Chapter 73
Jasper bit his thumb and blew on the tip of his finger with force. A red cloud formed and swarmed over the ghouls. Their shrieks and cries filled the air as the red cloud pooled over them.
A bright orange glow beamed down and burned a hole right through the ghouls and dark elves.
Justice turned his sword, slowly moving the beam.
It disintegrated the enemies it touched instantly.
From the corner of his eye, he watched as Derrick and Lucie ran behind them.
The desire to follow them was strong, and he would as soon as he’d cleared all the loose ends up.
Justice was about to turn back to his battle when his eyes widened.
Another army was approaching Derrick and Lucie …
an army of the voidless. He turned his gaze to the new legion and pointed his sword in their direction, shooting a long beam.
It was like his sword extended past its full length and devoured the enemies in its path.
The moment his sword’s light reached the voidless, they evaporated.
Derrick nodded once in gratitude as he continued to pull Lucie along.
If this kept up, Justice would be able to join them shortly.
He watched Jester and Irene mercilessly kill the dark elves as Jasper’s red cloud ate through the ghouls.
Dark blobs began to move toward them from a distance.
They looked like ogres, only their skin was the color of ebony.
They seemed to be more tainted with demon essence, and the putrid smell of rotting flesh wafted in the air.
A high-pitched whinny rang out, and a large black horse slowly moved forward.
The creature walked through the red dust untouched.
The tall, dark shadow stepped out from the cloud and set its gaze on Justice.
It looked like a midnight-black unicorn that had been dead for years.
Its skin dripped off of its body, showing the bones through its skin.
Dark, thick blood oozed from various parts of its body, clinging to the hair and hooves.
Its eyes were black and deeply sunken, and an inky aura pulsated around its horn.
The ogres charged, and the vampires were now having to fight for their lives against multiple strong opponents.
Justice directed his light toward the dark unicorn, but to his surprise, the creature blocked his beam.
Unicorns were creatures of pure magic. They belonged to the fairy kingdom.
They were creatures that couldn’t be evil … not of their own accord.
Justice raised his sword defensively as the creature shot a black beam toward him.
The orange light of his sword met with the darkness, and he felt his whole body shake.
It blocked it, but it took a lot of effort.
He readied himself for the next attack, gripping his sword tightly.
He was going to have to give this everything he had.
Lucie ran behind Derrick, still holding his hand. He was an excellent tracker, so she let him have full control over the direction they were going.
The moon began to creep out, giving its light in the darkness. A dark figure was standing under its light, as if waiting for them. Derrick slowed down, gripping Lucie’s hand tighter.
Lucie recognized the man that had sneered at her at the ball the night she was taken. But her eyes wandered past him to the pale woman with ivory hair lying on a strange stone. A peculiar light glowed around her like an energy prison.
“Myra …” Lucie breathed out as she took a small step forward.
She felt Derrick pull her toward his back as his eyes darted to the shadows.
His thoughts seemed scrambled and were going at lightning speed, but Lucie was still able to follow them.
She blinked several times as she saw what Derrick was looking at.
A man with dark hair and ebony eyes stepped into the moonlight. Lucie tried to take another step but Derrick kept her glued to his side, his eyes darting back and forth between the two men.
“Confused? I can see you’re confused, young prince,” Count Basil said, sneering at Derrick.
“Abe, are you okay?” Lucie called out, ignoring Derrick’s insistence for her to stay quiet. He didn’t want to draw any attention to her.
“Quite,” Abe answered tersely.
“The banshee here is quite devoted to the royal family. She wouldn’t accept me breaking the link.
It really was quite rude. I offered her freedom.
Those types of potions are not easy to come by, you know?
But she wouldn’t turn on the royal family.
Pity. So I figured I might as well collect her essence.
Banshees are powerful creatures, you know?
And their life essence is worth a lot.” Count Basil turned and looked at Abaas.
“Ahh, but a demon servant.” He clicked his tongue and glowered at Derrick.
“Demons don’t make good servants. You know why?
Because they hold no loyalty. The moment he was offered his freedom, he took it.
I was quite surprised to see there was a djinn living inside him, but I guess even a djinn is a demon. ”
“But the djinn is bound to Lucie.” Derrick shook his head in confusion. A djinn would never abandon their master.
“I had to weaken the djinn so Abaas’ soul could devour it.
Now he is a free soul, not bound to anyone and completely unleashed.
” Count Basil looked at Lucie. “So nice to have someone very familiar with you. As your servant, he knows your secrets, and I gave him his freedom in exchange for those secrets.”
“How could you plot against the royal family?” Derrick growled angrily. He wished he could get Lucie out of here. The situation was suddenly feeling more dangerous.
“I would never plot against the royal family. At least not when they’re acting sane.
But this idea of taking a wolf as your mate is nonsense.
You are weakening our line. I don’t care what you think about her blood.
She isn’t pure. We need our strength. We don’t need a treaty with the wolves.
Look, everything will be fine, young prince.
We will break your blood bond, and we can forget about this embarrassment.
” Count Basil held a hand out invitingly to Derrick.
“You are the embarrassment. Having someone like you among our kind. Count Drake Basil, for your crimes against the royal family and by the authority of my father, you are condemned to death.”
Count Basil chuckled and dropped his hand to his side. “Don’t worry, young prince. You’ve been corrupted. You don’t even realize it, but fairies are tricky like that. You’ve been put under their grotesque magic. We will get you all sorted out.”
Lucie stared quietly at Abe, a tear trickling down the side of her face, and she gave him a small smile. “I thought you both were dead. I thought you left me. Thank goodness you’re alive.”
Lucie … Derrick whispered into her mind.
Count Basil laughed loudly. “He doesn’t work for you anymore. You aren’t friends. You were his master.”
“You have too much faith in me, princessssss.” Abe’s voice was clipped as his dark eyes met hers coldly.
Lucie shook her head. “I wasn’t just Abe’s master.
We’re friends. And I do … I do trust you.
” She gave him a small smile and then her eyes moved to Myra.
The banshee looked to be in pain, but she was at least still alive.
She was certain Abe hadn’t betrayed them.
He wouldn’t have, right? She had to believe in him, because after everything, she had to believe it was more than a master and servant relationship. At least it was to her.
“Aww … such a pathetic creature. We really need to separate the prince from something so weak.” Count Basil turned his head and looked expectantly toward the shadows.
A young woman walked out and handed a few vials to Count Drake. She then turned and looked at Lucie.
“We’ve never met, but I am Beryl.” The name came out like a hiss.
“And your family is the reason for my hell. Your mother murdered my grandmother. Destroyed everything. My grandmother was trying to help, trying to stop something immoral from ever existing, and your mother cut her down for it. I promised her, standing over her body, that I would avenge her. What I didn’t realize then was how cowardly your family truly was.
Refusing to leave their own pack. Hiding behind the vampires.
Letting someone else’s teeth do the fighting they were too weak to do themselves. ”
“You teamed up with the witch?!” Derrick growled angrily. They had already assumed this, but he felt even more infuriated knowing it was true.
“Werewolves and vampires shouldn’t be in harmony together.
The witch just wanted the Chain family, but she had something interesting.
Creatures that killed like vampires, only more savagely.
They were the perfect setup to create mistrust among the werewolves.
I was hoping it would cause the treaty to fail.
But I didn’t take into account you leading an elite army out there in order to protect the mutt you’re taking as a bride.
The two species were supposed to end up at war with each other.
” Count Basil sneered angrily. “I had to get my hands dirty, all because of your meddling.”
Derrick’s gaze shifted to what the man was holding in his hands. He had a bad feeling about it.
“Beryl … I can’t forgive you for the evil experiments and meaningless attacks you have done to my people.
But I also can’t simply kill you. You know, you could have lived a normal life.
You could have stayed with your coven and they would have welcomed you.
Instead, you went down the path of vengeance.
So much that you even promised your soul away for it.
” Lucie was fighting for composure so she didn’t rip the witch apart.
Her eyes flipped back to Abe, who was still standing there quietly.
She wondered what he was thinking right now.
This is part of a plan. This is part of a plan, she continued to tell herself quietly.
She felt Derrick rub his thumb over her hand gently. He was trying to give her support, though she could feel his uneasiness rising. They both glanced at the vials, wondering exactly what they would do. Lucie took in a deep breath and turned her complete focus on the witch.
I’ll take care of the witch. Just be careful with whatever he’s holding.
I can take care of them both, Lucie. Please … Derrick pleaded quietly. What was in those potions? He couldn’t risk something happening to Lucie or his unborn baby.
Together, Derrick. We can do this together.
The black horn crashed into Justice’s sword, creating a loud ringing sound that echoed through the air.
The black unicorn shot several dark blasts toward Justice, which he managed to deflect except for one that shot into his calf.
Blood splattered over the ground and pooled down his leg.
A strangled yell escaped his throat as he leaned on his good leg, panting.
The dark magic of the unicorn was strong, much stronger than he’d imagined.
He looked up at dark elves and ogres who had the three vampires on the retreat.
They couldn’t hold them all off. He had to help them.
His dark green hair whipped in the wind as he gripped his sword, steadying himself on his good leg. His eyes began to glow, and the blade answered, swirling with the same luminous green as something deep inside him called to it, soul reaching for soul.
Justice raised the sword overhead and a roar ripped through the blade, deep and feral, the sound of a bear tearing through the night.
The green light flared brighter and lit the sky, the cry of the beast rolling out with it.
A man stood holding the sword, but the shadow he cast was something else entirely.
Something massive. A werebear rearing on its hind legs, mid-roar.
His feral strength surged forward and his glowing eyes locked onto his target.