Page 39 of Crimson Soul
SIXTEEN
Thaddeus
“I don’t give a flying fuck, Mortala. Move out of the way before I move you myself.” Aziel’s growl vibrated through the entire hall, and a dusting of clay fell from the walls as the pulsing red glow sped up from the sound alone.
Aziel was in Mortala’s face, and Mortala kept a straight posture despite the terror enveloping his expression. “I can’t do that.”
“Listen, mate,” I said, stepping forward. “We fulfilled our part of the blood oath, and it’s time for King Zelek to do the same.”
His gaze shifted from the pissed off demon toward us, and he pursed his lips. “One moment.”
He dissipated in black flames.
“What the fuck!” Aziel roared as he spun around. Hellfire lit the tips of his horns like a candle. “That fucking demon rat,” he spat.
“He’s only doing his job, Aziel,” Titan reminded him, but it only got him a scathing look in reply.
“Surely, King Zelek will hold up his part of the bargain,” Kai said, scratching his head. He had bags under his eyes so bad it looked like he was sporting black eyes, but then, so did the rest of us.
“I don’t think seeing Lilith is what you think it means,” Titan muttered.
“What do you mean?” Blaise asked, stepping forward.
“He means Zelek is a sneaky bastard. He’ll probably do something to where he’s within the lines of the oath but not what you want,” Aziel explained.
Black flames appeared and Mortala was in front of us again. “King Zelek has requested the vampires who made the oath.” He glared at Aziel and Titan.
Aziel snarled as Titan cursed.
“He’s just doing his job,” Aziel mocked the other demon.
“Fuck off,” he said before turning to us. “Try to get him to bring her back or figure out where the hell she is up there.”
“We’ll do everything we can,” I said. I bloody hoped we'd be able to work a fucking miracle, but I had zero faith in that prick
“And we won’t enter another oath,” Blaise said, voice dripping with sarcasm.
Aziel snorted at that.
“We’ll tell you everything that happens after,” Kai assured them with a fake smile plastered on.
“Let’s not keep the King waiting,” Mortala said before teleporting us into the throne room. We were right in front of the bloody portal, so I assumed he teleported us for theatrics.
King Zelek was seated in his throne with his legs hung over the arm, and he had a bored expression on his face. “You wanted to see Lilith, yes?”
“That is the terms of the blood oath,” I said, stepping forward as Mortala went to take his spot by his side.
He groaned before flipping his wrist, and a distorted image of Lilith near a crystal clear lake appeared in front of him.
Collective gasps came from us as we stared at the image. The scenery was beautiful, but the woman was fearful.
Her face was smeared with blood, and tears filled her white eyes as thick red liquid dripped from her wrist. Red, not black. The bracelet was tightly embedded into her skin, and the flesh around it was mangled as if she’d torn at herself to get it off but failed.
A few seconds later, white feathered wings obscured our view, and Zelek destroyed the image.
“When was that?” Blaise asked, his tone dangerously calm. “She’s wearing the outfit she had on in the warehouse.”
“The day she was taken.”
