Page 42 of Dark Souls
Everything
M y soulmate is a Demonski Upir. Luka is a Demonski Upir.
It was insane. I couldn’t believe it, yet… it made so much sense. The memories of his past; his mother telling him never to tell a soul who he was, the fact they never stayed in one place for too long, the hesitancy he felt about introducing Belladonna to his family, the coven hunting him, the tortures. They must have been torturing him to make him shift into his demon form, as he couldn’t be killed in his vampire form. And his demon form must be Heathen.
I stopped my pacing and threw my hands up into my hair. Heathen. It was the most logical explanation for why I’d always felt this undeniable pull towards the demon. They both couldn’t talk about themselves, and yet they both acted like my soulmates. That must be why I was still attracted to Heath, even after finding Luka. But if he was Luka’s demon form, why didn’t I recognise him as my soulmate the moment I saw him like I did with Luka?
My mind raced as I repeated every little interaction I’d ever had with them, looking for any clues that Heath and Luka could possibly be the same person. There were so many differences in their personalities, but when I really thought about it, there had been signs…
Heathen had always been more playful and mischievous, but the more Luka relaxed around me, the more I saw glimpses of that side of him, too. He’d even say things or do things that reminded me of Heathen now and again. Their mannerisms were similar, such as clicking their necks to the side when controlling anger or stress or projecting an eerie, lethal calmness when filled with the need to kill. Even though Heathen’s voice was deeper and more ancient in timbre, they were both accented. Both European. But the biggest clue was how Heathen always acted like I belonged to him, even though he clearly wasn’t aware we were soulmates. Until… I told him I was Luka’s. And he laughed like a twisted nutcase. I thought at the time it was just an example of his insanity and unpredictable nature, but it was because he’d just made the connection. If I was Luka’s soulmate… I was also his.
Figure it out, Snow. Because the next time I see you, I’ll be taking what’s mine. And no one can stop me.
And Luka… yeah, he’d been mad when I’d told him about Heath and me, but he had dealt with it relatively well. He’d killed a man for touching me, blinded a man for looking at me, yet he hadn’t challenged Heathen for everything that had happened between us? I thought it was because Heathen was more powerful and Luka knew he didn’t stand a chance, but what if…
I grabbed my phone again, staring at his name at the bottom of the list, just to be sure. The two males above him must have been his father and brother, and Hana was below. Where was his mother’s name? Did they not record her death because Luka killed her and not them? Or maybe she wasn’t a Demonski Upir at all? And why did the coven record Luka and Hana as deceased when they were very much alive? To keep their control over them a secret, I presume.
Forcing myself to calm down and try to think clearly, I flicked through the other pages Calli had translated for me. I found the page of mad ramblings about a summoning spell and how to control a demon. Calli was right. The writing was incoherent, a messy jumble of poorly executed ideas that looked like a personal diary entry. On the last page was a list of dates. I slammed my hand over my mouth when I read the small extracts.
1825, 17th October - Attack on Nezera family home in Serbia after Belladonna’s confirmation that they are Demonski Upirs (DU). Father and eldest son attempted to fight, giving the other three family members the chance to flee. Father decapitated. Son burned alive by hellfire.
1826, 20th January - Hunt continues for three Nezera members. Wide search area over The Balkans.
1826, 6th March - Young DU captured in The Balkans. Age twenty. Healthy, powerful but only seen in vampire form. Identified as Lukas Nezera.
1826, 29th March - DU refusal to show true demon form through physical and mental torture.
1826, 7th April - DU starvation has weakened it but still refused to shift to true form.
1826, 10th April - Captured DU’s mother, Adrijana Nezara. Shall use her life to force the DU to comply.
1826, 11th April - DU killed his own mother and consumed her blood, showing true savage form. Killed three coven members and escaped with his mother’s remains.
1826 - Hunt continues. No sign of DU.
1831, 4th December - sighting of Lukas and Hana in Italy. Escaped capture.
1843, 16th February - sighting of Hana in Romania by local coven. Disappeared before we arrived.
1879, 18th March - Sighting in Iceland of both. Meeting of Demonski Upir Slayers to discuss plans to capture as they are believed to be the last remaining DUs alive.
1910, 26th May - Hana Nezera sighted in a Russian town. Group of Elite Slayers sent to investigate.
1910, 13th June - Captured Lukas Nezera in Russia. No sign of the female but we know she must be close by.
1910, 20th August- DU refusal to show demon form regardless of torture, dark magic and summoning. Meeting of the coven - majority agreed to find a means to control the demon for the coven’s purposes rather than kill it.
1911, 24th November - first attempt at soul possession and control through a combined coven’s dark magic. Failed. Vampire died and resurrected. Hunt for the female continues.
1913, 18th July - Soul possession unsuccessful after four magical soul division attempts in recent months.
1916, 24th September - Soul possession unsuccessful. Believed to be partly due to Lukas’ starvation of his demon side. He is too weak to proceed.
1920, 19th March - Lukas Nezera escaped captivity by finally shifting into demon form and killing six coven members.
1932, 4th April - Hana Nezera captured. Tortured for one week before she showed her demon form. Control of the soul failed even in Demon form. The coven’s magic was not strong enough. Seek assistance.
1932, 7th April - Attack on coven by Lukas Nezera to free his sister. We now have both in captivity.
1934, 29th November - Soul possession unsuccessful. Both Demonski Upirs are deceased.
As Rue’s violence exploded out of me, forcing my vampire form to the surface, I screamed and launched my phone across the room in a fit of rage before I flipped the oak desk over and destroyed everything within my immediate reach. Seeing Luka’s past trauma written so coldly in black and white, bullet-pointed like a shopping list with no regard for the lives they were ruining was too much. Years. He endured centuries of torture, capture, and brutality. All because of one coven’s evil motives.
I had never hated anyone more in my life. The primal predator in me was ready to murder anyone who ever thought they could hurt our mate for just being who he was. Heaving angrily, I closed my eyes and tried my best to count my breaths until I calmed down, but the anger wasn’t dispersing. I needed an outlet. No. I needed to see Luka. Or Heathen. I needed to know for sure.
Storming across the room, I grabbed my phone from the floor and swore loudly when I noticed the smashed screen. Damn temper tantrum . I couldn’t even call him. Them . I growled in frustration, knowing I couldn’t stay in this house a moment longer. Not like this. I’d end up destroying the place. And I couldn’t risk damaging any more evidence that could help me figure out how to free them from whatever hold The Devil had over them.
My gaze fell upon Luka’s laptop on the sofa and I raced over to it, tapping my thighs while I waited for the screen to come to life.
“Shit!”
Of course, it was password protected. I tried Hana’s name first and then a few random numbers. I was on my last attempt before it locked me out, and I fell back onto the sofa as I chewed at my thumbnail. Maybe he’d changed it recently? Maybe…
I licked my lips as I leaned forward and typed I.R.B.
The screen changed, revealing a monthly calendar. Oh my god, it worked! Checking today’s date, I saw the name of the event and location.
Murder Maze. Frendal Gardens, London. 9pm.
Murder Maze? Jesus, that should scare the shit out of me, but all I felt was adrenaline and excitement because that sounded exactly like the outlet I needed, along with seeing my mate. I quickly found the location online and groaned when I realised it was a two-hour drive from here. I searched the nearby areas to see if there was a place I had been to before so I could transport myself there and figure out the rest at a closer distance. Bingo. It was near a woodland I’d visited as a child with my family.
I raced into the bedroom to change my clothes and froze in the doorway. My jaw dropped as I stared at the clean, beautifully decorated bedroom. The dated wallpaper had been stripped, and the walls were now completely black with hand-painted pink flowers and skulls similar to the ones I always scribbled in my journal when I was bored. He’d replaced the broken window and silk curtains now draped around the magnificent view over the clifftop. And most importantly, there wasn’t a single cobweb in sight. Luka did this? I had wondered what he had been spending his time up here doing when I was researching, but when I’d asked, he just told me it was nothing. My chest tightened at the sweet gesture, knowing how much it meant for him to fix this place up for me to feel more comfortable. But now, after knowing all I did, I also understood why he’d allowed this place to rot. It didn’t deserve to be cherished.
After quickly changing into a pair of leather trousers and a black top, I hid my knife in my combat boot and threw on my black wig. To disguise my pink eyes as red, I would stay in vampire form during my time there. There was no doubt Luka would be furious that I showed up, but once he realised I figured out who he truly was, I think he’d understand why this couldn’t wait.
Completely isolated and miles from the outskirts of London, I found myself on the grounds of an old, abandoned estate. The crumbling Victorian architecture of an old manor towered behind me on a sloped hill and under a moonless sky that cast an eerie darkness over the scene.
The gardens were overgrown with weeds, vines and thorny bushes choking the beautiful wildflowers that struggled beneath. At the very front of the estate was a decaying stone fountain with a sinister goblin carved water feature that seemed to spill black inky water into the circular base. Roughly forty supernaturals huddled around it; some talked quietly, but many stood alone and silent, their expressions menacing. The atmosphere was completely different from the other Underground events I attended. This felt sombre. Morbid almost. It reminded me of the beginning of a funeral, when nobody really dares to speak for fear of saying the wrong thing and just waits for the impending gloom to begin. I smiled a little as a happy shiver ran up my spine. This was my kind of scene.
I gazed past the fountain and crowds of people, noting the imposing wrought-iron gates that seemed to block the entrance to a larger section of private gardens. But what was really peculiar was the blanket of dense fog that was seeping through the gates, which could only mean one thing. The fog was an illusion, put there by magic to add mystery and confusion to whatever was beyond. Turning quickly, I walked higher up the steep hill towards the manor to get a better view of the land and try to see what the fog was cloaking.
“Wow,” I breathed as I made out the intricate sprawling labyrinth of high, ivy-covered stone walls that created twisting pathways which often doubled back on themselves. Some stopped abruptly, creating dead ends, while others weaved for miles like snakes in long grass. So Murder Maze wasn’t just a catchy name, huh?
“Photographic memory?” a voice interrupted my moment of awe as I turned to see a man who looked around my age standing next to me. His orange eyes gave away his fae magic, but I could also sense that he wasn’t just fae. Possibly a hybrid, but not one of equal powers.
“Uh, no. I was just taking a look at the maze.”
“Ah,” he chuckled, folding his arms across his chest. “First time?”
“Yeah,” I answered, staring at his side profile as he scanned the maze with a secret smile. He was quite attractive with shaved hair and dark skin and even though he seemed friendly enough, he definitely gave off an unnerving vibe. As though he’d be happy to stab you in the back as he helped you through a door kinda guy.
“Words of advice. Don’t bother trying to figure out a route to the chapel. The maze is basically alive. Constantly shifting and changing, making it near impossible to navigate.”
In the distance, a half-collapsed chapel loomed over the twisting maze, offering a vantage point, but I knew it would be a mission to reach it. A deadly one.
“Oh, I’m not here to take part in whatever this is. I am just looking for someone,” I explained, which caused him to turn and face me.
“You’re a member, though, right?”
“Yeah. I just… I’m going to sit this one out tonight. Here to watch.”
He burst out laughing, shaking his head. “I don’t know who informed you that was an option, but you have just been played. There is no watching. If you choose to come here, you’re taking part. There is no way out but through that maze.”
I frowned. “Or I can just leave the way I came–” I turned to point towards the narrow pathway I’d taken that led me to the estate grounds but froze when I realised it had completely vanished. I spun in a circle in search of it as the fae laughed louder.
“Oh, I do love a newbie. So innocent.”
“What the… What is this place?” I asked myself, noticing iron gates attached to a fence that surrounded the estate. A magical fence that most definitely wasn’t there ten minutes ago.
“Who knows? Who cares? We pay for the experience, no questions asked. However, I was going to ask if you wanted to pair up. Members who tend to stick together to combine their strengths have a better chance of making it out, but now I know you’re fresh meat. I think I’d be better off taking my chances alone. You’d only hold me back.”
Charming.
He saluted me and walked back down the hill towards the other members and I raced forwards.
“Wait! What do you mean ‘a chance of making it out’?”
Stopping to turn to me with amusement, he clarified, “Making it out alive. ”
I halted as my eyes widened, and he chuckled, continuing to walk forwards. I quickly caught up with him.
“I thought Murder Maze meant that we, the members, would do the killing? Like hunting prey or something?”
“We do.” He smirked. “We hunt each other. And, of course, there are other deadly surprises to keep it interesting.”
I looked around at the other members, who were giving nothing away with their stoic expressions, but also some who were conversing in a somewhat friendly manner, just like the fae and me. Yet they were about to try to kill each other?
“Why?” I asked, realising I was looking more and more suspicious, so I pulled my spine straight and tried to hide my shock.
“Why not? You must kill or be killed. The world we live in now likes to pretend we are all civilised creatures, but beneath the surface, we crave the thrill. It’s in our natures. This event allows us to feel both. To be the hunter and the prey. It’s genius.” His eyes shimmered with evil intent and I frowned. “Also… whoever makes it to the chapel alive will get a share of the winnings.”
“Winnings?” These members must have signed up for this and paid a large amount to enter. “So, we get a share of everyone’s payments if we survive?”
“I will,” he laughed, looking me up and down once. “Not sure about you though, shorty.”
I scoffed, folding my arms across my chest. He had no idea who he had just insulted. I was born for this shit and my entire training with my brothers was about surviving any elements of surprise. I’d definitely make it to that chapel. Wait. Was I really considering doing this?
‘Hells to the yes!’ Rue encouraged.
No. I needed to find Luka. I stood on my tiptoes, scanning the crowd for any sign of him. He’d stand out a mile in this lot with his towering build, striking appearance and deep red hair. But I couldn’t see him. Shit.
“Have you seen The Dealer tonight?” I asked my competitor, who shook his head.
The same woman who worked on the night of the fights walked around the crowds, passing out some kind of black cloth. As members took one from her and pulled them over their heads, I realised they were balaclavas, hiding everyone’s identities, leaving only their excited eyes as their visible feature. A buzz rushed through my veins as she stepped up to the fae and me, holding one out to each of us. The fae man winked at me before taking his mask and pulling it over his head. The woman stared at me expectantly, with the black balaclava dangling from her outstretched arm. Ah, fuck it.
“I take it you’ve done this before?” I asked the fae when the woman walked off.
“Once. It was such a fucking high. You’ll be addicted.”
I tugged on the balaclava and rearranged it so I could see through the eye slits. Damn, I was going to sweat so badly in this thing, especially with a wig underneath as well.
“That’s if you survive. There is only one certainty at an event like this. The weak will not succeed.” His eyes twinkled brightly, and I rolled mine to the heavens.
′ This arrogant prick. I can’t wait to show him what we’re capable of.’
“How hard can it be?” I asked nonchalantly. “If you managed to make it out alive once before, it must be a piece of piss.”
“Oooo, a fighting spirit. I like it,” he teased, opening his hands in front of him and doing some kind of finger stretches. I’d put money on him having the ability to manipulate fire.
Cautiously, everyone approached the iron gates as the fog billowed around our feet like an invitation. The heavy atmosphere thickened with tension as everyone fell silent and my eyes darted around, searching for any sign of Luka or Heathen. If I made it out of this alive, I was pretty sure they’d kill me for being here.
“Let me guess,” I whispered to the fae. “There are no rules. It’s every villain for themselves, right?”
He chuckled from behind his mask. “Good luck, shorty. Was nice knowing ya.”
He stretched his fingers at his sides, and fire emerged from them. He lowered himself into a fighting stance. I smirked behind my mask. I knew he was a fire wielder.
Then I felt it. A pleasurable tingle crawled across my skin and up the nape of my neck, spreading heat through my stomach and down between my legs. I bit back a moan when I felt a slight pressure against my clit. A phantom grip squeezed my throat, making me gasp for breath. It was a greeting and a warning.
Heathen.
My heart thumped wildly as my head whipped back and forth for any sign of him. But of course, he wouldn’t be in his true form out in the open like this. He’d be hiding in plain sight. When the gates were completely open, an ear-splitting whistle pierced the air, signifying the start of the event, and all the surrounding members raced through them, disappearing in different directions into the maze. I swallowed thickly, my eyes wide and adrenaline rampant.
The crowds had dispersed, leaving only me and one lone figure standing a short distance away. His huge, broad shoulders heaved up and down with shallow breaths, and every muscle in his body was clearly strained beneath his jeans and black shirt. The very same clothes Luka left the manor in earlier tonight. But those weren’t Luka’s eyes glaring at me through the balaclava. Like an obsidian night, they were the blackest twin voids swallowing all light as they gleamed with wickedness and danger. The eyes of a demon.
My demon.
Butterflies tore through my body, fluttering from my chest to my lower belly at seeing him for the first time and knowing who he truly was to me. The look in his eyes was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. He was the epitome of darkness, staring as though he was considering whether to tear me to pieces or just devour me in one go. I gulped. Fear blended with desire and caused a complicated combination that overwhelmed me, keeping my feet glued to the ground. I knew he would never hurt me, but it was hard not to be intimidated by his raw power when it was directed solely at me.
The heavy silence between us was shattered by a distant scream echoing through the maze’s twisting corridors, causing my red eyes to widen in my masked face and my heart to pound against my ribs.
“You shouldn’t be here, Snow.” His baritone voice was fierce with warning.
“You told me to figure out who you are to me. And I did,” I said confidently, trying to disguise the excited but apprehensive nerves that were coursing through my body.
He tilted his head to the side, his eyes narrowing slightly as he held my gaze. In a blur, he was no longer on the other side of the fountain but right in front of me, inches from my face. I craned my neck as I sucked in a breath at the suffocating intensity of desire he’d brought with him. So intense, my chest ached with desperation as I felt it closing in on me, making me crave only him regardless of what was happening around us. Another agonising scream echoed in the distance. Murders, Ilaria. That’s what was happening . But I couldn’t bring myself to care.
“And who am I to you, Snow?” With his voice dropping an octave, a wave of longing swept through me, making me lose myself in his piercing gaze.
With a deep exhale, I said the only truth I really knew for sure.
“Everything.”