that path before I find them, is it not?”
He huffed and diverted his gaze from Demetri"s laughing eyes. His words
were meaningless, but he couldn"t help but stress them. The sliver of good that
shone from Demetri"s aura gave him hope that one day he"d realize God hadn"t
given up on him. The almighty was simply waiting for him to seek the light.
Father Shannon watched him quietly, noting his stillness as his fingertips
stroked the handle of his sword, Katsumi; the spirit blade, which sang the song of
death to those who were damned.
She was beautifully crafted with a smooth ivory handle etched in gold
hieroglyphs. The stunning metal capped scabbard with a leather finish had the
same symbols engraved into it. She was a beauty.
“Is that why you"re here, Father? To preach? To ask me to have mercy on
your mortals?” Demetri asked, breaking into his thoughts.
“No Demetri. It"s your destiny to bring balance to the world and rid it of evil.
I have no quarrels with that. However, I do know you have the power to look
deeper into the souls of your intended victims, to see some chance for redemption.
I just pray you"ll find it in yourself to look beyond that one layer of sin and help
God"s children seek the light.”
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“Please priest,” he pushed out on a sigh, massaging his temple. “Spare me
your words of redemption. You should know by now I have no patience for topics
as such.”
Father Shannon shook his head. Was there no reasoning with this vampire?
“Will you not come to the church one night so we may discuss this in depth?”
“I"m not one of your fallen souls to rescue. And in case you have not noticed,
I"m a vampire, a demon vampire to be exact.” He paused and shifted his attention to
the hearth. “Besides, I have not sensed any evil within your temple, so there"s no
need for me to bless you and your holy followers with my presence.”
“Don"t let evil be the only reason you step foot into God"s temple, my friend.
I have altered the prayer barriers to allow one vampire to come in at will.” He
offered a warm smile. “And that vampire is you.”
Demetri turned to leer at him. An impassive expression fell across his face.
“Don"t be so naïve, priest,” he uttered dispassionately. “You can"t trust a vampire
no matter how long you"ve known him. Restore your barriers to their original
state. I will only enter your church if evil calls to me.”
Father Shannon looked away from his piercing gaze. “You have a greater
purpose in this world and I have faith in you, Demetri. Your soul is not yet lost to us.”
“You are a priest. It"s your job to have faith. You are to cease this useless attempt to bring
me to the light. My soul is beyond saving.” With a careless sweep of his hand, he
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dismissed the subject. “I"m content with what I am and what I have to do. Leave it
be.”
Reluctantly, Father Shannon nodded. He would honor Demetri"s request
and drop the subject, for now. “What do you know of the missing women? Who is
doing this?”
“Demons,” Demetri answered immediately, turning back to the fire. “I"m
surprised you didn"t sense it.”
He grimaced and cut an icy glare at him. “I sense nothing but innocent
bloodshed,” he grumbled.
“Ahh.” Demetri retrieved his glass. A knowing smirk curved his lips. “The
scent of blood can be deliciously concealing. Don"t you agree, Father?”
Swallowing hard, Father Shannon lowered his eyes and repressed a growl.
“The missing women, Demetri.”
“Yes…” He chuckled beneath his breath. “I destroyed a few demons last week
in Giza, Egypt, but unfortunately I was unable to acquire any information from
them. They cleared their minds before I could lock on.”
“They can do that? My word, what do you think is happening?”
“Something we cannot control.” Demetri took a sip of the bold liquid and
tapped the stem of the glass with his nail. “The demons I killed are not of this
world.”
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Confusion furrowed his brow. “I don"t understand.”
“These demons are from a different realm.”
He coughed back a gasp. “What? A different realm? This cannot be.”
Demetri settled back in the huge chair and crossed his legs. “They are much
faster and stronger. They also have the ability to take on any human form they
choose to, and some of them even possess telekinetic powers. Destroying them
served to be a bit of a challenge.” A look of ecstasy graced his face. “But, I"m not
complaining. The demons I"m accustomed to battling are not that talented.”
Baffled, Father Shannon stared at him for a second then shot out of the
chair. Shaking his head in disbelief, he paced in front of the fireplace. “A challenge?
For you?”
He"d seen Demetri battle demons and it was astonishing how easily and
swiftly he destroyed them. But now, to know a few of them were a challenge for
the creature with power unparalleled made him uneasy.
“The demons conjured on earth disintegrate as soon as I take a limb, but
these demons…their limbs grow back instantaneously.” The color red swallowed his
pupils and his shiny incisors descended. “You have to take the head, and take it
swiftly.”
Father Shannon stopped pacing and glanced at Demetri in his full vampiric
form. “Put the fangs away Demetri, you"re making me nervous.”
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Grinning, he retracted his extended eyeteeth. “My apologies.” His eyes faded
back to their original state. “The need to destroy more of them is almost
unbearable.”
“Understandable. You are, after all, a demon slayer. Tell me, why are these
things only killing young women?” he asked, pacing again.
“I"m not sure. The gender and age are the only obvious patterns.”
“The bodies!” His pace quickened with anxiousness. “Why can"t we find
traces of these girls? Where are the bodies?”
“Are you sure you want to know?”
Father Shannon slowed his pace and hesitantly looked at him. The question
pinched a nerve, made his skin crawl with fear. He searched Demetri"s cool eyes,
looking for the answer, hoping he would give him a glimpse of the truth, so he
wouldn"t need to hear it from his mouth, but he had no such luck.
“Tell me.”
“Eaten.”
Father Shannon chocked on the gasp that dried his throat. “What!”
“The demons are defiling the girls and eating their bodies. I caught them in
the act before I killed them.”
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Deflated by this new bit of information, Father Shannon moved over to the
chair and slouched down. He threw his hands over his face and doubled over. It
was worse than he"d thought.
“They"re…” The thought almost made him vomit. “They"re eating them?”
“I"m afraid so.”
He swallowed away the tears pooled in his eyes. “So much blood…so much
innocent blood being spilled. It"s madness, satanic. What do you do against such
evil?”
“You fight, until there"s not anymore fight left in you,” Demetri voiced.
Father Shannon stared at h
im for a long moment. “All right, let"s say you"re
right. If these demons are from another realm, how are they crossing over?”
“I don"t know. I"ve been trying to obtain that information for almost three
months now, but these particular demons are very clever. As soon as they sense my
presence, they immediately wipe their minds. And it"s difficult to get a trace on
them when they are constantly shifting into different forms.”
He cast a wry grin. “So, it wasn"t just in Egypt, was it? How many have you
killed, Demetri?”
Demetri rocked his leg and tapped Katsumi"s handle. “Many. Too many.
They are everywhere and multiplying. There is a war brewing Father and we need to
prepare for it.”
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A war. He knew one day it would happen, but had no idea it would come
about in his life time. God, how he wished there was more time.
“Tomorrow night, I"ll pay a visit to Lady Indigo. Perhaps she"s had a vision
that may help us determine where the demons are crossing over. In the meantime,
I suggest you send messages to your brethren and prepare your troops.”
Exhausted, Father Shannon nodded. The long day in addition to what was
just discussed weighed heavily on his soul. “Please inform me of any new findings
in the priestess"s divination.”
“Will do.” Demetri stood, righted his suit and clasped his hands behind his
back. “I must take my leave now and retire for the morning. The sun will rise
soon.” His image waned. “Bianca has prepared a room for you to rest before driving
back to the church. I sense your weariness, so please take advantage of my
hospitality. I"ll contact you tomorrow night with the information you seek.” His
words sifted through the air as he vanished.
Father Shannon closed his eyes and sighed. “Tomorrow,” he whispered,
wrapping his fingers around his cross. “Another day of senseless bloodshed.”
Demetri watched from the third floor railing as Bianca led Father Shannon
to one of the many guest suites. The noble priest"s shoulders slumped. He could
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feel his faith waning, very slowly. The tragic truth of the matter would drive the
poor man mad before the end.
He sauntered down the corridor to his master chambers and willed the
double doors open. The aroma of lingering sex caressed his senses. Smiling
inwardly, he by-passed the exhausted blonde beauty sprawled out on the bed with
a leopard patterned duvet covering her pale frame and went out on the terrace to
take in the last bit of night air.
He looked to the sky and spread his arms to the fading night. The bright
blue in the horizon peeked over the ocean, threatening to take away the darkness.
Heat from the awaiting star simmered against his skin—Lady Sun"s manner to
send him off to bed.
But he couldn"t go just yet.
He needed to hear her, feel the torturous sensation of her soul calling out to
him.
She"d been a curse to his psyche for months now, soothing him in song when
his eyes were closed, taunting him with bits and pieces of her sensuality through
her voice.
Who was she?
Along with the delicious scent wafting within the breeze, the distant
stimuli of her spirit was maddening.
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He thought he"d found her tonight while drifting past a concert hall in
search of demons, but it was not so. The perceptible hint of her was faint as
always, but with so many humans around, and demons on the hunt, he failed to
pinpoint her location.
She was a ghost, an incubus, teasing him with his need for her.
“Is she calling to you again?”
The sweet purr of Dominique"s sultry Russian accent tickled his ears. He
glanced over his shoulder to acknowledge her, but didn"t answer. The priestess
knew too much. It wouldn"t be so bad if he"d told her of the mysterious being, but
the fact she knew without him saying so unnerved him.
“Demetri?” He heard her rise from the bed. “Have you told Indigo of the
siren"s existence? We could help you locate her, if you"d just talk to us.”
He turned from the approaching dawn and strolled across the terrace into
the bedroom. He eyed the priestess standing before him wrapped in the duvet and
zoned in on the small passion wounds he"d left on her throat.
“The hour is late, Dominique. I think it"s time I bid you adieu.” He willed the
doors shut behind him and closed the thick curtains.
“Is that it, beautiful one? Exhaust me with wonderful sex then send me on
my way?” she drawled, sashaying toward him. “Such a cruel lover.”
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A smirk tugged at his lips. “That was not your tone a few hours ago,
priestess.”
Chuckling, she allowed the comforter to fall from her frame. His eyes
roamed over her delicate curves, protruding breasts and pale skin. It was a wonder
she could even stand. He"d taken so much blood from her, but it couldn"t be
helped. The sweet caress of his mysterious lover damaged his will, while he"d been
buried deep within Dominique"s core. If Father Shannon hadn"t called when he
did, she"d be a member of the afterlife.
“You are glutton for punishment, dear one,” he crooned, grazing his fingers
over the permanent bite marks on her throat.
“What can I say? Your bite is addictive.” She snuggled up against him. “You
almost killed me, lover.”
He planted butterfly kisses on the top of her head, enjoying the feel of her
silky tresses against his lips. “And I shall finish the job next time.”
She tilted her face up, her bright brownish-grey eyes glinting in lust.
“Promises, promises. I would part ways with you, but you"ve exhausted my
spiritual energy. I don"t have the strength to summon my sphere.” Her playful
tongue darted out and flicked the tip of his chin. “Can I get a ride?”
“Of course.”
“And can I get another ride tomorrow?”
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“No, darling. I don"t think this is a healthy love affair for you. I shall take
your life in the end.”
“There you go again, making promises you don"t plan to keep.” She stepped
back and flipped her golden locks from her shoulders. “Could you at least clothe
me before sending me home? You ripped my dress off, now I have nothing to wear.”
He couldn"t help but chuckle. She was amusingly adorable.
With the thought, he draped her naked frame in a black gown, placed a pair
of stylish pumps on her feet and wrapped a furry white cloak over her naked
shoulders.
“Nice,” she extolled, brushing her hands over the cloak. “Your sense of style
is impeccable.”
“You"re welcome.” He summoned her traveling sphere and engulfed her with
it. “Give Sable my best,” he uttered before transporting the priestess from his sight.
Her distant laughter echoed in her wake.
Demetri stood in place for a moment and took in the heat seeping through
the thick dark curtains. Weakened by the morning star"s assault, he drifted
through the floors of the large structure, beneath the ground to his hidden
chambers. Emptiness consumed his being when he climbed onto the comfort of his
await
ing bed.
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Inhaling deeply, he spread his arms wide wishing his ghostly lover was there
to fill the void. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed her. Her voice, although
damaging to his control over the beast within, filled him with felicity.
Whether she was a figment of his dark imagination, or a creature with the
ability to seduce the most dangerous of minds, he had to have her.
A deep growl formed in the pit of his chest as he fought the urge to release
himself. “Where are you, my sweet siren?” Closing his eyes, he focused all of his
wavering energy on relaying his message. “Please sing to me. You strain my black
heart with the unseen passion you give, but I need to hear your voice. Sing to me.”
Suddenly, his psyche opened against his will. This was new.
Dense fog clouded his mind. A gust of foreign wind danced around him,
clearing the haze. On a plain of luminous water, he stood several feet from a
woman seated on top of a crystallized mound.
Her naked legs were drawn to her chest, her arms wrapped securely around
them and her head rested on her knees. She wept.
A sheen of gold illuminated her dark skin. Long scarlet tresses hung over the
sides of her face. Her sobs compelled him to move forward. Circular ripples spread
out around him with each step.
His dead heart thumped hard against his chest, jarring him. Time slowed in
his path. The wind rose up against him, halted his advance, and made his approach
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empty. The more he pushed forward, the further she became. He stopped. His
heart lurched at the growing distance between them.
Why couldn"t he reach her? Was she keeping him at bay?
Across the space separating them, he sensed her aching heart, her need to be
held. Along with that came the urge to encase her in his dark love, to caress every
inch of her, healing her inner agony. Admiration for this woman took hold of him.
The clouds moved lazily about the dark sky and gave way to iridescent
tears. The rain showered her gently as if making an attempt to calm her pain. He
couldn"t help but think her sorrow caused the night"s sky to cry.
“Won"t you allow me to comfort you?”
Black Rayne Silent Screams Page 5