Bloodborne Awakened (Borne of Blood Book 1)

by Tracey Laviolette

  As if that wasn’t bad enough, I heard another growl directly behind me. Of course, I turned around slowly to stare straight up into another one of those demon-hybrids. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

  The creature behind me lifted its claw and started to swing, but before I prepared a defensive strategy, an arm swept around me and pushed me out of its way. I snapped my head to the left, to see Kyle’s face as his body pressed against mine, and his arm wrapped around me. From the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of Tristan, who fought with the creature like a Samurai Warrior. He was like poetry in motion with his sword—smooth and easy.

  Time froze for me, and in it, I heard the creature’s heart racing. I positioned the wooden piece in my hand and pushed myself from Kyle’s arms. I spun around quickly and shoved the make-shift dagger into its heart, then rolled out of its way. I landed down on one knee and positioned myself, ready to strike if it moved again. Kyle followed through with shoving the end of his staff up into the creature’s skull. It stumbled backward and fell to the floor. I walked over the beast, kicked it, and then hissed at it. The hiss caught me off-guard as much as the fangs did. I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

  “You good?” Kyle lifted his brows and chuckled.

  I nodded, then laughed because Kyle had seen my fang dilemma.

  “Well, hello.” Tristan strolled over and held out his hand to Kyle.

  “Hey, what’s up?” Kyle tossed his head up, then shook hands with him.

  “My, oh my.” Tristan’s eyes widened, and his mouth flew opened as he looked from Kyle to me. He closed his mouth and patted Kyle’s hand. “Mmph, say no more. My work is never done.”

  Kyle gave me an inquisitive look, and I shrugged my shoulders, then chuckled. “It’s a long story.”

  Tristan’s eyes temporarily met mine, he lifted his right brow as one corner of his mouth curved into a smile. Considering his abilities, it wasn’t hard to put two and two together. He used the handshake to connect with the person to gather their soul secrets. It was a clever trick, but I caught on very quickly to my old friend. Apparently, with the look he gave me, he knew something about Kyle—and I wanted to know too.

  I heard a small whimper and almost forgot about the little girl. Quickly, I darted over to her and pulled her up into my arms. She had to be around seven, and I couldn’t help but wonder why she was even here at such a young age. Then I recalled Dr. Wester saying she wished they would have received me sooner. The little one seemed reasonably calm. I didn’t sense any trauma or pain. Then I froze at that thought—I could sense this girl—her emotions, her feelings, and her overall condition.

  I looked down into her little angelic face as she looked up into mine. “You’re okay, aren’t you?”

  She smiled broadly and nodded her head with much enthusiasm. “I like your eyes. They look like my mommy’s.” Her tiny little finger batted softly at my eyelashes.

  “You’re such a brave little girl.” I gently took her tiny finger and kissed it. “Okay, little one, we need to find your mommy.”

  As I scooped her up into my arms, she pointed toward where Mia and Dr. Wester were guarding the children. I walked her over to them, and the little girl became all excited as she made a good attempt to wiggle free from my arms. I chuckled as I struggled to set her down gently so she wouldn’t fall.

  “Mommy!” she yelled out and darted toward Mia.

  Mia turned around at the sound of the little girl padding quickly toward her with opened arms. The little one took a leap into her mother’s arms. “Thank you, Jessie.” Mia’s voice was shaky but soft.

  “No problem. I just—”

  Mia’s eyes told me everything that she didn’t say. I gave her a warm smile, as the little girl turned around in her arms to face me. Her tiny little fingers waved goodbye at me before she hugged her mother again. The warm feeling I had seemed to confirm I’d done the right thing.

  As I looked around at the shambles—the turned-over tables, broken chairs, and a few antique pieces lying broken on the floor—I had a strange feeling this wasn’t going to the be the last attack.

  “Jessie!” Jacob’s voice called, and I turned to see him in a half-jog toward me. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. What is with all these demons, these creatures—?”

  “Probably something he brought.” Jacob sneered toward Kyle.

  “If I were to bring demons, then hell would surely be iced over by now,” Kyle grumbled back at Jacob, then turned his attention toward me.

  “Does the Sanctuary ever get attacked like this?” I aimed my question back at Jacob.

  “No. I mean, many years ago a demon attacked us, yes, but it was only one. This,” Jacob shook his head, “isn’t normal. It’s like they probably followed someone here.” His gaze returned to Kyle.

  “You know, all this testosterone floating in the air right now—” Tristan moved his hand in a circular motion around his head “—is giving me a headache. I think it’s time you guys either beat each other’s ass or get over your problem. I can wait.” He folded his left arm over his stomach and posed his right elbow on top of it as he laid a finger to his lips.

  “Tristan?” I gave him an eye roll and released a long sigh.

  “Oh, honey, these two—” Tristan shook his head and pulled out his sword. “There can be only one.”

  At first, the impression Tristan gave of Highlander almost made me want to laugh. It was pretty on point—except the fact he wasn’t Conner McCloud. I sighed and realized I watched way too many movies on Netflix. My life up to this point had been nothing but movies and phone app games. No wonder I didn’t have a decent social experience other than my one best friend. However, this world I had made it to was nothing like my safe at-home movie world.

  “What the hell, man?” Jacob stepped back.

  “Well, someone needed to do something.” Tristan lowered his sword. “I stand on my words, and it would be good if you two worked that out.” He wrinkled his nose and nodded at them.

  “Okay, enough. We have bigger problems to worry about. The demon-hybrids?” I motioned around as the bodies of the creatures smoldered into ashes and dissipated into the air.

  “Jessie’s right. We need to find out what these creatures are, and why they’re here.” Kyle looked around the Sanctuary.

  “I’ve only seen them once before, but they were smaller. It was in the fourth dimension.” Jacob replied as his attention landed on me. “They were doing the same thing—it was as though they were hunting.”

  “Time?” Kyle’s attention snapped to Jacob, and his brows drew together as his jaw tightened and flexed. “What were you doing there?”

  “We were out scouting and discovered a ripple. When we walked through, we saw the creature in there.”

  “Wait—you can actually walk into a dimension of time?” I looked toward Jacob in amazement.

  “Actually, it’s not complicated,” Tristan began. “The ripple is like a doorway opening to another dimension. Where it leads, you don’t know until you go through. They open randomly, and people often mistake them for vision impairments or just a fluke.”

  “But the time dimension is something forbidden to us all,” Kyle reminded Jacob.

  “I know, but we didn’t know. It jumped back into our dimension, which is where we found Jessie.”

  I looked from Jacob to Kyle and chewed slightly on the inside of my jaw. “How did it get there?”

  “Good question, but we need to find out what it is and where it came from. A creature like that can’t just jump dimensions on its own.” Kyle looked from me to everyone else. “We need to find one and figure out what it is before it dies.”

  “I can help you there,” Mia spoke up as she walked over to where we stood. “If I can get a sample of its blood, I might be able to run some tests. Perhaps identify what it is.”

  “If this is a demon hybrid, how did you get demon’s blood?” Kyle turned toward Mia and shook his head.

  Mia la
ughed. “Simple, I broke down the enzymes in the sample I took from Jessie when it had bitten her. I have a partial unknown substance in her blood that may link me to the creature.”

  Kyle’s brow lifted, and his gaze narrowed toward Mia. “I don’t think that was a good idea.” His voice deepened. “You really need a sample of the creature’s blood to be sure.”

  “Then we’ll get it.” Tristan offered, then whipped around to the crowd. “I’ll volunteer to go since you guys need me. Who’s with me?”

  “I’m in.” I might have been too quick to answer, but I wanted to know more about these dimensions and these unknown creatures.

  Kyle sighed. “I’m in as well.”

  “Well, I’m not letting you all go without me. You might get yourselves killed or something.” Jacob retorted.

  “I’ll put together a kit for you and have it ready in the morning.” Mia turned to Jacob. “I’ll make sure dad approves everything, so you won’t have a problem.”

  Jacob nodded. “Thank you, sis.”

  “Well, now if you’ll excuse me, I have some work to do, helping the little ones calm down, and then clean up.” She gave us all a nod before turning back to head down the hallway.

  For the most part, Jacob, Kyle, Tristan, and I helped clean up the inside of the sanctuary. It didn’t take long, but we all worked together and sorted through some of the damage. I didn’t see Evan or Gordon after the attack, and guessed they probably left to meet with the Elders. Tristan had some crazy idea about dimensions that he wanted to show Jacob, so off they went, which left me alone with Kyle.

  As I picked up and put the last chair back in place, I looked over to Kyle, who was straightening a potted plant. His blond hair, somewhat spiked and kinda long in the front, with his oval shaped face, reminded me of those beautiful anime characters. He looked up, and as his eyes met mine, I smiled.

  “What?” he breathed, half-smiling.

  I shook my head and chuckled. “Nothing.” I drew my bottom lip in and held it with my teeth for a moment. “Kyle, I do have a couple of things to ask you.”

  He brushed off his hands, then walked over to me. “Sure. Just ask.”

  “Okay, this may sound crazy, but—” I wasn’t sure how to ask my question “—I kinda grew fangs. Is that normal?”

  Kyle lifted his brows and chuckled. “Oh, you mean like this?” He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, they were a bright blue, and he released a guttural growl. He then opened his mouth for me to see an upper and lower set of medium-sized fangs, about twice the size of normal human canines.

  “Yes! What—I mean—” I couldn’t find the words.

  He took a slow breath, then released it slowly. “It’s what you are, Jessie. You’re like me, and we aren’t the same as the other Bloodbornes here.”

  “Then what am I? What are we?”

  “We’re what they hate the most—Dragonbornes.” His voice softened. “A long time ago, we all started out the same, as Bloodbornes. The reason was that they split clans because Dragonbornes believed they could live with a man and help them. Not to mention, their leader fell in love with a beautiful Clayborne. Some say that it was because she fell in love with the Dragonborne leader and not the Bloodborne leader was what truly separated the clan.”

  “Wow. So why are they called Dragonbornes?” I leaned in a little closer and lowered my voice.

  “Because part of their DNA is related to Dragons.” He scratched his head. “The story gets a little complicated because thousands of years ago it was said that Dragonbornes were experimented on. Our line, which resulted in our DNA being mixed with other things. The Bloodbornes were the first creations of what we are today. Which is why the laws were so strict that we should only mate with our own kind.”

  I frowned for a long moment and took in everything he said. For some reason, I couldn’t be shocked or even find any emotion that fit the situation. Perhaps, I’d already been through enough to just accept a final answer. However, now I knew why Jacob and I could never be together.

  “But,” I began, “Dr. Wester said she tested my DNA, and I was part Bloodborne and something else. They told me that one of my parents were human. How can that be?”

  Kyle’s eyes softened, and a soft smile crossed his lips. “Because they don’t have the code for the Dragonbornes. We prefer to remain anonymity to the Bloodbornes, as they already consider us abominations. I hate to even say it, but if they knew what you really were, they would have probably let you die. They despise us because of what we are.”

  “I don’t get it, though. We’re not evil, right? It makes no sense.” I shook my head.

  “No, we’re not evil. We’re just like them,” Kyle lifted his brows and twisted his head slightly to the right side, “except with a few modifications. See, dragons are real, Jessie. They died out many years ago and eventually became extinct. People told stories of great knights who fought dragons and slayed them, and with any story told over time, the legend becomes a myth, and the myth becomes fiction.” He took my hand in his and looked down into my eyes. “We are the only link—the only sacred thing that remains of what the Dragons once were.”

  I heard the pain in his voice, and it cut deep into my heart, tearing it into a thousand shards. Everything that I had learned about the Bloodbornes, and to now know the truth about the Dragonbornes—finally came together. Each group had a reason to stick to their specific mating to keep their bloodlines pure, because of their strong DNA, more importantly, the Dragonbornes. It was their way of protecting something sacred and a long-lost forgotten entity. They carried part of the dragon within them.

  “But why a dragon?” I looked up into Kyle’s now hazel green eyes.

  “Dragons have been misplaced in history. They were the greatest defenders of man against the evil in this world. Despite the traditional sayings that dragons hoarded and protected gold, mankind was what used dragons to guard their gold.” Kyle laughed and released my hands, then took a step back as his gaze drifted around us. “Dragons had an inherent nature to sense evil, and they were, in fact, not the evil creatures that man believed. They would kill anything demonic. Of course, over time, the fallen ones and their offspring influenced man that Dragons were dangerous and should be killed.”

  My gaze drifted down to the floor as my mind twisted and churned with the new information. Bloodbornes were ignorant of what the Dragonbornes had become. Then as if I had been suddenly struck by a lightning bolt, the revelation hit me, and I lifted my bewildered eyes to Kyle.

  “Dragonbornes are the last dragons, the true protectors of man against evil.” My voice came out no more than a whisper.

  Kyle’s attention slowly turned to me, and he took my hand into his, then knelt before me on one knee. “This is why I am here, Jessie. To protect you. And I swear by the sword, my life, and my soul—I am your Keeper.” He bowed his head.

  For some reason, I didn’t quite know what to think or say at that moment. Kyle’s actions were noble, indeed and reminded me of a Medieval Knight. Perhaps his actions were traditional oaths in the Dragonborne society.

  “I—” I watched as he never moved an inch, and knew instantly that he needed approval from me. “Thank you, Kyle. I will forever be in your debt.” It seemed a bit cheesy to say, but some part of me, perhaps the movie geek, knew he needed confirmation. And in doing so, Kyle lifted his gaze to me and rose to his feet.

  “No matter what part of you might be human, Jessie, most of you is Dragonborne, and you are very special to your people.” He released my hand and stepped back again. “Some believe that you are the key to bring our worlds at peace.”

  My breath suddenly came in shallow bursts. “I’m not—I’m no one special.”

  Kyle shook his head. “It’s who you are, Jessie. Everything you are made of represents what you have come from, your past lives, all the way to this present life. Your soul is determined to carry on and fight another day. You’re stronger than you realize.” A smile crossed his lips. “And y
ou have more abilities than you realize.” At that point, he chuckled. “No Bloodborne hocus-pocus can Awaken the Dragon in you. It’s always been with you, but as always, it’s for you to discover.”

  “But how? I mean, can you teach me?” I knew I sounded a bit pathetic since my request was more of a plea than anything.

  Kyle chuckled, then smiled as he bowed majestically before me. “It would be an honor, milady.”

  I laughed and felt the burn on my cheeks. “Okay, stop with the royalty stuff—you’re making me uncomfortable.”

  Kyle shared a slight laugh with me, but I knew he understood. After that, Kyle and I grabbed our boxed dinners from the table they had set up. The creatures had turned everything upside down in the central part of the Sanctuary. In the dining room, the buffet tables would have to be replaced, along with a few of the tables where we ate. The Elders thought it would be better if meals were prepared in the Bento Box style for all. We could choose to eat in our rooms, the dining hall, or outside. I decided my room was best, to where Kyle walked back with me. Before he left, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the dragon necklace he’d given me.

  “Where did you find it? How—” My heart pounded, and I almost felt dizzy with the adrenaline rush.

  “Don’t worry about that.” He leaned closer and whispered in my ear. “Your Grams told me to tell you to keep it safe.” He backed away and winked at me, then handed me an envelope.

  “Grams?” My voice rose, and he immediately shushed me with his finger.

  “Keep it quiet. Just so you know, she knows you’re okay, and I’m with you. Don’t let them know this.”

  “But—”

  “Jessie, read the note.” He laughed and patted me on the top of my head. “I gotta go. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  I nodded and waved him off as I closed the door behind me and sat down on my bed. The envelope was pink, which was my favorite color, and when I opened it, I could smell the familiar apple spiced fragrance of my grandmother’s home. The note inside was simple notebook paper, but as I quickly read over it—it was my grandmother’s handwriting and definitely from her.