The Devil's Daughter: A Paranormal Romance

  “…they’ll lose their loyalty at the drop of a hat if given the right deal. I know you love your pack and you consider them family, but for a while, we lost you. They became scared of you. There was even talk of overthrowing you because they thought your mate wouldn’t come and you’d lose your sanity. They lost their faith in you, so I don’t doubt that one of the pack members received a deal from the enemy and they took it.”

  I think his words over carefully, trying to see things from Celeste’s point of view, but I can’t.

  “No, I don’t believe it, Vance.” I sounded almost pleading. “Yes, the last couple of years I’ve been a bad leader, but I’ve apologized multiple times. I’ve been working on my behavior. The ones who didn’t trust me anymore left. They joined neighboring packs. Her family had probably been tortured and blackmailed into giving up her location.”

  He gives me a look of disappointment as he walks around me to the bedroom door. “You can keep believing that, Austin, but you’re going to lose your mate if you do. Then you’re going to lose your sanity and then your pack.”

  He leaves, shutting the door behind him.

  “She won’t leave me!” I call after him. “I’ll find her, and she won’t ever leave me again!” I shout again before falling onto her bed, her scent surrounding me as I lose myself into her sheets.

  |celeste|

  “Where are we?” I ask Zeke as I look around the amazing kitchen and living room of the home.

  “One of my homes. We’ll be living here until we find your family.”

  “One of them? How many do you have?” I question. There’s no way he has as much money as he’s trying to imply right now.

  “Seven: one in each state that I conduct business in, plus two outside the U.S.”

  “Why do I have a feeling your “business” involves the torture and killing of creatures?” Cat surfaces and takes control as the question leaves my mouth, an undertone of excitement mixed into her voice.

  “Ahh, you must be Cat.”

  She walks up to him slowly, nodding once to confirm his suspicions.

  “And you’re our dear grandpa.” She circles him, trying to get a better feel if he really is a threat or not. “Funny, you look much more threatening from far away.” She snickers as she notices the irritation across his face. She always did love it when she got under a person’s skin.

  “So? Do you or do you not torture and kill for business?” She stops circling, coming to stand a few feet in front of him.

  “I do, and, hopefully, you’ll join me in one of my…trips.”

  She perks up at the sound of that, a big smile replacing the cold grin she was displaying before. “I’d be delighted. I haven’t really killed in quite a while; Celeste doesn’t let me play often.”

  She walks into the living room to find a couch to stretch out on while Zeke takes a seat in the arm chair across from us.

  “And why is that, Cat?”

  “She doesn’t like the thought of killing. She’s too sweet to do any more damage than needed. I, on the other hand, am the sadistic side of her. I relish it when I kill. It’s addicting.” She chuckles darkly as she remembers some of her favorite kills.

  “But only those who have harmed others, correct?”

  She snaps out of her trance when he speaks.

  “Why, of course! A life, while fun to watch drain from a person’s eyes, is precious. Only those who have caused suffering unto others deserve to suffer.”

  He seems satisfied by her answer as a slight smirk appears on the corner of his mouth.

  “Spoken like a true soul killer.”

  That catches our attention, and I take back control from Cat. In moments like these, Cat doesn’t really overpower me, and I am able to take back control as much as I can.

  “What’s a soul killer? I thought we were demon warriors.”

  “Oh yes. Everyone can be a demon warrior, but not everyone is a soul killer. You see, there are multiple types of demons, my dear. Some of us are extremely special.”

  With the way his eyes are twinkling, I have no doubt who he referred to as special.

  I sit up as curiosity gets the best of me. “What kinds?”

  “Then, there’s lower-level demons. They have enough rank and power to be able to leave hell, but they’re not smart enough to keep away from trouble. They latch on to families. They’re the monsters lurking under your bed or in your dreams. Next are the crossroads demons. They make deals and collect souls for hell. Then you have the demons trapped in hell forever. They are tortured for eternity. Lastly, you have the smartest, most powerful and rare demon of all, a soul killer. There’s very few who exist.” He stops there, leaving me on the edge of my seat, as if purposely trying to make me conclude it on my own.

  “What are they?” I ask when he doesn’t continue to speak.

  “They are the demons who never lost their humanity. They never lost the thing that every demon craves. They feel, sympathize, love, and care. They don’t have to fight their way to the top to leave hell or earn respect because they’re born with it. There are only three in existence.”

  “What do they do?” I really wish he’d just get to the point.

  “They can see into a person’s soul and see who they truly are. They live to get revenge for the innocent lives who have been taken by the evil living on this earth. Cat’s drive to rid the world of the evil people who have wronged you and so many others comes from the demon half of you. The thing that separates a soul catcher from a regular demon warrior is when a soul killer gets your soul, they’re sent to a whole different place than hell, somewhere far worse.”

  “How are they created?”

  “They, my dear, are made from the first three innocents that were killed. They spent centuries stuck between heaven and hell because of complications. Their souls were consumed by the darkness and their anger just kept on getting deeper until Lucifer was forced to let them free to seek their revenge. One of their souls chose you as its next vessel. Therefore, you are one of the only soul killers in existence. This could be why people are targeting you, Celeste.”

  He stands quickly from his chair, running a hand through his hair as he thinks.

  “Why would they want me for that? How would they even know what I am?”

  “They must have caught a demon, maybe made a deal. I don’t know, Celeste, but they got the info somehow.”

  “Why do they want me, Zeke?” Power radiates from my voice as I stand from my seat. The power seems to leak into him, forcing him to his knees to bow before me.

  “A soul killer can retrieve a soul from hell and from that place beyond hell which no one else can reach,” he says in a pained voice; a voice that sounded like the words were being forced out of him. “They might want you to give back a soul you took or they wish to take control of you, to use you as a weapon against their enemies. Those are the only reasons I know of.”

  All of a sudden, his body falls to the ground as I regain my inner calm. He lets out deep breaths as if he was just tied to suffocation.

  “What just happened?” My voice is shaky as I bend down to help him off the floor.

  “Your demon wanted answers and respect. I wasn’t giving you either, so it showed me my place. You are of a higher rank than me after all.”

  After I help him stand, I let go, but his legs give out and I’m forced to grab him before he hits the ground. He leans on me as I lead him back to the chair.

  “What did it do to you?”

  “It drained my demon’s power,” he says tiredly.

  “Why?”

  “Yours was weak from years of you suppressing it. Once another demon, me, got within close proximity, it slowly started taking my energy. It must have already started harboring my energy when I first arrived. I probably only just felt it now when your demon wanted to display its dominance. I need sleep to replenish my energy.”

  “Won’t my demon just take your energy again?”

  He shakes his head no wh
ile also gesturing for me to help him up. “It’s already at full strength. It doesn’t need to steal my power anymore. Take me upstairs to my room.”

  He leans on my shoulder once again, and it knocks the air out of me.

  “Let me go get Jack and Cal. I can’t carry you upstairs.”

  He stops me before I can even take a step. “They left after we arrived to check our perimeter. They won’t be back for at least another hour. Just use your demon magic to transport us upstairs.”

  “I’m new to this! I don’t know how to use any of my demon powers!” I growl as I basically start dragging him towards the stairs.

  “Just feel your power course through your blood and veins. Latch on to it,” he commands.

  I get a little irritated by his tone, but I comply nonetheless. I close my eyes, feeling for my power. It took some time, but I finally find it, and, as instructed, latch on to it.

  When I open my eyes, I look at him, and he smiles. “Good, your eyes have turned black with a red rim on the center. Your demon side is here. Now, think of the first bedroom on the right, and will yourself to go there.”

  Again, I do as he says. When I open my eyes, we are in the bedroom.

  CHAPTER 26

  |celeste|

  “Run.”

  That word keeps replaying in my head as I make my way through the woods, branches scraping me and cutting my feet along the way. I’ve always loved to run. It made me feel free.

  But this time, the feeling is different. It’s a feeling I know all too well.

  Fear.

  It courses through my veins as I pick up speed. I don’t even know where I am, but my gut tells me I won’t like what I’m about to see. The dense forest gives way to a grove, and although the destruction is still far into the distance, my emotions are already starting to go haywire. Soon, the sight in front of me has me falling to my knees. His pack, our pack, has fallen. Our members all lay across the lawn with their throats torn and their eyes empty.

  A strangled scream leaves my mouth as I stand and slowly make my way past the hundreds of dead women, children, and men.

  A pit of dread grows in my stomach as I get closer and closer to Austin’s house. I climb the front steps and pause just before the ruined door. I know that what I’ll see when I open the door will break me, but I can’t seem to stop my hand as it raises to the handle.

  Pushing the door lightly, it swings open, and my heart stops. Austin is on his knees. A man stands behind him, holding a silver dagger to his throat.

  I look at the man, but my eyes can’t seem to focus on his face. Every time I try to look, a pain burns behind my eyes, and I have to look away.

  Instead, my gaze turns back to Austin. His face shows nothing but pain; pain at the loss of his pack, his family.

  “I-I’m so sorry.” I make a move towards them, but the man’s grip tightens on Austin’s shoulder and the dagger gets closer to his throat.

  “Please, don’t. Take me instead!” I call out to the man, but he only chuckles darkly at my pleas. He raises his hand, his hand and dagger clear from the sliver of sunshine coming through the windows. My gaze catches a scar running down from the palm of his hand down to his arm.

  I know that scar.

  Before I can think more on it, Austin speaks.

  “Your fault,” he whispers before the dagger is pierced on his back.

  I scream in pain and anger, and I dive at the man, but it’s like I’m frozen. I can’t move. The man chuckles as he makes his way around Austin’s lifeless body and past me.

  He disappears, and as if on cue, I have movement again. I fall to my hands and knees as strangled sobs leave my lips. I crawl the few feet between us and pull Austin’s limp body onto my lap.

  “Austin?” I shake him lightly. “Come on, wake up.”

  For the first time in my life, I feel completely helpless and hopeless.

  “Austin!” I clutch on to him, my tears falling, soaking his shirt as cry for him. “Austin!”

  “Austin!” I shoot up in my bed, sweat covering my body as I clutch to the sheets for dear life. My breathing comes out in pants as I look around the dark room.

  When my breathing calms, I lay down again, but the shrill ring of my cell phone goes off in the quiet night, making me jump up in fear. I’ve never been so jumpy, and it agitates me.

  Without looking at the caller I.D., I answer. “What?”

  It’s more of an angry growl. Whoever is calling me this late is so going to get their ass kicked.

  “Celeste.” His gruff voice filters through the line and my breath catches.

  “How’d you get my new number?” I whisper quietly. I never gave it to him.

  “You’re having nightmares?” he asks instead.

  I swallow the lump in my throat as my nightmare flashes before my eyes. “Yeah, they started a few days ago.”

  “Mine started the day after you left.”

  Guilt floods through me as I hear the sadness in his voice. “I’m sorry.”

  “Come home.”

  I sigh heavily and flop back down on the bed. “I will once I find out who took my family. I think I’m close.”

  After a couple of beats, the line stays quiet, so I try asking my question again. “How’d you get my number, Austin?”

  “Cal gave it to me. He was worried; said you haven’t been sleeping well since you left two weeks ago.”

  I glare angrily at the ceiling, imagining it as Cal’s stupid face.

  Note to self: kick Cal’s ass.

  “You know I could come get you anytime I want, Celeste.” It comes out as a half-hearted threat.

  “No, you can’t.” I smile to myself, knowing I’m right.

  “And why is that?”

  “You don’t know where I am. Hell, I don’t even know where I am.”

  He chuckles lightly and my heart warms at the sound.

  “I wouldn’t be so sure about that, darling. Check outside your window.”

  I stand up from my bed quickly. I open the French doors, and the cold air hits my bare legs immediately. The scent of wolves is unmistakable; Austin’s wolves to be exact. Looking down, I find three men standing under my balcony, watching the heavily wooded area.

  “Guards Austin, really?”

  A loud booming laugh comes from the other end of the line.

  “Yes really. If I can’t be there, then at least let me have some of my men there.”

  “I don’t think I really have a choice, so okay.”

  I walk back to my room and climb on the bed, suddenly feeling tired. A yawn escapes my mouth. After saying goodnight to Austin, I drift off into a dreamless sleep.

  CHAPTER 27

  |celeste|

  As I walk around Zeke’s house, I find it quite intriguing. Old relics are placed around the house, some going back thousands of years. I study them as I think of all my enemies.

  I need to remember who that scar belongs to.

  The muffled sound of voices echoes from the kitchen; the guards have come in for lunch. Jack must’ve invited them in.

  I enter a large library, and I look in awe at all the books. I brush the dust off my finger after I run it along the massive volumes. These books haven’t been used in years. Poor things. They’re just sitting here, dying to be read by someone―to serve their purpose.

  I stop by a blank wall. My ears twitch as I hear the light whistle of a draft. I turn to face the wall directly. This is where the noise is coming from, how? I bend down and hold my hand a few inches away from the bottom. There’s a slight breeze coming through.

  “A secret passage?” I mumble to myself and stand. I push on the wall to see if it’ll open. It doesn’t. I turn to the two artifacts sitting on each side of the wall. Standing rather unobtrusively on the sides were busts of some random old dude I’ve never seen before.

  I try the left one first. I look for some sort of button to open the door, but there’s nothing, so I move to the right one. Feeling around, I find that the
head lifts up, and a red button lays underneath.

  Oh my god. Zeke’s batman!

  I shake the thought from my head and focus on the task at hand. I push down the button and put the head back in place before walking into the secret room.

  Lights flood the room as I step in. It must be motion-activated.

  “Whoa…” I whisper as I turn around, taking in the amazingness of it all. The whole room is filled with all kinds of weapons from different eras.

  Once I’ve walked a complete circle, I stop. My gaze lands on a mighty silver sword with carvings of Enochian words on the sides. It’s beautiful, and I couldn’t stop looking.

  I begin to walk forward, the sword calling me to it, drawing me closer and closer. I stop once I’m in front of the glass case that holds the giant sword.

  Taking a second to think if I should touch it, I tell myself yes.

  So, that’s what I do. I open the case and pick the mighty sword off of its case on the wall.

  Power surges through me, and the blade begins to glow a blinding light before it engulfs itself in blue flames. But the flames don’t harm the relic, it just surrounds the silver metal.

  It’s the flaming sword. How? It’s supposed to be a myth.

  “Impossible,” comes the quiet voice of my grandfather behind me.

  I turn to look at him, only to see he’s bowed on his knees, his head is towards the ground.

  Looking back at the sword in hand, I notice intricate markings begin to form in my arms just like Zeke’s.

  “What’s happening? This sword isn’t supposed to exist.”

  He stays quiet and I grow angry, or rather, my demon grows angry. It’s been showing more and more lately, ever since Zeke started teaching me how to control it.

  “Answer me!” I shout, and I take a threatening step forward.

  “You’re of angel blood, Celeste. You share the blood of the devil. That is his sword. You are the heiress to hell.”