Page 54 of Dark Souls
The Devil’s Lair
“W hat you are suggesting is extremely dangerous, Ilaria. To walk into The Underground alone, knowing The Devil already suspects you.” My mum clasped her hands and lifted them to hide her mouth. I don’t think I have ever seen her so anxious before. And I could understand all their concerns, but this was the best plan we had.
“I won’t be alone,” I argued, glancing at Ronnie. “Luka gave Ronnie a key to the back entrance of the club. He will be waiting there and will come to my aid if anything goes wrong. And I’ll wear one of the SIA’s hidden cameras so you can all keep an eye on me the entire time.”
My dad exhaled a loud breath, running his hand down his face.
“This is the best chance we have. I am the only one with a membership to get into tonight’s event and I can read minds. Luka told Ronnie that he is convinced that Wesley will be there tonight and that he is the key to finding Hana. If he is the Devil’s nephew, I have to find him. Apparently, he wears a silver dagger ring on his index finger, and I’ve met him before at another event. I know what he looks like.”
Once Ronnie told me what Wesley’s appearance was like, I remembered the disgusting interaction I had with him at the Pleasure Den. Looking back, it made so much sense why Luka reacted the way he had to him now.
“As long as you know that if anything goes wrong and you are in serious danger, we will be ripping that place to pieces,” Lorcan growled. His mate entwined her hands with his to calm him and the tension visibly left his face but remained in his hunched shoulders.
I shook my head. “No. You have to give me your word that you won’t expose the fact you all know about this. If any of you storm into that club, it’s game over. They will kill my mate and Hana before we stand any chance of saving them. The Devil won’t be at the club, of that I am sure, but he will easily hear about anything that goes down there. No matter what happens, I need you all to promise me this. You will not come to my rescue. I am a big girl. I can handle Wesley alone. I really need you to trust me on this.”
“We do trust you,” Mum spoke with complete confidence that filled my chest with warmth. “It doesn’t stop us worrying, though.”
“I know.” I nodded. “But I have to do this.”
“We know you do. Any of us would do the same in your position and as much as we want to take your place and do it for you, this is your soulmate. Fate brought you together to show you the person that matches you perfectly in this life, but it is love that truly saves a soul,” Grandma Maddy said with a smile as she glanced at Grandpapi, who was locked in her gaze, his eyes sparkling. The corner of his lip lifted ever so slightly. My chest tightened with longing and desperation for my own mate.
The last eight hours had been the most difficult of my entire life. Not knowing where he was or what they were doing to him had caused a constant agonising ache in my chest and a sickness in my stomach that never intensified or dispersed but incessantly throbbed. A never-ending reminder of how close I was to losing him. Every move I made, every decision and every action was the difference between life and death. His life. His death. I couldn’t make a single wrong move.
Leif opened the door and breezed into Grandpapi’s office, where we were holding our extremely private family meeting. The transformation in my brother in just the last twenty-four hours was phenomenal. His eyes now shimmered with a kaleidoscope of colours, ever-swirling and mixing like a mystical vortex of magic. He’d shaved and showered, his floppy light brown hair bouncing with every enthusiastic step he took towards me. And even better still, he hadn’t touched a single drop of alcohol since I’d found him sucking Lia’s face (I wasn’t getting over that anytime soon). But that was my brother for you, the one I knew was buried deep beneath the pain, grief and anger, stepping up when I needed him most. Under the clownish, playboy persona he liked to show the world, he was unbelievably selfless.
“Here. I made you this.” He threw something small in the air towards me and I caught it in my hands. I peered down to find a black ring made of onyx and formed into the shape of crossed bones and a skull. In one eye socket, there was a hot pink diamond. It was stunning. Perfectly me in every way. “It’s enchanted with a protection spell against other vampires. I couldn’t make it specifically against Wesley or The Devil, seeing as we don’t know who they are, but thanks to Luka, we know they are vampires, so it’s the next best thing.”
While he spoke, I put it on my finger; the weight calming my nerves. I knew I could take on Wesley, but not having to concern myself with my safety when I was thinking of Luka and Hana’s was truly a relief. I stood up and grabbed him for a quick hug. He chuckled, patting my back before I released him.
“Thank you. I love it.”
“The enchantment will only work for tonight, but I thought if I made it Ilaria worthy , you’d be able to wear it anyway, and I could always cast another enchantment on it when needed.”
“I take it back. You are insanely brilliant, Leif.”
“Oh, I know.” He smirked with all the natural cheekiness he’d had since birth. When I glanced back at the rest of the room, all the faces of my family were wearing the same loving and emotional expression as me. The Leif we knew and loved was on his way back to us.
I twisted the skull ring on my index finger repeatedly as Sienna tugged the strings at the front of the leather corset that was placed around my waist and over my leather mini dress. As she tied it in a knot, checking the disguised SIA camera device which had been sewn into it like a jewel, her amber eyes flicked up to my vacant expression briefly before they returned once more to my corset.
“You’re being very quiet. Nervous?” she asked.
I shook my head. “Not nervous. Hyper-focused.”
The moment I put on this outfit, I pushed all doubts that I might fail and what the outcome of my failure would cost me to the recesses of my mind. I was Ilaria Romano Black. Stubborn, determined and fierce as fuck. If people were wary of me before, they had no idea what I was capable of when they messed with the man I love.
“Glad to hear it,” Sienna replied. She placed her hands on my shoulders and smiled. “Well, you look the part.”
Spinning me around, I faced the mirror. Fishnet tights covered the paleness of my legs and my favourite platform leather boots hugged my calves. The dress fit every curve of my body perfectly, and I had two leather cut off sleeves running up my forearms and over my elbows. They weren’t so much a fashion statement but another ingenious invention from the SIA. One sleeve masked a tracking device and the other housed the thinnest silver dagger. Leif had spelled it to ensure it wouldn’t be detected at the security check-in. Thick black eyeliner circled my pink eyes with a lashing of mascara, and I’d chosen a deep red lip in homage to my mate. I looked dangerous. Raven Darmont was a woman on a mission, in more ways than one.
“Do you want a little advice? From a girl who does this for a living?” Sienna said from behind my shoulder. I peered at her reflection in the mirror and nodded.
Sienna had grown up an assassin, killing rogue and dangerous supernaturals since she was sixteen. I’d be an idiot not to accept any wisdom she was willing to throw my way.
“Take the emotion out of every decision you make. Emotion is what drives us, yes. But it is also what can get us killed. Prepare yourself for what you are about to face. Imagine every potential outcome, so nothing takes you by surprise. If something doesn’t go according to plan, you need to stay calm and to think rationally. If you allow your emotions to impact your actions, you will not be thinking logically, and it’s a downward spiral from there.” She sighed, spinning me back to face her. “Can I be brutally honest with you?”
“Yes.” Sienna and I hadn’t always seen eye to eye but one thing we both respected a lot about each other was how we could speak frankly, without having to worry if we hurt the other one’s feelings.
“Your family thinks you are too emotional for this. It’s not that they don’t believe you have the intelligence, power or ability to succeed, it’s because of your heart that they worry. You are hot-headed, unpredictable and sensitive. You lead with your emotions. I have only known you a short time, but I’ve seen that too. When someone pisses you off, you bite back. When you feel injustice, you rage. When you care, you show it. You feel so deeply, so passionately, that it overwhelms you. Your heart takes over your head, and you act before you think. Which isn’t always a bad thing, Ilaria, but when you walk into the event tonight, you have to be all head and zero heart. Do you understand?”
“One hundred percent,” I agreed. “Thanks for saying what nobody else would.”
“Always.” She smirked just as the door to my room opened and Ronnie and my mum walked in.
“Don’t worry, I’ve made the men of this family ridiculously busy tonight so they won’t go back on their word and try to keep you here. Grandpapi is drawing up a list of any vampires he knows who have witch mates to try to narrow our search down. I’ve sent your dad and Lorcan on a very long run to burn off that Alpha energy.” Mum smiled, walking towards me with open arms. “You look incredible. Terrifying but incredible. My daughter.” She hugged me tight. When she released me, I stepped towards the bed to grab the black wig, which I hated so much.
Mum held up her hand to stop me. “Why don’t I just cast an illusion on you tonight? So everyone thinks you have black hair? If you are anything like me, you must hate having to wear that thing. And tonight, I think you need to feel like yourself.”
“Oh my fucking god! Yes, please!”
She scowled at me. “Language, Ilaria!” But then she smiled. She always said I came out of her womb with a potty mouth and had been scolding me for it ever since, with no effect whatsoever. With a wave of her hand and a mutter of Latin, a gust blew through my straight white hair, which fell back in place around my waist. “There. To everyone else, you’re a brunette.”
Ronnie cleared his throat, his red eyes meeting mine. “Prefer you blonde. But it works. Ready?”
I smiled, running my hand up the black sleeve to feel for my dagger. “Yeah. More than ready.”
“I am not going to wish you good luck because you don’t need it,” Mum said, taking my hand in hers and squeezing it. “But please, transport yourself out of there if you need to. Just promise me that.”
“I will,” I lied. There was no way I was leaving that place until I had the information I needed.
Her magenta eyes darkened slightly to a shade of purple as she held my gaze and then nodded. Deep down, she knew it too. Because I was her daughter, after all. She’d never run away from a fight, from fighting for those she loved, and neither would I.
Walking up to Ronnie, I placed my hand in the crook of his elbow, and we transported to the same club that I’d first seen Heathen at. Streams of vampires were lining the dark alley, waiting to get inside for a night of dancing, drinking and fucking in the main club, but we weren’t here for that.
We made our way towards the backstreets cloaked in darkness from the building’s structure, blocking any sliver of light from the streetlamps.
“Want to hear something weird?” Ronnie whispered as we approached the back entrance to the underground club. I leaned against the brick wall as he rummaged around in his back pocket to find the keys Luka had given him.
“Of course,” I replied, as his lips widened into a smile.
“I don’t find you remotely attractive anymore. I look at you, even wearing that, and… nothing. Not even a dick twitch.”
I scoffed, smirking. “Well, that’s something every girl wants to hear.”
“Don’t take it personally, Princess. It must be the sire effect. You’re my master’s soulmate. Therefore, the thought of fucking you now makes me want to cut my own dick off to avoid it.”
“Another perk of Luka’s genius plan, I am sure.” He laughed, his fangs peeking out from below his upper lip. I pushed off the wall when Ronnie twisted the key in the door, and it popped open.
“Well, I’m grateful. Quickest damn way to cure heartbreak, that’s for sure.”
I hit him on the shoulder. “I did not break your heart!”
Holding his finger to his lips to remind us both to be quiet as he held the door open for me. “Nah. My ego, sure. But not quite my heart.”
“Good.” I squeezed his shoulder as I walked past him into the club. He shut the door behind us quietly, and we made our way down a narrow corridor lined with heavy doors. Ronnie stopped suddenly by the nearest one, somehow sensing this was where he needed to be. He used another key on the bunch, and it opened up into a somewhat empty office. A worn leather sofa with frayed, saggy cushions was against the wall on one side of the room and a desk with a computer sat on the other. Ronnie moved towards the computer, pulling out a piece of paper and started logging into the system.
“Awesome. I’ll be able to watch everything,” Ronnie said, standing straight and gesturing to the screen. I moved around the desk to see the screen had split into four live camera feeds from around the event. Pride warmed my blood that Luka really had thought of everything. “So, do you have a plan or are we just winging this shit?”
“The only plan I have is to find Wesley and read his mind. Get the information I need from him and take it from there. Depending on what I learn will determine what I do next.”
“So winging it then?” Ronnie smirked. “My favourite kind of mission.”
I walked towards the door as he plonked his huge body in the chair and made himself comfortable.
“If I need you…”
“You’ll make it obvious. I know. Good luck, Princess.”
I held my finger up to him. “Still not allowed to call me that.”
Pulling my shoulders back, I shook my hair behind me and exited the back door, making my way to the queue of people at the front of the club. I wasn’t taking any chances tonight, and I’d be playing by the rules… more or less.
‘Rue, are you ready?’
‘Fuck yes. We’ve got this. Let’s find this weasel and make him suffer.’ Of course, she remembered Luka’s nickname for him from The Pleasure Den.
Allowing the darker side of me to the surface, my vision turned sharper and a red haze cast over my vision as my eyes changed to scarlet. My fangs sharpened, nails extended and that rush of adrenaline spread through my veins as I gave full trust to my vampire instincts. Once I was through the doors and refused a human blood slave for the night, I made my way to the cornered off section at the back of the club, where two sinister-looking bouncers blocked access to the red curtain. A case of déjà vu hit as I lifted my chin and strutted up to them with confidence. The girl that had tried to get past them months ago was almost unrecognisable to me now. Looking back, I could see how unfulfilled I was. How much I craved something, anything, always seeking or searching but never feeling satisfied. Not until Heathen. Not until Luka. They were everything I needed. The challenge, the thrill, the adventure. The love.
Before the bouncer opened his mouth, I held up my black membership card between my fingers with confidence that bordered on arrogance. He narrowed his eyes, taking it from me and placing it into the scanner. He glanced down, checking the profile of Raven Darmont and then back up to my face while the other bouncer ran a device across my body to check for any weapons. Leif didn’t fail me. Nothing was detected.
“Do you agree with the only rule for tonight’s event? No killing or violence towards other members.”
‘Hmm, that could be problematic.’
I nodded. Three loaded seconds passed between us, and then he held the card back out to me and stepped aside, opening the red curtain.
Electric energy pulsed through the air, hidden by the thickness of smoke. The vibrations from the seductive, throbbing beats were almost visible to my vampire vision, feeling the tingle of unholy rhythms that fuelled a sense of lust and madness with every step I took further into the enormous underground club. The walls were lit up with flickering neon signs, distorting the faces of supernaturals beneath their glow, only to submerge them in the darkness of the room once again.
I forced myself to keep my expression neutral as I walked through different sectioned areas, each one showcasing the twisted indulgences that supernaturals were consumed by. The event was called Fright Night and I could see why. Members lost themselves in frenzied abandon, their eyes gleaming with hunger, lust and violence as they gave into their darkest urges without shame or restraint. Whips, torture, aggression, twisted games and sexual acts were all around me.
Screams of victims, cries of pain and moans of pleasure blended together over the repetitive beat of music. It called to every part of my primal instincts with a sense of excitement. I licked my lips as the deeper I moved through the room, the thicker the scent of blood and something more sinister emerged. Chaos. This wasn’t like any other event before. Not even the Murder Maze. It was in the air. In the faces of the members. There was no fear here, at least not on their part. The absence of Luka and Heath spoke volumes. There was no one to keep order.
Tonight, I really had walked into The Devil’s lair.