Chapter Thirty-FourSalvator – one hour earlier
Chapter Thirty-Four
Salvator – one hour earlier
“They have another wave of warlocks ready to attack,” Dominic said, grabbing my arm. “We don’t have enough men to fight them.”
I blinked, turning my attention to the doorway that took us further into this network. “What are you thinking?”
“Surrender some of our people, send the rest back the way they came, and have a third contingent ready to follow.” Dominic’s dark gaze pierced into me as if looking into my soul. “They want you since they were looking for an item connected to you. That means they won’t kill you.”
“I don’t surrender,” I grated out through clenched teeth.
“And you won’t be surrendering this time either. It is a strategic move to get men into their inner sanctum.” His eyebrows rose as if they were joining his argument.
I sucked in a breath and released it slowly. “Fine.” I touched the communications device at my ear. “Jethro, take your team and the witches back through the tunnels to safety. I’m about to hand myself over, and Dominic is going to be my bodyguard and follow wherever they take me.”
“Are you fucking serious? No!” Jethro almost screamed into my ear.
“Sometimes we have to sacrifice the few to save the many. Get our people out of here. They have another unit ready to attack.” I would never allow my men to be slaughtered. “You better have my ass or Luna will skin you alive.”
I gave Dominic my best glare that I saved to make young wolves pee themselves.
He replied with his creepy-ass grin. “I’ve lived a long time, wolf. I don’t take risks, because I’ve already played out the scenario in my head. Aisha believes herself in love with you. She would not allow you to be harmed, and she also knows you would never forgive her for harming your pack.”
I cracked my neck from side to side, unconsciously touching the pendant that hung around my neck.
“I’ve activated your tracker,” Tarrack said in my ear.
“My what?” I asked in a low, deadly voice.
“Your tracker,” he replied. “You instructed that we should all have one implanted about two years ago…” His voice trailed off as the extent of how we had been manipulated and monitored became apparent.
“Can you turn them off?” I demanded, my eyes meeting Dominic’s.
“Yeah, give me a second,” Tarrack replied, and I visualised his fingers flying over the keyboard as he squinted at the screen.
“Can anyone else turn them back on again?” Dominic asked.
“Not without the password.” Tarrack paused for a moment. “Changing the password.”
Dominic rolled his eyes before turning away. “They had a lot of time to infiltrate your system,” he said. “You either need to give your network the equivalent of a colonoscopy or replace it.”
I froze when someone grabbed me from behind to spin me around, my claws descending to eviscerate them until I saw it was Jethro.
“Don’t do this,” he said in an urgent tone. “There has to be another way.”
I was their leader and had done a shitty job of it considering we were all wearing trackers like expensive poodles being watched by their owners. “They know where we are,” I replied. “They had this planned because we all conveniently forgot we were wearing trackers. I need to make this right.”
I grasped his shoulder, begging him to understand with my eyes.
Jethro looked away. “I lost my real brother so long ago that I barely remember his voice. You’re the closest person I have to family in this world.”
“You’ll be following me every step of the way,” I replied. “I can only do this with all of you behind me.”
Jethro stared at me with an intensity that unnerved me. He was the glue that kept this pack together, a beta who saw beyond the physical. He nodded once, signalling his team toward the opening we had come in through since they had all heard my initial command.
“Give us a few minutes’ head start so we can get above ground and get ready to follow you,” he said. “Tarrack will be our eyes and ears, and the vampire can be your avenging angel to watch over you.”
“May the great gods forgive you for the comparison,” Dominic drawled. “We vampires are more akin to bats than those feathered menaces.”
Jethro pointed his finger at Dominic. “Anything happens to Sal, and I’ll stake you myself.”
“You would need to find my heart first,” Dominic replied. “It was stolen a long time ago and never returned.”
He spoke in riddles that I couldn’t understand half the time, but I knew what he meant since my heart had been ripped out of my chest and only returned four centuries later.
“See you on the other side,” I said to Jethro, who reluctantly turned to walk slowly toward where his team had gathered.
Dominic leapt into the air, spinning to dig his claws into the ceiling in a move that defied all the laws of gravity.
I creaked my neck from side to side, turning to face the remainder of my team. It would be believable to our enemies that we had lost a lot of men in the fights we had encountered so far.
“No more deaths,” I said. “Let them take you alive because they’ll not be keeping any of us.” I had to have faith or my wolf would never allow me to swallow my pride and be taken.
Anyone who saw us hobbling into the next chamber would believe the act we displayed, battle-weary and too exhausted to continue. My wolf howled in my head as they forced me to my knees, a spell binding my arms and legs to ensure I couldn’t move. My body floated in the air as the warlocks chatted about how their plan had worked, and we had been defeated.
What none of them knew, but what I bore witness to, was the vampires who clung to the ceiling like bats watching everything unfold. I hung in the air, staring straight up at Dominic, his eyes glowing in the dim light. I caught a flash of his fangs as he grinned, and part of me knew the vampire was enjoying the thrill of the chase.
My pendant heated against my flesh, and I felt the power of it infuse into me. We moved through the tunnels, and I scented fresh air, telling me we were outside. The cord that connected me to Luna pulsed stronger, alerting me that wherever we were was closer to Luna than we were before. She was supposed to be inside the volcano using secret passageways she remembered from her time here as a priestess.
Something had gone wrong if she was outside and exposed to our enemies. I struggled against the hold of the magic restraining me, allowing the powerful enchantment of my pendant to loosen the bonds and allow me to start to wiggle my fingers and toes.
It was nighttime, which heightened the senses of my wolf, allowing me to scent Balor for the first time in centuries. He had hidden himself from the world, surrounding himself with an army who he happily allowed to die while he saved his own sorry ass.
My claws slowly descended from what had been my nails and my canines felt too large in my mouth. My wolf clawed his way up my spine, seeking to take control of our body as he sought vengeance against the man who had enslaved us and slaughtered innocent victims. We had both sworn an oath a long time ago to ensure that every drop of dire wolf blood that had been lost during this war would be avenged. The souls of our lost kin would only rest if the person who was responsible for their suffering and death was held to account.
I had lapsed into my own head, remembering long-dead wolves. I snapped back into the here and now when I heard the voice of my mate, even though I couldn’t make out the words, her scent reaching me. My fingers twitched as I tried to reach her, sensing danger in the air.
Waves of magic crashed into me, the bubble surrounding me taking most of the impact. I clenched my hands, my claws digging into my palms until they bled. I felt the magic holding me weaken as my wolf strengthened, my blood destroying the spell.
I landed in a crouch on the ground, Luna’s tortured tone reaching me. “I’m sorry,” she uttered, her beautiful face ashen, and tears escaping to run down her cheeks. “I’m so very sorry.”
Her dagger remained plunged into Aisha, and an explosion reverberated in energetic waves, smoke rising from the long dormant volcano.
“Shit!” Jethro appeared beside me. “We need to get out of here, because I swear this is a scene from some creepy horror film when the dead start to walk.”
“Evacuation helicopters are en route,” Paulo shouted, fighting his way toward us, but my entire focus was on the woman currently holding her sister as blood gurgled from her mouth.
“Balor is here,” I said to Jethro. “Don’t let him escape!”
Jethro’s eyes widened and he turned to scan the crowd. Balor had killed his brother, torturing him with magic, driving him insane, and then crushing him into oblivion.
“I’ll go with him,” Paulo said as he reached me. “Make sure he doesn’t lose himself.”
Dire wolves were wilder and more violent than normal lycans, the darkness threatening to take us until no humanity was left and we were unable to take our human forms. I had helped some of those wolves find their home in the rainforests.
I forged forward toward Luna, unaware of the danger stalking me until a head flew past me, Dominic’s sword almost nicking my cheek as he swung it.
“Sorry, I was a little delayed coming out of the tunnels,” the ancient vampire said, lowering his sword. “At least I made it in time to save your ass and witness the void opening.”
“The—” My gaze turned to the volcano.
“No time to waste, that doorway is open and none of us are old enough to know what is about to walk out of there.” Dominic pursed his lips together as he stared at the ever-increasing amount of smoke spiralling out of the volcano.
“Fuck this,” I muttered, shoving bodies out of my way as I fought to get to Luna.
She should never have had to commit the sin of killing a family member. I would have taken that burden from her and thrown Aisha into the heart of the volcano myself.
Luna’s huge, tear-filled eyes stared up at me. “The guardian demanded a sacrifice,” Luna said in a low, wobbly voice. “She wanted me to give the life of our child to open the doorway, and I refused. Then Aisha attacked me, and—” Her voice trailed off again, and she held up her hands covered in blood. Her ancestral blood since Aisha was her sister. That was a burden Luna would carry with her for the rest of her life.
I crouched low, feeling Aisha’s neck for a pulse. Her skin was still warm, but there was no response, my wolf didn’t detect a heartbeat with his sensitive hearing. The once-vibrant woman had a vacant expression in her eyes, her mouth still open in shock.
There was nothing left to do for her, because death was final, and anyone I had seen resurrected by magic were demented and evil creatures who were an abomination.
I dragged Aisha away from Luna, tugging my mate up into my arms, and cupping her face in my hands. “You okay?” Nothing else mattered except this woman.
She slowly nodded once, blinking and looking at the scene around her. The scent of blood hung heavily in the air, shouts of battle, grunts of pain. Magic being used made the hairs on my body overly sensitive, and my jaw hurt from grinding my back molars together.
“Then let’s sort this shit out and go home.” I pulled my gun with specially engraved bullets from the holster at the back of my jeans. “Don’t leave my side,” I instructed, and Luna nodded again. Her face was pale and her expression slightly dazed as she once again looked at the dead body of her sister.
“She stopped being your sister a long time ago,” I said, bringing her face up so I stared down at her, imprinting my emotions on her. “This is war and she had already nearly killed you. Save your regret for those who deserve it.”
Luna’s chest rose as she sucked in a breath, and I watched as she became the warrior I knew and loved. Her aura infused with magic, bright colours flashing in the dimness of the night. Her eyes met mine, and I saw her determination blazing brightly.
“We end this once and for all,” she said.
“We end this,” I repeated. “Then we all get to live the lives we want and not hide in the darkness.”
Her gaze moved to the volcano. “Misti,” she said in nothing more than a whisper.
“You’ve started the process of opening the void,” I replied squeezing her hand with mine. “Let us complete what you came here to do.”
Personally, I didn’t think this world needed any more magic, but I would support Luna’s decision on her life’s pathway.
We moved forward together, Luna wielding magic, and me with my favourite gun that was faster than leaping through the air at an enemy. Some creatures liked old weapons crafted from metal and fire, but in recent years, I had learned to prefer modern weapons with high-velocity rounds that not even magic was fast enough to stop. A round to the head tended to stop any creature in their tracks, and all that mattered was surviving today.
Warlocks spun webs of spells, casting their dark magic. Over and over, I pulled the trigger, stopping their evil work. I used the claws of my left hand to lash out at anyone who got too close, stopping every so often to put a fresh magazine into my pistol.
Creatures emerged from the darkness, their fangs flashing and eyes glowing. Dominic implied he came here with a few men, when in reality he had flooded this place with his kind when he was scouting out the area. Only I was busy dealing with the evil warlocks trying to kill us, or I would admire his leadership.
Wolves had strength, endurance, and a deadly fighting ability. Tonight, I bore witness to the feral nature of the vampires. They were fast, almost faster than what my eye could track, vicious, and deadly. They moved across the battlefield like a plague of locusts destroying a crop.
My claws tore the throat from a warlock uttering an incantation before I blew his brains out. I remembered his face from when the dire wolves were held in slavery by Balor and his goons, unable to defy them or we suffered from the crystals infused with spells implanted under our skin. Every one of those bastards were engrained in my memory, and I wouldn’t stop until they had all been punished and no longer existed.
Luna tripped beside me and I scooped her up. “Hold onto me, and watch my back,” I grated out, allowing her to cling to me like a koala bear, casting spells at whoever was behind us while I forged forward.
More and more creatures of darkness emerged from the shadows, all trying to kill us. My pack spread wide, refusing to stop. Jethro used two pistols, shooting anything that moved with sacred bullets. Beside him, Paulo wielded a sword like it was an extension of him. That sword had been a gift from his grandfather, and had been in every battle he fought.
Magic users from our side projected spells through the air that reminded me of bright, golden lightning, while the dark warlocks spells looked like shadows and mists spiralling across the battlefield. Where they intercepted, explosions painted the sky like fireworks.
A deadly aurora of magic danced across the night’s sky, illuminating the battlefield we moved across.
“We need to get to the volcano,” Luna shouted, her arm wrapping around me while she threw spells at those behind us. “Aisha’s death has opened the door, but I can feel what is contained trying to escape.”
I didn’t need to ask what was required. In our shadow world, blood was the currency. This land had been a focal point for bloodshed for longer than I could remember, and tonight, whatever creatures resided in the void were feasting on magical blood as my team continued to seek revenge for the atrocities of the past.
I caught sight of Jethro and Paulo forging forward together, their focus set on a group of warlocks protecting their master.
“Balor,” I muttered, hatred surging through my soul.
Every instinct inside me demanded that I join my pack to rid this world of his evil. My wolf demanded a sacrifice of flesh and bone, breaking him until there was nothing left but a bloody mess on the ground that I could dance on.
“He is spellbound,” Luna said against my ear, her cheek pressing to mine.
I halted in shock, my head spinning until our noses touched, my gaze questioning.
“I felt it earlier when he appeared, almost as if someone was speaking through him,” Luna continued. “A dark and malevolent force who has been operating in the shadows.”
Evil tended to foster in the darkness, hiding their true identity and manipulating others. I glanced toward my pack fighting their way to Balor through his warlocks who were unable to defend themselves against angry wolves they could no longer bring to heel.
“I made a promise to avenge the souls he took,” I replied, my gaze boring into hers.
“There is a bigger battle being fought here today, one that we need to win before whoever is in the shadows claims the power of the void. The gateway is open, what happens next decides the fate of the void magic.” Her words felt like iced water being poured over me.
I reluctantly dragged my attention away from my pack, and moved my focus to the volcano that had featured in my life for four centuries. My arms wrapped around Luna as the strength of my wolf infused into me, allowing me to run faster. I sped forward, no longer fighting our enemies, but avoiding them as I forged forward. Luna’s arms tightened around my neck, her legs gripping my waist as I ran in my hybrid form.
More smoke plumed from Misti, sparks of lava shooting up into the darkness. The ground rumbled beneath my feet, and the hairs on the back of my neck rose as it felt as if the ghosts of those long dead joined us.
A howl sounded in the distance, and a scream echoed somewhere to my right.
The dead only walked among us for one reason—to welcome the souls of their descendants.