Taste of Darkness (33 page)

Cell phone in hand, Conall was texting. “Already on it. Every capable clan member will help.”

“I’m calling the Devlins.” Drake wasn’t asking for permission as he pulled his cell phone out. He’d seen the look on the leader’s face when he asked about Keelin. Like a male ready to claim a female. Bran Devlin would help without question. Right now they needed all the help they could get.

It didn’t matter how far away Nevin had taken Victoria. Drake would get her and Keelin back. No matter the cost.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Head pounding as a dull throb splintered through her abdomen, Victoria remained still as she struggled to regain consciousness. The faint scent of sulfur and blood teased her nostrils and she heard muttering.

A male’s voice. His words were incomprehensible.

She remembered being shot.
Twice.
Then she’d forced her wolf back from taking control over her body so she’d remain in human form—because she needed her blade. Even as she fought the pain, that knowledge was clear in her hazy mind.

Fighting the panic welling up inside her, she cracked open her eyes. Blinking in the dimness, she immediately knew she was in a cave. Shadows played off the stalactites above her, the icicle-shaped points ominous looking.

She was lying on her side on a gold-colored blanket. A white towel was wrapped around her middle, the majority of it stained crimson from her blood. Her gunshot wounds were already healing though, the bullets likely having been pushed out already. Without touching her abdomen or removing the towel she couldn’t be certain, but as a healer she healed faster than others of her kind, despite her young age.

Another jolt of panic punched through her as she remembered Keelin. Where was she?

“Why are you doing this?” Keelin rasped out, her soft voice echoing in the cavernous space somewhere close by.

Even though Victoria couldn’t see Keelin, a small dose of relief filled her that the female was alive. Victoria was afraid to move too much until she’d taken complete stock of the situation. Lying on her side, her head was next to a stalagmite formation, blocking her from seeing anything past it. Taking a steadying breath, she called on the part of her that made her a healer. A warmth from deep within spread out directly from her middle, immediately easing the throbbing in her belly and making it easier for her to breathe.

“Because your family deserves to die!” Nevin screamed, his rage-filled voice making Victoria cringe. She remembered the male was one of Drake’s cousins. Somehow related to him on his mother’s side.

“Did you sacrifice Drake when he was twelve?”

“Of course I did, stupid girl.” He started muttering again under his breath, the words not making sense. Or maybe they were. It almost sounded like he was speaking another language. Maybe Latin based.

Taking a chance, Victoria slowly pushed up, thankful she was able to remain quiet. Discomfort shredded through her, but that was the least of her worries. Ignoring the pain, she peeked around the edge of the stalagmite and her throat tightened in horror. Keelin was stretched out face up on a stone slab like an offering, her hands bound above her head with some kind of chains. Her clothes had been cut away and too many slices to count were all over her body, the blood flowing freely down the sides of the slab.

As horrible as that was, the sight of the partially open Hell Gate two feet from her supine body was a whole lot worse. Victoria had seen one exactly like it in New Orleans months ago. It explained the sulfuric stench.

A huge black area of viscous-looking material floated in the air, about two feet off the ground. Dark mist swirled around it and just like in New Orleans, this gate was only open a fraction in the shape of a crescent moon. Smoke curled out of the crescent opening, like the fingers of the dead reaching into the land of the living. That smell it emitted made her nauseous.

Similar designs to the ones she’d seen in New Orleans were painted in blood on the ground around the makeshift altar and on the uneven cave walls. The male was clearly doing a ritual spell. He was hunched over a big text he’d placed on the end of the altar near Keelin’s feet, his eyes glued to it as he read. He was either doing an Akkadian ritual spell like that psychotic vampire from New Orleans or some other spell. Either way it didn’t matter because the bastard was trying to open a door to Hell. She didn’t care why, she just knew she had to save Keelin—and avenge Drake. This bastard was going to pay for taking away Drake’s childhood and so many precious years of his life.

A burst of rage swelled through her like a tsunami, muting most of her pain. This male was going down. And she’d likely only get one chance to take him out.

“But why? He was only twelve. He trusted you, looked up to you.” Keelin’s voice was fading, weak with pain and fatigue, spurring Victoria into action.

Slowly, ignoring the cramping pull in her abdomen as she sat up, she started sliding her pant leg up. Clasping the hilt of the blade forged in dragon-fire strapped there, she clutched it tight and slid it out of its sheath. The towel around her middle was awkward but she left it in place, not wanting to move too much.

Nevin turned from looking down at the book to Keelin, but his back was still to Victoria. The blond male was shaking, as if he was close to losing control. “Dear Aunt Arya killed my mother so I took what was important to her. Stupid male should have stayed there forever. Now I’m going to sacrifice you and release Akkadian demons onto our land before I escape into Protective Hibernation. By the time your whore mother and worthless father wake up from their Hibernation you’ll be dead and with any luck so will your brothers.”

Keelin laughed, the sound weak as Victoria stood up. “You’re a fool. Even if you release demons the clan will destroy them all. And it doesn’t matter where you hibernate, someone will find you.”

He grunted and turned back to the book. “Not if they don’t know where the gate is. They’ll just keep coming and coming and the pack will be too busy trying to kill demons to worry about me. That little shifter bitch is going to be the perfect treat for the escaping demons. And no one will find me.” He laughed then, the maniacal sound like something out of a cheesy movie or cartoon.

What a freaking psycho.
Raw violence was against her intrinsic healer nature but now she felt practically savage. He’d shot her and Keelin, kidnapped them, but more than anything, he’d dared to hurt her mate. When Drake had just been a boy unable to protect himself. She was going to relish killing Nevin.

Victoria took a step forward, careful of where she placed her foot. Her movements were silent, though her heart pounded out of control. She couldn’t afford to alert Nevin. Heart racing, she took another step. Then another.

Keelin’s gaze flicked in her direction for a fraction of a moment but quickly reverted back to the crazy dragon shifter staring at the big book.

“The only thing I regret is that I won’t get to see your mother’s face when she returns,” he muttered, scratching his head like an animal with fleas. He let out an angry growl. “But I must hibernate… The symbols are painted, the blood is flowing… What am I missing?”

“So you sacrificed him simply for revenge? You’re pathetic, going after a boy like that,” Keelin rasped out.

“Of course not!” He screamed, back to making that horrible screeching sound. “His sacrifice was supposed to give me unimaginable power. I was going to take over the clan and kill your parents for taking away mine. But a fucking witch betrayed me.”

Victoria figured Keelin was trying to keep him distracted. Perfect. She was only ten feet from him now, dagger poised. So close she was almost in reach. As she started to take another step, the ground beneath her rumbled and the cave shook.

A stalactite fell from the roof, crashing near the altar, the splintered rock spraying everywhere. Managing not to cry out, Victoria caught herself before she fell to her knees, but Nevin turned, his greenish-gray eyes filled with dark hatred when he saw her there.

His gaze landed on her blade and he let out an ear-piercing screech that ricocheted off the cave.

Victoria lunged for him, blade ready to strike when he let loose a bright stream of orange flames. She instinctively ducked though she had nowhere to go. Instead of being burned, the fire flowed around her, the flames engulfing her in a bubble but not touching her skin.

Drake’s essence.

The male screamed even louder, his fire shooting off like a blazing roman candle as he threw his head back and spread his arms out wide. Victoria braced herself, feet wide apart as she withstood the onslaught. She had no idea how long Drake’s protection would hold up under the attack.

The only thing she knew was that she needed to get close enough to kill this male. And get him away from Keelin.

Victoria let her claws extend on her blade-free hand. She started walking backward, taking slow steps as if she was trying to flee.

Nevin growled and his flames stopped as he stared at her, his eyes wild with rage and deep emptiness. “I’ll wear down your protection eventually. Or maybe I’ll just cut your head off.” Again with the crazy laugh as he jumped at her, breathing fire.

Victoria dove to her left, rolling behind a giant stalagmite for cover as fire burned around her. Part of the rock crumbled under the intensity of the blaze, but her protective bubble held.

She stood, ready to run again when the flames fizzled and she found Nevin a foot in front of her.

On instinct, she slashed out at him, the blade slicing against his cheek before she jumped away again, putting five feet of distance between them. She might be younger than him, but she was nimble on her feet. Growing up in a wolf shifter pack had taught her a lot of things. While she might be a healer, she still knew how to attack and retreat and wear down her opponent. Then when the time was right she would attack, attack, attack, until this male was destroyed.

Nevin screamed again, his body trembling as he shot fire in an uncontrolled arc over her head. He knew his flames couldn’t touch her so the energy seemed like a wasted effort. It was almost as if he’d lost his mind.

Whatever was wrong with him, she took advantage of the situation when he let his head fall back and screamed even louder. The cave rumbled ominously, rocks raining down on them. She ignored everything but the male in front of her.

This was her chance.

Diving at Nevin, she covered the last couple feet and sank the blade into his chest, striking his heart dead center. The blade sank deep, the thudding sound terrible as the hilt rammed into his ribs. The flames immediately died around her, the male’s wide eyes flaring to a bright silver tinged with black flecks, as if the darkness in him was eating away from the inside out.

Baring her teeth, letting the rage flow through her, she twisted the blade, shredding his heart. She felt like a female possessed. As the brightness from his eyes faded, she withdrew the weapon and raised it above his head. Arching her arm down hard, she sliced through bone and tendons, severing his head. Blood arced away from her in a crimson spray as the separated body fell forward.

The ground rumbled again, nearly knocking her off balance.

Before Nevin’s head hit the ground she turned to find Keelin staring at her from the altar, eyes wide. “We need to get out of here,” she rasped, her voice still weak. Too weak.

Victoria nodded and went to the female’s shackles. After a brief touch on the chains she was grateful they weren’t silver. “How hurt are you?”

“I’m okay. The gunshot wounds have healed but he injected me with some sort of poison. It’s dulling my strength and…hard to talk.” Her voice was too faint.

“Don’t talk then. I’ll get you out of here.” Then she would figure out where the hell they were and get Keelin to safety. She yanked on the manacle and breathed out a sigh of relief when it broke away. After breaking off the other one, she slid her arms under Keelin’s back and legs and lifted her off the altar. Holding the female close, Victoria winced at the pull against her abdomen. Even though she was healing quickly it still freaking hurt.

A quick look at the Hell Gate told her that it was still opening. Unfortunately Victoria had absolutely no idea how to close the thing.

Stepping over Nevin’s body, she snagged the blood-stained throw and wrapped it around Keelin’s shaking body.

“I’m going to get us out of here then start healing you. We’ll get help soon. Can you stand for just a sec?” She hated to put the female down but needed to do one thing first.

Keelin nodded, her skin tinged gray. Victoria placed her on her feet and only let go when the female held on to the cave wall for support.

Though she hated to touch Nevin, she quickly searched his pants pockets and patted him down for a cell phone or another way to communicate. Cursing when she found nothing, she grabbed the book on the altar and hurried back to Keelin. Victoria knew she might have to figure out a way to close the Hell Gate and this book was the best chance they had. If that maniac had used it to open the gate, they could use it to close it.

Hopefully.

“I can walk out of here,” the female murmured.

Yeah, that wasn’t happening. “Just hold this.” She gave Keelin the book then lifted her in her arms. Then she grabbed one of the LED lanterns Nevin had waiting here. Right about now, Victoria was seriously thankful for her shifter strength. Even in the midst of healing she was still stronger than any human.