Page 102 of Blood

At first, I believe we were too late and they’re already dead, and my stomach physically spasms. But then Lucifer releases a low moan, and the fear lodged in my throat begins to subside.

“Fuck. What happened to them?” Vin asks, returning to my side and rubbing his bloody dagger on his pants.

I tentatively venture forward until I can study the equipment that seems to be connected to the three prone forms.

Hera, Lucifer, and Dracula are lying on three cots in the center of the room. Numerous wires stick out of their bodies and seem to lead back to a huge machine.

Fear swirls around in my chest like a typhoon as I volley my gaze between the three of them and then the strange machine.

“It looks as if...Zeus is trying to find a new way to steal monsters’ powers,” I murmur as I lower myself into a crouch beside Lucifer. At some point, someone must’ve removed his normal white suit. He now wears a fine-threaded tunic and ripped pants. An IV extends from his arm and connects back to the machine, a strange, blue, glimmering liquid visible through the translucent tube.

“What?” Vin barks.

“This...this appears to be their...magic.” I can’t quite contain the awe in my voice. What Zeus is doing is beyond fucked up, but even I can admit there’s a certain type of beauty in his scientific depravity. “Their bodies continually replenish the magic, and Zeus steals it using this machine. Of course, I would have to study it more in-depth to truly understand how it works—”

“Yeah, how about we don’t?” Vin suggests sardonically. His lips flatten out. “Let’s just get Hera, Lucifer, and Dracula free of this...thing and get the fuck out of here.”

I continue to study the wires and tubes protruding from their bodies. “How fascinating. When Zeus digests a soul, it’s a one and done type of deal. He steals the soul’s power, of course, but only that one time. With this, Zeus can continually extract magic from their bodies. If I had to hazard a guess, their magic is stored in this machine for Zeus to digest whenever he comes down here. Interesting. Very interesting. Is this his plan for the future? For Violet?” My skin crawls at the thought. “It would make sense if he wishes to capitalize on the magic of some of the most powerful monsters in existence...”

Vin pulls in a staggered breath. “So, you’re saying that our mate could get hooked up to this fucking death trap?”

“It’s a possibility—” Before I’ve even finished speaking, Vin is moving toward the huge piece of machinery and begins to stab it repeatedly. Sparks shoot out in every direction, and a strange whirring sound echoes through the room. The machine gives one final cry before going silent.

“There.” Vin re-sheathes his dagger with a grunt of satisfaction. “Now it’s a dead machine.” His brows furrow suddenly as he turns toward me. “You don’t think...?” He can’t seem to finish his sentence.

“What?”

“Well, there are only two monsters I know who are smart enough to create a machine that can quite literally steal power from monsters. You and...” Once again, he seems hesitant to complete that sentence, but I fill in the name for him.

“Frankenstein.” Icy tendrils of cold wrap around me in a mockery of an embrace, and my pulse thuds in a rapid rhythm against my skull. “That lying son of a bitch—”

“We don’t know that he helped Zeus—” Vin tries to reason.

“Who else would be smart enough to pull off something like this?” I counter.

“Violet and Cal used the truth potion thingy on all of the council members. If Frankenstein was involved with Zeus, wouldn’t he have confessed it?”

“Not if he was prepared.” I scrub a hand down my face as anger spreads through my veins like a disease. Fuck. “If he knew Violet was coming, he might’ve expected her to do something like that. And he knows my style well enough to guess what ingredients I would put in my truth serum. He easily could’ve created an antidote.”

Stupid. Stupid.

I was so stupid!

And now, Frankenstein’s “fighting” right alongside Violet and my brothers, pretending to be on their side, pretending to be aligned with them.

Anxiety burrows in my chest.

“Frankenstein’s a spineless sack of shit,” a dry voice murmurs from behind me, drawing my attention to the three cots. Lucifer coughs weakly and then flicks his eyes in my direction. “He’ll do just about anything for Zeus, if it means he’ll receive protection.”

“So, Frankenstein betrayed us?” The muscles in Vin’s jaw bunches up before he shakes his head in disbelief.

“Not necessarily,” a feminine voice trickles toward me. Hera slowly sits up in bed, her blonde, greasy hair hanging around her face in limp ringlets. She rips the IV out of her arm and then works unhooking the wires from her head and neck. “He may have decided to join your team because he’s tired of being Zeus’s bitch.”

I want to believe that, I do, but...

I know my father. He’s a smart, calculated man. If he chose to help Zeus initially, it’s because he believes the god will win this battle. I can’t see him changing his mind now. Even if we defeat Zeus, Frankenstein will always be a threat to those I love. Perhaps I could talk to Dimitri about removing Frankenstein from the equation. Permanently.

The thought doesn’t fill me with sadness or even guilt. I’ve known for a while now that my father never loved me the way a parent should. More than that, he’ll dispose of me and everyone I care about if he believes it’ll benefit him and his convoluted perception of how he wants the world to run. He’s dangerous. Immensely so.

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