“What’s the plan?” Nero asked, studying me. His eyes flicked down to my wound in a silent warning—that I wasn’t at full capacity.
“We’re going to go do what heroes do. We’re going to go save the girls. Izzy first. Right the fuck now.”
Nosh nodded gratefully, but his gaze shot to my wound. My shirt was liberally caked with blood. I ignored it. He met my eyes with a grim frown. “You can’t take on the witches by yourself, Sorin. You’re hurt.” He leaned closer, speaking in a breathless whisper. “What if more wolves are secretly working for Benjamin?”
I gritted my teeth to hide the increased pain caused by climbing the steps. It felt like someone was tugging at my wound with their bare hands. “I can guarantee that the wolves will be better behaved from now on. Right, Lucian?”
Nosh jumped to find Lucian standing directly beside him, protective of his charge. The wolf met my eyes with a stern glare. I took it as an affirmative.
“When we save Izzy, maybe she can help heal my wound. Maybe she can tell us a way to talk the Sisters down. Let them know why I left town,” I lied, remembering Hades’ warning about not mentioning any Olympian involvement. “That must be why they kidnapped them.”
“That doesn’t explain Benjamin’s betrayal,” Nosh growled.
“If nothing else, she might know how we can break into the Sisters’ church. How they set up their defenses. How many witches they really have,” I said, thinking out loud, wondering if I was fooling myself. Because I also knew that, without healing myself, I was on borrowed time.
“And the Cauldron?” Nosh asked angrily. “We don’t even know where they are, thanks to Benjamin turning coat.”
“We will find her, Nosh. Even if we have to burn the city to the ground. The wolves will find her with Lucian’s help.”
Lucian licked his lips, baring his fangs in the process.
I sensed Nosh’s shoulders tightening. “Don’t even think about it,” I warned him. “Giving yourself up will just get you both killed.”
Lucian growled forebodingly.
Nosh scowled in frustration. “We need to accept realities here. I won’t hide from the facts. If it comes to that, I will do what needs to be done.”
“No,” I said firmly. “You will not.”
Lucian suddenly bumped Nosh warningly, almost knocking him down. I nodded in relief, hiding my hands behind my back. They were shaking. I wasn’t sure if it was entirely from anger or a result of blood loss. Nero seemed to notice, judging by the alarmed look on his face. I subtly shook my head at him.
He nodded, glancing down at Lucian with a faint smile. Lucian would keep Nosh safe…even from himself, if necessary.
“Right now, I need blood.” I entered the lobby and immediately froze, squinting against the assault of colors stabbing at my eyes. “What the fuck?” I hissed, lifting my arm to shield my vision. Bright, colorful streamers hung everywhere, along with signs and banners and tables laden with decanters and a tower of crystal champagne glasses. Red-eyed vampires were building another tower on a second and third table, and they were smiling, talking to each other in excited tones. They saw me and one of them stiffened, knocking down the tower. The crystal fell and shattered into thousands of pieces.
They shot horrified looks my way, but I waved a hand before they decided to kill themselves for offending me. They set about cleaning up the mess as if the fate of the world depended on it.
Couches and pillows and other furniture had been moved into the lobby, and I saw rows of speakers with bundles of cable stretching away from them. Another pair of vampires was studying a large cube with a curtain for a door. It was open and I saw a bench inside. I frowned.
“Is that a picture booth?” Nero hooted, pointing at the box. “They really are throwing a party,” he chuckled. I’d completely forgotten about the social mixer for the vampires. Yet another thing to worry about. I’d hoped to dance with my devils tonight…
I pressed on towards the elevators, dismissing the party decorations.
“I’m going to get something to drink and see what the executive management team is up to,” I said. “Other than finding new ways to blind us, that is. Maybe I will find someone to take care of my cut since Nero is utterly incompetent,” I said dryly, patting my wound gently. “We can head out in twenty minutes to find Izzy.”
Nosh nodded. “I’ll go grab my weapons,” he said stiffly.
I motioned for Nero to head towards the elevator ahead of me. “Nosh,” I said, halting him before he had time to storm away. He met my eyes and they were full of fury and unspent rage. I knew what he was thinking, what was tearing him up inside. And it would continue to do so until someone else said it out loud—a job that fell upon parents and leaders of armies.
In both cases, me.
“You failed three times today,” I said in a matter of fact tone. His eyes widened ever so slightly, and his shoulders tensed, surprised that I hadn’t attempted to reassure him and justify his failures with a pat on the back. I nodded. “Izzy. Natalie. Victoria.” I watched as each name hit him like a punch to the gut. “Right now, you are letting that fact tear you up inside, right?” He nodded stiffly, his cheeks red. “Stop. Or you will add a fourth failure to the list. Focus on the solution rather than the problem. Self-pity will not fix anything. Will not save anyone. It is the gleaming armor of a coward. You are better than that.”
He stared at me, looking shaken. “Okay.”
“And for the record, I’m confident that I failed more than three times today, so the same advice applies to me.”
He gave me a hesitant nod before turning away, striding towards the stairs rather than taking the elevator down with us.
Lucian followed Nosh without even a backwards glance.
No one was getting close to Nosh with Lucian in the way. The king of the werewolves would make good on his promise to keep Nosh safe.
He’d only waited a few hundred years to do so.
“Let’s see how good you are at healing,” I told Nero, approaching the elevator.
His nod was not even remotely encouraging.
34
I had spent a few minutes wandering around the catacombs in search of Renfield, but a fledgling vampire informed me that he had located the Cauldron’s hideout after Benjamin’s betrayal, and was keeping an eye on the building in an attempt to gauge how many witches were inside and what kind of dangers we faced when we went in to save Izzy. He had about a dozen of the reborn vampires with him, but they were keeping a safe distance so as not to alert our enemies.
Which was an incredible weight off my shoulders. We had a location.
Hugo, Aristos, and Valentine were similarly absent, overseeing the groups of vampires guarding Liberty Island or the sprawling perimeter of Central Park. Which had also been a relief. To see them focused on the dangers, yet still making sure everything was ready for their social mixer tonight.
I would be missing the party, going after my devils instead.
Nero had taken a long look at my wound before testing it again with his magic. The blackened wound was puckered and still coated in ice. “It won’t respond to anything.”
“Bandage it up as best you can, then. Anything that will help keep the blood inside.”
He studied me for a long moment. “You have armies, Sorin. Maybe it’s time for you to sit this one out and figure out exactly what that arrow did to you.”
I stared at him, my face blank. “I already know what happened and sitting around on my ass won’t make me die any slower. Bandage. It. Up.”
The curiosity in his eyes was undeniable, but I didn’t want to talk about it.
He pulled out a hard candy on a stick, tearing off a plastic wrapper. “It’s a lollipop. I give them to anyone bold enough to call me their doctor. Real doctors give them to kids so they aren’t as traumatized by the experience,” he said with an amused grin, holding it out to me.
I narrowed my eyes at the candy and then snatched it away from him and stuck
it in my mouth. I arched an eyebrow. It was surprisingly good.
I bit the candy off and flicked the stick at him, hitting him in the forehead.
He chuckled as he set to work on my wound.
The lollipop helped, actually. It kept me distracted.
I was fairly certain that the only way I could heal my wound was by reclaiming my soul from the Soul Spring like Nero and Lucian had already done. If I was wrong, I didn’t have a contingency plan. Hopefully, the Soul Spring was safely tucked away inside my castle but checking on it would require me to confront Dracula, and I wanted to save Izzy, first.
Because Izzy was in danger, and I wanted Nosh to see me back him up after my harsh—but necessary—reprimand a few minutes ago. He needed to see his father step up. As an example, for him to do the same. And…I wanted her opinion on my wound in case I was wrong about my soul helping.
I also wasn’t sure if I had the strength to confront Dracula right now. Even though he was weakened after Hades finished with him, I was also weak. Potentially, much weaker. My damned blood reserves were weeping out of my wound at a steady, alarming pace.
My wound looked almost exactly like the silver wounds I’d received from some expanding silver bullets not too long ago. Victoria’s potent blood had helped me heal that. Her blood had done much more than heal the wound, in fact—it had temporarily woken up my latent vampire abilities that were still dribbling back after my long slumber.
When Nero had been collecting bandages for me, I’d retrieved a bag of Victoria’s blood that she had left me in the event of an emergency. It wasn’t much, but it was significantly stronger than regular blood. If I was going to encounter the twins tonight—which seemed more than likely—I would need every added power I could muster.
Except Victoria’s blood hadn’t helped. It had boosted my power, refreshing me greatly, but I was confident that I’d only consumed a third of the small bag’s contents—the rest of the precious liquid spilling out of my wound in a jet of blood. Luckily, I’d chosen to drink the blood in the shower, so all the lost blood went down the drain.
Otherwise, Nero might have returned to think I was actively bleeding out.
As Nero set to work bandaging me, I racked my brain for any other solutions I might have overlooked. I ran back through my conversations with every Olympian. Why had Persephone told me I should have taken Aphrodite up on her offer to spend romantic time with Natalie and Victoria? She hadn’t known it the first time we spoke—prior to my private talk with Hades. What had changed? Had she known they would be abducted? What else did she know about Victoria and Natalie’s current situation?
I took a calming breath before my emotions began to dictate my actions. If I thought too hard about Natalie and Victoria, I would end every heartbeat within a mile of Trinity Church, consequences be damned. Even if it killed my own armies. Even if it doomed the world. If it saved my devils, I would even sacrifice myself.
Exactly what I’d warned Nosh not to do.
I let out a sigh. Going after Izzy first was the smartest move. Get the Cauldron off our backs, once and for all. Hopefully, Izzy would have information that would help me save my devils.
And heal my wound.
Next was Dracula and my soul. Now that I knew my soul wasn’t up for grabs—even if I wrapped Dracula up and delivered him to Mount Olympus—I no longer cared about my own personal vengeance.
Dracula was just a bargaining chip. And the Sisters were in the lead when it came to leverage—they had abducted my devils, and I would do anything to get them back.
Which would really piss off the twins.
So, my to-do list was fairly simple.
Save Izzy. Hopefully have her heal my wound. Get my soul back. Trade Dracula for the devils. Deal with a pair of pissed off twins. Not die in the process.
Maybe go to a vampire dance party afterwards.
Easy.
I formed a mental list of Olympians who might be involved in the drama from behind the scenes, but there were simply too many to consider without any proof. Aphrodite had intended to reach out to me with answers, but I hadn’t heard from her.
I was thankful that Lucian was keeping an eye on Nosh, but if the shaman was anything like his father, he would be wallowing in guilt no matter what I said to him, and I was very concerned about him giving himself up to save Izzy.
It almost seemed like the witches were all working together rather than as two opposing forces.
I had been roped into a direct fight with the Sisters, and many of them would die as a result. We should have been allies. They were so intent on acquiring Dracula—for whatever reason they truly had—that they were willing to go to war with the man who could have been their staunchest ally.
All because Benjamin had chosen to side with them. How long had he been playing both sides? Had he hoped to become alpha in Stevie’s place? Was this really all about power?
I knew the werewolves were no longer a concern now that Lucian had returned, but it was still troubling. I began thinking back on Hecate, wondering who her third gift had been given to. I now knew it wasn’t Nosh, but that had been a shot in the dark anyway.
I considered her various gifts, wondering which gift was unaccounted for. She had given her knowledge of magic and necromancy to Nero, and she had given her affinity to dogs to Lucian. Other than that, I was fairly certain that she was known for ghosts and other powers related to the dead—but necromancy was merely a different form of magic.
Although Hecate had let slip a hint about skinwalkers and their cursed blades, she’d bluntly said Nosh wasn’t the third recipient. Damned riddles everywhere I turned.
Nero finished winding white tape around my waist to hold the pad of gauze in place. “There you go. It should hold unless you do stupid things, like invading a witch stronghold,” he said dryly. “You should get some more blood in you, brother.”
I nodded, climbing to my feet. “I already did.”
My phone rang from the side table. Nero handed it to me before collecting his supplies and cleaning up his mess from tending to my wound. He began tossing bloody pads into the fire, knowing the value of my blood in the wrong hands.
“Sorin,” I said, answering the phone.
“Where are you?” Renfield whispered urgently.
“At the museum. Why?” I asked. Nero paused, glancing back as he read the concern in my voice.
“Nosh just walked into the Cauldron’s hideout, appearing out of thin air before we could stop him. A huge fucking wolf arrived a minute later, and he looks like he has already decided who to blame. And he’s got enough werewolves with him to succeed,” he said with forced calm. “I don’t think I can keep them away from the building.”
“Don’t!” I snapped. “If you attack, the witches will kill Nosh and Izzy!” I hissed. “The big wolf is Lucian.” I explained, ignoring his gasp. “Tell him Nosh is dead if they attack. He can understand your words.”
“Y-yes, Master Ambrogio,” Renfield stammered. I heard him speaking sternly in the background and then he came back on the phone. “Okay. I think that worked. But you should get here as fast as possible. He has a crazy look in his eyes and the other wolves are mirroring him.”
“Nosh didn’t say anything?” I demanded, climbing to my feet with a hiss.
“No. And we didn’t sense him until it was too late, so he must have used magic of some kind. I’m guessing this was not part of your plan?” he asked, speaking loud enough for those near him to hear his question—and my response.
“Absolutely not,” I growled. “He’s giving himself up to save Izzy. Damn it! I told him that it won’t work. They’ll just kill both of them.” Nero clenched his fist and an orb of black smoke coalesced around his bone digits. He gave me a firm nod. “Tell Nero where you are, so he can see how fast we can join you.” I handed Nero the phone and reached down to toss on a new shirt and jacket I had set out. I tugged them on as Nero spoke to Renfield.
He hung up, shooting me an encouragi
ng look. “I can teleport us there. Well, a block away. We don’t want to show up on their front door and set off any alarms they may have set.”
I grabbed a fresh bag of blood from the side table and bolted out the door.
“What about your wound?” he demanded, racing after me.
“I’ll manage.” I muttered, guzzling blood as I moved. I was relieved at the sudden burst of energy, but also greatly alarmed at how rapidly I felt it draining from me. Like I’d only managed to ingest a third of it, at most. Just like I’d felt with Victoria’s blood in the shower. I ignored the sudden wet sensation over my wound, hoping Nero didn’t notice it. “Much better,” I lied, licking my lips.
Nero studied me nervously, wincing at my wound, and I knew he didn’t buy my lie.
35
We jogged through the dark streets, thankfully close enough to Central Park that no humans resided nearby. They had all left once I brought my castle to the city. I saw Renfield and Lucian peering around the corner of a building at the intersection ahead of us, careful to observe without being seen. We ran past a couple dozen wolves on the sidewalk, all of them hanging a safe distance back from where Renfield and Lucian were scouting the building. Four reborn vampires dipped their heads upon seeing me, clapping fists to hearts. Their faces were barely restrained fury, and I knew that they wanted nothing more than to storm the building. The wolves were even worse, pacing back and forth impatiently.
Lucian and Renfield heard my approach and pulled back from their vantage to meet me twenty feet away from the intersection so we could talk without being seen by the witches. “They are holed up in an abandoned theater. We have the building surrounded, and no one has spotted any sentries. All the witches are inside, but we’re staying back in case anyone is looking out of a window,” Renfield reassured me. “It’s strange,” he said, frowning. “There really aren’t very many of them. Not enough to try to pull this off with any hopes of a win.”
Devil’s Blood: Shade of Devil Book 3 Page 22