Diary letters from the Angel of Light; the mother of the Valtrez brothers:
****
My husband is no longer the man I married. The poison has consumed him. I see the difference in his eyes, the dark cravings, the violence, the hunger for blood and destruction. He welcomes pain, enjoys inflicting it upon others.
He hungers for the battle.
Though I still pray that my love can save him, he has grown dangerous to me. And to the boys.
He’s disappeared with Vincent several times lately. I do not know what he does, but Vincent is quiet and withdrawn, angry, now, and I see his own temper emerging.
Last night I tried to talk to Zion, but he threw me against the wall and declared that he will one day become the leader of the underworld. That his sons will rule the underworld with him.
I have to do something to stop him...
All I can think about now is that I have to save my sons.
Tonight I found Vincent marked by the demons.
He tried to hide the teethmarks from me, but I saw that his body was bruised and beaten. The bite and claw marks on his back held poison that had already invaded his young body. And whatever torture and punishment Zion had inflicted upon him has begun to eat at his soul.
I cannot let it continue.
Quinton and Dante are too young to understand, to remember, to know what is happening. I must get them away from their father. They will survive without me.
But Vincent – he would know if I abandoned him.
But how can I leave one of my sons, letting him believe that I do not want him, and save the other two?
Forbidden Marriage:
I knew the moment I looked into Zion’s mesmerizing, dark eyes that our love was forbidden.
That he was a demon who possessed the power of great evil. That if he ever lost himself to the pull of the darkness within him, that he might kill me.
Still I plunged headfirst into his arms and became his lover.
His touch was electric. His voice sultry and enticing. His hunger for me so intense that I couldn’t deny him.
He told me he craved me constantly. He wanted to make me happy. To share a life free of evil.
The day we married, he vowed to love me forever. To fight the bad blood in his veins and protect me from the demons.
And when our first son Vincent was born, and then the twins Quinton and Dante, he cried and held each of them in his arms, refuting his destiny and defying his own evil father.
Then he held me and promised that he was strong enough to overcome the darkness, that nothing would ever tear us apart.
That his sons would never walk with Satan much less become his soldiers.
Still, fear creeps in constantly, and I pray desperately that our love can save him from his destiny.
That he was a demon who possessed the power of great evil. That if he ever lost himself to the pull of the darkness within him, that he might kill me.
Still I plunged headfirst into his arms and became his lover.
His touch was electric. His voice sultry and enticing. His hunger for me so intense that I couldn’t deny him.
He told me he craved me constantly. He wanted to make me happy. To share a life free of evil.
The day we married, he vowed to love me forever. To fight the bad blood in his veins and protect me from the demons.
And when our first son Vincent was born, and then the twins Quinton and Dante, he cried and held each of them in his arms, refuting his destiny and defying his own evil father.
Then he held me and promised that he was strong enough to overcome the darkness, that nothing would ever tear us apart.
That his sons would never walk with Satan much less become his soldiers.
Still, fear creeps in constantly, and I pray desperately that our love can save him from his destiny.
****
The Demon Attacks:
The demon attacks have heightened. Helzebar, the leader of the underworld, has sent his minions to punish Zion for his defection. To force him to bring his sons into the underworld with him.
He’s been fighting them bravely.
But last night they captured him, tortured him, fed on his flesh so viciously his blood is now infected. He claims he can overcome the sting of the poison.
But I fear that I will lose him to the evil.
But last night they captured him, tortured him, fed on his flesh so viciously his blood is now infected. He claims he can overcome the sting of the poison.
But I fear that I will lose him to the evil.
****
Zion’s downfall: My husband is no longer the man I married. The poison has consumed him. I see the difference in his eyes, the dark cravings, the violence, the hunger for blood and destruction. He welcomes pain, enjoys inflicting it upon others.
He hungers for the battle.
Though I still pray that my love can save him, he has grown dangerous to me. And to the boys.
He’s disappeared with Vincent several times lately. I do not know what he does, but Vincent is quiet and withdrawn, angry, now, and I see his own temper emerging.
Last night I tried to talk to Zion, but he threw me against the wall and declared that he will one day become the leader of the underworld. That his sons will rule the underworld with him.
I have to do something to stop him...
****
Saving My Sons: All I can think about now is that I have to save my sons.
Tonight I found Vincent marked by the demons.
He tried to hide the teethmarks from me, but I saw that his body was bruised and beaten. The bite and claw marks on his back held poison that had already invaded his young body. And whatever torture and punishment Zion had inflicted upon him has begun to eat at his soul.
I cannot let it continue.
Quinton and Dante are too young to understand, to remember, to know what is happening. I must get them away from their father. They will survive without me.
But Vincent – he would know if I abandoned him.
But how can I leave one of my sons, letting him believe that I do not want him, and save the other two?
****
The Monks:
I spoke with the Monks today and they agreed to take the twins and separate them. It is too dangerous for the boys to be together.
Zion will be furious when he discovers my subterfuge. But he is long past saving.
And I will not allow my sons to succumb to Satan and be his soldiers.
I gathered the amulets for the boys’ protection and drove them to the secret meeting place deep in the woods near the Monastery. There I kissed each one of them goodbye, and left their protective amulet with them.
Leaving Quinton and Dante was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. My heart literally felt as if it was being ripped in two, as if it was bleeding. My tears flowed freely and will continue until the day we are reunited.
How can a mother abandon her sons, you wonder?
How could I not? A mother’s love means protecting her children at all costs, even if it means protecting them from their own father and heritage.
It means letting them go even if it kills me...
Death:
Last night I found Vincent bloody and bruised again. I must send him away to save him.
But I fear nothing can save me. Zion has threatened my life more than once, has tried to beat the truth out of me, to force me to lead him to Quinton and Dante.
My body is weak, my spirit is low, but my faith is strong. I will take their whereabouts to my grave with me.
I only pray that my sons survive, that Zion never finds them.
And that one day they will find a woman’s love to save their souls so they do not become monsters like their father...
I spoke with the Monks today and they agreed to take the twins and separate them. It is too dangerous for the boys to be together.
Zion will be furious when he discovers my subterfuge. But he is long past saving.
And I will not allow my sons to succumb to Satan and be his soldiers.
I gathered the amulets for the boys’ protection and drove them to the secret meeting place deep in the woods near the Monastery. There I kissed each one of them goodbye, and left their protective amulet with them.
Leaving Quinton and Dante was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. My heart literally felt as if it was being ripped in two, as if it was bleeding. My tears flowed freely and will continue until the day we are reunited.
How can a mother abandon her sons, you wonder?
How could I not? A mother’s love means protecting her children at all costs, even if it means protecting them from their own father and heritage.
It means letting them go even if it kills me...
****
Death:
Last night I found Vincent bloody and bruised again. I must send him away to save him.
But I fear nothing can save me. Zion has threatened my life more than once, has tried to beat the truth out of me, to force me to lead him to Quinton and Dante.
My body is weak, my spirit is low, but my faith is strong. I will take their whereabouts to my grave with me.
I only pray that my sons survive, that Zion never finds them.
And that one day they will find a woman’s love to save their souls so they do not become monsters like their father...
Quinton Valtrez is featured in Dark Hunger - currently on tour! This is book 2 in the Demonborn series. Book 1, Insatiable Desire, featured Vincent Valtrez. I currently have a giveaway running for Dark Hunger - be sure to get in on it today! Forbidden Passion, Book 3 in the Demonborn series is due out in April of 2010.
