Page 111 of Blood Sacrifice

Salvator’s hand found mine. “What you were destined to do,” he replied, his fingers squeezing mine. “This land has witnessed enough bloodshed, and no soul deserves to be locked away forever.”

A screech sounded to my left, and I instinctively held my hands up to fend off the attack. Balor launched himself forward, his face contorted and crazed, a dark mist circling his fingers. My spell hit him at the same time Salvator’s hand wrapped around his throat, his claws drawing blood that trickled down his skin.

Balor struggled against Salvator’s strength, his black mist trying to free him, except Salvator absorbed the attack as if it was nothing but smoke from a campfire.

“Enough,” Salvator growled, the words vibrating through the air. Balor was lifted into the air, his feet dangling as he tried to regain his footing. “You killed the innocent, enslaved a noblerace of warriors, and tormented this land and those who lived on it. For your sins, for the pain and suffering you caused, I seek retribution for the souls you stole.”

Dire wolves were the strongest and most vicious of all the shifters. A foreign emotion of mixed horror and relief washed over me as I watched Balor’s eyes bulge from the pressure on his throat, his neck elongating until it tore away from his shoulders, and the vertebrae of his spine appearing one at a time as Salvator ripped it from his body.

Balor had been a dark and opposing figure for four centuries, his name striking fear into the hearts of the priestesses who fled his tyranny. Not even the power of his magic could save him from the wrath of my mate. Salvator had fulfilled his promise to kill Balor for the atrocities he had committed against my sister priestesses and all the other members of the magical community.

“May the souls of the women he stalked and tormented rest in peace,” Maia said from beside me.

“So mote it be,” I replied. Emperor Atahualpa had been the architect of this evil, but Balor had happily carried out his work, destroying lives, and stealing magic for himself along the way. Committing evil acts tended to pollute the soul and leave a taint that stretched many lifetimes. Balor would be paying the price for his actions for many reincarnations to come.

The remains of the man whose name had struck terror in my heart lay as lumps of flesh on the ground, his eyes vacant, and his blood the same colour as his victims. In my head, it should have been black to denote the demonic status his reputation had achieved.

“It’s over,” Salvator said, his eyes glowing amber. “He will never again stalk the innocent or take their blood.” Salvator dropped Balor’s head to the ground, blood dripping from my mate’s fingers.

The cascade of void magic continued to spew from the volcano, disappearing into the night while we held vigil. Something had fundamentally changed inside me, a new energy churning deep in my solar plexus which had originated in that volcano. It was the reason I had always felt drawn to here.

The void had held gifts deep in Misti’s heart, powers that had bided their time until they could once again walk on this earth plane. In the distance, figures emerged in the breeches of the volcano, stepping into this realm for the first time in generations.

Only time would tell if we had made a terrible mistake or established a balance to the magical order.

“It’s time to go home.” Salvator’s arms slipped around my waist from behind me, his forehead resting on my shoulder. For the first time in what felt like forever, I allowed myself the luxury of relaxing back into his strength.

“Should we be stopping all those magical beings from wandering off into the world to create mischief?” Dominic asked, leaning on the sword he had embedded in the ground in front of his feet, and nodding in the direction the creatures were disappearing. “I’ve lived a long time, and I can feel the disruption in the air this magic provokes. Only time will tell if it brings hope or despair.”

“The elders have been in power too long,” Owen replied, taking his place beside his vampire coven leader. “This age of magic was prophesied over a thousand years ago, and tonight we witnessed void magic being reborn.”

It took a sacrifice of blood to open the door, and the pain of losing my sister would remain with me as a scar on my heart every day I walked in a world where she no longer existed. Salvator’s arms tightened around me as he sensed my emotions.

“Our network will stand guard and watch,” Maia said, joining us to watch the light show of void magic escaping into theworld. “Each person here tonight was destined to hold vigil over this moment. Each of us have been touched by the essence of the void.”

I felt the difference inside me, saw the change in the aura of those standing beside me. Our world was changing, old powers re-emerging, and magic evolving. Tomorrow would herald a new age, but tonight we would hold those we loved tighter as we remembered those who had been lost in the last four hundred years.

“She’s finally just an extinct volcano,” I said, looking at what had been the focal point for everything that had happened in my life because void magic had drawn us all here.

“Maybe the ghosts of the past can rest now,” Salvator replied, his breath fanning my ear as he spoke.

The dawn was breaking as our group reached the bottom of the volcano, the vampires disappearing before the sun stretched her golden fingers of light into the world. Magic users weaved spells to repel humans until we could cleanse the area, and wolves patrolled the border.

Today signified a new dawn in the magical community. For better or for worse, void magic had re-entered the world again, and if mother priestess was correct, it was needed to balance the corruption that the elders and other groups who were insular and hostile had propagated. Only time would reveal the true extent of what had happened here, but my mission was complete. I had vowed to end Balor’s terror and avenge my sister priestesses who had lost their lives at his hands. Now, I planned to take a background role in our organisation and raise the family I never believed would ever be mine.

Our organisation owned an apartment complex not far from Misti since I always knew she held magical significance, I just never fully understood her role in the war that had waged for four hundred years.

I stood in the bedroom, exhaustion cresting over me in waves that made me sway as if I was watching the ocean crash to shore. I was about to crawl onto the bed when Salvator stopped me, leading me into the bathroom.

“I try to never sleep with an enemy’s blood on me,” he muttered, ripping both our clothes away and throwing them in the corner.

Bruises covered his torso, dried blood painting his skin with the symbols of war. My mate was an alpha who commanded an army of wolves, yet he followed me into battle without question.

“I should have mated with you all those years ago,” I whispered, my forehead resting against his heart as water pounded down on us.

His thumb skimmed over my mating mark. “We could never have walked the paths we needed to if we had physically mated all those years ago. My wolf remained loyal to you even when I believed you were dead. He knew his mate was still out there, and he bided his time.”

Love transcended the oceans of time, it gave me strength to take the next step even when I doubted myself. Salvator had been with me even when I believed I was alone, because soulmates were more than lovers; they incarnated with you to support and guide you. Looking back, I had felt his presence in my darkest moments.

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