The Soul Collector (previously released as Angel's Fire, Demon's Blood)

by Tamela Quijas

  …cold as death�

  Reese's words were barely intelligible. Eva pressed her ear to Lucien's chest, the steady beat of his heart loud, and attempted to meld into the luxury of his heated flesh. Snuggling deeper, her exhausted sigh was a whisper in the mist filed room.

  …cold�

  Eva chuckled, amused by the irritated tones. She was pleased her brother's ghost arrived with Lucien in tow. The spirit's ironic quips lent a hint of levity to the dire situation.

  “I'm freezing,” she admitted reluctantly, lifting her head and gracing her brother's sepia image with a wan smile.

  …no shoes�

  “I didn't have time,” she tried to ignore Lucien's furious scowl. “Anyway, it appears no shoes, no coat, gets you first class service in the dungeons of St. Lorraine.” �

  …no time for sarcasm�

  “I agree.” He set her from him. Immediately, she felt the intense coldness of the dungeon return to her bones, her sharp cry of pain echoing. He pressed a warm finger to her lips, stifling the sound, his eyes warning her of things unseen. His expression was sorrowful as he shrugged out of his trench coat. “Remember what lies in the shadows, Evangeline.” �

  “Yes, yes.” She repeated the word several times, knowing he was correct. The souls of the lost and the damned lurked, as well as those of the merciful.

  Lucien placed the heavy weight about her shoulders, pulling her close. She gazed up, unable to speak, clutching at his shoulders before placing her head on his shoulder.

  …the bastard? �

  “Julian doesn't matter, at the moment,” Lucien responded, his scowl directed at the sepia hued spirit. In the gloominess, as Eva looked into his face, she couldn't mistake the gradual darkening of his eyes. Despite his warmth, the beating of his heart beneath her fingertips, and the breath quivering from his lungs, he hadn’t lost the general essence of his curse.

  …owe him one�

  “My grudge far outweighs your own, Reese,” Lucien smirked, the wry twist of his lips bearing a wealth of unspoken words.

  …mine�

  “No, my brother is mine.” Lucien snarled, before forcing a semblance of calm into his voice. “There are stairs at the end of the chamber. Reese will guide you to freedom.” �

  “But…”

  “Whatever you do, don’t re-enter the castle.” �

  “Lucien?” �

  “Promise me?” He smoothed the tangles from her hair with quivering hands.

  “Lucien?” �

  “Vow, Evangeline!” His words were desperate, filled with a fear she never heard uttered in the past.

  “I promise.”

  …Nikolai

  “Nikolai?” �

  “Nikolai and Gil are at the foot of the hill.” �

  “Your crew members are here?”

  “Yes.” Lucien whispered. “I need you to go to them. They will take you across the border. There, Brice has secured lodgings with Ethan and Deborah.” �

  “They’re all here?” �

  “They will keep you safe.” He didn't answer her question.

  “They know? They know about you?” �

  “It appears I’m not as cautious as I imagined,” his lips twisted with the admission. “They’ve known I was collecting lost souls since the beginning.”

  She remained speechless, lost in the startling revelation.

  …no time�

  “You have to leave, Evangeline,”� Lucien set her from him.

  “I can't,” she insisted, burrowing into his coat. “Julian is here, and waiting.” �

  He smoothed his scarred hand over her wan features, the palm burning. “Our confrontation is inevitable. I need to keep you safe, my love, away from him.” �

  “How touching, little brother.” �

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  The daemon shall rise against the power of the angel�

  Lucien enveloped her in his arms, his heartbeat painful.

  Julian's voice flowed from the depths of the cavern, the tone filled with unmistakable foreboding and he glided toward them, his feet never touching the ground. Eva twisted about, and sickening dread coiled in her stomach.

  She feared the power he had not yet revealed.

  He remained, as he had been when she’d seen him last, attired in ragged clothes. In the eerie white light emitting from her brother's spirit, his features appeared contorted, the scars and furrows seeping into deeper and more unforgiving lines.

  …run! �

  Julian chuckled at Reese's whispery comment. He waved a twisted hand, dismissing the spirit's fervently uttered word. A slow smile contorted his face as he came closer.

  “Foolish boy, she can't escape.” He murmured in seductive condemnation. “She couldn't escape me in New York, nor can she escape me in my domain.” �

  Forcefully, Lucien pushed her behind him, and stood in the path of his brother. He pulled himself upright, although he was slighter. His shoulders straightened, tensing, and he threw his head back in defiant disregard.

  Eva was shadowed by his height, her view of the approaching daemon obscured. He intended to distract his brother, keeping her safe from the unspoken madness obvious in the thickness of the chamber's air.

  It was too late to seek sanctuary elsewhere. Even if it meant his demise, Lucien would battle his brother. He would do anything to prevent Julian from contaminating the one he held so precious.

  Defiantly, he faced the image of the daemon he feared most.

  …bastard! �

  A blur of light, Reese shot across the chamber. Eva was uncertain what he hoped to accomplish, despite his fury, for his body was nothing more than mist.

  As she predicted, Julian remained where he stood. He neither flinched, nor moved aside, as the ethereal image rushed through him. The contact caused more damage to the spirit, and his agonized groan echoed before he vanished into the stagnant air.

  “What a commendable performance.” He laughed, shaking his head and lifting his arms. “You’re actions are foolhardy, spirit. Do you suppose a single soul could inflict damage on one with my power?” �

  "He doesn’t understand.” Lucien moved away from her. He shifted across the room, the darkness of his clothes blending into the shadows. He was attempting to draw Julian's attention, hoping his brother would forget her.

  “I'm the all-powerful ruler of St. Lorraine!” Julian's boast was loud and prideful. “A single spirit is not a worthy waste of my time!” �

  In the glowing embers of light radiating from Lucien, she saw the change overtaking the hovering figure. Julian's eyes shifted and the gray orbs transformed. As she watched, his gaze became an intense shade of flaming crimson, the color akin to freshly flowing blood.

  “A single spirit doesn’t hold power over me. I don’t suffer the same as you, my weak little brother.” He taunted mercilessly. “I’ve never been one to welcome a lost soul with open arms.” �

  Lucien remained silent, and refused to rise to the bait thrown as cruelly as a steel gauntlet. His inaction appeared to infuriate his brother and Julian shot across the room, his swift movements a virtually invisible blur.

  He wasn't prepared for the unforeseen attack, and flew backwards.

  A low grunt erupted from Lucien and he tumbled to the floor. He remained where he had fallen, the impact tearing the breath from him. Dazed, his ears rang, and his lungs nearly burst while he strove to regain his breath. The dungeon was silent, save for Julian's high-pitched wail of laughter.

  “Ah, do get up.” Julian’s plea was taunting and he swayed while humming a wordless tune. He danced to the macabre pace of an ancient minuet, each artful move precisely measured, and bowing to an unseen partner before turning back to his brother.

  Lucien dragged his aching body across the stones, realizing Julian was far more powerful than expected. He stifled a grunt of pain and rose to his feet, expecting the next blow.

  He hit the floor harder this time, Julian's mad laughter fi
lling his ears. His head ached, the throb accentuated by the impact of a heavy stone. Brilliant stars danced behind his closed lids, and he tasted blood.

  Stubbornly, he rose again, defying his twin. He would fight this daemon of the otherworld in his human form, and knew he would die, all for Evangeline.

  “You would risk all, dear brother, for this woman?” �

  The words were low and strangely seductive as they flowed about him. Lucien flinched, not expecting Julian to have such insight into his private thoughts. Fear welled in his throat as his brother turned toward Eva's kneeling body, waving a dismissive hand.

  “I would risk all!” His response caused his brother to pause.

  “This woman,” Julian threw his head back, laughing with cruel pleasure. “Does she mean that much?” �

  “Yes!” �

  “Only she boasts the ability to bring you to this place of horrors?” �

  “Yes!”

  “You would risk your existence for this mortal?”

  “Yes and, again, yes!” Lucien shouted. He approached his brother, each step slow and filled with pain.

  …Evie?

  “Oh, Reese,” her brother's name left her in a quivering breath. Coldness, far more intense than the chill filling the dungeon, moved close. Eva lifted pained eyes to her brother, feeling hopeless. “There must be something we can do. Lucien is human, because of me, and Julian intends to kill him.” �

  …want to save him? �

  “How?” She wanted to cry at the futility of his question, lacking any semblance of supernatural power.

  …angel's fire, Evie�

  She grunted with exasperation. “You’re speaking the same stupid riddles!”

  …not riddles, not nonsense�

  “This Angel’s Fire bit is absolute nonsense!” She hissed.

  …love him? �

  The question was not issued in the disjointed and sarcastic tones he commonly adopted. Eva closed her eyes, tears slipping free. In the silence, she heard the bone jarring impact of Lucien's body striking the floor, again.

  “Yes, I love him,” she responded candidly, opening her eyes. Malicious words flowed about her, rising from the mist shrouding the floor as they spewed from Julian's contorted mouth.

  “You would die for her, brother?” �

  “Yes!” Lucien rose, staggering and wiping the thin line of blood from his mouth with his hand. The crimson color was apparent on the paleness of his flesh, a bright beacon that drew intense and maniacal laughter from the hovering figure.

  “You’ve fallen, Lucien!” Julian’s statement was filled with awe when he spied the slow trickle. His blanched, envious, before he narrowed crimson eyes.

  “She has made me human.” Lucien smiled, averting his eyes from Eva's kneeling form. “I have found my angel.” �

  Julian threw his head back, his laughter increasing, causing the mist to swirl about him.

  “You babble of demons and angels, brother. Only in your world do such things exist, but not in mine.” Julian’s laughter stilled. “Join me and let us be as we should, brothers eternally.” �

  “You were not as a brother to me!” Lucien wiped the ever-flowing trickle from his mouth, his jaw angrily set.

  “Ah, but think of the power,”� Julian cajoled silkily while he glided about his brother. “Imagine the power we could savor, if we were to join forces.” �

  “Our power is evil!” �

  “Not entirely,”�Julian soothed. “The world is evil. People are evil.” �

  “I don't hunger for your corrupted power!” �

  Lucien flew back, hit by unseen hands as soon as the statement left him. He grunted with pain as his body struck the firm stones of a supporting buttress. He wavered for a moment, before sliding to the floor.

  “Imagine all we could have, brother.” Julian’s tempting words filled the dungeon, echoing from the crumbling walls, and ceiling. “I’ll allow you to keep your woman.” �

  …save him�

  “How, Reese?” Eva whispered. She looked toward her brother's shadowy image, her desperation clear.

  …trust me�

  “Do it!” She snarled fiercely.

  …hurts�

  “Please, Reese, for Lucien.”

  Her breath escaped her in a gasping sigh as Reese melded into her living form. She felt the startling wealth of intense cold just as her thoughts vanished from her mind.

  Immediately, she was filled with memories not her own. There was Reese staring down at her, his expression filled with awe while he whispered his love for his newborn sister. There was Reese with her body snuggled close to his side, regaling her with wondrous stories of knights and princes. There was Reese, wiping the tears from her eyes as she sobbed uncontrollably. He had a duffel bag strung over his shoulder and his words meant for her alone, his fervent vow to return home, to her, his beloved youngest sibling.

  “Reese.” �

  His name quivered past her lips, filled with the tears she tried to restrain. She heard her brother's voice flowing through her, firm and urgent, lacking the formerly disjointed phrases.

  …don't be afraid, Evie. Call the bastard! Get his attention! We’ve to get him away from Lucien.

  Filled with a fierce determination, she rose to her frozen feet. Her fear evaporated, vanishing as swiftly as the mist filling the dungeon. A blinding brilliance of intense light flooded the chamber, illuminating the towering walls and arched ceiling.

  “Look at me, Julian!” �

  She shouted, and drew the crimson eyes to her. Awe and a dawning comprehension filled the scarred and distorted features. Julian drifted back to the ground, his feet landing heavily. Eva lifted her chin, staring at him unflinchingly while he approached, his hands outstretched.

  “I'm the Angel's Fire!” She realized the glow illuminating the chamber came from her. She lifted her hands, palms upright, and bright ribbon-like streaks of light shot from her fingers. “I'm the angel of prophecy!” �

  She ignored Lucien's muffled cry as Julian walked toward her. Purposely, she stepped further back, the vividness of her flesh dancing in wild glee over the crumbled rocks littering the floor.

  “You are the Angel's Fire.” Confusion was rampant in the gleaming depths of Julian's eyes, coupled with a dawning sense of joy.

  Absently, he repeated the age-old whisper of the curse forever damning the D'Angel blood. �

  “Evangeline, no!” �

  She refused to flinch at Lucien's cry of dismay. Instead, she smiled as sweetly as a temptress at Julian, the expression in her warm eyes urging him onwards.

  “For your salvation, offer me power,” she whispered huskily.

  “I offer you all the power you desire.” Julian vowed fervently, each step bringing him nearer.

  “Offer me fortune.” �

  “I promise.” �

  She smelled the stench rising from him when he stretched his arms toward her, intending to gather her close and envelop her in his embrace. Her lids lowered over her eyes, hiding her disgust, while she continued to whisper her seductive plea.

  “Offer me fame, Julian.” �

  “All you shall ever want,” he responded throatily, his expression ecstatic.

  “Offer me eternity.” �

  “Forever.” �

  He released the vow on a long sigh and his arms slid about her. She felt the burning intensity of his flesh but smiled enchantingly up at him. She forced herself to stay calm, listening to the ever-present hum of Reese's voice in her mind.

  Eva placed her lips to the stinking flesh of Julian's jaw before she turned about in his arms. Lucien stared at her with pain-filled eyes, unable to comprehend her actions.

  “Please don’t.” He whispered and rose to his feet, blood seeping copiously from his mouth and forehead.

  “Offer me everything I crave, Julian,” she continued loudly, ignoring the horror in Lucien's eyes.

  “I will grant you everything you wi
sh, my Queen of Fire.” He breathed fervently into her tumbled hair.

  She sighed long and deep. “Allow me to say my farewells to your brother, before I join you.” �

  “It is as he so deserves.” He chuckled wickedly. “I will still his woman, then his life.”

  Her pleading eyes searched Lucien's torment gaze. In her mind, Reese's voice fell conspicuously silent. Her thoughts slowed, and she watched unshed tears fill the obsidian depths of the eyes of the man she loved.

  “I don't wish to be a single spirit.” She remarked with firm determination. Her words rang as loud and clear in the cavernous dungeon. The comment had the desired effect as his arms tightened about her.

  “I shall be at your side and we shall rule for all eternity.” His voice was eager with anticipation and unspoken glory. “Bid my brother farewell, Fire of the Angels.” �

  “I shall know my enemies, Lucien.” �

  Eva repeated the very words that haunted the man. She prayed the meaning would remain lost on the man holding her and hoped the words branding Lucien for all eternity would come to his aide.

  Breathlessly, she continued, “I shall not be a spirit alone, unable to perform what needs to be done. I shall know my enemies as I know my friends.” �

  A deep frown furrowed Lucien's brow before a dawning comprehension filled his face. He pulled himself upright, despite the pain flooding his now human body, and graced her with the smallest nod of his head.

  “I shall know my enemies…”��

  His repetition of the tormenting phrase was loud and firm as he lifted his bare hands. At first, it appeared he was pushing an unseen force aside. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, knowing the unspoken agony that would soon flow from the depths of his battered body.

  The pale flesh of his palms remained upright, one smooth, and the other horribly disfigured. Eva willed her eyes to stay open as the fiery imprint rose, spinning and rotating, growing with each passing second. The cavorting figures brightened, radiating with intense redness as they began their garish dance of madness. The angels rose past the daemons, pulling the images after them just as bright bolts of unnatural flames filled the dungeon's stagnant air.