Bloodline (Paranormal Romance, Dark & Twisted) Saving Demons Series Book 1

The old woman with long silver hair was down on her knees in the garden plucking plump strawberries from a bush, when I approached her from behind. She knew I was near. She sensed the evil darkness that writhed in my aura. I could sense her sensing me. That is when I knew, Sarah Jenkins was not human. Or at least, she wasn't always mortal.

  Without turning around, she began to speak to me. "Aw, you have finally came for me. But why in this form? I saw you the other night." She twisted to look up at me, smiling warmly. She had remarkable multi-colored eyes. "That black, silky coat of fur," she mussed. Then she went back to plucking strawberries, dropping them into a large wicker basket. "Though, I must admit, it is the dragman form I most adored."

  "I have come to seek your wisdom, Lost One," I said, moving around to stand before her. I gave my wings a violent twitch then furled them up behind me.

  "Aw, when really it will end in a mercy killing, when all is said and done, but aw, yes, you come to me because I can talk to the dead. You are Lucifer's son. And yet, they do not wish to speak to you, the dead. Nor does your father. He is angry with you, your father, yes? You do not have access to the lost souls. The lost souls speak to me. The lost souls are the ones who have denied my Jesus Christ. Why will they not speak to you, Bane? " Sarah Jenkins looked up at me with knowing eyes. "Aw, they are mad at you like your father is. They are mad at you because of your father. I do not blame them, really. For eternity they will suffer because Lucifer has misled them," she paused, dropping her gaze to the bush in front of her. She seemed to be lost in thought momentarily. Then she looked up at me with those unusual, unearthly eyes. "There is a Christ, you know!" Her gaze seemed to pierce straight through to my soul, seeing all I had within me, as if nothing was hidden from her. "Of course, you do. You were there. How could have I forgotten? It was you who had risen the vinegar to His lips to drink. It was you who whispered into the ears of the Pharisees, urging them to crucify Him. Oh, shame on you! But, yes, I do remember now. And clearly. So you must be aware, then, that He is coming back." Sarah's unusual eyes lifted and penetrated mine. "You will suffer horribly, Bane, you, your father and your brothers. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."

  A tremor coursed through the deeper parts of my self. I knew there was truth in what she was saying, but never had this truth ever affected me the way that it was affecting me now.

  Now that I knew softness.

  "Your beautiful Moon," Sarah smiled. "Oh, to be separated from her for eternity." Sarah thought about this for a moment.

  And so did I.

  "You can not truly give her eternity, can you, Bane. You can only give her immortality. And immortality is only but a vapor. There is only one who can the gift of eternal life. And you, too, He would forgive. To you, too, would He gift eternity. The gulf that would separate you from her, if the two of you remain dead in the flesh, is impregnable. You can not cross over to the other side, nor can she. Forever separated from your Moon you would be. Yes, your beautiful Moon, who is soon to find Him. She will find the truth, the way, the light. But will you?"

  I was growing petulant. I did not want to hear these things. "I need to get to her. She is in trouble now, and I need to know how I can breech the territorial barrier The Coven has in place."

  "You cannot, Bane. Your father's magic pulses through the wards The Coven of Hallows has constructed. Aradia's wards are impenetrable, because your father has made it so. But these wards that keep you a prisoner within Sleepy Hallow are not only Aradia's handy work. No! There are yet three more priestesses who have infused their magic into the ward. There is Demeter's ward. Then Lilith's. Lastly there is Artemis' ward. Persephone has touched all four of them, infusing them together. Yes, long, lost Persephone. Poor child. Kidnaped by that awful entity and forced into marriage. A child came from that, you know. A son. But a daughter came from that, as well. Oh, yes, you know this. Aine is the daughter of Persephone. But did you know, Bane, that Demeter still morns in the seasons of her daughter Persephone's absence? Oh, yes! What common-folk know to be myths are truly real, aren't they? Myths that are to be retold and re-unfolded every six hundred years. The myths are churned a bit, indeed, but the point I am trying to make is that The Coven of Hallows and the power your father has blessed them with, should not be underestimated. Through their blood they are nearly as divine as their ancestral deities from which they've come. Your father is the only force capable of overcoming the ward, as far as I know. He is, after all, the Prince of Air," she said with sad adoration.

  "How do you know my father so well?" I demanded.

  Sarah Jenkins' expression went vacant. A distance glazed her eyes. A mixture of muted terror and shame filled my nostrils, as I breathed in her scent to better help me understand.

  And I understood completely. Understood things I did not want to understand.

  Sarah Jenkins was one of my father's many unwilling lovers.

  "He comes to me from time to time," she said.

  "In what form does he appear?" It mattered. I understood my father. And I knew, if my father came to Sarah in the form of human flesh, she meant more to Him than she should.

  "In the flesh, Bane. He comes to me a man. That is not to say I have not seen some of his finer forms. Oh no! I have, indeed. You and your brothers have inherited one of his most prized abilities. Being the Prince of air has given him this right, hasn't it? Manipulating it to however he sees fit. Tell me, Bane? How does it feel to have that sort of power over something or someone? And how, please, does it feel when swallowing the essence of another? Would you rather not feel eternity?"

  I saw it in her eyes, what she longed for me to do. She had foreseen it. This is why she had said my coming for her would end in a mercy killing.

  "Allow me to demonstrate how it feels, Lost One," I held out my hand to Sarah. We shared a moment, one in which an agreement was made. Sarah wanted something from me. And out of spite, as an act of revenge, I was more than willing to give it to her.

  Sarah placed her delicate hand in mine. She was well aware of my intentions, as I was well aware of hers. She welcomed these intentions with an open heart, an open soul. And I knew why. I understood almost completely.

  I was her escape from my father. Her only escape. Only I, firs-born son of Lucifer, had the power to free her from Lucifer.

  It was the pity I had for her that lent her my mercy. I was quick. Her death was swift and nearly painless.

  "Euthanasia," Sarah whispered through her smile, as I shoved my fist between her breasts and grasped her beating heart. I held her upright, as I pulled the organ from her chest and held it up so that she could see it. She wanted to see it. I was certain she was still alive for one heartbeat longer, the one that beat in my hand and spurted out a final spray of blood.

  "I will give this to my father for you, dear Lost One," I said, watching as death glazed over her eyes. I knew by the look she had given me that she was grateful for what I had done. And I knew that she believed the gift to my father would be an appropriate one.

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  Chapter Eighteen

  Luna