Souls of the Damned (Kat Redding)

by E. S. Moore

  She nodded without hesitation. “Of course. Only one person I know would be dumb enough to come back here once she’d gotten away.” She said it with a faint smile, telling me she didn’t mean it as a complete insult.

  “If you believe me, then you also know I’ll do whatever it takes to stop Levi from hurting anyone else. It’s why I came.”

  “I know.”

  “I don’t need to kill him directly. All I have to do is find the person who summoned him and kill him. After that, Levi and Delai will be no more.”

  Eilene gave me a sad smile. “I know that too.”

  “Can you help me, then?”

  She took a deep breath and gave a small, bitter laugh. “It depends on what you mean by help.”

  “Do you know who summoned Levi?”

  Eilene looked up to meet my eyes. A tear trickled down her cheek and she wiped it away. She took a deep breath, let it out with a huff that seemed to rattle in her chest, before speaking.

  “Of course I do,” she said, her voice shaking on the words. Her bitter smile grew cynical. “I did.”

  24

  “That’s not possible,” I said, dismissing the idea immediately. “I would have known if you’d summoned him.”

  Eilene smiled, as if she’d known I was going to say that the entire time.

  “It’s part of his magic,” she said. “He’s shielded me from suspicion. Even now that I’ve told you, you still don’t believe it.”

  “I . . .” I could hardly think. How could such a sick woman have done something like summon an angel? Why would she? There was nothing magical about Eilene at all. She was just a normal Pureblood.

  I closed my eyes as pain lanced through my head. Eilene summoned Levi? How could I have not seen it? Even when I’d had the Sight, I hadn’t seen anything special about her.

  But then again, I never actually got a good look at her either. She’d been standing inside the house, mostly out of view. I wasn’t even sure if I’d seen a colored band coming from her head to connect her to Levi like all of the others.

  “It’ll make sense eventually,” Eilene went on. “The last person I told didn’t believe me until it was too late, but I think you’ll work it out faster.”

  “How?” I asked, still unsure I believed her. It all sort of made sense, but every time I really thought about it, my certainty would fade.

  “I was stupid,” she said with a croaking laugh. “No, that’s not entirely right. I was dying. The doctors gave me only a few more months to live and I knew I had to do something. I didn’t want to wither away to nothing and die a crippled old woman. That wasn’t the way I’d seen my life ending.”

  I sat silently there, looking at a woman I very well might have to kill. If Eilene truly had summoned Di’leviathan, then her death was presumably the only way I could stop him. Could I bring myself to do it? And if I did, would Sienna ever forgive me?

  “I tried everything,” she went on. “I looked for ways to cure my disease. I tried all of the remedies, no matter how far-fetched they seemed. I was willing to do anything to cheat death, just so I could live a little longer, see more of the world.

  “And then I found Levi.”

  “How?” I asked. My entire body was aching. I wanted to cry, wanted to scream. This wasn’t fair.

  Eilene shrugged. “Let’s just say I found someone who knew a thing or two about demons and angels. I didn’t like the idea of summoning a creature from another realm, especially something like a demon, but it was either that or become one of the monsters I despised.” She sighed. “I had a family once. A vampire took them away from me while I was out, thinking I was safe from such things. There was no way I’d ever allow myself to become one of those . . . things; not if I could find another way.”

  I winced. Did that mean she despised me, even when she’d treated me with more kindness than most people had in all my life?

  “Anyway,” Eilene continued, “I summoned an angel to make a deal with him, figuring angels were far less dangerous than demons.” She chuckled bitterly. “Of course, I was wrong. Just because they call themselves angels, doesn’t mean that’s really what they are. He may look the part when you see him as he truly is, but Levi is sure as hell no angel.”

  I remembered how Levi had looked with the Sight. He’d been all white wings and halos. If I’d seen him like that under any other circumstances, I very well might have believed him Heaven-sent.

  “He told me he could make a place—a town as it turns out—in which I could live forever. I made a deal with him only after he promised there would be no way he could leave the town. We’d live out our lives together as husband and wife. At the time, it didn’t sound so bad. It meant I wasn’t going to die.

  “But this isn’t the life I wanted.” She groped until she found my hand. She squeezed it with surprising strength. “I thought he would cure me, but instead, he left me in pain. I can’t die. I can’t kill myself. I am trapped here, unable to leave, unable to do anything against the angel who lied to me. Those under his power are unwilling to help me.”

  “But what about Sienna? How is she involved? Couldn’t she . . .” I couldn’t say it.

  “I would never ask that of her.” She sounded genuinely offended that I’d even ask. “When she came, I was still struggling with the fact that while Levi himself couldn’t leave Delai, his will could. He was drawing others to him, building an army of sorts, though I have no idea what he plans on doing with them.”

  A wistful expression passed over her face. “And when Sienna was brought to me, she was just a young thing, scared and alone and looking for someone to love her. I was able to do that.” She looked up, her eyes blazing with passion. “She gave me a reason to live, a reason to suffer Levi’s indignities night after night, just so I could protect her.”

  “He used her against you.”

  Eilene shrugged. “In a way, I suppose he did. But it was worth it. I had something to cling to, a family of sorts. Now that she’s gone, however, I want her to stay that way. She’s free. That’s something I’ll never know.”

  My mind raced to come up with something to say. I completely understood where Eilene was coming from, but had no idea how I could possibly help her. Her death might end Levi’s experiments, would keep Sienna safe, but what were the costs? Could I really bring myself to kill a friend? There had to be another way.

  Eilene must have seen the thoughts pass over my face. Her grip on my hand tightened. Her bones pressed into me painfully hard. Her gaze was feverish, almost sick with need.

  “You have to kill me,” she said. “I want you to do it. You can finish the deed long before Levi returns. He’ll never know. You’ll be saving not just me, but anyone else he wishes to draw into this trap of a town.”

  “I can’t.” I tried to pull my hand from her grip, but she held me too tightly. She was using every last ounce of energy she had left in making this demand.

  “You have to.” She all but whimpered the words. “No one will be safe unless you kill me. He’ll go through the world, person by person, corrupting them to his will. You have to stop him. This . . . this is the only way.”

  “But Sienna . . .”

  “Sienna will be safe.” All of the strength went out of her as she sagged next to me. “I want to die. I’ve lived so long, have seen so much suffering, I can’t take it anymore. I don’t want to see someone else come here thinking they have found salvation, only to be turned into those husks Levi calls his friends.”

  “Let me find another way,” I said. “There has to be someone who can help you, something I can do that will set you free.”

  “No,” she said with a sad shake of her head. “There is no other way. Don’t you think I’ve tried? I’ve spent the last fifty years looking for a way out.”

  “Give me a chance,” I pleaded. I really didn’t want to have to kill her.

  Eilene’s eyes narrowed in anger. She jerked her hands away from me and staggered to her feet.

  “If
you don’t kill me now, I’ll tell him. I’ll tell Levi who you really are. I’ll tell him what you plan to do. He’ll never let you go, you know? Sienna will be safe and he’ll still have what he wants.”

  “He’ll still go after her,” I said. Creatures like Levi never give up, even after the object they seek no longer holds value. He would hunt Sienna down, just because he could.

  “He might,” Eilene admitted. “But then again, he might be content with you. You have her body. That’s all he wants her for.”

  “You don’t know what you’re asking of me. Sienna is safe now, but I do have enemies. Even if Levi doesn’t come after her, she’ll still have people coming to kill her. They won’t believe she isn’t me. They’ll kill her anyway, just to be sure. Is that what you want?”

  “Is that what you want?” Eilene countered. “Kill me now and you can protect her.”

  “Please,” I begged. Tears fell from my eyes. The pain in my head was gone, as was any doubt that Eilene had started all of this by summoning the angel. “Give me a few days, two at the most. If I don’t find another solution by then, I’ll do what you ask.”

  A door downstairs opened and closed. Neither Eilene nor I flinched away from the other’s gaze. For a moment, her determination to die right then and there held firm. It quickly crumbled when Levi called out her name. Her entire visage appeared to collapse. She leaned against the wall, suddenly looking all of a hundred years old.

  “Two days,” she said. “No more.” She turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

  I sat there and listened as footsteps came up the stairs. Levi was coming. I couldn’t tell for sure, but it sounded like he wasn’t alone.

  “You look tired.” His voice came from down the hall. “You should go to bed.”

  Eilene murmured something and then her bedroom door closed, telling me she had done as he’d said. I prayed Levi had gone with her, but instead, he pushed my bedroom door open without knocking. Ronnie stood just behind him.

  “I thought you might like to see him,” Levi said, gesturing toward the blank-faced man. “He missed you while you were gone, didn’t you, Ronnie?”

  Ronnie gave a short, mechanical nod. I was actually relieved to see him alive, though I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. I was still in shock by what Eilene had asked of me. Looking at Ronnie, however, made me realize I couldn’t put her off forever. I couldn’t let Levi do the same thing to someone else. It just wasn’t right.

  Levi glanced from me, to Ronnie, and then back again. When neither of us spoke, he simply shrugged. “You should get some sleep too,” he told Ronnie. “We have a big day tomorrow. I want you rested.”

  Without a word, Ronnie turned and walked down the hall. A door closed a moment later, leaving Levi and I alone in my room.

  The angel strode toward me, eyes flickering around the room like he was searching for something. He sat down on the bed, right where Eilene had sat only a few minutes prior. He smiled at me. He tried to make it look reassuring, but I could see the calculation in his eyes. He knew something had happened while he’d been gone.

  “You should be asleep,” he said.

  “I wanted to talk to Mom for a few minutes.”

  “I saw that. What did the two of you talk about?”

  “Nothing.” I paused. If I left it at that, he would only question me more and I didn’t want to risk lying to him too much just in case I slipped up and made him even more suspicious than he already was. “I just wanted to apologize to her,” I added. “You know, for leaving and everything.”

  “Ah.” He clasped a big hand on my shoulder. “I think I should be the one to apologize to you. I know life here isn’t always the best, but I do try my hardest to provide for both you and your mom. Whatever it was I did that made you feel like you had to run away, I hope I can correct it.”

  Fat chance of that. I considered asking him if he’d stop draining the souls of those he brought to the house, but knew that would only make him angry. I didn’t know why he was doing what he was doing. I just knew that it was important to him, so much so that he would never stop, no matter who he hurt. And that included Sienna and Eilene.

  “I just got restless,” I said, faking a smile. “And I missed Kat. I thought it would be fun to see the world, to get out of the house for a little while. I guess I wasn’t thinking straight.”

  “I hope you got it out of your system. You had us scared.”

  “I did.”

  “Good.” Levi opened his arms to me with a huge smile.

  I cringed inside, but I leaned into the hug anyway.

  “Don’t do this to us ever again,” he said. He kissed the top of my head. “I’ve set up a few precautions just in case. I don’t want you to get yourself hurt, okay? There are some pretty scary people out there. They would love nothing more than to harm such a pretty little girl, just because they could.”

  “Okay,” I said, feeling queasy inside. Sienna really wasn’t that young. He treated her like she was thirteen.

  He let me go and I had to fight to keep from brushing myself off. I could still feel his aura on me, tickling the back of my neck. It felt sickeningly foul, as if I could feel his true nature bleeding through his glamour.

  Levi sat back and his smile vanished as he studied me. It was replaced by a contemplative frown.

  “What really happened while you were gone?” he asked. “There’s definitely something different . . .” He tried to search my eyes, but I chose that moment to look down at my hands. I’d learned my lesson long ago about meeting the eyes of demons and angels.

  “Nothing,” I said. “I . . .” I drew a blank. What could I tell him that he would believe? I didn’t want him running any sorts of tests on me or using his angel powers—whatever they might be—on me. If he discovered who I was, it would destroy everything.

  “Are you sure there’s nothing you need to tell me, Sienna?” he asked. “If someone hurt you . . .”

  “I promise,” I said. “I’m just worn out from all of the excitement. I’ll be fine in a day or two. I think I need more sleep.”

  After a moment of silence, Levi stood with a sigh. “I’m sure that’s all it is. Get some sleep. You’ll feel a lot better in the morning.”

  He walked across the room, stepped out into the hall, and then paused to poke his head back in through the mostly closed doorway. “I love you, sweetie,” he said, before withdrawing and closing the door the rest of the way.

  I sat there a moment longer, body thrumming with anxiety. Levi suspected something, I was sure. I needed to be extremely careful over the next couple of days.

  Two days, I thought. After that, it was either kill Eilene or have her turn me in.

  I flipped off the bedside lamp and slid deeper under the covers. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I was trapped in a situation that appeared to have no good solution.

  Of course, I had a way out. If I gave in and killed Eilene, everything Levi had built would be gone. I had no idea what would happen when Delai collapsed. Would everyone inside be dragged into the demon realm with the angel? Would they appear back in the real world? Would they survive?

  My eyes closed as I tried to calculate the ramifications of what I would inevitably have to do. If I couldn’t find another way to send Levi back to where he’d come from, then I’d have no other choice.

  I didn’t think I could kill Eilene, but if I was left with no other alternative . . .

  A tear slid from beneath my closed lids. My throat closed up and all of the emotions I had tried so hard to clamp down on all of my life boiled to the rim. I buried my face into my pillow and sobbed long and hard until everything blurred together. I wasn’t even sure what I was crying about anymore.

  Eventually, the sobbing fit eased and the world around me dimmed.

  Somehow, I slept.

  25

  The morning came unexpectedly. My eyes fluttered open and then immediately closed again as sunlight hit them. I pulled th
e covers up over my head and tried to make the night last just a little bit longer.

  I could still feel the sun through the comforter. I instinctually wanted to hide, to flee from the burning light, yet it wouldn’t hurt me in Sienna’s body. No matter how long I spent under the light of day, I doubted I’d ever get used to it. I’d hidden in the dark for far too long.

  Eventually, I couldn’t take lying awake in bed any longer. I rolled out of bed and staggered on wobbly legs across the room to gather a bundle of clothes to take to the shower. Levi’s voice came from downstairs, but was too low for me to make out what he was saying. I crept down the hall to try to hear a little better.

  The sound remained muffled even as I reached the stairs. His voice was loud enough that I should have been able to make out something of what he said, yet no matter how far down the stairs I went, it still sounded like I was trying to listen to him through padded walls.

  He had to have been doing something to the air around him to blunt his voice. It sort of reminded me of what Mikael did in the Bloody Stake, though he seemed to be able to deflect attention as well as muffle sound. Still, it did create some interesting thoughts about my snitch. If I ever got out of this, I might have to ask him about it.

  While I couldn’t hear what was being said, I figured I could at least take a peek to see who he was saying it to. I’m not sure why he would feel the need to muffle his voice, but hey, if someone from the outside was here, they very well might be a way out of this mess. I didn’t find it very likely, but if the only other option I currently had was killing Eilene, I was willing to try anything.

  The stairs didn’t creak much as I took them slowly one by one, but thanks to Sienna’s body, I wasn’t as stealthy as I used to be. I was only halfway down when Levi abruptly stopped talking. A strange loss of pressure caused my ears to pop and the sounds from downstairs became much clearer.

  “Sienna?”

  “Yeah,” I said, coming down the rest of the way with my clothes tucked under my arm. There was no sense in trying to lie about it; he’d obviously heard me coming.