Descend: Book Three (The Bloodline Trilogy 3)

by J. P.

  I just stare at him, my mouth agape. He’s supposed to be dead.

  “It is so interesting to see how people react to your death. It separates those who are loyal from those who are traitors.” Ethan shrugs as he looks to the ground. “You don’t know what that’s like.” His eyes suddenly snap up to find mine. “But you will. I don’t need everyone coming after me to save you. I don’t need my stupid son to stab me in the back again. This time, they will think you’re dead while I do my experimentation, and Will gets to drink until he’s satisfied.”

  I would’ve never thought these two people would be able to work together. I frown as I cross my arms over my chest.

  “So, tell me, Nina,” Ethan says, his voice velvety smooth. “How would you like to die? Robbery gone wrong? Suicide? Maybe a crime of passion? Oh, I like that one,” Ethan claps his hands together once. “That way, we can get back at my disgrace of a son.”

  “Let’s not get overly complicated here. We need to hurry before they notice she’s missing,” Will interjects.

  “Fine. We’ll take her, send a message to her family saying she ran away, and then we’ll stage her death a few days later.” Ethan nods his head as he comes up with his plan. “There’s just one more thing we need to take care of.” Ethan stares at me as he walks towards me. “Phone.” He holds his hand out in front of me, palm up.

  I stare at him and frown, unsure of what to do next.

  “Give me your phone. Now,” Ethan says with a growl.

  I take a step away from him when he reaches out and grabs my arm. He throws me to the ground, causing my knees and palms to dig into the dirt. He places his foot on the middle of my back and stomps down, slamming me into the ground.

  “Retrieve her phone, Will,” Ethan orders.

  Will bends down and starts digging in my pocket. I try to get away from him, but with Ethan’s foot on top of me, it’s impossible. Will takes my phone, and Ethan releases me. By the time I stand up, I find Ethan holding my phone to his ear.

  “Is everything okay? I’m starting to worry,” I hear someone ask on the other side. Not just anyone, my dad.

  “Aaron. It’s good to hear your voice. Don’t try to warn anyone about this call, or else I will kill your daughter right now. If you understand say, ‘yes.’”

  “Yes,” I hear my dad choke out.

  “Good. Meet us under the bleachers. Alone.” Ethan hangs up without waiting for a response.

  The two minutes it takes my dad to reach us are agonizing. My legs are shaking as I try to figure out why they would want my dad down here. The answer is obvious, I just can’t accept it. It can’t end like this. He can’t die. Suddenly, it occurs to me that I still don’t know where Paul is.

  “Where’s Paul?” I snap at Will.

  Will grins as he crosses his arms over his chest. He juts his chin further back behind the bleachers. “He’s taking a nap.”

  “He’s alive?” I ask, a lump forming in my throat.

  “Yes. And it will stay that way as long as you cooperate.” Will freezes and turns his body towards the opening of the bleachers. I hold my breath as I spot my dad walking towards us.

  “Nina, are you okay?” he asks as he rushes over to me.

  “Aaron Blair,” Ethan calls to him. My dad freezes as his eyes find Ethan. “How great it is to see you, old friend.”

  “What is going on, Ethan?” my dad snaps at him as he stands in front of me. His eyes are wide as he tries to put it all together in his head.

  “Nina and I were just catching up. You see, I didn’t quite finish my experimentation on her, and I would love to continue it.” Ethan places his hand on my shoulder, and I immediately shrug it off. “Will and I will be taking turns, using your daughter for her blood.” Ethan smirks now, and my dad shakes with anger. “We will be on our way, but there is one more thing that we have to take care of.”

  My dad opens his mouth to speak, but Ethan cuts him off immediately.

  “No interruptions.” Ethan holds his hand up. “I’ve gotten word that my son, Jeremy, is dead.” Ethan glares at my dad as he clenches his jaw. “I wonder who did that?”

  I understand now. Ethan wants to kill my dad for revenge. He thinks my dad killed Jeremy, but he didn’t. Luke did. I wait for my dad to correct him, but he never does.

  My dad shifts uncomfortably, not denying the false accusations.

  “Aaron Blair,” Ethan says as he pulls a stake out of the inside of his jacket. “Prepare to die.”

  “Not so fast,” a voice says from the entrance of the bleachers. Two figures walk into view, and my heart sings when I see Sean and Mason.

  Will flinches and moves closer to me. “What are you guys doing here?” he growls.

  “Hey Will,” Sean says as he and Mason stand side by side, both looking pissed.

  “These are your brothers, I assume,” Ethan says, clearly annoyed.

  “Go away,” Will snaps at them.

  “No.” Mason doesn’t flinch as he stays where he is.

  “This has been going on for way too long. Let’s go home, Will.” Sean nods his head back towards the soccer game.

  Will’s face turns red. “You both don’t understand. This is not something I can walk away from. I’m in this for life, and I want to be!”

  “No, you don’t,” Mason says as he shakes his head. “Let’s go.”

  Mason and Sean start to move closer to Will, who freezes. Will looks to Ethan. “Aren’t you going to help me?”

  Ethan sneers. “Do I look like I want to get involved in another family’s drama? Good luck.”

  Sean and Mason grab either of Will’s arms and start to drag him away while he is literally kicking and screaming. “Let go of me! Stop! You’re ruining everything!”

  “We’ll stay with Ethan,” my dad calls after them. “Send Elliot to help us.”

  “Roger that,” Sean agrees as they continue dragging Will away.

  The second Sean and Mason are out of sight, Ethan’s grip on his stake tightens. “This is actually much better for me. Now I don’t have to share my prize with a snotty kid.”

  “Do you think I’m just going to lie down and let you kill me?” my dad asks with a laugh. “It’s two against one.”

  “You would hide behind your daughter rather than face me like a man?” Ethan taunts.

  “Why have you always hated me? Why did you chase me for all these years? Why not just leave my family and me alone?” my dad asks.

  Ethan laughs again. “Aaron, we’ve been over this before. Your children are a disgrace.”

  “Other people have children with a human, not just me. For some reason, you’ve decided to fixate on me for the past fifteen years. Why?”

  Ethan steps closer to my father, and my anxiety heightens as I take a step closer as well. Just in case.

  “Because you’re not just anyone. You must’ve blocked it out of your memory that we used to be friends.”

  I look at my dad, unaware of this.

  “I didn’t block it out. I remember those days well.” My dad stares at Ethan, who takes another step closer.

  “I told you not to fall in love with Lilly. I told you that going on that mission undercover with the humans was a bad idea. I warned you, and you didn’t listen to me. You fell in love, and you had these disgusting half-breed children. I tried to warn you, which is why I feel it’s fair that I target and make an example out of you.” Ethan’s practically red in the face when he finishes his speech.

  Hearing the history between them is so interesting. I had no idea that they used to be friends.

  “No matter what my beliefs are, I would never do that to you. I would never go after you or your children.”

  Ethan suddenly holds the stake up and stabs my dad in the shoulder. I immediately feel guilty that I didn’t do anything to stop it, but it all happened so quickly.

  “But you did,” Ethan spits. “You killed my son, you coward.” Tears form in Ethan’s eyes as he rips the stake out, and my dad pu
shes him backward.

  “No.” My dad moves to stand in front of me again. “No, I didn’t.”

  “Then who did?” Ethan snaps at him.

  My dad stays quiet, and I can tell he’s debating on whether or not he should give up Luke. Even if he did, it probably wouldn’t matter. He would probably still try to kill my dad.

  “That’s what I thought.” Ethan lifts his arm and goes to stab my dad again when my dad blocks him and shoves him to the ground.

  “Stay back,” he says to me over his shoulder. “This isn’t your fight.”

  “The brave and admirable Aaron Blair,” Ethan mocks as he stands. “I hope you realize this fight is to the death. I’m prepared to die. Are you?”

  My dad looks back at me and nods once before he lunges at Ethan. They hit each other for a while, and I watch in horror as I grip the fence behind me in support. I keep moving forward a step and then backing up again, unsure of what to do. Dad doesn’t want me to get involved, so I shouldn’t. Right? I could really help him. Or, I could mess everything up and get him killed.

  Ethan trips my dad, who falls onto his back. That’s it.

  I start to run towards them, about to get involved.

  “No, Nina,” my dad says from the ground as he throws Ethan off of him.

  “Yes, stay back, Nina. I don’t want my precious lab rat to get injured,” Ethan says with a laugh.

  My dad scrambles up before he pulls his arm back and punches Ethan square in the jaw. “My daughter is not your lab rat.”

  “We’ll see about that.” Ethan tackles my dad to the ground again and pins him down. My dad tries to squirm away from him, but Ethan doesn’t budge. “Ah, the pride and joy of Chrome, Aaron Blair, about to die.” Ethan lifts his stake up in the air.

  “Nina, I love you and your brothers so much,” my dad says, tears filling his eyes.

  All the air leaves my body, hearing him say those words. Tears stream down my face as I rush over to help him. “No, Dad, you’re going to be fine.” He can’t die.

  Ethan goes to plunge the stake into my dad’s chest, but my dad catches his hands. Ethan goes to lift the stake, catching my dad off guard and plunges it straight into his heart. My dad’s eyes flutter closed, and his heartbeat stops immediately.

  “No!” I scream as I shove Ethan off of my father. I rip the stake out, and I use it to cut my hand open. I let my blood trickle onto his wound, and I wait for a response. I look up quickly, but Ethan is gone.

  “Dad, please, Dad, wake up.” I take his shoulders and shake him, trying to get him to wake up. “Dad, please, don’t leave me. I need you!” Tears stream down my face as I cut my hand again and let even more blood pour onto his wound.

  “Nina?” I hear Elliot’s voice as I watch my hand heal again. “Oh, my God.”

  “What do I do? I tried helping him with my blood, but it’s not working. Why isn’t it working?” I shout at Elliot, who can’t look away from my dad.

  “Because, he was killed instantly,” Elliot says, somberly.

  “No.” I shake my head as tears continue to stream down my cheeks. “He’s not dead. Don’t say that,” I snap at him.

  “Nina,” Elliot says softly as he crouches down next to me. “He’s gone.”

  I stare at my dad in shock as I try to process Elliot’s words. Elliot pulls me into him, but my entire body feels limp as I continue to stare at my dad. I shut my eyes for a moment, trying to understand what I just witnessed. I sob into Elliot’s shoulder as he holds me tight.

  “What happened?” he asks softly after a few minutes.

  “I…” The lump in my throat makes it hard for me to speak. I explain everything to him quickly, trying not to vomit when I speak about the last part.

  “Okay. We need to get out of here. Let’s take his body and bring it back to the car while the game is still going on. And I should call Sean and Mason to see where they are,” Elliot says as he takes his phone out.

  “I’m going to look for Paul,” I say as I start to walk away from my dad.

  It’s strange. I see his body there, and I can hear that he doesn’t have a heartbeat, but I can’t accept it.

  I find Paul knocked out a few feet away. I try to wake him up, but he won’t budge. I hear his heart beating strong, and I immediately know that he’s okay. I grab him under the arms, and I drag him back to Elliot.

  “Sean and Mason are back at the house. They trapped Will in the basement. Mason is going to stay with him, and Sean is going to come back and help me with Aaron. I called Olivia and told her there was an Ethan sighting and to tell Tyler and Jake. The second the game is over, they are to go home.”

  I nod my head along with his words, not really paying attention.

  “Are you alright, Nina?”

  “I need to go,” I say as I lay Paul down gently.

  “Wait, I don’t think—” he says, trying to stop me, but I ignore him as I make my way out from under the bleachers.

  33

  I walk up to my front door and pause. Everyone’s cars are in the driveway, so everyone must be home. They all probably know what happened. I don’t want to walk in there and get a million apologies or condolences. I have half a mind to just scale the house and climb into my room through the window.

  After walking around Termin for the past hour, I still can’t process what happened. I’m an idiot. I should’ve gotten involved. It was two against one. We could’ve won. He would still be here. Damnit. I drop my head in my hands and curse as anger surges through me. It’s my freaking fault.

  “We have to look for her!” I hear someone shout from inside.

  “I’m with Tyler on this one. We need to make sure she’s okay,” another voice that I recognize as Sean’s says.

  “Everyone, slow down. She needs space. Let her be,” Elliot tells them.

  “But Ethan—” Tyler starts again.

  “Ethan won’t go after her right now,” Elliot interrupts.

  “I will not lose my dad and my sister in the same day,” Jake snaps. “I’m going to look for her.”

  An argument breaks out, and I swallow my anxiety and step into the house.

  Everyone goes silent from the living room, probably listening to see who it is.

  I ignore everyone as I make my way towards the stairs. I feel their eyes on me as I climb the steps, and I feel the tension in the room. I can tell someone wants to say something, anything, but they stay silent. I make my way into my room and shut the door behind myself, grateful that Olivia isn’t here.

  I head straight for the shower and wash all of the blood off my body from when I was cutting my hand. I change into pajamas and climb into my bed. I pull the covers over my head as I try to escape in sleep. Every time I shut my eyes, the scene of my dad’s death plays over and over again.

  A knock on the door ten minutes later makes me jump.

  “Nina?”

  It’s Paul.

  “Can we come in? It’s me and Jake.”

  I frown to myself, unsure of how I’m going to tell them it’s my fault that Dad is dead.

  “Okay,” I finally answer, my voice hoarse.

  They push the door open, and they both walk in, their eyes rimmed with red.

  “Hey,” Paul says as he pulls me into a hug immediately.

  “I’m glad you’re okay,” I tell him.

  “A little sore, but I’m fine.” He pulls back and sits next to me on my bed.

  I look to Jake, who pulls me into a hug next.

  “We’re glad you’re okay. We almost went out to look for you,” Jake says.

  “I—” my voice cracks, and I shake my head.

  Jake holds me tighter, and Paul wraps his arms around both of us. I cry, and I can tell Paul is crying too. After a few minutes, we separate.

  “It’s my fault,” I finally say. “He told me not to get involved, that it wasn’t my fight, and I listened. If I helped him, he might still be alive right now.”

  “No,” Jake says immediately as he sh
akes his head. “It’s not your fault. How could you have known? You were listening to Dad. You were a goody-two-shoes until the end,” Jake says as he throws one arm around my shoulders.

  “What are we supposed to do now?” Paul asks as he rubs his eyes.

  “What do you mean?” Jake asks.

  “We’re orphans.”

  Paul’s words smack me in the chest. I didn’t even think about that.

  “We still have each other,” I tell them.

  “That’s right,” Jake agrees. “Nina and I are over eighteen. One of us can become your legal guardian. We can stay here, I’m sure Dad had money saved up,” Jake says, working it all out in his head.

  “What about Ethan?” I ask.

  “Marcy will help us with that,” Jake says without any doubt. “And Mason and Sean are going to stay here too, so they can probably help. They’re going to start interrogating Will tomorrow after the funeral.”

  “What funeral?” I ask.

  “Oh right,” Jake says as he shakes his head. “Elliot is arranging for Dad to be buried tomorrow. It’ll just be us and the people in this house. We don’t want to attract anyone from Malum.”

  There’s a pause for a while as I try to digest everything that Jake just said.

  “So,” Paul says, breaking the silence. “Dad’s dead.”

  Jake and I slowly nod our heads.

  “This sucks.” Jake bites his lip as he shakes his head.

  “How do we even process this?” Paul asks.

  “I guess just with time? I don’t know,” I say, trying to help him.

  Jake sighs. “I don’t know how to deal with death. When Mom died, we were all so young.”

  “I read something online once that it helps if you think about all the good times you’ve had with that person,” Paul suggests.

  “Okay, I like it,” Jake says as he points to Paul. “What are good times we’ve had with Dad?”

  “He was the worst cook,” I say with a laugh, remembering all those times he tried to make us dinner as kids.

  “Remember when he tried to make us pasta and completely messed it up?” Paul asks, and we all laugh.