Redemption (35 page)

“All of this is impossible,” Maria said.

I looked away and she dropped my hand. I twisted the rings worriedly. I needed to make Marcas get rid of them, but the weight of them was comforting somehow.

“It’s apparently possible,” Marcas remarked off-handedly.

Maria focused her attention on him.

“Being bonded should have killed her.”

“It didn’t.”

“Why did you do it, Demonio? For revenge? For Sophia?” Maria asked. Marcas roared and his fangs flashed.

“Do not go there, old lady! This was my brother’s doing. He bound us with the hopes that her blood would bring the line of Cain redemption,” Marcas said heatedly.

It was the first time I’d really seen him become incensed. Who was Sophia? Maria’s eyes narrowed.

“Your brother has lost his wits.”

“A lifetime of bloodlust will do that to you,” Marcas said. Maria didn’t argue.

“And now he’s incited a war,” Maria said thoughtfully.

“I wondered why the Demon activity had picked up. What did you bring her here for?” Maria asked, her eyes moving once more to the rings. It was definitely time to get rid of them. Marcas didn’t even blink.

“For the Seal of Solomon."

Maria’s eyes widened. Her tea cup shook in her hand.

“You are not serious, Demonio!” she exclaimed. I looked between the pair.

“I know the dangers,” I said quietly.

Maria’s head snapped in my direction. Her eyes focused on me.

“Do you, Angel? Do you really?” she asked me bitterly.

My brows furrowed in confusion. Was there something Marcas hadn’t told me?

“If you’re lucky to even survive getting the ring, there’s a huge possibility you won’t survive wearing it,” Maria said plainly. I knew this.

“I know,” I whispered.

“And you agreed?”  Maria looked at Marcas. “Why didn’t you just take her soul? Why attempt the impossible?” she asked him hotly.

She slammed her cup down on the table. It shattered. Marcas leaned over and placed his hand over the debris.

“Where’s the ring, Maria?” Marcas asked.

He moved his hand away from the table to reveal a completely mended china tea cup. Maria watched him quietly.

“I understand you don’t care about your own existence, Demonio. I even understand if you want to end it. But to risk the Angel?” Maria asked.

I looked at Marcas warily. Didn’t care about his own existence?

“You want to die?” I asked him softly.

Marcas’ jaw tightened as he continued to stare at the old woman.

“Where’s the ring?” he asked her again.

I stood up. Maria stared down at her hands.

“Do you want to die?” I asked Marcas more forcefully.

He looked down at me. His eyes were glowing.

“I wouldn’t find it unwelcome,” he answered me coldly. The chill went straight to my bones. I placed my hands against his chest and shoved.

“So this is a suicide mission?”

He didn’t answer me. I shoved again. I knew Demons could die. I’d seen Marcas kill Samuel. Didn’t I?

“Can you die?” I asked curiously.

He still didn’t answer. I heard Maria shift in her chair.

“It takes a lot to kill a Demon, but they can die. Because they are already occupants of hell, there is no true life for them after death. Only recycled life,” Maria answered in Marcas’ stead.

 I shoved him again. It wasn’t having much of an effect, but I was angry.

“Do you care that I could die too?” I asked him fiercely.

Marcas continued to stare at Maria.

“Where’s the ring?” he asked her again. She didn’t answer.

“Fuck you, Marcas!” I shouted as I shoved him again.

Maria gasped in shock and Marcas finally glanced down at me. My hands were still against his chest.

“I told you not to mistake my saving your life for anything less than self-preservation,” he said coldly. I reached up and slapped him.

“What preservation, you asshole?”

He grabbed my hand by the wrist, and I bit back a scream. I wouldn’t let him win this one.

“Do
not
slap me again,” he ordered harshly.

 How dare he? I had once thought he was saving me because he feared his brother. Now, I realized he’d promised Damon he’d return me because he wasn’t expecting either one of us to make it back. And I’d trusted him.

“You are one arrogant son of a bitch!” I hissed. Marcas’ eyes lit up.

“Figures you’d mistake confidence for arrogance,” he replied.

I clenched my fists. I was so naïve. I slapped him again. He snarled.

“And here I thought you’d been through puberty, Blainey,” he said through gritted teeth. Oh, that did it! I’d had enough. I tried to ignore the rub. Really I did. The slap had been childish but he’d deserved it.

“Well, geez. They keep raising the age of adulthood, Marcas. At least I’m not stuck for an eternity having to relive an age too young to drink,” I snarled.

Marcas quit moving, looking down at me so swiftly if I had blinked I would have missed it.

“Would you like to be, Blainey?” he asked.

“Are you threatening me, Craig?”

“Damn it, woman! If killing you wouldn’t destroy what little part of me
wasn’t
a monster, I would murder you!” Marcas cried out before punching the wall behind me so hard the plaster crumbled. I felt fear but didn’t blink. I had his strength now. He wasn’t the only one who could badly redecorate a house.

“Awww, Marcas. I’m flattered. I didn’t realize you liked me so much,” I said quietly, using that moment to twist the rings from my finger.

I threw them on the floor before ducking under his arm. We both needed space. But even as I walked away, his words resonated so deeply within me, it made me rub the sudden goosebumps on my arms. “
If killing you wouldn’t destroy what little part of me wasn’t a monster. . .”
 

Chapter 27

There is nott much known about the artifacts of Solomon beyond myths. Demons have always sought them, been obsessed with their so called powers. They could give a Demon control of his kind. It could give him control of the earth. It cannot be allowed to happen.

~Bezaliel~

I went only as far as I knew I could go in a strange country with a strange language while being followed by a league of Angels, Demons, and fanatic religious groups who wanted to see me dead. I went out into Maria’s small courtyard and sulked. What else was I supposed to do? Run?

“Is there anyone who doesn’t want me dead?” I asked the Heavens in frustration.

Great! Now I was yelling at the skies the same way Marcas did. A light from over the courtyard wall illuminated the garden, and I kicked at the rich green soil in the corner of the yard while practicing yelling at myself in my head. It seemed more productive than having someone else do it. And yet, Marcas’ voice
still
managed to interfere. “
If killing you wouldn’t destroy what little part of me wasn’t a monster. . .”
 

“Damn it!” I cried out irritably.

“Ah, piccola Ragazza. This is not pleasing. You curse a lot for an Angel,” Maria said pointedly from behind me. I froze. Now was
not
the time for company.

“You curse a lot for an old woman who wears a rosary,” I bit back as I closed my eyes and lifted my face up toward the sky. The breeze felt good against my skin. The old woman chuckled softly from behind me. At least one of us was amused.

“You glow when you are out of doors,” Maria said.

I looked down at my body before turning to face her. I saw no glow.

“Only a select few can see it. Angels and Demons have their own distinct marks,” Maria explained. She held a shawl firmly around her shoulders as she moved down the porch, and I tried my best not to glare at her as she made her way over to my side. She looked up at the sky while I looked behind us at the porch. All seemed quiet.

“He’s fixing the damage he did to my wall,” Maria said suddenly, and I turned to look at her. Her eyes bored into me. 

“I honestly don’t care what he’s doing,” I said with a frown. Maria shook her head.

“Of course you do, Angel,” she commented wryly.

This time I didn’t refrain. I glared. Maria seemed unfazed.

“One thing I have learned in my old age is that lying to yourself only causes further damage. The Demonio is an interesting specimen, no? You aren’t the first Angel he’s been involved with,” she said haughtily. My eyes went wide.

“What do you mean?”

 Maria snorted.

“Her name was Sophia. Or Aurelia. Angels tend to have many names. In this case, it is Sophia,” Maria said as she turned to look back up at the sky.

What? I looked at the house. Sophia? What was she saying?

“What do mean by involved?” I asked.

The question slipped out before I could catch it, and I groaned. There was no taking it back now. Ugh, why couldn’t I
not
care about the stupid Demon and his messed up past. I shook my head miserably. It couldn’t be helped. The old lady was right. I couldn’t lie to myself. Marcas interested me way more than he should. Maria lifted a brow and laughed softly.

“Oh, ho! So the Angel
is
interested in the sordid tale,” she said derisively.

I blew my cheeks out in frustration.

“Fine, I’m interested,” I said in annoyance. I didn’t need it rubbed in.

“What happened?”

Maria pointed to a bench on the side of the courtyard, and I followed her over.

“These old bones can’t stand the duration of this kind of tale,” she explained as she sat carefully. I took her elbow and helped her down. She nodded her thanks. I remained standing. Maria looked again at the sky.

“The world above and below us is a complicated one and our world is caught in between. They are everywhere. Demons and Angels. We interact with them daily at times and never know it. The Demonio in my home is no exception. He is an old Demon. His mother is one of the most powerful evil creatures to ever exist. His father is an immortal cursed to travel the earth with a bloodlust that would drive mortal men insane. Their children are as powerful as the mother and as bloodthirsty as the father. They are a cursed breed. But you knew that. That isn’t a new part of the tale. Sophia is,” Maria said in an intriguing tone most storytellers would envy. Knowing this didn’t make me any less enthralled. Maria shifted and her knees popped. I pretended not to notice.

“It was a century ago. Not so long in the life of a Demon when Sophia happened upon Marcas. She was a young Angel. Probably older than Marcas himself but that is still young for an Angel. And they fell in love."

 I gasped. “They
what
?” I interrupted.

Maria looked over at me and smiled widely. She was missing a few front teeth. It should have distracted me but it didn’t. I stared at her in disbelief. Marcas and an Angel?

“Ah, I knew this would be the part that would capture your attention,” she said as she patted the bench next to her. I sat. I wasn’t sure I wanted to remain standing.

“Now, it is important for you to know that there are many theories about Angels and Demons. For one, it is believed that Demons cannot love. It is believed that, if they do have a soul, it is corrupted. They are borne of evil and are, therefore, an incarnation of evil itself. This is also the reason why Demons can be killed but Angels can't. Demons are borne of darkness. They can be destroyed, but they are reincarnated in Hell. With each death, a new Demon is created. So, in a way, they never die. Just the body they reside in can be destroyed. The only way to truly rid the world of a Demon is to know his true name.

The only exception to this is the children of Lilith and Cain. If they die, they return to the earth their father was cursed to roam. There is no Hell for them but neither is there Heaven. These cursed children are an exception to many Demon rules, one of which is love. Most still argue that even the cursed children cannot love, but Marcas contradicted this theory. He has lived, like any Demon, unlawfully. His crimes, I am told, are many. But he has fallen short where the worst of his kind has not. He has spared lives when many would not have, taken souls only when people have offered it to him, and killed only when necessary. This does not please many among his kind. His own twin brother has shown no sign of these demonic shortcomings. But both brothers do have their difficulties. Many believe this is the result of being the first Demon born sons of Cain when Cain still had a certain amount of humanity. His sons seem to have inherited this. Damon’s unending search for redemption is his human fault. No matter how insane it has made him or how dangerous he has become because of it. Marcas’ failure is his mercy,” Maria explained.

I looked at the house.

“Mercy a failure?” I muttered. Maria cleared her throat, but I didn’t turn back to her.