BRIAN WAITED IN THE foyer of the Vampire mansion again. I only brought him along because I didn’t want Drake murdering Ethan. Keeping them away from each other was the only way to keep them both alive.
Felix led me down a hallway I had never been in. There were paintings of past Vampires hanging on the walls. I didn’t recognize any of them, but I assumed they were leaders at some point. Zander, the leader prior to Drake, had been in office for a long time, so the paintings were old.
Drake waited in what I assumed was his office. He glanced up from his paperwork, smiling when he saw me. “Sophie! I’m so glad you could make it.” He stood to walk over to me.
I hesitated, examining him. He seemed like the usual Drake, so I allowed him to hug me. He pressed a kiss to the top of my head.
“I wanted you here so you could fill me in on everything that has been going on. Roark only knows so much. I know the demon has been taking over my body.”
Trying to figure out if he was telling the truth, I examined his face. The demon could be trying to trick me. Not able to tell, I sighed and took a seat in one of the chairs, watching as he made his way to his own. Both my demon necklace and his eyes glowed red, but that just meant the demon was inside him, didn’t it? Deciding to just go with the flow, I proceeded to explain what the demon had been doing and what happened the night before. He watched me in silence, barely showing any kind of emotion. When I finished, I waited, clasping my hands in my lap.
“He’s been doing all this and I knew nothing. How is that possible? I should be able to see everything he does.”
Gasping, I stood up quickly, backing away from him. Drake watched me. At first, he looked confused, then he smiled.
“Something wrong, Sophie?” he asked.
“You’re not Drake.”
“What makes you think that? It’s me, Sophie. I wouldn’t lie to you.” He stood up, coming around his desk.
Suddenly, he was on me, hand squeezing around my neck as he pressed me against the wall.
I gasped for air, staring at his face inches from mine. This was not Drake...and hadn’t been for a while. When he came to my house claiming he wanted to talk about the babies, I should have known. Drake didn’t remember details when the demon took over, so he would have never known what the demon said about the babies.
“You figured it out. Bitch. I should have realized you were smarter than I gave you credit for.” His nails dug into my neck. “This whole time, I thought I had you convinced.”
“You’re a liar,” I rasped, trying to pry his hands from my neck.
Drake chuckled and released me. “Demons lie.”
My legs buckled under me and I fell to the floor. I rubbed my throat, glaring at him. I wasn’t sure how fast my healing would take care of the pain. At that moment, I was just worried about the children. I had to let Brian know we needed to leave. Magically disappearing would be easy, but leaving Brian behind wasn’t an option. If I did, they’d kill him.
“What do you want?” I asked, climbing to my feet, supporting myself against the wall.
“To talk. I want you to back off so I can do something I’ve been planning for decades.” He sat behind his desk, looking relaxed, as if nothing happened.
“Why would I do that?”
“Because I’ll kill you and the Mage if you don’t.”
“We can’t let you bring the Demon King into this world.”
Smiling, Drake stared at me. “I knew somebody would tell you. If it wasn’t the demon hunter, it would be the Mages. You Witches aren’t educated enough to know everything that has to do with demons.”
I was willing to bet there were books about demons in my office. I just had yet to read them. Time was something I didn’t have. If my life would calm down long enough, I would be able to learn about all there was in my library.
“I refuse to let you do it. I don’t care if I have to die in the process.”
I clenched my fists as I fought the urge to attack him. There was so much rage inside me, I could barely contain it. Just thinking about all the damage he’d done was enough to have my magic seeping out of my hands. I felt the wind pick up in the room, lifting my hair.
Drake raised an eyebrow, amused by my show. “You would risk your children? Tsk, tsk, Sophie. I highly doubt you would put those babies at risk. You’ll do as I ask, or I’ll make them suffer an eternity of pain, just as I am doing to Drake. They’ll never escape my clutches. Never have a chance at a normal life. Do you know what I could do with children like yours? They’re powerful, special. I can sense it.”
“You need to leave Drake’s body. There are so many other ones you can take over. Why do you insist on using him?” I asked, ignoring his comments about the babies.
“We’re attached, Drake and I. I have no choice but to use this body. If I leave it, the power remains with him. I can’t allow that to happen. I’ve lived without my demon powers for too long. Do you know what it’s like living like a human?” He scrunched up his face. “It’s a horrible experience. I wouldn’t recommend it.” Drake steepled his hands. “The choice is yours, Sophie. Let me do what I came here to do, or lose your precious cargo.”
When he looked back down at the papers on his desk, I thought about throwing some kind of magic his way. But when he looked back up at me, I saw confusion in his face.
What the fuck
