Dahlia (Blood Crave Series) Read online

  “So you know that I’m not entirely…human,” he said rather calmly.

  There was a momentary pause as they continued to stare at each other, Dahlia registering his words. It was as if a light bulb finally went off in her head as she finally spoke again.

  “Like me,” she whispered back in astonishment.

  Chapter 13

  The words came out so softly from her lips that it was merely a whisper. she didn’t want to believe it but it was something she knew to be true.

  She was finally able to admit it to herself.

  “In a way. The lapsus to be exact.”

  Dahlia let the foreign word process in her mind. “You mentioned that before. Lapsus. What is that?”

  Greyson took a deep breath and then replied.

  “Angelus lapsus, a Latin term for what we are. What Maddox is. When interpreted in English it means, ‘fallen angel.’ We are the fallen, the lapsus, which were casted out of heaven due to our hatred for the humans that God loved so much. After we lost the battle, God stripped us of our wings and we landed here on earth where we’ve remained ever since.”

  “You’re…you’re a fallen angel?” Dahlia stuttered slightly on the words and she looked at him in disbelief.

  You’ve got to be kidding me.

  Greyson smiled faintly. “Technically, although not the first of them. Alexander was one of the first. In order to keep our bloodline alive they mated with humans to procreate, the very reason that those first inhabitants, humans, were needed. Full-blooded lapsus were not able to mate with one another. So to answer your question, I guess the correct term would be demi-angel or rather, nephilim if you want to get technical.”

  “And that makes me…demi-angel?” she asked, staring at Greyson doubtfully. She honestly couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth, let alone the fact that she was having a conversation about the existence of fallen angels. She quickly looked around the cabin as she searched for signs of alcohol lying around anywhere.

  Now would be the acceptable time to drink.

  Either Greyson was ignoring her distress or didn’t notice it as he responded, “Yes, Dahlia. Your blood carries the bloodline of the lapsus, the fallen.”

  “Should you be nicknaming me, Angel, then?” Dahlia said sarcastically. She shook her head and stared up at the ceiling as she muttered, “What the hell is going on?”

  “Look.” The tone in Greyson’s voice caused her to glance over and briefly halt her mini-meltdown. “I know this is quite difficult to comprehend but believe me, it’s the truth. Deep down inside you know this explains a lot of your...peculiarities as of late.”

  Dahlia didn’t want to discuss any of her…peculiarities, so she tried to change the focus onto him. “How…old are you?” She eyed him warily, her first guess putting him at around nineteen. If what he was saying were true, then Greyson could be hundreds of years old for all she knew, if his great-great-great-grandfather was around since the beginning of time.

  Greyson raised his eyebrows with a slight smirk. “Old enough.”

  “So you’re like…super old.”

  He winced at her response then looked at her pointedly. “I’m not old. I haven’t even reached a century yet.”

  Her eyes bugged out from his response. “Then how do you look so young?” She eyed him doubtfully, not believing a word he said.

  This was unreal.

  “Our angel blood keeps us aging at a slower rate. The same will happen with you when you turn eighteen. After we hit maturity, twenty years may pass but it will only look as though one year had.”

  Dahlia’s eyes bugged out at his response as she realized that in a mere few months, she’d start aging at a snail’s pace. Then again, she didn’t know her real birth date so it could happen at any moment. She stayed quiet as she freaked over this new development.

  Greyson spoke up as if he hadn’t just shocked her with his revelation and continued with his story. “The first angel casted out of the heavens differed from the rest of us. In actuality, he started the whole conflict and the rest simply followed. Alexander told me that he was powerful and angry, no furious, toward the mortals that God loved so much.”

  “Alexander told you?” Dahlia stared up at him incredulously. “Don’t tell me he’s still alive and kicking?”

  He chuckled lightly. “No, I’ve never met Alexander. But as angelus lapsus, before they pass on to the other side, they have the opportunity to leave behind their memories and experiences to their offspring. As such, Alexander did that with his son and so on until it resided in me. Of course, the memories aren’t as clear as they’ve become blurred throughout time, and I may not have lived their lives, but I feel like I’ve felt every moment of it.”

  “Wow,” Dahlia sat stunned by what Greyson had just said. If she were truly a fallen angel herself, perhaps the reason she had no memories of her life was that her mother or father hadn’t wanted to pass on their experiences. Dahlia shook her head, saddened at the thought as she tried to brush the feeling away. She asked another question instead.

  “This first angel that was so furious at the humans. Is this the devil we’re talking about?” She thought back to her Sunday school lectures at the orphanage with all the Bible stories told. Dahlia gave Greyson a hesitant look at the thought.

  “The devil. Satan. Lucifer. That is the name that humans gave him but in actuality, I have no idea what his name truly is. No one knows who he is or where he is. His name was kept secret from anyone but the first fallen angels. That’s the one memory Alexander kept from me. But if that’s what you want to call him, then yes.”

  Dahlia’s mind flashed to the man in black that she’d been seeing in her dreams. Could he be the first of the fallen angels?

  Satan?

  “Anyway, he was so angry that he created an army of immortal beings that fed on the blood of humans as retaliation.”

  Her mind conjured up the description that Greyson was giving, unable to believe what he was saying. “Vampires? Do you mean vampires?” Her voice began to sound more frantic as she went on.

  Greyson shrugged in indifference. “If you must call them that. They are rather termed, lamia, the blood-devouring demons that were created by the devil himself.”

  “Lamia.” For some reason the word gave Dahlia pause. Greyson’s description of the lamia drinking blood made her uncomfortable, as it was eerily similar to her own fascination with the substance.

  But apparently she was a fallen angel so what did it matter?

  “One lapsus in particular,” Greyson started as he continued to weave his story. Dahlia had to remember that lapsus meant fallen, describing these angels. “They didn’t take too kindly to the creation of the lamia, the demon vampires. He hated them, as much as he did humans, maybe more. You can imagine that he was the first to jump on the bandwagon to eliminate all lamia when they uncovered the importance of keeping the humans alive, in order for their bloodline to live on. So he devised a plan to wipe them all out.”

  “All of the lamia?”

  “Yes. Alexander and the rest of his fallen comrades helped kill them all.” Greyson commented faintly as his thoughts were drawn back to a time that he wished he could forget. Images that Alexander passed on to him as if they were his very own, forever embedded in his mind.

  Screams were heard everywhere, the guttural cries of lives simply being reduced to nothing but dust. A war had broken out between the demons and fallen angels, the lapsus having the upper hand by attempting to murder all of the lamia while they slept during the day.

  At their most vulnerable time.

  In the chaos of things, I stood utterly still, tightly clutching the stake in my hand. I had just killed a lamia, staked her right in the heart. Her black eyes had flung open as she looked up at me accusingly at my betrayal, crying
out in agony. We stared at each other for what seemed like hours, but merely seconds, before she finally closed her eyes. Giving her last exhalation of breath, she instantly decomposed before me.

  I looked into the now empty casket and clenched my jaw as I turned away, ready for my next kill.

  We wouldn’t stop until they were all dead.

  ***

  Greyson shook his head as he tried to clear the memory away. He lifted up two fingers. Clearing his throat he continued, “All but two of the lamia died. They somehow managed to escape, but not before locking up Merrick permanently as punishment. He was the one who started it all.”

  “Merrick,” Dahlia said the name slowly, trying to piece together everything Greyson had just said. “So Merrick was the one who killed all the vampires—sorry, lamia—and now he’s stuck somewhere trapped for all eternity?”

  “Yes.”

  “This is all a good thing, right?” Dahlia looked curiously up at Greyson. “I mean, these lamia or vampires or whatever you call them, were killing humans. Them being wiped out benefits everyone. And the fallen angels were once angels so technically they’re the good guys?” She continued before Greyson could even answer, tapping her finger lightly against her cheek as she wrinkled her brow. “Except for that Merrick fellow who seemed to have enjoyed killing a little bit too much. He rubs me the wrong way. But, he got his punishment from the surviving lamia, like you said. Why are we having this conversation then?”

  Dahlia felt restless and attempted to get up from her seat but suddenly stopped as Greyson grasped her wrist tightly and looked up at her piercingly. “Because not all angels are good and Merrick is a prime example for what he did. And although I can’t say much about the lamia since I haven’t personally met any, I’d guess that not all of them were bad either.”

  He let go of his grasp of her and Dahlia rubbed her wrist gingerly as she gave Greyson a hard stare, settling back into the couch. “You didn’t have to do that. I wasn’t running away or anything.”

  “I just need to be sure you understand the severity of the situation. I can see through the eyes of Alexander, what it felt like to drive a stake through the heart of those lamia. He enjoyed it.” Greyson paused as he swallowed hard, his voice becoming thick. “At the same token, some of the lamia I saw killed were young, almost innocent looking. It’s difficult seeing their faces every night when I close my own eyes.”

  Dahlia slowly moved her hand toward Greyson’s and looked up at him earnestly, the pain engraved on his face apparent. “I’m sorry.”

  Greyson laughed dryly. “Nothing to be sorry about. It’s just a part of being lapsus. You carry the responsibilities of your ancestors. I know what it feels like to have your wings plucked, ripped away from your flesh as you spiral down to the earth. I also know what it feels like to kill.” He glanced down at his hands as he spoke, as if glimpsing something only he could see.

  She gave his hand a squeeze. “But it wasn’t really you. You’re not Alexander.”

  “It might as well have been me. Alexander obeyed Merrick and did what he was told. He wasn’t good. When Merrick was trapped by the surviving lamia, it was Alexander’s duty, as well as others, to do everything in their power to release him. That sense of duty was passed on from Alexander and eventually to me.” He paused, letting her process what he just said.

  Dahlia lifted her hand away from Greyson as she looked at him in confusion, hearing the implication in his words. “You’re helping Merrick get out?”

  He looked down at his hand where it suddenly felt cold by the loss of her touch. “Yes. Merrick may be trapped, but that doesn’t mean he can’t control things from where he’s at. And he’s desperate to get out before it’s too late.”

  “What do you mean by that?” She started to panic slightly at his words, her heart beating rapidly.

  “Merrick has a lot of power. That’s from being one of the first of the lapsus and one with the purest of blood. From where he slumbers, he’s managed to stay alive all this time. But his time is running short. We must do everything in our power to make sure that Merrick becomes free. He also seeks revenge against those that trapped him.”

  Dahlia paused at his words then spoke slowly. “Okay. Say everything you’re telling me is true—that there really are fallen angels and two vampires walking the streets. Other fallen angels, including yourself, are helping to get this Merrick fellow released so he can go on his revenge spree against the vampires he managed not to kill centuries ago. What does any of this have to do with me?” Dahlia still didn’t get their connection. If she really was a descendant of a fallen angel, it was not like she herself had promised to help Merrick.

  Plus it didn’t sound as if Greyson even liked Merrick, so why was he willing to help him?

  “As angelus lapsus, we can prolong our life. Eventually, like every living thing, we die, just like my father and my ancestors before him. That includes Merrick who, like us, will die. In a way, he’s lucky that he was trapped because it seemed to have prolonged his body. But like I said, his time is coming to an end.”

  He paused. Then, “And that can’t happen.”

  Dahlia frowned at his comment. She still couldn’t get over the fact that she was technically an angel. “Why not? It’s a good thing if he dies, right? From what you’re telling me, he seems quite cruel for practically wiping out an entire species. What’s so bad about that?”

  Greyson looked over at her, almost imploringly as he answered. “Dahlia. If Merrick dies, he will make sure that the world as we know is in ruins.”

  “How? And again, what does this have to do with me?” Dahlia was internally freaking out by the tenseness of the conversation and where it seemed to be going and was practically yelling by this point.

  “We have orders from Merrick to initiate the apocalypse if he happens to die. Unfortunately with our powers, that’s an easy task,” Greyson said with a humorless laugh. “I can’t permit myself to be involved in the destruction of the world so I will do my part in making sure that doesn’t happen.

  “People like Maddox,” he stopped briefly, shaking his head. “He would relish in creating chaos in the world. And he’s not the only one. It will happen if you don’t help Merrick because you, Dahlia, are a piece of the puzzle to granting his release.” Greyson concluded, biting his lip as if not wanting to tell her something.

  “What? What is it?” She knew there was something more to the story.

  Greyson squeezed his eyes tightly, rubbing his hand over his forehead. “Merrick’s a bit of an ass. Even though we as lapsus live for quite some time, it was never enough for him. He was always on this quest to find everlasting life. It was why he truly hated the lamia so much. He thought that the answer would be in their blood, since they were immortal, and it was the reason why he was so adamant on killing them. More than anything, he was jealous. He harvested some of their blood, tried to figure out what was in the chemical make-up that led to their immortality. He even experimented on other lapsus using the vampire blood on them, but his experiments never panned out. Ended up killing them in the process. Merrick wants another shot on figuring how to maintain his life and the first thing he has to do is get out. According to him, he needs the following to become free.”

  He began to tick off his fingers. “First is the blood of a half-breed. Second, the blood of the one who trapped him—who happens to be the oldest of the lamia, one of the two who escaped that night of the massacre.”

  Dahlia tried to wrap her mind around everything Greyson was saying. “Why does he need blood from two separate beings?”

  “Because blood between lamia and lapsus cannot be mixed—it’s biochemically impossible. If a lamia fed on any of the lapsus, the lamia would simply die. It’s one of nature’s ways of siding with the lapsus, I guess. A precautionary measure if you will.”

  Dahl
ia recalled to what he said earlier. “And you said half-breed? Isn’t that like any descendant of the lapsus—part-angel, part-human like you? Why am I the piece to the puzzle? Why does it have to be me and not you?”

  “We’re not talking about part-angel, part-human blood. We’re talking about part-angel, part-lamia blood. With your healing qualities, it will strengthen him. You are what he’s been searching for all this time.”

  He said it so matter-of-fact that Dahlia was quiet for a moment. Then she began laughing hysterically, looking up into his serious face. “Yeah right, Greyson. First, you tell me I’m a fallen angel. Now you’re saying me I’m half vampire? Dream on,” she scoffed.

  “Doesn’t your blood have the power to heal?”

  She didn’t bother asking him how he knew. He seemed to know everything about her. “Yes, but—”

  Greyson wouldn’t let her finish. “Just like lamia, you are able to regenerate from trauma. Only your blood can actually heal others, something the lamia do not possess except to change them into lamia themselves. The ability to heal might have been one of your characteristics as a true fallen angel—we have various other talents—but with lamia blood coursing through your veins, it manifested in your blood. Like the lapsus would, you age, can walk out in the sun, and you don’t have enlarged incisors. Unlike lamia.”

  “But a vampire?” This was so not happening. “And Merrick wants my blood for this…ritual?”

  “Yes.” Greyson said it without hesitating.

  “And you’re here because you do what Merrick tells you to?”

  Greyson winced at her words but nodded his head in agreement. “It is what Alexander promised. Merrick sent me here to retrieve you. I’m a very good tracker.”