Page 13 of A Seduction Of Death (Umbra Hunters #4)
THIRTEEN
Jesthren
“ D estroy it all,” I bellow, claws out and glinting in the firelight as I rage in the small cave, ensuring everything that gets in my way is torn to shreds.
“Your Grace. Maybe we should pull back and regroup? Perhaps there is a way to come back from this without risking more of our Hunter’s lives,” one of the pathetic Hunters from the Asian Seniorem suggests, and I feel my blood heat at his words.
“Regroup? There is no regrouping or coming back from this. Valen was in this damn cave! I felt his presence which means he felt mine. And since that girl is not under my control and Razar knows… fuck!” I yell, gripping my head as it pounds, pain lighting up every molecule as I try to control my emotions.
“Calm, my son.” I take a deep breath and try to listen to my father, letting the cold wash of magic build reserves and restore some of my balance.
“What do I do, father?” I ask, pushing the thought to him while closing my eyes in concentration.
“What you were born to do, my son. Destroy.”
I swallow the bile that crawls up my throat as he projects pictures of my brothers into my mind. Starting with Razar, then Nox, and finally Valen.
“I can’t,” I rasp out loud, making the group of men standing before me give me a curious look. I turn my back on them as I let my hands fall to my sides, defeat a bitter taste in my mouth. “They know. They know I’m…” I can't finish my sentence as panic overwhelms me. Gasping, I clutch at my chest just as Father's magic strikes, making me cry out at the sheer pain. I grind my teeth, letting his magic in, knowing it will numb the pain. He takes all the pain away. He has since I found him the night I was ready to give up and finally rest at peace with my love.
My love…
Dark moss green eyes that sparked with love and light. Long black-blue hair that hung down to her tiny waist, smelling of rose water, and dainty little hands that fit so perfectly in mine.
“Jesthren.”
I shiver as her voice washes through my mind like a gentle caress. Lillian. My mate. Mine. Visions of the waterfall under the castle, the glowing lights that sparkled like gems as we vowed to be one, and tied our souls together in secret despite being told we had to wait. The opal I took from there to fashion into a locket, my promise to be hers and only hers for the rest of eternity.
The vision alters in an instant, Lillian’s small hand now lifeless in mine, her body torn and broken, blood coating the walls as I roar my agony to the sky. Our mate bond splintering into oblivion, my heart turning to stone as her body goes cold. I begged for death to take me instead of her, pleaded with every God who would listen.
“You will not break.” Father's words yank me from my despair. “You are too strong for such thoughts,” Father snarls, his disappointment in me like a physical blow, and I nod. “Remember your purpose… your goal to get her back.” I nod, renewed determination lighting inside as I keep Lillian in mind. I will get her back. Inanis promised to bring her back. He has that power.
My hate for Meyer Smith goes without saying as I stand straight, cracking my neck to the side. She was the key to ensuring I kept some of my family alive, and now… I close my eyes again as my stomach rolls. Now I know Inanis. My actual Father and King will demand their deaths. He had been willing to spare their lives and allow me the comfort of their presence in the new world despite how he said it would be a weakness. He loves me, unlike the man who stole me from my home and held me hostage.
Anger sparks at the center of my being, overruling my sorrow and encompassing it with shadow until I feel like I can breathe without pain again. My rage only stirs Father’s, the very thought of Orcus pushing him to wakefulness, the shard of magic I hold in me pulsing to life. I can feel Father's magic encouraging my anger, letting it wrap around me until all I can feel; all I can think about is that traitor!
“Yes. It was Orcus, my son. He stole you from me. My child, the babe I would raise to rule at my side. He took everything from us. My son, my mate… my life! He refused to bring your beloved back,” he adds, and I snarl as I let his darkness consume me. “And now we take it back from him one piece at a time. Start with the girl. She is the key.”
“Prepare the Wraiths and your Hunters,” I rasp as the Seniors and high-ranking Umbra Hunter I’ve kept under my control shuffle behind me. “We will attack the North American castle.” I move to the large sarcophagus at the back of the cave and run my hand over the black stone. Its twin is so close, almost within reach. Hidden from the Hunters and my brothers.
“Yes, Your Grace,” I hear one of the old men say as I let my claws trail over the elaborately carved tomb… the prison Orcus and Varack created to hold one-half of my Father.
His soul and magic reside within, longing to be joined with his body. I could have opened this tomb and freed his soul, but it would have been lost without his body. We needed another to open the last prison. My blood and magic would only unlock one—a safety measure to ensure my Father never walked amongst the reams again. One single Demon couldn't set Inanis free. It took two of Father’s bloodline, both of which had to be strong enough to crack through the spells.
That's what’s taken so long, the reason Father is still trapped after all this time. I have hunted down each descendant of Inanis, but by the time I had found the human mix-bloodline here on Earth, it had weakened to the point where it was almost nonexistent. I thought I had killed off the last female of that bloodline in that damn mental hospital over a decade ago, so you can imagine my surprise when I laid eyes on Meyer Smith. I knew she was a descendant the moment I saw her. My magic sang with excitement when I felt her power hiding deep within her. Locked away, waiting for it to be rediscovered.
“Two Demons,” I whisper to myself as the Hunters discuss their plans for the battle about to be fought, debating who should lead and which bloodlines to send in first. “And one life,” I murmur, head tilting to the side, the life already selected since the moment I concocted this plan. Since Varack had given his life in order to lock Inanis away, one must be taken to bring him back.
Everything is about balance.
“The girl,” Father's voice rasps, and I nod, looking up at the silent figure standing guard nearby.
“I have a mission for you, brother,” I whisper and grin when Archer's red eyes glow bright, my magic digging its claws deep into his mind as I command him forward. “It's time to set our plans into motion.”