Demon of Desire
Chapter Eight-Ties That Bind

Kellan stood in front of the elevator doors, listening to each bell that announced the passing of a different floor. When the bell tinged at his floor he shoved his hands into his pockets, hoping to emit a “don’t care” attitude. But when the doors parted he knew a glint of happiness shone in his eyes.

“Someone is excited to see me.” Sloan leaned back on the elevator wall, staring up at him.

“What makes you say that?” He turned around, giving her his back.

“Okay, then I am going back down. I have other things to do, people to see,” she teased.

Kellan waited for her to step out, but the elevator doors were closing and she was still inside. Quickly, he put his foot in the way, forcing the doors back open. “Yes, I am happy to see you, now would you step out? There is something we need to discuss.”

“You sound serious.” She walked out of the elevator and headed straight for the living room where she dropped onto one of the leather sofas. “Shoot.”

“I want you to come live here with me.” He stood over her, his hands neatly placed on his hips.

“And if I don’t?” She sat up straight, waiting for his answer.

“I cannot force you to stay here with me, but I want to be with you.” Those words were easy for him to say because he was being truthful. Against his better judgment, he was now making this about him and her without factoring Aguares in.

“I can’t and you know why.” She stood up and avoided the longing look he injected into his gaze. “Not now.”

“For how long are you going to hunt these ghosts? Demons do not exist—they are just stories told on camping trips and nothing else but a figment of man’s imagination.” He went after her, piling on the pressure, hoping that she would give in.

“I can’t. There are other things besides chasing demons. I have to consider other people’s feelings. I’m not in this life alone. Things have changed along the years and I have a family now.” She inched away from him, as if afraid that having him so close would fog her mind and bend her will.

“We can be a family. You can be safe with me and not have to put your life at risk with this insanity.” He inched closer.

“You aren’t listening to me…it’s not that easy. People depend on me now. I just can’t let them down.” She took his hands and weaved her fingers into his. “When it’s all over, then I will make my decision.”

“What happens until then?”

“Until then, we keep going the way we have been.” Obviously certain that it was safe, she got on her tiptoes and kissed his bottom lip.

Taken by the essence of her taste, he lifted her up into his arms. “I don’t know what kind of hold you have on me, but I can’t say no to you.”

“I’m glad.” She snuggled her nose into his neck and inhaled his scent.

Kellan’s body went tense and immediately his hold on her got tighter. He could feel the presence of another demon in the room and his first instinct was to protect her.

Ali stood behind a pillar and watched the display of affection. By the look on her face she knew her father was right, but her pride would not allow her to be defeated. Kellan was her choice, and she wasn’t about to let him be the wrong choice.

Kellan put Sloan back on her feet. “Give me a second, I just want to get something to drink from the kitchen. Just wait for me here.”

“Okay,” Sloan said, obviously confused. Not once had he been pulled away from her because of a beverage. This was a first and was bound to seem odd, but it was all he could think of on the spur of the moment.

“What do you want?” he demanded, appearing in front of Ali and startling her.

“I told you not to fall for her,” Ali hissed.

“I’m not. I’m just role playing.”

“Well, you are too good of an actor to waste your time on humans. Father already said you were halfway through. Right now, all you have to do is convince her to give herself to you,” Ali said.

“She will not leave that house. She has ties there that cannot be broken.” He opened the refrigerator door and stood behind it, blocking Sloan’s view of him.

“Kill them. Kill all of them, especially the boy. She is in love with him.” Her voice was stern.

Kellan stared at her angrily, his eyes turning into a burning flame. It annoyed him every time Ali insinuated that Sloan loved someone else more than she loved him. Since the first day he’d heard of it he’d wanted to kill him, but that would only hurt Sloan, especially since Ali was right.

“Go away,” he growled.

Kellan went back to Sloan and, just as he started kissing her, Ali walked out of the bedroom clad in nothing but Kellan’s robe, her hair glistening and her legs peeking out of the robe.

“Hey, dear, I didn’t know we had company.” Ali smiled at Sloan.

“What do you want?” Kellan chewed the words through his clenched jaws.

“You want me to move in here so that we can all live here. The three of us like one big psychotic family,” Sloan yelled.

“No. sweetheart, it’s not like that.” Ali cut in. “I am just here to make sure that Levy signed the divorce papers.” She put her hand behind her back and an envelope materialized in it.

“You are getting a divorce?” A smile danced at the edges of Sloan’s lips.

“Yes, that is what I wanted to tell you.” Kellan played along with Ali’s game, unsure of where it was headed but convinced it was her way of helping him.

“Now that my father is dead there is no reason for us to be married anymore. Besides, he loves you.” Ali winked in Kellan’s direction and he felt a smile tease at the corners of his mouth.

“He couldn’t have died soon enough.” He laughed.

Sloan elbowed Kellan in the ribs for his thoughtless comment. “I’m sorry for your loss,” she empathized.

“Don’t worry about it. Trust me, it wasn’t a loss at all,” Kellan teased again and he got hit again.

Clearing her voice, Ali took over the conversation. “I had nowhere to stay considering our former house was set on fire from the inside out, so I came to freshen up here. I will be leaving in an hour.”

“Then I think I should go. You two clearly have things to talk about. I’ll see you later, Levy.”

Kellan walked her to the elevator. He watched the doors close before turning back to Ali. She was out of the robe and back into her black leather, her wet hair into its usual cascading curls.

“There are times that I forget how smart you are.” Kellan chuckled.

“That is your mistake.” The envelope went up in flames. “I just earned you one more point.”

“Do you think it worked?”

“I’ll replace out tonight, but if it didn’t the next step is cutting all her ties with her other world. We need her to turn, and by the looks of things getting her to kill one of her own seems simpler. You are getting nowhere.”

“She won’t do it,” Kellan insisted.

“Are you sure?”

* * * *

BB sat in the comic book store flipping through comics when Sloan walked in. “That was quick.”

“He had some business to take care of. His wife was in town.” As soon as the words left her lips she knew she had put herself in a fix.

“Wife?” BB exclaimed.

“They are getting a divorce.” She feigned interest in the shelves of comics.

“You know how you sound? All married men say that.”

“Ali and Levy are different. She brought him the divorce papers and they only married because of her father. The old man croaked and their marriage will be going to the grave with him.”

She could feel BB’s glare burrowing its way through her skull and she had to get away. Quickly she scampered out of the store, but BB was hot on her heels.

“Doesn’t this sound strange to you?” BB caught up with her and sat on her bike before Sloan had a chance to mount it.

“No, it happens all the time. Now that Levy is getting a divorce, I think he is serious about being with me.” She pushed her helmet on.

“So is Jake, and plus, he never was married,” she pointed out.

“I know that, but being with Jake means that I will always live this life. I’m tired of this life. I just want to be normal, ordinary even.” She pulled BB off her bike and quickly put the key in the ignition.

“What are you saying? Are you leaving? Sloan, are you leaving?” she yelled over the sound of the engine.

Feeling pressured, Sloan revved the bike and took off. She wasn’t sure about what she was going to do after everything had blown over, but she was thinking about it more than ever.

BB got on her bike and followed Sloan, screeching out of the parking lot with people jumping out of her way.

Sloan didn’t bother parking her bike in the garage when she got back home. She was determined not to be caught alone by BB. She rushed into the gym from where the drone of familiar voices echoed and took her place quickly beside Jake on the mat. Archer wasn’t going to allow any interference during practice, so for now it was the best place.

BB came rushing in, but didn’t say a word. She took a seat on the mat and watched Archer and Ike go up against each other. She was clearly itching to say something but Archer’s rumbling prevented her from doing so. He kept on barking instructions, but Sloan was too drowned in her thoughts and her fear of being exposed.

She inched closer to Jake, holding on to his arm. He turned to smile at her before returning his attention to Archer. She lived for his smiles, whenever she woke up and when she went to sleep. Sometimes she was sure that they were what carried her through the day.

Quickly, she whispered in his ear. “I love you.” And, in response, he smiled at her and squeezed her hand for a brief moment.

“Practice is over,” Archer announced. “Sloan, I want you and BB to stay behind with me. She has very good knife techniques, and if you are going to use the swords you could learn a thing or two from the both of us.”

“Awesome,” she mumbled as she grabbed hold of BB’s arm, pulling her firmly toward her. “Don’t say anything.”

“Anything? Like what?” BB snickered. “Like the fact that you want to abandon the only family you have. Like the fact that you are cheating on the only guy who has loved you unconditionally. Or like the fact that you are planning to take the coward’s way out.”

“Yes,” she said, ashamed.

BB pulled her arm free. “Don’t worry, it’s not my place to say anything. But it is my place to tell you that you are making the biggest mistake of your life.”

“Girls, take your positions at the center of the mat.” He handed them each a sword. “We are going to start with one and gradually go to two.”

Archer stepped aside and, without warning, BB lunged at Sloan, her sword tearing into the air with each slash she made. She was gunning for blood and was determined to have it. Sloan’s sword slipped out of her hands and she was defenseless. Without warning, BB swept her feet from beneath her and brought her down, the sword stopping inches from Sloan’s throat. She stood over her, sword still in place and her chest heaving, but not as hard as Sloan’s.

Sloan stared at the glistening metal inches away from her flesh. Then her gaze traveled up to stare into the eyes of her best friend, and what she saw was as clear as day. Betrayal.

“That was good. That was very good, BB. It’s nice to know your only talents are not just getting on my nerves and stuffing your mouth with my food,” he teased.

Archer’s humorous comment wasn’t taken as such. BB immediately swept the sword up, putting it against his shoulder.

“I’m not in the mood,” she growled.

Archer took this as a challenge and grabbed Sloan’s discarded sword to defend himself. “All right, little Bonita, let’s see what you got.”

Sloan scrambled to her feet, getting herself out of harm’s way. She watched as they attacked each other tirelessly, waiting for one of them to throw in the towel. But BB was angry and Archer was determined, and neither of their pride would allow them to back down.

Quickly, she called out to the only person she knew could help. “Axel!”

Axel walked into the gym, her mind apparently focused on her sandwich. “Don’t get your panties in a bunch. What the—”

Stunned, she stood rooted to the ground and her sandwich fell from her hand to the carpeted floor. Axel jumped out of the way with a yelp as the duel moved toward her. She ran across the room to where Sloan was.

“What’s going on?”

“Beats me,” she lied.

“Hey. Hey.” Axel waved her arms over her head, trying to attract either BB or Archer’s attention, but all she managed to do was draw a greater audience.

The situation turned into a game of cat and mouse; the cats being BB and Archer the mice being the rest of the group as they moved around the room, fleeing the lashing swords and their angry handlers.

“Wow.” Snoop chuckled. “She’s got skill.”

“She also looks pretty mad. What’s up with her?” Jake asked.

“Can everyone stop asking me that question? How should I know? Just because she is my best friend doesn’t mean I know everything she does, or agree with her decisions,” Sloan sniped.

Axel was still waving her arms in the air when Ike came to her rescue. Using his staff, he came in between the two combatants, and instead of the swords falling on each other they came into impact with the staff.

BB threw her sword down and exited the room, but not before flashing Sloan a look of annoyance.

“What’s up with her?” Archer asked as he wiped off the beads of sweat formed on his forehead. “I have to admit that she gave me a good work out.”

“She almost had you there, Archer,” Snoop interjected.

“What did you do to her this time?” Axel asked, her arms crossed over her chest. She stared up at Archer as if scolding him which, considering their sizes, was hilarious.

“I think it’s something I said that triggered it. But she seemed annoyed with Sloan first. She almost took off her head.” He replaced the swords in their scabbards and mounted them back on the wall.

Sloan felt all the eyes in the room go down on her and she wanted to crawl into a corner. “We had a fight. Nothing serious. I’ll just go check on her.”

Sloan left the room and the stares left with her. Immediately she went up to her room, deciding to give BB a few minutes before talking to her. For the meantime her decision had been made, and moving in with Levy was something she would have to push aside.

* * * *

“I can’t move in with you just yet.”

“Why not?” Levy asked, irritated and a little desperate.

“Because I have too much on my plate, and plus my friend almost took off my head because I suggested it. I think it’s best if we just waited for a while.”

“I understand.” He didn’t have much of a choice. His plans would have to wait.

“You understand.”

“So for how long do I have to wait?” Levy sat across from her and held onto her hands. “I’ll wait for as long as it takes.”

“You’ll wait? I promise it won’t take too long.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

“Bueno!” Levy called out as he stood to his feet.

“What?”

“Don’t worry about it. Do you want to go to the beach with me?” He chewed down on his lower lip as his eyes took the sexy slit-shape she loved.

“I didn’t bring a swim suit.” She said.

Taking out a credit card from his wallet, he held to up to her. “That’s why I have this. Don’t say no. If I am willing to wait for you the least you could do is spend my money.”

“I’m just getting the swimsuit and that’s it.”

“Fine.”

Levy went into his room, leaving Sloan at the balcony waiting for him. With all the rage that he had managed to bottle up for the past few seconds, he drove his fist into the wall.

“Watch it!” Ali called out from behind him.

“I thought you were going to leave when she got here.” Kellan turned to face her.

“I heard you take out your platinum card and I just had to stay.” She leaned against the wall, her leg peeking through her mid-thigh slit.

Unable to stop himself, he smoothed his arms around her waist. “I just need to soak up your evilness.”

She circled her arms around his neck, cradling his head on her chest as he lifted her off the ground.

“I want you to kill them. All of them,” he mumbled.

“Not all of them, but some of them. You need to replace a way to get Archer out of the house too. I won’t let anyone hurt him.” Ali stroked her long fingers through his hair.

“I’ll think of something, but just him and no one else. Make sure you kill the boy too.” He kissed the deep valley between her breasts. “Make sure Jake dies. That way she won’t have anyone but me to turn to.”

“Levy!” Sloan called out from the other room, but they could hear her footsteps come closer to the door. Ali vanished as Kellan covered the hole his fists had left on the wall.

“I’m here, babe.” He heard the door open and huddled over his chest of drawers. “I’m just trying to replace a pair of trunks. Here.” He pulled out a black pair and tossed it on the bed.

He had his back turned to her, but he could feel her admiring the curves on his back from she stood at the doorway. He deliberately flexed his muscles through his T-shirt as his hands reached toward his back. He pulled up for his shirt and pulled it over his head, and he imagined her clenching her fists in desire.

“Jeez you shouldn’t do such things to me.” Sloan held onto the door frame, as if terrified of letting it go.

He could see the desire burning in her eyes, so he waited for her to come to him. He sat on the bed, watching her, and in those few seconds he knew the truth—ever since she had come to his life he was weak. He wasn’t sure what the source was, but he was sure it was not just the bond they shared.

Sloan came to him just as he expected. Gently, she caressed the contours of his chest, her eyes eagerly following her hands. “I just remembered there are no beaches in New York City.”

“I know that. That’s why we are going to Calabasas.” His hands still rested at his sides, not affected by Sloan’s obvious attention. “I thought we could leave now and get back tomorrow.”

“Ah?” Sloan took a step back. “I can’t go today. I have to come up with a cover story and—” Her phone screeched in her pocket.

“Go ahead,” Levy said.

“I’m sorry it will just take a minute. What is it?” she asked once the phone was on her ear.

“Just give me a second.” She shoved the phone back into her pocket, but when she turned back to Levy he wasn’t there.

Once she was convinced that he couldn’t be hiding under the bed she went back into the living room. He sat in front of the television, flipping through the news and financial channels.

“You can go. I have some work to do anyway.” He didn’t look away from the TV as he spoke. “You should go out with your family, spend some time with them. I can tell they are very important to you.”

She could see he was in a somber mood, but unfortunately she didn’t have the time to coddle him. “I’ll come back tomorrow and maybe we could go to Calabasas.”

“That’s fine with me.” He gave her a weak smile before ushering her to the door. “Goodnight.” He didn’t wait for the doors to close before turning around and walking away.

* * * *

“So what happened?” BB asked as the two girls pushed their motorcycles into the garage.

“What did you expect would happen? I need a day off from all this shit. I need some time to myself,” she grumbled.

“But you did it, right?”

“Yes, I did it.” She huffed out the lie. “I need some time to myself. I’m taking tomorrow off.”

“Sure, why not? Jake could take the break with you.” Archer appeared from behind his bike.

“Jeez, how long have you been there?” Sloan went through the conversation she just had with BB, searching for any incriminating phrases.

“Just long enough to know that BB bullied you into doing something.” He wiped his greasy hands with a black cloth.

“No one asked for your opinion.” BB laid her dusty bike against Archer’s polished Ducati. “I’m going inside.”

“She doesn’t like me very much.” He picked up her bike and put it on its stand, then dusted off his bike.

“What was your first clue?” Sloan chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. She’s not in a very good mood.”

“So where will you be going with Jake?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your vacation—you are going with Jake, aren’t you?”

“No, I’m going alone.”

“Then you can’t go.”

Sloan dropped her bike and turned to her cousin, a look of defiance on her face. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” Turning his back on her, he went into the house.

“You do not control my life.” Sloan jogged behind him just to keep up with his long strides.

“While the threat is still there, I do control you. By the way, have you heard from your friend Levy?” He stopped abruptly, making Sloan bump into him.

“What’s your interest with that guy?” His curiosity only caused her to worry.

“Just asking.” Archer shrugged his shoulders and continued toward the kitchen.

“Back to the subject at hand. I won’t let my life be controlled by this.”

“Too bad.” Archer smiled once he got into the kitchen and found Jake. Sloan knew he had won this round and he was soaking in all the glory.

“Jake, would you like to escort Sloan on her vacation?” He dared Sloan to interrupt him and rescind the offer but she didn’t.

“A vacation? To where?” Jake asked, surprised.

“Babe, I was wondering if you could take a day off with me. We could go to California if you wish.” Her eyes burned holes into Archer’s skull. She then replaced the hostile look to that of adoration when she talked to Jake.

“Um…sure. When do we leave?”

“Tonight. You should stop what you are doing and go pack.” She gave Archer one of her own smiles of triumph.

“You can’t go tonight, especially if it’s California. No, I won’t allow it.”

“I won’t allow it.” Sloan mimicked his deep voice. “Are you crazy? What do you mean by you won’t allow it?”

“You heard me.”

“I have a life of my own, and if you keep locking me up I will leave. Then you will have to replace someone else to kill your demon.” She was going to throw a hissy fit until he let her go, but she wasn’t sure if it would work.

“How about I take you out for a midnight picnic at the cemetery?” Jake volunteered. “We could have a good time and no one will complain about the noise we are making.”

Sloan smiled. She realized he was trying to salvage the situation. He was being who he always was, sweet and caring. “A picnic with the dead sounds perfect.”

She leaned into his broad chest and let his warmth consume her. Her head lay on his muscled breast and she listed to the silent beating of his heart, a sound that always lulled her to sleep every night.

“It’s going to be fun, you’ll see.” He wrapped his muscled hands around her, pressing her closer to his rippled body.

“If Archer is not there I’m sure it will be fun,” she whispered into his neck before kissing him. “I’ll just let you make more sandwiches. I’m going to go get more blankets.”

“Sure, we’ll leave in an hour.” He gave her a quick kiss before releasing her.

Sloan ran up to her room and locked the door before settling on the bed. She needed to make sure no one would walk in on her while she was on the phone.

She thought about calling him, but the sound of disappointment in his voice would only come in the way of her night with Jake. She punched on the keys and sent Levy a text message, not expecting one in reply but hoping he would understand.

* * * *

Kellan headed straight down for the help he needed and knew he would get. Aguares was sitting on his rotting throne as usual, with Ali standing beside him.

“I thought you were going to the beach,” Ali teased.

“I thought you were supposed to be helping me with her,” Kellan retorted.

“Ah, so now you want help.” Aguares chuckled, sending the spiders scrambling out of his beard.

“She is attached to her family. If she is to come to the dark side she needs to lose them. Once she does, I will be the only one she can turn to.”

“If she doesn’t join us we could just kill her later,” Aguares said.

“But won’t that defeat the purpose of—”

“No,” Ali said. “It will know death before it knows life. Right now it’s the only thing protecting her from mortal death, but that doesn’t mean we can’t take her soul.”

“What do you say, Kellan?” the dead man asked as he ran his fingers through his webbed beard.

Kellan thought about it for a second and knew what the right answer was. His cold, black heart seemed to be weakened, but his head was in the game and his will was much stronger. In a second he had made up his mind and, as the cold harsh words spilled out of his lips, they made him feel comforted, like he was himself again.

“Kill her.”

* * * *

“’Can’t come to Calabasas Archer won’t let me. Meet you at the apartment instead.’” Kellan read out loud. “Your toy is getting in the way of my plans, Ali.”

“He knows you are around and he only wants to protect his family as the Alpha male should,” Ali mocked.

“He is getting in my way.” Kellan and Ali stood atop a cliff, looking down at all the souls Ali had managed to gather, as they suffered and cried out.

“Get around him. Look at it this way, if he keeps controlling her she will soon leave. She is a very independent girl and it won’t be long before she rebels.” She dipped her finger in the basin of souls and a heart-wrenching scream was let out from the pit.

Kellan laughed. “You are a sadist. They are already suffering and yet you still torment them.”

“What else is there to do for fun?” She smiled back at him. “You need to get her to lead Archer away from the house before my minions and I can attack.”

“How? When she was still at school and living with her uncle it was so easy. Now she has the love and support she never had.”

“You, my love, are a genius. We draw Archer, Sloan and, unfortunately, that annoying Axel away by using the uncle,” she chirped.

“How?” Kellan knew her idea had to be something ruthless but he never knew to what extent.

“They will have to attend his funeral, won’t they?” She laughed.

“As I said my love, you are a sadist. But I’m not killing any children, nor am I killing their mother.” Kellan opted out.

“Don’t worry about that. Knowing those Sloan children they would probably survive, and we need someone to contact the family. We are only going to get Edwin,” she decided.

“When do we do this?” This was Kellan’s chance to get his revenge for everything that Edwin had done to Sloan and he was planning to enjoy it. “I had promised him a visit.” He remembered the words he’d put in his mind and it was about time to keep his promise.

“Tonight. The sooner the better.”

* * * *

“Are you ready?” Ali asked Kellan as he leaned over the bars of his balcony.

“I love this view. It’s so beautiful.”

“I’m glad for you. We better get going before sunrise.” She pulled him away from the balcony.

“Did you go see Sloan?”

“She wasn’t sleeping and she isn’t at the house either.” She busied herself with her already perfect hair.

“What was she doing?”

“She was busy. We better go, Kellan.”

Kellan caught the drift and pushed it out of his mind. “Gabriel!”

“Sir.”

“Are you ready?”

“Yes, sir,” Gabriel, his dutiful servant, answered.

“Let’s get going.”

Kellan and Ali were taking Gabriel along to handle any unforeseen surprises. They disappeared and materialized in Edwin and Diana’s bedroom.

Ali went to Diana’s side and whispered into her ear. “Take your children and lock yourselves in the bathroom.”

Immediately Diana woke up and silently gathered her three children and hustled them into the bathroom. “Gabriel, go make sure that none of them end up coming into this room,” Ali instructed.

Gabriel jiggled the bathroom door and, once he made sure it was locked, he stood before it like a guard.

Ali moved closer to Edwin, then got into his head.

“What are you doing?” Kellan asked.

“I’m going to give him a sneak preview of what we are going to do and where he is going to end up.” Ali relished the thought.

“You don’t know if he is going to hell with you or not?”

“Actually I do. Once I’m in their heads I am sort of privy to that information.” She paused for a while. “And yes, this one is coming along with me. Now just shut up and let me concentrate.”

Kellan knew how Ali worked. She flooded images in his head with no particular order. She would show him the pit and make him feel the pain that he would expect once he was down there. She laughed as little beads of sweat broke out all over his body.

Edwin tossed and turned in his bed, as if trying to run away from the shadow and all the while failing. He struggled as his bedding wrapped around him with each toss and turn. He woke up with a start, sitting up straight. His hand reached for something under his pillow and, though he fisted around it, did not reveal what was in his hand.

Once Kellan thought he was lucid enough he stepped out of the shadows. “Remember me?”

“How could I not.” Edwin swallowed back his fear and tried to muster up all his courage. His face told Kellan he knew there was no escaping what was about to happen, but he had obviously decided not to give them the satisfaction of seeing him scared.

“Forgive my wife. She doesn’t know the meaning of privacy.”

“I was raised by the devil—exactly what did you expect from me?” Ali got up and stood aside, giving Kellan a clear path to his kill.

“Do whatever you’ve come here to do,” Edwin bellowed. He knew he was going to die and a few more muttered words escaped his lips.

“All right.” Kellan thrust his hand into the left side of Edwin’s chest. As his fist punctured through, the ribs and flesh gave way. The shattering of his bones and tearing of flesh rang in the air, and that sound of horror was quickly followed by a deafeningly silent sound of death.

Kellan pulled his hand out, taking with him Edwin’s beating heart. His body fell limply back against the headboard as a fountain of blood poured from his chest.

“He won’t need this anymore.” He took Edwin’s other hand and put his failing heart in it.

“It’s my turn. It’s time to add to my collection.” Putting her hand over Edwin’s lips, Ali summoned his soul but nothing happened.

“Let’s try this again.” She opened his mouth and put her hand over it, a silent chant on her lips she summoned his soul once more.

“What the hell is going on here?” Ali said, clearly frustrated. She stripped the covers off him and looked at his body, but she didn’t see what she was looking for.

“What’s wrong, Ali?” Kellan watched as her frustration continued to build. “What are you looking for? Could you just take his soul so that we can get out of here? You know what will happen if we keep on inhaling this dead blood,” he pressured her.

“I am aware of that. I just need to replace—” Her eyes came across his other hand, neatly hidden under his pillow. “This.”

She grabbed his hand and tried to pry it open but failed. “Before you yanked his heart out of his chest, did you hear him say something? Or did you notice his lips moving?”

“Yes, but it was just a second.”

“It only takes a second. Damn it!” she shrieked.

Kellan bellowed out a laugh, “You are kidding, right?” He went on laughing, ignoring Ali’s built-up anger.

“It only took a second for him to repent. Couldn’t you have killed him any faster?”

“How was I supposed to know? Let’s go.” He chuckled. “Gabriel, let’s go.”