Page 50 of Dark Reckoning
“So, do they even know you two are up to this?” Sage asked.
“No,” Aldéric said with a wicked smile.
Sage smirked. “And why not? Is it because you know they'd disapprove?”
“I'm not fucking any of the other members of the Council. I don't care if they approve of my actions or not. And since you're so concerned about their approval, they would be against what I plan to do in order to guarantee our survival. Tell me, Sage, do you really give a fuck about the Council's opinion when it comes to saving you and Adrian? Because right now, if Salino dies, so will you and Adrian.”
“You got me fucked up if you think I give a shit about any of you,” Sage said, then rose. “Let's get this over with. I'm exhausted and we still need to take out the Dark God.”
“Fine with me,” Kakashi said, then looked at me.
I admit, my feelings were a little hurt when Sage said he didn't give a shit about any of us. Did he also mean me? I figured we'd gotten past a lot of our distrust for each other. We've been through a lot. I decided to ask him telepathically.
You can kiss my ass, but no... I do care about you... just a little. Enough to not want to see you die, even if we weren't linked. That was for the Council,Sage said.
Ahhh, my sweet child,I said.
He gave me his middle finger, and I laughed.
“I see you two are having a private conversation,” Kakashi said. “Emperor Laurent, are you ready?”
I nodded and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. “I am. What do we need to do?”
Kakashi turned to Aldéric. “Prepare the spell.”
Aldéric rose. “This will get bloody, do you have a particular room where you want us to do it?”
I'm glad he warned me because I did not want my Persian rug to be ruined. “One of the feeding rooms should suffice.”
Kakashi walked over to me, placing his hand on my shoulder. “Come over here, Sage.”
Aldéric joined us and so did Sage. Aldéric placed his hand on something that wasn't there, at least not to my eyes. Kakashi placed his hand on Sage's shoulders.
“Okay, show me where the room is,” Kakashi said.
I understood what he wanted from me. I closed my eyes and imagined the room and I felt Kakashi's magic flow into me and then there was a jolt of energy, wind, and what felt like static crackling inside my body. I didn't like the sensation one bit. I opened my eyes and staggered away, falling against the wall. My body shook from the power of whatever teleportation spell he'd used to get us into the feeding room I'd envisioned. I looked at Sage and he was sitting on the floor, head bowed, breathing hard. I turned my attention back to the other two mages, and they were fine. Yes, they were powerful.
“This will do nicely,” Kakashi said as he looked around at the cement room.
“I'll set everything up,” Aldéric said, then he snapped his fingers and a human appeared. A man wearing black pants, a shirt, and a priest's collar. His mouth was gagged and his wrists and ankles were bound by magic because he couldn't speak nor move, yet nothing physical was keeping him from doing so. Therefore, it had to be magic. Considering who'd captured him, it was no mystery. The display of power was why so many supernal were leery of mages. They may be human, but they were nothing to be trifled with. Especially, not these three dark ones, or Adrian.
I stood by and watched as Aldéric drew a sigil with many intricate designs on the floor. It looked like a three-point star inside a triangle. I was expecting it to be a circle. “Why the triangle?” I asked, because why not ask?
“Because each point represents one of the other three emperors,” Kakashi explained. “ As for the star inside, three points for the dark mages whose essences will be needed to conduct this spell must be prominent, not equal.”
“That answers my question. I have another. What will happen to me after this spell is done? Everyone else is getting the hookup, what about me?” Sage asked.
Kakashi smiled. “I was wondering when or if you were going to ask that. You'll get physically stronger, too. I'm not entirely a hundred percent sure about this part, but your lions may also change.”
“Change how?” Sage asked, concern in his tone. He stepped forward.
“Stronger, they may also become hybrids. This spell is extremely powerful and somewhat unpredictable because there are variables I can't account for. All I needed was a mage who was also a vampire. You're also a shifter, so I can't be all that certain about what will happen,” Kakashi said.
“Will it harm them?” Sage asked in all seriousness.
“I don't expect that, no. It's not as if this spell is directed at killing them. None of their blood is being used. The only thing I don't know is if they'll gain in power or not, because you will,” Kakashi said.
“What about Adrian?” Sage asked. “Will anything happen to him?”
