Half Blood Rising novel Chapter 18

I left the café undetected, using the back door. The smell of blood was overwhelming. I was getting a migraine, only because I’d absorbed some of the vamp’s energy. This only happened at times when I’d become too distracted and hadn’t protected myself enough from the darkness inside them.

My energy level was low, but I headed towards the area designated mainly for supernaturals. It was on the west side of Moscow, and it took me another hour to get there. It was already dark, so all the vampires were out hanging around the clubs and cafés.

It was the middle of the week, but everyone seemed to be out and about. I walked to one of the clubs and managed to find a quiet spot in one of the booths. The music there wasn’t too loud, so I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialled Karina’s number. Right now, I was glad that I hadn’t left it behind at headquarters.

The team was probably waiting for Dimitry to make a decision, so it was a waiting game for them. They’d been led to believe that Lachlan was perfectly fine, although they’d seemed receptive to everything I’d told them. Oldman hadn’t expelled me yet, and I was counting on the fact that they would come.

“What’s up, girl?” Karina picked up after the third ring.

“I have some info on Lachlan’s location, and by the way, Vlad is dead,” I said, after I made sure no one around me could hear.

“Hold on, the guys are here. I’ll put you on speaker,” she said. I bit my bottom lip, wondering if this was such a good idea after all. I could do this on my own, but I didn’t know the area, and that worked as a disadvantage on my part. “All right, they’re all here.”

“What about Ramona?” I asked.

“She’s gone out, apparently she had an emergency,” Karina said, and I frowned, wondering why no one decided to follow her. It was too late to voice my opinion, anyway. Dimitry and Oldman still didn’t believe me, even if the rest of the team did.

“According to Vlad, there’s an Elite Academy branch in Moscow, and Lachlan’s being held in one of the tombs. He will be dead by tonight. Apparently, the other clan is planning some sort of ceremony later on in the evening,” I explained, feeling even more pressure mounting inside my head.

I had to have a drink, or I needed to find a healer who could take away the darkness. This was going to be complicated, especially now.

“Oldman left, and Dimitry’s with Roxanna. We could leave without telling him and meet you somewhere local,” she suggested.

“Shouldn’t you talk to Dimitry, he’s part of the team?” I said, rubbing my face. This was too risky, but it was the truth. Dimitry knew the area and he could help, but that bitch, Ramona, couldn’t get involved. I had a feeling she had Oldman wrapped around her little finger. At the same time, I couldn’t allow them to be expelled from Moonlight. They all deserved to be there.

“All right, let’s not waste time. I hope your information checks out. We’ll meet you in an hour in the Cathedral the Christ of Saviour,” said another voice that belong to Marco. I was a little surprised to hear he was making a decision.

“Cool, I’ll see you there in about an hour,” I said and then hung up. After that phone call, I was a little relieved, so I went to the bar to get some water. After draining about a litre, my headache eased off a bit.

Humans were staring, a few supernaturals, too, as I was walking by. My knives were hanging on the side of my belt. I was probably bringing too much attention to myself, but, either way, I didn’t have anywhere else to put them, especially now.

As I was heading towards the city, I was suddenly reminded of the heated moment Lachlan and I had shared. I kept telling myself that I wasn’t attracted to him, but I knew it was bullshit. Even now, as I thought about him, my core ignited with fire.

I decided to take the bus after asking some random human how to get to the museum. I really needed to learn Ukrainian, at the very least. My language skills were horrid. Apparently, it was on the other side of the city. My clothes were stinking, and a few passengers stared at me with curiosity. I’d hidden my blood-soaked shirt beneath my leather jacket.

The area around the cathedral was filled with a lot of tourists. I was surprised to see how busy it was. It was pissing down rain, and I got soaked quickly. The team showed up with Dimitry ten minutes later. My stomach made a funny jolt when Dimitry gave me a sharp look. He didn’t seem happy at all that he was there. The sooner I could convince him I’d been telling the truth, the better.

“I hope this checks out, because the team seems to believe in you,” he said under his breath in his thick Russian accent.

“He’s inside, trust me, and he’ll be dead tonight,” I said, and couldn’t help but roll my eyes. They were here, and it made me a little emotional. This never really happened to me before. Maybe it was a sign that after everything that had happened, my human genes were still working well.

“What’s the plan?” Judas asked, looking uncertain. “I hope you have one, right?”

“He’s being held in a tomb somewhere near the Kremlin. Vlad hinted something about the Chamber of Romanov Boyars,” I explained, hoping that at least Dimitry knew where we would need to head to next.

“Yes, it’s very famous, this place you speak of,” Dimitry said. “We need to get a car. I had no idea the Elite had a branch in Russia… interesting.”

He gestured for us to follow him. The van arrived ten minutes later. The driver was human, but that didn’t seem to bother anyone. Karina told me how Ramona had tried to convince them to leave with her, when out of the blue, Oldman told her to find Lachlan before the end of the day.

“Well, in that case, I’m not surprised she left,” I muttered to myself, placing my fingers on my forehead. I still had a migraine, and this wasn’t good.

“What’s wrong with you?” Marco asked. “There is a strange aura surrounding you, and your energy is weak.” Of course he noticed. Normally other supernaturals didn’t have that kind of skill, but I’d nearly forgotten he was fae, and he’d sensed Vlad’s dark energy surfacing around me.

“I told you I killed Vlad, well, it was kind of an accident, but his darkness infected me straight away. I’ve had a migraine from hell since I left that bar in town,” I answered, pushing away the pain and the fact I was exhausted.

Then Marco did something I wasn’t expecting. He approached me, his eyes were amazing, gleaming with pure energy.