That was good. It would give them close to ten soldiers on their side, which would at least put them in the same ballpark with the men Belpheg employed. But Keegan didn’t kid himself. Belpheg had powers, the extent of which they didn’t even know, and he didn’t seem to mind passing some of those powers on to his minions.
“That’s not all,” Amara added, her voice raspy and wobbly. “I called my mother and friends after we left the cave. They should be here shortly, and they’re willing to do whatever it takes to help.”
Keegan shot Amara a grateful smile. Thanks to their enslavement to Asmodeus, Amara, her mother and their friends had inherited some of the powers Belpheg had bestowed on the incubus. Their abilities were bound to be useful in one way or another. Amara could burn with her touch, Solara could force another’s limbs to move with thin ribbons of energy that emanated from her body, and Amara’s friends could also boil blood and turn into distorted versions of wolf and panther shifters. They’d discovered that their powers didn’t last long, and once depleted they needed an extensive recovery period before using them again. But they would still be helpful, and Keegan didn’t kid himself…they needed all the help they could get.
Lina, who sat atop the squat, wide dresser with her crossed feet swinging back and forth, let out a short whistle. “If I correctly recall the things they could do, then that’s an impressive list. It gives us a fighting chance, at least.”
“Agreed,” said Dagan, who stood right next to her.
Though they didn’t look at or touch each other, somehow Keegan got the feeling something had happened between them. Luckily Ronin was too preoccupied to notice. Keegan couldn’t afford to have his brothers distracted right now.
The only thing that mattered was getting Aegin back. Alive.
“We have more than that,” Brynn said, her voice hollow. For the first time since they’d all gathered, she shifted her head upward. Her gaze focused on his, taking his breath with its anguished intensity. “We have the power of the Book of the Dead.”
“But…I thought it was destroyed,” Amara said, her brows furrowing.
“It was,” Brynn replied. “But the spell is burned into my brain.”
When Ronin took a sharp inhale and straightened his back from the wall, she moved her level gaze to his wide-eyed one.
“I still have the power of the book,” Brynn continued, her voice hardening with purpose. “I can raise the dead. And I’ll use that to destroy Belpheg, Mammon, and anyone else who gets in my way.”
“Holy shit,” Ronin uttered, his tone ripe with disbelief.
There was a moment of shocked silence as the room’s inhabitants processed her statement. Then Dagan let out a low, soft chuckle.
“Now we’re talking.”
Before Keegan could respond, there was a knock at the door. Frowning, he glanced at his brothers.
“It’s probably Solara or one of my friends. I told them what room we’d be in.” Amara slipped from Ronin’s grasp and stalked to the door. But when she threw it open, it wasn’t to reveal a beautiful succubus on the other side. Instead, Tenos stood at the threshold.
Oh shit.
Keegan’s heart twisted and cramped, and his body tensed for action.
“Who are you?” Amara asked with a frown.
That was right. She hadn’t met him before. No one apart from him and Taeg had. They didn’t realize…
“That’s Tenos,” Keegan growled. “The Council liaison.”
And much as Keegan considered him a friend, if he was here to take them in or try to stop them in any way, he was about to become a very dead man.
Chapter Twenty
The ends of Belpheg’s long, black robe trailed behind him as he stalked through the winding corridor leading to his reception chamber. His footsteps echoed on the cold, hard stone. Tonight was the summer solstice. At long last, it was time to take his revenge.
While part of him rankled at the fact Mammon hadn’t gained his full strength yet, he only had two of the required twelve powers left to gain.
And five sons…counting the deranged vampire.
Given the strength Mammon had bred into his progeny, Belpheg remained confident Mammon would be able to use his sons to gain his full powers before the centering ritual began. He was counting on it, in fact. His body was fraying at the seams. It simply wouldn’t hold out another three months for the fall equinox.
It won’t need to. This ends tonight.
And the men who had decimated his clan would at last meet their justice.
Willing his racing heart to pump steadily, he stepped into the reception chamber, where a crowd of men gathered to await him. Mammon stepped forward when he saw Belpheg, making it clear that he’d already insinuated his leadership over the remaining men. Well, if there was anything Mammon was good at, it was establishing dominancy.