A Clash of Storms (A Shade of Vampire #50)(20)

Not much longer now…





Serena





We managed to stay undetected until we reached the river leading up to the castle. It was the same river that Draven, Hansa, Sverik, and I had swum down during our escape from Luceria. The drums were getting louder as we shortened the distance between our garrison and Azazel’s ground troops.

Based on what we could see from our angle, at least a couple hundred Destroyers were out, circling the castle and hissing menacingly. We slid off our horses and moved upstream, leaving them behind and following the river path. Willow trees provided good cover as we moved forward, their cascading foliage whispering in the wind.

“We’ll stay beneath the trees,” Draven said as we trekked across the smooth river rocks. “We can enter through the pipe system in the south-east.”

I’d watched him mutter under his breath less than an hour earlier, seen him glow white while projecting an image of himself directly to Azazel. I’d been getting more anxious as the distance between us and the castle decreased, and he’d felt my concern, occasionally glancing my way and giving me a reassuring wink.

Jasmine was right behind us, while Jax and Hansa led the way, with Anjani bringing up the rear. The Bajangs, the White Tribe succubi, and the Mara wards were darting through the woods on both sides of the stream. I could hear leaves rustling and branches breaking as they moved forward.

“Do you think it was a good idea to reveal yourself to Azazel like that?” I finally asked Draven.

“He’s angry and scrambling for more defenses now,” he replied. “The more rattled he is, the higher the possibility of him making mistakes.”

“That’s a double-edged sword, dear nephew,” Jasmine chimed in from behind. “He’s most likely even more vicious now.”

“It’s not his viciousness I’m concerned about,” Draven replied. “I already know what a ruthless monster he is. I need him tense; I need him furious. An unhinged beast might be more unpredictable, but it’s also easier to bring down, more prone to errors, and, in his case, extremely desperate to prove an unwavering self-confidence. He’s been droning on about how invincible he is for so long, and yet, when I confronted him, he was shaken. He didn’t expect it. He’s used to having control, and now it’s all crumbling down. Believe me when I tell you we have him right where we want him.”

“I trust your judgment, Draven, don’t get me wrong,” I said. “But Azazel does have a habit of surprising us in the most unpleasant ways.”

“We’re not playing it safe anymore,” Hansa said over her shoulder. “We’re out here, bringing the fight to him. It will get messy one way or another, but it’ll be better for us if our opponent is more neurotic than usual.”

I nodded. We continued our trek along the riverside, moving deeper into the woods as we got closer to the castle, its massive black fa?ade casting its shadow over us. The wards did a good job of mind-bending nearby hostiles into staying away from the riverbank, and several Bajangs were sent out as decoys to deflect enemies away from our position.

“Your wards are truly extraordinary, Jax,” I gasped as I used my True Sight to check our surroundings.

I could see them up in the trees, planting suggestions in the heads of incubi and Destroyers who were less than a hundred yards from us. They started brawls and had the Destroyers chasing random noises in the woods, farther away from us.

“They work better in teams,” he replied, a sense of pride in his voice. “They’ve spent centuries perfecting the mind-bending technique. Even I’m in awe of them, sometimes.”

“We’re less than five hundred yards from the sewage opening,” Draven said, checking the map, then looked at me, his eyes flickering black. “Are you ready?”

“You’re damn right I’m ready.” I gave him a confident grin.

The pipe system allowed us to get through most of Luceria virtually undetected. Knowing Azazel, the opening on the ground level was most likely heavily guarded, but Jax had already assured us that the wards would have that part covered by the time we got there.

I used my True Sight again, and, as we got closer to the sewage opening, saw the wards falling back and moving ahead, one by one, their sights set on the twenty Destroyers slithering back and forth in front of it.

My body was tense, my nerves extensively stretched.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead as the wards directed the Destroyers away from the opening, making the creatures think we were coming in hard from the west. They slithered into the woods as we came in from the opposite direction.

I could hear them hissing a few yards away, busy on a wild goose chase while we infiltrated Azazel’s castle, one by one. I climbed up that large round stone pipe, my feet splashing the dirty water pouring into the river we left behind.

The deeper we went, the darker and colder it got.

But it was also quiet, which boded well for our mission. We’d gotten past the guards undetected, and we were slowly but surely making our way up to the higher levels. My mind immediately wandered to Phoenix, Aida, Vita, and Bijarki.

Hold on, guys. We’re coming…





Jovi





I ran after Patrik, Thadeus, and my two mutated shifters disguised as snakes until we came to a halt at a corner. The Druids morphed back to normal, peeking around the corner, then frowning at me.