Page 48 of Savage Blood (Den of Shadows #6)

Chapter

Thirty-Two

The violent thundering of my pulse drowned out Barric’s voice, and the shifters blurred around me as I passed, the sequins and crystal beads on their masks glittering like gemstones under the lights.

Tension permeated the air as half the guests still reeled from watching their illustrious leader transform into a beast and slaughter Hudson.

But some of them watched eagerly now as The Collective Nosterium prepared for its last sacrifice.

My fists clenched. In quick breaths, I inhaled the fear and intrigue pulsating from the crowd. That last sacrifice would never happen.

Cold sweat slicked my nape, and ice encased every inch of my body. Without Fane at my back, my boots would have stuck to the black and white marble floor.

I didn’t want to kill Roman and spill more blood, but if doing it meant saving thousands of innocents, I had to.

And then I had to forfeit my soul.

What if the Infernal Sol turned me into an evil, sadistic monster like Barric ?

I peered at my intimidating shadow as he followed me, his gaze searing mine. Fane would never let that happen. He’d lock me up or kill me if he needed to.

Wouldn’t he?

As we passed a group of shifters murmuring to one another, probably coming up with an escape plan, a figure emerged on the outskirts. A pair of dark eyes behind a plain mask widened on me, and my steps faltered.

I knew those eyes.

And the ramrod-straight set of her spine.

The disappointment thinning her lips, the same expression I’d earned many times when I first became a raven, was all too familiar.

“Coltrane,” I hissed, a mix of fury and confusion swirling around me. “What are you doing here?”

Who the hell gave her intel about Barric’s party, and how did she even get into the manor?

She peered around to see if anyone had heard me, but everyone’s focus remained on Barric and the impending sacrifice. His minions attempted to strap a struggling Charla to one of those tables with chains.

My heart wrenched at the fight she put up because in the end, they would overpower her. She was just one against many.

You are not alone, Charla. I’m here, and I won’t let you die.

“Did you really think I’d give up after one failed attempt?” Coltrane’s words stole my attention from Charla. “You know me better than that.”

Fire burned in my veins, and a hundred curses tumbled from my lips. Coltrane, after sending so many ravens to retrieve it and die, entered the Underworld herself to take the Infernal Sol .

“How did you get in here?” Fane asked, flanking my side, his warm hand on my back.

Coltrane, her blonde hair slicked back in a low bun, gave a noncommittal shrug. “I have a lot of resources at my disposal and plenty of allies, even without the title of captain.”

Hot anger continued rushing through me, and I resisted the longing to slam my fist into her face. “You came for the amulet, but did you even spare your nephew a thought? He’s here, being held captive, and instead of going for the amulet, you could try to free him.”

“I could say the same about you.” She jerked her chin toward Fane. “Hawk used to be your number one priority, and I thought you two would eventually get married, but ever since the hybrid came into your life, you have no room for my nephew.”

My nostrils flared as I stepped toward her, my control cracking. “I love Hawk more than you ever did. I have a plan.”

Roxie had better be working on that right now or she’d have hell to pay.

“I came here to kill Barric,” Coltrane said in a voice low enough only for the three of us to hear. “And once I take the amulet, I’ll make sure Hawk gets free.”

“It’s not that simple,” I said. “You can’t just kill Barric. Reese stabbed him with a silver dagger, and it barely fazed him.”

The hard set of Coltrane’s lips softened, and she rested her hand on my shoulder, but she let it drop when Fane growled. “I know what will happen when you take that amulet.”

I seriously doubted that.

She turned to Fane. “Let me take the Infernal Sol. It won’t bond with me like it will with her. I’ll put it in a safe place. ”

“Where? Around your neck?” Fane scoffed. “Do you think I’m stupid?”

“Roman,” Barric called, yanking my gaze toward the witch. “Your assistance is required for this.”

An invisible fist slammed into my sternum as Roman pushed away from the wall, slipping through my fingers. Luring him away was no longer an option, not if I wanted to finish this before Barric sacrificed Charla.

“We’ll have to sneak down there,” Fane whispered. “Maybe I can create a distraction.”

Or maybe Coltrane could.

But when I turned to her, she was gone.

A string of curses burst between my clenched teeth. “Where the hell did she go?”

Fane scrutinized the crowd and then jerked his chin to the left. “There.”

Coltrane, smaller than most of the shifters, slinked through the guests on the first floor toward Barric. She had to be using a mystical dust or enchantment to hide her raven essence. The shifters would have noticed her scent.

When Roman reached the center of the room as Patricia and Amelia finished locking heavy chains around Charla, he swept his hand through the air and manifested dozens of demon sigils across the floor and ceiling.

Chills skittered down my back at the sight of the same ominous black slashes from my visions. If I didn’t kill Roman and get that amulet, Barric would sacrifice Charla.

“What the fuck?” Fane glared at something over my head.

I turned and followed his line of vision as a silver object flashed in Coltrane’s hand. “Is that a?—”

The demon shifter slammed his hands over my ears seconds before a loud bang erupted through the manor. Screams rang out, and the acrid scent of gunpowder and smoke permeated the air.

And silver

Silver bullets.

Barric stumbled back, blood gushing out of a wound in his chest. Coltrane fired the gun at him again. And again.

The guests and even some of Barric’s inner circle scattered. None of them could survive even a single bullet through the heart.

Adrenaline poured through my bloodstream as hope blossomed in my center while I waited for Barric’s reaction. A silver dagger did nothing, but maybe the Infernal Sol couldn’t save Barric from a silver bullet right to the heart.

If the former raven captain succeeded in killing Barric, I needed to be ready to jump off this balcony and snatch that amulet before she did.

“Or maybe you should just let her take it,” Fane said into my mind. “And I’ll take it from her.”

Barric’s roar puckered my flesh and made every hair on my nape stand on end. The massive chandelier shook from his fury and power, the tiny crystals clinking and the candle flames sputtering. Dark burgundy blood puddled on the floor beneath him.

And then his roar transformed into a manic laugh. “Do you really think I can be killed that easily, Anna Coltrane?”

Coltrane tore her mask off, dropped it on the floor, and cocked the gun again. “I have more bullets, Barric.”

“They’ll just go to waste.” A red sheen spilled into his irises as the Infernal Sol pulsated, his blood splattering it.

Another feral growl burst out of him, and tremors raced through his body. Moments later, a silver bullet emerged from a wound, hitting the marble floor with a clink .

My sharp intake of air joined the gasps circulating the room. Even The Collective Nosterium stared at Barric with wide eyes and open mouths. Thinking someone was invincible but seeing them spit out bullets was on a whole different level.

Barric forced the rest of the bullets out. The deformed silver pellets bounced on the floor and splattered the blood beneath his feet.

“You can’t kill me!” His head tilted back as laughter filled the room. “I am a god.”

Frost spread down my nape, and all the hope that had unfurled a moment ago was extinguished like the dying embers of a fire sizzling in a sudden downpour. The Infernal Sol had protected me many times when Death came knocking.

Why should I be surprised it did the same for my father?

My head lowered, and I cursed. There was no other way. I had to kill Roman, take the amulet, and then kill my father.

Coltrane lunged for the leader of The Collective, her gun aimed at his head, but before she could shoot, Barric batted her out of the way like she was an annoying gnat. When she hit the floor, the gun slid out of her grasp and collided into the leg of the table Charla was bound to.

Charla turned her pleading brown eyes to Coltrane. “Help me, please.”

Barric tore off his shirt, and while the stunned crowd watched his wounds heal, Coltrane staggered to her feet and withdrew a dagger from the holster on her thigh. She loomed over Charla, studying the bound shifter.

A deep breath filled my lungs for the first time in several long minutes as Coltrane searched for a way to free the female wolf.

Was that dagger imbued with magic? Could Coltrane cut through those chains with it ?

My fingers curled around the balcony railing, my heart slamming into my ribs as the former raven captain lifted the knife.

And then she sliced it across Charla’s throat.

A scream clawed up my esophagus, but Fane slammed his palm over my mouth and dragged me into the shadows. Crimson surged out of Charla’s neck, soaking her chest and spilling onto the floor.

“She killed the sacrifice!” a masked coyote shifter yelled from the balcony, jerking his finger toward the table.

Unshed tears blurred the room as I struggled against Fane, wide fissures spreading over my heart while Charla choked on her own blood.

“There’s nothing you can do, Tate,” he whispered, his hot breath burning my icy skin. “It’s too late.”

How could this happen? How could Coltrane kill an innocent?

Coltrane’s grin became just as unhinged as Barric’s. “Looks like you can’t perform your last sacrifice tonight, Barric.”

He angled toward Coltrane as Charla took one more gasping breath and then stilled, the huge chandelier casting a glow over all the fresh blood coating her body. “Well, that’s unfortunate.”

My stomach clenched at Barric’s casual tone. Shouldn’t he be furious Coltrane ruined his last sacrifice?

He smoothed his russet locks back, not one single bullet wound remaining on his bloodstained torso. “Oh, Anna, lucky for us, we’ve already performed the last sacrifice needed for the Admordum Nexia Covenant.”

The beaming satisfaction in her expression faded. “I don’t understand.”

Neither did I .

His smile poured arctic air across my body. “This was just a ruse, a trap, if you will.”

Alarms screamed in my head, and an inner voice told me to run, but concrete suddenly coated my legs.

Fane’s chest rumbled with a growl as if he sensed the approaching danger.

A trap.

Barric’s foreboding gaze rose to the balcony and landed right on me. “All we need is Tate.”