Page 92 of Blood Sacrifice

“They went straight to specific rooms, including yours,” Tarrack said, clicking the top of his pen and twirling it around his fingertips before clicking it again.

My eyebrows shot up but I didn’t say anything, merely continued to watch the screens.

“What was in that part of the base?” Jethro tapped one of the screens that had a soldier in a black mask pulling drawers out and lifting floor mats.

“One of the guest quarter rooms,” Tarrack replied, returning to typing. “Last occupied by… one of the witches that we had unfortunately trusted.” He returned to clicking his pen.

“What are they looking for?” Jethro asked, standing in front of the monitor to watch where they were searching, his finger following the movement of the soldier. “And why only certain rooms?”

“I have a theory on that,” Tarrack said. “I’ve been working with Maia on security settings these past few days to try and incorporate a way to determine if one of our wolves have been spellbound. She often mentions needing a sample, and whenI queried that, she said something of the person you want to create a spell around. For example, a hair, nail, or piece of skin.”

“Would they have needed that to whammy us?” Jethro asked.

“I believe so,” I replied, folding my arms across my chest. “It would make sense to create a strong spell to influence us.”

“Personal artifacts from you can be used to create a voodoo doll,” Luna said from the doorway of the room, my back prickling in awareness at her presence. “Spellbinding a person is one matter, but being able to torture or kill someone remotely is another matter entirely.”

All eyes in the room snapped to where Luna and Maia stood.

“My team is heading out,” Luna added, moving forward to view the monitors. “I can spellbind a person just by standing beside them, but if I wanted to create maximum damage to someone, I would need a hair, nail, or body fluid.”

“That is slightly terrifying,” Jethro replied. “I feel like shaving all my hair off and filing my nails down.”

I agreed with Jethro, and considering there were certain rooms targeted in our base, Luna’s assumption sounded more realistic than spellbinding. I had never liked the sensation of magic, but I was beginning to realise in the wrong hands, it was even more dangerous than I thought.

“Who’s on your team?” I asked, needing to assure myself that she would be safe, and if I wasn’t there, then I wanted the strongest warriors beside her.

“Maia and Owen,” Luna replied. “We’re going to drive as close to the volcano as possible and walk one of the ancient pathways.”

The vampire was strong, but it was daylight outside. Maia had proved herself making potions, but that wasn’t the same as fighting an enemy in hand-to-hand combat.

“It’s light outside, and I hate to point this out, but vampires are allergic to sunlight,” I said.

“Don’t believe everything you read in a book,” Owen said from where he sat at a desk over in a corner behind Tarrack. “I have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

“Take some of my men with you,” I said, ignoring the vampire. “They’ll protect you in a fight.”

“It’s very sweet that you’re trying to protect your mate, but we’ve survived many wars,” Maia replied. “There are not many obstacles we can’t overcome.” Her grin was filled with mischief, and even though she was tiny, I saw her power shining from behind her eyes.

“Stay safe out there, and no playing hero.” Luna stood on her tiptoes to kiss me on the cheek on the way past.

Owen pushed himself to his feet, and I glared at him. “That’s my mate,” I said to him, nodding at the retreating figure of Luna. “I will hunt you and your kind to extinction if a hair on her head is harmed.” I folded my arms across my chest to give him the full force of my bad temper.

“You don’t even know what my species is, so I doubt you could hunt all of us down. Luna has been my friend a long time, and we’ve both saved each other’s asses more times than I can remember. She’s family, and that means more to me than a wolf’s threats.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and sauntered past me.

I had the feeling that I was clueless to who was accompanying my mate. Fuck, I barely knew who Luna was anymore, but that didn’t stop me loving her.

“Soldiers in the tunnels are on the move,” Tarrack said, diverting my attention from my pondering over the magical people in our midst.

“Tell our teams to get ready,” I commanded. “We leave in ten.”

There was no more time for questions or planning. Surprise was our best tactic, and all that was left was to seek vengeance for the crimes that had been committed against us.

Chapter Thirty

Salvator

Wolves liked to be free, to feel the wind around them, and sense the moon above them. The tunnels closed in around me and there were times I found it difficult to breathe as we made our way through the narrow and winding pathways that led to the large corridors into the residential areas.

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