Birthright (Birthright Series)

by A. P. Jensen

  “Grounders are like singers. A lot of people can carry a tune, some are decent and then there are those that give you goose bumps. There’s only a few that can do that. A lot of times it’s not the voice, it’s the emotion behind the lyrics, something extra that takes their talent to the next level. Some Grounders just handle one sorcerer’s power better than the other. The stronger the Grounder, the stronger the sorcerer.”

  He took a gliding step forward and Jordan took one back.

  “Part of your allure is knowing you’re a Parker but the other half… There’s just something about you. I can’t explain it.”

  Goosebumps erupted over Jordan’s arms. She snatched at her power, arming herself with it. She didn’t care about the taint of William’s power mixed with her own. She would use whatever she had to survive. Yesterday she’d been afraid of her power and now she drew on it for all she was worth. Her power rose to the fore, coating her in heat and straining to annihilate.

  “I decided to test you after the way the Gem reacted to you.” He smiled. “And you reacted beautifully. It really is a shame how divided the races are. It’s so easy to cause a bloodbath.”

  “I’m not going with you,” Jordan stated.

  The sorcerer chuckled, a girly sound at odds with the power leaking from him and choking her with its potency.

  “And how do you think you’re going to stop me? Daddy’s not here to save you.”

  A cruel smile touched his mouth and Jordan was forcefully reminded of William. He stepped through the falling snow, fading in and out of focus.

  “When I saw you yesterday I could feel your power. It’s barely leashed. I can teach you how to control it, how to use it. There’s a connection between us. Can’t you feel it?”

  She shuddered. Just as it had yesterday, something in her identified with this man but at the same it made her stomach twist sickly.

  “No.”

  He clucked his tongue. “Liar. We don’t have to fight.”

  When Jordan braced herself he shrugged.

  “Have it your way.”

  Her power bucked and snarled. He muscles quivered with the effort to keep it contained. She closed her eyes. Fear curdled within her but she pushed it away. Her survival instinct kicked in and adrenaline pumped through her, jacking her power higher. For the first time in her life, she embraced all that she was. She looked at the ice buildings towering up on either side of her and let her power take over. Heat consumed her. She could feel William’s strands of power mixing with her own, becoming one. The snow in the alley melted instantly and turned into a boiling river. The snow fall turned into hot rain, stinging her skin.

  The sorcerer scowled and raised his hands, creating an invisible shield. Hot water hissed and steamed as it hit the barrier. The confident, condescending smile faded from his face.

  Jordan turned her face up to the hot rain. She would rather die fighting than be tortured by another sorcerer. She clenched her hands into fists and channeled her power with her mind. She focused on the buildings on either side of her and poured heat into the frozen foundation. The ice buildings absorbed her power like a sponge and within seconds, her knees buckled, power depleted. For a moment, nothing happened and a smile flickered over the sorcerer’s face.

  “Is that the best you can do, honey?” He took a confident step forward and froze when a sound like a starting pistol shattered the silence.

  Buildings the size of icebergs cracked, the sound of splintering ice terrifying. Jordan watched the beautiful buildings of ice spider web. A piece of ice the size of an airplane slid from the top of the building and whooshed down at stunning speed. The sorcerer held his hands up and a flash of white burst from his hand. The block of ice shattered into smaller pieces but they were still big enough to have the sorcerer dodging out of the way. Jagged blocks of ice rained down from above.

  Jordan turned to run, sloshing her way through six inches of water. She was moving too slowly. Rain turned back into large snowflakes that swirled around her, clinging to her. A chunk of ice the size of a globe hit her on the shoulder. She screamed in pain and tried to move faster through the water turning to slush beneath her boots. Her gaze narrowed on the mouth of the alley but her eyes couldn’t stop darting to the buildings on either side of her. There was a horrible rumble of sound as the buildings began to collapse. The ground shook beneath her boots and she knew she wasn’t going to make it.

  Arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her five feet into the air. She was pulled back against a solid chest and her eyes narrowed as whoever held her put on a burst of speed. Jordan screamed and held her hands up as her rescuer dodged around falling ice. Just when Jordan thought they were going to die, another burst of speed pushed them through the mouth of the alley just in time.

  She went limp in her rescuer’s arms and the hold tightened. Her hood whipped back but they were moving too quickly for her eyes to focus on anything. The person holding her at their mercy flew through the air at a break neck pace through the quiet city. Jordan closed her eyes. She heard a door open, close and then there was silence. Jordan was lowered to the ground. She opened her eyes and wiped snow and water from her face.

  “You’re bleeding,” a calm voice said.

  Jordan stood in the entrance hall of a richly furnished house. The floor was black marble, walls made of clear, solid ice. To the right was a dark living room. The house was warm and a chandelier dangled above her head. Directly ahead was a staircase that led to an upper floor she couldn’t see anything of.

  Jordan took a deep breath and turned to look at her rescuer or was it captor? A guy as tall as Levi wore a long black coat that ended at mid-calf. He had black hair cut military short, big gray eyes, a straight nose, thick black brows and wide lips. Even as she watched, snowflakes melted and water trickled down his face. He didn’t look much older than herself.

  “Your face has a couple of cuts from the ice. I can heal it.”

  He didn’t seem at all ruffled by the fact that they barely escaped being buried beneath a mountain of ice. He put a gloved hand beneath Jordan’s chin and closed his eyes. Heat radiated from several places on her face and a moment later he pulled his hand away. Jordan wrapped her arms around herself. Her clothes were soaked through and she was starting to shiver.

  “Who are you?”

  “That’s the best you can do? I just saved your life.”

  Jordan clenched her teeth. “Thank you. Now, who are you?”

  “You want to tell me what the hell is going on?”

  “No.”

  “Sure seems interesting.”

  He shifted the curtain aside so he could look out of the window beside the door.

  “Where did you come from?”

  “I was in one of the buildings that is now destroyed. I hopped out of a window just as you ran past me.”

  “What were you doing?” Jordan asked suspiciously, not sure if she could trust him.

  “I was reading at the Wintra Library. What were you doing? Do you know who destroyed the buildings?”

  She crossed her arms defensively. “Why?”

  “Why? Someone just took down some of the most ancient buildings in the city. I would’ve said the buildings were indestructible but obviously I was wrong.”

  When Jordan said nothing he took a closer look at her.

  “Shouldn’t you be at the Declaration Ceremony?”

  “I was,” she croaked.

  “So what are you doing this far in the city? It’s not done yet, is it?”

  Jordan was silent for a few seconds. “There was a riot at the Declaration Ceremony.”

  His eyes narrowed. “What kind of riot?”

  “This Eliten guy caught on fire. Everybody started fighting. People are getting burned, knocked out by huge ice cubes-” she faltered.

  “What?” His voice dropped. “Did the Lafita get it under control?”

  Jordan remembered what the sorcerer in the alley said.

  “It’s a bloodbath,” s
he repeated.

  “I need to help. Are you going to be okay?” he asked, already reaching for the door.

  “You can’t go there!” Jordan stepped in front of him, keeping the door locked and closed.

  “I’m going to be fine,” he said impatiently. “You stay here. I need to go.”

  “But there’s a psycho out there!”

  He moved her to the side as if she were a piece of furniture. He patted her absently on the head.

  “We’ll talk when I get back. Don’t leave the house and you’ll be safe. No one’s going to bother you here.”

  And with that he opened the front door and slammed it behind him. Jordan stared openmouthed at the closed door.

  “Stupid asshole. Die then.”

  She reached out a hand to open the door but at the last moment stopped herself. If he was suicidal that wasn’t her problem. She wrapped her arms around herself and tried not to think about the carnage her rescuer was even now heading toward. As she stood there, wracked by indecision, she peered out the window. Snow fell heavily, concealing the outside world.

  A scraping sound came from the floor above and Jordan whirled. The sound came again followed by a sinister hiss. Jordan held her breath and waited for another sound but there was none. She walked to the bottom of the staircase and stood on the first step and felt her blood run cold. She looked into the open doorway of a dark room and saw the faint glow of a pair of inhuman eyes watching her.

  Jordan flew to the front door of the house and wrenched it open. Cold engulfed her as she slammed the door and rushed out into the front yard. She crouched behind a huge ice sculpture of a dragon in the middle of the yard as if it were a giant gnome. She leaned against the ice, raked with indecision. She didn’t have enough power to fend off anyone and her heart labored in her chest from taking on too much power before she was recovered.

  Through the ice she spotted a distorted figure on the sidewalk. Jordan slid down on her stomach, fear coursing through her as the figure came straight towards her. She scrambled back as a man rounded the ice dragon and looked down at her.

  “Why the hell didn’t you stop? I tried to grab you and you bolted into the city.”

  Jordan stared flabbergasted up at Luther, the young sorcerer Monica was tied to. He frowned down at her, a pinched expression on his face.

  “I didn’t know it was you,” Jordan bit out.

  Luther looked at the dragon and then the house beyond. “What are you doing here?”

  “How did you find me?” Jordan sputtered, lurching to her feet.

  Before she could answer, Luther head snapped around and he held up one finger to signal silence. Jordan looked at the white streets and silent surroundings. How could snow feel so menacing? Luther reached for her hand with his gloved one and started off at a brisk walk down the street. Luther was the last person she expected to see. Their eyes squinted against the unrelenting white. The tension radiating from him made her skin prickle.

  Luther cursed and pushed Jordan up against the wall of a building and stood in front of her. The snow muffled any sound and at first Jordan didn’t see what caused Luther’s defensive stance and then she saw figures in white appear in a half circle around them.

  “Sorcerers are evil,” one of the figures hissed.

  “They murder and destroy,” another intoned.

  “I haven’t done anything wrong,” Luther said.

  “It’s just a matter of time,” someone else added.

  “You know you’re going to die,” Luther said conversationally.

  The white figures tensed. “You can try.”

  Faster than the blink of an eye, two men leapt out of the swirling snow, straight at Luther. A pulse of energy made Jordan keel over. Pain streaked through her temples and she let out a groan and rested her face in the soft snow. There was a dreadful hum that vibrated the snow as it drifted down and then… nothing. Jordan raised her head. Luther stood above her and beyond him lay lifeless white figures. Luther crouched in front of her and Jordan cringed away.

  “It was quick,” Luther said calmly.

  “You-” Jordan stammered and tried to scoot away from him but he reached out and circled her ankle with his wrist and jerked her forward.

  “Now’s not the time to be hysterical.”

  “You didn’t have to kill them!” Jordan said, voice a little too high.

  Luther raised his brows. “They would have killed us.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Because that’s what Radicals do. They track sorcerers and Grounders and try to kill us because they think we upset the balance of power. You ready?”

  Jordan rose and Luther deliberately placed himself in front of her so she wouldn’t see the lifeless men. He extended a hand towards Jordan who hesitated long enough for him to withdraw his hand. Jordan hugged her arms around herself. She knew he had a soul tie with Monica but he was still a sorcerer and a stranger. His gold eyes glinted in the midst of their white surroundings.

  “You don’t trust me. What did Donovan tell you about me?”

  There was a dangerous edge to his tone and Jordan backed up a step. She felt vulnerable and shaken. Her power wasn’t around to back her up and there was no one around except this sorcerer no one really trusted.

  “Nothing,” Jordan lied.

  His mouth twisted. “I can’t believe your father hid you all this time. He’s the sneakiest bastard I’ve ever known.”

  “Why do you care that I’m his daughter?” Jordan demanded.

  “The Parker’s are one of the most ancient families in our world. Your dad’s done things most sorcerers only dream of. He’s the oldest sorcerer existing without a soul tie. No sorcerer has ever lasted as long as he has without giving into madness. He’s the most ruthless sorcerer alive. I’m sure you know that.”

  “That’s him. That has nothing to do with me.”

  She sidled to the left to get breathing room. Luther’s personality was intense and his power crackled around him, electrifying her. Luther tracked her every move.

  “As sorcerers we grow up knowing we can Fall so we try as early as possible to create a soul tie with a Grounder. Sorcerers will do anything to keep their sanity, Jordan.”

  Luther stepped forward, invading her personal space. This time she didn’t back up, didn’t yield. He leaned down so their faces were only inches apart. Clouds of cold air drifted from their mouths and melded in the space between them and she found herself mesmerized by him. A distant part of her mind suddenly understood why Monica had tied herself to him.

  “Do you know what you represent for sorcerers?” His eyes roved over her face almost hungrily. “Life, power. Do you know how I feel knowing if I waited I could have seen if we were compatible? I focused on Monica, afraid I would never meet another Grounder from a strong bloodline and now here you are. You’re unclaimed and not bound to anyone. There hasn’t been a female in the Parker family for generations.”

  “I wouldn’t give you a chance even if you weren’t tied.”

  He shrugged. “We’ll never know now.”

  Jordan sensed Luther was relentless and dangerous. If he wasn’t tied to Monica he would have pursued her every bit as mercilessly as William. She eased back from him.

  “When a sorcerer connects with a Grounder, each woman is different. There are some women with enough power to take the edge off but a true Grounder that matches the sorcerer… They could rule the world.”

  Jordan didn’t respond.

  “That thing with William in the news,” Luther said and Jordan jerked. “His wife dies in an accident and then he goes off the deep end and kills all those people in the store.”

  “You think he killed those people?” Jordan asked, thinking of how they honored him at the Declaration Ceremony, how she witnessed his memorial on the Tolly Vision.

  Luther snorted. “The public believe what they want but sorcerers know what really happened. William lost control. Everyone thought his wife, Grace, was a true
match.” Luther paused. “I think he broke the soul tie and killed her but what do I know?”

  Jordan had the ridiculous urge to confide in him. Before she could make up her mind, Luther continued.

  “I’m not sure what he was doing in that store but I know he killed those people. I think he may have thought the girl was a Grounder and he was grasping at straws before he lost his sanity completely.” Snowflakes drifted onto his blonde hair. “What if Monica’s not my true Grounder?”

  “You can’t tell?”

  “We don’t know until it’s too late. The public doesn’t realize that most sorcerers commit suicide in private instead of Falling. What’s the better way to go?”

  “Commit suicide?” Jordan said numbly, thinking of the pact between Kelly and Mr. Parker.

  “It’s pretty civilized now. All you need is three Ever After pills and it’s done. Usually when sorcerers realize they’re losing control, they start popping one pill a day to tamp down the beast. When they can’t take the pressure anymore, they take three. They’re dead within minutes. That’s the reality of being a sorcerer.”

  Jordan shivered in the cold and suddenly she didn’t like the silence. It felt as if they were the only two people in the world and all she wanted to do was run.

  “Patience isn’t a virtue of mine but if I’d known about you, I wouldn’t have tied with Monica and Donovan knows that.”

  Luther held out a hand to her but before she could decide what to do a pair of sapphire eyes appeared out of the falling snow. Knight growled and Luther leapt ten feet into the air and hovered. He glared down at the Valor.

  “Tell him I saved you,” Luther said grumpily.

  Jordan was done with sorcerers. She rushed to Knight and felt him vibrating with tension, with aggression. Had he known she was in trouble? As soon as she touched him Knight infused her with his ancient power.

  “Thanks,” she said and jumped on Knight.