Blood Kin: A Novel of the Half-Light City

by M. J. Scott

  “Healers aren’t knights.”

  “No one is going to start a riot here.”

  “How do you know?”

  Fair question. I didn’t. “What, then, you’re going to sleep across my doorway like a proper knight?”

  His mouth flattened and his breath blew out. Amazing. Had I actually pushed him too far this time?

  “No.” He came and sat beside me. “Actually, I thought I’d do this.” He put his arms around me and scooped me into his lap.

  The simple gentleness in the gesture undid me. I buried my face in his shoulder and tried not to cry. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

  His arms tightened around me. “I’m sorry too.”

  I lifted my head, not sure what his tone meant. It sounded a little too close to good-bye for my liking. He couldn’t leave. Not now. Not when I knew where Cormen was. I couldn’t storm the Veiled World alone.

  Besides which, despite all my better judgment, despite my certainty that there was no way for things to ever come out right for us, the thought of seeing him walk out the door made my heart clutch.

  So I did the only thing I could think of to keep him here with me. Curled one hand around his neck and pulled his head down to mine.

  He made a noise of surprise—protest—I wasn’t going to stop to find out. I slid my free hand down between us, sliding my palm over him. He was hard. Something in my chest eased a little. There. He wanted me. No matter what else, we had this between us. Need. Longing.

  Maybe it would be enough.

  Tonight I would make it enough.

  I stroked him again, deepened the kiss. Wanting to light the fire that would burn away everything else that had happened.

  Guy made another rough noise, deep in his throat, and his hands moved, his grip changing from comforting to possessive, bunching in my skirts and pulling them upward as he lifted me, urging my knees to either side of him.

  Oh yes, this I liked.

  I helped him, gathering the satin out of my way, then letting it fall so I could maneuver, so there was nothing between us but his trousers. Then I had to grip his shoulders while he dealt with his own clothing. His hands brushed me as he dealt with buttons and flaps, and I shuddered, pressing closer even though I knew that would only delay what I wanted. All the time our mouths still met, desperate hot kisses that might have been closer to a battle than lovemaking.

  No matter.

  I was beyond caring. All I wanted was the man beneath me. He seemed equally eager. His hands tightened again; then he lifted me and slid home as he let me down again. The pleasure of it was enough to make me gasp, my head falling back as the sensation engulfed me.

  Guy moved beneath me again and my eyes snapped open, locked on his. Searching the pale blue fire for any hint of what he was thinking. But then he pulled my head down to kiss me and I couldn’t do anything more than let him take me where he led.

  * * *

  I lay sleepless for a long time after Guy fell asleep. So when the door to our room clicked open, I was awake to hear. I cracked an eye open but didn’t move, hoping that whoever had come to check on me might leave me if they thought I was actually asleep.

  I didn’t recognize the head that poked through the door, but the woman wore a healer tunic. It didn’t take her long to satisfy herself about whatever she had come to do and the door closed again.

  I closed my eyes, trying to find a comfortable position. Sleep still eluded me. The hospital was quiet. Too quiet. Beside me, Guy’s slow, even breathing sounded very loud. I didn’t know how he could sleep soundly.

  My own thoughts were whirling so fast, I wished Simon had given me something to help me sleep.

  Simon.

  I could feel the charms in my evening bag, buried somewhere halfway across the room under my discarded dress, from where I lay. So much rested on the charm I’d retrieved from Simon and what it might have overheard.

  I’d told Guy that I didn’t know how to get to Cormen. I hadn’t told him that I hoped I could make Cormen come to me. I didn’t even know if I could tell him that. Regardless, my plan rested on the charm. What secrets did it hold? Enough to free me? Enough to save Mama and Reggie? Enough to damn Simon? Or make him a target again?

  I didn’t want to do that, but that was the choice in front of me. Save my family or save Guy’s. I couldn’t throw my sense to the wind because my heart was foolish enough to want to throw itself under the feet of a Templar to trample. I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. If Mama and Reggie died, it wouldn’t matter what happened with Guy and I. I could never forgive myself.

  To save them, I had to know what was on that charm.

  Now seemed as good a time as any.

  Indeed, it might be the only chance I got. Cormen would, no doubt, hear of my excursion to Halcyon sooner or later. I needed to get to him fast. And I needed my bargaining chip.

  Regardless of what that made me.

  I slipped carefully from the bed, hovering on the edge for a minute to see if Guy would wake. But he merely rolled toward the spot where I had lain and smiled slightly in his sleep. He looked peaceful. Happy. For a second I almost crawled back in next to him, see if I could wake him and chase reality away a little longer. But no, I couldn’t.

  What I wanted didn’t matter. As usual, it was my job to take care of things, not be taken care of. I would do what I had to do. And I’d bear the consequences.

  I moved as soundlessly as I could, putting on the clean clothes left for me. Black trousers, a pale green shirt and vest. Soft black boots.

  Lily’s doing. Almost as though she knew I would need to be able to move easily. I wondered how many times she’d dressed to do something that made her feel sick inside, creeping through the darkness feeling as though there was no way to win.

  More than me, probably.

  It only added to my reluctance, the thought that maybe Lily and I could have something in common. That maybe, if things were different, she could be a friend. In that other life where I had no problems and could be the sort of woman Guy might love.

  Stop dreaming, Holly girl.

  I twisted my hair up, jabbing the lock-pick pins in with more force than strictly necessary, then bent to retrieve the charm from my bag.

  The crystals dug into my palm as I stole out of the room, closing the door softly after one last look at the man sleeping there.

  Outside, the corridor was deserted, the lamps burning at half strength, so that everything was dim and soft looking. I walked cautiously along it, looking for somewhere private to trigger the charm. I wondered if Simon and Lily shared a room like ours somewhere nearby. Part of me hoped not. If anyone was likely to sleep lightly, it would be a wraith. I couldn’t risk any interruptions.

  It didn’t take too long to find an empty room: what looked like an abandoned office when I peered through the small glass pane in the door. My picks made quick work of the lock and I eased inside. The moon gave me enough light to find my way to a chair. I carefully carried it over to a corner on the same side of the room as the door.

  I sat, legs crossed, and stared down at the charm glinting at me in the moonlight. Tears blurred my vision briefly before I wiped them away.

  No choice.

  I had to do this.

  Indeed, now that I was so close to the charm, I had an almost overwhelming urge to listen to what it had to say. The geas at work. There was no other way I could feel so disgusted with myself and so compelled to keep going at the same time. Somewhere in the back on my mind I could hear my father laughing at me.

  Get on with it.

  I bent my head again, whispered the words to trigger the charm, and began to listen. Simon had carried the charm for nearly two days. A hear-me is activated by voices and I’d keyed this one to him, but a healer has many, many conversations in a day. I gripped the charm tighter, calling my power, going into the half trance I needed to let the charm speak faster to me, almost as though what it carried was dumped directly into my brain. It was an unpleasant sensation,
but I gritted my teeth and held the trance, listening for anything that might be useful.

  After what seemed like a series of unending medical conversations, interludes with Lily, and Simon talking to himself as he made notes on patients and went about his business—with not a little cursing about his fool brother—I suddenly heard the words.

  Blood-locked.

  My spine prickled. That was something unusual. Not many blood-locked made it to a hospital. By the time they needed medical care, it was usually too late for their families to drag them away from the Night World. I listened more carefully, but whoever Simon was talking to, the charm hadn’t caught all of the conversation. I didn’t know whether it was because I hadn’t made it properly or whether some other magic wherever he had been was interfering, but I only caught a few words. Blood-locked again. And progress. Patients. Not much longer.

  Lords of hell. I had to force myself not to throw the charm across the room in frustration. None of it made any sense. I held the charm closer, increasing the power I fed it as much as I dared. But nothing else came through. Reluctantly, I let the charm go quiet. If I pushed too much power into it now, I could burn it out and not be able to bring it to life again to listen a second time.

  My hand curled around it, the glass and metal biting into my palm. It hadn’t given me what I wanted. Nothing I could take to Cormen.

  Nothing to save Mama and Reggie.

  I’d failed.

  Part of me was happy. No information meant no victory for my father. But that part was small and nearly drowned by the relentless tide of fear rising in my veins.

  I’d failed.

  And my family would pay the price.

  Chapter Nineteen

  HOLLY

  I hadn’t long crept back to bed, sliding cautiously in next to Guy after finally managing to quell the storm of frustrated tears that erupted after my realization, when the door to our chamber opened once again.

  I squeezed my eyes nearly shut, hoping the healer would leave as quickly as the previous one.

  Only it wasn’t another unknown healer checking on us. It was Simon. I felt the warm hum of his power even before I recognized his profile in the glow from the light in the hall. And more than just his power. Besides the warmth of his magery, there was the familiar chill of the invisibility charm hanging by his hip. Stronger now.

  Activated.

  I fought to stay still, keeping my breath slow and even.

  Where was he going that he needed an invisibility charm ready to hand? He couldn’t leave St. Giles, not after he and Lily had claimed haven. I didn’t think he’d leave Lily sleeping alone willingly.

  Simon’s head withdrew and the door shut softly behind him. I lay there for a moment more, heart beating fast.

  The Lady had given me another chance. One last opportunity to discover his secret. If I dared to risk leaving Guy a second time.

  Last chance. It rang in my head. And suddenly I had to act. Maybe it was the geas seizing my will, but I didn’t think any further. I slipped softly out of bed and pulled my clothes on again. Guy stirred once and I froze, but he didn’t wake.

  I pulled an invisibility charm from my bag, slipping it into a pocket.

  After a second’s hesitation, I added a hear-me, tucking it inside my boot. I triggered the invisibility charm as I opened the door. Simon’s charm left a trail in the air, a tiny fading glow of power that showed me which way he had gone. I hurried silently after him, moving quick and cautious.

  St. Giles was quiet this late at night, but it was by no means empty. It wouldn’t do to crash into a Fae, or even a human, and reveal myself.

  Simon’s trail led me to the staircase and then down, as I had half expected, into the tunnels. I didn’t see the man himself until I had nearly reached the tunnel with the wards and then I almost ruined everything by skidding to a clumsy halt when I did catch sight of him. He must have deactivated the charm. His sudden appearance surprised me but also made my life somewhat easier.

  I moved closer, keeping what I hoped was a safe distance, paying even closer attention to staying silent. He approached the final branch of the tunnels and then, curse it, triggered the charm again, disappearing from view.

  But I could still feel it, strong enough to follow. I would have to be careful, beyond careful, to trail behind him when I couldn’t see him.

  We approached the door in the tunnel and I felt Simon work the wards. This was the tricky point. I had to slip through the door after him without him noticing. Hard but doable. I’d managed such things before and the massive size of the door in question would make it easier. Still, uneasy sweat trickled down my back as the door swung open and I waited a few seconds before making my move, hoping that I wasn’t about to ruin everything.

  But my luck held and I made it safely through. Holding my breath, I moved a little way down the tunnel, standing as near to the wall as I could to minimize the chance of Simon bumping into me as he walked past. The door closed behind us and I heard his footsteps move past me.

  The lamps on the walls bloomed into life and I looked down the tunnel. Another door. Another set of glowing wards.

  Damn.

  I’d done it once; I could do it again.

  I followed Simon, placing each foot with care. A full Fae could walk across the squeakiest of floors and you’d never know. But the blood that meant that I wasn’t sickened by the iron we’d passed through also made me more tied to the earth, gave me less of the connection that let the Fae walk so lightly across it. I had to work for my silence, calling on every skill I had learned in all my years of spying.

  Muttering silent prayers to the Lady, hoping she’d let the dice continue to fall in my favor a few more feet, a few more steps. One more hour even.

  Until I could see what lay beyond the door and fulfill my father’s binding. Free myself and my family.

  My fingers curled into my palms. Freedom.

  A pretty notion. Not one I’d ever known. Not really. Guy said he fought for the humans to stay free, to survive. Who fought for me?

  No one.

  Stark reality but it didn’t stop the guilt curling in my stomach. Whatever secrets lay hidden in these tunnels, the humans obviously valued them. If I turned them over to my father, what was I doing to these people who had taken me in? Who had healed me?

  What was I doing to the man whose bed I had stolen from to follow his brother here? My nails bit harder. I couldn’t afford guilt.

  Inside the second door was a medium-sized room. A desk and a chair sat near one wall, another long table nearby. The table was cluttered with tubes and various things that looked vaguely medical to me.

  I frowned, wondering what exactly I was getting myself into. The room was empty, though, and there was yet another warded door in the wall opposite where we were standing.

  Simon suddenly blinked into view, stuffing the charm into his pocket. We must be close enough to his destination that he was no longer worried about detection. If I had been able to make a sound, I would’ve breathed a sigh of relief. At least visible, he was easier to tail.

  Simon headed toward the next door and I followed, walking even more cautiously. I didn’t want to be detected so late in the game. Even if I had wanted to turn back, I doubted the geas would let me.

  Still, something perverse made me stop a moment, test the theory by taking a few steps backward. As expected, the geas bit hard and fast. I clenched my teeth, cursing Cormen in my head, and started after Simon again.

  Simon worked the wards on the door and once again, I slipped through behind him, stepping sidewise to press myself against the wall.

  This room was larger. What it held made it easy to freeze in place. Row upon row of hospital beds. Filled with mostly still, sleeping bodies, though a few of the occupants moved restlessly, as though they were having a bad dream. Some of the beds were empty. But it wasn’t the beds or the rest of the hospital paraphernalia that held me frozen. No, what surprised me was the vampire moving among th
e rows.

  One of the Blood down here? Helping the humans? The shock of it had my blood roaring in my ears, so loud I wondered that Simon didn’t hear it.

  But he was only human.

  Unfortunately for me, the vampire was not.

  He lifted his head from where he was bent over one of the beds, then turned toward us. “Simon?” he called. “Who is with you?”

  Simon started at the question, turning from the lock he was working to the vampire. “No one,” he replied, sounding confused.

  The vampire’s head swiveled for a moment, then focused unerringly on me. Scars covering his face. Even covered what should have been his eye sockets. Blind.

  But lack of sight wouldn’t save me. Not when he still had all his other vampire senses.

  “You are mistaken,” he said. “I hear another heartbeat.” Then he moved. Too fast for me to follow. Long fingers grasped my shoulders and fangs flashed in front of my face as he snarled, “Show yourself.”

  Simon was suddenly beside him, holding a pistol. Around us the room brightened, the gaslights flaring.

  The vampire’s fingers tightened. He shook me. “Show yourself,” he repeated.

  I put my hands between us and shoved. “Let go.” I might as well have shoved a tree trunk.

  At my words, Simon’s expression darkened. “Holly?” he snapped. “I would appreciate it if you did as Atherton has requested.”

  So much for prayers. The Lady had chosen to withdraw her favor, it seemed. There seemed to be no way for me to get out of this. Visible or not, I couldn’t escape from a vampire’s senses and they could keep me down here until my charm wore down. They would know who I was eventually.

  “All right,” I said. I slid my hand into my pocket and deactivated the charm.

  The vampire didn’t move, still pressed me into the wall with a grip I couldn’t break.

  Beside him, Simon looked disgusted. “Guy warned me to watch you.”

  The words felt like a blow. He had? When? Then common sense prevailed. Of course, Guy had warned him. He was a Templar, dealing with a Night Worlder. This was a reminder that I needed to remember we were both after our own agendas no matter how pleasing he was in bed.