Chapter 36

Chapter

Thirty-Six

Like shaking hands with the Devil to seal a deal, I reached for the Infernal Sol and allowed it to fully take over. Dark, intoxicating power flooded me so violently that I slammed against the demon holding me from behind.

Finally .

The voice whispering in my head grew louder until it sounded like screaming.

No. I was the one screaming.

And then laughing.

The calm me was gone, surrendering to the amulet. Crimson bled along the edges of my vision as bloodlust and violence consumed me. The royal demon's gaze flicked in my direction, taunting me as he drew the little wolf boy's soul out.

He knew I thought fondly of the kid, so he intentionally provoked me.

Did he know nothing of this power? The power that now controlled me?

The Infernal Sol was no longer in the passenger or driver's seat. It was the car, speeding towards a head-on collision with the demons who thought they could attack this home.

They would regret ever coming near this family.

The coppery tang of blood oozed over my tongue, and soon, it wouldn't be my own. That taste would belong to my fallen victims.

As I looked back at my beast, still banging his fist against the witch's barrier, his voice penetrated my mind.

"Tate? Talk to me. Are you still in there?"

My lips curved into a wide grin. "Don't worry, beast, we're together now, as one. I am her, and she is me. The girl goes nowhere. You'll see. You'll learn to enjoy us."

The color drained from his carved cheeks. "Come back to me, Tate."

"But she's already here." I chuckled and focused my attention on the demons holding me captive. "Do you believe in nightmares?"

One on the left sneered. "Shut up and get on your knees. It's time to make you watch your little friend die."

"I won't be the one dying." Now that the amulet wasn't being tampered down, my strength magnified, and I yanked out of their hold, surprising them. My movements were swift as I decapitated two demons.

"You little?—"

The one that had held me from behind froze as I breached his mind and pulled out a collection of fears.

"So many to choose from." I rubbed my hands together, smearing black blood. "You're all alone with the scourge of the fire pits attacking you."

My head tilted back, and laughter poured out as the demon hallucinated a dozen grotesque monsters from the fire pits of the Underworld converging on him. He swiped his claws at the other demon, slicing into his flesh.

His screams made my heart flutter.

But I couldn't linger. Little wolf didn't have much time.

As they held my little wolf down, I marched toward the royal and dux demon. He barely struggled beneath them, weakened by the loss of his soul. Blood oozed out of his side where the dux demon had sliced him.

He'd get a wound just like that and then some.

I slammed my fist into the royal's face, severing the flow of soul into his gaping maw. He tumbled sideways onto the ground.

"Tate… Help… Me." The wolf, Dylan, panted, his usually tan complexion deathly pale. His lids fluttered closed. So weak.

"They'll die soon," I promised.

The dux demon with spikes across his shoulders and black horns curling from his temples still held the young shifter down. "You think it'll be that easy to kill me?"

I scoffed. "You're nothing but a bug on my pathway."

To prove his insignificance, I didn't even bother feasting on his fears. Instead, I sliced my talons down his torso to give him a wound just like Dylan's, and then I tore into his throat and ripped his head off.

The royal scrambled up, snarling. "He was weak. I'm a royal. You can't simply rip my head from my neck."

"I have a different plan for you anyway." I lunged at him as my craving for blood and death reached a fever pitch.

He growled when my claws sank into his shoulder, onyx blood spurting out. "Is that all you're capable of?"

My brows furrowed. He was a royal demon and could sense the ancient power in my veins, so why was he provoking me?

Did it really matter?

No. I'd kill him and the rest of them just the same .

I grabbed the royal's jaw and pried his mouth open. "Let's see how you like it."

Fear penetrated his bottomless eyes as I latched onto his life and drew it out. The black cloud of his life force swirled into me.

"Tate, no!" The beast's voice tried to pull me from my victim. "Don't do this."

Too late.

The demon's irises melted from black to blue as the life faded from them and flowed into me, oozing through my veins.

He was too easy of a kill.

Still fun.

Just for good measure, I tore his head off, his still-warm blood splattering my face.

I crawled off him, laughter tumbling out of my mouth as I reveled in the high consuming his energy gave me. "Royal jewels shine no more. They're buried deep inside my flesh."

Dylan turned toward me, his chin trembling as he held back tears. "Tate?"

"Shush. Save your energy." I ran my hand over his forehead, brushing back his sweaty hair and smearing black splatters of demon blood. "Your soul will replenish, and you'll be back to running in no time."

A haze converged over his stare as I continued to touch him, and incoherent mumbles spilled from his mouth. The draining of his soul didn't cause this. It was me. Madness coiled around this power within me like thick, spiked chains. So wonderful and frenzied.

But little Dylan didn't need that now. After taking the royal's dark energy, I was too full of chaos.

"Dylan!"

His mother called to him beyond the blockade, her fear pulsating around her in an intoxicating cloud. She was desperate to get to him, afraid he would fade. Her gaze met mine, pleading for help.

It was strange to not have them fear me. They saw what I could do. If they knew the true depths of the evil within, they'd cower beneath me.

The demons knew, and yet they still provoked me.

Interesting.

"Please, get us through, Tate!" The mother raked her claws down the shield with no luck.

If Fane couldn't break it, she couldn't either.

I closed my eyes and tilted my head to either side, listening. A smile curved my lips when the sounds finally reached my ears. "A whispering on the wind is coated in purple."

"Can you sense the witch?" Fane asked through our mental link.

Could he feel the madness circling my thoughts when he connected to my mind?

My neck craned back to search the branches as I wandered beneath the trees. "A little birdie sings high in her nest. But a fear will knock her out of the boughs. Break those tiny bones and shut her mouth."

With invisible claws, I gripped her mind, pulling out her fear of being burned alive. Her scream tore through the night, and moments later, the witch plummeted to the ground. Blue hair whipped around as she scrambled up, doing her best to fight the hallucination. She was pretty and appeared young even though she'd lived far longer than any of the wolves here.

"My mind isn't as open as you hoped." Violet energy crackled on her hands, and she tossed electric ropes of magic around me, binding my arms to my sides.

Pain seared into me, but I only laughed. "Do you think this fazes me? It tickles at best." A pulse of wicked power rippled out of me, shattering her hold in seconds.

Her fear scented the air, and she turned to run.

"Not fast enough, little mouse."

I tackled her to the ground, flipped her on her back, and gripped her jaw. "You'll be delicious."

Her shriek was cut off when I grabbed her soul and inhaled the shimmering white cloud. My eyes rolled in the back of my head as euphoria hemorrhaged through my bloodstream.

Now this is divine .

Where the royal's essence had been dark and smoky, this was light and warm, like a soft, thick blanket wrapping a shivering body.

So fucking enchanting.

Commotion caught my attention on the other side of the shield. As the witch's life faded, the barrier weakened. Fane backed up and dug his feet into the ground, ready to run headfirst into the thing. If it held, it would violently toss him.

Better make sure it doesn't do that.

I pulled harder, the witch's whimpers only adding more pleasure to consuming her soul. The ground shook, and power rippled in the atmosphere as Fane broke through the wall.

"Tate, that's enough." He made it to my side in seconds and grabbed my shoulder, trying to drag me off my prey. "You can stop now."

"Why would I want to stop?"

"You'll regret taking her soul." His grip tightened, but I wouldn't budge.

I chuckled. "Regret it? I only regret not tasting souls sooner."

He released my shoulder, but I should have known my beast wouldn't give up that easily. Fane clutched the witch's head and twisted, snapping her neck and killing her .

The cloud of her soul fizzled out before I could inhale it all, and I leaned back, glaring at my beast. "Why did you do that?"

"Because I didn't want you to carry that burden."

I shrugged. "It would be no burden to me."

Fane's nostrils flared, and he looked wild and untamed after battling demons. "It will when the Infernal Sol's influence fades and you return to yourself."

"This is me now. Don't you get that?"

"Dylan!" His mother collapsed beside him and pulled him into her lap. "I'm so sorry."

He sighed, his eyes drooping. "I'm okay. Tate saved me."

Tingles crackled over my scalp, and my head cocked to the side. "More demons approach the back. I can feel them."

Fane's expression hardened as he peered into the distance, cursing. "More are coming from the front too."

"Divide and conquer, my beautiful beast." I gripped his face and pulled him into a quick yet savage kiss. "I'll see you on the other side."

I bolted out of Fane's grip before he could catch me. Wrath and Kesa were in the back, keeping the demons at bay, but they couldn't fight the newcomers on their own.

A wide smile laced my lips as my hunger for violence deepened. I'd love to slaughter every last monster who dared step foot in this yard.

The next half hour or so was a blur of black blood, carnage, and brutality. Fear mingled in the air as half the demons had fallen from their own nightmares. Body parts littered the ground, and bedlam churned in my mind.

Such a wonderful time.

When the screams faded, and no more enemies approached, I reveled in the aftermath of battle, dancing in front of the fire as it blazed and crackled into the night. The blood of my victims anointed me, bathing me with their life.

"Tate, you should let us check your injuries." The high demon, Wrath, slowly approached. "You're bleeding."

My clothes were torn, and scarlet mingled with the black demon blood, but I felt no pain. "I'm perfectly fine."

He shook his head and shortened the distance between us, almost close enough to touch. "I'm serious. I don't want you to—" As a haze converged over his eyes, he searched the yard with jerky, erratic movements.

"So much blood. So many parts." Wrath trembled and spun in a circle. "Nowhere to go without crushing bones."

My madness was catching, leaking out like a cloud of poisonous gas.

What a wonderful thought.

Wrath stumbled back, his hands pressing on either side of his head until his gaze finally cleared. "Shit. You are in a bad way, Tate."

I twirled and danced as figures moved to the back. "I'm so much better now. Don't worry. The fight is over, and we can all enjoy the party."

"I don't think anyone else wants to celebrate," Wrath muttered. "Not like you."

One of the wolves, Preston, ran toward me. "Tate! You saved Dylan."

Wrath tried to grab him, but the wolf had too much momentum and crashed into me. I gripped him as we stumbled.

"Come to party?"

Preston stiffened when the effects hit him, and he drew away, his eyes wild and unfocused. "W-what's happening? Why are they all looking at me? What do they want from me?"

His fears began to bubble and overflow, mixing into an incomprehensible nightmare. Before they overwhelmed him, Wrath dragged him several feet back to a safe distance.

Shaking off the daze, Preston cursed. "What the hell was that?"

"That is the side effect of her saving your brother." Wrath pulled him farther away. "Tate's not herself now."

Fane stormed from the back door, heading directly for me with Ephraim on his heels.

"No!" Wrath rushed forward to block his path. "Stay away from her. That power is causing madness."

The demon shifter shoved Wrath off and continued toward me. "I don't give a shit."

When he made it to me, he cradled my face, his bare chest heaving. "You're hurt."

My brows dipped as I studied him. Unlike the others, Fane wasn't affected by the waves of insanity throbbing around me. "You're not influenced."

"We're connected. A bridge flows between our minds." His thumb gently brushed beneath a cut on my cheek. "I know what you feel, but it doesn't distort my thoughts."

I smiled and ran my fingers over his torso, smearing black blood. "I should have known."

Fane's hand slid to my shoulders. "I need Tate back."

"I am Tate, remember?" My palms burned against his hot flesh, his heart pounding in a frantic drumbeat. "You felt when I gave the amulet permission to take over. You know we fused together. There is no Tate without the Infernal Sol. We're one now."

He shook his head. "I don't believe that. Tate's still in there."

"Yes, she is. You're talking to her."

"Tate, please answer me!" Fane shook me so hard my head snapped back and forth. "Come back! "

My arms wrapped around his neck, pressing my body against his. "I haven't gone anywhere. I'm here." I gave him a harsh, bruising kiss and then shoved him off, resuming my dance around the fire as I hummed a haunting tune.

"Claim her."

Fane's head jerked toward Wrath. "What?"

"Claim her," the high demon repeated. "The burst of mystical power deepening your connection even more might be enough to break the amulet's hold."