Page 101 of Blood Sacrifice

I sensed my pack behind me, the sound of their heartbeats reminding me of the reason we were here today.

Vengeance.

Our enemy had used magic to suppress and control us; they had castrated our wolves, and left us vulnerable. They fought with dishonour and cowardice in their soul.

The sounds of screaming intensified the closer we came to the chamber where they had been waiting for us, the scent of blood tainting the air as the vampires led the first wave of the attack.

Jethro had reached my side as we raced the last few metres down the corridor to reach the chamber filled with a small army. My wolf was in full control, his claws tearing through flesh and bone as he carved a path for those coming behind us. None of us knew how long the warlocks would be rendered useless, so every second counted.

I felt the tickle of magic against my fur as the aerosol of the potions reached me. My human side felt smaller and unreachable, my wolf dominant as the potion locked us in our beast form. Normally, I changed between my two forms in battle to utilise my hands to wield a sword or gun. Today, I fought as a dire wolf, my weapons teeth and claws.

My muscles bunched as I leapt forward, grabbing a wolf on the other side that had attacked a vampire. Our bites could kill the other species if it broke the skin. I tossed him through theair, his body impacting the wall with a resounding crack. Jethro sped in from my left, and ripped his throat out before moving on.

I had forgotten the beautiful dance of battle, or maybe I had tried to block it out as my wolf took full control of our dynamic. This was the language he understood, the artistry as blood splattered up the walls, and claws dug into the stone floor when enemies tried to stand their ground.

Our witches reached us, tossing premade potions through the air. The glass bottles smashed on the ground, and different-coloured mists emerged to surround wolves and warlocks. Purple mists rose into the air, forcing their way down the throats of our enemies. They held their throats and they collapsed to the floor, desperately trying to gulp in breath. Pink mists wrapped around wrists and hands to hold them in magical handcuffs. Green tendrils emerged from where some of the bottles had smashed, ensnaring those who tried to run past.

I recognised a warlock who was trying to hide behind others, using them as a barrier to protect himself. I stalked forward, my hackles raised, and head low. I paced after him as he sneaked behind the others like a rat searching for cover. Seeing the route he was taking, I swung around to come face to face with a warlock whose magic was starting to return, sparks emerging from his fingertips. My jaws snapped closed and his hands dropped to the ground, his scream echoing in my ears. He couldn’t use his fingers to manipulate magic if his hands were detached. I pushed him out of my way and followed the other warlock, cutting him off as he tried to open a hidden entrance in the wall. It was half open when I lunged forward, spinning him around to face me.

His eyes widened in recognition as he stared at me. He was another of the ones who had tormented the sacrifices before they took their lives. They thought we hadn’t heard them begging for their lives while they jeered at them, and pleasured themselves.I had made a vow a long time ago when I was freed from the shackles of my servitude: I would hunt every single one of the sick bastards down and preserve the precious oxygen of the world by stopping them breathing it.

My head canted to the side to study him as he desperately tried to summon his magic, but he was still impotent from the potions released by the vampires.

He held his hands up. “I have power, I can give you anything you desire.” His voice was pitiful, his mannerisms disgusting me since he hadn’t allowed others to beg for their lives.

My lips pulled back to show my canines, a growl rumbling from my chest.

“Filthy fucking animal,” he snapped, trying to kick me with a sorry-assed ninja move.

I swiped him with my front paw to demonstrate the move, my claws slicing across his chest to leave lines of mutilated flesh. A spark of magic flashed from his fingers and a gleam entered his eyes as he grasped the last of his hope and tried to attack me. He was too late, and I was too pissed to worry about whatever spell he was trying to conjure. I lunged forward, grabbing his arm in my teeth and shaking my head until it dislodged and I flung it across the room. He screamed, his other hand trying to grasp his shoulder as if he could manifest another arm. I pushed him back until he landed on the ground, and closed off the last of my humanity as my wolf took charge.

A ribcage protected the heart, lungs, liver, and stomach, but it left your intestines vulnerable. My claws dug deep, eviscerating the warlock even as he tried to create an energetic bubble around himself to protect his body. I showed him the same mercy he showed the sacrifices all those years ago.

He stared vacantly at the ceiling, blood oozing from his mouth. I waited for the moment when his death would paypenance for all those deaths so long ago. It didn’t because the dead didn’t come back to life, and all I could hope was that at least one ghost from those sacrificed was released from wandering the wastelands of Purgatory seeking justice.

I returned to the battle, lunging forward again and again until the numbers of our enemies began to dwindle, and the floor became a lake of blood. Slowly, my wolf began to ebb and my humanity returned. I refused to look at the mangled flesh and broken bones.

War was brutal with the survivors carrying more than scars. There were some images that never left you, some truths when they were revealed that you would never forget, and some horrors that left deep marks on your soul.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Luna

I had been here before.

The suppressed memories reawakened inside me when I stepped inside. I had visited this entrance in my youth, and always assumed I had never dared to venture into the heart of the volcano.

I was wrong.

Four hundred years ago I had encountered void magic, and it sent me on a quest because it needed someone strong enough to channel it. The girl who had found her way in here had been judged and given a mission to evolve into the woman I was today.

I remembered the symbols on the walls, the blazing sconces that highlighted the winding pathway, and the crunch underfoot as I compressed the debris from solidified lava and the remains of small creatures who had found their way in and got trapped.

Maia and Owen walked in silence behind me, and I could almost feel their questions reaching out toward me.

“I knew where the pathway into the volcano was, but I believed it was because I had seen others use it,” I said in a low voice. “My memories of being here had been removed until I returned. The same may happen again.”

“The hieroglyphs are ancient,” Owen said, stopping to examine the symbols on the wall. “Some of them from cultures long forgotten.”

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