Page 14 of Savage Blood (Den of Shadows #6)
Chapter
Ten
The world slowed, and The Collective’s chanting became muffled, like I was underwater, slipping farther from the surface with every passing second. Barric’s horrible smile as he lowered the blade toward Alicia’s chest sent a blast of arctic air over my body.
How could this man have ever loved anyone? If fate hadn’t blessed him with a mate, he never would have carried an ounce of genuine affection.
But in the end, having a mate wasn’t enough. He still killed my mother.
And now he led more shifters down a path of destruction that would leave hundreds dead.
A thunderous crash exploded through the ritual room, snapping the world back into focus.
Barric jerked the dagger up moments before it could pierce Alicia’s heart. “What the hell is going on?”
Members in flowing black cloaks scattered as more than a dozen mid-sized sub-demons rushed into the room .
“How did they get in?” Amelia ripped her hood down and tossed her mask off.
Wes raked his claws through the air to ward off a massive flying insect-like creature. “Why are they attacking?”
Slime oozed from the slugs, and a few baby agrigons slipped on the viscous trail in their wake. Tertaliums raced across the slick floor, their goat heads whipping back and forth on their scaly red bodies.
Curses and growls sounded as the erupting chaos ruined The Collective Nosterium’s ritual. A shaky breath fled my lungs, and when I looked at Alicia across the room, the same relief was reflected in her hazel gaze.
Sub-demons bursting into the magically hidden manor wasn’t a coincidence. Someone had arranged this interruption.
Flutters ricocheted through my heart. Could Fane have broken into Karn’s manor despite the magical wards?
I struggled in the Vulcrum cords Roman had used to bind me to the chair. “Maybe someone should get me out of this. Some of those agrigons could be poisonous.”
“How did these damn creatures get in?” Barric backed away from the table and ripped his cloak off, his nostrils flaring. “Do something, Roman!”
The witch lifted his hand and shot a stream of violet magic at a group of sub-demons surrounding Amelia, Wes, and Torin. “I can’t do it all. Your pack is more than capable of handling?—”
Vibrations rippled across the floor, rattling the iron candelabras in each corner and the table holding ritual supplies. My heart pounded against my ribs as sweat slicked my nape.
What the hell was that?
Trepidation thickened the air at the approaching threat. And then a massive black figure bulldozed through the entrance, ripping the doorjamb apart. Shrieks sounded as shifters and sub-demons scattered out of the way of falling debris.
Chunks of bricks tumbled to the ground, candelabras toppled over, extinguishing the candles, and a bowl of blood—probably Alicia’s—toppled off the table, splattering over the reflective tiles.
Dust and rubble blew through the room as a demon beast emerged from the cloud, his crimson eyes finding mine.
Icy dread punched me in the chest, pushing my heart into overdrive as a wave of déjà vu crashed over me.
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
“Let me out of these!” I struggled in the Vulcrum cords as Karn’s pet bull ripped gouges into the ebony floor with his massive hooves, steam puffing from his nostrils. “Karn sent that thing after me before, and he definitely remembers me.”
Barric cursed as an agrigon charged him, its spindly legs clicking on the tiles. “Get her out of here, Roman.”
The sub-demon didn’t stand a chance once the former head alpha wrapped his powerful arms around his hard, spider-like body and squeezed. The creature’s exoskeleton cracked like an egg, and black goo and innards oozed out.
My stomach heaved at the grisly sight. The other shifters fought the sub-demons, claws slashing through the air and teeth shining. Maybe they knew they stood a better chance without fully transforming.
As Roman hurried in my direction, black blood from the creatures speckling his platinum hair, he released the magical cords from around me. I shot out of the seat and darted toward Alicia, but the bull charged in my direction.
Roman flung his hand out and yelled an enchantment. “Part the air and weave thy veil. From wall to wall, let none assail. Cloak us from the watchful eye. And twist the truth that foes descry.”
A mystical barrier divided the room in half, separating us from the bull demon and the rest of The Collective Nosterium. The sub-demons had driven everyone else, even Barric, to the other side during the melee.
My pulse thundered as the bull slammed into the iridescent wall, violet bolts of electricity crackling, but the shield held.
The rage in that monster’s glowing eyes sucked the air right out of my lungs, and memories of our first encounter flooded my mind. The sting of his toxic horn slashed across my arm again, and the heat of his fetid breath grazed my nape.
How the hell did that massive beast make it up the stairs?
I shook myself and sprinted for Alicia again, my hands trembling as I pulled at the chains binding her to the table. Her copper freckles stood out against her pale face, and blood smeared her arms from the stab wounds.
“Hurry,” she hissed, looking around at the bedlam. “Someone’s going to notice any second.”
The witch’s presence spilled over my back, and I whipped around, launching my fist straight at his nose.
“Wait!” Roman ducked my hit and grabbed my wrist. “I’m on your side.”
I struggled in his hold, but his magic kept his grip firmly around my arm. “What are you talking about? You just had me bound to a chair, forcing me to watch Barric kill her.”
“Who do you think set all this up?” Roman jerked his chin toward the hazy magical wall where The Collective Nosterium struggled with sub-demons on the other side.
“ You did this?”
In Bonaventure Cemetery, he showed me that Barric was keeping him against his will. And even though Roman helped Barric abduct me, the witch clearly didn’t have a choice.
“I enchanted the sub-demons and escorted them behind the veil hiding the manor.” A somber smile tipped the edges of Roman’s lips.
“This isn’t what I signed up for. Barric lost his fucking mind, and I don’t want to sacrifice any more innocent lives.
Since he’ll never let me go, I’m getting you out of here. ”
My shoulders drooped a little, realizing Fane hadn’t been the one to orchestrate this whole thing, which meant he wouldn’t be walking through that door—or rather gaping hole—at any moment.
Alicia cleared her throat. “You can unveil your double-crossing plan later, Roman. We’re a little pressed for time, so how about getting me out of these chains?”
Roman waved his hands, and the binds unraveled until they hung over the sides of the table and brushed the floor. Alicia sat, and I eased her to her feet, steadying her when she swayed. She was a good six inches taller than me and full of dense muscle.
I hoped she could fight. The chances of escaping this place without a few obstacles were slim to none.
As she took a moment to collect her strength, the shifters on the other side of the barrier continued battling the sub-demon.
“Why hasn’t anyone noticed you freeing us?” I asked. “Barric hasn’t even looked in our direction.”
“That’s not an ordinary shield.” Roman rested his hand on Alicia’s sternum, muttering some kind of spell under his breath.
Her eyelids closed, and she sighed, the trembling in her limbs vanishing. Some of the color returned to her cheeks, and when she opened her eyes, the haze in them cleared .
He’d healed her, at least a little.
She brushed golden-brown curls from her face. “Thanks.”
The witch nodded and withdrew his hand. “To everyone on the other side of the barrier, Alicia’s still chained to the table, and you and I are gone.”
The bull paced the magical wall, his ruby gaze locked on mine. A shudder rolled down my back. Somehow, he could still see me.
Would his toxic horns poison me like they did when I was a raven, or did my half-demon status make me immune?
I hoped I never found out.
After clutching my arm and Alicia’s, Roman towed us toward a small door hidden between a huge onyx marble fireplace and a built-in bookcase loaded with eerie demon tomes and trinkets.
“Once you’re outside, you need to run to the door to Bonaventure Cemetery as fast as possible. Barric will go after you.”
Before he could shove us down the corridor, I dug my heels in and pulled out of his grasp.
“I have to get the Infernal Sol from him.”
Roman shook his head. “It’s not possible.”
“For me, it is.” I folded my arms. “I know I can?—”
The witch untangled my arms from each other. “I’m telling you, Tate, getting that amulet from Barric is a lost cause. You have to leave.”
“I know about the Admordum Nexia Covenant,” I blurted. “And I’m not leaving without that amulet. Plus, the bastard still owes me a cure.”
Alicia peered over my shoulder into the room where The Collective Nosterium still fought the demons. “If you two don’t get it together and come up with a plan, I’m booking it out of here. I’m not letting those psycho assholes strap me back to that table.”
“There’s no cure, Tate. I’m sorry.” Roman’s irises—flashing violet while he maintained the barrier spell—softened, and he reminded me of the guy I first met months ago at Silver Ridge. “You either heal or you don’t.”
And if I didn’t, I’d die.
“What about the amulet?” I asked. “Would taking it back heal me?”
Roman’s silence spoke volumes. Reclaiming the amulet would heal me.
Of course, I would probably fall totally under its control and no longer be myself…
I jerked out of Roman’s hold and paced the width of the corridor, raking my fingers through my hair. “I can’t leave without the amulet.”
“You have no choice,” Roman hissed. “At least Barric won’t have you to do the ritual.”
But he’d find some other way or come after me.