Demon Snare (These Immortal Vows Book 1)

by Kestra Pingree

  “Clear,” the soldier says, signaling me with his hand.

  I walk up to the Peacekeeper. I notice its silver frame, the only frame in an entire room of mirrors, and then I focus only on its smooth and flawless glass face. I picture Reverie and the Peacekeeper brings up a real-time moving image overlooking Fairytale Forest from the Guardian Angel’s point of view. The closest portal to Reverie is the exact spot the Guardian Angel is planted. The angels say that shows just how close Reverie’s founders were to light. It’s a shame such a beautiful statue was disfigured.

  After I’ve braced myself, I stretch my hand out to the mirror’s surface. The glass ripples when I come into contact with it and my hand is sucked through. I hate prolonging this part, so I just step forward.

  The journey through portals feels something like being underwater and getting sucked through contending currents of warm and cold. When it comes to the point where I feel like I won’t be able to bear another second of the opposing forces, I’m thrown out into the cold night air in Reverie. My vision spins for a moment as I stumble away from the ruined Guardian Angel. I shake off the vertigo and regain my senses. I’ve used portals enough times by now that the sensation isn’t as bad as it was the first time, but I’m sure it’ll never turn into anything enjoyable.

  I break into a jog as I make my way through the empty park, passing by sculptures and rides that feel somehow menacing in the dark—or maybe this feeling is because of Arsen.

  Once I’ve made it out of the park and follow some main roads to Tasia’s neighborhood, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I answer it after seeing Imae’s name on my screen.

  “It’s finished. Everything mostly went according to plan. I don’t have time to explain now, but Tasia needs you. Go to her immediately. She’s in her house,” Imae reports, her voice cracking with what must be exhaustion.

  I ask, “Is she hurt?”

  “Not yet, but it’d be better for you to rush in and save her instead of me.” She hangs up.

  I shove my phone into my pocket and run faster. The growing wind howls as it bites at me, almost like it’s trying to stop me from reaching Tasia. I navigate the different blocks until I make it to hers. As soon as her house is within view, my stomach drops.

  Fire.

  Her house is on fire. The orange and red flames are growing out of control in this quiet part of town, far away from the Conway Mansion, far away from anyone who should have witnessed it by now. The flames are spreading to her car. It’s going to explode and make things worse. I have to get her out. Now.

  I run for her house.

  What is Imae thinking? How could she allow this to happen? At the very least, why didn’t she do something about the fire before it got to this point?

  Focus.

  I can’t think about that now. I have to save Tasia.

  “Tasia!” I scream her name as I burst into her house.

  No one answers.

  “Tasia!” I try again.

  Still no answer.

  I pull my jacket up over my mouth to keep the smoke from entering my lungs. Then I plow through the wrecked living room and land myself in the kitchen.

  Relief.

  Tasia’s here. She’s right here. But she’s not the only one. I grimace at the blood and her parents’ dead bodies next to her. That’s all the time I allow myself to take in the scene that shouldn’t be real. I need to get her out of here ASAP.

  I crouch down to meet her, but she isn’t seeing

  This wasn’t supposed to happen.

  “Tasia,” I say her name gently but urgently. “I’m getting you out of here.”

  She doesn’t acknowledge me. Her eyes are staring, vacant, and her mouth is hanging open in horror, in shock, in… I wave my hand in front of her face, but she makes no indication that she can see me. Then her eyes roll up, around, all over. This is the work of spirits. I’m out of my element. Where’s the black diamond? It’s supposed to protect her from things like this.

  I have to find that black diamond or there’s no telling what will happen to Tasia, even if I get her out of this burning house. I glance around the smoky room and catch sight of something shimmering in the living room, an object that’s brighter than the rest of the items lying on the floor. Without overthinking, I rush for it. It’s her necklace. Her heart-shaped black diamond is still hanging on to the silver chain. It’s like it wanted me to find it. Thank God. I grab it and hastily place it around Tasia’s neck. Her eyes snap back into focus and she breathes in a shuddering gasp of smoke-filled air. She coughs violently.

  “Forgive me for this,” I mutter under my breath.

  Wrapping my arms around her, I force her into my chest and wrench her away from her parents. She screams, cries, and kicks at me as I lift her up into my arms and carry her flailing form out of the house. I don’t let her go until we’re across the street. The second she’s out of my grasp, she tries to run back inside of the house, but I catch hold of her and bring her close to me again.

  “It’s going to be okay,” I tell her.

  “Rynne…” The way she says my name sounds like more of a plea than anything.

  She drops down to the sidewalk. Instead of forcing her to stand up with me, I follow her. Then her car explodes. I shield her with my body, but I moved us far enough away that we’re out of the blast zone. She doesn’t look at me. She only sways back and forth, muttering something like: “He killed them. He killed them…”

  I grab my cell phone from my pocket and dial 911. I’m calm and straight to the point when I tell them about the fire. Once I’m off the phone, my full attention is back on Tasia. Garish makeup is running down her face, making her look even more miserable than she already is.

  I use the sleeve of my jacket and gently wipe at her face. More tears come even as I wipe them away. By the time she’s no longer crying, I’ve managed to wipe off most of the makeup. I don’t know how to comfort her. There’s no comfort I can offer her that will change anything.

  “I’m so sorry, Tasia,” I tell her as I hold her in my arms.

  She doesn’t say anything, but she wraps her arms around me to bring me closer to her. More tears find their way out of her eyes as she cries into my jacket. She’s hurting so much. Seeing her like this makes my heart ache. I want nothing more than to take her pain away. She doesn’t deserve this.

  This shouldn’t have happened.

  The firetrucks arrive and put out the fire. The police come, too. They give us blankets, and they try to question Tasia, but they realize she won’t be saying anything anytime soon. She’s in shock. She’s in denial. She just lost her family.

  This didn’t have to happen. This must have been Arsen’s doing because Imae wouldn’t have let this happen if she could have helped it. Is this what she meant when she said everything went mostly according to plan?

  Demons have stolen so much and they continue to do so. They’ve been running free and lawless here in Terra. Arsen’s lowered angel numbers so much just on his own that angels don’t engage with demons in the mortal world unless necessary—I’m told they hardly had the numbers to do that to begin with. The angels control Ilenima, but while they hold on to their power there, demons run amok in Terra, and they might very well destroy it if something isn’t done.

  That’s where Tasia comes in. It’s too much to expect of her to save this world, but it’s God’s will. And we angels follow God’s will zealously.

  CHAPTER 11

  Arsen

  EVERYTHING FEELS SO FAR away.

  I know my eyes are seeing, but my brain isn’t processing. There’s only one thing I’m occupied with and it’s that girl. I can’t get her out of my head.

  She didn’t seem like anything special, not in the beginning. I thought I’d play with her a bit, but things got out of hand. I didn’t feel anything at first. Then my beast started reacting to her. It was a negligible sensation, small, insignificant. I flinch as I remember the pain my beast ratcheted up inside of me, making it grow and gr
ow until I thought I was going to pass out as she looked at me with those eyes. She was trying to burrow inside of my soul. I’ve never heard of a human doing such a thing.

  “Are you going to kill me?”

  Why were her words almost exactly like… I banish the thought.

  Her scent lingers and burns my nose. She was potent with herbs that repel darkness, but the memory of that scent doesn’t bother me now. What I dwell on is the memory of a teasing hint of her real scent. My lips against her neck wanted more than a taste. What was teased was absolutely exquisite. She was just asking to be kissed all over. I wanted to bite her in that playful way that comes from my beast’s deepest affections—but I didn’t. The sensation didn’t make any sense.

  What is her scent? What is her taste? What is anything about her?

  Mysterious.

  Tantalizing.

  Unknowable.

  A perfect image of her is burned into my head. Her subtle curves, soft face, long brown hair, and gentle eyes. Not gentle. Her eyes were fierce. She challenged me. The way she stared at me like she knew me, like she knew everything I’ve ever done, and like she knew, at that exact moment, that I wouldn’t kill her—couldn’t kill her. She challenged me and she won, a mere mortal. My beast submitted to her without question.

  My beast rattles my chest with a wave of longing. It wants to go back to her. It stopped me from killing her. That was my original intent that got hopelessly lost in euphoria.

  But why?

  My logician shuts my beast down, hard. I shouldn’t be feeling anything like that.

  I groan and hold my head as someone drags me along a grassy field.

  Yuki. It’s Yuki. Always Yuki.

  I try to focus on anything but that damn girl. I try to see my surroundings, smell the air, feel the air…

  “Yuki.” My voice comes out as nothing more than a low rasp.

  “I’m here,” she says gently.

  “What happened?”

  “That’s what I want to know.”

  “Did you kill that demon you were chasing?” I ask.

  “I did.”

  “Who was it?”

  “Chloe.”

  “Did she… say something about the angels? About how they have the key to our destruction?”

  She offers a slight nod.

  “That girl, that human you saw back there. She did something to me.”

  Yuki doesn’t reply. She doesn’t believe me. She thinks I’m weak when it comes to humans.

  I growl at her. “Let go of me.” I push away from her and stagger, finding my own balance again.

  “Arsen, I don’t think—”

  “What? You don’t think what?”

  She stays calm, the ice to my fire. “I don’t think the girl was alone. I went to find you because I felt an angelic presence closing in. Didn’t you feel it?”

  I didn’t, but I don’t want to admit it.

  “You need rest,” she tells me. “We’ll lie low for a while. Whatever happened tonight, we’ll forget all about it in the morning. That talk about a key to our destruction was nothing but a ruse.”

  “You didn’t feel anything?” I demand. “Nothing when you were in the same room as that girl? You didn’t feel her power?”

  Yuki scowls ever so slightly, wrinkling the perfectly smooth skin on her forehead. “Power? Arsen, she was nothing but a normal human. She has no power, at least not any power that could harm us.”

  “She stopped me with a look. She looked into my eyes and stopped me as if she were an alpha, a superior, something! Explain that.”

  I let my words sink in, but she still doesn’t look convinced.

  She speaks softly, “Arsen, you’re tired. We’ve been moving nonstop. You never give yourself any time to recuperate. You’re always hunting, always looking for the ne—”

  “Don’t patronize me.”

  I need to be alone. I start stumbling away, still not at my best. Yuki comes up behind me, but I growl at her, warning her to stay away. Then I run. I run far away from Reverie, from the people in the town, far away from the supposed angelic presence Yuki sensed, and far away from that girl who claimed my beast with a look. My beast should be the last part of me willing to submit, and yet I’m facing the fact that she tamed the wild side of me with no effort at all.

  Fuck.

  I keep running until I’m deep inside a forest and stop only when I reach an isolated lake. The water reflects the massive dark sky above it, stars speckling its surface with white.

  Reaching down, I splash the cold water on my face. The temperature is declining rapidly in the night, so the water has an icy touch. It’s like a jolt of electricity. I feel more alert already, more like myself.

  I breathe in and out and splash myself again for good measure. I close my eyes as I let the water trickle down my skin. When I feel ready, I reopen my eyes and concentrate on the lake before me. I hold out my right hand and slowly move it up and down. The water starts undulating on my command, breaking up the picture-still surface and turning the water body white and frothy. Next, I swipe my hand forcefully to the right, making the lake uneven as the mass of water follows my hand’s direction. If I wasn’t willing it so, the water would be spilling into the forest, but it doesn’t, like an invisible force is holding it still in the air.

  I do the same thing, but I will the water to my left this time. The last thing I do is hold out both of my hands, bringing the water up like a spout at the center of the lakebed. I bring my hands together into a unified fist and the water collects into a floating sphere, hovering perfectly in the air without any ties to the earth below. My body starts to tremble with exertion. I’ve reached my limit. The planet won’t obey me.

  A jolt of pain snakes up my arms and I let the formation go. I curse under my breath as the water falls back down into the lakebed, while about half of it spills back out into the forest. I fall to my knees, panting.

  I hate this world. I hate Terra and its limitations. I’ve grown so powerful here, and yet my bond with the planet is weak. Terra changed everything about me. Terra and one of its mortals. I learned strength I never knew I could possess, but I also learned the pains that come with that strength. The pain is what stayed.

  My mind wanders back to the girl, the girl who completely immobilized me. No one has ever done that to me before. No immortal, let alone a mortal.

  Yuki. She felt an angel, at least one. Does that mean they were planning on getting rid of me right then and there? Angels are using humans as pawns now? I laugh and cover my face with my hand. Of course they are. There’s no way they could keep up their facade forever. They have no love for humans, just like they have no love for demons. The only love they hold is for themselves. Self-righteous bastards.

  “You killed my parents!”

  The memory of her voice shoots through my head like an electrical current. My beast balks at those words. I didn’t kill her parents, but she blames me for it. I wouldn’t care—I don’t care—but I also don’t understand exactly how their death fits into this. I didn’t kill them, but someone did. Drake? Did the angels want this murder pinned on me? What about the girl? Is she psychic? Have humans evolved to the point where they can attack demons the way she attacked me?

  I’ll give the angels credit for one thing: their new game, whatever it is, is nothing like I’ve ever dealt with. They might have had me tonight if not for Yuki. To think, something as insignificant as a mortal taking me down. Arsen, the son of the most hated. That would be a tale the angels would feed on forever. Good thing I won’t give it to them so easily. I’ll fall back for now—at least from that girl. I don’t know what the angels did to her or how this is even possible, but whatever it is, it’s dangerous. Truly dangerous.

  CHAPTER 12

  Tasia

  SIRENS SOUND OFF SOMEWHERE far in the distance. They’re far away from me because I’m dead. I’m dead along with my parents. I’m going to see them again any minute now. That man, that vampire, monster, what
ever he is, he killed all of us. No one in the Wren family survived.

  Rynne’s here beside me. My last wish before I die. He’s washing off my face, telling me things are going to be okay. But he’s wrong. Nothing is okay.

  He holds me, and I hug him back. I’ll hang on to him for as long as I can.

  The sirens keep getting louder and their flashing lights pierce the dark night. The constant spinning lights make me dizzy.

  He killed them. He killed them…

  Why aren’t I dead, too? Why am I still alive? I could feel the darkness and unknown spirits closing in on me after I threw my black diamond. They were tugging at my soul. They wanted something from me.

  Everything my parents told me is true. They must have known everything. Why else would they have lived the way they did? Why else would they have taught me everything they taught me? But it didn’t amount to anything in the end. They were still killed. Why didn’t they tell me that every detail in those stories is true? Did all the excitement about Halloween really invite evil to Reverie? Is that why that monster came? But why my parents? Is it the good people who have to pay for someone else’s bad decisions? Is this my punishment for going?

  I’ve cried so much. Tears refuse to fall out of my eyes any longer. All my sadness, all of my pain, it keeps coming and going. One minute there’s more pain than I know how to deal with, the next I’m feeling nothing and could swear I’m dead, too.

  Rynne and the police are talking about something. I don’t catch any of it. It’s all just distant noises and voices that have nothing to do with me. I don’t know how long any of it goes on before I’m ushered into the back seat of a cop car. Rynne follows me and sits beside me. I’m barely aware of the car moving. The town just looks like a blur outside the window.