Half Blood Rising novel Chapter 19

I went back to the van after ten minutes, when the back door opened, and some human came out. He looked like he worked there, so I quickly walked away, after I left Karina’s clothes by the dumpster. I thought I would appear too suspicious just standing there on my own.

“She’s in,” I said as I slid inside the van. Everyone seemed tense as the silence descended. The heavy rain had most of the tourists leaving for shelter. Maybe the weather was on our side, besides it was too late for most people. There were a lot of historical buildings around that closed their doors by eight p.m.

For a long moment, all we could hear was the rain pelting against the van. It seemed that a storm was approaching. I kept tapping my foot until Judas turned to look at me, so I stopped.

I hated this part, hated waiting, and not knowing what might happen to her. Silence ticked the minutes away. I started messing with my hair. Marco appeared as though he was using magic; he was probably practising before we had to leave. If I was half-fae, then there was still a lot I needed to learn about myself. Time slowed down, or maybe it was just me. At some point, I couldn’t take the tension any longer, so I stood up. It was still raining heavily ten minutes later.

Suddenly the van door opened, and everyone flinched, including me. Karina was soaked, but she seemed all right. She was smiling.

“How did you get here so fast?” I asked. I’d been staring at the back entrance the entire time and didn’t even see her coming out.

“Magic,” she replied, winking at me. “I told you. I’ve done this many times before, so much so, that now, no one realises when I’m back in my human form. I didn’t see Lachlan, but the vampires were talking about him. There are several ancient vamps on the lower level. There are offices on the first floor. I’ve seen a few students, too, but not sure if they’re visiting or if they live there.”

“The Elite Academy was established centuries ago,” Dimitry said, “but I never knew there was a branch in Russia. I suspect that the ancient vampires are part of the clan, but I still don’t understand how they gained access to that building.”

Maybe Leonidas had already made a deal with the councillor—well, that would explain a lot. At the same time, I kept asking myself why the clan would be keeping Lachlan there. My head started spinning a little as energy rushed through me like an invisible threat. Marco gave me another wink. He was trying to connect with me, or maybe he was giving me a boost of his power before our grand entrance.

“There are doors to the other side that lead to the basement, but we’ll have several vamps to go through,” Karina added, and then removed a blade from her boot. “They’re getting ready for some sort of ritual or initiation, so we need to hurry.”

“Our aim is to get him out of there alive. Are you ready for this? I mean, to use your magic to kill?” Dimitry asked, like he wanted to make sure we were willing to use our abilities.

Everyone nodded, and I pulled out two of my knives. Then electricity rushed through my fingers instantly. I felt good, and I was grateful to Marco for healing me.

“Lead on, female. Time is running out, and blood will be spilled tonight,” Judas said, and everyone looked at him like he’d just spoken in another language.

It was still raining damn heavily as we left the van, following Karina. We circled the building a few times. I wasn’t sure what this was about, but I trusted her. Maybe she was trying to find a better way in. I was gripping my knife tightly in my hand when we stopped by an old rusty door that was hidden behind some rubbish.

Marco used his abilities to break the lock. Seconds later we were inside. It was a chamber shaped as a chapel. Apparently, vampires weren’t allowed inside churches, but I’d tested this theory once or twice and walked into holy places without any problems. Dimitry was pointing the flashlight at the space ahead. We were on the other side of the building, and on this side, I didn’t expect any surprises.

It was pitch black in the corridor, but Marco was using his internal light to lead us through. I felt like I was walking into a coffin, but soon enough, the corridor widened further, and my anxiety faded. I hated narrow paths, I kept having nightmares about them.

“Go to the right,” Karina said, and Marco turned. The silence was unnerving once again, and for a moment, it was broken by Dimitry’s heavy breaths.

All of a sudden, a flash of magic knocked me off my feet. I reacted, realising we were being attacked. My opponent was a vampire, I figured this out soon enough. He wrapped his palms around my throat, and I choked.

I heard a hissing sound in my ear. Others were fighting, too, I was seeing flashes of lightning power. I kicked my opponent, but he wasn’t letting go of me. Marco was throwing magic towards the group who’d appeared along the side of the corridor. There were three of them, and they were all ancient.

“I can dance with you like this all day long, pretty, but first, I need to drink your delicious blood,” my opponent growled with danger lurking in his eyes.

I punched him in the gut with my elbow, and he finally let go. My muscles were stiff as hell, but it gave me a few seconds to pull my energy together. He lunged for me just as I withdrew my knife, stabbing him in the gut. He roared with pain, trying to grab me again. His pupils were dilated, and the smell of blood became too overwhelming. The urge to taste him was distracting, too. What the hell was going on with me?

Dimitry had already slaughtered two vampires, heads were rolling along the ground, and I nearly tripped over one. Judas was drinking from another, and I turned away when he started ripping his throat out.

My opponent recovered quickly—he was pissed. I stabbed him in the gut again, and this time, he roared with pain, adding pressure to the other side. He was quick, and his fangs would have pierced my skin if I hadn’t done it. I could sense his desire and hunger for my blood.

Once the blade was inside his gut, I twisted it a few times, then the magic around me exploded. Light flashed from my palms, and he was thrown to the other side of the basement, landing on the ground. His neck was twisted in an odd angle.

I glanced at my hands, completely baffled. I hadn’t even called upon my magic, it just burst out of me. Light magic! Not fire…

Marco was standing by the wall, breathing hard, but his energy caused the fine hair on my arms to rise. There were several decapitated corpses lying around. The lights in this corridor were flashing, but my team remained in one piece. Karina had managed to transform herself into a wolf.

“Anyone injured?” Dimitry asked, looking around, and everyone was nodding. No one had been seriously injured just yet. We defeated a few, but there were several vampires approaching. We could all sense them.