The Blood Alchemist Chronicles

by Alexia C. Praks

  Zach turned to his father and said, “We should question them.”

  The earl agreed by nodding his head.

  * * *

  Against the darkness of the night and with the help of the glowing gas lamps that were hung at intervals along the streets, Daniella followed the injured culprit into Hyde Park. The coldness set in against her thin clothing, and she started to shiver.

  Ignoring her discomfort, she silently crept along the small pathway through the trees, just behind the culprit. In the distance, just west of where she was hiding, Daniella saw a carriage with a single lamp glowing from within. From where she was, she could just make out a driver sitting on the high seat. There was also another man, though she could not see what he looked like because it was too dark.

  The culprit who had shot the king rushed forward. Daniella could tell he was hurt from the beating he had received from the earl’s oldest son.

  She smirked. Serves him right for trying to kill a person. But she knew this man did not act alone. There must have been orders from somebody higher, perhaps in exchange for money or perhaps for something more.

  Daniella was more than a little annoyed with herself for not informing the earl’s son that there was an intended murder in the house. Now it was too late, and it was up to her to find out who was behind it, since that son of the earl hadn’t bothered to follow the culprit when the ballroom had been in a chaos of silly young ladies and clumsy dandies screaming and running for their lives at the sound of a mere gunshot.

  Daniella saw the culprit was now talking to the male standing near the carriage. She couldn’t hear what they were talking about, so she crept closer and hid just behind a tree. She perked her ears and narrowed her eyes in the darkness as she spied on them.

  “The deed is done,” the culprit said. “Where is he?”

  “And your partner?” asked the other man, standing in what seemed like a more commanding position. His voice was hard, cold, and calm.

  Daniella realized his speech was cultured, which told her a great deal. This man who was meeting with the culprit was highly educated. No doubt he was from polite society. She saw at this distance and under the gloom of the moonlight that he was dressed in fine boots, dark overcoat, and white cravat and shirt. Of course, this was common attire in this part of town, during this time of year, and at this hour, as one went about his way to balls, dinner parties, and such. Though the overcast moonlight was quite bright, she could not make out his face, apart from it being very pale.

  “She’s back home.” The culprit grunted, his body bending ever lower because of the pain in his stomach. “Where is he?”

  “You did not finish the deed. The woman is caught,” came the cold reply.

  Daniella frowned as she watched them, wondering how the man came to know about that—unless...

  “You do not deserve your reward,” the male said. He grabbed the culprit by the collar and lifted him high so his legs dangled in the air.

  The shadow of clouds chose that moment to move aside, allowing the bright moonlight to hit directly on the man’s face, revealing him to Daniella.

  “Oh, mother of God!” Daniella whispered under her breath. Aye, he was one of the other high demons she had been hunting for, the one who had murdered Louisa.

  Before she could move, the demon brought the culprit down, impaled the man’s throat with his sharp teeth, and devoured him, sucking the man’s blood and life qi until he was mere wrinkled skin and bones. Once he was satisfied, he threw what remained of the man onto the ground, as if in disgust. From this distance, Daniella could clearly see the man was still moving. He was not yet dead.

  Standing over him, the demon took out a pistol.

  Daniella’s eyes widened and she was ready to jump out when the demon pointed the pistol at the man and then—BANG! BANG!

  The sound echoed in the silent night. Birds rustled restlessly and then flocked out of trees.

  Suddenly, he shouted, “Who’s there? Come out!”

  Daniella held her breath, thinking he had heard or seen her. Should she reveal herself and confront him? Should she take her chances and slay this heartless monster? But she knew she could never take him down alone. That had been why she had enlisted help from her friends in the first place.

  “I said come out, you coward!” the demon shouted sarcastically.

  She wasn’t a coward. Daniella gritted her teeth in anger at the insult. She gathered her inner qi, ready to jump out, when, suddenly, a body appeared behind her.

  A strong hand wrapped around her arm, pulling her back. Daniella gasped, ready to scream in response. Another hand instantly covered her mouth, preventing her from uttering a word. Then she was thrust back against the warmth and firmness of a manly body. Instantly, a familiar scent of woods and something so inspirationally unique caressed her nose. She relaxed and turned to look up, her heart racing in a different sort of way that had nothing to do with fight or flight.

  Strong aquiline features sat on a broodingly handsome face and smoky, alert eyes were staring off in the distance where the demons were. Noting it was safe, Saito Ren finally turned his attention to Daniella. He gave her an infectious smile as he removed his hand from her mouth.

  Daniella couldn’t stop herself from reacting to that contagious smile and gave one in return.

  “Ren,” she whispered, almost in a sort of caress that was hard to hide.

  “I see you’re getting yourself into trouble again,” he said softly.

  She managed to blush at his statement. Of course, it couldn’t really be helped, where trouble was concerned. It seemed to follow her wherever she went.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked. She had thought he had an important assignment to work on, investigating the serial murders that had started a few months back.

  He gave her a look that made her feel as if she were a child who didn’t know how to keep a secret.

  “I had a feeling you were up to no good tonight,” he said simply. “And I was right, again.”

  She pulled her face at his emphasis of the word again. He made it sound so horribly bad, which made her heart ache, and she felt more than a little guilty. Why? Because it was Ren, and because he made it sound as if she were a chore to him.

  Am I a chore to him? Am I wasting his time and his resources? Am I not important to him?

  The thought that she was a burden to him pained her, and she felt a quiver of sadness within her being.

  On the other side of the park, in the distance, she could hear the demon laughing, almost insanely. The laughter pulled her attention back to their precarious situation, and she turned to watch the demon from afar, dismissing her own thoughts from her mind.

  Ren did the same, his stance alert and ready for action.

  “Just birds,” the demon said to himself. Then he nudged the dead man with the tip of his polished boot. Satisfied, he turned, climbed into the carriage, and then he was off.

  Daniella reacted and was about to rush out of their hiding place, but Ren caught her by the arm and pulled her back against him.

  With his strong arms securely wrapped around her, he twisted them both around, hiding them farther amongst the dark bushes.

  Daniella blinked, wondering what Ren was doing and what was going on. She was about to protest when, a second later, two guards ran past them toward the clearing. A moment later, they encountered the dead body.

  Properly hidden within Ren’s protective embrace, Daniella blushed intensely as she stared at his face. God, he is gorgeous, she thought in awe.

  “I didn’t hear them,” she confessed a moment later.

  He chuckled. “You have much to learn.”

  She couldn’t agree more and nodded. Ren loosened his hold on her, thus allowing her to turn around in his arms so she could see what was going on in the distance.

  On the other side, the guards crouched, and one touched the base of the corpse’s neck, checking for his pulse.

  “He’s dead,” the m
an said. “And he looks ancient.”

  “Two shots. One in the heart and one in the forehead,” the other noted.

  “Ugh! Blood on his neck,” said the one who had searched for the pulse, wiping his hand with a hanky.

  “What do you think these are?” the other asked, looking closely at the teeth marks.

  “Wild animal bites. There seem to be a lot going around, lately.”

  “Foolish guards,” Daniella muttered under her breath. But at least they’d report the body to the police.

  “Shall we?” Ren asked, taking a step back.

  Daniella nodded. It was time to go find Shin, John, and Maiko and leave this unsavory party for the night. After all, she had accomplished what she had intended to achieve, which was to kill one of the five demons who had slaughtered Louisa.

  The duo turned and ran back across Hyde Park toward Hasting House. As they did so, Daniella explained to Ren everything that had transpired in the past few hours. Except for the part about when she had bumped into Zachary Stephen Hasting. First of all, it was too embarrassing to tell anyone, and secondly, it was useless information to Ren and he wouldn’t appreciate that.

  Once they were at Park Lane, Daniella widened her eyes in surprise at the scene of chaos they beheld. There were many beautifully dressed people everywhere, hastily exiting Hasting House.

  The incident is sure to be the talk of the season and will make headlines tomorrow morning, no doubt.

  Ren and Daniella were walking across the garden amongst the chaotic, thick crowd when they saw a young policeman talking to his superior at the door. Daniella lowered her head so the police would not notice Ren and her sneaking about the mansion. Then they dashed to stand in the dark corner near the door to listen.

  “How many of them are there?”

  “Four, sir. We caught three,” the young man said.

  “We caught three?” his superior asked with raised brows, his tone echoing doubt. “And his lordship?”

  “His lordship caught two, but one got away when everything was in chaos. The woman is now being questioned by his lordship in the study with her two accomplices, sir.”

  “A woman did you say?”

  “Yes, sir, two women to be precise. One is Japanese. Mighty pretty she is, sir. Keeps saying she and the man aren’t involved in this incident. Sounds like a lie to me. Trying to get away with an attempted murder, I suppose.”

  Daniella felt her heart do a somersault. Calm down, Daniella. You have to see it before you believe it. Oh God, she thought, let it not be my friends.

  “I’d better go in and see to things,” the superior said. The young man nodded.

  Daniella knew it would be too risky for them to barge right into the house. They’d have to find another way.

  Ren initiated. He took her hand and led her around the manor toward the back door. There, the servants were too busy rushing around cleaning up and doing their duties, and they did not notice the duo.

  The pair slipped into the kitchen and quickly ran across the long, lowly lit hallway to the servants’ stairs. Then they ran up those steps, and once at the top, Ren opened the door. He popped his head out and scanned the whole length of the foyer.

  Police, guards, and servants were everywhere, patrolling the place and escorting the guests out of the house.

  Ren frowned. “There must be another way,” he whispered.

  Daniella nodded in agreement.

  Ren closed the door lightly. Then they saw another flight of stairs. With his hand still clasped firmly around Daniella’s, he led her up those steps, their feet light and fast. Finally, they came to another door. Ren opened it and stuck his head out again. This time the hallway was empty.

  They slipped out, and Daniella wondered which door was the study as they were running along. They were just passing the third door when they heard voices from within one of them.

  “We’re not with her!” they heard Maiko say loudly.

  Because they were sprinting fast—which was Ren’s usual pace—Daniella had to steady herself as she slowed so she wouldn’t fall down the stairs, which was where they were heading. They came to a stop just at the end of the landing, and before anyone saw, they turned and ran back the other way.

  They found the door where Maiko’s voice had been coming from, and Daniella realized it was next to the library. She vaguely remembered that to one side of the library, there was a double door leading to the terrace outside.

  They slipped into the library, and just to make sure, Daniella went to check upon the maid’s body. To her surprise, the body was gone. Did that mean...?

  “Dammit!” she swore under her breath.

  “The maid’s body?” Ren asked.

  She nodded. “It’s gone,” she said.

  “Forget about the corpse for now. Let’s find John and Maiko,” he suggested.

  Daniella agreed, nodding. They quickly found the way to the terrace. Then they crept along the wall to the next room. They stood near the long window of the study and turned their heads just a bit to peep at the people inside. They saw John sitting on a chair with his hands tied back. His hair was in a disheveled state and his good eye was red.

  “Ren! Dan!” a voice whispered from above.

  Daniella glanced up at the calling and saw Shin expertly crouching on a pole that stuck out from the roof. He somersaulted down and landed cleanly and lightly on the concrete terrace beside them.

  “Shh...” He put a finger to his lips, indicating they should keep their voices down. Daniella nodded, and all three turned their attention to what was happening in the study.

  As they peered in, they saw to John’s right was Maiko and to his left was the woman Daniella had seen in the sitting room. She noted that Maiko looked very calm, which was very like her.

  Daniella knew for a fact that Maiko must be enjoying herself tremendously, being captured and interrogated. Soon, once she’d had enough, however, she’d flip the table. In seconds, she and John would take down these people.

  Then again, Daniella wasn’t sure how successful they’d be, because there were several people in that room, with unknown strength and abilities she couldn’t measure, such as that Lord Zachary Hasting for example. Then there was that other tall, leanly built man with sandy-brown hair standing before Maiko. Off to the side stood numerous guards, the earl of Middlemarch himself, another young man with blond hair, and the conte from the kingdom of Darnia.

  The atmosphere was tight and tense. It was then a man walked in. He was the one she and Ren had seen questioning one of the young police at the door.

  * * *

  The Interrogation

  Sacred Beasts of the East: Shapeshifters originating in the East. They are powerful creatures with supernatural abilities and have long lifespans. The alphas are immortal.

  Sage Xi Ling, Taoist Philosopher

  * * *

  “We’ve heard that a hundred times,” Lieutenant Jeremy Anderson said darkly to Maiko. He crouched to one knee in front of her, placed his hand under her chin, and tipped her lovely face up. He even gave her a dashing smile.

  “Now please, mistress, start telling us the truth. What were you doing in the servants’ quarters?”

  Maiko stared long and hard at the lieutenant. There were tears in her eyes, and dear Lord, she was doing her best to look as scared as she possibly could. But of course, she did have her limits. She simply wanted to shapeshift herself into her fox form and tear into this arrogant man’s throat with her sharp teeth. To do so, however, would only worsen the already dire situation. These nobilities were already convinced she and John had murdered that maid they had found dead in the library. If she were to transformed herself into her beastly form, she’d be damned for sure. The thought of being hunted down, tortured, and then killed didn’t please her one bit. She’d had enough playing the helpless prey for the past decades back in the kingdom of Japan and didn’t want any more of that.

  Resigned to perform the helpless innocent, she schoo
led her face to look as frightened as she could. Her voice convincingly shook as she said, “Please, sir, we know nothing. ’Tis a misunderstanding.”

  She was quite pleased at her playacting when the stern man looked taken aback. She knew he had fallen for her trick.

  Maiko, however, misjudged the intelligent Lieutenant Jeremy Anderson. He cocked his head to one side, admiring the oriental beauty who fascinated him more than his disciplined self could allow. He smiled arrogantly and then stood.

  “Zach,” he said dryly, his eyes glinting, “I believe we have no choice but to force a confession.”

  Maiko instantly felt a burst of anger at her failure. Her eyes glowed a golden halo, flowing with supernatural qi. Just as quickly, however, she diminished the demonic power within her and lowered her eyes to avoid being noticed.

  “Ouch!” Connor William Hasting, the second son of the earl of Middlemarch, made the sound. He shook his blond head in mirth as he chuckled with amusement. “Jeremy, you’re such a coldhearted man” he said to his cousin. “That is not how you treat a beautiful lady such as mistress, err...”

  Connor turned his attention to Maiko and gave her a dashing smile that would have caused many young women’s hearts to flutter with joy. It didn’t work with Maiko, though, and she gave him a hard glare in answer.

  John, being the sincere one, chimed in and said, “Miro Maiko. You must address her as Miro-dono. It is the Japanese way.”

  The audience was taken aback by John’s willingness to speak, indeed, by his offering them information so innocently as introducing one’s acquaintances. They would have never thought such a rough-looking man, one with a face that resembled a menacing bear, would be so easy to deal with.

  Connor clasped his hands together and turned his attention to John, pleased with the man’s cooperation. “Ah, is that so? Why, thank you very much, Mr., err...?”