Page 400 of Shadowblood Souls
But whatcanwe do? We have no leverage here.
Yet.
This psychopath might think he owns us, but he’s more than insane if he thinks I’ll let him get away with his machinations for a second longer than I absolutely have to.
Unfortunately, Balthazar is already taking very obvious precautions. My pain-seeking banshee scream won’t do anything to an image on a screen, and neither will Jacob’s talents. Zee can’t unleash his wolf-man brutality on a man we can’t even reach.
Balthazar remains unmoved by Zian’s plea. “You can learn to function without him. His talents are not directly relevant to my interests, so he’s more useful as he is.”
My teeth grit, but I force my voice to come out even. “What about the other shadowbloods? There were three other kids with us when you found us—and you’ve obviously been to the island too.” We left Nadia and Ajax behind there when we left on Clancy’s last mission for us.
“You don’t need to worry about them either,” Balthazar says in the same nonchalant tone. “I’ve taken all of the living shadowbloods into my custody, but it’s suited my plans to keep the majority of them at other locations. Most of you here have shown initiative and proven the usefulness of your talents, so you’ve earned my direct attention.”
I resist the urge to hug myself. His attention hardly feels like a reward. My fingers itch for my missing necklace, for thecomfort of its rhythmic clicking when I snapped the charm open and shut, but I don’t want to ask this unknown enemy about it.
I don’t want him to realize how much it bothers me that he’s taken it away.
Griffin cocks his head. “Mostof us have earned it?” he repeats for clarification.
Balthazar smiles again, looking even more the carnivore. “I needed a couple extra bodies to serve as a demonstration. I assume you’ve wondered about the bracelets you’re wearing.”
I reach for the metal band on my left wrist, adjusting it where it clings to my skin. “And you’re going to tell us what they’re for, or leave it as a surprise?”
He chuckles softly. “I’m going to show you. For a less severe infraction, you’ll find yourself injected with a sedative that will knock you out almost instantly. Like so.”
The final syllable has only just left his lips when Nadia stumbles into me from behind. As I spin around, a choked sound spills from her mouth.
She falls to her knees, her shoulders already slumping. Booker cries out, leaping to her side—just in time to catch her sagging body before it crumples to the floor.
I crouch down with him and pat her face, my pulse racing. Her eyelids don’t so much as flutter.
My throat tight, I glance up at the others. “She’s out cold.”
“The sedative will wear off in a few hours,” Balthazar says from the screen. “If you breach the boundaries of this villa’s grounds, it will trigger automatically. Trusted members of my staff and I can also implement it at our will as well.”
I help Booker lower Nadia to the floor in as comfortable-looking a position as we can manage. As I push myself to my feet, holding back a quiver of rage, Jacob glowers at his own bracelets.
I can practically see the wheels turning in his mind as he imagines how he’ll use his talent to pry them off.
He’s shaken an entire mountain before. If anyone could do it, he could.
But Balthazar is clearly aware of our strengths—and our tendency to rebel. He smooths his hands across his desk. “If you attempt to remove the bracelets, you’ll set off the same effect—or provoke harsher consequences. This is what you can expect if you launch an attack on me or my people.”
That’s all the warning he gives us. The ominously vague threat has barely landed when a hissing sound cuts through the air.
We all flinch—and Lindsay shrieks.
Blood and the dark smoke of our shadowkind essence spurt from her forearms. Some mechanism in the bracelets has severed her flesh from her wrists to her elbows.
With a yelp, I throw myself at her. She’s already swaying as more blood gushes from her gaping arteries. Panicked pheromones flood my nose.
I clamp my fingers around one wrist, but it’s been gouged nearly in half as well. Her hand flops limply against my hold.
There’s no way I can hold the full incision shut. Blood drenches the mosaic tiles while shadowy essence clouds the air.
The other shadowbloods are shouting around me. I have no idea what to do other than keep holding on to Lindsay while she cries out.
Words tumble out of me—frantic attempts at reassuring her, as if there’s any way this situation can be okay. Zian grabs her other arm, but he can’t seal the wound any more than I can.
