Page 80 of Blood Sacrifice

Revenge was best served cold and bloody, and the streets of Lima flowed with the blood of our enemies. I sat staring at the monitors in our control centre. Tarrack had logged every single mission our people had implemented, how many wolves and warlocks were killed on Balor’s side, and how many we had lost. Even one life on our side was one too many. We deserved our freedom after what they had done to us.

“Our guest is in a holding cell downstairs, and he has magical cuffs on both his hands and feet,” Jethro said as he walked into the room. “Maia put a ward on the room that should block locator spells.”

The set of his jaw said he wasn’t happy there were witches on the base after everything that had happened. I didn’t blame him, but the only reason they were here was because Maia was working her ass off to keep Luna alive. I had visited her when I returned from the mission, but her chest barely moved to breathe and her beautiful face was pale against the darkness of her hair.

“Any sight of Balor or Aisha?” I asked everyone in the room.

“Nope,” Tarrack replied. “I put the image of their faces into facial recognition software to review all the mission video. There was no sight of them.”

“Get our trackers out there, and tell them to hunt under every stone big enough for them to hide under,” I commanded. “I want them found, and preferably their heads removed so they can’t do any more harm.”

“I’m fucking exhausted with all this,” Jethro replied, collapsing into a chair and spreading his legs out in front of him. “We thought we were keeping him at bay for years, when the reality was that he was fucking controlling us.”

“Why don’t we get one of these witches to brew a locator spell?” Paulo asked, raising his head from the desk where he had had it rested on his arms. “Who better to track magic than those who wield it?”

“Do you have anything personal of either of the people you are seeking?” Owen asked, startling me. I had no idea how long he’d been standing there, but the guy was like a heart attack—silent and deadly, and you only realised he was there too late.

“Such as?” I enquired.

He shrugged one shoulder. “A piece of clothing, some hair, a chunk of their flesh.”

I eyeballed him. “I try to avoid keeping pieces of my enemies as souvenirs,” I replied dryly.

“Pity. They are advantageous to have for a number of reasons.”

“Maybe someone should search Aisha’s room?” Tarrack suggested. “She insisted on the same guestroom every time she was here. I tended to leave it for her to save any temper tantrums.”

My eyebrows shot up. I didn’t realise she even stayed here overnight, and assumed she returned home to her coven. I metJethro’s gaze, and he silently stood up, checked over Tarrack’s shoulder, and left the room.

“I doubt we have anything belonging to Balor,” I said.

“This warlock has lived centuries,” Owen replied. “Does he not have any children?”

“I’m over four hundred years old and don’t have any children,” I pointed out.

“You are not trying to immortalise yourself,” Owen said. “Vampires, like every race, had good and bad leaders. Over the years, I observed the evil megalomaniacs tended to breed excessively because the time might come that they needed a vessel to put their slimy soul into. Why would this Balor be any different?”

I rubbed my hands down my face. “I know I’m going to regret asking this, but when did body-swapping start?”

“When creatures started making deals with devils,” Dominic said from somewhere to my left. “We live in disturbing times.”

“Marvellous,” I replied. “In answer to the initial question, I have no idea if he has any children. The warlocks tended to keep themselves separate to everyone else, having their own temple they lived in.”

“Did he keep specific warlocks close to him at all times, maybe on the premise he was training them?” Dominic asked. “It means he would be able to raise his son without alerting anyone’s suspicions.”

I cast my mind back to when we all lived together before the night he opposed the emperor. “He had two that were particularly close to him and carried out his orders, but that was a long time ago, and anything could have happened in the years since he disappeared.”

“It is a question you should put to the prisoners downstairs,” Dominic continued. “People tend to see things without realising the significance.”

“Feel free to question whoever you wish,” I replied, sitting back in the chair and staring at the ceiling.

A feeling of dread washed over me, rendering me immobile for several seconds. Then, I was on my feet and sprinting out of the room. Whatever was happening, Luna needed me. I felt her pain and distress through our mating bond, her mark on me burning with intensity. My wolf had combined his strength with mine, and instead of opening the door, I pulled it off its hinges and out of the frame, leaving it lying on the floor.

“Luna,” I said, stalking my way into the room and expecting to find her under attack.

“Her pulse is erratic and she’s fitting,” Maia said. “I can’t stabilise her.”

Luna’s entire abdomen lifted off the bed, her fingers spread wide as if trying to reach something. Instinct took over and I walked straight to the bed, climbing on and straddling her body, my fingers lacing through Luna’s, and my forehead pressed to hers.

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