Kat Redding 03 - Blessed by a Demon's Mark

by E. S. Moore

  “Why, I only want what is owed to me. You promised to return and I’ve decided it was time you repaid that debt. I can only wait so long.”

  “Well, I’m here now,” I said. “The debt has been paid. Now leave me the hell alone.” I turned to go.

  “Ah, but is it?” Beligral laughed. There was no humor in it.

  I managed not to shudder when I turned back to face him. “You said all I needed to do was to see you again. Here I am.”

  The demon stood. The cane was gone, vanished as if it had never been there to begin with. He walked to the very edge of the circle and stopped. “I know where you have been,” he said, his voice conspiratorially low. “But do you?”

  I clenched my teeth and refused to speak. I wasn’t sure if he was talking about earlier that night or if he was talking about the last few months. I really hoped he wasn’t referring to Delai, because a demon in a place like that would destroy the peace the people there had fought so hard to achieve.

  “I see you don’t,” he said. He shook his head as if disappointed in me and started walking around the inside of the circle. “You think you know what you’ve been experiencing. You think you have things under control. Do you know what you’ve really been doing since you left here? Do you know what kind of monster you’ve been playing house with?” He gave me a sad smile. “I don’t think you do.”

  I didn’t say anything. I knew speaking would only make things worse for me. He’d find a way to twist my words, a way to get me to add yet another mark. I knew that was his game. I wanted my mark gone, not to add another.

  Beligral sighed. “Delai is not a good place for someone like you.”

  Ethan glanced at me, a confused look on his face. I shook my head and continued to stare at the demon. My eyes were dried out from the heat, but I wouldn’t look away again until he was gone.

  “If you go back, you might never escape. That’s what he does. He traps your kind in, turns them into husks that do his bidding. He will burn you out of your own body and will enjoy every moment of it. He may claim it as a cure, but we all know what he does is far from it.”

  I couldn’t hold back any longer. “You don’t know what you are talking about.”

  “Don’t I?” He laughed. “I think I have much more experience in regard to matters of this sort than you.”

  “And you’re a liar.”

  He smirked. “Tell me, what have I lied to you about? I’ve done everything in my power to help you. I’ve never led you astray.”

  I wasn’t so sure about that. He’d claimed to do a lot of things, but I couldn’t prove any of them. He’d said he tried to help my brother, but I hadn’t seen or felt anything that could prove it one way or the other. I had only his word, and I sure as hell wasn’t about to trust the word of a demon.

  “I’ve invested too much in you to have you throw it all away,” Beligral said. “I cannot let you succumb to his magic without giving you something to fight back with.”

  “You’ve done enough already.” I growled the words, angry at myself for even getting involved in the conversation. I should have kept my mouth shut and walked out of the room when I’d had the chance.

  “But clearly I haven’t,” he said. He resumed his seat in the chair. “If you knew what you were getting into, you would never have gone there in the first place. Since you’ve spent so much time in Delai, it is doubtful you’ll ever believe what I have to say. The people there are no good.”

  I looked at Ethan. He was looking back and forth from me to the demon. He looked hurt that there was something passing between us he didn’t understand. I felt like a bitch for not filling him in already. It should have been the first thing I did when I’d gotten home.

  “Tell me,” I said, turning my attention back to Beligral. “And then let me go. I never want to see you after this.”

  The demon’s lips lifted in a grim smile. “Of course,” he said. “I will even give you this information for free. It will be up to you if you wish to accept what I have to offer afterward.”

  I ground my teeth, hating how this sounded. I knew he was trying to trick me into another mark somehow. Free information is never really free when it’s coming from a demon, I was sure.

  “Fine,” I said. “Say what you have to say.”

  Beligral leaned back, his cane once more resting across his knees. “Does he still call himself Levi?”

  I thought I kept my face neutral, but he read my expression as easily as if I’d spoken.

  He nodded. “He isn’t what he appears to be. The name is as much of a lie as the rest of his world. If you let him get to you, he will turn you into one of his pets. I can already see his mark upon you.”

  I glared at him and tried not to let my unease show. I didn’t know why, but as soon as he started talking, I pictured Ronnie, how he stared at nothing all the time, how he did whatever Levi told him to do. I didn’t know if I was thinking these things on my own, or if Beligral was somehow putting the thoughts in my head.

  “They say all roads lead to Delai,” he went on. “It appears you’ve traveled that road and back again, something not many have done. It was only by my intervention that you managed to escape when you did. Much longer and he would have had complete control over you.”

  Beligral was staring directly into my eyes as he spoke. I knew that was a bad thing. It had to be, right?

  It was a struggle, but I managed to look away. I kept wanting to look up, as if his eyes had a pull to them. I so didn’t want to get trapped in his gaze.

  “If you go back, he will have you. I can’t keep you safe forever.”

  I almost laughed at that. “I don’t want you messing around in my life.” I looked squarely at his knees.

  I could hear the smile in his voice as he continued. “I’m already in too deep. You are stuck with me whether you know it or not. You don’t have to like it.”

  I glanced up at his face and could see the fierce glow in his eyes. They flared with an almost feverish intensity. I looked away before I got burned.

  “Delai will always be there because you expect it to be. No matter how you get there, it will be waiting.” He paused. “At least until you are no longer wanted. I will make sure that happens.”

  “Why would I want you to do that?” It was hard to sound as angry as I felt when I couldn’t look him in the face. It felt too much like I was subservient to him, but I knew looking him in the eyes would only make things worse.

  “Do you know what Levi is? Di’leviathan? He is older than even I.”

  I really wanted to turn around and walk out. How could I ever believe something coming out of a demon’s mouth? I wondered if he was afraid that Levi would find a way to save me from the demon’s influence. Maybe it had started happening already and that was why he’d sent the pain, to draw me back before I could be fully swayed.

  But despite the desire to leave, I’d stayed. I knew from the first day I’d gone there that Delai was different. I never could put a finger on it, but it always had seemed ever so slightly off. I knew I’d never get the whole story out of Beligral, but I was sure he would at least leave me with some half-truths as long as it served his purposes.

  “The slice of time he controls will always remain as long as he remains stuck between our worlds. Something has anchored him there. He cannot escape his little haven, but he isn’t forced to return either. If you find out what is keeping him, most likely his summoner, then you can send him back to where he belongs.”

  “He’s a demon?” I looked up, startled.

  “No.” Beligral shook his head and frowned. “Not in the way you think of demons. He comes from the same realm as I, will destroy anything he touches, much like my brethren would do if they were to escape. He is similar, but something oh so different.”

  “Then what exactly is he?” I challenged. It bothered me that he was being so damn vague.

  Beligral smiled and waggled a finger at me. “Tsk, tsk. Do you think I would share everything I know?
If you want to find out what he is, you will need to do that on your own.” He looked at his nails and smiled. “I could provide you with a way.”

  “How?” Something inside me groaned. I really should have left a long time ago.

  “I will allow you to see him for what he truly is. I will give you the Sight, something only a few have ever been blessed with. It will allow you to see past his glamours, to see into his heart. Once you see what kind of hold he has on those he’s trapped, you will understand my concern.”

  “And what’s in it for you?”

  Beligral chuckled. “Nothing but your return. I will give this to you and you will see I have not led you astray. There is so much more we could do together if only you’d learn to trust me.”

  Yeah, like that would ever happen.

  I looked at Ethan. He was shaking his head frantically from side to side, though he didn’t voice his disapproval. I knew it was a bad idea to agree to anything the demon offered. He would somehow turn it to his own uses, would trap me like he’d trapped Ethan.

  But I had to know. Could I really walk away without knowing for sure whether he was telling the truth?

  “What do I need to do?” I asked, resigned.

  Ethan visibly slumped and closed his eyes. I was disappointing him, I knew.

  “Come into the circle with me. I have to touch you to impart this most wondrous of gifts.”

  “Not happening,” I said. How stupid did he think I was? “Find another way.”

  “There is no other way,” he said. “My powers are limited to this circle. If you wish to receive my gift, then you must cross the barrier and take it from me.” He smiled, exposing his teeth again. He was almost salivating.

  I considered the offer. There was something off with Delai, I couldn’t deny that. I cared about Sienna and Eilene, and even Ronnie and Levi in a way. They’d taken me in when I felt I had nowhere else to go. They’d given me a place to live, a place to control the hunger inside me.

  Yet it always felt wrong. There was something unnatural about the way Levi could calm me when I was at my most ravenous.

  And then there was his family. They feared him. Could Beligral really be telling the truth? Could I take the chance that he wasn’t? I couldn’t leave Sienna and Eilene there if something bad was happening to them.

  Beligral’s smile widened as if he could hear the thoughts running through my head.

  “I’ll think about it,” I said, wiping the smile off his face. “Until then, our debt is paid.” I turned and walked out.

  As soon as I was out of the lab, I slumped against the wall. My skin felt parchment dry after having been in the oppressive heat of the lab. I waited for Ethan to dismiss the demon and gather his supplies. He joined me a few minutes later, looking grim.

  “He’s not happy,” he said.

  “I don’t care.”

  “But you’re free.”

  I reached up and touched the smooth skin behind my ear. The mark was gone and I hadn’t even felt it go. “Yeah.”

  “Don’t do what he wants.”

  I didn’t say anything.

  “Kat . . .”

  I looked up and Ethan cringed away. “I’ll do whatever the fuck I want,” I said, getting pissed all over again. I was tired of people telling me what I should and shouldn’t do. I was my own person, damn it.

  Ethan didn’t say anything. He stood by as I tore off my belt and tossed it onto the table. I gave him one last challenging stare, daring him to say something else, and then turned and stalked up the stairs to sulk alone in my room.

  12

  I struggled to make it through the day without going insane. I couldn’t shut off my brain, even for a little bit. I tried taking a bath, which usually helped clear my head, but all it really did was make me wet. I dried off and caught a glimpse of myself in the bathroom mirror.

  The old scars were still there. My back was virtually crisscrossed with them, though none was worse than the large scars on my back from where the wolf had gouged me. The scar was still red and angry looking. It ached every now and again, a constant reminder of how close I’d come to death.

  I turned away from the mirror and headed into the bedroom to get dressed.

  I wasn’t sure what was bothering me the most. What the demon had told me was pretty upsetting, but I could always make myself believe he was lying. I was free of him and never had to go back if I didn’t want to. The same went for Levi and Delai. If I decided not to risk it, nothing was forcing me to go back.

  Of course, I doubted I could keep myself from returning even if I wanted to. Levi had shown me nothing but kindness since the day I’d arrived. He helped me overcome my hunger, at least a little bit. I couldn’t imagine him being anything more than the affable big man he appeared to be.

  Still, the doubt was there. I hated to admit it, but it was. I was free of Beligral’s mark, yet I wasn’t free of his influence. I knew if I ever wanted to know the truth about Levi, I’d have to go back to the demon, would have to take on another mark.

  I wasn’t so sure I wanted to do that.

  I refused to think about the demon any longer, and thoughts of the Luna Cult immediately invaded. I wondered how they were faring, wondered what Jonathan was doing. I was still pissed at him, still never wanted to see him again, but I really didn’t want anything bad to happen to him.

  I growled in frustration as I finished getting dressed. I had put on my leather, a sure sign that I planned on doing something dangerous the moment the sun went down.

  Thoughts of Jonathan brought much of my anger back. He left me with a goddamn watchdog. Jeremy Lincoln might have been sent here under the pretense of watching over Ethan, but I knew better. He’d been sent to my house so he could tell Jonathan when I returned.

  Time ticked by and I only got angrier. I kept dwelling on all the bad things that had happened to me; perceived or real, it didn’t matter. It seemed like ever since I returned, everyone had gone out of their way to piss me off.

  And then there was Countess Baset.

  I’d been hunted before. I was sure I would be hunted again; but for some reason, this one bothered me. Maybe it was because I hadn’t actually killed her lover, Countess Telia, and yet she was still coming after me like I had. She might not know I hadn’t killed her, but damn it, she should have stopped looking for me when it became obvious I was no longer around.

  Or maybe I was just sick of vampire Houses thinking they could do whatever the fuck they wanted. Someone should have put Baset down the moment she had fallen from Royal. I should have done it myself.

  Maybe I still could.

  It was decided before evening. I could feel the cold seeping in from around the window, could almost smell the fresh layer of snow that covered the ground.

  The shower was running, but I wasn’t sure if Ethan or Jeremy was in it. Neither man was in the hall, nor were they downstairs in the kitchen as I passed. I continued down into the basement and gathered my weapons.

  The smell of coffee percolating assaulted my nose as I returned to the dining room. Ethan was busy in the kitchen getting his evening breakfast started. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye but didn’t look directly at me when he spoke.

  “Going out tonight?” he asked.

  “Yeah.”

  He cleared his throat and looked everywhere but at me. I think he was still pissed about the night before. If it had been me, I probably would have been too.

  “You going to the Den?”

  “Fuck no.”

  He looked startled at that. “Um, then where?”

  “Where do you think? I’m going to take care of my fucking problem.”

  Ethan blinked a few times, his eyes passing over me. “Okay?”

  I sighed. “Countess Baset has been hunting me, as you well know. I’m going to put an end to it. Tonight.”

  He choked. “You’re going to what?”

  “I’m going to kill her.” I glared at him angrily for making me explain
myself. “You know full well what I do to those who think they can interfere in my life.” A thought of Jonathan drifted through my head and I pushed it away.

  Ethan looked away and I felt a twinge of regret. I was treating him like shit, I knew. I just couldn’t seem to help myself. Ever since I left Delai, I was angry with everyone, and half the time I didn’t even know why.

  “How, uh, are you going to pull this off?” he asked, finally looking at me. He looked concerned. “Alone?”

  “How else?” I smiled, hoping it would ease his mind. “I’ll slip in and kill her before anyone realizes I’m there. As far as a lot of people are concerned, I’m already dead.” I thought back to my little escapade at Polaris. I really hoped everyone still thought I was dead.

  “But she’s the head of a Major House, isn’t she?” Ethan shook his head. “I don’t like this. You can’t take down a Major House.”

  “I don’t have to,” I said. “I just have to kill her.”

  He laughed. It sounded half crazed. “You make it sound so easy.” He sighed. “At least go talk to Jonathan—”

  “I don’t fucking need him!” I shouted, taking a threatening step forward. Ethan backpedaled into the cabinets. “Ever since I got involved with the Luna Cult, my life has only gotten more complicated. I don’t need their help. I don’t need anyone’s help. I can do this on my fucking own.”

  “Okay,” he said, hands held up in front of him like he thought I might hit him. “I’m sorry I mentioned it.”

  I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I was taking my anger and frustrations out on someone who didn’t deserve it. Again. I really needed to figure out why I was always so pissed off lately before I accidently killed someone. I’d been nothing but confused since the day I returned, and even that made me angry.

  “No,” I said, trying really hard not to scream. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled.”

  Ethan lowered his hands slowly as if he was afraid I’d snap at him if he moved too fast. Once he was sure I wasn’t going to bite his head off again, he went about filling his coffee mug.