Savage Fate (Den of Shadows #5)

Chapter 38

Chapter

Thirty-Eight

As I snatched my phone out of my pocket with a trembling hand and dialed Hawk’s number, Saint and Logan approached.

Was it too late?

Was my vision from the past?

Had Hawk already met a gruesome end?

Please let him be okay. Please let this be the one time these damn visions saved a life.

“What’s going on?” Saint reached out for me as if he couldn’t help it, but his hand fell at the last second. “What did she see?”

Fane raked his fingers through his midnight hair. “A bunch of quort demons were attacking Hawk in Bonaventure Cemetery.”

Logan’s head snapped back. “Those nasty buggers? They don’t normally attack in groups.”

“Perhaps they just emerged through the portal from the Underworld together and were looking for food,” Estella offered.

“Not helping,” I muttered as Hawk’s phone rang. I didn’t want to imagine my best friend getting eaten alive.

The ringing stopped, and Hawk’s voice sailed over the line. “What’s up, Strawberry Shortcake?”

My knees nearly buckled as relief hit me at the raven’s lighthearted tone. “Where are you?”

“I’m on my way the way to patrol Bonaventure Cemetery with Axel and?—”

“Don’t go!” I blurted. “Turn around.”

The line crackled as if something was interfering with it. “What? Why?”

Panic shot through my bloodstream, and I fisted my other hand. “You’re going to be attacked by sub-demons. Don’t go!”

“Tate? Tate? Are you there?” Hawk’s words came across broken and disjointed. “I can’t hear you.”

And then the line went dead.

Invisible hands squeezed my lungs and stole the air right out of them. “We have to get to Bonaventure Cemetery before it’s too late.”

Fane’s lips thinned, and I saw the war waging behind his mismatched eyes. He wanted to protest, but he’d seen the vision and knew what would happen.

“I’m not letting anything get in my way of saving Hawk,” I gritted out. “We can agonize over my expiration date later.”

The demon shifter finally gave a reluctant nod. “Let’s go.”

“What the hell is she doing here?” I glared as Roxie emerged through the oaks surrounding Bonaventure Cemetery with Hawk, Kortney, and Axel.

Hawk tossed his hands in the air and shook his head. “For some reason, Gia thought it was a good idea. The captain believes Roxie’s little redemption quest isn’t all for show.” He glowered at the tall, raven-haired beauty. “I, on the other hand, think Roxie’s full of shit.”

She flicked her ponytail off her shoulder. “As long as Captain Gia knows the truth, that’s all that matters.” Her saccharine smile made me want to punch her. “I’m trying to turn over a new leaf, but it doesn’t mean I have to like any of you.”

Kortney cracked her knuckles. “Good. Because we don’t like you.”

“Guys, let’s focus.” Axel checked his watch. “Tate, do you know when these demons are supposed to attack?”

On the way to the cemetery, I got in touch with Axel and warned them, but the ravens were too stubborn to turn around. They had to neutralize the threat before any innocents were harmed.

I would have done the same thing.

As we traveled deeper into the historic cemetery, silvery moonlight streamed through breaks in the foliage and highlighted the crumbling, moss-covered tombstones and ominous statues. The cold, crisp air held a tinge of something foul.

Sub-demons.

“I still think this is a bad idea, Teague,” Fane muttered, flanking my side. “If this goes wrong?—”

“Everything will be fine. With all of us, we can take the quort demons and the dragos.” I rolled my shoulders, loosening up for a battle.

Wrath, Saint, and Logan trailed behind us as the ravens fanned out. Fane and I stopped in front of the Grim Reaper statue only nightworlders and ravens could see guarding the curtain of magic concealing the Underworld portal.

I peered at the starry sky and studied the position of the moon. Something should happen anytime now.

Rustling sounded, and a buzzing simultaneously filled the atmosphere. Chills skated down my back as I recognized the sound of drago wings stirring through the air.

My pulse spiked. “Get ready.”

Fane gave a sharp nod just as a swarm of dragos converged on the area, a collection of scaly blue bodies and gossamer wings heading right for us. I ducked as one divebombed me and attempted to slice off my arm with his serrated tail.

Damn, these things are fast.

I yanked the mystical hilt out of my pocket, activating the blade. The sub-demon’s screech as I decapitated him rattled my eardrums.

“Something’s got them riled up.” Fane plucked a large one, bigger than a beach ball, right out of the air and tore his head clean off.

“We’ve got sub-demons,” Logan spoke into the radio Hawk had given him so we could communicate with the ravens. “Dragos.”

Hawk’s voice crackled over the line. “We’ve got a group of fortyno demons.”

“Fortynos?” I cursed. “They weren’t in my vision.”

I sliced my blade through the air as two dragos spun toward Fane and me, their wings fluttering and sharp tails whipping.

“Maybe you didn’t see everything.” Fane grabbed another one and ripped his head off, tossing his body into a tombstone.

My heart thumped against my chest. My mate was such a savage. Why did it turn me on so much?

As he felt the wave of attraction, Fane glanced over his shoulder and gave a feral smile before snatching another giant dragonfly sub-demon out of the air.

“Quorts are coming,” Logan yelled as the piglike monsters sprinted in our direction.

What the hell?

Did coming here and intervening change things? Would different demons attack Hawk?

Wrath punted a quort across the cemetery. “Something very strange is going on. Fortynos, dragos, and quorts wouldn’t normally attack together. Quorts and dragos are natural enemies.

The knots fisting in my gut only tightened at Wrath’s words. Their odd behavior unsettled me. This whole situation did.

Something wasn’t right.

But I couldn’t figure out what.

As more sub-demons converged on us, Fane and I fought back-to-back, taking out as many as possible. Sweat dripped down my temples, and my labored breaths reverberated. Even though we were in the middle of a clusterfuck, I could barely contain my grin.

The violence was satisfying.

“And I was worried you wouldn’t show.”

Barric suddenly appeared out of nowhere, leaning against a deteriorating tombstone.

Oh shit.

Fane snarled and tried to grab my arm, but a drago torpedoed between us, forcing us apart.

Dread filled my veins as the realization hit me like a wrecking ball.

Somehow, probably with the Infernal Sol’s assistance, Barric had set this whole thing up. He planted that vision in my head. He needed me to be here at this exact moment, in the middle of all this commotion.

Was he controlling the sub-demons too?

“Are you desperate for a fix?” He reached into the top of his shirt and pulled out the amulet, letting it dangle in the air.

Taunting me.

I hadn’t even realized I’d moved toward Barric until Fane’s voice erupted in my head.

“Don’t give in, Tate!”

My boots squealed to a halt, sinking into the soft grass. I breathed heavily as a cold sweat soaked my clothes. The urge to dart forward and grab the Infernal Sol out of Barric’s grasp was so powerful that fighting it almost sent me to my knees.

“What do you want?” I hissed.

“I want many things, dear daughter.” His foreboding laughter resonated through the cemetery over growls, clashing bodies, and battle cries.

Deep down, in the darkest, nastiest parts of my soul, I’d hoped to face Barric so I could steal the Infernal Sol.

I still wanted it.

Of course you do. We belong together.

“Touch her, Barric, and I will tear your head off so fast your brain will still be functioning while I rip your spine out.” Fane decapitated a qourt with ease, splattering black demon blood on his hands and face.

Barric calmly sat on a long tombstone, grinning. His casual jeans and red-and-blue plaid shirt did a spectacular job of hiding the real monster beneath. He looked more like a friendly neighbor than a psychotic shifter.

“Don’t you want to know how to cure her sickness, Maverick?” Barric tsked and folded his arms over his barrel chest. “I bet that dagger Reese stabbed her with didn’t help matters.”

Of course the bastard knew what was wrong with me and how to fix it.

Unless he was lying and there was no cure at all.

“Do you even know, Barric?” When Fane marched toward the former head alpha, I blocked his path. “You’re probably just bluffing to save your sorry ass from me.”

The murderous rage bubbling within Fane made it clear that if he got his hands on Barric, he’d kill him.

Unfortunately, we needed the bastard alive in case he actually knew how to fix me. Locating the rest of The Collective Hunt so they couldn’t hurt anyone else would also be helpful.

“Fane, wait.” I gripped his shoulders. “Let’s see if?—”

Electric-purple bands of magic struck Fane, violently knocking him into a tree. Its branches shook from the hit.

My pulse skyrocketed, and as I spun, Roman slinked from the shadows, wielding his magic to capture Fane.

“Let him go, asshole!” I stormed forward and crushed my fist into his cheek.

He stumbled sideways and fell, pulling me to the ground with him. Fane howled and fought the binds that pinned him to the tree.

They wouldn’t for long. Roman couldn’t maintain the magic if he was unconscious.

“Release him,” I demanded, yanking my hand back to deliver another punch that would knock him out.

Roman grabbed the sides of my head, and the cemetery suddenly fell away…

Slick black walls, a crackling fire, and the scent of fear unfolded around me.

“You will do as I command.” Barric loomed over Roman, who was strapped to a chair by mystical restraints. The shifter held the amulet over the witch as it glowed from the fire.

Roman breathed heavily, sweat dampening his pale-blond hair. “This is not what I signed up for, Barric.”

The former head alpha grabbed the witch’s throat, baring his teeth. “That’s too bad, because this is what’s happening. And you can either be on my side, or I can lock you up and torture you with your fears. You’ll wish for death long before I grant it.”

A manic look flickered over Barric’s face as his eyes darkened, becoming as black as an impenetrable abyss…

The scene Roman forced into my mind faded, and the cemetery returned, Fane cursing up a storm as he ripped the magical strands apart one by one.

“Please help me,” the witch whispered.

Roman’s flesh was pale, sickly even, and dark circles underscored his tired, nearly lifeless eyes. He was a far cry from the cocky witch who’d helped Barric escape Ruin’s lab months ago.

How many others were in Roman’s shoes, forced to do Barric’s bidding?

“Stop fooling around, Roman,” Barric barked. “Get up and keep him occupied.”

Trepidation slid over my spine. Why did Barric need to keep Fane occupied?

To get to me, obviously, but what about the others? They could interfere with Barric attempting to take me or kill me as much as Fane.

The ground rumbled, angel statues trembling and branches shaking, as three huge zubrek demons scuttled through the area on spindly legs.

A string of curses fell off my tongue as more chaos unfolded in Bonaventure Cemetery.

Fane finally broke out of Roman’s spell, dropped from the tree, and stormed toward the witch as he sluggishly climbed to his feet.

“Don’t hurt him,” I spoke into Fane’s mind. “Barric is forcing him to do this.”

Fane grabbed Roman by the shirt and yanked him into the air. “He broke into Ruin’s lab and helped Barric escape of his own free will.”

Before I could explain, a familiar scream exploded in the air.

A zubrek demon, over seven feet tall, had Roxie’s foot in his mouth, dragging her toward the portal to the Underworld. His three neon-yellow eyes burned brighter the more she struggled.

“Tate, help!” Her voice shook with panic as she flailed in the air, unable to break out of the demon’s grip without severing her foot.

The atmosphere between the archways shimmered as the doorway activated.

If he dragged her into the Underworld, he could burrow into a hole, and she’d be gone forever.

Roxie had been horrible. She’d betrayed me and let Hawk stew in his own depression and anger. She’d tried to kill me once before in this very spot when she left me to fend for myself against a whole swarm of dragos.

But the difference between Roxie and me was that I couldn’t let someone die just because I hated them.

“Tate, don’t you dare go through that portal after her,” Fane demanded, finally dropping Roman.

As soon as the witch’s feet touched the ground, he let his power loose on Fane again, throwing purple strands around him at rapid fire.

Fane tore them off, but Roman wouldn’t relent.

“I should have ripped his throat out when I had the chance, fiera mika.”

I ignored Fane’s fury and rushed toward Roxie, catching sight of Barric still sitting on the tombstone, watching the bedlam play out.

His inaction left me unsettled.

Why hadn’t he tried to attack me yet?

I shook the unnerving thought off and reached Roxie, the wind from the portal tossing my hair and shaking nearby branches. My sword sliced through the air, and I carved into the zubrek’s hard brown exoskeleton.

As he screeched, her foot fell from his mouth, and she scrambled away on her hands and knees. His attention swiveled to me, his sharp teeth shining ruby red.

He was a nasty critter.

I kicked the joint on one of his legs, forcing him to jerk forward, and then my blade impaled his chest. The zubrek roared and stumbled back into the swirling portal, vanishing into the Underworld.

“Thanks,” Roxie muttered, sitting back on her haunches, panting.

Blood coated her leg, but at least her foot was still attached to her body. The sub-demon could have easily bitten it off.

I reached my hand out, and she grabbed it, standing. “You’re welcome.” I gave her an overly sweet smile. “Besides, you wouldn’t last long in the Underworld.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that.” She dusted the grass and dirt from her pants. “I’ve been there a few times, and I rather enjoy it.”

The cold unease returned and slid around my throat like a noose. “Why would you?—”

A bruising grip suddenly wrapped around my arm, and Barric appeared beside me.

“Thanks for your help, Roxie. You were right.” His grin had frost crystallizing through my veins. “Tate just can’t resist saving someone.”