Taken by the Blood God (Devil Springs #4)

Chapter 14

Chapter

Fourteen

Talant

Patience had never been one of my strengths.

I was more patient than I’d once been, before my time beneath the mountain, but this “stakeout” (as Minerva called it) was proving that I had still had trouble waiting.

After I found Davian’s prison, I created a portal that spat us out a half mile from the place on the map. We landed in the middle of a field.

As soon as Minerva realized we were exposed, she cast a spell to camouflage us and looked up at me. “Where do we go next?” she asked since I still had possession of the map.

I took a moment to orient myself, opening my senses. I didn’t need the map now that we were so close. There was a smudge of dark magic hovering east of us.

“We’re going this way,” I said, gesturing in that direction.

Minerva and I walked to the edge of the field, silent. The closer we got to the smudge of dark magic, the paler Minerva became. She inched closer to me, and I felt a shiver go through her.

“Do you feel that?” she asked. “It’s like no other dark magic I’ve felt before.”

“Yes, I feel it. It’s where Davian’s prison is.”

“Goddess, what are they doing there? It’s…” She shuddered again, a look of disgust on her face. “Unnatural and just…wrong.”

“It’s because they’ve used human sacrifices to fuel the wards. That’s why they’re so strong and they feel the way they do.”

“Human—” Minerva’s eyebrows came down and her eyes hardened. “I see. Well, that changes my plans on how to deal with them when we free your brother.”

I didn’t ask her what she meant by that because I already knew. We hadn’t discussed how we intended to handle the coven, if we would leave them alive or not, but I had already planned to end them for what they had been doing to my brother. I had no doubt that the power they’d drained from him had been used to harm others.

As we walked into a stand of trees, the oppressive atmosphere became heavier. The blanket of dark magic became stifling. The trees were beginning to thin when we approached the edge of the first ward. A few hundred feet away, there was a small stone building. It was old, not dilapidated, but slightly run-down. It stood alone in another open field.

A knot of death magic sat above it, darker even than the wards that surrounded the area. A lot of blood, pain, and death had gone into working that spell. It was pure evil. Of all the things I’d done, all the things I regretted, I had never used magic like that.

“I was angry at you before,” Minerva whispered, startling me out of my dark thoughts. “But now, I’m glad you talked me into freeing your brother, because that,” she said, pointing at the building. “Needs to be destroyed. And that coven needs to be wiped off the face of the earth.”

“It will be my pleasure to destroy all of it,” I replied.

“Let’s sit and watch for a while,” she said, squatting down among the low brush. “I want to know what we’re up against.”

I crouched next to her, and we both sat down just outside the ward.

“I have to drop the camouflage spell,” Minerva murmured. “I need to conserve my magic.”

“Go ahead. I can make sure no one sees us.”

She gave me a sidelong glance. “Will it drain your power as well?”

“No, I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?”

I met her gaze. “Minerva, I will be fine. I promise.”

“I just want to make sure I don’t have to save your ass when the time comes for us to free your brother.”

“I’ll be the one to save yours, I think. I’m fond of it after all.”

She rolled her eyes, and I bit back a chuckle. This little witch amused me, even when she was derisive.

Neither of us spoke as we settled in to watch the building. The hours passed, and the sun set, but the building sat still and empty. There were no cars, no people. Nothing. We sat in silence, letting the sounds of the night wash over us. It wasn’t comfortable, not with that much dark magic surrounding us, but it was quiet.

At midnight, Minerva’s head lolled onto my shoulder. She jerked back up straight, inhaling sharply.

“It’s okay,” I murmured. “You can sleep if you need to.”

“I’m fine,” she answered, her voice stiff.

“Minerva, I’ll keep watch. You can sleep. I’ll even let you use my shoulder as long as you don’t drool on me.”

“I don’t drool,” she insisted, still whispering harshly.

“All right, I changed my mind. It’s okay if you drool,” I continued, ignoring her. “I’ll just mop up later.”

She sighed heavily, shifting on the ground. “You’re an ass.”

“I know, but I’m entertaining,” I replied.

Minerva rubbed her hands over her face. She looked exhausted. I doubted she realized I could see her in the dark because she made no effort to hide it.

I touched her arm, cupping her elbow with my fingers. “Minerva, you should rest. I can open a portal for you to the hotel. I will stay here and keep watch.”

She sighed again. “No, no. I’m staying. I will take a nap though.”

I watched as she arranged her backpack on the ground next to me and laid down. I wanted to tell her that she could lay her head on my lap, but I knew she wouldn’t.

Instead, I waited until I knew she was asleep before I rested my hand on her shoulder. I just needed to be close to her—to reassure myself that she was still there, even though I could see her and hear her breathing.

And I waited.