Bloodline Alchemy: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Academy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 6)

by Lan Chan

  I ignored him as Professor Suleiman squeezed himself into the very tight gap Max opened in the door. When he shut it again, there were too many supernaturals watching me expectantly.

  “Stop gawking at her!” Max snapped. “I’m this close to kicking you all out.”

  Sinking into myself, I sent soothing calm down the mating link. He narrowed his eyes at me, but the lion was always receptive to my touch. The gold in his eyes receded. I didn’t blame him for being on edge. Last time I’d done this, it had almost killed me. I went mute at the very thought of him being hurt. I couldn’t hold it against him for being agitated now.

  “How dangerous is this?” Professor Suleiman asked. He stood at the base of the bed beside Professor Mortimer.

  “I’m not sure.” I scratched at my nose. “Last time I did it, I had Lex’s blood to amplify my strength.” There was only one vial of Lex’s blood left. I didn’t want to use it if I didn’t need to.

  “Take your time,” Professor Mortimer suggested. “If it doesn’t work this time, you can always try again.”

  It was a very typical response from a scholar. The flat look Durin was giving the professor behind his back said otherwise. Over the past two days, demon activity around Seraphina had increased. Time was slipping through our fingers.

  Not wishing to tap out more energy than I had, I said, “Can you please trace the Angelical on her skin for me?”

  Trading places with them, I went to stand at the base of the bed while they stood one each on either side of Professor McKenna. They picked up her hands.

  Jacqueline tried to offer me her seat, but I shook my head. Nervous energy ate up my resolve. Max came up behind me. His arm curled around my waist to lay flat against my stomach. He pulled me into his chest, and I leaned back into him, taking strength from his love.

  “You can do this,” he said in my ear. “It just wants release. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be hiding away instead of fighting to destroy us like the other malachim.”

  It was only when he said it that I realised it must be true. Unlike the malachim that was so terrified inside Durin’s body and was sucking life essence, even though it didn’t need it, this malachim wasn’t out of its mind. It was just there hiding.

  Swallowing, I pulled the Ley sight over my vision and gasped. Max’s arm tightened around me, but he didn’t react, because through the link he’d sensed my absolute wonder.

  I saw Professor Mortimer and Professor Suleiman raise their hands as though to trace the Angelical and flagged them down. There was no need. Transposed over Professor McKenna’s soul was one of pure, blinding white light muddled with darkness. It hadn’t wanted to be detected before but now it wasn’t hiding anymore. The malachim raised itself up using her body.

  Everyone in the room tensed.

  You know why I’m here, I asked in my mind. Somehow, I knew it would prefer this to physical speech. Max’s fingers drew small circles against my belly. Inside my head, a golden lion flecked with blue and pink entered my field of vision. The red in his aura was so saturated in the glow of my magic that it almost appeared black.

  The malachim turned its head to the side.

  You wish me to leave, the malachim thought. Its mental voice was ancient and wondrous against my mind. It was a voice no human was every supposed to hear. I flinched at the weight of it. The malachim glanced at the two professors and nodded.

  “Can you please just place a dampening word on him?” I asked them aloud.

  They each drew the same symbol on Professor McKenna’s palms. The pressure in my mind eased a little.

  What are you? the malachim asked me.

  Human, I thought back.

  Its head inched forward. Yes, it thought. Very human. But also...different.

  How so?

  It reached out a hand and I felt a finger poke me in the chest. My brother has touched you. My mind filled with the weighted sigh of the first malachim whose soul I had transmuted. I could only nod.

  No human should be able to touch the soul of a malachim and live. He kept staring at me like he was peeling away parts of me to uncover my secrets. She has marked you.

  Who?

  Lucifer’s scion.

  I clutched at Max’s hand. His fingers intertwined with mine. I did it myself.

  Why? the malachim asked, a boundless curiosity in its thoughts.

  Because I need to.

  It will kill you. A certainty. Her power is corrupt. It comes from the Morning Star.

  I know. But I have to try. She’s my friend.

  He – his essence was distinctly male –was quiet for a moment as though trying to remember what friendship meant. Finally, after a long stretch, the malachim nodded.

  A human construct. His head turned upwards slightly, and I could swear I felt him smile. Friendship. Yes. I remember now.

  I had a question of my own. Why are you not like the others? The ones who obey Apollyon?

  The sound of his captor’s name made the malachim shrink in on himself. Apollyon was weakened when the Morning Star was contained. They called him the Corrupter, but after Lucifer lost, Raphael’s influence on the dimension provided it with protection. Even free of our guidance, the humans didn’t fall as easily to Apollyon’s influence. Not with the supernaturals protecting them from the worst that Apollyon could throw at them. He needs power and he wants to take it from you. From the promise your great-grandfather made.

  I suspected as much. How can we stop him?

  There was a longer silence as he considered his next thoughts carefully. His head turned and he inspected those who were in the room one by one before turning back to me. You are not strong enough, he thought. You were not made for conflict with the Hell dimension. And then his gaze shifted behind me. But he is.

  My heart constricted. The lion beside me in my thoughts opened its mouth and flashed its fangs.

  You are not ready for the war that Apollyon is about to bring to your door. But I can help you.

  Why would you do that? I asked.

  He was quiet for a moment. Friendship.

  In my mind, I saw the quiet bonds that connected this malachim to the ones that were still in the Abyss. The ones whose souls were being tormented and corrupted by being forced to act against their very natures.

  Why hide then? I wanted to know. Why did you pick Professor McKenna?

  He raised a hand and feathered it across Professor McKenna’s throat. She holds the key.

  What key?

  Kai appeared in front of us, and the golden lion beside me tried to lunge. Around me, Max became a wall of agitated fury. I sank my hand into the lion’s mane, petting it until its aggression eased into soft growling.

  Deal, I heard Max’s voice say in my head.

  Wait, I thought.

  I’ll do it.

  Throwing the Ley sight off us, I turned around in his arms. “We don’t know anything about what he’s offering. It could mean–” I couldn’t finish. My hand bunched up the hem of his T-shirt so hard I got a cramp.

  “If you had a chance to save Lex, would you take it?”

  It didn’t even need to be asked. “If it was me he wants, would you allow it?”

  He searched my eyes for a moment. His hand cupped my cheek. “I would never stop you from being who you are.”

  The truth in his words only made me more hesitant. Rifling through my memory, I tried to think of a time when he’d actively stopped me from being true to myself but couldn’t. As much as he raged and ranted, he allowed me freedom when I needed it.

  “Please be very careful.”

  “I have every reason to be, Sophie darling.”

  Back inside the Ley dimension, I conveyed our agreement. The malachim nodded.

  The transfer will hurt you, he thought without malice. Just a statement of truth.

  That’s okay.

  You are a strange one, Sophie Mwansa. I watched out for one like you many eons ago. But she was bigger, fiercer in body. He furnished me with the image of a
warrior princess with skin as dark as midnight and eyes that burned with fire. Her golden headdress was adorned with intertwining vines. A huntress in Gaia’s army as they went to their death against the forces of Hell.

  I hope our fates end up differently. I did not care for the way he regarded Max with unwavering stillness. All of the breath was knocked out of me when the malachim slipped from Professor McKenna and into my body through my mouth. Max clenched me to him as the alchemy surged to meet the soul of the malachim. The mating link pushed out behind the alchemy, holding on to my soul as securely as Max was holding my body.

  I cried out as pain stabbed at my mind. Blood trickled down my nose. Gripping Max’s hand, I focused all of my energy on siphoning the malachim’s soul, piece by piece, until I had transmuted the black evil that had corrupted it in the Abyss. What was left behind was a shining round orb of pure light. A pool of dark sludge lay beneath it. The darkness poured out of my mouth in a gush of blood that dribbled down my chin and splashed the sheet.

  “Goodness!” Professor Mortimer said.

  Max growled and I thought it was to stop anybody from trying to approach me. My head lolled to the side as the final bit of soul was transmuted. I coughed blood like nobody’s business. My head pounded so hard I thought I was going to faint. The only thing keeping me standing was Max’s arm.

  When I opened my eyes, it was to a world bathed in white. And then, in the corner of the room, a seraphim appeared draped in a silver cloak. The supernaturals shrank back and tried to get on their knees but there just wasn’t enough space.

  “My lord,” the malachim spoke using my voice.

  Azrael nodded his head. “Haniel. You belong with me.”

  The malachim agreed. But it made no move to vacate my body. “I wish to remain with the human. I wish to help them.”

  “This is not your fight anymore. Your time ended long ago.”

  Azrael lowered his cowl and I all but lost my mind. He was so incredibly beautiful in a quietly fearsome way. His expression was not warm like Raphael’s or fierce like Michael. It was an absence of feeling almost. Like...well, death. But a calm death. A peaceful death. Isla was right. When all was said and done, I wanted to be with Azrael too.

  “It is all of our fight now, my lord.”

  “You understand the consequences?”

  I gulped but it wasn’t my apprehension that caused it. “Yes. I understand.”

  “So be it.”

  Silver and black light sparked before Azrael disappeared. Turning, the malachim, Haniel, set his sights on Max. His attention tracked to where Lex had tattooed the Angelical on Max’s chest. He nodded.

  My mouth opened involuntarily, and I felt the world turn upside down as Haniel left my body. Max jerked. His arms slipped from around me to clutch at his throat. Durin reached out for me. Max’s eyes bulged for a moment before his aura became lit with a white fire that made his eyes blaze.

  It was the last thing I saw before I passed out.

  47

  In my dream, I stood on the precipice of the Abyss. Overhead, the red sky made the atmosphere oppressive. It was almost better to be in darkness than to know the sun was not producing any warmth.

  Kai stood on one side of me, my great-grandfather on the other. Neither of them moved their bent heads as they stared into the depthless void. Around us, I was acutely aware of the legion of demons that were clawing and biting at each other as they stood waiting.

  The air was charged with static and clogged with brimstone. Unsure what else to do, I looked down into the centre of the Abyss. I almost jumped out of my skin when a flash of silver sliced through the red sky and Lucifer came to a soft landing on the other side of the opening. His beauty was painful to behold. Even if he wasn’t wearing that mocking golden Nephilim armour, his presence would have drawn a crowd. When we’d taken his vessel from the seraphim, I’d done everything I could to avoid looking at him. Now it was impossible not to be drawn to his presence, even as my eyes watered.

  A force a million times more oppressive than the malachim closed around my mind. I sank to my knees even though I tried to resist cowering.

  “You were right to lean on her, Alessia.”

  Despite the fear that made me quiver, my head snapped up. She stepped out of the darkness and all the air in the Abyss felt like it was sucked dry. She was wearing jeans and a grey T-shirt, but over the top of it, she too had on a breastplate of gold. There was blood caked to the front of it. At her side was a blade that almost touched the floor on her small frame. Those blue eyes of hers that had always reminded me of a sapphire pool were now iced over. So cold the tip of my nose felt touched with frost. What made my heart ache was that she didn’t glance at Kai’s body once. It was like he was insignificant.

  “She’s weak,” Lex said, giving life to the insecurity that ate at me. “She is so ridiculously human.” The way she said human reminded me of the way the Council said it.

  “You are human too.”

  She arched a brow at him. “Really? How much of me do you think is still human? Not enough to be plagued by their incompetence, that’s for sure.”

  Lucifer cocked his head to the side in perfect imitation of human scepticism. “Really? Apollyon seems unable to secure her soul. Shall I send you to try?”

  I couldn’t stifle the squeak. Lucifer grinned at me and my heart literally stopped.

  “If you wish,” Lex said. “Or you could snap your fingers and end it now.”

  She was too good at hiding her feelings. So good even I couldn’t tell if she was bluffing. With Lucifer’s will pressing down on me, it took me precious seconds to think about trying to use the Ley sight. When I cast it down around me and peered at Lex’s aura, all of the light in the world died.

  I saw the Ley sight in bonds of love, affection, and familial connection. Lex’s aura was a blistering midnight blue surrounded by a black-and-silver corona of bone magic. When I had first met her, Lex’s aura has been so dark red I almost couldn’t bear to touch it. Her love for Betty, her absolute loyalty to her grandmother, was something to behold. As time went on, that darkness went almost black with the threads of her love for the people she had made friends with. All of that was now gone.

  A tear trickled down my cheek.

  Lex rolled her eyes. “I don’t have time for this,” she said. “Are we snapping fingers, or can I get back to the real work?”

  Lucifer turned to her for the first time, his own icy-blue eyes speculative. “If you keep looking at me like that,” Lex said, “I’m going to have to start charging you.”

  She really didn’t know when to shut up. It was one of the things I loved about her. Lucifer wasn’t convinced, but the way his jaw clamped made me sure he couldn’t tell if she was lying either.

  “Urgh,” she said. “Fine. I’ll do it.”

  She raised her arm and looked at me square in the face for the first time ever. She smiled at me and a chill sliced through my chest. “Mawat–”

  Inside Kai’s body, Apollyon raged. “Brother!” he shouted.

  Lucifer was the one who rolled his eyes this time, but he flagged Lex to stop. My heart beat in my throat, a condition that happened every time I heard her speak Angelical.

  “Finish this then,” Lucifer told Apollyon. “Take the necromancers if you can’t do it yourself. I grow weary of these supernaturals.”

  He waved his hand, and I woke up suffocating. The second I came out of the nightmare, the mating link arched up and smothered me in comfort. It made the nightmare smooth at the edges until I wasn’t sure what it was that had frightened me so badly.

  A heavy limb was thrown over my shoulder, pinning me to the mattress. Max’s chin rested on the top of my head. “Max!” I tried to push at his arm, but it wouldn’t budge. “Move!”

  His arm retracted slightly but he didn’t relax his hold. “Shhh,” he said. “I’m trying to sleep.”

  “Get off me right now!”

  He pounced on me, rolling me onto my back, an
d settled above me. “You’re so grumpy in the morning.”

  Lex had always said the same thing. What did she expect when she kept me up all night with screaming and cursing in her sleep?

  “If you don’t move right now, I’m going to transmute your junk into acorns.”

  “I think that would be more of a punishment on you than it is on me.” His eyes flashed gold before he sank down and kissed me. The moan slipped out against my will which was turning to mush with the sweep of his tongue. He was smirking when he pulled away.

  “Very funny,” I said, slightly breathless. “How long was I out?”

  “It’s been two days.”

  I hissed. “How am I supposed to do anything if a simple transmutation knocks me flat?”

  “There was nothing simple about what you did.”

  His cheek twinged. It was only then that I remembered the malachim sheltered in his body. Sinking inside, I tried to inspect the mating link for any signs of an intruder. Max’s hand closing over my throat dragged me back to the real world. “He has been instructed to leave it alone,” Max said.

  “Is it weird?”

  He considered the question. “It’s different. Mostly he just observes.” He stroked his thumb over my chin.

  “Come on,” he said. “They wanted us at the Academy as soon as you woke.”

  We were halfway to the portal field when the sky began to give off a strange pink hue. The nightmare kicked to life inside my mind. I paused. “Max,” I said. “I had a bad dream last night.”

  “Tell me later.” His attention was far in the distance where the perimeter was beginning to become blocked by rolling grey clouds. “Come.”

  He took my hand and we booked it to the portal field, only to be intercepted by Durin. “They’ve changed the meeting to Seraphina,” he said. “This madness is happening everywhere.” Yolanda ran up beside him, followed by the other alphas. Durin turned to her.

  “Lock this place down.”

  Guards streamed both into and out of the portal. Dorian and I crossed paths. He smiled at me but all I could do was nod. “Wait,” I said just as Max was about to bundle me through the portal. “The Sisterhood.”