Of Blood & Magic: Blood Descent Book 1

by T. L. McDonald

  Of Blood & Magic

  Blood Descent Book One

  T.L. McDonald

  Contents

  Of Blood & Magic

  Books By T.L. McDonald

  Chapter 1

  2. Eleven Years Later

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Acknowledgments

  Coming soon

  Sign up for my Newsletter

  About the Author

  Of Blood & Magic

  Blood Descent Book One

  By

  T.L. McDonald

  Of Blood & Magic

  Blood Descent Book One

  By

  T.L. McDonald

  Copyright © 2018 by T.L. McDonald

  Book Cover Design by Sanja Gombar www.fantasybookcoverdesign.com

  The characters, events, and places portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarities to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only and may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to our favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means, including photography, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Created with Vellum

  Books By T.L. McDonald

  The Marked Series

  Marked

  Fated

  Redemption

  Blood Descent Series

  Of Blood & Magic

  1

  “Indi, wake up. We have to go.”

  “Mama?” I rub at my eyes with fisted hands. “Is it morning time? I’m still sleepy.” I pull the covers up over my shoulders, my eyes drifting back shut.

  “Indi, no arguing. I need you to get up and walk.” There’s an urgency underlying the softness of her voice and I open my eyes a crack, but they’re still so heavy. I can’t keep them open.

  “Just five more minutes, Mama,” I mumble. “Wait.” My eyes spring open wide-awake. I squeal and sit up fast with a smile, no longer sleepy. “Is it my birthday now? Am I six? Are there presents?” I glance at the window, then at the nightlight plugged into the wall before looking back at Mama. “Where’s the sunshine? How come my nightlight’s still on?”

  Mama takes my hand in hers, gently helping me up from my bed. She glances over her shoulder at my nearly closed door before focusing back on me. With a smile, she brushes the hair from my face. “It’s still nighttime sweetheart. But it is after midnight, which means technically it is your birthday. And you know what? I’ve got all kinds of presents for you, but we have to go to the attic to get them.”

  “Is one of them a dolly? I really want a dolly.” By the time we make it to my bedroom door, I’m so excited I can hardly keep from jumping up and down.

  Mama gives my hand a squeeze as she places a finger to her lips, urging me to be quiet. “Let’s play a game, okay, Indi?” I nod my head and she smiles. “I want you to be as quiet as a mouse all the way to the attic. And when we get there, you can open the biggest and bestest present ever. Does that sound like fun?” I nod my head again, and this time I bounce a little.

  Opening the door slowly, Mama pokes her head out, looking both ways up and down the darkened hallway. “Okay sweetie, remember to be very, very quiet.” Tugging me behind her, she leads us down the hall toward the attic staircase.

  A loud crash from somewhere downstairs causes a small scream to escape. I freeze in place as Mama pulls me close, her hand over my mouth. She holds us still.

  “Mama, I’m scared,” I mumble against her palm, the quiet game now forgotten.

  There’s another loud crash and Mama scoops me up into her arms. I mold my body around hers with my arms squeezing tight around her neck and my legs wrapping around her waist. Something warm, wet, and sticky, smears against my inner thigh. Mama cries out as though I’ve somehow hurt her.

  “I’m sorry Mama,” I say as I start to cry.

  She holds me tight with one arm while she readjusts my leg along her right side. “It’s okay, sweetie.” Her eyes squeeze shut, shiny tears glistening along her lashes. “Everything will be okay once we get to the attic, you’ll see.”

  She tries to run, but with every step she takes, she sucks in a sharp, pain filled breath.

  It makes me cry even harder.

  “We’re almost there.” Her voice is shaky and whispered, her heart pounding so hard in her chest I can feel it against mine.

  My legs involuntarily tighten around her waist, eliciting another sharp gasp from her, as my hands fist in her shirt. “Mama! Mama! There’s a man.”

  Mama turns us around so fast I almost lose my grip on her. I squeeze tight, as I shift, staring at the man at the end of the hall. A thick smear of blood covers one half of his face from a large gash on the side of his forehead. It drips off his jaw onto the shoulder of his long coat. His fingers flex over the handle of something long and metallic, shimmering in the dim light spilling out of my room.

  “There is nowhere left to run Abigail. You and I both know the abomination needs to be taken care of.” He points the sharp object in his hand at me before directing it toward Mama. “Allow me to rid the world of this un-holiness and I promise to spare your life.”

  “You will not touch a hair on her head, so long as I live.” Mama inches backward toward the attic stairs as she reaches into the back pocket of her jeans. She slips out a row of metal rings then slides them over her fingers. Taking a few more backward steps, she wraps both arms back under my bottom.

  “Then death shall come to you both.”

  The man walks toward us and I stiffen, my fingers digging into Mama’s back.

  “Close your eyes sweetie,” Mama whispers in my ear. I do as I’m told while she shifts her hold on me to free one of her hands. She speaks in a language I’ve never heard before, but somehow understand completely. I want to ask her how I know what she’s saying when the air around us grows heavier and warmer. There’s a light so bright I can see it through my closed eyes, and then suddenly it’s gone. The man screams as Mama turns and runs us the rest of the way down the hall.

  I know I’m not supposed to, but I look at the man. Flames cover him from head to toe. I bury my face in Mama’s shoulder, the sight of him smacking at the fire still playing out behind my eyes.

  “We’re almost there sweetie. We’re almost there. And then everything will be okay, I promise.” She squeezes me tighter wit
h one arm, the other reaching out for the edge of the entryway leading to the attic stairs.

  Her chest heaves up and down, her breaths labored and warm over my neck. Near the top, she comes to a sudden stop, her back arching, as a scream tears its way out. She falls forward onto her knees, her grip on me slipping. I drop from her arms onto the top step with a thud. Mouth pulled back in agony, fresh tears roll down her freckled cheeks. She steels her face as she reaches over me to open the attic door. With frantic hands, she shoves me inside. Over her shoulder, my gaze lands on the metallic object the man was holding moments ago now protruding from her upper back. Bright red spreads out around it, soaking through her favorite shirt. My bottom lip trembles at the sight.

  The stairs squeak and my gaze shifts to the man staggering up the stairs. His face and body are badly burned, his clothes charred and stuck to his melted skin. Yet somehow, his wounds seem to be healing faster than they should be. I start to scream.

  “Run Indi. Run and hide!” Mama yells at me, but I can’t. My body won’t move. She pushes me further into the room as the burned man continues to climb the stairs. “Now, Indi! Go!”

  Mama pulls the object from her back, her scream filling the air. Breathing heavily, she throws the pointed object back at the man. It impales through his shoulder, knocking him off balance. He reaches out in search of something to hold on to. Finding nothing, he falls backward down the stairs. Mama turns to me, her eyes wild. “Run!” This time my body obeys and I run through the moonlit attic. Too afraid to look back, I find a place to hide behind the Christmas decorations.

  The attic door slams shut, the sound echoing through the darkness just before a soft blue glow illuminates the room. Curiosity becomes too hard to ignore, and I peek out from behind the boxes. Mama is at the door, her hand moving in quick motions as she draws strange shapes around the frame with something shiny on the tips of her fingers. She dabs at her side then draws another shape with what I now realize is blood. Each shape she draws, turns from a dark shiny red to a bright glowing blue all around the door. When the last symbol is drawn, the lights from each one merge together where they then meet in the center. Spreading outward, the glow covers the entire entrance. It pulses, sending ripples over the surface, before fading into the wood.

  “Mama?” I whisper.

  “I’m here, sweetie.” She pulls on the chain in the middle of the room. A dim yellow light washes over everything. I glance at the door, afraid to come out in case the man comes in. “It’s okay Indi, you can come out. He can’t get in. At least not yet,” she adds in a whisper I don’t think I was meant to hear. I take a small step out then run into her waiting arms.

  She hugs me so hard I can’t breathe.

  The doorknob rattles back and forth. I squeeze my arms tight around her neck. “Mama, the man.”

  She glances back at the door then pries my arms off. “It’s okay. We’re safe for now.” Her hand shakes as she takes mine, her fingers stained with blood. I try not to look at it as she leads me over to the bricks on the far wall that make up the upper part of the chimney. “He can’t get in, so we have time.”

  “Time for what Mama?”

  “We’re going to go on a trip to see Uncle Caleb. It might be a little scary, but I’ll be right here with you to hold your hand, okay?” She waits for me to nod.

  “Why will going to Uncle Caleb’s be scary?”

  A violent bang reverberates over the attic door causing one of the shapes Mama drew to flare an overly bright blue before it sizzles out. The other shapes shimmer and flicker in its absence before holding strong, their crisscrossing lines covering the door locked in place as they once again fade back into the wood.

  “You can’t protect that abomination forever, Abigail. You know she must die. Power like that—”

  “She’s not an abomination and you will never touch her!” Mama yells. My hand trembles in hers and she focuses her attention back on me. There’s fear in her eyes, making them a deeper shade of brown. I’ve never seen Mama this afraid before. My whole body shudders in response. “We’re going to go to Uncle Caleb’s now, okay. You’ll never have to see that man again. I promise.”

  “What is an abomination, Mama? And why does the man want me to die? Did I do something bad?” My bottom lip quivers and I bite it, trying not to cry. I want to be brave for Mama since I know she’s really scared.

  She moves down to my eye level, fixing me with a hard stare. “You are not an abomination Indiana Grace, and you did nothing wrong. You are a bright, beautiful, special little girl who will grow up and do amazing things. Don’t let anybody ever tell you differently.” She kisses my forehead, then wipes at the tears slipping down my cheeks before tucking a lock of her dark red hair behind her ear. “Now, what do you say we get out of here?” Keeping hold of my hand, she faces the bricks on the wall as she drags her finger through the blood still soaking through her shirt at her side. I can’t help it. When I see the wound through the tear, I cry harder.

  “Mama?” I choke out. My eyes follow the drops of blood falling to the floor. “Are you going to die?”

  Spinning me around, she kneels in front of me once again, even though I know doing so causes her pain. She puts on a brave face to hide it, her brown eyes burning with resolve as she grips my shoulders. “No, Indi. I am not going to die. You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll be fine. As soon as we get to Uncle Caleb’s house he’ll patch me right up good as new. I promise. Okay?”

  “Okay.” Mama has never lied to me, so if she says she’ll be okay then she’ll be okay. Still, as much as I want to believe her, I can’t stop the little voice inside my head whispering, Will she?

  She wipes more tears from my eyes with a gentle stroke of her thumb. Her mouth upturns with a smile meant to reassure me as she caresses my cheek. “Are you ready to go to Uncle Caleb’s?”

  I nod my head as she stands. “Mama?” She looks back down at me. “How are we getting to Uncle Caleb’s if we’re in the attic? Are we going to climb out the window? Is that why going to Uncle Caleb’s house might be scary?”

  “No honey, we’re not going to go out the window. We’re going to use magic.” Smearing her finger through the blood on her side, she mumbles under her breath then draws shapes against the bricks of the chimney like she did around the attic door until there’s a large glowing rectangle. Placing her hand flat against the center, she recites more words in the same strange language she used in the hallway. The bricks ripple and pull apart, like a door opening. The surface where the bricks used to be shimmers blue then clears. Uncle Caleb is waiting for us on the other side, but he looks funny. He’s all wavy as though he’s underwater.

  Mama’s grip tightens over my hand and we take a step toward Uncle Caleb. She looks at me, hesitates, and then glances back at the door the man is still beating against. With every pound of his fist, one of the shapes Mama drew lights up and flickers out as cracks form over the door. She squeezes my hand. “Indi, sweetie, stay right here.” She looks over her shoulder. Five symbols light up around the frame. “I’ll be right back.”

  I do what she says even though I don’t want to let go of her hand.

  The bad man pounds on the door harder, and I jump with each hit. What if when the last shape goes out he gets in?

  “Mama?” I call out just as she returns with a package covered in pink wrapping paper.

  “I promised you a present.”

  I wrap my arms around her legs, ignoring the gift in her arm. I don’t want her to leave me ever again.

  She places a hand on my back. After a moment I pull away and she hands me the package before taking my other hand in hers once again. “Don’t be afraid, Indi. This is the easy part.”

  I swallow hard and nod.

  She nudges me forward and I take a small step into the shimmery doorway. It’s cold. Almost as cold as the time I fell through the ice covering the lake in our backyard. Uncle Caleb reaches out for me with both hands, an eager smile on his face that quickly fall
s when his gaze shifts past me. He yells as he frantically points at something behind Mama and me, but I can’t hear what he’s saying. There’s only a whooshing in my ears. I feel Mama jerk behind me and for a moment I’m jerked back with her, but then she shoves me forward. Everything goes black and then suddenly, I’m on the floor at Uncle Caleb’s house.

  Uncle Caleb snatches me up into a fierce hug, crushing the box in my arm before pushing me out to arm’s length. His eyes roam over me from head to toe. Satisfied by what he sees, he hands me off to Aunt Claudia. “Get her out of here!”

  “Where’s mama?” I ask. Uncle Caleb doesn’t answer and Aunt Claudia tries to drag me over to the door. “I want my mama! Mama! Mama! Mama!”

  Aunt Claudia pulls me to her, half picking me up so my bare feet are dangling in the air as she tries to cover my eyes with her other hand to keep me from seeing what’s happening. I drop the box and grab her arm. Pulling it down, I bite her hand as hard as I can. With a yelp, she drops me and I run back toward the shimmery doorway before she can grab hold of me again. “Mama!” I reach out for her, but Uncle Caleb hooks an arm around my waist, stopping me in my tracks.

  Our attic is on fire and Mama and the man are fighting. He backhands her across the face, knocking her down. She hits the floor, so close to where we are on the other side of the doorway. If I can just reach out a little further, I can touch her. I can help her come across. She gazes at me with a smile that says everything will be okay, despite the look in her eyes saying otherwise. “I love you,” she tells me even though I can’t hear the words. Bringing her hand to her mouth, she speaks over the metal rings wrapped around her fingers. Tiny blue shapes ignite along its surface.