John backs into a table, and my eyes widen when I see him grab a familiar stone. John smirks as the scent of fresh power rolls through that stone. Slade sees it, but doesn’t seem overly concerned with the power boost John is taking just in front of him.
“My mother, the kind and gentle woman who wished to bring true peace to all our kind, was raped and tortured as they tried to breed her and force more creatures like me to be born,” Slade bites out.
Slade’s growl grows a little as he takes another step and continues speaking.
“My father, the man who did all he could to protect weaker immortals at the constant expense of jeopardizing himself, endured the same,” he adds, his growl turning vicious. “He protected you and your family over and over.”
He takes another step.
“My sister…” Slade’s voice wavers as his eyes glisten, and I feel my own tears gather in my eyes as he says it again, more anger and pain in his tone this time. “My sister.”
It’s like that’s all that needs to be said, or he simply can’t say any more about her.
“Better all of you than me,” John says just as they all fire on Slade at once.
I drop my phone, and I try to break through the barrier, but the house starts rumbling as Slade spins in the air, letting their powers collide, missing him entirely.
The blast blows them all back, and Slade lands in the middle as they start climbing to their feet.
Slade’s lips twitch.
“You made a deal with the wrong devil, John,” Slade says with an eerie growl, his eyes glowing the brightest silver I’ve seen yet as his darkest grin emerges.
I hiss out a breath when Slade spins, claws distended, dodging the blows of power they shoot at him. More men rush down, freshly charged from the stones they drop to the floor, and I slam into the barrier again, trying to break in.
They hit him hard enough to send him flying into the wall, and keep hammering him until Slade releases a hellacious roar, blowing them back with a burst of power so strong it knocks out one side of the house.
I run around to that side of the house, hoping it’ll be easier to break into.
Slade slashes through the two women, spilling their guts—both of John’s daughters. The family tree seems to be filled with rotten apples, because their insides are black, likely from all the power boosts and other gifts they’ve received as dark payment from the rings.
Including all the anointed weapons decorating the walls.
John yanks a sword off the wall and throws it at Slade’s back. I don’t even have time to shout and warn him, but Slade spins, catching the blade just in front of his heart, as blood drips from his hand.
He flips the blade, grabbing it by the handle, and slices through the next blast of power, using their own weapon against them.
“Is this one perk? You take what the slave rings are producing on the side? Weapons? Stones of stolen power?” Slade growls.
“That’s just the benefits,” John says with a bloody smile, but then his eyes widen, because Slade is suddenly in front of him, doing something I miss that hurts John.
John drops, and Slade bats down power, as John wheezes from the ground. His children, grandchildren, great gr
andchildren…everyone here attacks at full force all at once.
I scream for Slade, but my sound is drowned out by the roar of power that explodes from him at the same time, launching them all back. He stalks through, and then goes feral.
His claws rip through them, slicing into their chests, as he dodges or blocks their magic. Blood sprays into the air as Slade becomes the beasts inside him without ever giving up his flesh.
His lycan claws shred through skin, and his resilient body barely reacts to the few hits of power that manage to reach him. It’s a bloodbath for twenty straight minutes.
And during that bloodbath, I realize Slade has held back every time he’s gone to battle against my family.
He’s held way back.
John said fifteen, but I count at least twenty-five who all rush him—men and women—all sharing John’s blood.
Two of the men absorb several stones off to the side, their whimpers stifled as they try to swallow them down, watching in horror as Slade continues to slowly slaughter the family tree. Slade has only killed a few, because he’s enjoying this. He wants them to suffer.