Hunted Souls: A Paranormal Romance (Shadow Realms Book 2)

by Lisa De Palo

  “We don’t know who it was, sweetheart,” Sophie said.

  Layla fell back onto the stairs and hunched over her knees.

  “He would have come looking for me…” she said to herself.

  Jeremiah sighed loudly and walked over to Layla so that he was standing over her.

  “Did you feel a sudden loss?” he asked coldly.

  She shook her head, her eyes on the ground.

  “Then the angels probably killed someone else. You would have felt the loss in your heart. The ones you love always do that…”

  “Jeremiah!” Sophie snapped.

  He looked up at her with cold eyes.

  “Marco sired her,” he said to her. “She would have felt it if he died.”

  Jeremiah left Layla where she was and walked into the other room and all Sophie could do was watch as her niece’s tears came streaming down her cheek.

  12

  HARBINGER

  Ardat sat at the back of the limo like she was the queen of hell. She had put Dean’s body in a cashmere suit worth more than his family car and she admired the demons she had picked for tonight. They were the most gorgeous she could find, men and women, possessed by her loyal followers.

  The clock ticked 11:20 pm as the limo pulled into a street lined with clubs. Lights and music flashed passed as they slowly wound down the street.

  “Tonight we seduce,” she said to her car-full. “Whisper words of promise and dreams to them, and they will invite our brothers and sisters into their bodies for us.”

  She laughed at her own wickedness before a shadow of doubt ran through her mind. She needed as many as she could get. Ardat didn’t care how they possessed the humans, just as long as the job got done.

  “Driver, stop there,” she pointed at a long line and read the name in neon, Vault.

  The demons stepped out of the limo like celebrities. They strutted and flaunted themselves as they walked past the line and up to the front door. The bouncers tried to send them to the back of the line until Ardat’s red-headed succubus, strapped in the tightest black PVC dress, stepped up to him and blew an evil kiss. She sent the bouncer into a trance and he pulled the chain away for them to enter.

  Once inside, Ardat looked around the packed club smiling. There were at least five or six hundred people in the huge club dancing to the music like it was their last night on Earth. The music was loud and the bass vibrated through their bodies like pure energy. This was the place to be for mortals.

  There was a stunning blue haze that filled the nightclub, and sapphire stage-lights mixed with smoke machines gave an enchanted aura. The bar was huge and glistened with hundreds of cocktail glasses that hung like crystal droplets.

  It wasn’t hard to see why people lined up for what looked like miles to enter this place. Ardat knew she would reap the souls she needed tonight.

  Perfect…

  She turned back to look at the other demons smiling.

  “Make sure to blend in and seek those vulnerable and desperate souls,” she ordered. “Let us bring forth our army of brothers and sisters.”

  There were ditzy girls dancing and staggering on the edge of the dance floor trying to get anyone’s attention. Ardat put Dean’s young, trim body to good use and honed in on them. She walked over like he was God’s gift, and widened his arms around the two that had their backs to him.

  “Girls, how are we going tonight?” she asked.

  They quickly turned and looked him up and down, studying his fine cashmere suit and making no attempt to hide that they were pleased to see him. One of the platinum blonde girls embraced Ardat.

  “Hi, I’m Brittany.”

  The other two clung on around her and giggled.

  “Tiff and Amber,” they chimed together.

  Dean’s face glowed in excitement, he placed his hand into his suit jacket pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. Ardat looked back up to see their reactions were clearly materialistic. Their eyes locked onto the cash and looked back at each other smiling from ear to ear.

  “Drinks on me,” Ardat said.

  The three girls followed behind him like blind sheep, stumbling over their own feet to the bar with dollar signs in their eyes. Brittany forced the others out of the way trying her best to be closest to him and took his hand in hers.

  Ardat smiled and looked back through the dimly lit club at the other demons and noticed they were all doing well, with crowds of humans flocking toward to them.

  This will be a piece of cake…

  * * *

  While the demons were messing around and manipulating the humans, what they hadn’t realized was that far in an upstairs corner, angels were watching their every move. One of the angels set his sights on the red-headed succubus. She had managed to draw quite a crowd with her stunning looks and seductive ways, and it was only a matter of time before they would get what they came there for.

  The angels were trying to hold off for as long as they could. They waited for back up to arrive but the clock was ticking and a couple of them became restless. One of the angels, Seth, cast an angel an impatient glance and hand signaled to the others that he was going down to the red-head. The other three angels looked at each other warily and they too decided to follow suit.

  They all wore long coats long enough to conceal the angel blades they carried. Each one separated attempting to blend in with the crowd, taking a different set of stairs to surround the demons.

  The first walked up behind the red-head while she was huddled in a dark corner in conversation with five or six men. Each man stood next to each other listening to her with eyes locked on the demon’s beauty. Seth walked slowly around the edge watching the redhead and turning his head at every free moment watching for an attack. The red-headed succubus was on the leather couches that were toward the back of the club, with a bunch of alcoholic drinks lined up for the humans to keep them happy and dazed.

  Seth was but a few meters away when suddenly one of the male humans that kept the demon company shot his eyes over sounding the alarm for the demon. She jumped up in panic and quickly cast her gaze to Ardat, but Ardat was too far to be warned.

  Seth flung his coat to the side and wrenched out his angel blade, running at her with full force. She turned to look at the humans and watched as their eyes were taken over by a black void. They had accepted the demon’s request just in time and five new demonic hybrids stood with her.

  She turned her head back slowly and smiled at Seth. He had run at such a pace that he couldn’t slow himself down in time. Seth took a swing at the red-head with his blade and missed as she ducked low. His blade flew over her and sunk into one of the hybrids who screamed as he collapsed. The body fell to the floor and convulsed as the demonic spirit ejected itself as a black fog.

  He tried to free the knife that was drawn deep into the hybrid and the succubus turned and noticed his struggle. She held her hand up and summoned dark fire with such strength and force that it scorched his vessel to ash instantly.

  Everyone in the club saw the attack and ran out of the club screaming in fear for their own lives. All except for a few men that thought they could step in and help. The other angels ran to avenge Seth’s death, but as the demons took the humans captive, they used them as meat shields.

  The angels had no hope with the demons numbers increasing by the moment, and fled the club with the mortals to save themselves.

  13

  ENSLAVEMENT

  Layla’s ravenous hunger had returned and brought with it the excruciating agony in her stomach. She was doubled-over helplessly in pain and her veins felt like sandpaper rubbing against each other, she needed to find blood, and fast.

  “I can’t control this,” she moaned. “It hurts so bad… I’m so, so hungry.”

  Sophie swung her head toward Layla and had completely forgotten in all the angst of things happening that her niece needed blood to survive. She knew that with Jeremiah back at the sanctuary, she couldn’t leave Layla alone. She crossed her
arms and began to pace up and down scratching at her head, panic set in seeing the pain that Layla was going through, and made a quick decision to roll up her sleeve.

  “What are you doing?” Layla asked in shock as her eyes were drawn in to the soft, pink skin of Sophie’s wrist.

  “We don’t have any other option, Layla,” she said. “It’s the best I can do.”

  Layla took a few steps back, shaking her head.

  “No stop… I can’t control it…”

  Sophie took a few steps closer to Layla, offering her arm.

  “You need to feed darling, this way is the safest way for everyone.”

  “Stop!” Layla grabbed her hair at the scalp and ground her teeth in pure agony with everything that was happening.

  It was too much, she was suddenly faced with a horrific glimpse of her immortal life. She turned to run into the other room when Sophie pulled out her sharpest knife and cut a small incision into her forearm. Layla’s head jolted up and her nose sniffed at the air, like a pig searching for truffles. The odor of blood wafted straight up her nose bringing forward the evil from within.

  Her body turned like it had a mind of its own and her eyes illuminated like the silver lining of storm clouds, showing her insatiable lust for the elixir. Sophie was sure she could see the veins pulsing under her niece’s eyes and suddenly, Layla scrunched up her nose and sunk her teeth into Sophie’s wrist like a vicious animal. She bore her fangs down deep, shaking her head to get a deeper grip.

  The pain was almost unbearable for Sophie, her arm burned and felt as though it were on fire. With each pump of her heart, it fueled a fire, the pain increased tenfold and the heat surged around her entire body, she scratched at her neck with her free arm and felt like ripping the skin from her body to ease her suffering.

  It took sometime before she was offered any solace but eventually, the pain subsided and tears began to run from Sophie’s eyes. Her head gently fell back to rest on her shoulders and an unusual sensation overpowered her.

  Vampires inject a venom into their prey to keep them still as they feed. It was as strong as any drug on the street that gave a feeling of relaxation and warmth, a rush so strong it sent her into a deep sense of euphoria.

  Sophie fell into a slump, her knees weakened, and she let her back slide down the wall until she lay defenseless on the floor. She was lost in total bliss until her body eventually shook, turning cold and numb. All she wanted was to sleep, yet something forced her to open her eyes one last time, and saw Layla was still feeding.

  “Stop,” Sophie murmured weakly.

  Layla was in her own ecstasy, she couldn’t hear a word Sophie said, and with every mouthful, Sophie felt her life being sucked away.

  “Please stop,” she drooled. “Layla… you’ve drunk… too much…”

  Sophie forced all the strength she had left and pushed her niece away from her arm. Layla jolted her head up and hissed at Sophie baring her bloody fangs. Sophie fell back to the floor almost entirely drained, and not far from crossing over to the other side.

  “Oh, my God.” Layla’s eyes widened and she suddenly snapped out of it. “I am so, so sorry.”

  She wiped the blood from her mouth with her arm as it dripped from her fangs. She looked at her stained hands and was terrified of the monster she had become. She fell to her knees facing her aunt and embraced Sophie in her arms. She had almost killed her and Layla’s face fell long as guilt filled her heart.

  “Layla…” Sophie said faintly. “It’s ok…”

  Layla wept as she lifted Sophie’s lifeless body from the cold floor and carried her to the couch, covering her limp body with a heavy woolen blanket.

  “I… I don’t know what I’m doing,” she sobbed. “Please, forgive me.”

  “Be a sweetheart…” Sophie said weakly. “Bring me a cookie from the kitchen.”

  Hardly able to open her eyes and still coming down from the high she felt from Layla’s venom, Sophie decided to keep that part of it to herself. The last thing her niece needed to hear at that moment was that she was a walking opiate.

  Sophie was weak, very weak, and she knew it was going to take a couple of days to regain her strength. She leaned over to her side and reached for her cell phone in her jean’s pocket.

  Jeremiah, I may need your help sooner than later. Please get back to me asap.

  She texted Jeremiah in hope that he could find some blood for Layla, and possibly herself. She wasn’t sure how long it would be before her niece would need to feed again, and her own body had been drained.

  * * *

  It wasn’t until the next day that Jeremiah got back. He let himself in with the key Sophie had given him weeks before. He wondered what was wrong but by the time he got there, the two girls were sitting at the dining room table playing a game of Scrabble, giggling as though nothing had happened. Jeremiah stood there awkwardly with a tensed face of confusion.

  “Sophie, is everything okay?” he asked.

  Sophie turned half her body to welcome Jeremiah with a big smile on her face.

  “Oh hey, Jere, sure come in,” she replied.

  “I got your message,” he said feeling confused.

  Sophie’s smile drooped as she turned back to look at Layla.

  “What message?” Layla asked.

  “It’s nothing, sweetheart, just give me a moment and I’ll be right back.” She slid her chair back and looked hard at Layla, and then at the board game. “And no cheating!”

  Sophie turned to walk upstairs, grabbing Jeremiah’s arm on the way up. They reached the spare room furthest away from the dining room.

  “Sorry for hurrying you back, Jere, it’s just Layla. Her hunger is out of control and I don’t know how we are going to feed her.”

  “Did something happen?” he asked.

  Sophie bowed her head, and her eyes scattered left and right. She knew if she told him what happened he would be furious.

  “Sophie, what is it?” he said quietly.

  “I had to let her feed,” she admitted.

  “What? On you?”

  “What other choice did I have? Let her wander the streets and find some innocent bystander? We didn’t really consider the fact that she needed blood before you left,” Sophie said.

  Layla waited downstairs at the table, caressing her face in her hands. She could hear everything that was said with her vampiric ears. She knew there was no escaping what she had done. Even as a monster she should have been able to control herself, yet she had no control.

  Why the hell did I not listen to Marco, he was trying to help me. I’m such an idiot…

  Jeremiah stormed downstairs slamming his feet on every step adding to her anxiety. He turned to his left and looked at her like she was his sworn enemy, his arms were crossed in front of him defensively until he started waving his arms at her like she was nothing more than a disgusting demon from hell.

  “All of God’s wrath and terror is poured out on things like you,” he growled. “If you ever reach the point of truly facing what you have done, then the guilt will crush you.”

  He stormed into the living room and Layla’s mouth fell wide and her stomach dropped. She couldn’t believe what she just heard. Her entire body tensed up and eyes burned.

  Sophie reached the bottom of the stairs and stood frozen on the last step. She couldn’t believe her ears. She noticed how hurt her niece was and turned her head back to Jeremiah.

  “Jeremiah, how could you?” she asked.

  Layla turned to her aunt, her face filled with a stream of tears.

  “No,” Layla said. “It’s okay, he’s right. I shouldn’t even be here. I am a curse to this family and have already caused enough grief.”

  “No, it’s not okay, Layla,” Sophie snapped. “Jeremiah, I am the one that shoved my arm in front of her forcing her to feed. She never once asked me and tried her best to stop me.”

  Jeremiah sat stubbornly in the family room avoiding them both. Layla stood up and wiped her face wi
th her sleeve heading toward the front door. She turned to look at Jeremiah in the hope of hearing words of comfort, yet nothing came.

  “Where are you going, Layla?” Sophie asked as she rushed over to her.

  Layla looked over at Jeremiah again and still, he didn’t turn to face her. Sophie noticed his arrogance and blinked her eyes nervously placing her hands on Layla’s shoulders.

  “Don’t be fooled, sweetheart. He is angry because he cares about you.”

  Layla looked up at Sophie and managed to lift the side of her lip, offering half a smile.

  “It doesn’t seem like it…”

  Layla lifted her arms and moved forward to give her auntie a tight hug, and noticed Sophie flinched.

  “Aunt Sophie, I know how bad I’ve hurt you, and you will never understand just how deeply sorry I am. I love and appreciate you for everything you have done, but I can’t do this anymore, I need help.”

  She turned her back to her auntie and grabbed a tight hold on the doorknob.

  “Don’t go, Layla, what are you doing? It’s not safe out there, things are hunting you. We want to help you.”

  Layla half turned her head avoiding her aunt’s gaze.

  “It’s not safe for you with me being here anymore,” she said as she stepped out, pulling the door closed behind her. Layla paused and looked around realizing just how afraid she was and was faced with the cold, harsh feeling of an eternity of loneliness.

  She never really did understand what it meant to be alone, until that very moment the door shut behind her and she entered eternal night.

  14

  ABHORRENCE

  Anastasia marched through the coven’s hall, her footsteps pounding against the gray, slate tiles. Her eyes were red and burned from the tears but her heart was aflame with vengeance. She flung the double doors of Dimitry’s conservatory wide open and strode before the old patriarch.

  “What is the meaning of this!?” Dimitry slammed his fist against the mahogany desk.