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• Book 1 of the Daegelus series •
While hunting for his missing friend, Elijah stumbles upon a fiery journalist, who so happens to be looking for the same people as him: the doctors who experiment...
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Blood.
A trail of crimson splodges led Elijah and Jake through the forest, and the further they got from the cave, the thicker the splatters became. The smell was both human and demon, which could only mean that both Zoe and the people chasing her were hurt, and that brought back the feeling of dread Elijah had experienced earlier. Despite knowing that his life would be easier without her to lug around, the thought that she was dead or dying hurt him. Why?
He tried to put it out of his mind and followed the trail, rushing through the thick forest as the snow started falling. They were getting closer—they had to be. There were footprints all over the place, bullet shells in the snow, and scorch marks on the trees.
And finally, Elijah could feel auras. They were weak because of the mountains, but they were there, and he locked onto them with all of his senses. He left Jake behind, using his ability to move through the shadows, and in a matter of moments, he emerged in a small opening where three catchers were running deeper into the woods.
Elijah didn't hesitate; he stepped out of the shadows beside one of them, grabbed the man by the back of his coat, and then slit his throat with his claws. The other two swung around and started firing their weapons as they yelled and screamed, but they failed to land a single shot. Elijah stepped to the left in the blink of an eye, dodging their rain of bullets, and then he plunged his hand into the second man's chest. As he tore his heart out, he kicked the third man's chest so hard that the sound of his breaking ribs echoed through the forest, and when he landed on the snow with a thud, Elijah snarled at him. He'd not give him the mercy of a quick death.
"Elijah!" came Jake's breathy voice.
The demon turned his head and set his eyes on the leopard as it pounced out of the brush and join him.
"Is she here?" he asked desperately.
Elijah closed his eyes and focused; there were only three more auras in range, and one of them was Zoe. "This way," he said and hurried through the woods.
He moved quickly, and as the smell of blood thickened, his heart started racing faster. It was Zoe's blood, and her aura was weak. She was hurt, and he could smell the gunpowder in the air. Had one of the catchers shot her?
As Jake followed, Elijah burst out of the trees and into a small opening close to a narrow river with an old beaver dam stretching across the small waterfall. Two hooded men with rifles were skulking around, moving closer to the dam, which was where Zoe's aura was coming from.
He wasn't going to give them a chance to find her. The demon charged forward, and when the catchers turned to face him, he swiftly pulled his blade from his jacket and threw it at the taller man, who grunted painfully and stumbled back. Elijah then grabbed the second guy's rifle and snatched it from him before he could fire, and at the same time, Jake pinned the first man down and started tearing at his throat with his teeth.
