Page 130 of Dark Souls

“Demonski Upirs had two souls. I guess, technically, they were the first ever hybrids in a way. Half demon and half vampire. They had the soul of a demon and the soul of a vampire but in one physical body. The unique vulnerability of Demonski Upirs was they’re only killable in demon form, making them immortal as vampires.

In the past, extremely powerful witches and seers had summoned demons from the underworld, but only ever for a short period. Demons don’t belong in our world, so they could never exist among us because they are children of the underworld and, therefore, seen as the undead. But Demonski Upirs were different because their vampire counterpart kept them tied to the human realm. The Knowltons clearly had the idea that in order to control a demon forever through summoning, you needed to obtain its soul. But their problem lies with the other half. The vampire.”

“They couldn’t unbind their souls,” I mumbled.

“Exactly. It was ambitious, to say the least. And pointless in the end. They didn’t achieve it.”

“How do you know?” I swallowed thickly as I stared straight ahead, seeing nothing in particular. My heart was racing, but a chilling stillness had taken over my body as all the puzzle pieces finally slotted into place.

“Because it was impossible. And all Demonski Upirs died through any of their attempts. It’s all in the list.”

The list. My attention returned to my phone as the translated list appeared on the screen. I scrolled down it as Calli continued to talk, but I couldn’t hear her anymore. Not over the sound of my pulse pounding in my ears. I scrolled and scrolled the list of victims. Names of Demonski Upirs and how they died. The list was endless. My throat tightened, and my hands shook as I finally neared the bottom. I froze.

“Ilaria? Is everything alright? You’ve gone very quiet?”

“Calli,” I choked out. “I have to go. Thanks for the help.” I hung up the phone and stared at the very last names on the list.

Maksim Nezera - Deceased (Decapitation)

Zoran Nezera - Deceased (Hellfire)

Lukas Nezera - Captured and Deceased (failed soul possession)

Hana Nezera - Captured and Deceased (failed soul possession)

Holy. Fuck.

Everything

MysoulmateisaDemonski Upir. Luka is a Demonski Upir.

It was insane. I couldn’t believe it, yet… it made so much sense. The memories of his past; his mother telling him never to tell a soul who he was, the fact they never stayed in one place for too long, the hesitancy he felt about introducing Belladonna to his family, the coven hunting him, the tortures. They must have been torturing him to make him shift into his demon form, as he couldn’t be killed in his vampire form. And his demon form must be Heathen.

I stopped my pacing and threw my hands up into my hair. Heathen. It was the most logical explanation for why I’d always felt this undeniable pull towards the demon. They both couldn’t talk about themselves, and yet they both acted like my soulmates. That must be why I was still attracted to Heath, even after finding Luka. But if he was Luka’s demon form, why didn’t I recognise him as my soulmate the moment I saw him like I did with Luka?

My mind raced as I repeated every little interaction I’d ever had with them, looking for any clues that Heath and Luka could possibly be the same person. There were so many differences in their personalities, but when I really thought about it, there had been signs…

Heathen had always been more playful and mischievous, but the more Luka relaxed around me, the more I saw glimpses of that side of him, too. He’d even say things or do things that reminded me of Heathen now and again. Their mannerisms were similar, such as clicking their necks to the side when controlling anger or stress or projecting an eerie, lethal calmness when filled with the need to kill. Even though Heathen’s voice was deeper and more ancient in timbre, they were both accented. Both European. But the biggest clue was how Heathen always acted like I belonged to him, even though he clearly wasn’t aware we were soulmates. Until… I told him I was Luka’s. And he laughed like a twisted nutcase. I thought at the time it was just an example of his insanity and unpredictable nature, but it was because he’d just made the connection. If I was Luka’s soulmate… I was also his.

Figure it out, Snow. Because the next time I see you, I’ll be taking what’s mine. And no one can stop me.

And Luka… yeah, he’d been mad when I’d told him about Heath and me, but he had dealt with it relatively well. He’d killed a man for touching me, blinded a man for looking at me, yet he hadn’t challenged Heathen for everything that had happened between us? I thought it was because Heathen was more powerful and Luka knew he didn’t stand a chance, but what if…

I grabbed my phone again, staring at his name at the bottom of the list, just to be sure. The two males above him must have been his father and brother, and Hana was below. Where was his mother’s name? Did they not record her death because Luka killed her and not them? Or maybe she wasn’t a Demonski Upir at all? And why did the coven record Luka and Hana as deceased when they were very much alive? To keep their control over them a secret, I presume.

Forcing myself to calm down and try to think clearly, I flicked through the other pages Calli had translated for me. I found the page of mad ramblings about a summoning spell and how to control a demon. Calli was right. The writing was incoherent, a messy jumble of poorly executed ideas that looked like a personal diary entry. On the last page was a list of dates. I slammed my hand over my mouth when I read the small extracts.

1825, 17th October - Attack on Nezera family home in Serbia after Belladonna’s confirmation that they are Demonski Upirs (DU). Father and eldest son attempted to fight, giving the other three family members the chance to flee. Father decapitated. Son burned alive by hellfire.

1826, 20th January - Hunt continues for three Nezera members. Wide search area over The Balkans.

1826, 6th March - Young DU captured in The Balkans. Age twenty. Healthy, powerful but only seen in vampire form. Identified as Lukas Nezera.

1826, 29th March - DU refusal to show true demon form through physical and mental torture.

1826, 7th April - DU starvation has weakened it but still refused to shift to true form.

1826, 10th April - Captured DU’s mother, Adrijana Nezara. Shall use her life to force the DU to comply.

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