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

I helped Izzy sit down in the grass and then I ran to the lake to rinse my feet. I was just stepping out of the water when Roman pulled into the driveway. The Jeep's headlights flashed across the yard and then faded to black. As I crossed the sand and grass to retrieve Izzy, Roman rushed over to us.

  "What is going on? What happened?" He demanded.

  I quickly covered the wound on my chest with a shredded piece of fabric from my shirt, holding it with my arm as I helped Izzy up from the grass. She was wobbling on spaghetti-like legs. I ignored Roman and his bossy attitude as I wrapped Izzy's arm around the back of my neck and carried her toward the porch. Izzy groaned. Her head swiveled over her shoulders. I was really starting to worry about her. And my feet too.

  "What the hell is going on? What happened here? What is wrong with Isabelle?" Roman's large paw clamped onto my shoulder and stopped me, commanding my attention.

  "We'll talk about it after I get your sister to bed. She's really not feeling well," I told him without looking at him. I shrugged my shoulder out of his grasp and continued up the steps to the porch. Bane was watching, after all. If I looked at Roman, those stupid butterflies in my belly would undoubtedly become intoxicated, and I didn't want Bane to witness that.

  At the same time, I wanted to rebel against Bane. I would never let a man dominate me again. I made this vow to myself when I was hanging from the cross my father had nailed me to. But this was what I knew. Dominate men. And therefore, this was totally within my comfort zone.

  "What's wrong with her? Why are you bleeding?" I was almost to the front door when Roman decided being informed was more important than taking care of Izzy. He grabbed me by the elbow and brought me to a halt again. "Tell me what the hell is going on!"

  I glared at him through narrowed eyes. "I will put your sister to bed and then we will talk. If I haven't decided I don't want to talk to you by then," I hissed. I yanked my elbow out of his grasp and took Izzy inside the cabin.

  Roman didn't say another word. He didn't try to stop me again, either. I took Izzy up to my room, helped her into a pair of my pajamas and tucked her into bed. She was unusually silent, which had me a little concerned. She passed out as soon as her head hit the pillow. I watched her for a moment. A smile tilted the corner of my lips. Izzy was such a wonderful, innocent, brave girl.

  Izzy was my friend.

  And she was alive and well. Ok, sort of well, but this was better than dead.

  I examined the small cut on her neck and went to the bathroom for peroxide and a bandage. After doctoring her up, I quietly changed into a clean pair of pajama bottoms and a sweatshirt, pausing briefly when I caught a glimpse of the wound in my chest. It looked awful. The skin was puckered were the two halves of the wound had been closed and cauterized together.

  I couldn't help but wonder how a demon could possess the power to heal? It just didn't seem right. Sean made the bite marks disappear on my neck whenever he had bitten me. Maybe Lucifer's four angelic sons had a mother who was good and not evil. Maybe it was possible Bane and his brothers could learn how to be good.

  I laughed. Even I had a hard time being good. Even I had a dark and morbid side that was secretly hungry for things un-good.

  When Bane trickled information into my memory about the events that transpired before I opened my eyes on the beach, he told me that in order to drain the poison from my veins, he needed to transfuse me with his own blood. What would this mean for me, now that I had the blood of my immortal, archaic, arch-enemy, flowing through my veins?

  I grabbed the Fifth of Southern Comfort out of the top dresser drawer and turned the bedroom light off. I took a big drink from the bottle before leaving my bedroom and going downstairs.

  I found Roman squatted in front of the fireplace in the den. He had started a fire and was now tending to it, feeding it some pieces of splintered bark. I was as quiet as I could be. For some reason I wanted to watch him without him knowing I was watching him. I sank into the love-seat, uncapped the whisky bottle and took another long drink. This one left little rivers of amber fluid trickling away from the corners of my mouth. I was glad Roman didn't witness my not-so-ladylike behavior.

  Roman was human. Yes, a beautiful human, but how could I compare a beautiful human with a beautiful Dark Angel? I couldn't.

  But, that was just it. Roman was human. Somewhere in my insane and disgruntled mind I knew this was what I needed. Someone human. I needed my Wizard Wise.

  I took another long sip of whiskey, almost laughing at myself. Who was I kidding? I didn't need anyone.

  "I apologize, Luna," Roman said without turning around. It surprised me because I really didn't think he knew that I was there. "For being so rude, earlier. Forgive me."

  I about choked on the whiskey I hadn't quite swallowed yet. This made it twice now that Roman had apologized to me. In one day. No man had ever apologized to me before, except for Dammon. So I felt a little awkward about this.

  "Um, thanks?"

  "Yes, thank you is usually a good response when someone says they are sorry," Roman said. Satisfied with the roaring flames in the hearth, he dusted off his hands and sat down beside me."What happened?" he asked, sounding just as demanding as he sounded earlier.

  I basically told him what happened, at least as much as my jumbled, hazy memory would allow. The drug The Coven had given me made it difficult to realize what was going on, which made explaining it all to Roman in a way that would sort of make sense wasn't easy, especially when he was a stickler for detail. I totally left out the part where Bane said he wanted to destroy Roman, though.

  Roman was very easy to read. His expressions were very passionate and ever-changing, as I explained what had happened. It showed me a different side of Roman that I did not expect to find. A rough and tough guy having a soft and gentle side? This was weird to me.

  "I'm not sure what to do, but I can guarantee I will come up with something. I just need some time to think about it," Roman said.

  "Are you crazy? This is not your problem. Why would you want to make it yours?"

  "I love my sister, dearly. I make her problems my problems."

  "But this is not Izzy's problem either, Roman! This has nothing to do with either of you."

  "And yes, I am crazy," Roman said, "or at least, my mother thinks I am. Who knows, maybe she's right."

  "Are you deliberately trying to change the subject, or was that an accident?"

  "Yes. The topic of my involvement is not up for debate. I mean, if you really want to argue about it, we can, but it won't do you any good. I win all arguments, every darn one of them." He grinned.

  I sighed. But at the same time I was happy to know Roman was there for Izzy and me if we did so happen to need his muscle.

  "So, why would your mother think you're crazy?"

  Roman stretched his arm out along the back of the love-seat. My eyes flicked to the rippling bulge of muscle in his arm, and I couldn't help but notice he was not only bigger than Sean but he was also far more ripped than Sean.

  "Why are you suicidal? Answer for an answer."

  "You first," I said.

  "Probably suggestive, subliminal implantation or some bull-puck-y like that. The therapist here doesn't make very much money. He pumps his patients so full of medications that it makes em even crazier, so they have to keep coming back to him," he said. Then he shrugged his shoulders. "My mother thinks that if I were saved I shouldn't have such impure desires such as free falling from cliffs or rock climbing mountain faces. She just doesn't get the whole adrenaline-junky thing. She doubts my salvation because of my outrageous adventures."

  I wrinkled-up my nose at him. I couldn't say any thing. I had no real idea what salvation was all about. But if it entailed abandoning my wild nature or squashing my own cravings for adrenaline rushes then I didn't want any thing to do with that salvation stuff.

  Roman lifted the hand that was resting on his incredibly thick thigh and touched his finger to the space between my brows. He swiftly slid
his finger down my nose, de-wrinkling my skin.

  "Your turn," he said.

  I was about to take another swig of whiskey, but he swiped it from my hand and set it down on the coffee table in front of us. "That's bad for your health. Go on. It's your turn," he said, as if it were natural for him to boss me around.

  I looked at him then the bottle then back at him again. I took the bottle from the coffee table and took a quick gulp, giving Roman a defiant look. "I don't know. I guess I just never liked the skin that I was in. There's a lot of dark, spooky stuff in here. Monsters. Demons too, I've been told. And they can get a little annoying, heavy, a little hard to drag around, sometimes. Suicide has always seemed like a good escape." I said. To my surprise, I found it easy to talk to Roman. I kind of wanted to talk even more. It felt nice, maybe even comfortable, especially with those concerned and caring expressions that kept moving through his tough-guy face.

  "A copout, maybe," he said, but the way he said it didn't offend me. Not entirely, anyway. "You seem so strong, Luna. Suicide just doesn't seem like your thing. And maybe I'm right. Maybe the sons of Lucifer having free-range over your mind has more to do with it than your own will. That can't be easy." Roman looked deeply troubled. "We really need to get help. I really think you're in a world of trouble, Luna. You said Bane said that you will pay the price for his defiance. Lucifer is a powerful entity. I can't imagine what he is capable of doing to you." Roman took my hand in a moment of pure vexation. He squeezed tenderly. His large hand and thick, warm fingers felt natural on mine.

  Like Dammon's touch once felt. Natural. Right.

  But then I thought of Bane and I quickly pulled my hand out of his.

  "You can't do that, Roman," I said.

  Roman looked confused. It seemed he didn't understanding exactly what it was that he couldn't do.

  "Bane. He already wants to, um, hurt you. And I'm not even kidding!"

  Roman chuckled, deep and throatily. He took my hand again in his, but this time with both of his hands. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, looking at me deeply, as if to ensure my undivided attention. "I am not afraid of Bane," he said, smoothly. It was not a macho thing. It was not a lets-impress-the-girl thing. It was a crazy thing. Roman simply was not afraid. Yes, Roman was a big guy and all, but he still should have been afraid, in my opinion.

  "Are you on medication? If so, that explains it. If not, I really think you should be," I said.

  Roman's smile was so very much like Dammon's. Like music. And I was the instrument. Roman was playing me. He expertly strummed the little butterflies inside me, sending them humming and dancing to his song.

  "Besides, I'm not afraid of dying either. Especially if I were to die for someone I believe in," he said.

  "Really? You believe in me?"

  "Yes, I do," he said. Even his electric-blue eyes sang to me. I was so totally lost in his music.

  "No one has ever done that before," I said.

  "That's sad. But I bet I can do a lot of things no one has ever done for you before."

  Just then, headlights flashed through the trees. I was grateful for the sudden interruption because I really didn't know how to respond to Roman. He was being straightforward, coming on strong, and I wasn't comfortable with that.

  I heard the sound of tires crunching gravel. I jumped up off the love-seat, happy to have a different excuse for Roman to have to let go of my hand, since the fear of Lucifer's son wasn't enough. I heard keys rattle then fall to the porch. I knew right away who I would find on the other side of the door. When I opened the door I had to catch Addy in my arms so that she would not fall inside. She reeked of alcohol, and she could barely stand on her own. I couldn't help but wonder how the freak she managed to drive a car in this condition.

  "Oh, hi, Moonshine! Glad your home!" she slurred.

  I closed the door, careful not to let Addy slip out of my arm. I practically had to carry her through the living room. "Addy, this is Roman. Roman, this is Addy," I said, as I led her passed the den and toward her room.

  "No, no, no, Moonshine. Coffee. I need coffee," Addy said.

  Right, I should have known better. Addy always wanted coffee after one of her drinking binges. I never understood this. It never did her any good. Then again, neither did the drinking binges. But if coffee was what Addy wanted then coffee was what Addy would get.

  We veered off to the kitchen. I flicked on a light and sat her down at the bench in the turret. She fell against the window and laughed. "I thought I told you boys were trouble. Why is there a boy in the house?"

  I ignored her. Roman came into the kitchen and began to help me tend to the coffee machine. I felt a little embarrassed about Roman seeing Addy this way. Roman's mother fizzled with warm happy bubbles and here was my mother, drunk and stumbling.

  Addy giggled when she saw Roman come into the kitchen. It was a girly-sounding giggle. A flirtatious one. "Oh! A man, not a boy. What is your name, man?"

  "I already told you. His name is Roman. He's Izzy's brother," I said, irritably.

  "Hugh, nice. I mean, nice to meet you, that is."

  I leaned into Roman, who was now putting a new filter in the coffee maker. "Ignore her. She's a big flirt when she's been drinking! But don't take it personally. She flirts with me, too."

  Roman smiled. "I'd flirt with you too, if I was your momma."

  "That's weird, Roman. Seriously."

  "Why is there a man in the yard?" Addy asked. "Oh! There's a man in the yard with wings. Strangling a girl."

  I just about dropped the pot full of water, but Roman quickly grabbed it just as it left my hands. I rushed to the window.

  It was a magnificent display, my Dark Angel with his wings spread high above his head and dusting the ground at his feet, his bronzed skin licked by the moonlight, his hair flowing down his back in a gentle breeze. He held Aine in one hand, similar to the way he had held me earlier. He held Aine off the ground by her neck. Her feet dangled in the air. Both of her hands covered his at her throat. I wasn't sure what I found more beautiful, the sight of Bane or the fact that Aine was being strangled.

  "Keep Addy in the house, Roman, please?" I ran for the door and out into the night. But when I got to Bane, I wasn't so sure what to do. If I had the power to hold Aine by the throat like that and hang her in the air, I would have done the same thing he was doing. Actually, I think I would have added a good shake or two. Maybe even a squeeze.

  "Tell your animal to heel, Luna!" Aine's voice sounded strangled. "I need to talk to you. I promise it's not a trick this time. Please! Just tell him to put me down."

  "Aine?" Izzy's voice came from behind me. I was surprised that she was out of bed. "Bane, put Aine down. You are going to hurt her," Izzy said. She sounded like a mother. Maybe her mother. And I almost laughed. Did she really expect Bane to obey her? Izzy ran to Aine's side and stabbed her fists into her hips. "Put her down, Bane!" she commanded. Bane did not listen to Izzy. I wasn't sure Bane was listening to anyone. He seemed entranced. He just stood there, expressionless, holding Aine without moving a muscle.

  "Bane!" Izzy tried again, but again there was no response from Bane. "You are a warrior of God's now. This is not how you should act," Izzy scolded.

  I couldn't help it. I giggled.

  "He won't listen to you, Isabelle, only her! Luna, he's going to kill me if you don't tell him to let me go. I can't breathe!"

  So? And I was supposed to be bothered by this?

  "Bane," I started to tell him to let Aine go, but I didn't need to say any more than his name. Bane opened his fingers, and Aine dropped to the ground. Izzy caught her before she could fall on her face. I ignored the two girls, as Izzy led Aine away from Bane and into the house.

  Seeing Bane now, the magnificent creature that he was, I had to wonder how I could have been so allured by Roman's music. Sure, Roman was a magnificent creature too, but he paled in comparison to Bane.

  It was Bane that I most needed.
>
  He stood before me now, looking wounded, yet proud, scorned, yet rebellious and bold. He was obviously ignoring me. And of course he'd be upset with me. He had been inside my head while I was with Roman. Bane knew I was drawn to Roman. Bane knew Roman was a musician and that I was his instrument.

  Roman was human.

  Guilt flushed my cheeks.

  Slowly, I approached Bane. I stopped about a foot away from him. Bane suddenly turned, took my face with both his hands and looked at me with crazy eyes. "You are wrong, My Lady Moon. It has happened before, someone believing in you. I believe in you. You have gifted me with emotions denied me by my birthright. For that, you are mighty, the epitome of all things beautiful and truly within my grasp. I will learn, My Lady. I will learn to be whatever it is you need me to be. Teach me these things, I command you. For these are the things that have spurred the entropy of my design."

  "The what?"

  "The deterioration of whom I've known myself to be for the hundreds of years I'd lived before you came into my world."

  "Oh. That." I smiled at him. I didn't know what else to say. I hadn't realized I'd made any kind of impact on him. But here stood the first-born son of Lucifer, telling me that he had learned about love and happiness through the experiences he'd shared with me in my mind. Here stood a demon commanding me to teach him how to give me all the things that I needed.

  Wow!

  Bane wrapped his arms around me, embracing me tightly. "But, until I can learn how to be stronger, how to protect you while weakened by your presence, I must stay away from you," he said, as if he had to remind himself of this.

  I could feel his warm breath move through my hair like"

  "Wind through the trees, My Lady," he finished the thought for me. "Roman is not your Dammon, because I am. I was."

  I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to shut out what he was saying. "That doesn't make any sense, Bane," I said, angrily. I tried to push away from him, tried to push away from the sudden flare of mourning that dislodged the painful memories of Dammon.

  Bane loosened his arms, but kept me encircled in them, allowing me to look up at him with the dirty look I had on my face, the torture that I was certain was mirrored in my eyes. Bane returned my gaze, but in a completely opposite way. He looked tender and soft. For one fraction of a moment, I swore he looked exactly like my Dammon.

  "I assure you, your Dammon did not feel the pain of the Hylander's attack, My Lady Moon. I saw to it that he did not."

  I blinked. Tears came to my eyes. "Don't do this to me. Don't mess with me this way. Not about him. Not about Dammon."

  "I am not confined by flesh and bone the way that you are," Bane said, but it wasn't his voice. It was Dammon's.

  I squeezed my eyes shut again. Tears rolled down my cheeks.

  Bane's palm touched the side of my face. One of his rough thumbs brushed the tear from my cheek. "You needed a safe harbor," he said in his own deep, gravely voice now. "And I, Bane, son of Lucifer, had found a way to give that to you."

  "But that's impossible! You are bound to the coven-stead. You couldn't have been Dammon. You just couldn't have been."

  "That is true. But only to certain degrees. Dammon was the keeper of his flesh, but through your eyes I traveled through to him. You were my vessel."

  I shook my head, crunching my brows together.

  "Possession, is how it was done," Bane said.

  "Sean? Did you possess him, too?" I asked, but I still was not buying into this whole he-was-Dammon stuff.

  "No."

  "Why? I mean, your idea of utopia is supposedly a place where you can have your vengeance for the things he'd done to me. Why would you not possess him, too? Maybe murder him the way you murdered my father." I swatted his hand away from my face.

  Bane's eyes went arctic cold.

  "The Hylander is my brother's possession. Rune staked claim on his flesh. Therefore, I could not intervene. I did not have access to him."

  "What? Your brother was possessing Sean?"

  "We are anachronisms, my brothers and I. We are from another time, another place. We are trapped. We are prisoners of The Coven of Hallows. Our only escape, though in simple spirit form, has been via the links we have shared with the Lanchesters. Only through this links, through the windows of your soul, your eyes, we are able to roam. Although possessions bind us, limit us to the flesh and bone of those we come in contact with, it is an escape, all the same. I am afraid with you being the last, through you my brothers will attempt to roam. I am strong, My Lady. I can, as I have said, purge them from your mind. It only takes once, and the path has been made. From then on out, the passing of our souls through your vessel and onto that path, into that person, can happen in less time it would take for you to blink your exotic eyes. Only once must we travel through you in order to leach on to the ethereal of a host. Rune has now fused with Sean. The two have become one. Sean will perish if Rune leaves him for any length of time."

  I had no idea demons were passing through me. I had no idea that because of me innocent people were being possessed by Lucifer's sons. "I thought you guys couldn't harm a high priest, or priestess, or your chance for freedom would be gone for good?"

  "Rune does not care, My Lady. You have enchanted him. You have made him more mad than I had ever seen him before."

  "Yeah, I seem to bring out the best in people, don't I?" I said, rolling my eyes. Then I thought of something. "You know, Sean told me that he had known me long before I met him. Rune had to have used a different Lanchester for his vessel in order to have possessed Sean."

  "You are correct, My Lady. You had family in Greenland at one point. Your uncle, Lockizin. My brother knew you long before you met the Hylander. And the Hylander had fallen in love with you that day in Oak Park, when you climbed the river bank. Now they fight for you, the Hylander and my brother."

  "Where is Rune now?"

  "It is Aradia, Devine's mother, who has Rune bound to her hive in Italy. Aradia once had me, as well, bound to her. She grew rather weary of the sibling rivalry between Rune and I, so she escorted me here, to Sleepy Hallow, to be bound to her daughter's hive."

  "So, Rune is in Italy, and Sean is in Burling? How is that even possible?"

  "It is far too complicated for your little mind to comprehend, My Lady."

  "But, is Rune in Italy somewhere, passed out cold cuz his spirit is in Burling? Wouldn't Aradia notice?"

  "No. My brothers and I can navigate through our own worlds while possessing another. We are not at our most optimum level when doing so. Aradia will only know Rune is gone if she uses her magic to seek him out. Aradia would know exactly where he is, if she were to search for him."

  "So, it's not Sean who has an obsession with me, it's your brother, Rune."

  "Oh, your little mind," Bane shook his head with pity. "Rune and Sean share their obsession. But it is Rune who should concern you the most."

  "What does your brother look like, Bane?" I asked, but I already thought I knew.

  "Your suspicions are correct. The Copper Angel of your dreams is he. Hex, the youngest, is what you would call the Silver Angel, for his hair and wings are white with strands that look like polished silver. You would call Vodou, the second to the youngest brother, the Bronze Angel, for his wings and hair and eyes look very much like bronze."

  "Where are your other brothers, Hex and Voodoo?"

  "Vodou," he corrected. "Vodou is West-African for spirit. Vodou is bound to Lilith's Hive. Lilith is the mother of Isis." Bane licked his lips at the mention of Isis' name. "Hex is bound to Demeter's hive. Demeter is Aine's grandmother. Persephone is Aine's mother, but she was unable to have anything bound to her, for Persephone is bound herself, to her husband, Hades."

  "So, you only have three brothers?"

  "We are only four in number, we of the angelic breed. My father has many more spawns. A countless array. But they are nothing like us. They are not as close to human as we are."

  "Sarah Jenkins told Izzy t
hat she had a daughter, and that Lucifer was the father. Is that true?"

  "It is. Mercy is her name. But as I have said, those of the angelic breed are the only ones close to human. All others are more like Zar or Djinn. Spirits. Very demonic spirits."

  I shivered. "So, Rune can physically get to me, whether Aradia comes to Sleepy Hallow or not? He can get to me by coming here with Sean?"

  Bane looked troubled.

  It was as if I slipped into his mind and read his thoughts, because I suddenly realized what was troubling him.

  "Sean is going to find me, isn't he? He's coming."

  Bane didn't say a word. He didn't have to. I had somehow plucked this information out of his head, and he knew this.

  "Does he want to kill me? I mean, now that Rune knows that killing me can set him free?"

  "Rune is very unstable, My Lady. It is difficult foretelling what his intentions will be from one moment to the next. But it is my assumption that if Rune is willing to sacrifice his freedom by harming the Hylander, a high priest, then he has already decided that you are worthy of his eternal imprisonment. But Vodou will undoubtedly attempt to arouse Rune's desire to rid you from this earth."

  "I come from a family of fierce warriors, right?" I felt the corner of my lips move upward in a grin.

  "The fiercest this realm has ever, or will ever, see again," Bane said, proudly.

  "Well, I'm not just going to stand around and wait for everyone to come and get me."

  "That's my girl," Bane said, thumping me in the shoulder with his fist. I stumbled sideways, but Bane caught hold of my arm, keeping me from falling. He gathered me in his arms and embraced me. Time, and all that existed around me, was left on the other side of his wings, as he cocooned us in black, moon-drenched feathers.

  Then Bane said the words I had been longing to hear for so very long. They were words that were bloated with a potent magic and packed with the ability to make me believe.

  "Everything will be all right, My Lady Moon. Everything will be all right."

  ****

  Chapter Fifty-Six

  Luna