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When he silently refused, I struck out with my magick.
The vampire gasped as pain flowed through him, his arms loosening enough on my thighs for me to kick him in the gut and dismount. I couldn’t leave him conscious, knowing the moment I escaped, he would capture me.
Vera nodded her head at an ancient-looking sword hanging from the wall.
Filled with strength from the amulet, I grabbed it, my arm surprisingly able to wield its hefty weight.
“Jade, wait,” he groaned through half-lidded eyes.
Still crouched on the dungeon floor, he was at the perfect height for me to raise the hilt above me and thrash it down on his skull. Silas’s eyes rolled back in his head as he passed out on the floor. Injured, but not dead. It would have to be good enough.
“What do y’all say?” I muttered to the spirits surrounding me. “Anyone up for a little exorcism and attack on those assholes upstairs?”
Tears glimmered in the creatures’ eyes, along with the undercurrent of vengeance.
Clasping the amulet in my grip, I whispered the spell from that night in the cemetery basement. With the power of the talisman flowing through me, I didn’t require other casters, or even a casting circle. With each incantation that fell past my lips, the horde of dead souls grew more substantial, until I could have reached out and touched them.
Vera stood beside me, her grey eyes filled with pride and fury. “Let’s go make Alistair and his army pay for their crimes. After we’ve taken our revenge, we’ll finally know peace and can return to the Beyond.”
The atmosphere shifted, and I let their energy consume me as we charged up the stairs and through the castle. With a flick of my wrist, I entrapped the vampires in the ballroom, allowing my wrath to fully consume me.
As the vampires stared at me, I grinned. “You made a mistake keeping me alive, Alistair Vasyliev. Now you’ll pay for it with your life and everything else you hold dear.”
And then the battle began.
With a strength I never expected of myself, my spirit magick struck the group of vampires crouched to attack. The first burst of violence was all the spirits needed, as they ghosted through the ballroom walls, able to become corporeal at will through the spell.
I watched as three shifter brothers tackled a vampire to the marble floor, their fangs ripping into flesh, and blood spurted on the ashen-faced vampire female next to him.
With every fresh kill, the amulet’s power intensified until my mind seemed very far away. My body became a weapon of death. My magick and the sword tools to enact the justice long awaited for the souls who had lost their lives.
From across the room, I spotted Alistair, my true target, and redirected my path. Other than the Vampire King, faces blurred together. There was no recognition as I struck out, leaving bloody violence in my wake.
“Was it worth it?” I called out over the sounds of death around us. Alistair struggled to fend off the Bled witches as they cornered him against a fountain filled with blood. “All this bloodshed for you to die in your own castle. Ironic, is it not?”
He sneered, dodging a bloodied knife and knocking the witch away from him. “You will pay for this, you whore. You may have enchanted Alexei into believing you are his female, but I know the truth. Witches are conniving, deceptive creatures. You bespelled him to seek your own means.”
Mention of Alexei broke through my fog. I tried to search the ballroom for him but only saw blurs of motion and blood. From my periphery, I saw Vera push through the other spirits to face off against the vampire that took everything from her. Her blonde locks fell limp across her face as she channeled her rage and harrowing sorrow.
“I think not, Alistair,” Vera snarled. Something dead and eerie crept over her face as she twirled her twin blades. “Have you seen a person you love filleted before you? Their guts pulled out and feasted upon? Have you seen that happen to your own family?”
She laughed, and the sound sent shivers down my spine.
“I have awaited this moment for far too long, Alistair. You won’t touch the witch so long as I’m able to kill you.”
Instead of fear, a gleam of excitement filled the Vampire King’s eyes.
“Of course.” He smiled, fangs gleaming with fresh blood. “The spirits are tied to you, Miss Belle, which means I only have to killyouto end this ridiculous coup.”
My face twisted with fury as I allowed another pulse of magick to burst out of me. Broken shards of the fountain shot towards him like missiles as a gush of blood emptied onto the floor like a gruesome murder scene.
Through the tumult, a sliver of marble lodged in my thigh, sending a fresh wave of pain shooting through me. I muttered a broken cry, and the spell weakening for a moment. That distraction was all the vampire female lurking behind me needed to send me flying onto the floor.
I groaned from the sudden jolt against my wound as the blonde vampire stood over me. Her reddened eyes appeared maniacal as she lifted her leg to kick me in my stomach.
“Alexei is mine, you bitch!”
Dodging her heels, I rolled onto my belly, glass crunching into my hands as I forced myself to my feet. We circled each other grimly, until she suddenly surged forward, fangs lengthening dangerously.
