Blood Magic (Blood Books Book 2) Read online

  The army of Rogues flashed before my eyes, and I bit my lip in an attempt to control my fear. They surrounded me. I could hear them, see them, smell them. It was as if they stood before me now. I jerked as one reached his hand forward and met skin—Amicia’s skin. He struck her. She didn’t cry out.

  “Shield your thoughts, Avah,” he said, and I obeyed, quickly drawing upon my shield, strengthening its hold on my mind. I didn’t need the others seeing what I saw—especially not when I had plans to reach deeper into my visions.

  I cringed at the sight of them. “There are so many. So many Rogues. Hundreds…”

  No one spoke. No one wanted to admit the truth: we were severely outnumbered. The likelihood that we’d survive was slim.

  “Span out. See more,” Sebastian urged.

  “I see… trees. A lot of trees. It’s remote, very rural. Very cold.” I was breathless. My arm ached, and my stomach grumbled. I was growing weaker by the minute. The wind shifted around me, and someone grasped my arm in a tight squeeze. I glanced up under heavy eyes. The hybrid’s hand squeezed me tightly, and I felt him shift as another latched on, lending his power, too. The power rush surged through me, seeping into my pores.

  “What else?” he asked, and I closed my eyes again.

  “She’s really close. Closer than she was before. We’re going the right way.”

  “Good. Anything else? Look for a sign. Look for anything that tells us where to look.” Sebastian’s voice was louder, stronger as another hybrid joined our circle.

  A sign. Something. Anything. I willed myself to find a clue—a necessary clue. The one that would lead us to her.

  “I need more!” I cried out. The wind shifted as one by one, more hybrids joined our circle. I inhaled sharply, the power almost too much to contain.

  “Find something, Avah. You can do it. Believe you can. Force the magic to do your bidding,” Sebastian said.

  I nodded, searching the trees. I came upon endless dirt roads, waterfalls and creaks, mountains, black bears and moose, snowy trees, and… “I think… Alaska?” I prayed I was right. I had never been there, but I had watched television, and I was pretty sure the only place we’d find that remote setting with black bears and moose was in Alaska.

  “Good! Where?” Sebastian asked, attempting to guide me to an exact location.

  I shook my head. “I—I can’t tell.”

  “Span out. Stay focused.”

  I pulled away, feeling as if my essence was coasting over land, flying in the sky. It was only a high from the blood magic, but everything felt so real. I was sure if I reached out, I could touch the trees. I followed the road, hoping it’d lead me to a building. Instead, it twisted and winded along dirt paths with no end in sight. I blinked and came across a dirt-covered jeep. It looked abandoned, with a broken windshield and flat tires.

  “I see… a car, a jeep.”

  “Look at the plate,” Sebastian ordered. “What does it say?”

  I reached forward in an attempt to brush away the debris, but my arm fell limp.

  “You can’t touch it, Avah. You’re not really there. What can you see?”

  I shook my head slowly. “Nothing. A couple letters, a yellow plate.”

  My breathing became heavy; the vision was slipping. It felt as if something was pulling me back, as if I’d gotten too close. In a flash, two red irises were staring at me. I jumped back and screamed as the Rogue’s nose brushed against mine. I felt it outside of the vision, as if the monster was standing before me.

  “That’s enough. We’ve seen everything we need to see. It’s time to withdraw,” Sibyl said. I felt her step within the circle and reach my side.

  “No! Not yet,” I argued, keeping my hold on the line of hybrids, who fell to their knees before me as I drained them.

  “Stop!” Sibyl yelled. Her shield enveloped her hybrids, breaking our connection.

  “No!” I screamed. I dropped my arm, defeated. We may have seen enough to figure out where Amicia is, but I still hadn’t tapped into my earlier visions. Something was coming for us, and we weren’t going to survive. I needed to see more. I had to stop it. I just needed a few more minutes…

  Sibyl squatted beside me. “You’re stronger than you realize, Avah. You could have killed them. I won’t risk even one of mine for an outsider.”

  I grabbed onto her hand, grasping it tightly as I yanked her to the ground. I screamed as I forced my shield from me too quickly; it rippled from in waves, knocking back anything in its path.

  “Avah! What are you doing?” Sebastian yelled from beyond my shield.

  “Spiritus dicam tibi. Educite illam potentiam, do mihi. Spiritus dicam tibi. Educite illam potentiam, do mihi,” I called, stealing Sibyl’s power and transferring it to me.

  I was transported back into my vision, pulling strength from Sibyl. She was the most powerful hybrid I’d ever encountered. Her power would be enough. She screamed as I drained her of her essence. Her skin aged before my eyes, her flesh sunken, clinging to her bones in a pathetic attempt at maintaining life. Her cries echoed in my mind, but I pushed them aside. I just needed a few minutes. Just enough to see who was targeting us. I had to believe Sibyl would understand. She’d do the same thing to save her people.

  Our magic catapulted into me, and I was transported to another time. The world around me became hazy, leaving altogether.

  Thump. Thump. Thump. My heart pounded in my head. It was so loud, too loud. I couldn’t concentrate on anything but the strong, steady beat of my heart.

  “H—Hello?” I called, moving my arms around the darkness that consumed me. Slowly, the haze began to clear, and I could open my eyes. I brought my arms up to shield my eyes, the light in the room blinding. My senses adjusted.

  The room was illuminated by a dim bedside lamp. I looked around. I knew the room well. I was back at the manor, in the secret hospital room. I lifted my arms, but there was nothing there—no IVs. I sat up, grunting as I wobbled off the cot.

  “Hello? Jasik?”

  I stumbled to the door and yanked it open. The hall outside my room was dark. I leaned against the wall and stalked toward the stairs, crawling up them on my hands and knees. I was tired, weak, my legs too heavy. I pulled myself into the foyer, and standing, I stumbled out the front door.

  I saw them.

  Jasik, Malik, Jeremiah, Lillie, Amicia, the vampires of the manor, witches from my coven, and the hybrids… they were dead. All dead. Some lay in pieces. Others were slit open from neck to navel. I screamed, rushing toward them, and toppled over, tripping. I glanced over and found Sebastian staring back at me, his eyes lifeless, his neck ripped open. I cried out, reaching for him. A chuckle distracted me, and I sat up too quickly. Red irises stared at me from the distance as I cowered in the corner. There were hundreds staring back at me; they glowed against the darkness of the night. I swallowed hard, willing myself to remember that this was a vision, that I wasn’t really there. I felt a tug on my arm and looked down, watching Sibyl as she took her last breath. Her lifeless body stared up at me, her hand falling limp in mine.

  “Sibyl!”

  I dropped her hand, breaking our connection. I toppled over, and my shield fell. The hybrids pounced into action. Those who didn’t retrieve Sibyl’s frail body were on me. Hands grasped my throat, lifting me off the ground. I stared into furious violet irises, and I knew they would end me… for her.

  I released my shield. It slammed into the hybrids, flinging their bodies back, and I collapsed to the ground. Before I hit, I was in Jasik’s arms. I was too weak to maintain my shield. He set me down gently and stood. My head lolled over, and I found Jasik, Malik, Lillie, Jeremiah, and Sebastian standing before me, separating the hybrids from me.

  “She didn’t mean to hurt her,” Jasik began. “She did it for our priestess. You can relate to taking extreme measures to save your own, I’m sure.”

  “I don’t care! She went too far,” someone yelled.

  “Sibyl’s strong. She’ll be fi
ne once she feeds,” Sebastian offered.

  “It’s still unacceptable. Avah can’t be trusted!” someone else yelled.

  My eyes were heavy, and I knew I’d drift into unconsciousness if I didn’t feed soon.

  “Stop!” I heard Sibyl yell, her voice weak. “Let her go.”

  The Hunters separated as Sibyl approached me, dropping to her knees before offering me her dripping wrist.

  I ignored the gasps as I drank from her, my eyes never leaving hers. I didn’t need much. Her blood coursed through my system within seconds of entering my mouth. It rejuvenated me. I released her, feeling stronger than I’d ever felt. I frowned at her as I sat up, still unsure why she’d help me after I betrayed her trust so hastily. I hadn’t even second-guessed my decision. I knew I was doing the right thing—even if that meant taking her life.

  Avah. Her voice filled my head, and I recoiled instinctively at the intrusion. I saw everything.

  “WE TELL NO one,” Sibyl said as we padded through the forest, miles away from the manor. It had been a fight to allow me to go alone with her. Jasik, the Hunters, and Sebastian weren’t too keen on the idea. They thought she’d kill me as soon as I was away from my protectors. Finally, they seemed to remember that I alone took her down, so they agreed. But they made it known that if I wasn’t back in twenty minutes, they’d come looking.

  “Are you sure that’s the best idea?” I understood her concern. I’d experienced the same emotions with my former witch coven. She wanted to protect her hybrids just as much as I had wanted to protect my witches. “Last time I hid something like this, it didn’t go well.”

  I thought back to the night I’d first encountered the Hunters. They let me live, and I refused to tell my coven of the attack. That night, Rogues found us, killing many. I died that night, and though I believed I was now living my true destiny—and not some messed up version the witches had in mind—I still wondered how that night would have played out differently if I didn’t keep the secret, if I just would have told them.

  “Or perhaps you’re looking at it the wrong way. Maybe things went exactly how they were supposed to go.” She arched her eyebrows as I looked at her. Her shoulder-length hair was wildly curly, and her violet irises glowed against the dark brown mane.

  “I just don’t want to make a mistake,” I said.

  She stopped abruptly and faced me. “Again, Avah, you’re looking at this negatively. You need to stop looking at your new life as a mistake. It will only hold you back.” Her thick accent coated her sincere words.

  I nodded. “I know. Jasik believes that, too. He thinks we were meant to be together.” I gazed up at her, trying to read her expression, but she gave me nothing. I knew she didn’t like the idea of a hybrid with a Hunter just as much as Sebastian hated the idea of a vampire working with a witch. They held onto a grudge that didn’t need to exist.

  “I see.” She turned on her heel and began walking back toward the manor. I was sure our twenty minutes would soon be up.

  “So we just let everyone die? Including us?”

  She smiled. “No, my dear, we don’t. You’re forgetting that a seer’s ability was created with the intention of changing the future, not simply to see it. Now that we know what’s coming, we’ll be prepared.”

  “But they won’t,” I argued.

  “They will, because we will. Knowing this information has already changed our course. Time is complicated that way. Because we know, we’ve already changed it. It’s already been done. The motions are in place. We just need to see them through.”

  I kicked the frosted ground at my feet. “So… we tell no one.”

  “Not yet. First, we fight, we find Amicia, we survive this battle. We can worry about this problem then.”

  I nodded.

  “We need everyone to think clearly. No one can do that when they’re on their deathbed.”

  “So for now, we tell no one.”

  She didn’t speak. She didn’t need to. We both knew it would play out this way. She wanted to protect her hybrids, and I wanted to protect my new family. There wasn’t anything she or I wouldn’t do to see that through.

  I STALKED INTO the dining hall, anxious to refuel before we made the journey to Alaska. As usual, the hall was packed with vampires. My eyes scanned the room in search of Jasik, and I stopped in my tracks. In the far corner, four sets of glowing eyes were on me, but they weren’t the glowing eyes I’d seen day in and day out. The Hunters of this house had returned from their trip, and I could see their hesitation. They weren’t sure if I was friend or foe, which only put me on guard.

  “Avah!” a voice called, and I pried my eyes away, looking in the sound’s direction. I found Jasik smiling at me from his usual spot in the corner. A lone chair sat beside him, and I took it.

  “Sleep well?” Jasik asked, and I nodded.

  “Where’s Sebastian?” I glanced around, needing to see a friendly and familiar set of violet irises.

  “Outside. Thought it was best to not be here today,” Jeremiah said as he glanced at the other Hunters.

  “Mmm,” I mumbled. “Probably smart.”

  “You feel it, too?” Lillie asked.

  I met her gaze. “Feel what?” I attempted innocence, but inside, I was grateful that it wasn’t just me who questioned them.

  “They want us gone,” she answered.

  I nodded. “Makes sense, I suppose.”

  “How so?” Jeremiah asked, and Jasik tensed beside me. I was known for my bluntness, and even with Malik quietly sipping his breakfast, I’d say what everyone else thought.

  “Kat hasn’t exactly been quiet about her intentions. She wants us, which means she doesn’t want them.”

  A chair scraped against the ground harshly, the metal bringing an ear-piercing squeak to my sensitive ears. I shuddered and glanced over my shoulder. They stood and left, but never did their angry gazes leave mine until they were past the door. I shook my head as I sat back in my chair, slurping down a mug of blood.

  “We have more important things to discuss,” Malik said, and I shrugged. We did, but this was also important. Soon, we’d find her, go home, and then we’d need to stop hiding the elephant in the room. I hoped they’d come to that understanding themselves—without any prying from me. The last thing I wanted to do was spend an eternity with a pissed off Malik.

  “Right,” Jasik said as he leaned forward and pulled a passport from the back pocket of his dark jeans. Only then did I realize the others weren’t in their usual, risqué attire. Only I bared skin. They were in jeans, shirts, and coats. They almost looked… human.

  “What’s with the clothes?” I asked.

  “I set something on the bed for you. Did you not see it?”

  I shook my head. “Guess I didn’t.” In truth, I had seen it, but I thought he was kidding. He always encouraged me to be comfortable in my skin and the nearly sky-clad attire we had to wear when hunting. I should have known he was serious—he really wasn’t one to joke.

  “Well, you’ll need to change. You stick out in that.” His gaze slid down my practically nude frame, and I felt my cheeks flush.

  “Calm down,” Jeremiah said with a catcall.

  I rolled my eyes.

  “We’ve got tickets to take the ferry from Bellingham to Ketchikan. Ketchikan is at the base of Tongass, a 17-million-acre national forest. Based on your vision, they’re not near human population, and with a little research, we thought we’d start there. We can span out, cover more ground.”

  I nodded. “Sounds like a good plan to me. Plus, once we’re closer, maybe Sebastian and I can try again.”

  “No.” Jasik’s no nonsense tone bared its ugly head.

  “We got further this last time. I saw more—”

  “You also almost died.”

  “Well, not because of the magic.”

  “Exactly. You weren’t thinking clearly. I understand your motives, but your actions almost got everyone killed. It’s a miracle Sibyl forgave you. I was
sure there’d be a fight.”

  I shuddered and grasped his hand, which sat casually atop the table. “I didn’t… I didn’t think about that. I’m sorry.” I looked at the others. “I’d never do something that’d get you hurt. You have to know that.”

  Jeremiah smiled and placed his hand over mine and Jasik’s. “Of course not. We know that.”

  Jasik cleared his throat and pulled his hand away. I couldn’t deny the cold shiver that shot down my spine as I grasped my mug. I knew he was upset with me, with my actions, but I also knew he understood how important they were. He thought it was all for Amicia. I hated keeping this secret from him, and I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to keep lying—especially if I’d be getting the cold shoulder. I needed Jasik and I to be on the same level.

  “I got you a passport. We may need it to get off the ferry in Alaska since it technically makes stops in Canada, too. I’m not sure, so I got one just in case.” He passed it to me with a shaky hand. I frowned at it and looked up at him. His eyes were cloudy, unsure. I’d never seen Jasik lose his confident demeanor, his alpha glare. Was he really that upset with me? He couldn’t even look at me?

  I gave him a weak smile and said, “Thank you.” I grabbed the passport and opened it. A vast array of emotions came over me: confusion, denial, comfort, longing… I stared into my former chocolate brown eyes. My long, dark hair sat in perfect waves around my shoulders, and my makeup was neatly made in a natural style. I could see just the tops of my black sweater. A silver chain hung from my neck. Though I could only see a corner of the chain, I knew a small cross was just out of the camera’s sight; it rested just below my collar bones. I remembered the day as if it’d just happened yesterday. This photo was taken in my last year of college. I was nervous when I took my student ID photo, but not because everyone tended to get awful pictures. I was nervous because this was the last year I’d have to myself. The girl in the photo still thought she was a chosen one and would soon give her life for the cause. I’d had no idea what future awaited me once I graduated…