Blood Prize (Bloody Dance #1) by A Muse Page B

a member of the team dies you pack up and you leave.” That was the number one rule. Kaleb had always followed it and Shu lived by it as well.
    When Rai was born, we had been in this house. Shu and I had been a two-man team until Aya came and then Dante. Now all three of them were gone. We needed to move on. We needed to follow the rules. It was how we were going to keep this family alive.
    “Zero, take your friend and pack anything useful. Rai, go pack your room. I will . . . I will . . .” Amy titled and I grabbed her before she could fall to the floor.
    “Mom!” Rai rushed over to her as I scooped her up into my arms. We all rushed upstairs to her room. Maybe the news of Shu was too much. Soji sat on the edge of Amy’s bed. A white light surrounded his hand as he moved them over Amy. I could feel the heat of his power. It was pure magic, the kind that didn’t agree with demons like me.
    “She’s fine, she just fainted,” Soji said the light on his hand fading away.
    “We should let her rest. Go pack like Amy said,” I told Rai. She gave small hiccuping sobs but moved from the room. I moved out of the room as well turning out the light and shutting the door after Soji joined me in the hall.
    Packing met finding clothes and weapons that were still usable. I went through the rooms looking for these items as Soji watched me. I could feel his blue eyes on me. What was he looking for?
    “Is moving a good idea?” He lived in a church. They had a lot of members to protect their stronghold. We just had the three of us. This house was too big to protect with just us. We had to move so that we had a chance at living. Plus this place was Shu’s home. Staying here would be like living in a tomb. We would all be surrounded by his scent, his laughter, his memories.
    Soji walked towards me. He rested his hand to the side of my face. I paused looking up at him. It was that feeling again. That great sense that I knew him. That in some life he and I shared the same space and time. I didn’t understand it. I didn’t know why I was so . . . Connected to him.
    I frowned when I saw tears leak from his eyes. Pulling him into my arms I wasn’t sure brought on the wave of emotions. Why was he crying? Was he hurt? It wasn’t like he ever met Shu. He had no reason to mourn with the rest of us. This house met nothing to him. So leaving it shouldn’t bring him to tears.
    “All of this pain. That little girl lost her father because of demons. This whole world is suffering because of demons. Even you, Zero. You suffered so much because of a demon.” He couldn’t know the things that I suffered. Or maybe he did know. Maybe he saw my pain. Maybe he was familiar to me because he knew my pain, he knew my suffering.
    “There was a world without demons once. I was human once. When the gates were open, I was human. My family died because of Ban. So I understand. I hate demons too. I’m a demon though. I didn’t want to die so I became a demon.”
    “You’re not like other demons. You have a soul.” He pressed his hand against my chest. I had a soul? Did he see it inside of me? I shook my head pressing my forehead against his. I could see his tears shine in the dimly lit room. It should have been a sin for someone to be so beautiful.
    Ban was this beautiful, but Ban was a dark beauty. Soji was beautiful on the inside. His soul was untainted. I backed up from him shoving my fingers into his hair. Since I became, a demon Ban was the only person I ever touched. For the last two hundred years, Ban was the only person I wanted.
    So why did I feel so drawn to Soji? Why did something inside of me tell me that it wasn’t true? That Ban wasn’t the only one that I saw. Why did it feel like there was someone in the fog? Looking at Soji he was rubbing at his eyes trying to clear away his tears. Who was this man?
    Leaning in I pressed my lips to his. I could feel him stiffen under my touch. His lips were so soft as I pressed against them. I