Page 21 of Dark Souls

His obsidian eyes twinkled. “Heathen. But you can call me Heath.”

“How very fitting.” I lifted my hand, giving him the middle finger before dematerialising behind a puff of black smoke.

Devil's Work

“Youcouldhavejustlet her drink from you, and you’d still be breathing. But you had to push it too far and touch what didn’t belong to you, didn’t you? And look what happened.” I tutted as I glanced down at the sprawled body on the cement floor.

Okay, so I takesomeresponsibility. This was by no means my finest hour. Believe it or not, I didn’t make a habit out of killing innocents using my own free will, but sometimes, even I slipped up. What’s that saying? We all make mistakes. We’re only human. Except I’m not. But you get the idea.

I held the phone up to the human’s face, unlocking his screen to an array of unread messages fromWifey.The SOB had an unassuming wife at home waiting for him to come back from ‘a few drinks with colleagues. Little did she know, he was enjoying being sucked and fucked by vampires on the regular. I bet that wasn’t part of their wedding vows. And here I was, feeling sorry for snapping the bastard’s neck.I’m quite the joker tonight because remorse isn’t even in my vocabulary.I should have left his corpse on the side of the road to rot. I huffed. Hell, trying to be a better man for my Snow was hard fucking work. Not to mention annoying. What a waste of a body full of tasty blood and organs. Feasting on him would keep my hunger at bay for at least a few days, but promises are promises.

For some odd reason, I allowed my little vamp to have power over me tonight. To influence my decisions and actions. It wasn’t intentional and it sure as hell wasn’t something I enjoyed normally, yet I made promises I had no business making. Like the fact I was staging this so-called tragic accident for the sake of this man’s wife, who, let’s be honest, I’d done a favour for. She might move on now and find a loyal man who didn’t lie and cheat while she sat waiting for him to come home to her. Just give me a cape and call me Batman.

Dialling 999 on his phone because I didn’t own one of those tracking devices myself, I put on an Oscar-winning performance to the phone operator frantically explaining how I’d found an unconscious man at the bottom of the stairwell in the piss-stinking parking lot.

“No, he isn’t breathing! His neck looks all twisted! I don’t know how long he’s been here. Please, hurry.”

When I hung up, hearing the ambulance and police sirens in the distance, I smashed the beer bottle against the metal railing and used a few shards of glass to decorate the side of his neck and face with small cuts, disfiguring the puncture holes Snow had left in his throat. Sprinkling the remainder of the glass on the surrounding floor, I brushed my hands together and admired my handiwork. It wasn’t perfect, but no one would question a drunk falling down some stairs holding a beer bottle. Yeah, the leather pants might cause a few raised eyebrows, but at least I’d put him in the t-shirt he’d left in his locker at the club and removed the dog collar to spare his wife the mortification when identifying the body. Thank fuck, I never had to worry about leaving traces of my DNA.

Using my speed to zoom up to the highest level of the four-story car park in seconds, I took flight into the air, spreading my wings and soaring above the City of London. As the wind picked up and aided my journey, I zoned out and thought once more of Ilaria. Was I being too possessive? Yes. Was I coming on too strong? Probably. Do I give a shit? No.

Any doubts I might have had that she wasn’t who I’d been waiting a long fucking time for were gone after tonight. As much as she was trying to deny it, she was enjoying this too. I may be the savage monster who forces her out of her cushy little life, but all I was doing was calling to her dark side. The wildness in her she keeps locked away makes her miserable. She needs me to set her free. Just like I need her.

Tonight was the first night I’d been summoned from my black void of captivity since I’d followed Ilaria to that bar. I hadn’t even realised four nights had passed since then, and I was eager to find a reason to escape the tedious responsibilities of overseeing tonight’sUndergroundevent to slip out and find her. So, you can imagine my fucking surprise when she turned up there, at the very club I was already in.Fate works in mysterious ways.At first, I thought she had found me on purpose. But I soon realised, by the shock on her face when I murdered that human, that wasn’t the case.

Knowing I didn’t have long to tie up the loose ends at the club before Master locked me away again, I landed at the back entrance and used my human disguise to blend in with the clubbers. I noticed the two girls who Ilaria arrived with were drinking from their humans on the dance floor in a frenzied haze. Striding past the front desk and human cages, I kept walking towards the entrance hall. I didn’t acknowledge the protests of the female vampire working the desk as I stormed into the back office, where they kept the contracts and background checks on all the humans.

The vampire club manager, Simon, cursed loudly and jumped in his swivel chair, causing the woman who was sucking his dick under his desk to hit her head. He threw the nearest object within his reach at me—a stapler—and I tilted my head to dodge it at the last minute.

“Get the fuck out! This area is for employees only!”

Making my way over to the metal file cabinet, I ripped open the top drawer and started rifling through the profiles. “Blond male in cage twelve; he never showed up tonight. If anyone comes asking, you know nothing. Got it?”

I turned to glance over my shoulder at Simon doing up his trousers in a panic. His gaze met my entirely black irises and he stumbled back when he realised who was hiding behind the disguise. “Y-yeah. Got it.”

As far as the members ofThe Undergroundwere concerned, there were only three key players in the running of the organisation. The Devil. The Devil’s Dealer. And The Devil’s Pet, AKA me. No one knew whoThe Devilreally was because he liked to keep it that way. He kept his hands clean, while it was up to me and his Dealer to run the show. The Devil, my master, did what he does best; sat in his crystal mansion built on blood and lies and reaped the rewards. Master was a major investor in this club, using it now and again for specificUndergroundevents, which meant he owned this shithole and Simon’s ass. But more importantly, discretion was the only way to survive this world. If you’re a part of the fucked-up society they calledThe Underground,there weren’t many rules to follow. You needed enough money or trade to be granted membership; you don’t fuck with business and you sign a blood oath swearing you would never utter a word of what happens at the events or who the members are… ever. Or, I was sent to end you. I guess I wasThe Underground’s very own Grim Reaper. Not by choice, I should add.

I nodded, taking the contract Ilaria had signed and all the background checks on the human with me as I strode back out his office and made my way towards the guarded entrance where tonightUnderground’sevent was taking place. An auction.

The two bouncers, who I didn’t bother learning their names, stepped aside for me when they saw me coming. As I made my way down the dark steps to the basement, the potent air reeked of sin, greed, and depravity. The worst of supernatural races were lounging at tables watching the circular stage in the centre where the auction was in full swing. The stage showcased a variety of items for sale, including human treasures, stolen goods, magical relics, and demonic artefacts. This was one of the tamerUndergroundevents I’d witnessed. It was just a show of egotistic wealth and power. Look at them all, with their little paddles and big wallets, spending atrocious amounts on archaic items just because they were bored. It wasn’t long ago that I had been one of those artefacts for auction. My blood boiled at the reminder.

Forcing my focus back to the reason Master had released me from my prison tonight, my vision homed in on the rogue werewolf at the back of the room. His enormous frame strained against the tight black suit jacket and jeans. Sweat beaded on his forehead when the auctioneer announced the next item.The Tears of Salemme.Precious gems said to be formed by one of the founding witches of the first-ever coven. Possession of these gems would grant the owner control over shadows, as well as the ability to manipulate others. Except the blue gems packaged neatly in the wooden box on the stage were fakes. And this wolf had thought he could get away with it.

“Apologies,” the auctioneer stated to the crowd as he closed the box with a gloved hand, and someone else stepped up onto the stage to remove it. “But this item is no longer for sale.”

The wolf’s brown eyes widened, first in anger but then in panic. He straightened his suit jacket, his guilty expression deepening while his gaze bounced around the room, searching for the nearest exit. Before he could make a move, my hand wrapped around the scruff of his neck and my silver pocketknife laced with wolfsbane found its way beneath his ribs, the sheer force of my swift attack bringing him to his knees. His eyes turned black with his wolf’s presence, but as the poison hit his system, we both knew he’d be unable to shift. I removed the knife and twisted his bulky arm behind his back enough that if he struggled, it would tear from his shoulder.

“Now, now. Let’s not make a scene.” I forced him back to his feet and shoved him forward towards the back office. “Come quietly, and I’ll make your death quick.”

“Get your fucking hands off me,” he growled, deciding wrestling against me was his only option. The sound of the bones in his arm breaking sent a roar from his lips that caused the entire room to turn their heads and stare.

“Nothing to see here,” I announced with a sinister smile. “Back to your pretty jewels.”

After slamming his body through the black door, I released him, and he turned, baring his wolfish teeth as one arm remained limp at his side.

“I have to ask. Purely out of interest.” I licked my knife clean with my tongue and folded it back into my pocket casually. “Did you think you’d get away with replicas ofThe Tears of Salemme? I mean,really?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about. I stole the gems from the Cave of Saletora myself.”

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