The Blood Alchemist Chronicles

by Alexia C. Praks

  “True,” Tristan said and then sipped his port. “But where’s the fun in that, eh?”

  Because both Zach and Jeremy seemed rather interested in the conversation, Connor explained, “Apparently, the culprit who started all this mess is named Dan. He’s also an adorable playboy who likes to go around seducing beautiful, innocent women. This is the result of that. And also, this is duel number ninety-nine.”

  Zach raised a brow in question. “Dan?”

  Connor nodded. He whispered to his brother, “Your Master Dan.” He smiled cheekily. More loudly, he said, “Quite a playboy, eh? It seems he’s very interested in women. Too bad for you, Zach.”

  Zach scowled at his brother.

  Jeremy chuckled. “Ninety-nine? You’re not jesting?”

  Michael said, “Unfortunately, that sounds about right. That child has always had the worst luck when it comes to something like this.”

  Tristan nodded. “Trouble seems to follow that child. There is no doubt about that. I’m pretty sure it’s a curse.”

  Michael frowned. “Don’t say things like that. It sounds rather ominous.”

  Tristan chuckled. “Sorry.”

  Internally, he thought, Well, not actually a curse, but rather a sort of seal. He could always sense it, that powerful force enveloping that child. It was as if its purpose was to contain something formidable and dangerous from within, and Tristan had yet to figure out what that was. Furthermore, he had no doubt that the seal itself had side effects, which was the attraction of violence and calamity in addition to locking one’s abilities.

  Why? Why had Master Romano and Master Zhang gone to such lengths to put such a strong seal on Dan? Was there some dark secret that he didn’t know?

  Across from Tristan, Connor felt like teasing his brother a bit more and leaned forward. “Oh dear, the adorable playboy is sending another man sprawling. Ouch! That has to hurt. Right there in the crotch. You have to give it to the boy. He definitely knows where to hit where it hurts most.”

  The men gazed off in the direction of Daniella, who was in the midst of smashing her fist onto another man’s face, thus sending him flying to the side.

  Zach could only stare in disbelief. This was Master Dan, the youth who had masqueraded himself as the young Lord Yang from the Kingdom of China in order to sneak into his father’s birthday party. The boy was now dressed like some street beggar and was sending men twice his size flying with those puny fists.

  Suddenly, he couldn’t help himself and chuckled in amusement. “An adorable playboy, eh?” he murmured under his breath. “How interesting.” He got up from his seat and headed into the midst of the brawl.

  Connor watched his brother as he said, “It’s about to get even more entertaining.”

  On the other side of the tavern, Daniella was having a fine time dueling with Theo and his underlings. Indeed, the nineteen-year-old young man had been her adversary for a year now, and everywhere she went, he’d always be there to cause her trouble. Of course, she had enjoyed the fights over the years, and today was no exception. After all, she had been trained by her foster father, the Grand Thief, to defend herself and, more importantly, to enjoy the activity in the process.

  Suddenly, she missed a step. Theo kicked her in the chest, sending her falling back, and she landed against something—or rather, someone.

  Ignoring the person behind her, she glared at Theo. “How dare you!” she said through gritted teeth and rushed forward, charging like a small bull toward Theo, who was waiting for her to retaliate.

  Before she managed to get close to him, however, another of Theo’s underlings suddenly appeared before her. He was enormous, thrice her size, in fact. He grabbed her by the collar and lifted her, her feet dangling in the air.

  Daniella muttered, “Oh dear…” before the man threw her back across the room.

  During this process, Daniella knew she was in big trouble. Knowing she couldn’t do anything about it, she shut her eyes, praying she’d land on something soft. Indeed, the moment came all too soon when she crashed-landed on a hard body with a thud.

  As she slowly opened her eyes, she prayed she hadn’t squished the person too severely when she landed.

  Suddenly, the familiar smell of spice and maleness danced across her nostrils, a scent that reminded her of somebody she had just met recently, merely a few days ago, in fact.

  Once she opened her eyes, Daniella stared long and hard at the manly chest in front of her. Of course, she had seen many manly chests before, but none of them made her this embarrassed. Well, maybe except for Ren, whose presence seemed to always cause her heart to skip a beat or two.

  As she slowly raised her eyes from the chest, she came face to face with a handsome young man who was watching her with amusement. She gasped and cursed internally because the person before her was none the other than the young Lord Zachary Hasting himself, the one person she wanted to avoid at all costs tonight.

  Zach was, in fact, pleasantly surprised that a body suddenly crash-landed on him. He didn’t mind that his body was acting as a safe landing for the youth, nor did he mind that they were staring at each other in such close proximity. In fact, he found himself mesmerized by that exotic face that had been teasing his interest since he had first laid eyes on the youth during his father’s birthday party. Indeed, he couldn’t stop staring now, especially at those bright brown eyes.

  Slowly, he smiled; one side of his mouth was raised slightly, which made him look extremely handsome, an expression that caused much heart fluttering amongst the young ladies of society.

  Daniella, of course, wanted to dig herself a big hole and hide. She did not miss the glint of mischief in his emerald-green eyes nor that unmistakable satisfied smirk that caused her stomach to flip in dread.

  The moment she regained her senses, she hastily struggled out of his arms, thus landing on her feet. Before she could run off and escape, however, Zach caught her by the wrist and pulled her back to him.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” he said, his eyes glinting. “I’ve been looking for you.”

  Daniella cursed inaudibly as she tried to escape his tight clutches. When he still wouldn’t let her wrist go, she demanded in exasperation, “What do you want?”

  Zach’s face came so close to hers that they were nearly nose to nose and lip to lip, which frightened Daniella. Well, just a little.

  He said logically, “You’re the suspect of a murder. Tell me why I shouldn’t be throwing you in prison.”

  Daniella raised her head and said sternly, “You have no proof of that, sir. Now let go of me before I do something harmful to that handsome face of yours.”

  Zach raised a brow and gave her an expression that told her he didn’t believe her words.

  To Daniella, it looked as though he were challenging her, which of course she was very happy to accept. Thus, she enhanced her internal qi and concentrated it to her free fist.

  She said with a smirk, “You asked for it!”

  Her fist flew in an intense heat toward his face, and Daniella expected to hit him square on the cheek. One moment she was grinning with bravado, and the next, she found herself flying forward due to her own punch.

  Zach swiftly and expertly moved his head back and missed being punched by an inch. He then shifted his body to the right, pulled Daniella up, and hauled her over him in the air.

  Daniella silently screamed as she found herself flipped upside down and a moment later landed on the floor on her back. Her heart was racing and her head was spinning as she stared up in confusion.

  Zach’s face appeared above her, which made her frown with displeasure. “Master Dan, you’re a suspect in a murder. You’ll be taken into custody and an interview will be conducted.”

  Daniella could only stare at him in shocked surprise. Good Lord, but he was indeed serious. But of course she couldn’t afford to be captured tonight, not if she was going to find that coachman of a suspect in order to prove Maiko’s and John’s innocence.
Consequently, an escape was her only option.

  Thus, she intensified her internal qi and sent it to concentrate in her legs. Her intention was to kick him with as much force as she could master so he’d release her. The damned man, however, must have figured out her plan because he suddenly let go of her wrist, which surprised her. In a flash, he bent low and grabbed her legs instead. And then swish! She found herself hanging upside down, her cap falling off her head in the process.

  “Let me go!” she demanded, staring up at the young man who seemed to be enjoying himself tremendously while toying with her. “Please, let me down.”

  Zach grinned and said, “I will if you promise to behave.”

  Daniella simply stared at him, stating otherwise. As if she were going to be all obedient and follow his commands!

  On the other side of the tavern, Connor, who was watching his brother and young master Dan dueling, felt rather left out of such an entertaining gathering. So he got off his seat and came over. Once he reached them, he bent down and greeted the upside-down Daniella. “Hello there, Master Dan.”

  Daniella stared at Connor with interest. “You’re Lord Connor Hasting, aren’t you?”

  At Connor’s confirming nod, she continued. “Can you please tell your wall of a brother to put me down? I don’t even know why he’s picking me to bully tonight.”

  Connor chuckled with amusement. “Sorry, my dear boy, but as that wall’s younger brother, I cannot tell him what to do. I don’t dare go against him if I value my own life.” He winked. “Enjoy being bullied,” he said, straightening up.

  Once he stood, he said to his brother, “You’re rather lively tonight, aren’t you? Bullying some street urchin. You must be having a fine time. Although, I wouldn’t go too far, because the two behind me are glaring at you with murderous intent.” He was talking about Tristan and Michael, of course, who were eyeing them.

  Zach glanced at the two men across the room and noted that though they looked relaxed, he could sense their life qi intensifying, ready for action if the situation called for it.

  He lowered his gaze to the youth dangling before him, wondering why the boy had so many powerful men around him, acting as bodyguards. Of course, the more he thought about how odd it was, the more it intrigued him and the more he wanted to dig deeper into the mystery to find the answer.

  It was then that Connor turned on his heel and intended to head back.

  Daniella took the opportunity and shouted, “Wait!” which drew Connor’s attention back to her. Hastily, she swung her upper body forward and then tightly wrapped her arms around his shoulders. With her face beside him, she grinned from ear to ear, proud at her achievement.

  Indeed, Connor was mesmerized by not only the pretty face and bright smile, but also the fact that he felt the soft flesh squishing against his upper back, which of course he knew without a doubt belonged to a woman.

  Suddenly, it was as if a gaslight lamp flared bright with light as Connor came to a realization. Master Dan is a girl!

  He was so shocked at the revelation that he couldn’t do anything but stand there as Daniella said to him, “You brothers are the same. Some pompous lord you are, bullying some kid in a tavern just for the fun of it.”

  With that, she gathered her strength as she held on tightly. Then she powerfully kicked and struggled her legs free from Zach’s clutches. Before she landed on the floor, she threw another powerful kick, this time to Zach’s chest, thus throwing him back.

  Once she landed on the floor, she turned to the exit, but she wasn’t fast enough. Zach had regained his stance, and in a split second was on to her and caught her by the arm again.

  Daniella shouted, “Theo! Let’s end this duel right now!” Her words, of course, had the power to halt the chaotic fights within the tavern and drew everyone’s attention to her, including Theo’s and his men’s.

  Instantly, Theo appeared and shouted to Zach, “Hey, he’s mine.”

  Zach glanced at the young man, obviously annoyed that he had been interrupted. He raised a brow, begging to differ. Ignoring Theo, he said to Daniella, “We’re leaving now.”

  Theo, not used to being ignored, charged at them.

  Zach saw it coming and moved Daniella to one side before exchanging blows with Theo.

  Freed, Daniella took the opportunity and silently sneaked toward the door as Zach and Connor were suddenly surrounded by Theo’s men.

  * * *

  A Dark Encounter

  High Demons: Powerful night creatures. Need life qi and blood to survive. They have the ability to transform into humans, have supernatural strength, and some are highly intelligent. In their demonic form, they have the body of a human but the face of a wolf-like creature, and pointy ears. They have pointy, sharp teeth, which they use to impale their victim.

  Dr. Adam Claymore, Blood Alchemist

  * * *

  Despite the fact that she wanted to stay and watch the fight between the notorious Hasting brothers and Theo’s gang to gauge just how strong the Hasting brothers really were, Daniella knew it was best for her to escape if she didn’t want to be caught again. Once she had managed to exit the tavern unscathed, she ran all the way to the waterfront before she decided to stop and take some much-needed rest.

  “What a night,” she said, shaking her head between deep breaths. God, what was she going to do now? She certainly couldn’t go back there, because she knew she’d be caught for sure. Furthermore, the suspect they had been waiting for had yet to turn up tonight.

  After taking a couple deep breaths, she straightened her back and then surveyed her surroundings with curiosity.

  It was dead quiet in this neighborhood, and indeed, night fog started settling in the vicinity, which made for extremely poor visibility. The coldness was getting quite prominent as well, and Daniella shivered a little, wondering if it was a good idea for her to go back and look for Ren and Shin, because they had yet to turn up. Perhaps they were still trapped in the tavern where Theo’s men were surrounding them.

  She shook her head at that thought. No. The Saito brothers would be just fine. They were blood alchemists, after all, and a duel in a tavern with some lousy street gang was nothing to them. They’d beat those men into a pulp in no time and would be joining her any moment now, so she had nothing to worry about.

  Accordingly, she decided to wait for her comrades. But of course, Daniella was pretty infamous for her impatience, and when neither Ren nor Shin had shown up some ten minutes later, she began to pace.

  What could possibly be holding them up? Were they having trouble? Or perhaps—just perhaps—they were now dueling with the Hasting brothers.

  The moment that idea came into her mind, she panicked. If that was true, then she had no choice but to return to the tavern to help her friends out.

  Turning on her heel, she started racing back toward the direction of the tavern. She was just passing through one of the alleyways along the streets when she sensed something dark and nefarious. It was a sort of life qi she had never felt before. The energy emitted a sort of murky and sinister aura, black with death and smelling of blood.

  Suddenly, the qi felt stronger, and Daniella knew she was very close. Then there it was; the dark energy felt so powerful and threatening that it made her bones shiver in trepidation.

  Daniella halted in her tracks, her body tensed. She then turned to face the alleyway, her eyes sharp as she stared into the gloom of the darkness. There she saw a shadowy figure crouching over a man.

  Under the dim moonlight, she noted that the one on top had a grayish-pale complexion. Instantly, she took a step forward, ready for action, because she had no doubt that this must be a demon sucking on the life qi of a human.

  Slowly and silently, as trained by her foster father Marco, she made her way toward her prey as she transmuted her blood into her saber Divine Blade.

  As she came closer, she noted that the demon was at it on the man’s throat, while the human man himself was crying out weakly for h
elp. It was then Daniella couldn’t control herself and shouted out, “Oi! What the hell are you doing?”

  Suddenly, a head jerked back and a face rose.

  Daniella swallowed hard the moment she finally eyed the demon, or what she had thought was a demon.

  Pale-gray complexion, very much like a corpse, white hair, red eyes that radiated inhuman hunger, and a mouth covered in human blood and flesh.

  Instantly, Daniella paled and felt sick to her stomach. This creature wasn’t sucking blood and life qi; he was eating the man alive!

  The gory scene jarred Daniella, who had been shocked into speechlessness.

  It was then that she shifted her gaze to her surroundings and realized that this wasn’t a typical killing spree by some demons. No, this was something else entirely.

  Corpses. There were so many of them scattered everywhere along the alleyway. The remains weren’t in one piece either. They were parts of human anatomy, and Daniella felt herself choking in shocked disbelief.

  Suddenly, her mind clouded, enveloped with darkness, as something else screamed deep inside her, making her heart ache with sorrow and fear. It was something horrific and unspeakable.

  This scene of darkness and dead bodies. This smell of blood and death. This creature brimming with demonic persona and eroding with dark qi. She had seen it before.

  She had felt it before within her own being.

  In her mind’s eye, she glimpsed wings made of crystalized blood protruding behind her small back. Pale silver tresses fluttering in the howling wind. Blood, fresh and warm, covering her small hands. Her bare feet felt cold in the depth of the snow, and dead bodies, so many of them, stretched out before her into the endless of darkness.

  Her small hands covered in blood and cuts, piercing through men’s chests and tearing at men’s limbs. Her blood-red wings flapping behind her small back as she flew over the roofs of townhouses. Then more death. More screaming. And fire started blazing. More blood. More piercing, tearing, slicing, and killing. More fire.