Page 49 of Savage Blood (Den of Shadows #6)

Chapter

Thirty-Three

The world tilted on its axis, and the grandiose room full of enemies swung upside down and then right side up as a million thoughts whirled through my brain. My blood ran hot and cold while my pulse thundered in my ears, drowning out the crowd’s whispers.

Barric knew we were here the whole time? This was a trap.

My canines sharpened as fury pumped through my system.

A trap.

Fane’s lethal growl puckered my flesh, his hot breath blowing across the top of my head. “That fucking raven set us up.”

My fists clenched at my sides. I should have known Roxie would betray us. Not even a demon bond with Ruin could force her loyalty.

If I survived this, Roxie wouldn’t. I’d make sure of it.

As Barric’s gaze burned a hole through my skull, the surrounding shadows thinned, and The Collective swiveled their focus in our direction .

“Don’t be shy,” Barric said. “You and Fane don’t need to hide anymore. We know you’re here.”

Since the cat was out of the bag, I slipped from Fane’s grip and darted to the balcony, glaring at Coltrane. “How could you ever call yourself a raven? You just murdered an innocent shifter.”

Charla’s blood still dripped from the dagger at Coltrane’s side as she scoffed. “No nightworlder is innocent, Tate. And I did what I thought would save the lives of many.”

“Don’t pretend like you’re some heroic savior.” My fingers curled around the iron balcony so hard the metal threatened to dent. “You’re a selfish, heartless lunatic who used your position of power to lure in runaways and people with no family to do your dirty work and die.”

She gave a careless shrug. “We all have a role to play. Some are fighters, and some are cannon fodder.”

Rage ignited in my gut as my talons burst out and teeth sharpened further. My inner wolf scraped against the barrier, longing to tear Coltrane to tiny pieces. The desire to taste her salty blood burned within me.

Before I could haul myself over the railing and jump to the floor, Fane’s presence coalesced at my back. His arm wrapped around my waist to keep me firmly planted on the balcony.

“You won’t make it out of this place alive, Coltrane,” he said, his low, threatening voice raising goose bumps on my nape. “If Tate doesn’t kill you, one of them will.”

Barric’s laughter filled the room, and he tossed his hands in the air as he angled toward Coltrane. “He’s right, Anna.”

Her lips thinned as she clutched the dagger, her knuckles turning white. “I won’t go down without a fight. And believe me, I have more tricks up my sleeve.”

Even though enemies surrounded her and she had no way out, her words still spilled cold unease through my system. What else could she possibly have to fight against Barric and the rest of The Collective?

“Oh, I’m sure you do, Anna.” Barric took the wet cloth Ben offered him and wiped the blood from his chest. “Why don’t you run along and try to find a way out? I’ll catch up with you when I’m finished here, and you and I will have a little fun.”

Acid oozed up my throat at the thought of Barric’s idea of fun. He licked his lips like he wanted to eat her. If he caught up to her in that beast form, he probably would.

Coltrane didn’t waste time as she backed toward the doors leading to a labyrinth of hallways. She kept her dagger raised, but no one made a move. Barric wanted her to run—so he could hunt her down later.

Once the former raven captain vanished from the room, Barric tossed the rag to Ben.

“Let’s get down to business. We have a ritual to perform with our guest of honor.” His scarred hand motioned toward me, an eerie smile splitting his lips.

I gritted my teeth, the fury within building until my muscles trembled. “You’re even more psychotic than I thought if you believe I’ll just hand myself over to you to be sacrificed.”

His disturbing laughter spilled out as he ambled toward one of the food tables, stepping over Hudson’s decapitated body and plucking a grape from a golden tray.

“I’m glad I never got the chance to kill you, Tate.

If you hadn’t survived and then been bitten by the hybrid, you wouldn’t be the very thing I need to eradicate the scourge of our species. ”

Fane tore his mask off and tossed it to the floor. “You’re not laying a fucking finger on Tate.”

“Come now, Fane.” Barric snapped his fingers, and six sizable shifters, three on each side, closed in on us .

The scarlet sheen in their eyes—a side effect of the Infernal Sol—made it clear they belonged to The Collective Nosterium. Waves of heat rose from the demon shifter as the slashing black tattoos—visible only on his hands and neck—twitched. His beast wanted out.

“Don’t make me come up there and get you myself.” The amulet glowed against Barric like a flashing warning sign. “Or better yet, I might direct a little chaos and fear your way.”

Was he tapping into the stone’s power consciously? Barric hadn’t made a big show of feeding on fear, but he definitely had the chaos part down.

Jax strolled toward Barric, who grabbed another grape off the table. “That would be fun—watching Fane writhe on the ground like a giant worm.”

“Can you even tap into fears like that, Barric?” I asked, fighting the desire to snatch my dagger out and toss it at Jax’s head. “You probably can’t.”

The six Collective Nosterium members inched forward. On my side, one of them, a bear shifter, growled, his teeth flashing. A chill slinked down my back as saliva dripped down his chin.

He was one of the members we fought in the crumbling town square, and memories of his scaly animal body—like the color of swampy mud—leaping on Alicia played through my mind.

Barric tilted his head as he rubbed the amulet again. “How about a demonstration, Tate? I know all about your dark, twisted fears, and bringing them to life would give me so much joy.”

One of the shifters closing in on me lunged, but Fane darted by me, grabbed the leopard by his silver jacket, and tossed him off the balcony like he was barely more than a rag doll .

His scream echoed through the grand room, and a thud—and a nauseating crack—followed once he hit the marble floor.

Another shriek burst from the shifter as he grabbed his leg, his bone poking through his bloodstained pants. “My fucking leg!”

Fane gave a terrifying smirk. “You should really learn to tuck and roll, Joshua.”

“Enough!” Barric yelled, throwing the platter of grapes at Joshua. “Get him up and out of here, Jax.”

The beta stomped on a few bouncing grapes as he strolled toward the injured shifter and hauled him up. “Stop being a baby. It’ll heal soon.”

As the crowd parted for them and they left the room, Barric turned his focus on us, his nostrils flaring. “Playtime is over, you two. Get down here before I come up there myself and get you.”

Fane didn’t back down. Instead, he rolled his head, and his demon wolf rushed forward. The air around him shimmered as his spine curled forward.

“Shift and so will I, Fane,” Barric warned. “And I’m bigger, stronger, and more powerful than you now.”

Panic tearing through me, I slapped my hand on Fane’s chest. “Don’t.”

He turned his luminescent eyes on me. “I’m not the type to back down, Teague.”

“Barric will shift and tear your head off like he did to Hudson,” I hissed into his mind.

The demon shifter scoffed. “I’m a lot harder to kill than Hudson.”

“But you’re not invincible, Fane! At least this will bring me closer to Roman. ”

The witch now leaned against the far wall, with folded arms and an unreadable expression.

Huffing in irritation, my mate finally relented and pushed his demon wolf back down. But when a Collective Nosterium member tried to grab my arms, Fane bared his teeth.

“We’re going willingly,” he said. “If you touch her, I’ll willingly tear your hands off and make you choke on them.”

“I hope Barric kills you soon.” The coyote shifter flipped Fane off but didn’t touch me again. “The stairs. Now.”

Once we reached the bottom level and marched toward Barric, the shifters flanked us. My stomach clenched when we passed Charla’s corpse, blood coating her torso and dripping from the table.

Barric loomed before me as power throbbed from the Infernal Sol, making me crave the darkness that used to swirl in my veins before Nadia ripped it out.

“Do you miss it?” He stroked the amulet, taunting me.

Slick talons slid from my fingertips again, and my pupils shrank to slits. The urge to yank that necklace from Barric overwhelmed me.

What would happen if I tried? Would it remain stuck like it had in Wrath & Ruin?

His laughter grated on my ears. “Please try it, Tate.”

Fane snarled, his hot breath blowing over my back, spreading goose bumps across my flesh.

“Maybe you don’t need to get the amulet from Barric,” he said into my mind. “I could just rip him limb from limb and let him bleed out.”

Barric glared at the demon shifter behind me. “You can’t kill me, Fane.”

“Why don’t you just give up the Infernal Sol?” Sweat glided down my back, making the leather jacket stick to my damp skin. “You know it’s taking you over, poisoning your brain. Soon, you’ll be nothing but a shell.”

Barric’s teeth elongated, a definite threat. “ I am in control. Not the amulet.”

I barked out a laugh. “You’re no more in control than a puppet is. That thing is your master, and you’re its bitch.”

Unease rippled through the crowd, and Amelia stepped forward with her claws raised, ready to slice my face off.

She didn’t need to, though.

Barric had it covered.

A bone-shaking growl tore out of him, and tremors raced through his body as the amulet glowed. Moments later, his giant paws hit the floor, shaking the tiles beneath my feet.

Having already witnessed the monstrous transformation, the crowd didn’t scream this time. They just shuffled back, hoping to stay out of his way and off his radar.

My pulse skyrocketed as I craned my neck and stared up at my father.

This close, he was even worse. Gray and yellow scales wrapped the thick muscle of his hide.

Not an ounce of fur was left on him. Slitted onyx pupils cut his blood-red irises in half.

Horns curled from his forehead, and spikes protruded from his neck and ran down his shoulders.

As Barric bared his teeth at us, saliva dripping, I stumbled back, shoving Fane with me.

My nose wrinkled at the rotten stench pouring from the beast, and his hot, fetid breath made me gag.

“I can still take him.” Fane moved from one side to the other, trying to slip past me. “In my beast form.”

“Are you out of your damn mind?”

For every step he took, I took two just to remain between the two creatures.

“Get out of my way, Teague. ”

“Barric won’t kill me, but he won’t give two shits about tearing your head off,” I reminded him. “Plus, he won’t die. He spat silver bullets out of his body like they were nothing. The amulet is protecting him.”

When my Barric tried to dart past me to get to Fane, I jerked into his path and lifted my hands. “You’ll have to go through me, asshole.”

Barric’s lips curled back in what looked like a grin. He could bat me out of the way easily to get to Fane.

And that was exactly what he did.

One moment I stood between Barric and Fane, and the next, a gigantic paw rammed into my abdomen.

Pain burst through my stomach as I flew through the air, hit the ground, and slid into the ritual table. My skull cracked against its leg, and the coppery tang of blood filled the back of my mouth.

But that wasn’t the real problem. Now that I was out of the way, Fane tore his jacket off, and steam rose from him as he prepared to shift.

“Don’t!” Roman pushed off the wall and threw Vulcrum cords at the demon shifter, halting his transformation as violet magic wrapped his form. “You’ll only make this worse.”

Barric lifted a paw and aimed his serrated talons at Fane’s throat.

Sheer panic tore into my chest, and I bolted up, racing toward them. My pulse pounded out a frantic beat as I jumped and gripped the former head alpha’s front leg, my feet swinging in the air.

“If you hurt him, I’ll make you wish I was never born.” The fury pumping through every syllable I spoke halted my father’s attack on Fane.

Plus, I was hanging onto his fucking leg for dear life .

“Stop playing with them, Barric, and get this done.”

The familiar voice had chills rippling down every vertebra. My eyes closed as I pleaded with the universe that I was wrong—that I did not hear that silky, smooth tenor.

I released Barric’s scaly leg, dropped to my feet, and spun, my heart sinking like a lead weight in the middle of a calm ocean.

Apparently, Roxie wasn’t the only one who betrayed us.

Ruin pulled the silver mask off his face and tossed it to the floor. Once again, he wore an expensive tailored suit that fit his tall, lean frame perfectly.

“A deal is a deal, Barric,” Ruin said. “Do your ritual and get the fuck out of my domain.”

His domain?