Page 110 of Gift from the Source
“You all were too busy picking on me and my attitude,” he says with a smart-ass smirk on his face.
“Go change and let’s get to—”
“We need everyone to the dungeons. Now,”Cas suddenly commands.
Willow startles beside me. She easily picks up on the unease in his tone just as well as I do.
“Does this have to do with the Mastery member Codi and them just brought in?”I ask.
“What member? No, just get here.”
“Core? Draken?”I ask.
“Meet you there,”they both say.
“Never mind. No time to change. Something’s going on at the dungeons. On me,” I order, and everyone lays a hand to me as Willow presses herself to my side.
The possibilities of what’s going on flash across my mind.
Judging by the time, Cas and Keeper just returned from checking on the forest. It can’t be a coincidence that these two things are happening at the same time.
Willow’s gasp is loud as we pop in right in front of Caspian’s favorite torture room. She separates herself from me and hauls ass toward them. The two of them have blood all over them. Draken, who just popped in as well, wastes no time going to his…dad.
I don’t think he’s at that point yet.
“What happened? Are you okay?” Willow fusses, rubbing her hands all over Cas.
“It’s not mine, Primary. We’re okay,” he says softly.
“The vampires attacked?” Corentin and I ask at the same time. They haven’t made a move against them any of the times they’ve gone to the forest.
“No, they didn’t. They were the ones attacked,” Keeper says mournfully as Draken squeezes his shoulder. “When we arrived, it was a bloodbath. Apparently…”
He’s struggling to keep it together. His eyes, much like Draken’s, flash between their ruby shade to angry crimson.
“The Summum-Master went to the nonmagical realm yesterday. Left in the afternoon and returned before dawn today. Furious, to say the least. Many of the vampires fled throughout the forest, but those that have been loyal to Keeper attempted to hold him and his men off when he started senselessly killing the others. Many of them lost their lives. Those who didn’t, he warned them to have their allegiances in line or when he returns, they’d never see the outside of the forest. He’d starve them for their long-lived immortal lives.” Cas finishes for Keeper darkly.
Will’s eyes fill with concern as they bounce back and forth between Keeper’s and Cas’s clothes. Her fingers shake as she traces the blood streaks on my brother’s hands.
“Some…it’s too gruesome to describe to you, Primary. Keeper gave them a proper death. He isn’t handling this well, but I was there for him,”Cas murmurs, leaving out the details that I put together on my own.
My gut turns, knowing what they did. It’s such a hard thing to do, but you don’t allow someone to suffer a long, drawn-out demise if you know there’s no chance of survival.
Unfortunately, in the Forsaken Forest, there’s no surviving deadly blows.
Also knowing the only way to kill a vampire, I know the Summum-Master left them right on the brink of beheading but didn’t finish the job fully.
“Thank you, brother,”Draken says before wrapping his arms around Keeper.
“He was making his move on the Valorian Veil. He knows now he can’t,” Will whispers.
We knew this was coming.
I didn’t honestly think it would be this soon, though. From a strategic point of view, we all felt that if he was spending his time gearing up here, going there would be his last move.
Putting ourselves in his mind, it would make the most sense to have all his forces that are in this realm prepared for his return. Once he returned successfully with the Gods’ stolen power, then he’d attack.
We throttled that plan of his, but still…
