Page 27 of Savage Blood (Den of Shadows #6)

Chapter

Eighteen

Those creepy white masks hovered over me like sinister faces floating on a black backdrop while The Collective’s dark cloaks blended into the shadows.

“Can you imagine our luck?” The male’s laughter prickled my nape. “Alpha Barric sent us on a simple snatch mission, and we managed to grab the star of the show.”

I choked down the metallic blood coating my tongue. “You don’t have me yet.”

Hisses and laughter filled the alley, and a black boot stepped on my palm, crushing it into the concrete. Searing pain lashed my hand as sharp bits of dirt and debris ground into my skin.

“You’re going to pay for killing Hillary.”

The familiar cadence of Wes’s voice behind a mask sent ice trickling down every vertebra. He was the one crushing my hand.

“Sure,” I wheezed, trying to jerk my hand out from under his heavy boot. “Barric won’t let you do shit to me. Breaking a few little bones is all you’ll do, and even that might piss him off.”

The shifter finally removed his boot, and I snatched my hand, which I cradled to my chest. Unfortunately, my sword had fallen from my grip and tumbled onto a silver trash can, on the edge of which it now teetered.

“Let’s grab her already,” a woman demanded. “Her mate probably isn’t far, considering they can communicate with their minds, and I’d rather not get eviscerated tonight.”

Had Fane already sensed my panic or pain? Even if he fled to Mohan Wilds after our fight, he’d at least alert someone at Silver Ridge. Maybe Marcel had already made it to the compound and realized I wasn’t behind him.

The five members converged, grabbing my limbs to lift me off the ground. I struggled in their grip, slashing my talons as terror had me in a chokehold. When I left the compound, I didn’t expect to take center stage in one of my visions.

“Fane!” I yelled through our mental link.

Swallowing my pride and asking for help was nothing in the grand scheme of things. The bitten shifters depended on me to defeat Barric, and as much as I wanted to see Hawk, I couldn’t get locked up in that dungeon again.

I was an idiot for coming out here alone.

“Get off me!”

Wes raised his mask to his forehead, revealing that ominous grin as he brought his palm, gold dust glittering in it, to his mouth.

My heart jumped into my throat as he prepared to dose me with Malefic ash to knock me unconscious, or at the very least weaken me. I tried to rake my claws across his cheek, but another member grabbed my arm while a third pulled on my hair .

Tears welled up in my eyes from the pain searing my scalp. Wes’s grin broadened as he sucked in a breath, poised to dose me.

A sword suddenly penetrated a member’s torso, sticking out of his black robes and spilling blood on my foot. The glee in his expression morphed to surprise—and then terror.

“What the—” He dropped my leg with a wet gurgle and grabbed his torso.

As adrenaline burst through my veins, I swung my foot out and knocked another member off me. I hit the dirty pavement, pain shooting down my back.

Were the ravens here to help? Had they stumbled on the scene while patrolling?

Wes blew the Malefic ash, and the gold dust fell through the air just as I rolled out of the way and crashed into a pair of polished black military boots.

When I followed the pressed pants all the way up to a familiar, harsh face, an arctic air swept over me and instantly froze the sweat on my flesh.

“You’re not usually on the ground for so long. Have you forgotten your training already?” Anna Coltrane stood over me, her sword clutched in her hand, the blade dripping crimson.

My heart thudded to a stop. She certainly didn’t waste time going after what she wanted.

Me, apparently.

I scrambled up, angling toward the trash can, but my weapon was gone.

Shit.

Guess I’d have to use my teeth and claws against her.

No matter what Hawk’s aunt had done, the thought of ripping her to pieces curdled my stomach.

Coltrane’s brown eyes hardened, and a snarl curled her lips as she lunged at me. But she darted to the left at the last second and sliced her blade across a Collective member’s face. Blood spewed out of the break in the white mask.

As she spun back in my direction, she reached into her pocket and tossed me something. “Behind you!”

My transformative hilt flew toward me, and I caught it, rubbed my thumb over the rune, and activated the blade. The Collective Nosterium member charged me with another dose of Malefic ash while also raking his claws close to my chest.

I stumbled back, swung the sword, and lopped off his head. His body dropped, and the golden dust fluttered through the air like glitter.

That left four members.

Nope. Three.

Coltrane just decapitated another one.

Wes cursed as he looked from me to the former raven captain to his three dead friends.

“You might have won the battle, but?—”

“The war is just beginning,” I interrupted him. “Can you try not to be a cliché, Wes?”

He bolted down the alley, the two remaining members vanishing with him. That left Coltrane and me alone, and I’d never felt more uneasy in her presence.

As she angled toward me, her blonde hair slicked back in her usual low ponytail, a ghost of a smile twitched at her lips. “Nice reflexes, Ms. Teague, once you got off your ass, of course.”

My brows furrowed as we circled each other. “I was a little shocked by your appearance.”

“Yes, well, what can I say? I like to surprise people.” She jerked her chin toward me. “You should know something about that. Imagine my surprise when I found out you’re Barric’s daughter. ”

How the hell did she know that already? Did she have allies at Corvin Manor who fed her information?

The former raven captain gave a noncommittal shrug. “It all makes sense now, why you were so strong, so good as a warrior.”

“Why are you here?” I asked, keeping a tight grip on my sword. “Are you here to save your nephew? If you heard about my parents, you must have heard about him.”

A flicker of regret crossed her expression, and her lips flattened into a tight line. “Hawk is a raven. He knows the consequences of accepting a mission.”

My humorless laugh bounced between the brick walls of the two buildings framing us. “You might win aunt of the year. Sadly, I’m not surprised your visit has nothing to do with him. But if you’re looking for the Infernal Sol, you must know I don’t have it.”

Coltrane tsked and pulled out a napkin from her pocket, wiping the blood off her blade. “Like I predicted, it has fallen into evil’s hands—Barric Hartwell’s, specifically.”

A sharp breath escaped my lungs and bounced through the alley. “How do you know Barric has it?”

She gave me a pointed look, as if that information was easy to come by. Maybe it was for her. I had no idea who Coltrane’s sources were, and she clearly knew more about the amulet than the average person.

“And just look at the mess you’ve made,” she said. “You could have avoided this if you’d given me the amulet or allowed me to keep you safe.”

“Keep me safe? You were going to imprison me and find a way to cut it out of me, no matter if I lived or died.”

“How many shifters would your sacrifice have spared?”

Another wave of guilt filled my gut, slowly devouring me like acid. Was Coltrane right? Should I have remained her captive or sacrificed myself?

Coltrane deactivated her blade and shoved the hilt into her pocket. “The what-ifs don’t matter now, Tate. What matters is getting that amulet away from Barric. And since I don’t trust you to make the hard choices, I’ll be the one to take it.”

My head jerked back. “And how do you plan on getting it from him?”

“You’ll find out.”

Electricity crackled over my neck tattoo, and my head jerked to the left as Fane sprinted into the alley like a blur of pure fury.

“Tate!”

The relief that washed over me made my shoulders slump and the sword droop toward the ground—until I remembered the former raven captain’s unexpected appearance.

But by the time I turned back, she had vanished.

As I went after her, Fane gripped my arm and forced me toward him. His mismatched eyes were wild, his broad chest heaving.

“What the fuck happened? I heard you calling me, and then there was pain.”

“Coltrane was here.” I jerked out of his hold and marched down the alley, sniffing the air to find her trail.

He jogged after me and stepped over the three dead Collective Nosterium members. “Coltrane? She killed them?”

“I killed one while she got the others.” My head rose as I took another deep inhale. “Those Collective freaks almost dosed me with Malefic ash, but she helped me.”

Why did she help me?

“Tate, stop!” Fane darted in front of me to block my path. “The Collective almost snatched you, and now Coltrane is here? Why were you out here alone in the middle of the night, anyway?”

A growl wove through his words, but so did fear. It pulsated from him and twisted within our bond. He lifted my mangled hand, his teeth baring at the scraped and bloody condition.

“I’ll explain everything in a minute. Just let me?—”

Pain seared through my skull, and I dropped to my knees as a scream burst from my mouth.

“Tate!” Fane fell to the ground with me and gripped my shoulders to keep me upright.

My vision blurred, and warmth leaked from my nose. As the pounding in my head intensified, I gritted my teeth to choke back another cry, but broken sobs tore from my mouth.

The remaining piece of the Infernal Sol was dead set on poisoning me. If Barric didn’t kill me, this thing would.

Ebony veins spread over my flesh again, and my stomach heaved. Nothing came out except choking gasps.

“Fane,” I mumbled, clutching his shirt as I rested my head on his shoulder.

No matter how much we fought or how much his betrayal cut me, he was the only person I reached for when the world crashed down on me.