Bane of Tenebris (Wolfgods Book 2) by Blaise Ramsay (spicy books to read .txt) 📗

Chapter Twenty-Two

The smug look on the Don’s face betrayed his descent further into insanity. Kain could see the burning slits of Barghast staring back at him. “I hope you like them. I knew regular handcuffs wouldn’t hold you.”

Anthony puffed out his chest, standing over Kain and staring down at him with pride.

Kain said nothing, keeping his eyes focused on Anthony’s and refusing to give him the satisfaction of feeling any kind of dominance.

“Nothing to say? You lost, can’t you see that? I own you, Kain. Your life is in my hands!”

The lycan remained silent. He could feel the tension between Anthony and Barghast growing the longer he refused to speak. Anthony’s need to have his narcissistic attitude recognized would lead him to eventually slip up and do something to piss Barghast off.

The vampire gripped Kain’s hair and held, dropping to his haunches in front of him. Beads of sweat began to form on his brow, the corners of his mouth twitched and his fingers trembled as they held Kain’s hair. “Fine, don’t speak. Five days from now, I will slit your throat in front of the most powerful vampires in Europe. I will prove I’m stronger than my father ever was.”

Kain stared at the second pair of eyes behind Anthony’s blue glare. “Do you truly believe the dark god will give you what he promised? In the end, you kill me and walk away from this with false prestige? He is consuming you, vampire.”

Anthony threw Kain’s head forward and began hitting him repeatedly.

“Silence!” Anthony yelled. “You know nothing! I’m in control. Me! Me alone!”

The hits barely dented Kain’s pain threshold. When they stopped suddenly, Kain looked up to see Anthony’s arm frozen mid-hit. Fear filled the vampire’s eyes like he was fighting against something inside of him.

He didn’t know how, but Kain could hear the god’s voice. It filled the room like a poltergeist. Behind Anthony, a shadowed ghost appeared, its hand holding the shadow of the vampire. The only other time Kain had seen Barghast take such a form was in his room back at the cabin.

“That is enough, Cardoza. Strike him again and I will tear your soul apart.” Barghast’s snarling voice didn’t seem to resonate with Zane, Steele, or Magnus.

Anthony uttered under his voice and almost fell forward into Kain when he was released, panting.

Kain felt sorry for the young vampire. “Anthony, stop this. I know what his power feels like. It is intoxicating. A drug. You cannot wield the talon any more than you can wield the dark god. Walk away. Please.”

Anthony grimaced through his panting. Desdemona made it known to Kain that her “son” wasn’t a pureblood. In order to assure Darius left the Cardoza dynasty in the hands of a male heir, he changed Anthony.

Kain wondered what it must’ve felt like never to have the love of one’s father only to have him die in a petty squabble over pride and show. Gods only knew how much he must’ve experienced all of his life.

Anthony hissed through his teeth. His blonde hair mussed from his struggle against Barghast.

From the table he took a silver blade and, in a rage, stabbed Kain in the shoulder with it. “You know nothing. Not a damned thing, dog. You, who had power. You, who were feared by my kind, know nothing about what it takes to fight to get to where I am.”

The silver in Kain’s blood bubbled at the entry site. It’d been centuries since he’d been stabbed or cut by anything pure silver.

The sting reminded him of the silver swords and spears used by the vampires in the Blood Wars. During a scuffle, Kain barely avoided being impaled by a noble’s silver spear. The excruciating pain brought about a sense of nausea.

At the sight of his blood, Kain saw the whites of Anthony’s eyes fill with crimson. His fangs seemed to get larger. He lunged at Kain’s face, lashing out with his nails. Had Zane not caught the Don, Kain would have received another scratch across his face.

Confusion filled the eyes of the silver-haired vampire as he stared back at Kain, pulling Anthony, kicking and screaming how much he wanted Kain’s blood. The sight of utter bloodlust in the vampire’s eyes stunned Kain as well. He didn’t understand what caused the sudden change in behavior.

Anthony’s mental breakdown left Kain alone in the small room, cut off from the light of the moon. Without some way to get fresh air, the room grew stifling. Sweat dripped from the tip of his nose to the cement floor at his knees. His back ached and complained from being forced to kneel for such a long period of time.

During his training with his father, Kain learned how to put himself in a state of dormancy. The lycan kept his eyes closed, focusing on conserving energy against the wound in his shoulder and the state of the room. He’d succeeded in ticking off Anthony and getting him to question Barghast’s loyalty, but the bloodlust was something not even Kain expected.

A slight change in the temperature and the subtle feeling of Luna’s energy made Kain aware of what time it was outside. The cold chill climbing up his spine indicated the arrival of the unwanted presence.

Barghast emerged in the blackness. From the sound of it, he was clapping. “Well done. You managed to shake my pawn and drive him mad.”

Kain remained in his dormant state, tired of the torture, the mind games and the manipulation.

Unwilling to be ignored, Barghast drove the claw of his thumb into Kain’s shoulder. When he didn’t receive a response, the god laughed. “I have always admired your ability to do this. However, I have not come to chat. I know you better than even you know yourself. You would not have come here without a means to escape. Let us talk about the reason you are here, shall we?”

Kain opened his eyes, raising them but keeping his expression emotionless.

“I can see