Changeling (Black Petals Book 2)

by Marie, Tarisa

  “How do the vampires live? I can't imagine demons come here often.”

  Forrest tells me that vampires can survive off blood from any creature. Lovely.

  A quick movement catches my eye and I stop walking so I can focus on it. Suddenly a short man is standing in front of us, an impish grin on his face. He looks to be assessing us.

  “Demons. I smelt you from miles away,” it utters in a creepy high-pitched voice.

  Forrest unsheathes a dagger and pins the thing against a tree. “My name’s Forrest,” he grunts.

  The small man’s smile fades into a look of fear.

  “Good, you know of me. That means you know not to fuck around with me.”

  The man cackles eerily. “But I have a deal for you.”

  “Do you think I'm dumb? Why do you think I'd ever make a deal with a fairy?”

  A fairy? Fairies are real too? My head whirls.

  The man cocks his head. “There must be something you want.”

  Forrest presses his knife harshly against his throat. “Nothing from you.”

  “Maybe a girl? A loved one returned from the dead?” The fairy taunts.

  Forrest scoffs, “Do you have any last words?”

  The fairy is silent as Forrest cuts his throat and lets him fall to the ground.

  I stand frozen in shock.

  Forrest wipes his knife on his shirt and sheathes it before grabbing my wrist again.

  “Fairies?!” I finally manage.

  Forrest doesn’t seem fazed. “I've only come across one other in my many ventures into the wood. They're believed to be extinct but I know differently. There are a handful left. Mere coincidence we just ran into one of the last. Like I said, not many demons come into the woods. No one's done any population checks on species.”

  “I thought fairies were supposed to be kind and cute.”

  Forrest chuckles. “No, Megan, they're tricky little deal makers who cause nothing but trouble. Never make a deal with one of them. They're deals are far too good to be true. You'll end up in a whirl of trouble. Luckily, they're easy to kill. They're no stronger than humans and unless you accept a deal from them they can't hurt you with their magic. They can read minds to find what you most desperately seek and then use it against you. They patrol the woods looking for demons who've made the mistake of coming here. The creatures of the woods know better than to make a deal with them.”

  I decide to drop the fairy subject and focus on not getting snuck up on again.

  “We're getting close. Can you feel your soul yet?” Forrest wonders hopefully.

  I feel nothing but the sickening dread in the pit of my stomach.

  Forrest looks a little disappointed, but we carry on. We carry on until an ear piercing scream causes us to stop and grasp our ears. Some sort of birds rockets through the trees with the grace of an angel. It maneuvers through the trees like a pro. I stare at the elegant hawk-looking creature in amazement.

  “That's a sign that dead are near, or in other words, vampires.”

  Good to know. My heart rate quickens and I find myself holding Forrest’s hand harsher. He doesn't seem to mind.

  Dark shapes emerge in front of us, taking the shapes of people. Many, many people. A thin fog drifts low to the ground. Forrest pulls me impossibly closer.

  “Forrest, to what do we owe the pleasure?” one of the figures asks in a rough, male voice. The ten or so people in front of us appear to be no different than demons. They have black eyes but otherwise appear to be human.

  Forrest leans against a tree trunk casually and releases my hand. “Damus, good to see you haven't croaked yet.”

  The man who spoke before removes the hood of his black cape. He smiles a grim smile and I see his razor sharp incisors. He glances to me and looks me over carefully.

  “Have you brought us a snack?” Damus seems to be fascinated with me. He rubs his palm over his bald scalp.

  Forrest keeps his cool and ignores the question. “Has a man been around. A demon. Maybe he gave you a pearl to protect.”

  Damus raises his eyebrows. “A pearl, yes.”

  “Give it to me,” Forrest demands eagerly. “You owe me and I need it.”

  The vampire turns his back on us and takes a couple strides away while he debates this. He turns back. “I cannot give it to you. I was offered two pures in return for my keeping it. The favor I owe you doesn't compare.”

  “The man you made the deal with is dead,” Forrest tries. “Hunters killed him.” It's not a lie.

  Damus considers this while rubbing the top of his head lightly with his palm. “I require one pure then.”

  Forrest’s expression of arrogance doesn’t falter even though I find my eyes widened. We can’t just hand over some random demon to some vampires to get the blood sucked out of them and then themselves turned into a vampire.

  Damus approaches me slowly, careful not to frighten me away. I don’t move because the look Forrest shoots me tells me not to. The thing is, I’ll never be able to fully trust Forrest again after what he did to me, so worry takes me over like a parasite. Not that being approached by a vampire in a different circumstance wouldn’t cause worry to shoot up my spine.

  Damus’s cold hand touch my cheek as he inspects me. He lowers his head and sniffs the top of my head. “This one will do, Forrest.”

  Forrest blinks slowly before stepping forward. “She’s property of Aiden. I’m sure you don’t want him on your ass and all his men.”

  Damus murmurs something that I don’t understand. “No, I do not wish Aiden to have a vendetta against me. In fact, I’d rather have the winning team of this war on my side.”

  “You think Aiden’s side is going to win?” Forrest asks casually, like he doesn’t care.

  The vampire’s grin widens. “I stay out of demon politics, but if I could make a bet, Aiden is strong and smart like his father.” The vampire removes his ice cold hand from my cheek and turns to Forrest. “Rumor has it that you’re the one who kill Lucian, you know, Forrest. At least that’s the rumor in these woods. No one has managed to kill Lucian in thousands of years and then a sneaky little demidemon pulls it off. Interesting to say the least.”

  Forrest doesn’t give anything away. “I’m not all good looks and charm, Damus, you know that.”

  The vampire looks taken aback by Forrest’s admission. He wets his lips. “Here is how this is going to go. If you wish to have the soul so badly, then give me that pure.” He nods towards me.

  Forrest surprises us both with a laugh.

  Damus backs away from me and looks to becoming impatient. “What then do you have to offer me?”

  Forrest doesn’t seem to have an answer.

  “Nothing then?” The vampire wets his lips. “You come here with no offering?”

  “I am here on Aiden’s behalf. He wishes for the soul. Like you said, you don’t want him as an enemy. Would you rather he come fetch it himself?” Forrest warns the vampire, straightening his spine and cross his arms.

  Damus walks slowly back to his clan which stands cloaked in the woods. “Is that a threat? Are you threatening a vampire?”

  Forrest snorts out a laugh. “So what if I am? We both know that I am not an enemy you wish to have and neither is Aiden.”

  “Something tells me that you are no ally of Aiden’s after killing his father. Something else tells me that either this girl means nothing to him or he doesn’t know you’ve brought her here into the woods, into danger’s grasp. He won’t miss either of you.”

  Forrest flinches ever so slightly. He returns to my side. “We’re going to have to fight for this be ready.”

  I shiver runs up my spine. How is a vampire even killed?

  Damus nods to his creepy cloaked friends and each of them removes their hood. They begin approaching as Forrest pulls out his dagger again.

  “Forrest has nothing to offer us this time around. Turn him and his little friend. If Aiden comes looking for them, tell them you haven’t seen them,” Dam
us instructs the vampires.

  The come onto us like flies to raw meat left out in the sun to rot. I step back a few steps and pull a silver bladed knife from my jacket. There are far too many vampires for us to take out on our own. Forrest throws something small and sharp in the direction of one and it slices into pale flesh, sending one vampire down instantly. He throws another just as a female vampire with long blonde hair reaches for me. I try to pierce her heart with my knife as Forrest did with the throwing knife he threw, but the vampire is strong and fast.

  Three gang up on Forrest, sensing him as the toughest target and they throw him to the ground as two vampires do the same to me. Forrest doesn’t look impressed as he stares at Damus with pleading eyes. From the look on Forrest’s face, this kind of stuff doesn’t happen to him often. He looks surprised that he’s been thrown to the ground and held down.

  Adrenalin hammers through my veins and I struggle against the two vampires holding me down. I expect teeth to puncture my skin at any moment.

  “Let her go. Take me. I’ll do whatever you want,” Forrest pleads, sounding fed up.

  Damus halts the vampires by simply raising a hand. “Anything?”

  “Yes, I’ll do whatever dirty work you want,” Forrest agrees. “Just let her go.”

  Damus crunches his face, his eyebrows moving together. “You’re not normally one to sacrifice yourself for others. What’s so special about this girl that you’d risk your life for her?”

  “She helped me once against her will and anyways I’m loyal to Aiden and I promised him I wouldn’t have her harmed,” Forrest spits. “Now let her go and I’ll do what you want willingly. If shit goes down like this, I’ll die before I do anything you want me to.”

  Damus waves his guys off of me. “A young demon, even a pure, isn’t much use to us besides food anyway.”

  Instead of taking that as a stab, I take it as a compliment and scurry up. I glance around frantically. I can’t just leave Forrest here to die or be turned into a vampire or whatever.

  “What will you do with him?” I ask Damus, my voice shaking.

  Damus looks to me, surprised that I’ve said anything. “He will serve our needs as a vampire, girl. You may go.”

  “Let me say goodbye.” Forrest’s expression relaxes.

  Damus nods. “Very well.”

  Forrest approaches me and hugs me tightly as I shake. He seems calm, relaxed even. Behind my back he squeezes my hand and something small and cold is placed within it. He closes my hand. His lips come up to my ear. “Go, don’t look back. I’ll be fine.”

  “You won’t be fine,” I remind him as if he’s lost his mind. I look at the vampires waiting to snatch him up again.

  “I have nothing to live for.” He hugs me tighter. “I have no family left really.” He releases me. “I’ve had a good run but I am loyal to Aiden and if this is what needs to be done for him to win the war, then it’s what I must do. This is war. This is how it must be. Plus, I still owe you from letting Maxwell take your soul.” He pulls back completely and steps away.

  “You talk like you’ll be dead. You won’t. You’ll be a vampire.” My mouth is suddenly dry as I take in the cloaked figures again. It’s easy to see that they are not warm and fuzzy creatures.

  “I will not remain myself. My struggle will be over. Return to Aiden. Through the portal in the castle. They’ll let you back in if tell them who you are. If they don’t get in contact with Aiden and he’ll send word you’re to be let in.”

  He squeezes my empty hand before turning. “If my dad’s memory comes back, tell him I’m sorry. He’ll understand my decision as will everyone else. Go now while you can. Run.”

  In a final goodbye, I squeeze his hand as the vampires tear him away from me. He doesn’t struggle and part of me wonders if he wants this. Maybe he’s tired of fighting. Just as I turn, there’s a deafening crack. Well, it’s actually more like a crunch as a vampire snaps Forrest’s neck. Damus’s mouth clamps down on Forrest’s neck and blood leaks down his skin, dripping from his limp body.

  That’s enough to jolt me back in the direction we came. As I run at full speed, I don’t even worry about what creatures I might run into on my way back out of the woods. I just run while pushing back tears.

  I pass by the fairy dead on the ground. A large, disturbing looking, very large worm descends into his neck, already eating the body. I cringe away, wanting to vomit. By the time I reach the outskirts of the woods, I can barely see through my damp eyes. I brush away the tears and run impossibly faster towards Tartarus. In a matter of a few more minutes, I am in the town, safe from the woods. I open my hand to find a small white marble, no, a pearl. Forrest got it. He someone got it from Damus. I wonder how but realize that sometimes there’s no explanation for the things Forrest does.

  I tuck it safely into my pants pocket as I approach the castle. I don’t feel any pull to the soul, even though it’s supposedly mine. Then again, I’ve been so scared, so shaken, so saddened that I can’t sense much. I even block out the sounds around me and then smells. I stop in front of the castle gates where an army of guards stand.

  “My name is Megan; I need to get into the castle. I’m on business for Aiden.”

  Two of the guards look me up and down before either believing me or more likely recognizing me.

  Chapter 19

  Curled up in a blanket, I sip some of the hot chocolate that Aria made me. Everyone sits in silence as I attempt to calm down from telling them all that happened in hell.

  Aiden appears both furious and grief stricken. He’s mad that Forrest took me to the Forrest, but how can he remain mad at someone who gave their life for him and his people? Landon studies the soul between his thumb and forefinger while Mason paces the room. Terry doesn’t seem to notice any of our presences as he scribbles things down on printer paper.

  Aiden finally heaves a sigh. “May he rest in peace.”

  “So, though he’s a vampire now, he’s considered dead?” Aria asks hesitantly.

  Aiden nods. “A vampire cannot even love which makes them colder than even the pure demons. They are ruled by their bloodlust and selfishness. He is as good as dead. Aiden’s expression is harsh, almost cold as he says this. I’m beginning to notice subtle changes about him that signify that his dark and light sides are merging. He’s no longer the guy I initially fell in love with in Toronto, but he is also not the man I had to run from not long ago. He’s somewhere in-between and I’m okay with this.

  Terry stands, clutching a piece of paper in both hands. “Prophetiae!”

  I don’t need to know Latin to know what he’s said.

  We all turn our attention to him and he hands Aiden the paper he’s written on. Aiden looks it over, Landon coming to peer over his shoulder.

  “Things have changed, unlike this morning, he is prophesizing that we will win the war, not lose.” Aiden speaks in English for my benefit. “Likely because we’ve obtained the pearl. Each event from now on will help Terry predict where we stand in this war. Landon get on working on that elixir. According to this, it’ll lead us towards winning.”

  Landon scurries over to where he has his alchemy tools setup and begins working. The thought of giving up my soul for good isn’t so bad because I thought I’d already lost it once. What bothers me is knowing that I could consume my soul and again be a halfling. That chance is right in front of me although I know I can’t take it, not if I want humanity to be free, not if I want Aiden to win this war. It’s all we have right now. Plus, if this elixir will really make demons be able to feel all human emotions, then it’s something that will benefit all demons.

  “Aiden, you once told me that demons had to be the way they are for a reason, so they could handle things in hell. If this elixir works, then what?” I wonder, finishing my hot chocolate and placing the empty mug on the coffee table.

  Aiden returns the paper to Terry who has started scribbling things down again. Then he approaches me, taking a seat beside me. “The elixir
gives demons the ability to feel human emotion. It rewires their brains. Just because they have the ability to feel human emotion, doesn’t mean that they have to. They can shut it off like a switch.”

  “The weak will shut it off, not wanting to face the things they’ve done. They’ll want to feel the numbness that comes without human emotion,” Landon continues explaining as he works. “The strong will face what they’ve done and welcome the human emotions.”

  Aria and Crispen both seem intrigued by all of this. Probably because this will change a lot. Of course, there will still be rogue demons who need hunted down, but not near as many. At least I hope the majority of demons are strong enough to face their own demons. This could put all nearly hunters out of commission.

  Landon comes at me with a syringe, apology in his gaze. Not again. Crispen stands when I look to him hopefully. He rolls up my sleeve and slips the syringe into my arm carefully. I don’t look away this time. After all I saw today, I don’t feel a need to.

  Crispen hands Landon the syringe and Landon pours my blood into the small bowl he’s working with. “I’m ready. Go get the water from the plane,” Landon instructs to no one in particular.

  Aria and Crispen leave the house and return with flats and flats of miniature water bottles. Landon grabs a popcorn bowl from a cupboard and fills it with tap water. Then he dumps the contents of the small bowl into the larger one. He then hands Aiden, Crispen, Mason, and Aria eye droppers. Each of them begins placing one drop from the big bowl into each small water bottle. There has to be thousands of them.

  When they finish, they begin hauling them outside.

  “I’ll go through and call all demons of Tartarus to the castle. From there we’ll hit the six smaller towns in hell. Landon, Mason, I will call all demons situated in this realm to my place in Toronto. By the end of the week, all demons will have taken the elixir. It is mandatory. Some of the rebels, I’m sure, aren’t in my registry so we’ll have to seek them out afterwards. I’m sure many were made illegally. I’ll get lists of all demons in the human realm sent to you two right away.”