Sloan gave me an embarrassed look, but he nodded. “I thought he would be pleased once it was complete. I would show him how devoted I was to his cause. That I’d found a powerful new adherent that would help spread his word.”
“When does the final sacrifice need to happen?” I said.
“The last surviving member of the Freedman family is to be sacrificed at midnight on the new year.”
True. That was tomorrow night. I had to hurry.
I crouched, keeping the gun to the man’s head. “You know what I hate most about people who worship gods? It’s howfuckingselfish they are. It’s never about the god, it’s aboutthem. How holy they can look, how sanctimonious, how much bettertheyare than those who believe something else. You’re fucking disgusting.”
He opened his mouth to reply, but thought better of it.
“You tipped off the guys who jumped us when we left here, didn’t you?”
The man nodded. “A signal was sent.”
True.
I narrowed my eyes, then glanced down at the pin holding his toga in place. I tore it off.
“This?” I snarled. “Is it enchanted?”
Sloan nodded. “It notified Virgil’s men.”
“How many men does he have?” It was the main question I had. If I was going to war, then it would be good to know my odds.
“Virgil, as a show of faith, depleted the remainder of his fortune and hired many unsavory men. He also has some he’s placed under a thrall.” He cleared his throat. “Uh, I also provided him with men. Shifters, witches, vampires. I think there are at least two werewolves as well?—”
“I should fucking kill you right now,” I growled.
I could practically see the religious devotion melt away. It was the opposite of the old sayingthere are no atheists in a foxhole. He only cared about living. He could ask forgiveness from his god later. Right now, he’d do anything to survive.
“But I’m not going to,” I said. “I need something from you.”
Understanding dawned in Sloan’s eyes. “What do you want?”
I grinned at him, and leaned in close. “I need some protection. You’re gonna help me with that.”
The shotgun lay on the seat beside me, runes glowing along the barrel. Two silver enchanted knives sat in sheaths on my belt, and my clothing almost hummed with the reinforced magical protections that had been placed on them. The morning sunlight glinted through the windshield as I pulled off the highway.
Gripping the wheel, anger flooded through me, blasting away any fear or hesitation. Virgil knew I was coming, and I didn’t give a shit. I’d bound and gagged the priest to prevent him from signaling Virgil. That meant he didn’t know I was comingimmediately, but even if he did, that didn’t matter. I was on a mission, fueled by vengeance. I would save Veronica, or I would die trying. There was no other way this would play out.
Ahead, the trees parted, revealing a snowy-white expanse, broken only by the gray of marble and granite headstones. In the middle of it all, cloaked in frost and icicles, was a huge mausoleum, and there, by the door, stood three hulking figures. I slammed the brakes, the tires skidding in the snow, and grabbed the shotgun. Before the car had even come to a full stop, I opened the door and stepped out.
The second the men spotted me, they sprinted forward. One shifted to a massive grizzly bear, the other morphed into a wolf.The third man ran behind them, pulsing orbs of blue magic shimmering in his hands.
I chambered a shell and walked straight toward the coming onslaught.
“Come and get me, motherfuckers,” I cried as I fired a shot.
The round exploded, shattering the early morning quiet, and a spray of silver buckshot hurtled toward the bear shifter. The hulking beast yelped in pain as it slammed into his shoulder. He tumbled aside, clawing and kicking at the ground. Turning, I pumped the slide and fired at the wolf, my teeth bared as I pulled the trigger. The shot caught him full in the chest as he leapt toward me. He slammed to the ground, shifting to his human form, and lay limp, eyes staring sightlessly up at the sky.
A wave of magic flashed past me, throwing me to the side as it went by in a whirling blur of blue energy. The shotgun skidded across the grass away from me as I fell. The witch cast another spell, and a sharp bolt of red crackling magic shot toward me. I managed to roll aside just as the grass and dirt exploded as if a grenade had gone off where I’d been seconds before.
I jumped to my feet and rushed the witch, closing the gap before he had time to realize what I was doing.
The witch gave a great shocked grunt, eyes going wide as I drove him into the ground, burying one of my silver daggers in his ribs. He was dead before we even hit the grass, but I had no time to enjoy the victory. A pair of sharp jaws clamped onto my shoulder and yanked me off the body, tossing me aside.
I grunted on impact and rolled over, finding the injured grizzly, snarling and growling as he approached. Any other day, I’d have pissed myself at such a sight, but now? All I cared about wasgetting Veronica back. When it opened its mouth to roar at me, I roared right back at it.
