Sacrifice (Revelations Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

way."
    "Sometimes fate fucks up, Arveda. Maybe fate didn't see this girl getting stuffed full of demons like a god damn piñata.” He struggled against her magick pinning him to the wall. He had a point to make and she was going to listen to him. Arveda needed to look at the situation realistically. “Maybe Fate just fucked up, wouldn't be the first time. But you can't change facts. No pulse, not breathing, equals dead. And the dead don't come back, if they do, they come back wrong."
    "Ignorant ass." Arveda's spell faded allowing him to move again. "Girls, come help me tend to Abigail. I need her cleaned up for when she wakes."
    "Arveda, I get you are in the running to be the mayor of Crazy Town, but the woman is dead. She ain't waking up. Burn the body and let her rest in peace." He paused watching all the Striga dutifully cleaning up the dead woman. All of them ignored him, even Meredith. He shook his head. "Are you even fucking listening to me?"
    "No, Father." Arveda lifted her head and glared at him. "And do you want to know why we aren't listening? Because you've lost your faith and therefore you have nothing to say that is worth listening to. You only believe in what you can see at the bottom of a bottle. You've lost sight of the bigger picture. You could be a champion, a warrior to help win this fight. God and Satan are still battling it out for Earth and for the fate of mankind. Satan stopped playing fair a long time ago and the Church decided to act like ostriches and bury their collective heads in the sand. Ignoring this war won't make it go away, Nico. It only ensures that the other side will win, because believe me, while the church has stopped fighting the war, the demons never did."
    He held up his finger. "One, I'm not a priest anymore. God doesn't want me. I kill anyone I try to help." He ticked off another finger. "Two, there is no war. And three, even if there was one I'm sure you and God could find a better person to help score you a victory."
    The elder Striga opened her mouth to say something just as one of her daughters screamed. Nico whipped his head around to see the dead woman on the table sitting up. Her eyes were glazed over and her mouth was latched on to the arm of one of the Striga girls.
    "She's a god damn vampire." Picking up the Piñon stake he was two strides away from burying it in the creature's chest when Arveda used her magick to slam him into the wall again. "Damn it, Witch, stop doing that."
    "You will not kill her."
    "The hell I won't." He struggled, but the weave of magick tightened around him. The old bat wasn't going to let him go anytime soon. The girls were working frantically to pry the creature's mouth from their wailing sister while the elder Striga kept focused on him. "Arveda, you are going to get us all killed. Stake her and burn the damn body."
    "No. You might have lost your faith, but I haven't lost mine. She is the key and must be protected." She pushed back a loose strand of blond hair and smoothed out her clothing. He could tell it was all an effort to control herself. The Striga were known for their violent bursts of anger.
    "Arveda, I'm begging you. Kill the creature, the woman she used to be is dead."
    She shook her head and was about to speak when the girl on the table let go of the meaty arm in her mouth. She stared blankly at him, turning her head from side to side as she studied him. When she finally opened her mouth no words came out, only a hoarse gurgle.
    Nico pointed at the creature and fixed Arveda with an incredulous stare. "See. Kill it."
    Arveda glared at him. "She, not it. And I refuse to harm her." She closed the distance between her and the dead woman and lightly stroked her cheek. "Speak child. Just give it a try."
    He had to admit for a blood-sucking creature the thing was pulling off the right amount of fear and confusion, it was no wonder the Striga was falling for it. She looked like a wounded deer, unfortunately this Bambi could probably rip