Half-Born (Half-Blood Chronicles #1) (The Half-Blood Chronicles)

by Ivy Baum

  Nev put a hand on his arm.

  “We have our own work to do,” she said.

  Abruptly, he turned to me. “You should go with your mother.”

  That was the last thing I’d been expecting to hear. I glanced at Nev. “Could I?”

  “Of course.”

  I frowned. It was what I should do. But for some reason, I couldn’t work up any enthusiasm for the idea.

  I still had unanswered questions.

  The team had been my anchor—and my compass. Now I felt adrift.

  What had Deo said about the Common Market? It was a gold-mine of information…

  Maybe I had something to do, after all.

  I understood, then, what was missing. I needed to find my real father.

  And this place was going to help me out.

  Chapter 42

  I heard the knock at my door and thought about ignoring it. It was the middle of the night, and I should have been sleeping.

  Besides, I had changed out of the luxurious pajamas and was now back to wearing the stupid Minnie Mouse tank-top and the scandalously short bottoms.

  I really didn’t want Sol seeing me like this.

  There was a second knock, louder this time. “Kes? You awake?”

  With a sigh, I opened the door.

  He took in the pajamas with a raised eyebrow. “Were you sleeping?”

  “Not really.”

  He closed the door, then leaned against the writing desk.

  For a moment, we simply stared at each other.

  “I don’t suppose you’ve changed your mind about running away. With me, I mean.”

  I hesitated. Part of me wanted to say yes. But another part of me, a much stronger part, was afraid.

  “Sorry,” I said. “I never wanted the kind of life you guys have. Running around. Having adventures.”

  Being afraid all the time.

  “So what is your plan, if I may ask?”

  I hesitated. “I had a meeting with Hades,” I began, and from his expression, I knew his reaction wasn’t going to be enthusiastic. But I told him anyway: about Hades’ offer to bring my family here. To let us stay indefinitely in Outlaw City.

  He frowned. “Did Hades happen to mention our history together?”

  “He said you two went way back…”

  Sol smiled caustically. “Did he mention that I saved his life? Well, sort of.” He smiled—a distant smile. “He’s alive because of me. Let’s leave it at that.”

  As I studied him, I decided that he looked older than I’d ever seen him, and I remembered that I still hadn’t gotten him to tell me his age.

  “What are you saying?”

  “He’s not a horrible person. But it would be a huge mistake to trust him.”

  I folded my arms. “I’m not trusting him. I just want to take him up on his offer. It’s the best chance I have at a normal life.”

  “A normal life,” he repeated.

  I waited for him to argue, but he changed subjects instead. “Listen, Kes. I’m going to go away for a few days. Nev and I have some errands.”

  “What about the lockdown?”

  “Looks like Nev’s had some strings pulled. It’s not without risk, but our business is…urgent.”

  “Okay.”

  He studied me. “Be careful while I’m gone. Stay in the apartment.”

  Of course, I had no plans to do that. But I nodded. No sense in worrying him.

  Once again, he had an uncanny habit of knowing what I was thinking.

  “Are you still thinking of trying to find your pureblood father?”

  I thought about lying. But after a moment, I simply nodded.

  I thought he would lecture me. Instead, he gave a rueful smile. “You remember what they accused me of at the Tower?”

  “They said you kidnapped a pureblood. That—he died.”

  He nodded. “It’s all true. I did exactly what they said I did.”

  “You killed him?”

  “No. But it’s my fault he’s dead.”

  “Oh.” I felt inordinately relieved.

  “I know Junie told you about Melantha.”

  His tone was mild, but my cheeks immediately grew hot.

  “It’s okay,” he assured me. “I’m glad she did. It will help explain some things.” He hesitated. “When she went missing, I came here. To Outlaw City.”

  “Why?”

  “Because this was where she had gone. Or so I suspected. By the time I realized something was wrong, the trail had gone cold. But I tracked her here. And I intended to turn this place upside down—if that was what it took to find her.”

  I found myself holding my breath—waiting to hear the outcome.

  Even though I knew it couldn’t possibly be good.

  “I kidnapped Eleazar because I thought he would lead me to Melantha—but it didn’t. And my pureblood hostage ended up dead.”

  He sighed heavily. “I was a mess, after that. On the run and half-mad with grief. That was when I met Nev. She picked up what was left of me. And that was how I ended up at White Falls High, keeping an eye on you while I re-learned Calculus. Painful, by the way. So painful.”

  We were silent for a long moment.

  Then Sol said, “My point is that sometimes, you have to let go of things. I couldn’t let go of Melantha, and I nearly threw away my entire life because of it. Your pureblood father…even if you do find him, he’s not going to want to admit to his parentage. It’d be a death sentence. And even if he does acknowledge you, I doubt it will fix what you think it will.”

  I didn’t say anything to that.

  After a moment, he pushed off the desk. “I’ll be back in a few days. Be careful.”

  With that, he was gone—and I was alone.

  I took out my phone out.

  I had been surprised to learn that cell phones actually worked down here.

  Elspeth had chuckled at my surprise. They’d have an awfully difficult time getting people to come here if they couldn’t bring their phones.

  For a long time, I simply stared the screen.

  This contact hadn’t been in my phone. But I knew the number by heart.

  This time, when I heard the familiar voicemail message, I didn’t hang up.

  “Dad,” I said, and the word now sounded strange to me. “It’s Kes. I just want you to know…I talked to Mom. I know why you left. The thing is…I don’t think any of it matters. You were my father for eighteen years. Just—give me a call okay? I have a plan. I can fix things.”

  My voice caught in my throat, but I pushed through it. “We can be a family again, Dad. Nothing has to change.”

  Chapter 43

  “You sure you want to do this?”

  I had stopped in my tracks, taken aback by the scene below. We stood on a mezzanine-level balcony, overlooking something that looked like a cross between a bazaar and a train station at rush hour.

  Now I glanced over at Theo, one of Elspeth Marovech’s personal security detail.

  “I’m sure.”

  If I chickened out now, I wasn’t sure I’d ever go back.

  It had been four days since Sol and Nev had left for their mysterious “errand.” Since then, there had been no communication with them.

  The first two days I’d spent with my mother. But as I watched Deo and Junie prepare for their own journeys, I got restless.

  By the third day, they were gone, and I was having a hard time keeping myself from worrying about Sol.

  I tried to pass the time reading—someone had left several books in my room. They were magical histories, books I didn’t even know existed.

  They had promising titles. The Origin of the Sources. A Theory of Magic. But inside, they were dry and dense, and I soon gave up on them.

  Eventually, I had confessed to Elspeth that I wanted to go to the Common Market.

  I could tell that she wasn’t enthusiastic about the idea. But she didn’t try to talk me out of it.

  She even gave me the name of a
n “information broker” who had an office “down there”—which was how she referred to the Common Market, always with a touch of distaste.

  She was, after all, human. She had laughingly confirmed as much (“I’m as human as your own mother,” she told me that first night.).

  But I got the sense that she didn’t entirely trust magic—or those who traded in it.

  Unfortunately, magic was the currency of the Common Market.

  Elspeth had warned me on this point. Remember, nothing is free.

  So there’s no money down here?

  There is, she allowed with a smile. But it’s not nearly as useful as it is in the outside world. Most people who venture into the Common Market end up selling their services. Usually contracts fulfilled in the outside world.

  I doubted anyone was going to want to hire me to blow up their appliances. But I was going to go anyway. It was worth a try.

  Besides, I’d emptied out my bank account, and now I had a modest pile of cash.

  Maybe I’d get lucky and meet someone who liked money.

  Down on street level, it was a riot of noise and strange sights. Theo pushed through all of it with a practiced nonchalance, and we made slow but steady progress to the address Elspeth had provided.

  Finally, we arrived our destination: a narrow three-story walk-up. Not very impressive from the outside, but I had learned that down here, nothing was as it seemed.

  The antechamber was small and slightly dirty. A thin, harried-looking man behind a desk looked up at our entrance.

  He scowled—until he noticed the insignia on Theo’s jacket.

  His expression grew several degrees warmer. “And what can I do for the House of Marovech on this fine day?”

  Theo told him that we were here to see the Broker.

  The man’s eyebrows raised, and he disappeared into the back for several minutes.

  When he came back, he was smiling again. “You, young lady, may come inside and speak with him. But your man will have to wait here.” He made a sort of apologetic bow. “This is the Broker’s policy.”

  Theo did not look happy about this, but I assured him that it would be fine.

  And so the unnamed man led me to the back. The hallway was small and shabby, and we went up a narrow flight of stairs that creaked ominously under my feet.

  But when the man finally opened the door and ushered me inside, I was greeted by a pleasant—if not overly large—office. In the center was a beautifully-carved desk, and behind that—

  Roche. The Broker was Roche.

  He smiled—a professional, gracious smile.

  I took a step back, ready to get out of there.

  He sighed. “You’ve come this far, Kestrel. You might as well sit down and see if you can avail yourself of my services.”

  “I’d rather not deal with someone who reports to the Tower.”

  “And well you shouldn’t.” He didn’t seem insulted by the implied accusation. “Listen, you’ve come all this way. And dragged poor Theo out of bed on a Sunday morning. You might as well stay a few minutes. And perhaps give me a chance to explain my actions.”

  I moved closer, but didn’t take the seat he was offering.

  “You told the Archon about us. You got Sol arrested. If it wasn’t for Charles Marovech, we’d still be locked up in the Tower.”

  He gestured to the chair again. “If you’ll just take a seat, I can explain.”

  Reluctantly, I sat.

  “Now.” He took a moment to smooth out his elaborate coiffure. “It was only a matter of time before the Archon got wind of Sol’s presence in the city. That little name-dropping stunt you pulled at the Fence wasn’t exactly subtle.”

  “Name dropping?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Desiderato Francesco Achilleus Sforza?”

  Right.

  “I knew the Tower would find out he was here and bring him in. I simply facilitated and hastened your trip.”

  “Why?”

  He smiled—a mirthless, savvy smile. “Because, thanks to Solon, I had a bit of a credibility problem. You weren’t here when he came looking for Melantha. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he went on a rampage. Everyone assumed I was his accomplice.

  “I was lucky not to be exiled from this place—a place I’ve made my home for many decades. Sol’s arrival gave me a chance to get back in their good graces.”

  I scowled. “You sold us out for some brownie points?”

  He studied me shrewdly. “You’d have blundered your way into custody soon enough. This way, I got to take credit for it.”

  “And what was your plan from there? Let us rot in jail?”

  He smiled. “Whom do you think contacted Nev?”

  “You?”

  “Come, now. Are you really that much of a believer in convenient coincidences?”

  My anger had cooled somewhat, but I was still on my guard.

  He leaned forward, tenting fingers that were laden with jewels. “Now, what is it that has brought you to the Common Market?”

  I took a deep breath. There was no going back after this. “I want to find my father.”

  “Not to be indelicate, but…which one?”

  “My real father.”

  Roche raised an eyebrow.

  Feeling slightly self-conscious, I clarified, “The pureblood who had an affair with my mother.”

  He leaned back in his chair. “And what do you know about this man?”

  And so I told Roche everything I knew about him—that he’d briefly had an affair with my mother in White Falls, and that he went by the name Vincent Price. At least among humans.

  Not much to go on.

  But Roche considered the matter thoughtfully.

  Finally, he pursed his lips. “It will be difficult. But…I think I might have some ideas about where to start. Now, as to the subject of payment…”

  “I don’t have much. If you want cash—”

  But Roche shook his head. “This one’s on me.”

  I blinked. “You mean I don’t have to pay? You’ll do it for free?”

  “Consider it a token of my apology. To ensure that there are no hard feelings.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “I thought that business with the Tower was just…business.”

  I was smiling a little, and he smiled back.

  He said, “You were a pawn. And I don’t like to use people.”

  We shook on it. Before I left, he warned me that this was only the first step in what would likely be a very lengthy—and possibly expensive—process.

  “I’m going to connect with someone who can do the rest of the legwork. That person will likely expect actual payment.”

  I nodded. I had no idea how I was going to deal with that—but decided that I’d cross that bridge when I came to it.

  By the time I returned to the Marovech apartment, I was already daydreaming about what I would say when I met my father.

  You’re getting ahead of yourself.

  But I couldn’t help it.

  This, I was sure, was what would finally make sense of my life.

  Chapter 44

  I set down The Origin the Sources, unable to shake my skepticism.

  According to the book, it was the seven Sources—and their mysterious arrival thousands of years ago—who had first bestowed the Aristoi with their magical powers.

  It sounded like a fairy tale to me.

  Maybe I’m not cut out for magic.

  A very helpful footnote had placed the arrival of the Sources at around 1,200 B.C. A time which, if I was remembering correctly, wasn’t known for the accuracy of its written records.

  For all we knew, the Sources were made up.

  Or maybe they were aliens, or—

  There was a soft knock at my door.

  I thought it might be one of the servants, coming by to bring me a fresh set of towels.

  But as I started to get up from the bed, I heard a familiar voice.

  “Kes?”

  I practi
cally leapt across the room. “You’re back!”

  Sol stood in the door. He was smiling, but he looked weary, almost haggard.

  “Are you okay? What happened? Where’s Nev?”

  “I’m fine.” He wandered into the room. “Nev didn’t come back with me. She had…other errands. As for what happened—well, that’s a slightly longer story.”

  He fell silent.

  I waited. Just having him here, in my room, was better than nothing.

  “And things have been uneventful here?”

  I nodded. I wasn’t about to admit that I’d been so desperate for distraction today that I’d plowed through a quarter of The Origin of the Sources.

  I became aware that Sol was looking at me—studying me intently. His smile was gone.

  “What?” I couldn’t hide the worry in my voice.

  He seemed to hesitate. “Nev and I met with some purebloods.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Purebloods?”

  “They’re members of a progressive faction within the Capitol. Of course, they haven’t held any sort of political sway in decades—more than decades, actually. But they sometimes meet with us. Just to, you know, keep the lines of communication open.”

  “And?”

  He shook his head. “They’re worried about what’s going on with Blood Right. Very worried. Unfortunately, Atameus and his Council of Elders have basically decided to pretend like the problem doesn’t exist.”

  “So they’re not going to do anything?”

  He shrugged. “Apparently, they sent an investigative team to Sanctuary. Rumor is that the team hasn’t been heard from since.”

  Our own knowledge of what had gone down at Sanctuary—after we high-tailed it out of there—was sketchy. Word had gone around that it had been destroyed. Completely.

  I had assumed that meant that the “booby-traps” left behind by the old Sanctuary government had done their job.

  But when I’d asked him about it, Sol hadn’t seemed so sure…

  Now he sighed. “The purebloods have no appetite for conflict. Not after what happened in the last Blood War. They’re going to watch…and wait.”

  “So…what’s the plan?”

  Sol didn’t answer right away.

  “I mean, what do we do about it?”