Stephanie
âTeaching you,â he explained once we were outside. âIsnât the same as showing you⦠therefore⦠weâre just going to get into it.â
âInto it?â I asked.
Cassius grabbed my arm, the cold stung like icy needles running up and down my arm.
When my eyes were able to focus again, I wished I was stuck with temporary blindness, everywhere I looked, Demons were sleeping.
Somehow weâd gone from standing outside Ethanâs house to somewhere else completely, all within the span of seconds.
âThis,â Cassius whispered, âis the fun part.â
A loud whooshing sound crashed in the middle of the warehouse and then it started to pour rain.
Demons scattered to the farthest edges of darkness. That was, until Cassius held up his hand, and like a light was being turned on, every single shred of darkness was removed from the room.
They shrieked and bellowed, and then finally, one stepped forward. I didnât know his name, didnât recognize him at all.
âYou know why weâre here.â Cassiusâs voice boomed, like it often did when he was exuding an enormous amount of power.
He reminded me of the Disney cartoon Hercules. When heâd turned into a god, his voice had developed an echo to it while his body was light itself.
Thatâs what Cassius looked like.
Only better looking.
Real flesh and blood.
A man.
Not a cartoon.
âY-yes.â The Demon covered his eyes. âCould you at least dim the lights, Cassius?â
With a slow nod the lights lowered to a mere glow while the Demon paced in front of Cassius.
âWell?â Cassius asked. âWe donât have all day.â
âItâs Angel blood.â The Demon tilted his head in my direction, his eyes moving to the back of his head. âIt smells like her. Like you.â
âDark Ones possess elements of Angelic blood, you know this,â Cassius said in a bored tone.
âThe spiceâ¦â The Demon took a cautious step toward me and sniffed. âIt isnât as sweet as her scent or yours⦠almost like the Dark One was born out ofâ¦â He shuddered. âFear.â
Confused, I figured I could just ask later, but Cassius must have thought I needed to know right away.
âMost Dark Ones are born out of one of the seven sins: lust, greed, envyâ¦â He sniffed the air in front of him. âBut from what youâre saying⦠this mating⦠that took place wasââ
âârape,â the Demon finished. âWhich is impossible, a human raping an Angel? Or vice versa? Theyâd be killed on the spot for even thinking it.â
âUnless it was no human.â
âUnless the human wasnât fully human⦠immortal, maybe?â Cassius wondered aloud. âCan you track it?â
âWhatever you wish. You know my friends and family are innocent; youâve tasted the truth in the air the minute you arrived.â
The air was clear with honesty, with nothing but truth, and yes, a bit of fear. Funny, Iâd never recognized fear before, always thought of it to be this weird fleeting emotion that paralyzed humans.
But fear was small.
If I closed my eyes tight enough, I could see it in my mindâs eye. It was like a child or toddler, and then, all of a sudden, it was given food, growing before my very eyes until it was a giant, until it eclipsed everything in its presence.
âFear is born small,â the Demon whispered. âWe are the ones who make it big.â
Pity rushed through me; the Demon was cursed just like the Dark Ones, cursed to live out the rest of their existence knowing that in the end, they would be judged just like the humans, just like everyone else.
It was also why they werenât allowed to create.
Creating more Demon was creating more curses.
While creating a Vampire or a Siren wasnât as frowned upon, they actually possessed their souls.
Demon. Did not.
Though they did still have feelings.
And that was the saddest part of all. They could feel, they could hope all they wanted⦠it was always in vain.
âBut we still try.â The Demon locked eyes with me. âWe will try every day until our penance is over. We will try to stay in the good graces of Angels and Dark Ones alike.â
âThank you,â Cassius mumbled. The rain stopped, and the darkness returned. âTrack the blood.â
âThe Darknessâ¦â The Demon whispered as Cassius grabbed my arm. âIt has her, Cassius. I can feel it.â