Page 47 of Savage Blood
Like Ruin promised, he led us through a labyrinth of narrow passages and secret doors hidden in stone walls. Once we made it outside, fresh air filled my lungs for the first time in days.
“Gods, I never thought I’d leave that place,” Ruin mumbled as he stared up at the black sky.
Instead of the spacious manor we just exited, only a demolished pile of stone and brick remained.
“Wow,” Alicia said, studying the skeletal structure. “That’s some freaky shit.”
Enid wiped the grime and blood from her forehead, her blonde hair stained pink and brown. “Too freaky for me. I can’t wait to be back in Blackwater Falls, where shifting is the only magic.”
But as I blinked, the scene shimmered in and out of focus, and the mini gothic castle emerged among the surrounding destruction and decay of Vlehull. Sharp spires and snarlinggargoyles were silhouetted against the pitch-black sky while the ominous ruby glow from lanterns cast a blood-red haze across the intricate stonework.
“You can see it, can’t you?” Ruin whispered, following my eyeline.
“It’s just as creepy as I remember.” Or maybe it was worse, knowing the psychotic monsters residing inside.
“We'd better put some space between us and The Collective Nosterium.” Ruin jerked his head to the left. “We can cut through the town square and then head straight to the gates.”
I jogged after him, Alicia and Enid following. Vlehull had once been a lively city, but when Princess Venna took over, it crumbled. Now, most of the citizens had abandoned their homes and businesses, leaving them open for sub-demons.
Barric probably wouldn’t have been able to take over the manor if Vlehull was still a thrilling Underworld city.
As we crossed into the town square, an eerie sensation scuttled down my nape. Dead leaves skittered across the cobblestones and drifted into broken storefront windows where thick shadows lived. A dried-out fountain, cracked and overturned, sat in the center, its once-proud statue of a hooded figure beheaded and broken.
Shadow stretched beneath the night sky, and the glass lanterns atop the iron lampposts lay shattered into pieces along the ground.
Everything was so damn dark.
The sensation of being watched lingered in the air, pressing in from the murky alleys and hollow doorways.
“Something is out there,” Alicia muttered as our steps slowed.
Ruin’s arm shot out, stopping me in my tracks. He jerkedhis head toward a pair of blazing eyes shining from a slanted rooftop across the square.
“We are definitely not alone.”
The air fled my lungs in a harsh exhale as frost crackled across my scalp and down my nape. Several more pairs of luminescent orbs materialized along roofs, the street, and within alleys. And the monsters they belonged to all headed in our direction.
Chapter
Twelve
My heart drummeda thunderous beat as my sweatshirt and leggings stuck to my clammy skin. At least a dozen creatures surrounded us, and the thick shadows hid everything but their smoldering eyes. Some were gold or amber while others burned through the shadows with a vibrant crimson hue.
We’d just escaped hell only to find another obstacle standing between us and freedom.
“Can’t you do something, Ruin?” Alicia hissed. “You’re a powerful high demon. Sub-demons should, I dunno, heed your command.”
“Sub-demons aren’t innately loyal to anyone except their own species. They have to be influenced or enchanted with magic.” Ruin rolled his shoulders, the ebony tattoo inking his pale complexion shifting with every move. “Of course, Icouldattempt to sway them to my side.”
One beast leaped to a lower roofline, revealing an enormous figure on all fours with grotesque yellow scales mixed among sparse patches of tawny fur. His curved ears twitched,and his long snout, tusks protruding from each side, rose to sniff the air.
A shudder rippled down my back as the moon cast a faint silvery glow across the left side of his face where decay ate away the flesh to reveal white bone.
What kind of sub-demon was he? He resembled a brown bear—one that was raised from the depths of hell.
Enid wiped sweat from her forehead. “So start swaying, then, Lord Ruin.”
Ruin cut his eyes at her. “There’s just one problem.”
