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

I heard the crackling, popping sound of fire, smelled burning Pine and could feel the warmth around me, before I fully tuned back into the world. The disappointment felt like thick mud oozing through me, when I realized that the only thing that had gone away for a while was me. The world was still here, wherever here was. But at least the monsters were sleeping again. That was something, at least.

  I opened my eyes and was instantly startled to find a man who looked identical to Bane, staring at me. He was sitting on an outcropping of rock near a roaring fire, leaning on a giant forearm, looking content and as though he had been there for quite some time. He looked fearsome and cold. His eyes were like molten obsidian, glittering in the firelight. His hair was long, dark like the night, and hung in thick, wind tousled strands over broad shoulders and down each side of his mounded chest, which I caught a glimpse of through the crack in the long, black, leather duster he was wearing. This man was a beast.

  He was pure, raw power personified.

  At first, I thought I was dreaming of Bane because this was him, My Dark Angel, but without his wings. And, besides that, men this gargantuan didn't exist in the real world.

  But I was not asleep. I was wide awake.

  Without realizing I had even moved, I sat straight up. There was nothing else in the world except him and me and the wild, erratic thumping of my heart. Wholly-freak, this man was Bane! The beast to whom I had given my heart, my soul, my everything was right here, in my real world, staring at me.

  Except, it couldn't be Bane. Bane had wings. Bane was not real, and I had to snap out of this. I had to realize just how irrational I was being.

  "You're awake." A girl's voice broke through the strange spell this man had cast over me, and Devine appeared, stepping between the man and me, severing our gaze. Devine was wearing a long, black cloak that looked identical to the ones The Sons of Hallows were wearing the night I was doped and bitten by Sean. Its large hood, lined with purple velvet, complimented Devine's platinum blond hair.

  Suddenly I remembered that I was naked before I walked into Snow Melt Lake. I quickly dropped my head, happy to discover that I was no longer sky-clad. I was wrapped in the same black cloak that Devine was wearing.

  "Are you all right, Luna? Are you feeling dizzy?" Devine asked, totally exaggerating her concern. With the barbarian's eyes no longer locked in mine, I was able to take in my environment. There were three other girls standing on the other side of the fire. They were talking amongst themselves in hushed whispers. They were the girls from the park. And, of course, one of them was Isis Blackhawk. The white bandage over her nose practically glowed in the dark.

  The Daughters of Hallows, I heard Izzy's whisper in my mind. They are bloodsuckers.

  "Great," I said to myself.

  "Are you sure? You don't look so great to me," Devine said.

  "Should'a let her drown!" Isis complained.

  Silence, Isis." It was Bane's deep, dark voice that spoke. And it came from the barbarian.

  Isis and the other girls went silent. I could almost hear the crackle of tension around them. Just the sound of the barbarian's voice commanded authority.

  Devine offered me her hand. "Let me help you," she said.

  "I'm fine." I got to my feet, ignoring her hand, and I clutched the cloak closed around me. "How did I get here?" I asked, turning to see that Snow Melt Lake was behind me. I was on the other side. I could see the light that hung beside the door to my house that came on automatically at night. It looked like a little speck from where I was standing.

  Black feathers, my mind explained. Something fed from me. Something sucked the consciousness right out of me.

  "How did I get here?" I demanded, turning back to Devine. "Why did I pass out?" This was it. I had finally lost my mind, like Barron did. No, this was not Bane sitting here. No, black wings did not keep me from drowning. No, there was not a man who had come from sparkly things and no, Izzy and Roman did not spill out of my head and into the real world. No, no, and a whole lot more freaking no's!

  I wanted to scream with frustration.

  Devine smiled, placing a hand gently on my arm, as if to console me. "You nearly drown. It makes sense that you would pass out."

  No, I did not nearly drown. I didn't even get the chance to inhale any water before I was rudely yanked from the lake. No! There was nothing natural, nothing normal about the way I had passed out. It wasn't my own body's doing, and I knew this. It was something else's doing.

  Black feathers, my mind insisted, and this agitated me immensely.

  "Shut up about the damn black feathers!" I yelled to myself. The girls went quiet, looking at me as if they could see that I had done lost my mind. I took a deep breath, calming my self down a little bit.

  "Well, you are safe. You're all right, and that is all that matters. Especially since I would like us to become friends," Devine said. She had the friendliness turned up just a few too many notches. "We haven't officially met." She extended her hand. "My name is Devine."

  "Devine? Are you serious?" I tried not to laugh. "That's your real name?"

  "Yes," Devine said, icily. I obviously pulled the plug on her friendliness machine. "Emphasis on the Devine."

  "Wow, scary stuff," I said, dryly.

  Two of the girls came around the fire, leaving Isis by her self. "I'm Aine," said the pixie-girl with hair that had some serious attitude. It was short and spiked. It had red and black colors streaked through bright, blond strands. It was actually pretty cool. Aine's eyes were cool, too. They were lined heavily with black eyeliner. The corners of her eyes were crafted into upward slants. The frosty glitter on her eyelids looked like ice crystals sparkling in the light of the fire.

  I shook Aine's hand. She seemed friendly. The real stuff, not the fake stuff like Devine's. Which made sense. The Aine from the Celtic pantheon was a goddess of fertility and love.

  "This is Psyche," Aine introduced me to the girl who was standing next to her. Psyche was tall and had big, nut-colored hair. I briefly wondered how she was able to keep all that long, wavy hair all piled-up on her head like that, but she did, and she did it quite beautifully.

  "Grecian Goddess of the moon," I said, taking Psyche's hand and shaking hers, too.

  "Dionysus is over there," Aine said, gesturing with an open palm to what looked like a body that was curled up and lying just out of reach of the fire's light, beneath the same kind of black cloak that all the girls were wearing. "But don't mind him. He's had a bit too much wine tonight," she said, with a giggle.

  Although I was curious about Dionysus, because, in the Greek pantheon, Dionysus was the god of wine and ecstasy, I was far more curious about the barbarian man who sat so godlike behind Devine. Not even in the span of a heartbeat, was I unaware of his presence since the moment I had opened my eyes.

  Who was he?

  What was his name?

  Why did he look so identical to Bane?

  Even though he was twice the size, he reminded me of Sean by the way he emanated power and destruction, darkness and evil. And I sensed demons in his presence. Oh, yes, this man had demons like none I'd ever felt before.

  Devine shifted her weight, leaving the path back to the barbarian's eyes unobstructed. It was like his gaze had never been severed from me. He was staring at me now like he had never stopped, like he could see me through Devine's body the whole time.

  Or maybe he could see me without even having to look at me. . . .

  The world paused once more. It was just him and I and this crazy feeling inside me. I could feel him on the path that Dammon had left through me, except, his presence felt much more prominent, much more worn than Dammon's did. I did not understand this. Not even just a little, because it made no sense at all. Dammon was the only man capable of sweeping through me like wind through leaves.

  "...like the wind, when it weaves itself through the trees. It leaves its path, its touch, its caress, so that it can find its way back again. The two become one in this way.Once the wind wea
ves itself through the trees, the branches and the leaves never will forget."

  Dammon was right. I never would forget. And even though what I was feeling with this barbarian was different in a very dark, very frightening way, it was somehow the same. There was a path he had left through me that I could feel him meandering on at this very moment. But it was nothing like a gentle breeze, and exactly like---

  A gooey, black shadow.

  I quickly dropped my eyes, and the world un-paused itself. I couldn't help the shiver that left a visible tremor through my body.

  "If no one's gonna tell me how I got here then I guess there's no need for me to stick around," I said. I made a start to turn and leave but Devine grabbed my arm, in an almost desperate manner, and stopped me. I looked down at her hand on my arm, and she instantly let go. I didn't think she was afraid of me or anything like that. No, it was something else. My gut said that she was worried that the barbarian would harm her if she put a hand on me.

  "He saw you go in the water," Devine said, gesturing with a sweep of her hand in the barbarian's direction.

  I looked out over Snow Melt. There was absolutely no way that the human eye could see that far away. The impulse to look at the barbarian was nearly irresistible, but I managed, with great difficulty, to keep from doing so. I could feel his gaze upon me, within me. Since I'd felt it a gazillion times before in my life, it was easily recognizable, which made it all the more difficult not looking at him. I wanted to rush away, to get the hell out of there, but I wanted, I so needed, to know more about this barbarian god.

  "So, you guys aren't planning to drink my blood, are you?" It was kind of a joke and kind of not, at the same time. I mean, I was a little concerned about their interest in me. And I knew from past experiences how painful it was to have someone bite my neck and drink my blood. "If that's why I'm here, you might be thoroughly disappointed. I wouldn't be easy to catch. And if you did manage to get a hold on me, I'm really feisty. Besides, I used to do acid. My blood would definitely make you trip. A lot!"

  Aine and Devine started giggling quietly, but Psyche looked as if I'd just unraveled their secret.

  Hugh, maybe they were planning on drinking my blood.

  "What do you mean it'd be hard to catch ya?" Isis retorted, bitterly. "We already did that. And it wasn't very hard, either!" Isis barely finished speaking before the barbarian rose to his feet, like a liquid steel wall.

  Everyone went silent.

  The barbarian pierced Isis with his blazing black eyes. Isis took a clumsy-looking step backward, retreating from him, even though she was already several yards away from him. She bowed her head as if she was submitting to him. And then she went perfectly still beneath his gaze.

  It seemed all the girls were holding their breaths in uncomfortable anticipation as to what this barbarian was going to do next.

  This was weird to me because I knew witches didn't scare very easily. And on the norm, they certainly did not allow themselves to be dominated, with the exception of their high priest and high priestess, of course. But it was obvious to me that The Daughters of the Hallows were not your average coven of witches. And it was even more obvious to me that this barbarian had dominion over them and that they were afraid of him.

  Was this barbarian their high priest? That would make sense then.

  It didn't matter. I didn't want to know after all. This barbarian and The Daughters of Hallows could just stay far, far away from me.

  "I'll return your cloak," I said. Then I turned my back on them and rushed off in the direction of the woods. This weirded-me-out a little, turning my back on a coven of bloodsuckers. It was probably not a very good idea. But truthfully, I kind of hoped someone would jump me from behind, and that that someone would be Isis. Not only because I really wanted to punch her in the nose again, but because I was curious to see what the barbarian would do to her. Something told me that Isis wasn't going to move a muscle, though. At least not while under the barbarian's lethal-looking gaze. And if Isis knew anything at all about guys like this barbarian, she would know, without a doubt, "

  "We'd like to invite you back Friday night," Devine hollered after me.

  "For a barbeque!" Aine added, excitedly.

  "No thanks," I said without looking back. "I don't do blood. Especially when it's mine." I really was talking to them, but I knew I was too far away now for them to hear me. "I like cereal. Coco Balls, actually. But you can't really roast them over a fire. I should know, I tried that once. They're kinda hard to get on the end of a stick. They just crumble and whatnot."

  The woods were thick, their branches full and lush. Even the moonlight was having a hard time penetrating them, so I tried not to give my self too hard a time about my own difficulties making my way through the forest. I stayed close to the edge, where the lake touched the forest, so that I wouldn't lose my way. The land gradually puffed itself up, leaving the lake further below me. At times the trees gave way to giant rock formations that jutted out over the ledge, seemingly defying the law of gravity by how they balanced one on top the other like that.

  And so here I was, making that trek.

  In the dark.

  Hopefully alone.

  I knew I was getting close to home when the land started to slope downward again, but the closer I got, the more paranoid I became. I was never afraid of the dark. External darkness, that is. Oh, and not including weird-sparkly-church-basement-darkness. And I guess it wasn't even the dark that spooked me. There was just something freaky about having The Daughters of Hallows and that creepy barbarian guy at my back. It filled me with unease, even despite my mood to get all feisty and mean. By the time I could see the light outside my house through the trees, about a half a mile ahead of me, I was totally convinced that someone was following me.

  I glanced over my shoulder, half expecting to catch a glimpse of black velvet breezing behind a tree or maybe obsidian eyes glistening in one of those dusty rays of moonlight that were shooting through the trees here and there.

  Or black, feathery wings, my mind offered. Something fed from me. Something sucked me out of this world, temporarily. And whatever it was had black, feathery wings. Like Bane's.

  Suddenly I wanted to run. I was freaking my self out. No, it wasn't me freaking myself out because I wasn't making this stuff up. Just because it didn't make any sense didn't mean it wasn't real. It didn't mean I was turning into Barron and losing my mind. It was freaking me out. All of it. The barbarian's path through me, the ways he made me feel, the way I was taken from this world temporarily, the bloodsuckers, the fact that I knew, with every part of my being, that the barbarian was Bane, sparkly-church-basement guy, Izzy and Roman coming out of my dream world, Doug with Bane's eyes after he'd struck Sean upside the head multiple times with a baseball bat and Sean belonging to the same coven as the one here in Sleepy Hallow. . . .

  Just as I was about to start running, I heard a twig snap behind me. Instinctively, I spun around.

  And there he was, standing in one of those dusty rays of moonlight. He looked primitive and primal, like a prowling animal. His duster hung open, revealing rippling breasts and sun-bronzed flesh. And, just like Ashmodai, this barbarian seemed so unreal, like a ghost, even though he stood solid --very solid-- before me.

  "I did not mean to startle you," he said, but it sounded automatic, without feeling.

  "Why are you following me?" I asked, trying to sound hostile, but my voice wasn't cooperating. If Sean had been standing there in his stead, I wouldn't have been near as afraid as I was. And I didn't even know this barbarian. But I knew his demon. I knew it like I knew my own self.

  "I had to see to your safe return home."

  "Why? Are there blood-sucking monsters in these woods?"

  "One may never know or, perhaps, live to tell," he said. A hint of a smile played in the corner of his thin, fine lips. They were the lips I had longed to kiss in my dreams. They were, undoubtedly, Bane's lips.

  "Who are you? What is
your name?"

  He did not answer me.

  "Are you a high priest?"

  "No."

  "Devine's boyfriend?"

  "No. I am no boy, and I am no one's friend."

  Obviously I was not getting the information I was seeking. I certainly could not ask him how he owned a path straight through me, or at least knew how to find the one Dammon had left there, and I certainly could not ask him if he had a pair of wings tucked under that jacket somewhere.

  So, I tried a different approach. "Where are you from?" I asked. Of course I knew he wasn't going to tell me that he was from my dreams, but maybe his answer would at least help ease my curiosity a little.

  "Somewhere far away," he said, taking one step toward me.

  I took one step back. My breath hitched in my throat. There was a hunger emanating from him that frightened me all in itself.

  "Your eyes," he said. Then he took another step. He seemed mesmerized, hypnotized, pulled to me by some magnetic-like force. I could feel a yearning burning in his gaze like fire. I'd seen this kind of yearning before. I knew what it meant. But never had I seen it as intense as I was seeing it now. "They are captivating."

  "What do you want from me?" I asked, my voice trembling.

  "I want you to turn around."

  Confused by the odd and unexpected request, I thought about this for a moment. Turning my back to him would have been the craziest thing I'd ever done in my life. There was no way I could do that.

  "Now," he said, sending the command straight through my body.

  If it hadn't been for my suicidal tenancies, and that path he owned in me that somehow took over my entire body, I would not have been able to obey him. Slowly, reluctantly, I turned my back, wondering how in the world he got me to do such a thing. I stood there, holding my breath, my heart pounding, thoughts racing as to what he would do to me now. And the crazy thing was that I hoped he'd come from behind, sink his teeth deep into my neck and drain me of all my blood. Yes, I always wanted to die, but only by my hand, no one else's. But for some reason, this felt the same. If this barbarian were to take my life it'd be the same as if I were the one to have taken it.

  I waited.

  All of my senses tuned in to what was going on behind me. I heard nothing, save the sound of the forest breathing. I felt nothing, but the soft caress of night's air. I smelled nothing, but bark and cool, damp earth.

  The smell reminded me of Ashmodai, the church, the happy hum, and suddenly I felt the full extent of my fear.

  What the hell was I doing here in the woods, in the dark, with my back turned to this madman?

  I spun around, ready to fight, willing to die trying.

  But all that was there was the forest.

  The barbarian was gone. He had left without a sound.

  I shivered.

  Deep down in my bones, I shook with chill.

  And then I ran.

  ****

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Bane