Page 32 of A Bloodline Redeemed

Ambrose’s dark aura swelled as his grinned widened.“Yes,” he purred in his dark velvet voice, leaning closer to the witch, so he could murmur in his ear.“Sing for me, darling.”

Tendrils of blackness curled around the boogeyman, and reached outward, sliding up the witch’s legs.His eyes widened and he began to squirm, trying desperately to escape the creature before him.“No.What the fuck are you?Ah!”

The knife pressed to his belly, a shroud of blackness began to swirl around the circle of tormentors, and I looked away.

Then the screaming started.

The man screamed and cried until his voice as broken and hoarse, begging us to stop.And eventually begging us to kill him.Promising us anything we wanted if we would just make the pain end.

His screams grew weaker as he tired, as he was drained of life force and of the will to live.Eventually he was reduced to broken whispers and gasps, little sobs between moments of babbling insanity.And all the while, Ambrose whispered questions.Kept a running commentary on how much fun they were having together.

Bella stepped in a time or two to whisper in Ambrose’s ear, and the boogeyman changed his inquiries accordingly, until he told us everything.All we needed to hear and more.

“Fucking finally,” I said on a heavy sigh, rubbing my temples as the harsh breathing and pleading stopped.“Goddess, I have a headache.”

Elijah patted my back.“That was rough.But, better than the alternative, I suppose.”

We both looked on as Ambrose drew back his darkness, leaving the cultist tied to a chair in the sunshine in the middle of the courtyard.Bella was still standing next to Ambrose, but everyone else had taken a seat at some point in the proceedings.River was in jaguar form, curled up under a shrub taking a nap.

I shook my head at the guy’s ability to sleep through all that racket.

Ambrose straightened his jacket and held out an arm to me as I went to join him.He pressed a soft kiss to the side of my head and gave me a sideways hug.“Will that suffice, lovely witch?”

I nodded.“I suppose.But I’m not entirely sure he wouldn’t have preferred real torture.”

I glanced at the cultist who sat there crying in the afternoon sun, completely unharmed.

“Oh, it certainly seemed real enough to him, at the time,” Ambrose assured me with a shark-toothed grin.

I shuddered, recalling the time we had all been caught up in one of Ambrose’s nightmares when he was first freed from the bestiary.It had absolutely felt real.And it had almost killed a couple of us…

But this I could live with, much better than knowing that my lovers had just sliced up some guy for funzies.

Bella shook her head in awe.“That was insanely effective,” she marveled.“And not a drop of blood wasted.”

I didn’t exactly love the little spark of greed I saw in her eyes when she looked at Ambrose, but I didn’t comment.

The cultist finally caught his breath and lifted his head, blinking stupidly at the circle of people around him.Some of whom were only just now rousing themselves from their seats in the grass.“What…” He muttered, his voice still hoarse from all that screaming.“How…” he looked down at himself, his eyes widening.“I was bleeding.There was so much pain.I… how?”

Ambrose winked at him.“Contrary to your beliefs, little boy, witches arenotthe supreme race, and they never will be.You might think yourselves mighty.But you are mere children compared to some of the other beings around you.Remember that.”

“Did we get everything we need?”I asked Bella tiredly.

She nodded.Then she cut a look toward the captive.“We’ll talk more once we get rid of that.”

“What are you going to do with me?”the cultist asked, confusion creasing his brow.He was probably wondering why we’d go to the trouble of avoiding physical torture, only to go ahead and kill him afterward.

Aahil popped out of existence for a little trip to the Lovell vault.Then he returned in a shower of sparks that was a bit excessive compared to his usual flare.The strap of a messenger bag was draped across his chest, the bag concealing the amplifying artifact resting at his hip.

“Okay,” he said with a grin, “Off we go.”

He grabbed hold of the cultist’s still bound arm and they both disappeared with a wash of heat and magic.

I shook out my hands, trying to get rid of the full body tingles that wave of amplified magic had caused.“I will never get used to that.”

Bella tilted her head at me.Clearly, she had felt the backlash of amplified magic, but I didn’t think it was as intense for her.I wasn’t about to explain to her all about my bonds with the people around me.I wasn’t entirely sure I trusted her with the information.

Aahil returned in seconds, but this time, the wash of magic wasn’t as intense.The messenger bag was gone, restored to its place in the vault.

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