A Shield of Glass (A Shade of Vampire #49)(48)

“What you should all know now is where Azazel gets his power.” I took over, keeping my chin high as I looked everyone in the eyes.

“We already know he’s drawing energy from the volcanoes,” Inon replied with a frown.

“Indeed, but that’s not all. Azazel has a young Daughter in his possession, from an egg he stole off Mount Agrith many decades ago. He forced her to hatch prematurely and is now draining her energy for his own use. Because of the Daughter’s young age, her powers are limited, which is why we believe she’s only being used as an energy source and nothing else,” I explained, and gave them a few seconds to process the information. They were all shocked, and I couldn’t blame them.

The Dearghs nodded slowly, grunting as they looked at each other.

“Since Vita and Bijarki will be leaving Luceria under the invisibility spell, we will instruct them to get the young Daughter as well,” I continued. “While she is in there, Vita is gathering intel on the Daughter’s whereabouts, so we’re looking to get two birds with one… invisible stone.”

Anjani stifled a smirk, as did Jovi, Zeriel, and Field. But Tamara was quick to ruin the mood.

“Do you have a contingency plan, in case Bijarki and Vita are caught trying to escape?” she asked.

I swallowed hard, not wanting to even think about the possibility. Jovi coughed lightly, drawing attention to himself.

“Draven and I spoke about this, actually,” he said. “Should Bijarki fail, I’ll take two of our mutated shifters to pose as Destroyers and have them sneak me into the castle. They’re smart and cunning enough to follow my lead, take basic orders, and help me secure infiltration and extraction for both Vita and the Daughter, especially since I have the castle plans and know every exit and corridor available, as well as the secret passages.”

“Ah, yes.” Grezzi pursed his lips. “What happened to those shifters, exactly, and why aren’t their rabid heads on a spike right now?”

“During our diversion to secure Draven and Serena’s escape, one of our own was left vulnerable and surrounded by shifters beyond the protective shield,” Anjani explained briefly. “The Daughter acted on impulse and influenced them. She did something to them that amplified their natural abilities and forced them into a mindless loyalty toward us. They’re the only reason we even made it out of there alive when the protective shield came down.”

“You know what?” Aida frowned, then looked at Jovi. “I’m not okay with you putting yourself in that kind of danger. You going into Azazel’s castle by yourself, without an invisibility spell, is downright insane.”

“I love you too, Sis, but this is war,” Jovi replied firmly. “We either cower and hide because we want our loved ones safe, or we stand the hell up and bring this fight to Azazel. I’ve had enough of hiding and keeping my head down. I can do this, and I need you to have faith in me.”

Aida took a deep breath and looked away. I could tell she still wasn’t okay with it, but Jovi was right. If we spent our time worrying about one another instead of tackling Azazel, we were never going to be safe, or see our families and The Shade again.

“Provided all goes according to plan up to this point,” Draven picked up from where I’d left off, “and provided the young Daughter and Vita are successfully removed from Luceria, Azazel will be more vulnerable without one of his power sources. But we will still have a lot of work to do before we can charge him head on. Besides the Daughter and the volcanoes, the primary source of Azazel’s power is Asherak’s soul.”

The new allies stilled, staring at Draven in disbelief. They’d all heard the legends, but they seemed to have a hard time believing they were true.

“That’s just an old wives’ tale,” said Joon the Imp. “Asherak died thousands of years ago!”

“I’m afraid he didn’t,” Draven replied. “By the time the Grand Temple Druids got to him, he’d already removed his soul from his body, stashing it inside a snake pendant. It’s been kept secret among the Master Druids for millennia. Unfortunately, it became a problem when Azazel was given the keys to the Kingdom of Purgaris and became a Master Druid himself. He was told of the pendant’s existence and killed the Master Druid who’d been assigned to guard it. Azazel has performed the Soul Fusion with it, and his being is now deeply tied to Asherak’s, which is how he’s become powerful enough to overthrow nineteen Kingdoms so far.”

The Dearghs grumbled, and Inon brought a hand up to his massive stone chin. Fires flickered in his eyes—they evoked sadness and determination, and his lips tightened into a thin line.

“This cannot go on any further,” he said. “We cannot allow Azazel to suckle the life out of an innocent little girl, and our volcanoes. It goes against everything in this world, and it’s a slap in all our faces if he’s already conjuring so much power from Asherak’s curse. We will no longer stand for this.”

“What do you wish to do, then?” Draven asked.

“We will resort to a measure we’ve never had to consider before,” he replied, his voice lower than usual. “It’s a painful and temporary solution, but it will give you the opening you need to launch a direct attack against Azazel. We will sacrifice a Deargh for each active volcano. Six of our brothers will give their lives to put the volcanoes into a state of deep sleep, dimming the energy they emanate and weakening Azazel’s power source. The volcanoes will not die, as that would mean the end of all Dearghs, but their slumber will render us weak, unable to draw energy from our homes.”