Devil’s Blood_Shade of Devil_Book 3 by Shayne Silvers

Author:Shayne Silvers [Silvers, Shayne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Argento Publishing
Published: 2020-01-07T05:00:00+00:00

30

I took my time walking back, mildly surprised to find Dracula no longer trapped in the river. Had Hades sent him back to the castle already?

The souls working here and there gave me a wide berth, all of them staring at my new soulcatcher ring with nervous frowns. They bowed and scraped as I passed them by, redoubling their work efforts in my wake. Their fears gave me pause, wondering exactly what kind of deadly artifact I had accepted from him. But I didn’t dare take it off either.

Not anymore.

It was a perfect fit for my thumb, feeling like it was made of ice.

I’d considered my conversation with Hades in great detail as I walked. It was unbelievably troubling, but…I was in complete agreement. Especially the part about me having other, more pressing, matters to deal with before I needed to address his grand plan.

The table was set, but dinner was not yet ready.

Truer words.

So, I shoved it all to the back of my mind and focused on the tasks at hand.

I returned to the pavilion to find Hades staring into one of the braziers, lost in his own thoughts as he caressed the soulcatcher on his thumb in an absent, familiar gesture. He looked up at my arrival, his eyes latching onto my ring as his breath caught.

He watched me, his silent question obvious.

I nodded discreetly. He closed his eyes and let out a slow breath. Then he opened them and returned my nod.

Nero was leaning over a black marble fountain of purple liquid that hadn’t been there earlier; a vaporous mist shifted lazily near the lip of the bowl, but none of it overflowed.

Hecate was speaking to him in low tones, directing him from over his shoulder. He reached out with a skeleton hand—which made me jump in surprise—holding a chalice and scooped up a cupful of the liquid. “Drink,” Hecate urged him.

He lifted the chalice to his lips, and I marveled as it appeared to function the same as any other hand of flesh and blood. The joints between the knuckles consisted of a deep violet crystal that seemed to shine with dull inner light. As he sipped the purple liquid from the fountain, he let out a sharp gasp, almost dropping the chalice. He shook as if laughing, and then flung his head back, taking a deep breath. “My soul is back,” he breathed, and then he began laughing.

Hecate smiled, gripping his arm warmly. Then she released him, motioning Lucian over.

Persephone tugged Lucian to his feet with an encouraging smile. “Think of loping through empty fields of wheat, the sun at your back,” she murmured softly.

He nodded, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. “O-okay, Persephone,” he rasped. I sucked in a breath, relieved to see that she really had begun to help him get his speech back.

Persephone beamed. “Just like that, Lucian! It will get easier with time,” she reassured him, shooting a triumphant look at her husband. Hades nodded with a polite smile.

I grunted, shooting Nero an incredulous look.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.