Marked For Death: A Dark Urban Fantasy Novel by Becca Blake (english novels to improve english .txt) 📕

I struggled to wrestle my arms free, but he held me tighter and dug his knee into my back. Orion and Jacob lasted longer than me, but not by much. It wasn’t long before each of them had two cultists pinning them down.

“Restrain them.” Maki breezed past us with long strides, not sparing us another glance. “We have work to do tonight.”

Chapter Fourteen

As the cultists bound us to the altar, I suppressed the energy that flowed through me. The fire pushed at my mental barriers, howling and begging to break free from my hold.

I couldn’t let that happen.

If Jacob saw me use dark magic, if word got back to his father and the rest of the Council, I’d be put to death.

But if you don’t, you won’t make it out of here at all, an unhelpful voice in my mind chimed in.

I’d been so focused on Maki’s every word that I never thought to check my surroundings the way I’d been trained. We should have been more careful. More cautious. We should have known Maki had men waiting around in case he needed help. It had been stupid to let them catch us so off guard.

I pulled at my bindings to test them. The irritating rope rubbed at the skin on my wrists, and the more I pulled, the more it hurt.

Each of us had our wrists bound in front of us, and another rope circled around the altar to hold us all in place. The cultists left our weapons piled on top of the altar, just above our heads. Close enough to touch if our arms were free.

I jerked my body again, but the rope didn’t budge.

Once the cultists were satisfied by the job they’d done, they stepped away to speak with Maki, leaving us unattended. At least for now.

“Any ideas?” I whispered, turning my head toward Orion.

He leaned his head back and gazed up at the sky, visible through the hole in the ceiling. “Not yet.”

We quieted as Maki and the other cultists walked past us.

“Why didn’t they just kill us?” Jacob asked, once they disappeared into the back room.

“He wants us all to watch the show. That’s why we’re facing forward.” Orion strained against the rope, but just as it had when I tried, it held firm. “He’s always had a flair for drama.”

I wasn’t so sure I believed that was the only reason.

Maki sounded so certain about his cause. He didn’t just want us to watch—he wanted us to help. And assuming everything he said was true, and the Arbiters really were working with powerful demons… well, he wasn’t wrong if he assumed I would want to stop them.

I just wasn’t prepared to sacrifice dozens of innocents to do it.

Maki and the others returned, leading a train of people into the sanctuary. The victims shuffled forward in a daze, their downcast eyes glazed over. He bellowed out a command for them to stop, and they obeyed with no hesitation or reaction, as though they were in a trance.

“How is he doing all this?” I whispered. I’d never seen magic that could control people.

“Maki is very gifted in alchemy,” Orion replied. “He trained under Ed Moran for years, so he learned plenty of tricks.”

Maki pulled out the pouch that held the emerald and looked up at the full moon against the inky black sky. He removed the emerald with a gloved hand. As soon as the moonlight touched it, it bathed the sanctuary in a brilliant green light.

The energy rippled through the air and swirled around his body in emerald waves. He began chanting in that same ancient, guttural language I heard from Ed, then set the gem on the pile of old wood.

With a blast of dark magic, he set it aflame.

The kindling erupted, engulfing the pile of wood in a monstrous bonfire. The green flames licked at the pews and encircled Maki, who appeared to be untouched by their heat.

“This sacrifice will be what saves humanity from the clutches of the demon lords!” The robe swished against Maki’s thighs as he approached the altar. “This will be the final human sacrifice made in the name of the greater good.”

Maki snapped his fingers. The line of people walked forward as a single-minded unit. At the front of the line was an elderly man, thin and frail. He stepped into the bonfire, unflinching and unafraid. His body disintegrated upon contact with the flame, and green energy flowed into Maki.

The next victim, this time an older woman, walked forward, and her aura flowed into Maki as well. Then another, and another, each obediently filing forward one at a time.

With each death, the green aura surrounding Maki pulsed in an endless flow of energy.

“Stop!” I screamed, though my cry was lost in the roaring flames.

The trail of victims ignored me, too captivated by whatever trance they were held in. They continued into the flames without so much as blinking.

I wished I could get through to them—make them realize what was happening so they could run away from this damned church. But without knowing what magic he used to enchant them, I had no way of stopping it.

With every minute that passed, Maki’s body transformed further into something unrecognizable. His exposed skin shimmered as if it were embedded with millions of tiny diamonds, which caught the green light in glowing patterns. A tail appeared behind him, popping out below the black robe. The silky material tore as his size increased, and his hands morphed into grotesque claws. His fingers fused together to form two long, pointed talons on each hand.

Maki crouched in front of us. When he spoke, his voice echoed with demonic energy. “You have an admirable sense of justice. But in this world, that will only get you killed.”

I spat in his face.

Maki wiped it away with the back of his hand. “It doesn’t really matter to me what you do after tonight, but you are welcome to join me if you’d like. If you do return