Bloodline Legacy: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Academy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 4)

by Lan Chan

  My studies of his family had revealed that Andrei was the last of a line of purebred vampires. He was immortal. I suspected it was part of the reason why he was touched in the head. An eternity of loneliness stretched out in front of him. It was enough to make anyone crazy.

  The dark look on his face showed me he wasn’t planning on living for all of eternity. I shook my head. “You don’t strike me as a fall-on-his-sword type of guy.”

  I’d cornered him and he didn’t like it. So Andrei came out swinging. “I might not have to once Lucifer breaks free from his containment. I could go out a hero in battle.”

  It was a nice try using the prophecy to get to me. Too bad for him I’d heard it all before. “Then you’d better die taking him head-on in front of the whole world,” I said. “Because if he breaks free, glory is the last thing any of us will be thinking about.”

  Despite everything, I was feeling rattled. Stepping past him, I made for the door. “You’re not ready,” I told him. “I could raise your family when Michael removes this seal, but you still won’t be able to handle what you’ll get.”

  He didn’t follow me out.

  The back end of the corridor led to a door that allowed me to exit the lodge. It opened up to a balcony and a staircase. In the sky, the moon was full and fat. That struck me as odd. Only two nights ago, there was a noisy ritual at Ravenhall to celebrate the new moon. I remembered because they’d woken me up with their raucous partying. When I went to tell them off, I was traumatised by a face full of naked, middle-aged sorceress. I rubbed the goosebumps on my arms as I made my way down the stairs.

  Over the past two years, I’d become paranoid by osmosis. Maybe now that my powers had been locked away, the human side of me was becoming stronger. Some ancient prey instinct suddenly had its grip around my throat. The only way to muffle it would be to scour every inch of the place to make sure there was nothing hiding in the dark.

  The scent of roasting meat billowed from the chimney. It blanketed the air close to the Lodge. Fanning out, I scouted the area as methodically as I could. A dense lawn ringed the Lodge like a green moat. There were no walls or fences that I could discern. The horizon just seemed to go on forever. Spreading out from the back were long borders of herbaceous plants. I let my nose lead me to a patch of night-blooming jasmine. Farther along the same path, there were clumps of lavender, catnip, mint, and then a wall of dense greenery that hit you like a punch. The wolfsbane reached higher than my hip. They were supposed to be low-growing shrubs.

  My eyesight wasn’t yet attuned to the darkness but even I could make out the sway of flower tops that stretched out for miles. Like an idiot, I waded farther out.

  Now seemed like a good time to drop into the Ley dimension. Not two metres from where I was standing, my Ley sight showed me a glowing silver patch that could hold a herd of elephants.

  I sank back into reality and crouched down to peer at what revealed itself to me a snare. I reached out, making sure to keep my palm a good distance away from the actual material of the trap. There was silver thread woven into the fibres. Interesting.

  As were the rowan and hawthorn trees that were dotted throughout the gardens. I lugged a good-sized hawthorn branch into the lodge and stashed it under my pillow. Then I did a sweep of the house.

  The bathroom didn’t hold anything besides the basics. All of the cupboards in the hallway were useless.

  Down in the kitchen I could hear plates and cutlery scraping. My stomach grumbled but I didn’t relish the thought of eating in the company of my fellow competitors. Max found me trying to pry open what appeared to be a storage shed for wood and kindling on the right side of the house.

  He wrinkled his nose and didn’t come close. “You stink of wolfsbane.”

  “Thanks.”

  He just stood there watching me. I almost dislocated my arm trying to lever the metal door open. “What are you doing?” he asked.

  “Exploring.”

  “You’re going to give yourself a hernia.”

  “A little help might be nice.”

  He waved me off and broke the door open like it was tissue paper. I cursed my lack of powers again. It was the pits being completely human. It made me certain that if the supernaturals did ever reveal themselves, the human population was going to panic and then things would get cataclysmic. It would make The Purge look like a field trip.

  The contents of the shed spilled out. Chains and shackles of various sizes. I would bet they were almost pure iron.

  “What the heck is all this?” Max asked.

  “Insurance, I think.”

  “For what?”

  I studied him. All six foot something of him that could kill me with a sneeze. Freshly showered, the blisters on his skin were already healing. It must hurt, but by morning you wouldn’t even be able to tell he’d touched silver. I peered up through the glass windows at the Fae and the mages eating and laughing around the dining table. Chanelle was perched on the arm of the couch next to Kai. He had his head lolled back. His eyes were closed in a deceptively relaxed manner.

  We were in a game where death was a possibility and they all looked like they were at summer camp. What was all this stuff for? Containment. In case one of them went off the rails. “I don’t know,” I lied.

  Max scowled. “You should eat.”

  “Thanks, Mum. I’ll get around to it.”

  I could tell he wanted to say something else, but he bit his tongue and left me alone. Well after everyone else turned in, I was still circling the Lodge like a caged animal. I was wearing a hole in the grass when I turned a corner and spotted a figure leaning over the railing of the back balcony.

  I see you, Captain Nephilim. And I didn’t appreciate it.

  I’d thought being around him for a prolonged period would eventually desensitize me to his presence. But each time he showed up, it felt like a wound ripped open again. My toes curled inside my sneakers as I restrained myself for the hundredth time from running towards him. The only thing that saved my dignity was imagining Chanelle all snug in the bed next to his. My jaw clicked as I took the stairs two steps at a time.

  “Why?” Kai asked before I retreated through the doors. He could be referring to a million things. But I knew he missed nothing. Given that I’d spent the last four hours finding reminders that I was a human amongst supernaturals, I took it to be a question about why I had entered the games when my powers were sealed.

  “Because I don’t want to be trapped and helpless in another dimension,” I snapped back.

  Then I slammed the door in his face.

  It would have been the perfect opportunity to ask him why he’d entered given he no longer needed the Council pardon. But that way lay heartache.

  I grabbed a shower and made myself a sandwich. When I finally retired to the room, Andrei was out cold. He too wore only pyjama bottoms to bed. He slept like the dead. The pale, grey pallor of his skin made him kinda look like a corpse. Freaky.

  My insomnia decided this was the perfect opportunity to reappear. After an hour of tossing and turning, I didn’t feel a lick of fatigue. It had been the same when I lived on the streets. My sense of danger was dialled up so high I could go days without sleeping. Eventually I’d crash somewhere I deemed safe enough, but until I could find that place, I pushed my body to the limit. Right now, there were too many dangerous people around me and no Jacqueline to turn to if they decided to go feral.

  Sighing, I tossed aside the covers and grabbed the hawthorn branch. It was pitch-dark outside except for the waterfall of moonlight that lit up the balcony. Routine got the better of me. I stole a paring knife and a salt shaker from the kitchen and settled myself just outside the front doors. Unscrewing the lid, I let salt fall into my palms before constructing a circle. It remained dull. All of my magic was still tightly sealed away. I still felt better in the circle than I had without it.

  For the next hour, I watched the moon and whittled both sides of the hawthorn branch into sharp points. Any
type of wood or sharp objects could be used to stake a vampire, but only rowan and hawthorn would actually kill them. That and a seraph-blessed sword. The rest would just stun them and usually they woke up pissed.

  As I worked, my eyelids grew heavy. Well, what do you know? Blowing out a breath, I scattered the salt circle and dragged my weary body off to bed.

  49

  I would swear my eyes had just closed for a second when a strangled, gargling sound startled me awake. I turned my back to the window in a groggy stupor. Sandpaper felt like it was scraping across the back of my lids. Over on his bed, Andrei was doing his best to imitate a crappy yoga pose. He’d rolled over onto his stomach. His back arched into a concave that strained his wiry muscles. His clawed hands had ripped right through the mattress.

  The sound coming from his throat was like someone struggling to breathe and scream at the same time. Moonlight made it possible to see in front of my face but that didn’t account for the glow of red that bounced off the wall.

  “Andrei,” I called out hesitantly.

  He turned his head towards me. His features were contorted, making his mouth appear like a gaping hole filled with sharp spines for teeth. They were clean of blood. He hadn’t drunk. So then why was he doing a really good impression of a vamp succumbing to bloodlust?

  Angus’s deep, disembodied voice rang out in the night. “You are only as good as the strongest among you. How will you survive?”

  This place was no longer a sanctuary.

  “Andrei!” I screamed. Something banged in the hallway outside. Indiscriminate voices hissed. The doorknob creaked as it turned. Andrei defied gravity and somersaulted out of bed. He landed in front of the door, slamming it closed just as the outline of one of the necromancers appeared.

  He pressed his back to the door, keeping it closed. All the while, he kept shaking his head as though he couldn’t get his vision clear. He smashed his fists into his temple a couple of times. The raspy sound that came out of his throat was reminiscent of a dying animal.

  “Aless…”

  He banged his head against the door. Something outside hit back. A light came on in the hallway. It lit up the crack under the door and illuminated the sweat that beaded down Andrei’s hollow chest. He clawed at his own throat. “No,” he groaned.

  “What’s happening?” I asked.

  The muscles on his neck stood out in sharp relief as he fought to contain his reaction. “I’m...turn...” An animalistic gnashing overcame him. Andrei fell to his knees. His fingers continued to lacerate the skin around his throat. The red glow of his eyes painted the carpet in a warning.

  He made a sound with his mouth that I couldn’t quite decipher. He repeated it and I strained to understand. “Run!”

  Without thinking, I picked up the dragon scale and smashed him across the head with it. He reeled, stunned for a second by the physical pain. And then the red haze took over. Dots of pure crimson bled into his eyes. I pulled the scale back. This time, I put all my strength behind it. Swinging out, the scale was just about to make contact with his head when his arm shot up and grabbed it.

  “Psych!” I said, before I rammed the hawthorn stake into his neck. Thick blood spattered my hand even though I’d tried not to go for an artery. Andrei keened. His eyes rolled back as he clutched at the stake. A coil of smoke wafted from where the enchanted wood bit into his skin. Not giving myself time to consider what I’d done, I slugged him again with the scale for good measure. Then again, just in case. He rocked back against the door and slumped over.

  Outside, a feminine voice screamed. A crash ripped through the house.

  I pulled the stake from Andrei’s neck before it could do more damage. Ransacking the closet, I found only a new set of Nightblood sweats and some clothes in my size. There was nothing that I could use to keep him restrained. Without much choice, I dragged his surprisingly light body over to his bed and stuffed him under it. That’s where I found his broadsword. It was too big to make a good weapon for me. But I placed his hand on it just in case he woke and needed to protect himself.

  I was in the midst of searching for the paring knife when the door was flung open. Light blared into the room. The putrid stench of death followed it. A thin body with bony fingers stampeded towards me. My hand touched the knife’s handle. I dropped low and slashed out as the thing sailed overhead. Flicking my wrist, I dragged the tip of the knife straight across the thing’s torso. Slick liquid covered my hand. I almost swallowed my tongue in an attempt not to throw up.

  The undead regrouped. It treated me to a show of its guts dangling out of a rotund stomach. The next time it came for me, I sidestepped and booted it in the ribs. As it staggered, I grabbed Andrei’s sword and swung it with both my hands. It was too heavy. But right now, that benefited me. The weight of the blade made the sword sink into the undead’s neck. One hard push and it sliced through like cold butter. Freed of its head, the undead collapsed.

  I tossed the sword back at Andrei, gripped the knife tight, and dropped into the Ley dimension. The thread that tied the undead to its necromancer master was fading quickly now that it was unmade. But there was a faint enough trace of it that I could follow it out onto the inside landing. The necromancer boy gurgled in a pool of his own blood. Half of his throat and the side of his face had been torn out. An oversized lion stood over the necromancer. Blood coated his mane and jaw. The Ley sight lifted.

  Chanelle had a crossbow aimed at Max’s heart. He pawed at the ground in front of him. He had the same crazed look in his eyes as the one I’d seen on Andrei.

  I cried out as Max lunged. Chanelle instantly tried to shoot him. He evaded with an easy, feline grace. The arrow sailed through the air, hit the window, and shattered it. Glass belched all over the ground.

  Bradley came running through the hole in the glass. The sword he carried wasn’t his angel blade, but it was wicked-looking all the same. He wielded it like an extension of his arm. Max locked his sights on Chanelle and then Bradley. His head dropped low. He sniffed, trying to parse out scents rather than rely on his eyes. I recognised the confusion. Phoenix did the same thing when he first arrived at Bloodline. It was all so unreal that he wasn’t able to trust his own eyes.

  Max’s confusion twisted my heart. It was so unlike him to be unsure. Bradley was the complete opposite. His intent was deadly clear as he spun the sword and took a step forward. I locked eyes on the prone body of the necromancer. I imagined Max cold and lifeless. When Bradley’s muscles bunched and he arched forward, I screamed. Chanelle’s head snapped in my direction. Her eyes beaded with hatred.

  Max danced sideways. He might be dazed but that didn’t mean he wasn’t an alpha lion shifter. When Bradley got close enough, Max backhanded him with his front paw. The Nephilim went flying out the door again. Fire lit up the horizon. It gave me a snapshot of Kai stalking across the lawn towards a levitating figure encased in flames. Two mounds lay in Kai’s wake. One of them was decorated in iron chains. Drake and Barbara from what I could see.

  Max’s low growl dragged my attention back into the house. A metal arrow spun in the air towards me. Muscle memory took over. I pivoted to the right. The tip of the arrow just nicked my left cheek before embedding in the wall behind me. A burst of fiery heat flared under my eye. I could feel the blood trickling down my chin.

  Chanelle notched the crossbow again.

  Anyone could see that I wasn’t under the influence of magic. She was just using it as an excuse to try and kill me. With a deadpan expression on her face, she raised the aim to her eye once more.

  I leaned over on the railing and rested my weight on my elbows. She stilled at my relaxed gesture. Behind her, a lion shifter approached on silent padded feet. “That’s right, bitch,” I spat. “Keep looking at me.”

  Her face dropped. Max grabbed her in his jaws. She screamed as he shook her like a rattle. When he spat her out, she shot clear across the room. Her back slammed into the island bench. I heard the crack, but I was already at the bo
ttom of the staircase.

  Max swiped at his face with his paw. His shook himself like a dog coming in out of the rain. When I got close, he growled in warning. I knelt in front of him, making sure my head was lower than his. I held out my hand with the palm up. The last thing I needed to do right now was challenge his dominance. A shadow whipped out from behind Max. Bradley came at Max’s side with blinding speed. He raised his sword with both hands. I threw the knife without thinking.

  Giselle was forever going on at me for having terrible aim. Before, I would have tried for Bradley’s head. A headshot was just cooler. But in a life-and-death situation, I needed to take any hit I could get. So I went for the biggest surface area. A step before Bradley could swing at Max, the knife sank into his chest right above his ribs. It robbed him of his momentum. Max caught on and kicked out, sending Bradley sprawling in the same direction as Chanelle.

  Max butted his head against the floor. Whatever was happening, he couldn’t shake it. I thought of Andrei and knew Max was on the verge of going rogue. I swiped some of the blood from my cheek with my left hand and smeared it across his already-bloody nose.

  I had Lucifer’s blood. I imagined it would be more enticing than anything a necromancer could come up with. My hunch proved correct. As hard as Max was fighting, his predator instincts latched on to the scent of prey.

  I shot to my feet and ran out the door. He came charging out after me. Glass and wood splintered in his wake. I ignored it all and pumped my legs as quickly as they would go. I turned the corner around the back of the house and pushed my aching lungs to their very limits. Max gained on me in the blink of an eye. But another second and I was within the field of wolfsbane.

  If he was in his right mind, wolfsbane would have given him pause. Instead, he raced right through the field without so much as a second thought. A metre from the pit, I turned and waved my arms in a blatant taunt. He came sailing over the top of me. Lions, like all cats, liked to play with their food. I was sure he had every intention of pouncing on me. His claws were an inch away from my face when I dropped to my stomach. He went right over the top of me and crashed into the pit. The silver net ensnared him. Max let out a deep rumbling roar. The scent of burned hair filled my nose. He wouldn’t be able to last long in there without sustaining permanent damage. But the silver would challenge his healing ability and hopefully drag him back from the edge of going rogue.