AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I cursed and took my anger and fear out on two dragos as they approached me on either side. Hawk knew how to handle himself, but if that creature’s tail impaled him, it would kill him in minutes.
While my thoughts strayed to Hawk, a drago crashed into my back, digging his tail into my spine.
Pain erupted through me, and warm blood leaked over my back. I twisted and yanked the giant insect off, tossing it on the ground. Before I could slam my blade into it, another one sliced my shoulder and zoomed away. A hiss burst through my teeth, and I ducked to miss another attack.
I was caught in the very center of the swarm, their fluttering wings tossing my hair as buzzing filled my ears. Roxie watched from the outside with her sword lowered. “What the fuck are you doing, Rox? Don’t just stand there. Help me!”
Her twisted smile spilled ice through my bloodstream. “You’re Tatum Teague, the perfect raven. You’ve killed high demons and even a royal. I’m sure you’ve got this covered.” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “I’m going to see if Hawk needs my help.” She turned and vanished through the trees and headstones, leaving me at the mercy of the swarm.
ChapterSeventeen
Pain pulverizedmy arm as another drago sliced me while one landed on the ground, attempting to stab my calf. A growl erupted out of my mouth as I kicked it into a crumbling statue.
There were too many of them. If they all attacked at once, I was screwed.
As if they had the mental capability to realize that, they circled me, getting closer each second. My hair flew around me, and sweat congealed on my skin from the cold wind their wings created.
My heart hammered against my ribs, and my chest heaved with every ragged breath filled with decay and the metallic hint of blood. Anticipation choked the atmosphere as the sub-demons waited to make their move.
And then they dove for me.
I would not die like this, by a bunch of demon insects. This couldn’t be my end, especially when I could take them all out. Fane’s ghostly presence wasn’t anywhere in sight, but I could practically hear him screaming to fight with all I had.
Was it just my consciousness willing me to survive, or was Fane urging me to do it?
Did it matter?
So I did the only thing I could, something that would come back to haunt me. I let my walls down and tapped into the power swirling inside of me.
If only I could isolate the shifter magic and use that, but every time I tried to connect with the wild, mystical creature, the Infernal Sol came along for the ride and eventually took the reins.
A snarl rolled out of my mouth, and I raised my sword as the dragos attacked. Darkness and danger flowed through my veins, and I let it take me over, turning the world into a swirl of colors as I moved.
My blade flashed through the air, and bodies fell to the ground. Blood sprayed me, and sharp stabs punctured my flesh, but I ignored the pain and continued slashing through the mob. Soon, nothing except the desire for violence burned me from the inside out. A roar clawed up my throat, ricocheting through the cemetery like a bellow from a terrible beast.
As my vision sharpened, I could see each tiny point on the drago’s tail before I sliced it off, their screams like pretty songs. Fear clogged the air, and some of them zoomed toward the Underworld gate.
Those escapees were lucky I still had a few more little creatures to tear apart. Maybe I’d slipped into the Underworld after them when I was done.
I jumped and snatched a fleeing drago out of the air, slamming him to the ground. He shrieked as his body hit with a crunch, and he fought my hold. “Poor, stupid bug. You shouldn’t have tried to kill me.” I tsked. “Maybe I should keep you alive and play with you for a little while. Might be fun.”
My voice didn’t sound like my own, and if I looked in a mirror, the craving for destruction and pain would shine through my eyes with thin diamond pupils.
The sub-demon squirmed, and his wings fluttered as he tried to escape. What would it be like to tear those sheer, delicate things off? Would he feel it? Would it be terrible?
Oh, fuck.I really needed to get a hold of myself before I slipped down a yawning chasm of wickedness. The Infernal Sol had me in its grip, claws sinking in.
I clenched my jaw and pressed my hand over my neck tattoo, sending tiny bolts of electricity through my system. Fane would tell me to fight my way back to the surface. He’d talk me into finding my control.
The crimson haze lifted enough that I took mercy on the creature squirming at my feet and impaled him with my blade to deliver a death blow. I yanked the sword out, stumbled to a tree, and pressed my palm into the trunk as I leaned forward.
Footsteps approached from behind, and my muscles tensed as Hawk’s citrus scent mixed with blood and sweat seeped up my nostrils. A string of curses left his mouth.
“Shit, Tate, you killed them all. Are you all right?”
I breathed in and out, trying to find my way through the fog tapping into the magic always caused. My eyes still held that beastly form like Fane’s, but his never radiated the evil that mine did. “Just give me a minute.”
How many did I kill? Was it too many? Would Hawk finally realize I wasn’t normal?
