Ruined (The Seraphim Series Book 1)

by Sophia Stafford

  “That was a cheap shot and you know it.” She sulked, rubbing her chest where Sebastian had just kicked her.

  “There are no rules. Vampires and werewolves don't fight by a code,” he told her matter-of-factly, as if he'd been fighting for years instead of the actual day that he had been.

  “Fought many werewolves and vampires, eh?” She laughed.

  “Dude, I’m a demon.” He pointed to himself. “I’m a badass!”

  She shook her head, smiling.

  “Talking about badass.” He stood straighter. “Rebecca told me about you and Azrael.”

  Lilliah didn’t say anything. She had been hoping her friend would break the news so she wouldn’t have to.

  “When were you going to tell me?” he pressed, sounding more like a parent than a brother.

  “It wasn’t like I was keeping it from you,” she defended. “I just didn’t know what you’d say. I mean, it’s not like you tell me every time you start seeing someone.”

  “This is completely different. And you know it.”

  “Not really . . .” She knew it was different; Sebastian had never started dating a girl that had once wanted to kill him. Well, not that Lilliah knew of anyway.

  “Can you trust him?” he asked seriously.

  “I can trust him,” she answered back without a second of hesitation.

  “Then I’m all for it, Lil.”

  She looked up at her brother, feeling a little on edge. She hadn’t expected him to take to it so quickly.

  “Don’t get me wrong. At first, I hated the idea. The guy wanted to kill you, remember?”

  She nodded. His feelings had been understandable.

  “But now I’ve had some time to think about it, and well, it’s okay by me.”

  “Thank you. I mean, I wasn’t actually asking for your approval.” She laughed a little. “But I guess it’s nice to have it.”

  “Yeah, it’s not like I could actually do anything about it if I didn’t approve.” He laughed. “We trained together the other day. The-guy-is-a-god.”

  “Yeah, I know.” She smiled at her brother’s reaction.

  “He was just so fast. I didn’t even get a hit on him.”

  “As much as I love this fangirling about Azrael, I want to fight.”

  “I wasn’t fangirling,” Sebastian muttered while getting into position.

  “Come at me again,” she ordered, taking up her stance.

  Sebastian smirked confidently, lunging at Lilliah with his arms outstretched, ready for impact. This time Lilliah was prepared. She grabbed his arm and, shifting her weight, flipped him over her body and onto the mat. She held his arm at an angle so he couldn’t get up.

  “Owww,” Sebastian squealed from the floor. “That hurts. Let me up!” he screamed.

  “Oh, I’m getting so good at this!” she taunted lightly, releasing Sebastian and standing up. She playfully jumped from one foot to the other.

  “Yeah, yeah. You got lucky.” Sebastian stood, holding his arm.

  “Want to go again? We can try my new stake.”

  “No.” He shook his head adamantly. “You’re not coming near me with that thing.” He grabbed his stuff and started heading for the door. “I’m done. See you tomorrow.” He waved a hand behind him as he left.

  Grabbing her stake and towel off the floor, she headed for the kitchen. Working out really did build an appetite, and she felt like junk food.

  She turned the lights on, leaving a trail of light behind her as she made her way towards the kitchen. To her delight, the cupboards had been stocked with every sugary treat she could think of. She grabbed the lot, getting excited about her impending sugar high.

  “You don't actually think Azrael loves you, do you?”

  Lilliah froze at the voice behind her and slowly turned. Dena was smirking, leaning against the kitchen’s doorframe, her eyes narrowed. Once again, she was dressed all in black, but she was still fashionable as ever, with huge, black, heeled boots that made her a little taller than Lilliah.

  “What are you doing here, Dena?” Lilliah asked, finally finding her voice. She knew Dena was dangerous and strong; she was a vampire after all. The fact that Dena was at the mansion when Azrael and Benedict weren’t petrified Lilliah. “Azrael’s not home.”

  “I know,” Dena replied, pushing off the doorframe and walking farther into the kitchen until there was only the island between them. “I came here to see you.”

  “Oh,” she replied, putting down all the treats she had been holding. This wasn’t good. “What can I do for you?” she tried to hide her nerves as best she could.

  “Azrael doesn’t really love you. It's impossible,” she informed Lilliah, putting her hands on the marble worktop. “He wants your blood so he can get into Heaven and live happily ever after.” She waved her hands in the air. “That's been his plan since the day he fell. Do you really think that one look into your pretty little eyes would change his mind?” She laughed, reaching into the nearby fruit tray and picking up an apple. “Do you really think that's possible?”

  “So what's that got to do with you?” Lilliah asked, slowly backing away, her hands shaking as she hit the counter behind her.

  “Well, Azrael and I had a deal. When he bleeds you dry, I get a little drop of that precious blood that runs through your veins.” She smiled icily, throwing the apple between her hands.

  “Why?” Lilliah tried stalling; slowly, she reached behind, trying to grab her stake. Dena was crazy and unpredictable.

  “Because my time’s nearly up,” Dena snapped, crushing the apple in her hands until it was nothing but mush. “My time’s nearly up and your blood can give me longer life.”

  “Oh, okay.” Lilliah really wasn’t sure what to say to that. “How much would be enough? I could give you a cup?” She shrugged helplessly; she knew the suggestion probably wouldn’t go down well, but it really was all she had.

  “You know”—Dena laughed almost hysterically—“we used to talk about the day when we'd finally kill you.” She smiled, biting her lip. “He used to get so hot after, and we’d have the most amazingly wild sex.”

  “Well, that's really disturbing.” Lilliah gulped, her hand finally grabbing the cold, silver stake.

  “He really was amazing, before you came along and watered him down.” Before Lilliah could make another move, Dena was in front of her. “I'm going to drain you of every bit of blood you have, and then I’ll set fire to your body.” Dena’s jaw set as she stared at Lilliah. “Then when Azrael gets home, I’ll blame it on a werewolf. He'll be devastated at first. He'll have to find you all over again.” She laughed again, really putting Lilliah on edge. “But don't worry about Azrael. I'll be there to comfort him.” Dena's hand flew up to Lilliah’s neck, grabbing it tightly. Holding the stake tightly, Lilliah lunged, driving it into her chest.

  She screamed, staring down in disbelief.

  Lilliah knew it wasn’t in her heart. She knew she hadn’t killed her. Using Dena’s shock to her advantage, she pulled out the stake and jabbed it in again. Dena’s grip weakened. Lilliah dropped to the floor. Grabbing her now bloodied stake, she ran as fast as she could down the hall, not really sure where she was headed. Where the hell were Rebecca and Sebastian?

  “You don't really think you can outrun a vampire, do you?”

  Lilliah skidded to a stop, falling on the wooden floor and dropping her stake. Dena was in front of her, and she was furious.

  “You really do disappoint me, daughter of Michael.” She grabbed Lilliah by the arms, holding her up like a rag doll. “Now let’s see if you really do taste that sweet.”

  Veering back until her fangs were on full show, Dena sank her teeth into Lilliah's throat.

  Lilliah tried aimlessly to push her away, but it was no use. Instead, she screamed. She screamed for the pain that was searing through her neck and running down her arm. She screamed hoping someone would hear her. Was this really how she would die? Just as her life was getting interesting? />
  “Lilliah!” She could hear her name being screamed, but she couldn’t tell who it was. Everything was getting darker.

  Lilliah fell to the floor with a thud. Was she dead?

  “I'm going to kill you all, you little shits!” Dena's screeching wail broke Lilliah from her daze.

  “Lilliah, open your eyes. Are you okay?” Slowly opening her eyes, she saw Rebecca hovering over her. “Jesus, Lil. You need to get up. Can you move?”

  Lilliah jerkily nodded, her eyes widening when she saw Sebastian and Dena circling each other, both ready to pounce at any second.

  “Oh, little boy. I'm going to rip you to shreds,” Dena purred, getting ready to move.

  This isn’t going to work, Lilliah thought, panicked. Dena was too strong. Even with Sebastian's extra skills, it wouldn’t be enough. Grabbing the stake from the floor, she held it tightly.

  Moving quickly, she dived in, plunging the stake into Dena's back, dragging it down as far as she could.

  “Ow!” Dena screamed, dropping to her knees.

  For a moment, Lilliah froze, staring at the blood on her hands. There was so much of it.

  “Lilliah, move!” Sebastian grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the room.

  Rebecca quickly followed. “We need to get out of the house! That bitch is crazy!” she stressed, taking random turns. None of them were really sure where they were going.

  “I have blood on my hands,” Lilliah muttered almost to herself, trying not to gag.

  “No, we need to hide. She's too quick. If we hide well enough, we might be able to wait it out. Rebecca, call Azrael,” Sebastian instructed.

  “I'm trying. I'm not getting any reception!” Rebecca’s voice was taut with panic as she held her phone higher in the air.

  “In here, quick!” Lilliah let Sebastian pull her into the nearest room, not really sure which part of the house they were in anymore.

  “Help me push this in front of the door. We need to slow her down.” Sebastian ordered. They quickly moved a chest of drawers, dragging it across the room.

  One of the things that can kill a vampire is a stake to the heart, Lilliah remembered, trying to pull herself together as she nervously paced the room. You wanted to be in the action, she reminded herself. Well, this is it. She stopped pacing and took a look around the room. They had literally run into an old office that clearly wasn’t used much; everything was covered with white sheets.

  “Rebecca, you keep trying to call Azrael. Sebastian, just look around, there must be something in here we can use.” Lilliah shouted. Flipping the white sheets off everything as fast as they could, she soon realised there was nothing they could use. “Out of all the rooms in this goddamned house, we had to run into the one without any weapons in it!”

  “I wasn’t really looking where I was running, Lilliah,” Sebastian stressed, throwing a white sheet on the floor. “I was just running, in the dark, for my life. For the second time!”

  “And that's my fault? I didn’t ask for the crazy bitch to attack me!” she screamed. How was any of this her fault? She was the one who had been attacked.

  “I'm not saying it is. I'm saying I wasn’t really paying attention. But if you don’t shut the hell up, you might as well stand outside with a big-ass sign telling her where we are!” Sebastian seethed. “Now, how's your neck?”

  Holding her hand up to her neck, she realised she was still bleeding. There was blood everywhere. Everyone stopped moving as the door started to rattle and shake.

  “You might as well come out now.” The door shuddered again as Dena tried to open it. “I know you’re in there, Lilliah. I can smell your blood.” With a bang, the whole wall shook.

  “Jesus Christ, the whole wall’s going to fall down. Find something,” Lilliah bit out, not taking her eyes off the door.

  “Oooh, there's a spray can!” Rebecca whispered, pulling out a can from a box on the floor.

  “Right. What can we do with a spray can?” Lilliah whispered back, reaching out to grab it and trying not to flinch as Dena banged on the door again.

  “I’ve got an idea.” Sebastian walked forward and took the can. “I have a plan. You just hide. When I say run, you both have to run out of here as fast as you can, okay?”

  They both agreed.

  “Lil, rub your blood on the walls or something. Make it harder for her to smell you, okay?” She moved quickly, smearing her blood over the walls and leaving droplets on the floor.

  “Okay, that should be enough,” Sebastian suggested, still keeping his eyes on the door as it rattled and shook. “Go hide!”

  They both scattered as Sebastian walked and hid behind the door. From her place behind an old desk, Lilliah saw Rebecca hide behind a stack of boxes. She ducked when the door flew off its hinges, hitting the opposite wall. A furious Dena was smirking as she entered the room. Lilliah pressed her hand against her bleeding neck, trying to stop the flow as much as possible.

  “I'm not playing games, children.” She sighed over-dramatically, her eyes scanning the room, momentarily hesitating on the spot where Lilliah had smeared her blood, before her head shot in Lilliah’s direction. She could see Dena tilt her head back and take a deep breath. “I can smell you, little Lilliah,” she sang, keeping her eyes cast in Lilliah's direction. Dena didn’t see Sebastian, she was too focused on finding Lilliah, but Lilliah did. Sebastian stepped forward, spray can in hand. Moving quickly, he sprayed the can, aiming right at Dena's face, and brought up a lighter. Dena swung around as soon as the flames hit her hair, flinging her arms wildly at Sebastian while screaming, at the same time trying to put out the fire.

  “Run!” Sebastian shouted, ducking out of the way as Dena took another swipe at him.

  Lilliah and Rebecca moved together, both running from their hiding places and aiming for the door. The moment Dena caught sight of Lilliah, she moved, ignoring the growing flames that were still engulfing her hair. But Sebastian was quicker, aiming the spray can again, this time at Dena's face. The scream was piercing as Dena fell to her knees, her hands covering her burning face, which stopped Lilliah from seeing the full effect. Dena fell to the ground, her flaming hair landing on one of the white sheets. Lilliah watched in horror as the sheet went up in flames.

  “Sebastian,” she cried, pulling at her brother’s arms, trying to get him away from the fire. “Let’s go.”

  Sebastian stood over Dena, the spray can and lighter still in hand. He was still oblivious to the fire that was growing bigger and bigger as another white sheet was set ablaze.

  “Sebastian!” she shouted anxiously, pulling him towards the door. “We have to leave!”

  “Right,” he muttered, breathing heavily. Dena's scream was loud and piercing. He looked up, finally noticing the flames. “We have to move, quick, run!”

  They both turned for the door as Lilliah dropped to the floor. Dena's hand gripped her ankle.

  “You little bitch!” Dena screamed, crazed. “I'm going to kill you!” Dena's face was completely black and burnt. The once beautiful hair was now completely singed. Before Sebastian or Rebecca could move to her defence, Lilliah lifted her other foot and kicked Dena in her already injured face as hard as she could. She didn’t stop until Dena's grip loosened on her ankle. The fire alarm sprang to life as the smoke hit it, mixing with Dena's crazy screams. Sebastian helped her from the floor, neither of them looking back as they ran out of the room and down the hall to where Rebecca was waiting, her phone still in hand.

  “Azrael! You need to come back!” she screamed, none of them sure where to go. “Dena's trying to kill us! Please come back. Your house is on fire. Shit! I’ve lost reception again!” She panted, holding up her phone.

  “Did he hear you?” Lilliah asked, praying to God he did.

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  “Where are we going?” Lilliah asked, mainly to Sebastian. He really was the guy with all the plans.

  “Outside,” he ordered, already heading in the direction of the main doors.
“Staying inside was a bad idea. We need to get out where people can see us. The fire’s getting out of control!”

  They all agreed, silently running as fast as they could down the dark hallway.

  None of them heard her coming; it was only when Dena dived on Lilliah, pulling her and Rebecca to the ground, that they even realised she had been following them.

  Lilliah screamed as her head hit the floor. Dena clawed at her back and pulled her hair as she straddled her.

  “I'm going to rip you to shreds!” Dena screamed. Her movements were erratic as her nails dug into Lilliah's flesh. She screamed when Dena's teeth sank into her neck in the same place she had already bitten her. She was still facing the ground when Dena’s teeth were pulled out of her neck. She knew when she could no longer feel Dena's nails that Sebastian and Rebecca’s efforts to pry Dena off were successful. Everything blurred. Her vision was going and her head started to spin. The only noise she could focus on was the fire alarm in the background.

  Lifting her head slightly, she could see faint light at the end of the corridor. She squinted, trying to figure out what it was.

  “Hello?” she heard a faraway voice say. “Is anyone up here?” it called again. It was a male voice that she didn’t recognise. Unsure whether it was an enemy or a friend, she clawed towards it, glancing back at Sebastian, who was keeping a burning Dena at bay.

  “We're here! Help!” Lilliah croaked, trying to crawl towards the stranger, guessing that a werewolf or vampire with their supernatural eyesight wouldn’t use a flashlight. “We're here! Please help us!” Her body almost shook with relief as a fireman walked up the hall. “Oh, thank you! Thank you!” she whispered, looking over her shoulder. Dena was gone.

  “I didn’t . . . I didn’t even see her leave!” Rebecca exclaimed, looking down the hall.

  “We need to leave before the bitch comes back,” Sebastian muttered as he bent down to help Lilliah up. She limped, unable to hold her own weight.

  “Is there anyone else in the house?” the fireman asked from behind his mask. In the minutes Lilliah had been on the floor, smoke had covered the hall, making it nearly impossible to breathe.