Page 95 of Blood Sacrifice

It was easy to kill an enemy in battle, but not as simple to look an unarmed man in the eye and pull the trigger. Being in a kill squad had made me into a monster that was able to suppress my emotions. That creature of darkness crawled out of the cavern I tried to keep him in, and an icy calm washed over me.

I turned toward Jethro, and witnessed all his emotions draining from his face as he also became the killer he needed to be today. These were the people who had interfered with our free will and had been manipulating us in the background.

My wolf became alert, his hackles raising as his hatred at those who sought to control us came to the forefront. He had no problem with slaughtering the people who had lied and kept us from our mate.

The vampires crawled up the walls, and wolves around me shifted to their hybrid form. The magic users from Luna’s organisation began to cast behind me, their energy creeping forward like a malevolent mist rising from the ground. I had never witnessed the true force of a magic user beside us in battle, and I was beginning to realise that Aisha had been fooling us for years. Their power wasn’t in an offensive attack, but by controlling the elements and emotions of those they were about to attack.

I continued to move forward, all my senses on high alert. Those living in this area jumped to their feet when we emerged,frantically searching for weapons while the warlocks threw energy balls with spells in them in our direction.

There was no time to think, only react. Balor was only as strong as the warlocks he had accumulated in his army, so those were the first I targeted. We forged forward in a united line, destroying everything in our path. The vampires dropped from the ceiling, swooping down on the unsuspecting victims below. They were vicious and relentless, moving so fast that I could barely track them.

How did the lycans survive in a war with them for centuries?

I recognised one of the warlocks as being directly associated with Balor, so I changed direction to prevent him from leaving. “Target identified,” I said, pushing my way through the mass of bodies fighting.

“I see him,” Tarrack replied. “He is heading toward the south exit.”

“Don’t let him escape, I can’t risk him finding Balor before Luna reaches the volcano.” I shoved a soldier out of my way, no longer paying attention to the fighting.

As he was about to run into the corridor, Dominic landed in front of him as he fell from the sky. “I’m afraid I can’t allow you to leave,” he said politely, holding his hands up.

“Get out of my way.” The warlock tried to push past, but Dominic grabbed his arm, twisting it up his back until a loud crack sounded and the warlock screamed.

“I hope you don’t mind that he is a little damaged,” Dominic said, shoving him in my direction as I arrived.

“Not at all. I only require his knowledge, you can rip all his limbs off for all I care.” The warlock’s eyes widened and he looked between both of us, his forehead furrowing in concern.

“You’re a vampire,” he stuttered over the last word. “There are wards to prevent you entering this province.”

Dominic’s right eyebrow rose, but it was his only reaction to the claim. It hadn’t occurred to me that they had been actively repelling vampires from Peru.

“You were one of Balor’s trusted priests,” I said, grabbing him by the scruff of the neck and dragging him into the corridor and away from the sound of fighting. “Why are you here and not with him?”

He tried to shrug me off, but his broken arm was hanging at his side. “Fuck off.”

“Why can people not be more imaginative with their insults?” I asked. “Tell me what I want to know or—”

“Or what?” he interrupted. “You couldn’t even protect yourself or your people from being spellbound.”

I slapped him so hard the noise echoed down the corridor toward the next chamber. “I have no problem taking you apart piece at a time until you tell me what I want to hear.”

“This is going to take all day, and we no longer have time for pleasantries,” Dominic said, waving me aside. “I wouldn’t believe a word that came from his mouth anyway. Men like him tend to lie to get what they want.”

I was about to ask what he intended to do when Dominic lifted the warlock’s uninjured arm, his fangs piercing deep into the flesh of his wrist. His eyes glowed crimson, and the warlock screamed as if I was torturing him.

I stepped back when Dominic spat the blood on the floor, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“He hasn’t seen Balor for years, as he is in hiding. They scattered about a century ago after an attack, and he has been on the run since.” Dominic retrieved a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his mouth again. “I fucking hate having to do that, especially tasting the blood of someone like him.”

“What exactly did you just do?” I asked, more confused than ever.

“Watched his memories through his blood,” Dominic said. “Blood is the answer to most questions in this world. Want to know how someone feels? It’s in their blood. Need to see who is telling the truth? It’s in their blood. I can select memories or manipulate their thoughts as well.”

“That is terrifying,” I said, returning my attention to the warlock. “What the fuck happened?”

“Everything we thought was wrong,” he replied in a dull voice. “The prey was the predator, and the innocent were murderers.”

As if ghostly hands reached out, his neck suddenly snapped and he fell to the ground.

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