Page 37 of Wicked Savior
He dips his chin. “When your ancestor went near the beasts, they would go into a frenzy. Her blood called to them. Drove them mad. I assume yours would do the same,” he reveals, much to my horror.
“Why?” Lucifer rasps out. “Why hers?”
Cormal flashes me an apologetic look. “Her blood has special properties in it. When combined with healthy, strong human blood, it creates Druids.”
Lucifer whips around. “Did you know this?”
I lift my chin. “When I read the journal yesterday, I suspected it was true, but I couldn’t be sure until I ran some tests.”
“You mean experiments,” he retorts, lip curling in disgust. “Look at what your experiments have done to the supernaturals in this club.” Instead of the soft tone of repressed anger, his voice is now roaring with rage. “They’re all dead because of your need to experiment. Gabriel was right. You’re messing with things you don’t understand. Why is it up to you to see to the survival of humans? Who appointed you god?”
My mouth tightens, but I say nothing. There’s nothing I can say.
Cormal steps forward. “Is this the only human who has received Druid blood?”
I shake my head. “No, but all the others died. It might have been because the Druid blood was weak or because the humans were already dying of disease.”
Arden jumps up. “Aurora. Did you give Aurora Druid blood?”
Dismay hits me. After Arden healed her, I’d completely forgotten about her being a part of the original experiment. Instead of answering, I run for the elevator. Lucifer is close behind me, followed by Cormal.
Lucifer throws a look over his shoulder. “Stay here.”
Daire flips him off and follows us straight into the elevator. “This is my Abbey.” His curt voice reminds his father.
The three men draw large swords out of thin air at the same time. I pull out my small gold dagger. Daire rolls his eyes, and Lucifer gives me an indulgent nod. Frustrated, I glance at Cormal, but his eyes are locked on the dagger in my hand, a small smile on his lips.
The door opens to a blood-soaked hallway. My heart sinks. Body parts are everywhere, red smears on the floor and walls lead down the hall toward Becca and Aurora’s room.
I dash out of the elevator. Lucifer tries to grab my arm to push me behind him, but I slip past. This is my responsibility. I did this. In seconds, I’m at their door, the horror of the scene stopping me in my tracks.
A woman the size and build of Becca lies beside the bed, her body bathed in so much blood, it’s hard to tell the color of her hair or clothes.
The bed itself is empty, but the sheets are shredded and soaked with blood.
In the corner, a small beast is hunched over another body, gnawing on one of its body parts. It sniffs. Then sniffs again. It drops the leg with a thud and turns to the door, drool streaming out of its mouth.
“It smells your blood,” Cormal murmurs from behind me. “Do not underestimate it because of its size. It’s faster than most supernaturals, stronger too. Their hides are tough and impervious to most weapons. Your best shot is between the eyes. Use your dagger.”
Lucifer jerks his head toward him and mutters something about misdirection and a serious talk. Daire simply readies himself and his weapon.
The beast suddenly leaps straight at me.
“Daire,” Lucifer calls out, moving to intercept it in mid-leap.
Strong arms band around me, and a second later, the world blurs. When we stop, we’re near the body by the bed. I don’t think I’ve ever moved that fast in my life. I look over my shoulder to find Daire standing like a sentinel behind me, his eyes locked on Lucifer and the beast.
I bend down and sweep the blood-soaked hair away from the woman’s face. Becca’s blank brown eyes stare back at me. The last time I’d seen them, they’d been crying tears of happiness. Now, they’ll never cry again. I sweep a hand over to close them.
A thunderous boom sounds. I look up to see Lucifer and the beast crashing into each other mid-air, then falling to the floor, both of them shaking their heads.
The beast is the first to recover. It rears up like a bear on its hind legs, towering over Lucifer. It drops heavily, intent on pinning its prey to the ground, but instead it’s stopped by a sword piercing its belly.
Enraged, the beast howls and swats at the sword.
Lucifer pulls it out and stabs it again in the chest.
“The head,” I yell, darting a glance at Cormal for confirmation.
