Page 69 of Forbidden Devotion
One of the men squealed right away, “I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know…”
“Bloody hell.” Samuel plunged the sword into the man’s gut. It would be a fatal blow if not treated, but it would take hours for the man to die. “And you?” He looked down on the last man in disdain. “What do you know?”
The man shook with fear. “Um, they, uh, wa-wanted ho-hostages…”
“That much is obvious. What we need to know now is where they were taken,” Samuel prodded, bringing his blade to rest on the man’s throat. “Come on now. Spit it out.”
“Uh, they’re go-going to—” Samuel dragged the blade slowly across his neck, a bright red line of blood oozing to the surface. Deep enough for pain, shallow enough to keep him alive.
“You’re lying. Stop it,” Samuel ordered.
“I’m not! I’m not. They’re going to Enochton,” the man said with as much force as he could muster in his weakened state.
“Yes, but where?” Samuel moved the blade and pushed the sharp point into the man’s shoulder.
“Stop. Stop, please. I’ll tell you. Th-they’re go-going to-to the gun range. They’re taking him to the gun range.”
Samuel withdrew the blade and spun to Mitchel.
The little hairs on Mitchel’s nape bristled under the vampire’s focused attention.
“My apologies,” Samuel said. “He’s lying. I’m sure if it. None of these men knew about the kidnapping. I can’t be of any help to you. Please find Sinclair. He is dearly loved.”
Samuel seemed to be genuinely sorry. Terrifying but genuine.
The vampire turned back to the deceitful man and pushed the blade through his shoulder, under his clavicle, pinning him to the floor. The man’s screams pierced Mitchel’s ears.
“You should never have lied to me.” Samuel shook his head and clicked his mouth in annoyance.
Defeated, Mitchel hurried out, eager to leave this morbid scene and find Josh and Nathan.
Whatever Samuel had planned next, he didn’t want to know.
CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR
Article by Supernatural Times Reporter Keller McCray
Emergency Alert!
Demon Appears on Human News Channel. Betrays All of Supernatural Kind!
The demonic creatureAndrealphus has broken the Edict of Secrecy in the worst way imaginable. It’s what we’ve all feared. The fiend appeared on the human news channel CNN sometime Sunday afternoon and spread hatred and lies to humanity.
Why this news didn’t reach us sooner, we may never know, but the results have been devastating.
In the interim, humans have planned and carried out one of the worst attacks in supernatural history. The final death toll is yet to be determined, but safe to say dozens are dead, and hundreds are injured.
The creature spewed his falsities, declaring supernaturals to be in control of the human economy, that we thought of their species as food, and that our lives were funded solely through their labors. Humanity will no doubt be in shock, reeling from this untrue announcement. The repercussions could be catastrophic.
We must proceed with caution. A war with humanity could spell the end of supernaturals one and all.
A warrant for the arrest and capture of the demon Andrealphus has been issued. Bring him in, dead or alive.
* * *
Sinclair
Sinclair knewhe’d have to choose his words carefully if he was going to convince his captors of the truth. If they believed he was the kind of vampire they’d seen in their movies and read about in their novels, he was as good as dead. He couldn’t do half that stuff. There was no flying, no turning into a bat or smoke. He couldn’t even heal his own wounds yet.
