Feeling the sunshine on my skin, I let my body relax. Now out of the heat of the moment, I regret the way I spoke to Reid. If he didn’t trust me before, he won’t now. I called him an asshole. I stop abruptly on the sidewalk. When did I start to care about other people’s feelings and how I come across? Earth must be making me softer, I think as continue walking.
I sniff the air as I walk, trying to find some blood that I will enjoy. I pick up on a particularly pleasant one. I look around trying to find the source. The smell isn’t moving, and it’s getting stronger, so I am easily able to track them down. The source of the incredible smelling blood is a man.
His black, wavy hair looks as if he has been in the wind. I don’t know if that look is intentional. His green eyes are watching over the people walking down the sidewalk as if he is waiting to meet someone. He is tanned and less built than Reid; he is also shorter at only a couple of inches taller than my 5’7”.
As I am looking him over, I can see the same tattoo that Reid has (the skull attached to a scythe by a vine) on his wrist. A conspiratorial grin comes off my face. I can have a drink and feel like I am getting back at Reid at the same time. He never has to know. I saunter up to the man, stopping at his side to stroke my hand down his arm.
“What are you doing?” he asks as he looks down at me appreciatively.
“Just feeling what boyfriend material feels like,” I flirt.
“What’s your name, sugar?” he asks, his muscles bulging under my hand slightly.
I grin. “Scarlett, but you can call me Scar or whatever pet name you want,” I tell him, leaning closer to him, looking up into his emerald eyes so it feels like what I am saying only applies to him. “What’s yours?”
“Well, it’s not stupid,” he replies, a knowing smile coming onto his face.
“What?” I ask, dumbfounded.
He must recognize me from the meeting after the date.
“I was there,” he responds. Yep, I think, I was right.
“What are you talking about?” I ask innocently, continuing to stroke his arm.
“I was there when Reid introduced you. I’m not stupid enough to sleep with the boss’s girlfriend,” he explains, knocking my hand off his arm.
“Ex,” I correct, flashing him a quick smile through my disappointment.
“Well, whatever you are to him, I’m not going to get with you,” he tells me, looking away and back to the crowd, walking down the sidewalk.
I go to turn and walk away, but I’m determined to get his blood, just to get a taste of the blood which smells so good. I turn back to him.
“One last thing, could you look into my eyes? I feel like there is something in it.”
He complies, nodding his head, thinking that it will be harmless.
“During the course of this afternoon, you will forget who I am and afterward will forget everything that took place, okay?”
He nods before blinking and smiling down at me.
“Hi,” I say as if we just met, returning my hand to his arm.
“Hi,” he responds, his smile growing bigger. “What’s your name?”
“Scarlett, but you can call me Scar or whatever pet name you want,” I flirt, repeating myself.
“I like the sound of that,” he comments.
“What’s yours?” I ask, moving my hand to his chest.
“Grant,” he says, his chest puffing slightly under my hand.
“Are you free?” I ask, curling my fingers slightly to stroke his chest. He looks around, thinking about it for a minute. I dig my fingernails into his flesh slightly, earning a grunt. He looks at his watch and then back to me.
“Yeah.”
“Good,” I say gladly, moving my hand back to his arm but gripping it tightly this time as I drag him down the sidewalk and in the direction of my car.
“Whoa, you have a strong grip.” He notices as we weave through people sending us curious looks.
“Do I? Sorry, am I hurting you?” I ask, keeping my voice as if I know none the wiser, gripping his arm even tighter in my grip. He lets out a grunt of pain.
“No,” he lies, wincing again when I tug on his arm.
He stumbles before stopping beside my car. I leave him and walk around the front of the car to the driver’s side. I look over the top before disappearing into the car, seeing that Grant is looking down at my car in awe. As I wait for him to get in, I let the roof down. Once the roof will not fly off, I start the engine and pull out of my space.
***
I drive for a short while, the car silent. I hear Grant take a breath in, going to say something, as I see what I’ve been looking for. A deserted parking lot. I do a double check, looking around as I listen to see if I can find anyone in the vicinity.
When I am satisfied that we are alone, I turn off the road and park the car in the middle of the empty lot. The concrete is dirty and littered with trash of all kinds. A few cars look to be abandoned here, but apart from that, it’s secluded, hidden by buildings on three sides. It’s perfect; the road was quiet so no one would see what was going on.
“What are we doing here?” Grant asks suspiciously as he looks around the run-down space. I climb over the middle console, turning so I am straddling his lap. Not allowing him to react, I lean down and capture his lips in a kiss. He eagerly returns it, leaning up to me enthusiastically. The kiss is alright, but I don’t get the feeling I do when I kiss Reid.
Stop! I can’t carry on like this, comparing him to everyone I meet. If it’s truly over, I need to forget about him.
I move from Grant’s mouth to his neck, sucking and kissing the skin I find there. He lets out a groan, his hands falling to my ass and pulling it toward him. I let out a breath at the contact that it causes. I place a lick on his neck, tasting him for the first time.
Now for part two of my plan. I open my mouth and sink my fangs into his flesh, making sure that it doesn’t feel pleasurable. He symbolizes the Grim Reapers at this moment, and I need to take my anger out with them on something. It just so happens to be Grant. His screams fill the air, making me glad that the roof is down. I drag the blood from his body into my own, wanting to taste the blood which I am sure will be exquisite.
However, as soon as the blood touches my tongue, it burns me. I swallow the mouthful, regretting it when it burns my throat. I try and stop the blood from entering my mouth, but it keeps flooding in, causing the burning to become worse. I begin to choke on it, my body trying to stop the blood from entering it. I pull back, holding my throat which is feeling like it is being ripped out. What on Earth is happening? I look up to Grant, hoping he will be able to give me answers to my questions.
“Oh, Scar, are you okay?” he asks, faking concern and sympathy. I don’t even need my extra hearing to know he doesn’t mean it, as his eyes are full of menace. I try to talk but am cut off by coughing racking through my body. I feel some liquid make its way up into my mouth with the coughs and see blood spraying out of my lips and onto Grant’s shirt.
“Are you still hungry?” he asks.
I shake my head frantically as I try and back away. My back hits the dashboard, but Grant’s grip on me keeps me in place. I struggle with him as he brings his wrist to my mouth, nicking his wrist on my fangs which are still out. I whimper when I feel the blood gushing into my mouth. I refuse to swallow it, wanting to spit it out, but Grant’s wrist over my mouth, disallows me.
I try and hold it in my mouth for as long as I can, but I can feel the blood burning my whole mouth. I eventually swallow, the pain being unbearable. He keeps his wrist at my lips, making me gulp down even more of it. He eventually pulls his wrist away, allowing me to spit the blood in my mouth at him. I note that it’s a bright red color, not blue like I expected from the burning sensation it caused.
He opens the passenger door, pushing me out onto the hard ground. I roll over, coughing racking through my body again. Blood dribbles out the side of my mouth as I continue to cough. When I have finally recovered and st
opped, I fall onto my back, finding Grant standing over me.
“What in Hell’s name are you?!” I ask him.
“That’s a good question,” he states as he reaches into his jacket pocket, pulling out the handle of a sword. I recognize it instantly as what my dad’s guards carry. He must have contact with one of them if he has one. There is nowhere else he could have got it. He presses a button, and a blade slides out. He points the tip down at me on the floor.
“Let me enlighten you…Ask me what you want to know,” he says, bringing the sword back up and swinging it through the air. His grip is weak, and the sword is wavering all over the place, telling me he’s untrained and inexperienced with it.
I watch him cautiously. Although he is inexperienced and untrained, that doesn’t make him any less dangerous. If anything, it makes him more. If he doesn’t have control over it, it’s more likely that an accident will happen. Hopefully, like with the sword, he won’t have had any training in other departments, like in the act of interrogation. It could mean that he will let on more information than he intended.
“Why is your blood like that?”
“Well, we’re not in the Vampire Diaries, so it’s not vervain. Well, it’s not actually any herb. That’s at least what I was told. We’re just made like this,” he explains as if it were obvious.
I keep an ear on his heartbeat and hear that he is telling the truth. I was right; he just gave me more information than he intended. I only know what he’s talking about from the things I hear when I come up with my dad. If he knows about a human book and TV show, it means more likely than not, that he was once human and turned into whatever he is. That’s my next question.
“What are you?”
“I only know that I woke up and was like this.”
I was right again; he was human at one point. My guess is someone is turning people without their knowledge. I wonder if this has anything to do with the revolution taking place in Hell.
“A man was standing over me and explained to me what I was—a special kind of demon. These were better than normal ones,” he said. “We are stronger and faster. We appeal to other demons, and if they drink our blood, it’s like acid, making them weaker. He then went on to say that he was putting together an army of revolutionists and new demons. Just before he left, he turned back to me, showing me a picture of you and a man, telling me if I were to see you or him, I were to kill you,” he finishes, smiling evilly down at me still on the floor.
I guess by the other man he means my dad. This whole revolution is much worse that I could ever imagine. If someone, supposedly Adrian, is going around and creating a new species, then we are in trouble. Grant’s sword skills aren’t the only dangerous thing about him, his species being unknown is also a worrying factor.
“How? How were you created?”
“Pfft. I don’t fucking know. I was unconscious,” he says, flinging his hands out from his body. I subtly and slowly move my hand up until I am aiming it at him. I let fire fly out of my hand, hoping to bind him or even harm him slightly.
A dark chuckle leaves Grant’s lips as he sidesteps the fire. I try and control the fire, moving it with him, but I miss him, lighting an abandoned car instead. Grant’s head moves with the fire, watching it as it travels. Once the plume of fire has whooshes up from the car, his head snaps back to me on the floor.
“Didn’t you know? Fire doesn’t kill me,” he says as if I were the stupid one.
“You know, your name should actually be stupid. You don’t know who I am, do you?” I ask, my own chuckle leaving my lips.
“I don’t really—” he starts.
I try and force my horns to grow, but pain stops them from appearing.
“I’m Hades’, but you might know him as the Devil’s, daughter,” I tell him. A shocked look comes onto his face before he lets out a full belly laugh.
“Oh my God.” He wheezes through his laughter. “I’m going to kill Hades’ Daughter,” he sings like it’s the best thing in the world.
“Who?” I ask, needing a definite name.
“What are you talking about?” he asks, going back to confusion.
“Who created you and ordered my death? Do you know a name?”
“He gave me the name of Adrian, but I don’t know if that’s his real one.”
I stiffen, not knowing what to think. On one hand, I don’t think Adrian is stupid enough to use his real name, but on the other, he might just be smug or arrogant enough to want to have his name on the new creations. If the order is to kill me, I wouldn’t be able to tell anyone that he was the creator and instigator. I decide to get some proof. I search for my phone and find it lying next to me, having fallen out of my pocket. I unlock it, talking as I go to make sure Grant knows what I am doing.
“Do you think you’ll be able to recognize ‘Adrian?’” I ask, putting together photos as a sort of technical line-up.
“I don’t know…”
“Just try,” I say, turning the phone so both of us can see it. I start with a photo that I took with Kyle.
“Nope,” he says definitely. I move onto one that I took of Hunter.
“Nope,” he says again with the same conviction. I flick to the next one, which I took with Adrian yesterday. This time, Grant is more hesitant on replying.
“I’m not sure, but maybe,” he says. I breathe in sharply, going through the rest I put together. Reid, Leo, Liam, and Jake were all nos like with Kyle and Hunter.
“When were you turned?” I ask him, shoving my phone into my pocket, hoping to get more information I can go on.
“A couple days ago, I think. I don’t know. It just feels like one long one,” he admits.
“You don’t sleep?”
“I thought you couldn’t as a demon.”
“Who told you that?” I ask.
“Films and books.” I roll my eyes at him. He has a lot to learn.
“You can sleep. I can help you through the first couple of months. Just don’t kill me,” I tell him. He blinks as if he just remembered what he is here to do. I should have kept my mouth shut; the distraction was working perfectly.
“No. I’m fine thanks. You’ve sidetracked me for too long,” he says, bringing the sword up and over his head. Remembering what I noticed earlier, I decide to make a run for it. He looks as if he’s struggling with the sword already, and with the weight of it coming down, it will be even harder to control. I jump to my feet and run. I feel the air rushing past me, letting me know that I am going at my fastest, until I suddenly stumble and trip. Falling onto my hands and knees, I wheeze out a groan. What the fuck is in his blood? It doesn’t take long for Grant to be by my side. He grabs me by the hair, pulling my head up, allowing him access to my neck.
“It’s a shame. I bet you would have been a good fuck, judging by your kissing. I’m sorry it had to end so soon,” he says as he brings the sword up in the air.
I’m going to die! I’m only eighteen. I’m not even one hundred yet. I squeeze my eyelids shut as I wait for the pain and then whatever happens after that. I hold my breath, bringing an image of Reid into my head. Even though currently we are not together, I want the person who made me the happiest to be the last thing I see.
Bang.
Chapter 31
Threats
My death isn’t what I thought it would be like, I think as I feel Grant’s grip of my head loosen before letting go. Was the bang my head being cut off? Ew. I wait for the blackness to overcome me. They say that the brain stays active after your death for a few seconds, and I hope that it doesn’t feel like forever.
Bang. Another one? That’s definitely not my head. I try to open my eyes and find that I can. That sounds like a…
I lift my head to find Reid standing across the parking lot with a gun pointed at Grant. The grip loosening on my hair was Grant falling away from me and onto the floor. Grant’s just recovering as I let out a breath of relief. That was close.
I stagger to my feet, slowly feel
ing my strength coming back to me. I walk over to Grant and stomp on his wrist which is holding the sword. He lets out a cry of pain as I bend down to pick the sword which is now out of his grip. I grab his head, like he did to me, making him sit up.
“I don’t know what the fuck you are, or if Adrian is the one behind this, but you don’t nearly kill me and get away with it,” I snarl down at him before swinging the sword around and chopping his head off.
His shocked expression stays on his face which I continue to hold as his body falls to the floor. I press the button on the handle, making the sword retract into the handle, as I step over the body of Grant. I drop his head near him before making my way up to Reid who is avoiding my gaze.
“What are you doing here?” I ask him, my hands going to my hips.
“I just saved your ass,” he says angrily.
I force my mouth to stay closed as I take him in. He wants me to be grateful after he said that he lied about his feelings for me?
“I thought you didn’t care about this ass,” I counter.
“I don’t.”
“Then why save me?”
His jaw clenches as he looks away from me, not liking my logic.
“How did you find me and know I needed help? Are you following me? You want us to be over, Reid. Fine, we’re over. That means you can’t control and follow me. You said that you didn’t want to see me again, and if you did you would…” I could continue on my rant, but Reid stops me.
“Is that meant to happen?” he asks, pointing behind me.
“What?” I snap, turning to see what he’s looking at. I freeze with Reid when I see Grant’s body, with no head, reaching for it.
“No,” I breathe out.
Grant has reached his head and is moving back to his neck, and I am too shocked to do anything about it. The head meets the neck and starts to reattach itself. It’s gruesome, but if I weren’t worried about him killing me, I would marvel at it. Grant, now back with a head, stands up and rolls his head in a circle before his green eyes rest on where Reid and I are standing.
Hades’ Daughter (The War of Fate) Page 24
