Page 6 of Tortured Soul (Soulless #1)

Lola

A temple. Really? That huge building that looked like a roman construction was built like a fucking temple ?

What did they need a temple for exactly?

As far as I knew, there were no humans here.

Demons were not known to go and pray to Lucifer.

Especially free demons. As for angels, I’ve been told they had a sort of link connecting all of them together in their heads, including their precious oh, holy one .

What a nightmare to hear voices all the damn time. Definitely something to make you go crazy.

There had been stories in the past of humans blessed by Divines who ended up killed or locked up for hearing those voices. What a blessing, right?

Hard pass, thank you.

The main room was extravagantly large and buzzed with busy Immortals.

They were running around, zigzagging between large stone pillars, spreadsheets or boxes in hand, exchanging instructions in hushed voices before dispersing in other rooms and coming back with more stuff or furniture. Carrying tables, chairs, more boxes.

Was there going to be an event here soon? Whatever was happening, I was glad no one paid us any mind.

I was escorted right past them toward a dimly lit corridor on the back left of the room where far less people roamed.

After so many turns that I was certain I could not find my way back on my own, we stopped in front of a closed door.

The demon from the stairs knocked three times before opening, without waiting for an invitation.

They nudged me inside and closed it behind us.

It was an office. A large wooden desk sat in the center of the room and filled bookcases covered the entire back wall.

The lights were warm and a large window showed an illuminated park on the right side.

The room was big enough that it had a sitting area under the window and I really wanted to let myself fall and sleep on that very comfortable looking dark green sofa for a day or two.

“Good evening everyone,” a voice said from the far left corner of the room.

“Kai,” the stairs demon said, nodding his head at him respectfully. “Arc asked us to bring this one to you.”

His attention turned to me, his head tilting slightly to the side in wonder. I forced myself to stand still, to not fidget under his scrutiny. To keep my focus on his face and not his tattooed and scarred uncovered chest.

“I know,” he said, finally focusing on someone else. “Why do you think I’m here and not at home enjoying some well deserved quality time with my group?”

I exhaled a slow breath in relief. He was in a binded group. He had mates. I was safe with him.

“She’s a Succubus,” another masked guard said.

“I know,” the demon, Kai, sighed. “Ergo, not Jeremiah’s problem. Arc’s busy with security issues. Carter doesn't want to be in the same room as her, which means I’m the only one who can take care of her paperwork.”

Carter didn’t want to be in the same room as me? Alright, over-exaggerating diva.

“You guys can go back to your occupations,” he dismissed them.

“I’ll take it from here and make sure she’s settled.

” They all nodded and hurried to the door.

“Oh, and Marcus?” The stair demon stopped and turned slowly in our direction.

“If you see Carter, punch him in the face for me. We won’t tolerate him acting out like he did again. ”

Marcus gave him a tight nod before taking his leave with the others, leaving me alone with Kai. Binded Kai. Safe .

I am safe.

“Please, take a seat.”

He smiled, pointing to an armchair facing the desk and I sat slowly. He took the seat behind his computer, exhaling a tired breath as he faced me.

“I apologize for Carter’s behavior. He shouldn’t have handled you like he did.

I’m sorry for the delay, it seems you stayed in that tower for a long time while you should have been processed the minute you got here.

Don’t worry about him anymore, Marcus reported him to Arc a couple of hours ago, which led us to discover you had arrived. ”

So Carter truly had a problem with me. I doubted my teasing caused it…Why, then? I was a lower demon and he was a Divine, but it didn’t seem to be a problem here. From what I’ve seen so far, everyone lived and worked well together.

“I’m Kai, by the way. Head of the Hellrisers. If you ever have a problem or need anything, you can come to me. Jeremiah is the head of the Divines, although Carter likes to meddle. I’m guessing you met Arc?”

“I did. It was brief and uncomfortable.”

He chuckled, shaking his head softly as he navigated on his computer. How did they even get electricity and internet here?

“You’ll have to excuse him. He’s…a little overwhelmed these days. We’ve had more Earthwalkers murdered these last months than usual. Humans are breathing down our necks, threats coming at our doors, and he’s working hard to find those responsible.”

“He’s hardly pleasant to be around, yes.”

But if he was working to solve Earthwalkers’ murders, maybe he was neither Divine nor Hellriser…If Kai was the head of all the demon kinds and Jeremiah was in charge of the angels, maybe Arc was—

“He can be a lot, yes. But he means well, I promise.” Sure… “Anyway, I’ll get you sorted. What’s your name?”

I cleared my throat. “Lola. Fairwright.”

His hand froze on the keyboard as his eyes drifted to me, scanning my face. My hair. I forced myself to stay still, not to avoid his gaze or to lift my hand to check—once again—that my ears were covered.

“I’ll be damned,” he said finally, leaning back in his chair. “I’ve been trying to get you in my tied group for decades only to have another Arch steal you away every time.”

I arched my brow. Kai was an Archdemon?

“I mean, back then you went by Lily Ston—”

“What?” I cut him off.

“In the late nineties, I was this close to getting you in my group but stupid Klaus got you instead. After him, you took time off for a few years and went off the grid, and when you came back, changing your name as Lola, that arrogant bastard Vigil managed to get your contract, and—”

“Yeah, I’ve been transferred around a lot,” I interrupted him again, my tone colder than I intended. “Is there a point to that discussion?”

Kai’s lips parted in surprise.

“I didn’t mean to upset you. When I dissolved my last tied group and came here after the war, I was just sad I never got to meet you and work with you.”

With? Archdemons were usually pretty adamant and clear on the hierarchy. You worked for them. Doing their bidding, while others, lower ranked, were doing yours.

His eyes roamed the side of my head, where my hidden ears were.

“You would have been very happy working with my last tied group. I praise myself for having the least amount of transfers among my peers. My ties were always treated well and enjoyed working with me. Have you heard of Vladimir Maartos?”

If I heard of Vladimir Maartos? Who hadn’t? The first Vampire. The one caricatured in books and movies such as Dracula and Nosferatu. Vampires being Earthwalkers with Divine origins, their blood ran gold. They got their thirst for blood from them as well…

I nodded as he continued, a smile on his face.

“He was in my last tie. Has been for over a century before I dissolved it and he went to another Arch. As you know, vampires don’t answer to Hellrisers, and yet, he stayed with me for a very long time,” he said proudly.

“Anyway, if I'd known the newcomer Arc saw in his vision was a demon, I would have been there to welcome you myself.”

“In his vision?” I asked.

Kai’s eyes went back to his computer. “Arc saw you coming. He always does. We weren’t expecting you to be a demon, and I think that’s why Carter was upset and Arc was a little suspicious of you.”

Vision? What kind of Immortal had visions? It wasn’t a known power for Hellrisers nor Divine. I didn’t know enough about Earthwalkers, but I never heard anyone displaying such abilities.

“Anyway, we’re sorry. You should have received the welcome you deserved and you didn’t. I’ll sort you into a house so you can get settled and rest for the night, you must be tired.”

“I am.”

Running and hiding constantly for days had been exhausting. Even without the couple of attacks, I probably would’ve arrived here completely drained anyway.

“So, Lola Fairwright. Succubus. I know you’re first of your kind, but do you want it written down in your file?”

Did I?

“Do I have a choice?”

He shrugged. “It’s not really a question asked. I can write it down, but you don’t have to specify it. I’ll just need your year of human birth and the year you became a demon.”

“I’d rather people don’t know about that. And I’m…old.”

He arched a brow, his fingers hovering above the keyboard, waiting. “Define old?”

My throat bobbed. “Really old.”

“I’m going to need more than this.”

“I was born 1,598 years ago. On M?n Island. Which would make my year of birth 499.”

He gave a shake of his head as he typed. “M?n Island?”

“It’s part of the Danish Islands now.”

“And when did you become a Succubus?”

I hesitated. Not long, but just enough for him to lift his eyes from his screen to focus on my palling face.

“Not long after I turned twenty-one.”

His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t say anything, just resumed his typing after a few seconds of silence.

“What about you?” I asked awkwardly, uncomfortable from the sudden quietness of the room.

He smiled but kept typing. “I was born in 1543 in the Kantō region of Japan, and I became a demon when I was twenty-four. It was a difficult time. Lots of conflicts and wars. Demons were everywhere back then.”

He talked about it in a very detached tone, like it didn’t really matter to him. Like becoming a demon was an obvious choice.

“You're an Archdemon, so I’m guessing you didn’t die in the wars after making a deal.”

He grinned, casting a quick glance toward me. “You’re guessing right. Sold my soul to join their ranks and climbed the ladder. Never regretted it.”