Page 36 of Taken By the Blood God

Now it appeared those plans might have to change.

The ward in front of us dropped as the cars drove through the line. As soon as it did, a blast of malevolent power swept past us, raising goose bumps on my skin. I shuddered at the disgusting feeling. Whoever created the ward had to drop the entire thing to allow those cars in. They hadn’t been strong enough or smart enough to create a barrier that would allow certain people in, but not others. Then again, that type of blood magic was rarely taught nowadays. The only reason I knew it was because of my obsessive study of ancient texts.

It could also be arrogance over ignorance. With the magic they’d siphoned from Davian, it was likely that their power had increased to such an extent that they thought they were untouchable. If that was the case, I looked forward to showing them that they were wrong.

Talant’s body tensed beside mine. “Fuck.”

He spat the word, startling me.

“What?” I whispered.

“Fuck,” he repeated, his tone even more intense than before.

“What, Talant?” My question was a hiss.

“The new moon.”

“The new—” I realized what he meant, and my body grew tight. “Fuck.” Great, now I sounded like him.

I sensed him turning to me rather than seeing it because I was still nearly blinded from the headlights.

“They came to drain him again,” Talant said. “The new moon is the best time for such a ritual.” The air around us began to warm. Talant’s anger was manifesting in his magic. “He can’t take another ritual,” he continued, his voice low and little more than a snarl. “If we don’t stop them, this will be the one that kills him.”

He started to move forward, but I grabbed his arm. “Wait. Let’s count how many there are. We need to know how many warlocks we’re fighting.”

“Why? I’m planning to kill them all anyway,” he argued.

After sensing the filthy stain of magic surrounding the building I agreed it would be our best option. I hadn’t wanted to kill anyone tonight. That was too dark even for me. But the ward and the magic it held could only have been created through human sacrifice. The death of an innocent. For wards this size, it was likely the deaths of several people. Those warlocks didn’t deserve to live.

“Yes, but you want to make sure you get every last one, correct?” I asked.

His arm was like heated marble beneath my hand, hard and smooth. At my touch, his skin began to cool.

“Stop that,” he growled, shaking off my hand. “Stop trying to use your magic to calm me.”

“I’m not.” The words were whispered, but they were still sharp. “I haven’t figured out exactly how to control the chill yet. It was an automatic reaction from touching you.”

Talant changed the subject as we watched the last warlock exit his car and walk into the building.

“I counted ten.”

“Me, too,” I agreed.

Ten warlocks who practiced dark magic and were hyped up on magic stolen from an imprisoned god. Sure, this would be a cinch.

Goddess, help me. I had to make it out of this alive. I’d promised Ally.

“If I die,” I whispered to Talant, “I’m going to make sure I haunt you for the rest of your very, very long life.”

“You won’t die. I won’t allow it.”

I rolled my eyes. There wasn’t much he could do to stop it if we were both under attack.

“Let’s go,” I said. “We don’t want to wait for them to set up the circle. It will give them too much of a power boost.”

We stepped over the boundary of the original ward just in time. The magic seemed to send out slimy tendrils as it snapped back into place. I shivered at the sensation.

Thankful for the lack of moonlight, I ran alongside Talant toward the building. I quickly fell behind. Damn his long legs and god powers. With a couple of whispered words magic bolstered my speed, bringing me up just behind him.

---