Page 53 of Tales of a Deadly Devotion
‘It came in through the bloody greenhouse window!’ William swallowed, looking peaky.
Salvek. The name of a demonic blood seeker. A beast from beyond.
It had flown here – been summoned nearby.
‘That’s not possible,’ I whispered, watching black blood drip onto the hardwood from my father’s blade. Yet even as I said the words I knew they were a lie as a shiver raked its way down my spine.
‘Montagor has a relic. The full extent of such a weapon is not known,’ Gideon continued, speaking to nobody in particular but more to unburden the thoughts from his mind. ‘Records have been lost to time and—’
Gideon’s focus dropped to see my state of undress and my sweaty dishevelment before he turned that sharp, annoyed gaze to Emrys. ‘What the bloody fuck have you two been up to?’
‘Nothing,’ I snapped, ignoring the heated flush on my cheeks as I fixed the strap of my slip.
‘I don’t recognise any of those markings,’ William frowned as he leant over the remains of the creature hesitantly as if it could lurch back to life at any moment, mercifully dragging everyone’s attention back to it.
Emrys pulled off his coat and draped it over my shoulders. I slid my arms inside instantly, clutching the lapels closed. Suddenly cold as the potency of my magic abandoned me. Slipping my father’s hilt into the pocket.
Then he moved to the creature, crouched down and ran his finger across the flesh, the ink smudging and coming away. ‘Summoning ink.’
‘We’re beyond fucked, Emrys.’ Gideon glared at his brother over the still-twitching corpse.
‘I’m aware.’ Emrys sighed, rubbing the back of his neck in thought as he got back to his feet. A deadly silence left between the two.
‘Why?’ Alma asked, her dark curls tumbling over her shoulders as her assessment then moved to me. Partially in undress and probably in a worse state than how she left me.
Only those green eyes also moved to Thean, her nose twitching as her eyes narrowed. Of course, nothing got past Alma.
‘Every record of ancient darkness no longer exists. Thanks to the purging during the peace treaties.’ Gideon let out a frustrated breath, his metal fingers curled into a fist. ‘Even the fucking mad king didn’t go this far.’
‘Montagor has nothing to lose,’ I corrected. No kingdom to impress, no lords to keep quiet. No, he just had that hunger. The madness.
‘Something must have survived.’ Alma wrapped her arms around herself, the bitter truth of how dire the situation was like a ruthless chill. ‘It isn’t like they kept their word.’
‘Wonderful, just what I need. A cursed fucking treasure hunt,’ Gideon snapped, making William flinch with the venom in his tone. Earning him a sharp glare from Alma but before her claws could interfere, Thean stepped into the fray.
‘Yes, because you have so much else on your plate,’ the voyav drawled, earning themself a dirty look from the healer which they seemed unbothered by. ‘Let’s not ignore the fact your dear brother, Emrys, has allowed his senses to dull so much he couldn’t even sense a relic until it was too late.’
Something dangerous shifted in the air between the voyav and Emrys. The beasam bark had suppressed his magic, but also suppressed his natural senses. Suppressed the predator that all Verr in those dark tales had the potential to be.
‘Couldn’t sense that Montagor would be present in that Council hall. Or what dangers he carried on his person.’ Thean grinned. ‘Now Montagor is ahead and awakening ancient relics this house swore to silence. So, what are you going to do about it,Blackthorn?’
I heard the challenge and felt the wrath in Emrys’s magic as it darkened the hall. The Blackthorns were the last keepers of the dark, of all it could do.
‘We need to find out where he made his summoning from,’ I intervened, trying to ease the worry in the house and William, if for nothing else.
‘And how do you propose we do that?’ Gideon snapped.
‘All dark things return,’ Alma answered, turning all eyes to her. The one story we all knew. Yet her focus was on the remains of that creature, the leathery flesh covered in blood.
I saw the thought in her gaze. Saw the remains of the bandage still around her wrist.
‘No.’ The word left me sharply. Guttural, recoiling from the danger in the mere suggestion of it.
‘That creature came from a summoning, which means the others were summoned too. They can communicate with each other.’ She put it together quickly, rolling her shoulders as if she could slip into the beast’s form at any moment. ‘So it will remember where it’s been.’
Remember how to get back to its master.
‘Theoretically,’ Gideon offered.
