Half Blood Rising novel Chapter 2

I turned away from them and took off running, already imagining being trapped in the claws of the High Council. It was too risky. I knew how they operated, and I didn’t want to lose my freedom. At the same time, I couldn’t believe Tristan had betrayed me. The vampire tried to stop me, shouting something about binding law, but I wasn’t listening. I just kept running. He tried to use binding energy, but my “other” nature, the one I knew nothing about, seemed to be immune to it.

I sped through the gloomy streets quickly enough, getting away. Tristan wouldn’t be able to chase me in the car, so I knew I’d be all right. It was the middle of the night, so there was hardly anyone out now. Besides, I liked moving through the narrow streets, where access by car was usually limited. Then again, I couldn’t walk too far. I was weakened by the earlier attack and lack of food. Moments later, I decided to hide in one of the old abandoned town houses that had seen better days.

My legs were aching like hell, and my vision was becoming blurry again. Normally with my half-vampire strength, I was in excellent shape, but after killing the werewolf, I was drained. His tainted energy had affected me—his darkness had stuck to me like glue. I had to wait for it to fade, and sometimes it took hours, other times, days. It took me several long moments to inhale a few deep breaths. This was going to be a difficult night for me. Even my bones hurt right then as I was cursing off Tristan. Then my stomach growled again. Damn him.

I would do a lot right now for a warm meal and a decent night’s sleep in a proper bed. Maybe it was a silly dream, but to me, it was a basic necessity. Right now, I had nothing: no money for food, and nowhere to go, and the High Council was after me—that was just great.

Tears forced their way into my eyes. Damn it—when had I become so weak? Never. There was no point in feeling sorry for myself, but at the same time, I’d never been in such a shitty situation before. I’d lived on the streets for four years, but even so, I’d managed to take care of myself.

My mind was in despair. I tried really, really hard to remember someone from my past, anything, even small glimpses of my previous life, but with no results. There was nothing, only an obscure void inside my mind.

Two hours later, I had enough strength to leave the mouldy town house. I decided to climb the fire escape to the top of the building and then walked along the rooftop. This way, I could see everything that was happening on the streets. It had been easy to break into and find the fire escape; no one had ever bothered me up here. I was alone, so damn alone all the time.

The temperature dropped slightly in the night and it finally stopped raining. I found a spot near the stairs with an old mattress that someone had left behind. It was the only dry place around the building, so I decided to rest there. Five minutes later, the rain began pouring once again, but at least I was dry. As a half-breed I really didn’t need that much sleep, but I was so exhausted then, and I closed my eyes.

Tristan’s pay had only given me enough to survive. Renting an apartment was way too expensive, and without any kind of paperwork, it was close to impossible. In the very beginning of my existence as a half-vampire, I managed to get a short-term job on the black market. My boss had used me. I was getting paid at the time, so I didn’t care how hard I needed to work for it. Besides, I didn’t speak Ukrainian, and no one in that line of work understood English.

After a year, I’d become fed up working for minimal pay. I wanted a proper job, or at least some sort of education. That had been an option, too, but I needed an address, an identity. No one wanted to deal with a homeless half-breed. It had quickly become the story of my new life.

More tears flowed down my face, but I quickly wiped them away. I had always played the hard-as-steel Jaymin, never showing my emotions, and now I couldn’t find my way back to the “old me.”

Tristan had shut that door for me. Tracking convicts and killing them had taught me resilience, and it had given me other valuable skills, but I couldn’t do it any longer. Once he decided to get someone else involved, I was done. I couldn’t rely on getting paid for it anymore. Now the High Council was on to me. I was even more fucked than I realised.

My stomach was growling very loudly at that point. I didn’t know how, but eventually, I drifted off to sleep. The werewolf’s victims haunted me in my dreams. I fought with them; I shouted that it wasn’t my fault, but they wouldn’t listen.

Sometime later, I was awakened by the noise from the traffic below. It was humid again, and I was used to waking up stinking like a pig by now, especially during a heat wave. I dreamed of a hot shower, but first I had to get something to eat. My head was spinning a little, and I knew it was from the lack of food. There were no more tears—I was done with it. After surviving for so long, I couldn’t just give up.

As I made my way down to the streets and started walking towards the north, of course, people stared. I was used to it by now. I probably had blood stains all over my clothes, and Ukrainians tended to be extremely nosy. Around eight o’clock in the morning it was already twenty-five degrees, so I had to prepare myself for a scorching hot day. I walked for about a mile, then killed a few hours trying to find something to eat in the bins, but other homeless humans had already beat me to it.

Around midday, the King’s Bar opened, and I hid inside, escaping the heat. There weren’t many people there, and as soon as I showed up, the barman gave me a sharp look. I didn’t look particularly appealing, but he couldn’t just throw me out without a reason. This place always stunk of blood. A lot of supernaturals hung around here, but it was too early for any of them to be there now.

I headed straight to the bathroom. Luckily, I would be able to wash myself and change my clothes. I only owned two pair of jeans and a few T-shirts. I only showered when I had some cash on me. My other top stunk of burnt fish. I’d visited the local market a few times last week, so maybe the fabric soaked in the smell. Either way, after I left the restroom, I looked more like a human girl.

A few Ukrainian girls passed me on the way to the bar. They were giggling, talking about makeup and boys. For a moment, I imagined being one of them, free of all my problems and worries. I was daydreaming and not looking where I was going, then a split second later, I crashed into someone, hard. I lifted my head, seeing that it was another vampire. He was pure, ancient, maybe? I didn’t know how I could tell, but as soon as I met his eyes, I knew I was right. A strong jolt of electrical current shot through me.

“Watch where you’re going, hen?” He spoke in English, and he had the strongest Scottish accent I had ever heard.

He was damn handsome: tall, lean, with longish light-coloured hair and a muscular chest. He wore a white shirt that stretched across his massive form and revealed much of his ripped muscle beneath. I only had a glimpse, but that was enough for me to know that he was from a higher caste. And he smelled heavenly, too. Crap, this wasn’t what I was supposed to be focusing on. I was heading to the bar, hoping to get some food. He stared at me like I was a bag of dirt, so … he was an arsehole.

“Whatever, man,” I snapped, annoyed he’d talked to me like that, calling me that name, and I felt judged instantly. The corner of his mouth lifted into a smile, and the colour of his eyes intensified. We gazed at each other for a few more seconds, but then he broke eye contact and carried on walking.