Unwanted Blood

by L. S. Darsic

  Finn walks over to me and pulls my chin up to get me to look in his eyes as the blush continues to creep into my face, Finn leans down and whispers “you look so hot” in my ear. I think my panties just dropped to my ankles.

  “You look hot too, I like your shirt. I didn't think you people over here even knew who the Foo Fighters were” I reply huskily. Jesus, I can't even talk right around him. Finn grins and plants a big kiss on my lips that slowly turns into a steamy game of tonsil hockey.

  “I think we should get moving, did you pack your stuff?” Finn says as he pulls away with a look of regret. I can barely register what he has said let alone talk, so again I nod like a frickin bobble head.

  “Egypt, ready to go?” I turn to her as she trots over to stand by me looking eager to get out and explore.

  “So I talked with Edwin, we will meet him at his house in town and then we can head out from there. I also let Jace and Xander know you were going away for a few days and I checked in with Alec and Anja. They are enjoying themselves and told us to have fun” Finn rattles off with a wink as we walk through the halls. Jesh, he is all over it, I don't even need to worry about a thing. A girl could get used to this.

  “Thanks for doing all of that. I was going to try to call Anja later or maybe in a day or two once she has cooled down. I didn't even think of the twins cause their heads would be so far up the other twins asses they wouldn't know I was gone anyway.” I say with a laugh

  “Would you like breakfast?” Finn asks as we stop by the dining room

  “Nah, I'm not really hungry. Just maybe some coffee cause I doubt you guys have a starbucks around here”

  “Keep it up Alex. Keep bashing my country and I will really show you the uncivilized parts” Finn threatens with a wink

  “What? I thought we were in the most uncivilized part right now?” I ask in mock confusion which gets me thrown over Finn's shoulder like a caveman as he marches me up to the coffee table.

  After a few grunts like a real caveman, I get a smack to the behind and I am set on my feet to get my coffee.

  “Finn, you have to quit being so sensitive about your hicktown!” Tease him with a swat to the chest

  “You keep pressing your luck Alex. Soon I will have to punish you for your disobedience” He whispers seductively in my ear as he gives a warning tug on my braid and saunters over to grab the to go coffee cups. That man has a way with words. I would fan myself right now if I wasn't trying to pretend I wasn't effected by him. My game here is to learn as much as I can, not fall into love with Finn and make it home unscathed. Chances of that happening are getting smaller by the minute.

  Shortly after Finn grabs us coffee, we are loading Egypt and our bags into Finn's black Range Rover and heading into town to see Edwin. As we get closer I am getting more nervous. What if I have something terrible or useless? What if I have nothing? What if its something stupid like turning into a rock? Finn must have noticed me biting my lip cause he reaches over and gives my hand a comforting squeeze.

  “You have nothing to worry about Alex.” Finn soothes.

  “Well, what if I have some stupid powers or something? Like what if I just turn into a rock or a toad?” I panic

  “You have to keep in mind that you were given your abilities for a purpose. We were created to keep evil in line, think of your abilities as your tools in order to do so. So if you turn into a rock or a toad there is a very good reason for it. We just need to find the best way for you to use them” Finn says calmly as I try to calm myself.

  “Yeah, you're right. I'm just being dumb” I mumble not really believing he is right

  “You aren't being dumb. I remember when I was first brought to Edwin, I was so nervous. My brother kept telling me that my abilities were going to be to combat evil with talking them to death” Finn smirks

  I think this would be less nerve wracking if my family hadn't kept me in the dark so much. I just don't know what to expect and what is normal. Its freaking me out to say the least. Finally we pull in front of a nice slate gray two story house with a inviting front porch that wraps around it. Well this place isn't intimidating at least. Finn opens my door and helps me out as I turn to Egypt and tell her to stay. Walking up the front door I feel like a live wire. Before Finn can even knock a shorter man opens the door with a gentle smile and bright eyes.

  “You must be Alexandra, I am Edwin. Finn told me all about you. I am very happy to meet you” Edwin rambles excitedly as he ushers us into the house and the sitting room. The inside of the house is decorated in earthy tones and quite clean. It almost looks like a show house that hasn't been lived in.

  “T-Thank you for seeing me on such a short notice” I smile as I try to hide my hands so he can't see that I am trembling. Finn noticed of course so he reaches out and grabs my hands as we sit on the couch. I smile over gratefully to him. I am so glad I don't have to do this alone.

  “No need to be nervous my dear. Let us see what your abilities are so you will not be so nervous. Shall we?” Edwin says as he reaches for my hands that are wrapped in Finn's. I slowly unwrap my hands and let Edwin take them. Once he grabs both hands I feel a zing go through my body like I've been zapped by a shot of electricity. Edwin closes his eyes and bows his head as if he is in deep thought.

  “Amazing” he whispers as he continues to hold my hands and bow his head. I look over at Finn with confusion written on my face which he answers with a shrug. Guess he doesn't know either. I begin to think Edwin just fell asleep sitting up, he is so still and quiet when suddenly his head snaps up with an odd look on his face.

  “I'm unsure how to read this” Edwin mummers in confusion.

  “What do you mean? I have no abilities?” I ask worriedly. This is my worst fear, that I am a dud to my kind.

  “No, no dear. That is not it at all. Its just that you have abilities that are-” Edwin hesitates.

  “Are what?” I ask

  “Well, you see my gift is to search and identify the abilities of others. I am quite certain that there are powers out there that I have never encountered but I know they are out there. Some are very obvious and jump right out at me. With yours its almost as if they are hiding from me so they are muddled and I can't zero in on them to identify them. It reminds me of another families' powers.....” Edwin replies evasively with a quick glace at Finn. I look over to Finn for help but he looks just as perplexed as I do.

  “Would you be opposed if I took a drop of your blood? I believe if I tasted it then I could be sure. You see all of our abilities live within our blood, usually just touching the skin is enough but for the tricky ones I must try the blood” Edwin asks kindly

  “S-sure, I suppose.” I stammer

  “Great, just hold our your finger and I will prick it” Edwin says as he reaches into a drawer and pulls out a wicked looking sharp knife. Can't he just get a frickin needle? He must have seen my wide eyes because he just pats my hand and gently pokes my finger as if he is handling a glass doll. Well, that didn't hurt as much as I thought it would. Edwin takes the drop of blood with the knife and licks it quickly. Jeez, he could have cut his tongue off! He once again closes his eyes and bows his head as we wait. After about five minutes have passed Edwin's head snaps up with concern in his bright eyes. Oh shit.

  “Who are your parents?” Edwin asks sharply as if I have been lying to him.

  “What do you mean?” I ask in confusion

  “Edwin, I told you who she is, where she is from and all about her family. Why are you asking her who her parents are?” Finn asks grimly

  “Her powers..... her powers are still somewhat hidden from me but I can see enough to know that she is not who she says she is” Edwin says accusingly. What the hell? Why would I lie about my family?

  “What the hell are you talking about? I am from the Stiggero family, my mother is Jeanette Carro and my father is Abe Stiggero. Why would I lie about that? M-maybe your powers are off?” I say angrily as I stand up fuming at him. How could he say this? I look
over to Finn and see his confusion. He seriously can't be believing this shit, can he?

  “What can you see, Edwin, that makes you think she isn't from who she says she is from?” Finn asks with a grim set to his lips as if he is starting to think I am lying.

  “I-I'm unsure if I should say” Edwin says nervously

  “Well if you are going to accuse me of lying then you damn well better tell me what makes you think I am lying!” I yell in Edwin's face which causes him to shy away from me as if I am crazy scary. Which I probably am at this point.

  "Edwin, I command you to tell us" Finn says sternly

  “Y-your blood, it has the marker of the.......the divine” Edwin stammers out and promptly looks at the floor.

  “What the hell are you talking about? We are all children of the divine. We are nephilim for pete's sake! Hello? We were created by Angels!” I yell again at Edwin who is still staring at the floor. What a dumb ass

  “What do you mean Edwin.” Finn growls with his waning patience

  “You don't understand. Yes, we are all children of the Angels. We are all third, fourth, fifth generation of nephilim. Most of the first and second generation have either died out or might be in sleep so I have only met a few” Edwin explains and looks at Finn significantly.

  “Are you saying that Alex is a first or second generation nephilim?” Finn clarifies

  “Y-yes, I believe she is most likely first generation because of all the abilities she possesses. The first and second generation are the most powerful of our kind. As time has gone on, our bloodlines have dwindled and blood has become less angelic” Edwin says as he looks back at the ground like he is scared to look at me. I can't do anything but stare at him in shock so I guess I'm not much better than he is.

  “Alex” Finn says while pulling my chin up to look at him “knowing how in the dark your family has kept you, I still have to ask, did you know of either of your parents being angels?”

  “Finn, my family barely treated me like I was alive, you think they would have told me something this significant? How the hell could my parents be angels? My mother is an ice bitch who cares more for herself than her child and my father was too far gone inside his own head to notice he even had a kid!” I shout. I'm so confused, angry, sad, frustrated and every other emotion that I can't name right now.

  “Edwin, what does this mean? That I am going to get some funky powers or something? How do I know what they are and why haven't I gotten any yet?” I ask through clenched teeth as I pace in front of them.

  “From my studies, direct descendants of angels do not acquire their abilities all at once. It would probably be painful, so it comes over time little by little. So my guess would be that is the reason you are developing late” Edwin says as if he is talking about me hitting puberty or something. Done that already, I really didn't enjoy looking at my chest and wondering when my boobs were going to pop out. I feel like a twelve year old girl all over again.

  “So you can't even tell me what I am able to do? This is absurd. Sorry but I'm not buying it. I will call my uncle or my brother and clear this mess up” I say as I stomp towards the door to leave.

  “Finn, you must keep this to yourself or to only those very close to you that you can trust. This could put a target on her from our enemies,” I hear Edwin whisper to Finn as I walk out the door. What does he mean it could make me a target? Target for what? Like anyone would have a reason to go after me? I stomp over to the SUV and get in with an angry slam to my door as I dig through my purse for my phone. I totally forgot all about my phone because I notice its been off. Hmmm, I think its been off since I hung up on Uncle Reed a few days ago when we got here. Guess I've been distracted. Turning on my phone I noticed I have several missed calls and a voice mail from Presley and that is it. Not that I expected anyone else to contact me, my family never contacts me unless they have a job for me to do and its usually only by e-mail. I dial into my voice mail and hear Presley speak quickly “Alex, its me. Calling to see how your trip is so far”. I decide to call her later when I have time to listen to her go on and on about something trivial. For now though, I need to get down to business so I dial Uncle Reed.

  “Alex”

  “Hi Uncle Reed. How are you?” I start out nice cause I am on the verge of flipping out

  “What do you need?” Uncle Reed asks coldly. What the hell. What is his problem?

  “I, ah, have a question. Um.....about my abilities.” I stammer nervously

  “Alex, you know we don't talk of such things. Now if you don't have anything important to speak about I have to let you go, I am about to go into a meeting” Uncle Reed replies shortly. Damn it. Why does everyone make me feel like a kid who is doing something wrong just by asking a question? Instead of replying I just end the call. I'm not even sure why I bothered calling him and I know he won't care enough to call me back but I don't get why he is so cold all the sudden to me. He used to at least be the kindest person to me.

  Chapter 15

  Finn gets in the car and turns to look at me like he wants to say something but I put my hand up to indicate that I just don't want to talk right now. I need to think. Our drive to Finn's apartment in Edinburgh seems to fly by because the next thing I know we are driving through the most beautiful city I have ever seen. Everything looks so medieval. The streets are made of brick, there is a large clock tower in the distance and tall brick buildings all around me. I probably look like a total tourist with my face pressed to the window but I don't care, this city is unlike anything I have ever seen. Finn's castle I thought was huge, this town seems like one extra large castle by sea. Everyone we pass who is walking on the street seem to be happy, everything is clean and kept in pristine condition. This is nothing like Chicago where the homeless sit on the street corners and trash blows around like tumble weeds. Don't get me wrong, I love the United States and I love the Great Lakes even more, but this place is just so different from where I have come from.

  “Wow, Finn, this is great. I can't even make sense of what I am seeing right now” I say in awe as we pass through the center of town.

  “I'm happy you find it just as beautiful as I do” Finn says warmly as he squeezes my hand in response. We pull up to a building what looks like it could be hundreds of years old and about ten stories tall. Finn opens my door and helps me out of the car so I can gawk at my surroundings while he gets Egypt and our bags out of the car.

  “When you pick your jaw up off the ground we can head to my apartment” Finn laughs

  “Alright, lets go. I just can't stop looking at everything. There is just so much to look at” I grumble as I follow Finn and Egypt into the building. Walking into the building is like I walked into another world. I thought everything would be outdated and old like the city but if the lobby is any indication this whole place has been gutted and redone to become so modern that it would put some places in Chicago to shame. Everything is done in sleek black, chrome and gray designs that gives it an edgy look.

  “Finn, this is not at all what I expected. Was this recently renovated?”

  “Yes, I had it done about a year ago” Finn replies as we breeze through the lobby to the elevator

  “What do you mean you had it done? Do you own the whole frickin building?”

  “Yes, I purchased it several years ago. It used to be a library but I turned it into apartments. I left the entire top floor for myself” Finn replies with a smile

  “Well I guess if you grew up in and are used to living in a castle nothing small would suit you would it?” I mumble snottily. I thought my family was well off, not even close compared to Finn and his family. Its a bit daunting.

  The elevator glides to a stop on the tenth floor and opens to Finn's apartment which is the size of about five of my houses put together. The floors are hardwood and the floor plan is open so you are able to see the kitchen to the right and the living room to the left. In between the rooms are massive wood columns running from the floor to the cathedral ceiling
s. This must have been some sort of old renaissance library. The kitchen is a chef's dream and has all marble counter tops and stainless steel appliances, the living room has leather couches and overstuffed chairs with a fire place and bookshelves. This apartment just screams sleek and edgy but also warm and comfortable. I love it immediately.

  “Finn, I think I just fell in love with your apartment and I have only just made it past the door” I say quietly as I see Egypt stride forward and start checking the place out.

  “I'm happy that you like it. I am more comfortable here than at the castle. I feel this is more my style” Finn responds with a bright smile as he takes my hand and brings me down the hall.