Page 41 of Dark Souls

The List

“S o, he killed them both? And you are certain they didn’t recognise you?” Grandpapi asked over the phone after digesting the slightly warped version of my story about the missing Romano soldiers. The wind howled somewhere in the distance through the damaged roof of the manor, heightening my anxiety as I picked a hole in the sleeve of my jumper. I was trying to keep as close to the truth as possible because if anyone could see through a lie, it was my grandpapi, so I was taking the cowardly way out and phoning him while he was busy at the Academy.

“Yes. He killed them to protect me. And no, they believed I was just a new member.”

There was another long pause. The hole in my sleeve grew.

“And how did he know they were planning to harm you?”

“He overheard their conversation. About all the vile, explicit things they were going to do to me once they got me locked in the BDSM room and—”

He coughed loudly, clearing his throat, and I tried to hide my smile at his sudden awkwardness. I knew he wouldn’t want to hear the graphic fictional details.

“Right. Well, like I said, I’ll deal with the families. I guess we should thank him in that case. Do we know his name yet? Hard to show gratitude to a nameless man.”

“Grandpapi—” I said, softening my tone to pacify him because he was fishing for information I’d already told him I couldn’t give.

“Right. The Dealer. I still find it odd that a man as ruthless and unemotional as him would give his life for yours in a blood oath.”

I closed my eyes. The word soulmate was on the tip of my tongue. It was getting harder and harder to hide everything, especially from my mum. I felt guilty whenever I spoke to her, so I tried to avoid her as much as possible. Luckily, Leif and Lorcan’s crazy lives occupied a lot of her mind. I wanted to tell them about Luka so badly, but I knew his trust was precious and one tiny sign of a betrayal at my end, even if I knew it would be for the greater good, would be catastrophic for our relationship. I couldn’t do that to him.

“He must care deeply about the person he’s asking you to help. They must be important to him.”

“She is,” I said without thinking.

“She?” The surprise in Grandpapi’s voice was hard to miss. “His soulmate?”

“Um, no. Have you seen Leif? I know Neve banished him from Heroux after the ceremony last night to try to deal with his grief head-on and be with the family. But I’ve tried calling him this morning, and he isn’t answering.”

Last night, I visited Heroux briefly, which was a welcome break from the constant reading and researching in the Knowlton’s personal library. It was a big celebration for my brother, Lorcan, finding his mate and Neve’s new position in the Heroux realm, but I dipped out as soon as possible to return here and continue my research. To avoid confronting his inner demons, Leif had once again got himself slaughtered with ale and his own magical concoctions at the party and now he was being forced to return to the human realm for some much-needed TLC. As much as it could be suffocating, my family was incredible at looking after their own so Neve had made the right call, no matter how much Leif hated the idea.

“Hm, nice change of subject, Princess.” I could hear the smile in his voice, which made me relax back in the desk chair. “Actually, I am on Leif duty today. He’s coming to help me teach some classes at the Academy. Should be here any minute, although… he’s already ten minutes late.”

I snorted. “Ah, so is this the new punishment for everyone in the family when we need a timeout from reckless behaviour? You make us professors? First Raiden, now Leif.”

He laughed. “You best stay on the straight and narrow then, Princess, or I’ll have you teaching the eager first years in the Art of Blood Extraction.”

“I’d actually quite enjoy that.” Little did he know that had been one of my favourite lessons as a student – learning how to drain just the right amount of blood from restrained volunteers or animals without causing immediate death. We learned different feeding techniques, emphasising precision and control, ensuring our victims survived.

“I am sure you would. And Leif isn’t being punished. We are all concerned about him right now, so I’m just trying to help him get his mojo back by doing the things he loves best. Starting with magic.”

“Oh, Jesus. Please never say the word ‘mojo’ again.”

“What’s wrong with the word ‘mojo’? Don’t the cool kids still say that?”

“It’s nearly as bad as your terrible dad jokes.”

“Oh, I have a new one for you. What do you call a lost wolf?”

Despite a deep sigh, I smiled; this was what my childhood was made of. “I don’t know. What?”

“A where-wolf, obviously!”

A giggle escaped as I shook my head at his awful humour; then I heard Leif in the background. “I am still wondering where the hell I got the funny gene from in this family because you just sucked the life out of me with that travesty.”

“Ha, that’s a good one!” Grandpapi laughed. “Because I’m a vampire. I sucked the life out of you!”

“Oh, Christ. You are both as bad as each other,” I added, feeling a little better now I heard first-hand evidence my brother was alive. “Oi, fuckface. Just planning on ignoring my calls all day?”

“When you call me before the ungodly hour of 9 AM on repeat, why yes, twatface, I will.”

“Have fun being babysat by Grandpapi and forced to teach snotty-nosed, mediocre witches how to make a candle flame flicker,” I teased, my smile beaming at how easy it was to fall into banter with him. He was going to be fine.

“Oh, it will be the highlight of my year. Have fun doing… wait, who is it again? GI Joe? Reggie?”

“What?” Grandpapi snapped, and I dropped my head in my hands.

“Nothing, Papi. Leif is just being Leif.”

“Roger? Rufus? No, wait, I’ve got it. It’s Randy.”

“Who?” Grandpapi hissed.

“Oh, come on, Papi! You’ve met Randy! Big skinhead agent who’s all heart eyes over your little princess.”

“Leif! Shut it!” I groaned as I heard him suppressing his laughter, knowing exactly how to wind both me and our grandpapi up. “He knows full well his name is Ronnie, and I am not doing anything with him. I have to go.”

“Sure, sure. Places to be. People to do…or you could tell us what you’re really up to, sis? I’d happily share the limelight with you.” Leif just had to add gasoline to the flame he’d lit.

“I’m going now. Bye.”

“Love ya! Send my kindest regards to Randy,” Leif shouted as my grandpapi exhaled loudly.

“Bye, Princess. Are you coming for dinner tomorrow night? I’d like to see you.”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll be there.”

I hung up the phone, leaned back in the solid oak desk chair and threw my head back to stare at the ceiling. Heaven forbid, I loved my family, but they were bloody exhausting.

“Everything alright?”

Luka was standing in the door frame, staring at me with an unreadable expression. However, it wasn’t his impassive mask that made me lose my train of thought but the mouth-watering sight of his naked, defined torso and that very, very deep V that was dipping into a pair of ripped jeans.

“Was that Arius? How did it go?” he asked, causing my eyes to slowly rake back up to his alluring face, which was just as hard to resist. He was so sinfully delicious. I was finding it hard to concentrate whenever he was around, which was why I had forbidden him from the library when I was trying to research as much as possible over the last two days.

“It was.” I swallowed the saliva that had formed in my mouth instead of drooling like a dog in heat. “Good. I think. He said he’d handle the families. He asked if the families could have the bodies back for closure, but I said you had already burned them. I hope you don’t mind me telling him that.”

“How do you know that they were burned?” He cocked his head to the side.

“Heathen. And the gigantic pile of bodies in the back garden. It wasn’t hard to work out,” I answered, and his jaw twitched before he nodded once, glancing away. He pushed his hands off the doorframe and walked into the library, flopping down onto the sofa in front of the unlit fireplace. “So, you won’t be meeting the family in a pair of magical handcuffs on trial after all.”

“Shame.” He smirked, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head, giving me another spectacular view of his body. I couldn’t help but feast on his rock-hard abs, broad chest and ink-covered biceps. Normally, I was a very focused person when I had a task to complete, but I’d clearly discovered my biggest distraction.

“We’re going to have to come up with some rules if you keep popping up looking like that when I am trying to research.”

“What kind of rules?” He arched his eyebrow, the silver bar through it catching the sunlight streaming through the window.

“The kind where you wear a shirt to start.”

He licked his lips seductively, staring at me from across the room, which only sent my body temperature sky-high as I groaned.

“So… who’s Ronnie?”

‘Oh no.’

I chewed at my bottom lip as I tried to gauge his reaction. He was unnervingly calm. Too still. Which only meant one thing. He was lethal.

“I take it you caught the tail end of my phone call?”

“That’s not an answer, love.”

I huffed, folding my arms over themselves on the table and met his fiery gaze. The smart thing to do would be to dismiss it and tell him Ronnie was no one knowing how this conversation could go one of two ways, but I couldn’t lie to him. I was trying to earn this man’s trust and if he found out Ronnie and I had been something in the past and I hadn’t told him, it would make everything so much worse. I didn’t want any secrets between us.

“He’s a family friend. A human who I fooled around with in the past. It was nothing serious, and now we are just friends.” I shrugged my shoulders, hoping my sincerity was enough for him, but of course, that was wishful thinking. His left eye twitched slightly. His jaw shifted to the side and back. But other than those little indicators of emotion, he remained in statue form, which only heightened my need to keep talking. “You have nothing to be jealous of. Or to be angry about. It was before I’d met you and like I said, it was very casual. More transactional than anything.”

“Transactional?” he questioned, his voice disturbingly deep. Fuck, why did I say that? “How so?”

I groaned and dropped my head in my arms. “I just mean, there were no feelings attached. Not on my side.”

“But there were on his? How recent was this past transactional relationship?”

‘Urgh, just stop talking, Ilaria. You are making it worse!’

“Luka. Does it matter? Like I said, it was before you and you should know that I would never look at another man like that ever again now that—” I stopped talking because that wasn’t exactly true, was it? Some part of me still wanted Heathen. Still craved him. Thought of him. I was deeply excited and intrigued by him, which I knew was wrong.

Luka suddenly stood up and walked towards me. I lifted my head as he placed his hands on the desk and leaned forward, our faces inches apart.

“It doesn’t matter, love. Not anymore. Because you are mine. Not his.” The rough grip of his hand on my jaw sent a shiver down my spine as he leaned in, his domineering kiss leaving me stunned and slightly dazed. When he released my lips, he placed a swift kiss on my forehead. “I’ll leave you to it. Let you focus.”

He stood up straight, and I allowed my gaze to take one last tempting sweep of his body before he stalked out of the room. Collapsing back into the chair, I found myself completely surprised by how well he dealt with that conversation until he called out from the stairs, “But if I ever have to meet him, love, knowing he’s been inside you, I will kill him.”

“Luka!” I bellowed. “You will not touch him! He is just a friend and I care about him!”

“You know… you saying that only makes me want to kill him more?”

Urgh. Impossible.

Hours later, I dropped the heavy book back down on the desk and tied my hair up in a messy bun on top of my head. My brain was about to explode. If I had to decipher any more Latin, I think I might just blow my brains out.

Apart from last night’s quick trip to Heroux, I hadn’t even left the room other than to bathe. I’d been at this for two solid days and found very little about who Luka was or what the Knowlton coven wanted with him. But I had spotted the Latin for Demonski Upir in some books. I sent Calli screenshots of pages, asking her to translate them for me, so all was not lost. The quiet of the room often lulled me to sleep, and I’d wake up to find Luka carrying me upstairs to bed long after midnight. Though sleep wasn’t much of rejuvenation, as more memories of Luka’s past emerged each time. More tortures at the hands of the Knowltons. Sweet memories of his loving family before whatever happened to them ripped them apart. The most rewarding was his massacre of the entire coven single-handedly in the dead of the night. Pure bloodthirst and vengeance had spurred him on. And who had he left until last? Belladonna Knowlton. The twisted pleasure of his grip on her neck, the exhilarating rush of power as he dangled her over the cliff edge, the satisfaction in watching fear consume her before she plummeted. In my opinion, it was far too kind of a death. However, I kept that opinion to myself.

Knowing he was a massive distraction for me, Luka made himself scarce most of the day, banging things around upstairs mainly, but sometimes he’d sit on a laptop on the sofa in complete silence. At night, he always left for a few hours. I never asked him where he went. There was no point. He couldn’t tell me. One time, he’d only gone to a shop to get me some food. Food that I didn’t have the heart to tell him I wasn’t in the least bit interested in. But it was the thought that counted.

I rubbed my stinging eyes from the lack of undisturbed sleep and tried to focus again. Luka tried to convince me to take breaks, but I refused. The obsessive, stubborn as hell trait in me to uncover the mysteries was in full force and nothing would stop me. I was getting closer. I could feel it.

Rain started pelting against the glass and I glanced out the window to see the beginnings of a storm. I smiled, closing my eyes briefly and dropping my head back to dull my thoughts and clear my mind. The soothing sound as the rain grew more turbulent felt so inviting. Impulsively, I listened to that urge, pushing the chair back and dashed for the front door. I needed fresh air.

I raced down the unstable veranda steps and out onto the cliff, only wearing one of Luka’s oversize hoodies and my over-the-knee socks. With my arms stretched out wide, I threw my head back and stared up at the gloomy skies as the clouds cried their refreshing tears down on my face.

“What are you doing?” Luka shouted from the entrance hall, staring at me with bewilderment as I spun in a circle and laughed.

“Enjoying the storm. Come and join me!”

When he made no attempt to move, I opened my eyes and dropped my arms. My hair was sticking to my forehead and my hoodie was growing heavier by the second, but I didn’t care. This was my happy place. This was my calm. I wanted Luka to experience it, too. I reached out my hand, but he slowly shook his head. His eyes moved past me to the murky horizon.

“I can’t.”

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of a little thunder and lightning?” I shouted over the rumbling skies.

“Ilaria. Come inside. I can’t protect you out there, and I don’t like it.” He approached the door but paused, his hands balling into fists.

“Then just come out here!”

“I can’t!”

“Why not?”

He hissed through his fangs. “It’s best I show you.” As he attempted to step over the threshold, an invisible force immediately flung him backwards. I gasped, racing up the steps and back inside to help him off the floor.

“What the hell was that?” I turned to stare at the door, making my way back over to it and cautiously stepped through the front door again. Nothing happened. I peered back at him as he stared at me, willing me to make the connection. “You can’t leave? Are you trapped here by magic? But… you do leave. You go to events and the club.”

“When?” he asked, prompting me to think.

“At night. You can only leave the house at night?”

“Only when the sun sets.” My lips parted. That made so much sense. “Unless…” he pushed, trying to get my brain to search for more.

“Unless…” I narrowed my eyes, walking up to him. “The Devil lets you out?”

He nodded. “Control.”

“I knew I could still sense magic in this place! Luka, Leif could easily lift this spell. Or my mum, my grandpapi, my uncle! Take your pick.”

“No.” He shook his head. “Nothing can change until you know everything. I can’t risk him finding out anything is different.”

It was my turn to clench my fists as my nails dug into the palm of my hands. Luka had been the Knowltons’ captive, and now he was The Devil’s? But where did Heathen fit into all of this?

“If you are here, day and night unless you are at an Underground event, where is Heathen? I haven’t seen him since he came here last week, and he was so… intense. Someone must be keeping him away from me. Is it you?”

Luka held my gaze, his red eyes darting between mine as he inhaled sharply. “Keep researching, love. You’re getting closer to the truth.” He turned away and made his way upstairs. “There’s an Underground event tonight and I have to go. I don’t want you here alone, so I need you to go to your flat.”

I frowned, following him up and into the bedroom. He tugged his t-shirt over his head and put on a fresh one, pairing it with a leather jacket.

“An event? Let me come.” I demanded, folding my arms across my chest.

“Not to this one.”

“Why not?”

“It’s not safe.”

“None of The Underground events are safe. Why is this one any different? What aren’t you saying, Luka?” I was picking up on his subtle cues. The way he never looked me directly in the eye when he wanted to keep something hidden or the way he always clicked his neck to the side when he was feeling pressured or stressed. Just like he did a second ago.

“It’s a very exclusive event for a very particular clientele. The worst kind.” He opened the dresser and took out two very intimidating knives. The first knife was solid silver, and the second was wood. He bent down and hid each one in his boots.

“What’s the event?” I pushed for more information. No way in hell I was dropping this. “You don’t really expect me to stay here without a clue what kind of danger my soulmate is putting himself in tonight?”

“It’s the kind I am used to. You don’t need to worry about me.” He walked up to me, placing a haste kiss on my lips and then leaving the room. I spun around, hot on his heels.

“Ah ah! You do not get to kiss me like you are off to run a quick errand, disappear without another word and expect me to sit at home like your obedient little housewife! I want to come! Or at least, give me the details. Otherwise, all I will do is let my imagination run wild and worry all night long! Is that what you want for me?” I batted my eyelashes at him and he scoffed.

“Nice try. But no, you aren’t coming. Grab some books, go to your flat. Oh, how’s that for timing? The sun has set. I’ll text you when I am back.”

“Luka!” I yelled when he blurred down the stairs and out of the door. I stamped my foot with frustration and, in a flash, he was right in front of me again. He grabbed the nape of my neck and crashed his lips against mine in a hot as fuck kiss that took me completely by surprise. When he inched back, he smirked down at me.

“Such a brat,” he husked, and then he was gone again, leaving me not only pissed but all hot and bothered too.

Still an asshole, I see.

I’d warned him. Tell me what to do, and I’ll do the opposite just to spite him. So there I was. Sticking around in the Knowlton’s library, so I could at least be productive while he was gone and occupy myself enough to stop me from going insane with worry.

He’d only been gone an hour and it was already torture. I couldn’t focus on the words in the books as my mind spun with crazy ideas about what kind of event he was at. So far, he’d been in a ring fighting to the death and then at a sex party. Even without the bond between us making me extremely possessive and protective, any woman would have to be a goddamn angel not to be worried about that kind of track record.

My phone started ringing for the zillionth time today. My nosy family kept asking me what I was doing with all my new ME time and inviting me to do shit with them. No, Grandma, I do not want to preen the rose bushes with you. And no, Dad, I would rather preen roses with bare fingers than go to the gym and lift weights with you. They just couldn’t fathom that I actually liked my own company. Even though, granted, I wasn’t alone.

I sighed with relief when I saw Calli was the caller ID.

“Hey Calli, thanks so much for doing this. I know you must be busy with the move, so I appreciate it.” Calli had told me earlier that she and Niko had decided to move to Heroux to be with their daughter. I couldn’t blame them, and I was happy that Neve would have her family around to support her.

“No problem! I’m leaving Niko to his infuriating system of ‘everything has a certain position in a cardboard box’ and staying out of it. You’ve probably saved our relationship by giving me something else to do, if I’m honest.”

I laughed, knowing she was likely not exaggerating. I’d never met a bigger perfectionist than Neve’s dad.

“Hey, there is nothing wrong with the system!” Niko shouted in the background.

“There is when it makes zero sense!” Calli yelled back and I smiled. I loved them so much. They always challenge each other. “Okay so… I’ll send over the translated pages for you to read, but I have to say, I actually found this all really fascinating. I didn’t know that much about the history of Demonski Upirs until I read all this, but when I saw the Knowlton name, it caught my attention.”

I sat up straighter. “Why’s that?” I tried to keep my voice even, but my heart rate spiked.

“Well, they were a very well-known coven back in the day. Famous even. Especially because of the mysterious way they all died one night. The Father of the Coven killed them all before killing himself! Like a bloody sacrificial cult.”

‘Hm, nope. That was down to our creative soulmate,’ Rue snickered proudly in my mind.

“Before that, they were one of the most influential covens in Europe and many American covens knew of them or had some runnings with them over time. They had quite a reputation for being, well, a bit demented. Anyway, they were founders of The Underground, but I am sure you already knew that with your SIA missions there and what not. That’s why you are looking into them, right?”

I hummed in agreement, afraid to say anything else.

“But what I didn’t know about them was that one document you sent to me was an outline plan of the Demonski Upir Slayers. It looks like they were one of the joining forces in Europe who hunted those demons. There is a pretty extensive list of supernaturals who joined the cause all over the world to put an end to the destruction caused by Demonski Upirs. I didn’t read them all but the Knowltons were right at the top. There were a few other familiar names on that list, too.”

I exhaled slowly as a strange restlessness and agitation seeped beneath my skin. “Who?”

She lowered her voice a little. “Your grandparents, for one. Lucius Romano. Celeste and Cora Anderson. They must have been slayers at one point because they are on the list.”

I slammed my hand over my mouth and closed my eyes. Fuck. Fuck. Fuckkkkk. My great-grandparents hunted Demonski Upirs? I felt sick. A feeling I was becoming more and more used to with the amount of twisted shit I was uncovering at such a rapid rate.

“Oh, really? That’s… crazy.” I said, trying to sound as unaffected as I could.

“Yeah. But is it, though? I mean, we all know they had a dark side. And in all fairness, they were doing the world a favour. Demonski Upirs were evil and merciless monsters who killed with no remorse. They were reckless and had to be stopped before they exposed us all to humans. I suppose it’s no different to what the SIA does now. Protect the good and rid the world of evil.”

“That’s not true!” I snapped. Rage and protectiveness took control as I lost my cool. “Demonski Upirs weren’t evil! Not all of them! That’s a load of bullshit.” There was a long pause and I internally cursed myself for letting my emotions get the better of me. “I mean, I am sure they weren’t. You can’t always believe what the history books say, right? Like how can an entire breed be evil? Evil is everywhere, no matter what race you are.”

“Uh huh,” she agreed apprehensively. “Is everything alright, hun?”

“Yeah. Course. You know me. I just get in my head about stuff and find it unbelievable that every Demonski Upir deserved to be wiped off the face of the planet.”

“Yeah. I hear you,” she agreed. “When you see the list they kept, it is quite sobering. It’s harrowing to think so many were killed.”

“There’s a list?”

“Yeah. I’ve sent that over to you, too. Didn’t recognise any names, but then again, why would I? The last Demonski Upir died around a hundred years ago.”

My heart was thundering as I put her on loudspeaker and fumbled through my emails on my phone. Would Heathen’s name be on the list?

“The amount of other crap the Knowltons were into was insane,” she continued as I waited impatiently for the documents to load. “It looks like they were actually thinking of trying to control a Demonski Upir with dark magic at some point.”

“What? How?”

“I’m not sure. It just seemed like ramblings of mad ideas and theories, really. There was talk of sigil to possess and trap the soul as a physical representation and a grimoire or something. It didn’t seem well executed or successful. They seemed to have trouble with the whole two souls issue.”

“Two souls? What do you mean?”

“Demonski Upirs had two souls. I guess, technically, they were the first ever hybrids in a way. Half demon and half vampire. They had the soul of a demon and the soul of a vampire but in one physical body. The unique vulnerability of Demonski Upirs was they’re only killable in demon form, making them immortal as vampires.

In the past, extremely powerful witches and seers had summoned demons from the underworld, but only ever for a short period. Demons don’t belong in our world, so they could never exist among us because they are children of the underworld and, therefore, seen as the undead. But Demonski Upirs were different because their vampire counterpart kept them tied to the human realm. The Knowltons clearly had the idea that in order to control a demon forever through summoning, you needed to obtain its soul. But their problem lies with the other half. The vampire.”

“They couldn’t unbind their souls,” I mumbled.

“Exactly. It was ambitious, to say the least. And pointless in the end. They didn’t achieve it.”

“How do you know?” I swallowed thickly as I stared straight ahead, seeing nothing in particular. My heart was racing, but a chilling stillness had taken over my body as all the puzzle pieces finally slotted into place.

“Because it was impossible. And all Demonski Upirs died through any of their attempts. It’s all in the list.”

The list. My attention returned to my phone as the translated list appeared on the screen. I scrolled down it as Calli continued to talk, but I couldn’t hear her anymore. Not over the sound of my pulse pounding in my ears. I scrolled and scrolled the list of victims. Names of Demonski Upirs and how they died. The list was endless. My throat tightened, and my hands shook as I finally neared the bottom. I froze.

“Ilaria? Is everything alright? You’ve gone very quiet?”

“Calli,” I choked out. “I have to go. Thanks for the help.” I hung up the phone and stared at the very last names on the list.

Maksim Nezera - Deceased (Decapitation)

Zoran Nezera - Deceased (Hellfire)

Lukas Nezera - Captured and Deceased (failed soul possession)

Hana Nezera - Captured and Deceased (failed soul possession)

Holy. Fuck.