Heart of a Demon (The Dark Angel Wars 1)

I didn’t respond to her. If I were a Nephilim, I wasn’t so sure I’d go through the partnership rite. It was scary, to think of having someone so close to you. What if I were paired with someone like Adam? I’d rather die at the hands of the goddess than be shackled with him.

The first person in line strode to the pyre. It was a woman with light brown hair and huge brown eyes. She took a dagger from her belt and with a quick swipe, sliced into her hand and held her hand over the fire, like the new warriors had done just minutes ago. I felt everyone around me take a collective breath and hold it. After a few seconds, nothing happened, and she went to join the line of new warriors on the other side of the fire.

“What’s supposed to happen?” I asked Raquel. Was I supposed to be looking for a sign in the fire?

“You’ll see.” Raquel was nearly bouncing off the bench. “You can’t miss it. I’m sure we’ll have at least one pairing tonight.”

The next person in line was a giant of a man with long strawberry blond hair pulled back into a ponytail. He even towered over Luke. With a quick slice of his hand, he dropped his blood into the fire and took a step back. Almost instantly, the fire threw a handful of sparks into the air which shot around the circle like lightning bugs.

A hundred eyes followed the sparks that darted back and forth. After a few agonizing moments of waiting, they finally settled on the brown haired woman who had just bled into the fire seconds ago, forming a glowing orange ring that circled around her head, and then disappeared in a blaze of blue flame.

“Oooooh, Sharon got paired with Teddy. I was hoping they’d finally get together.” Raquel gave a heavy sigh. “They’ve been friends forever. It makes a lot of sense.”

“Why didn’t they get paired when they did the ceremony last year?” I asked.

“Teddy didn’t do it last year. And you have to put your blood in the fire to even be considered as a partner.” Raquel’s eyes darkened in the firelight. “He used to be partnered to Eliza. She was killed five years ago in a demon attack. It was heartbreaking.”

It would be awful to lose your heaven-sent partner in such a violent way. But at least, there was always the chance you could be given a partner again.

The next five people went through the line and nothing happened. I was beginning to get bored. The wooden bench wasn’t very comfortable on my rear. Still, the thought of missing another partnering kept me glued to the seat. It was almost magical. Like a God-ordained soulmate. Some people wandered all over the world searching for their soulmate. Here, the search was easy.

Adam came to the front of the line. He winked at Ashley, standing in the line of warriors, and sliced his hand. I saw her cringe when he looked away and I almost laughed. Even Ashley couldn’t stand her boyfriend. It made me wish they would get stuck together as partners forever.

Unfortunately, when the blood hit the flames, nothing happened. Adam was forced to take his place with the growing line of Nephilim that hadn’t been partnered. Almost two dozen people stood in the line, the flames of the fire reflected in their eyes. From what Raquel had whispered in my ear, it wouldn’t be long before they’d find their partners. It was inevitable. Maybe not this year and maybe not the next. But sometime in their 900 years of life, they could be sure to find one.

The last person in line was Gabe. He cut a lonely figure in the warm light of the blaze. On my left, Ashley shifted her feet and bit her bottom lip. This was the moment she’d been waiting for. I wanted to run up there and snatch the da

gger out of his hands. If there was even the slightest chance he’d get partnered with her, he shouldn’t do it. It made me feel like a middle-school girl to think that way, but I couldn’t help it. Anyone but her, played on repeat in my head.

He sliced into his palm and held it over the fire. Two drops of blood fell from his hand and landed with the slightest sizzling sound on the red hot ashes below. I bit the inside of my cheek until the bitter taste of blood filled my mouth. Maybe he’d be like most of the others and nothing would happen.

Too soon, the pyre spit out a shower of ashes high into the sky. My stomach sank like a rock as I watched the ashes gather together and zoom across the crowd. Ashley was going to be paired with Gabe. She’d won. Girls like her always won, eventually.

The ashes blurred through the air and then stopped suddenly. It wasn’t until they began to glow bright orange that I realized they’d stopped above my head. In a brilliant blaze of blue, they disappeared… and the crowd of Nephilim were thrown into an uproar.

I hardly noticed the crowd or Raquel’s mouth hanging wide open next to me. All I saw was Gabe and his green eyes staring into mine.

Chapter Eighteen

They left me in an empty conference room in the manor. There were people arguing outside in the hall, at least six voices raised in anger. The second that halo of ashes had disappeared over my head at the ceremony, Esther had grabbed my hand and pulled me through the mass of Nephilim. She’d asked me to wait until they could gather the board and talk to me altogether.

My head was buzzing. I didn’t understand what had happened. Surely this was some kind of mistake. Maybe they meant to choose someone else. Someone fierce enough to be Gabe’s partner and help him battle demons.

But, I couldn’t fight the dark fear that bubbled up from some recently made memories. What if they decided to kill me for this mistake, just like Granny? I wouldn’t sit here and take it, like last time. I’d fight, tooth and nail. If anyone tried to kill me again, they were going to be sorry.

I’d nearly made up my mind to run from the conference room, when the door opened and in stepped Luke. His normally warm smile was replaced by a weary and grim frown. He was followed by Esther and four other Nephilim who I vaguely recalled meeting at the party last week.

One was a woman in a striking red blouse with dark skin and bright red lipstick. The remaining three were men. One, I thought his name might have been Frederick, looked like he was in his sixties and had a thick head of gray hair. The second was of a similar age and had a shaved smooth head. The last was the eldest. He walked carefully, like a man well into his eighties, and sat across from me. I felt his eyes on my face, and looked up to see him cleaning his glasses on a cloth while he studied me.

“This is quite the surprise,” he said after everyone had seated themselves around the table. “Quite the surprise indeed. Never in my eight hundred and three years have I seen anything like it.”

I almost had to pick my jaw up from the table. Eight hundred and three years was a long time to live. He might not be a fierce warrior anymore, but he looked great for such an old man.

“Yes, quite,” Luke added. “We’re all in shock. None more than Lizzy, I imagine.”

My voice still wasn’t working. I simply nodded at him.

“How do we know that?” the beautiful dark woman with the red blouse spoke up. “How can we be sure she didn’t know about this all along and was sent here by demons? This could be a new strategy.”