Page 16 of Savage Blood
As the amulet around Barric’s neck glowed, shadowy ropes slithered out of Ruin, snaking across the ground and coiling around the members.
A gasp burst from my mouth. What the actual fuck was going on?
“They’re taking his power.”
I flinched as Torin stood beside my chair, his fingers curling around the back and brushing my shoulder. He wore a black robe, but he lifted his mask and revealed his leer.
“Why aren’t you part of the circle jerk?” I hissed, sitting forward to escape his touch.
He gave a noncommittal shrug. “Barric asked us to remain on the outside this time to keep watch over you and Enid.”
Wes still stood next to Saint’s mother, gripping her arm and gazing at the circle with thinned lips. While he clearlywanted to partake in the demonic fun, his son didn’t seem to mind remaining out of the action this time.
“What do you mean they’re taking his power?” I asked, Torin’s words finally sinking in.
Torin leaned forward, hovering so close his overpowering sandalwood and rum scent clogged my nostrils. “Barric’s been using Ruin, since he was the former leader of the Nosterium, to bolster the group’s power.”
“Why?”
“To prime us for…” He slowly licked his lips and then bit the bottom one, doing a terrible job of hiding the sadistic grin attempting to break through. “Something big.”
“Like what?”
Torin cocked his head. “You sure ask a lot of questions, Tate.”
“Well, you keep answering them, Torin.” My gaze slid to Ruin as he hung helplessly from the hook, his flesh paling with each chant he uttered.
Ruin’s eyes rolled in the back of his head, and the amulet pulsated around Barric’s neck. Another dose of its sinister power infiltrated the air, bringing forth manic laughter from The Collective Nosterium.
How many times had they forced Ruin to do this? Was this the reason he went in and out of madness?
“Why did Barric want my blood?”
“Because it’s powerful.” Torin twisted a lock of my long raspberry-red hair around his finger. “Fane Maverick turned you, you came from an alpha, and the Infernal Sol was inside of you. A tiny piece of it still is. Like us, you can probably see beyond the amulet’s shield hiding the manor.”
So I might be able to access the manor once I left.
Thanks for the info, idiot.
I yanked my hair out of his grasp. “Touch me again, and you might experience some of that power.”
Torin gripped my throat. “Barric’s too focused on the ritual to notice what’s happening to you. I could pin you to the ground and?—”
A broken scream burst out of Ruin, and his back arched, black blood dripping from his eyes and nose.
“That’s new.” Torin chuckled. “Must be your blood.”
The Collective Nosterium released hands and were now writhing in the circle, laughing and chanting, lapping up the black shadows still leaking from Ruin. Barric stood in the center, caressing the amulet and watching the mayhem unfold.
My heart plunged to the bottom of my gut as Ruin continued to twist in agony, his feet flailing in the air.
I couldn’t sit by and watch him suffer. He might deserve punishment for his crimes, but he was being used and abused to protect me now.
Before I realized what I was doing and how utterly stupid and reckless it was, I crushed my elbow into Torin’s neck and bolted out of the chair toward the ritual circle. Ruin’s howls and The Collective Nosterium’s chanting reached a crescendo when I darted toward the ritual circle to do something, anything, to stop the horrific sight.
As my boot crossed the threshold and I tried to slip between two dancing shifters, an invisible blast of power hit me.
Oh shit.
