The thought of Lucious sharing a body with someone so dangerous left her speechless and terrified.
Is he still there? Has Arthemis erased Lucious’ conscience?
Maya walked around and wrapped her arms around Helena from behind. “It’ll work out, Sis. I’m sure your boyfriend isn’t going to let that thing control him. He’s too stubborn for that.”
Helena bobbed her head. “You’re right. Lucious is strong. If I can see him and reach out to him—”
“It’s too dangerous,” Ben countered. “You won’t have any protection if you go. And we can’t be sure about what Arthemis is planning for Lilia once he gets his hands on her.”
Hans lowered his head. “He did not divulge his plans to anyone. As much as it pains me, I cannot ask you to put your life at risk for Perri. She wouldn’t want to endanger her friend.”
Malachi sat down and propped his feet up on the corner of the table, almost kicking Ben’s arm as he did so. He raised his bottle into the air and announced, “I’ll look after her.”
Maya straightened up. “And how would you do that? I know you’ve put a demonic tracker on her, but that won’t help you save her. Our spiritual form can’t attack people directly.”
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