A Shade of Vampire 65: A Plague of Deceit
Page 27
“Of course he didn’t. He thought we’d just roll over and die, or something.” Claudia chuckled.
Isda gave her a brief nod. “Yes. But you see, when he’s like this… fuming… he gets reckless and cruel. I just wanted to warn you, so you’d—”
The doors opened again, and Isda instantly dashed into the prisoner crowd around us, hiding behind Vivienne and Kailyn. Our crew got together, with Xavier, Lucas, Jax, and Yuri at the forefront, along with Claudia, Corrine, Ibrahim, and Cameron. The others stayed a couple of feet back, keeping a reasonably safe distance from which to intervene, if needed.
Ta’Zan came in, accompanied by Amal. He looked as furious as Isda had described him. I hadn’t seen him like this before, and I had to admit, it made me feel uneasy. Amal seemed worried, her brows furrowed and her lips pressed into a small, thin line, as she stayed by his side.
“You did this,” Ta’Zan spat, pointing an angry finger at me as he advanced through the hall toward me. “You, Derek.”
I gave him a shrug. “I’ve been locked up in here this whole time, Ta’Zan, with no means of communication with my people. How could I have done anything?”
“Don’t toy with me, you blood-sucking worm!” Ta’Zan burst out, pure hatred glimmering in his blue-and-green eyes. “You’re responsible for it. And I promise you, I will catch your children and your acolytes, and I will take great pleasure in killing them, slowly, right in front of you. Because they’ve become a destructive pain in my ass and are no longer an interest for my genetic work. I can get by with the specimens that I’ve gathered here!”
I took a moment to respond, choosing my words carefully. The temptation to rub it in his face was too powerful, though. I owed him a comeback.
“I take it my people are giving you a good run for your money, then?” I asked.
Lucas chuckled. “And then some.”
“I’ll make you watch as I tear their spines out. I promise,” Ta’Zan said.
“I would look for another way to resolve this situation, if I were you,” I replied. “You’ve lost your temper. This isn’t like you, and it could bring about a premature end for you. Think about this before you do something worse.”
“I’ve done nothing yet,” Ta’Zan muttered. I barely recognized him at this point. The rage contorted his facial features and infused his eyes with a viciousness that made me want to grab a hatchet and just put him out of his misery. “But rest assured, there will be consequences for what they did. No one crosses me and lives to tell about it.”
“Oh, you mean like the Draenir?” Sofia retorted, narrowing her eyes at him.
I loved her now more than ever, for how subtly she’d slipped that in. Ta’Zan didn’t have to know that some were still alive, though Cassiel was most likely to tell him soon, anyway. But he needed to understand the quality of the information that our people had acquired.
Ta’Zan cocked his head to the side, glowering at her. “Whatever do you mean?” he asked, his tone a tad too pitchy.
“You and your Faulty twins created the plague that killed all the Draenir,” I said firmly.
The color was instantly drained from Amal’s cheeks. She was stunned, unable to stop staring at me. Her chest moved as her breathing became labored. The truth had come back to haunt her, and she clearly couldn’t handle it. Though, I didn’t feel sorry for her. She’d betrayed us all.
Ta’Zan, on the other hand, resumed a strangely calm demeanor. It scared me more than his rage, because calculated evil was far more damaging than the chaos of anger and blood boiling through one’s veins.
“Where did you hear that?” Ta’Zan replied, his voice low and cold, and his expression downright unreadable.
“Judging by the look on your face, it’s true,” Sofia shot back. “You killed all those people. Innocent creatures… children! And for what, Ta’Zan? Because they were mean to you? Seriously?”
“You destroyed an entire civilization, refusing to accept that what you were doing was horribly wrong. Instead, you killed them,” I added. “You let them die in agonizing pain and misery, then stole their supplies, their resources, and their knowledge, and claimed it as your own. You did nothing but copy everything from them, Ta’Zan. What kind of perfection could come out of the hands of a thief, huh?”
Ta’Zan didn’t respond this time.
Silence settled heavily on our shoulders. He straightened his back. His glance darted from Sofia to me, several times, until it settled on me. He smirked then, and with the flashing speed of lightning, he grabbed Sofia and dragged her away.
Horror devoured me. I lost my senses altogether.
I went after him.
“Ta’Zan, no! Leave her alone!” I shouted.
He didn’t listen. Sofia squirmed as she tried to release herself. Her claws came out, and the collar shocked her into unconsciousness.
“Sofia!” I bellowed.
Amal shot me a cold glance, as if warning me to stay away. But I couldn’t. That was my wife, the love of my life, that Ta’Zan was taking away.
I was ready to tear it all down, if I had to. But my shock collar won and forced a thunderstorm to burn through me with the fire of a thousand suns. I fell flat on my face. I heard Aiden yelling and the others gasping… the commotion that ensued.
But all I could do was force myself to look up.
“Sofia,” I croaked.
“You’ve had it too good in this place, Derek,” Ta’Zan said as he reached the double doors, dragging Sofia with him. “It’s time you learn who’s in charge, and who’s going to win this.”
“Sofia, no!”
Ta’Zan, Amal, and Sofia vanished behind the double doors. The crackling of electricity burst somewhere behind me, followed by several thuds—bodies dropping. Others in my group must’ve tried to go after him, but failed, just like me.
We’d accomplished so much. We’d fought a good fight.
But now, things were getting dirty.
As I slipped into a deep and painful sleep, I clung to a single thought: I was going to get my wife back, and I was going to remove Ta’Zan from this world altogether.
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