Blue Blood (Series of Blood Book 3)

by Emma Hamm

  The power inside of her wanted to unleash itself. She wanted to burn everything to the ground, starting with the bars that surrounded her physical body.

  Her cage would melt so easily. Mercy was nearly drunk with the thought of molten iron dripping onto the ground like so many candles. Then she would be free to burn the rest of this wretched world.

  They dared to lock her up, to take her from one prison and slam her into another? Already the magic was building inside her. All she needed to do was give it life. To allow it to drift away from her body and find new power in everything around her. Fire was so easy to feed.

  “Mercy.” Ignes stared down at her with disappointment on his draconic face. “You cannot.”

  “And why not?” she asked. “Why shouldn’t I punish them for harming us?”

  “You have not been harmed overly much.”

  “Yet even in the dream I can feel the burn of iron all around us. Why should I not listen to them scream and cry out for help?”

  “There are innocents here.”

  She scoffed at him. “The Fairy? The Unicorn? They will die eventually, whether it is by my hand or another’s. They should prefer the death I can give them. It would be quick.”

  “This is not you,” Ignes told her firmly. “You are not cruel. You are not rash.”

  “I am frightened.”

  The words cut through her dream form like a sword, spilling lava from the open wounds to drip at her feet.

  “Why?” he asked.

  “There is much I could be used for. Any person powerful enough to control me could bring about the end of the world.” A brimstone tear trailed down her cheek. “If they wished, they could ask me to wipe this world clean. They could ask you to do the same and we are Pheonix. We cannot say no to an order which is truthful. And if they give us reasons, then they will give us good, solid reasons. We will not stop.”

  “Do you think this Fairy will ask us to cleanse the world?”

  The question gave her pause. She rolled the question in her mind, smoothing the rough edges into a pearl of truth. Finally, she answered, “No. I do not believe he will ask it of us.”

  “Then we shall form an alliance with him.”

  “How?”

  Ignes drifted around her, the flames fanned ever higher by the beating of his wings. Air was just as sufficient as tinder in this world. “We will bind ourselves to him.”

  “I will have no man as a master!”

  “You need one right now. You are vulnerable and barely awake. As you said, there is worry that we will be used at a terrible cost. Pride will only further endanger us. Ownership does not have to be a collar.”

  She took a deep breath. “It seems as though we may be rushing this plan. I will not accept him as master without knowing him first.”

  “Then we should get to know him.”

  She sank to the ground. Her elbow settled back on her knee, and her chin on her fist. She had not thought she would prefer the Dream World to the real world. She had wasted so much time wishing for the real world, when she knew first hand how cruel it could be. This Dream World was hers to control.

  Though she missed the green, Mercy loved this place of destruction and ruin. She was made of flame now, just as much as Ignes. There were no others like her.

  “Ignes?” she asked.

  “Yes, my Mercy?”

  “Do you miss them?”

  “Who?”

  “Your family.”

  She knew it was a difficult question for him to answer. Ignes had been alone for a very long time before the dimensions collided. He had existed in a far-off place that held no other creatures but himself. Drifting deep within the core of earth, floating through rivers of lava, always searching for another like himself.

  “Yes. Every day.” He traveled through the flames, shrinking as he neared.

  She felt every scale of his body as he wrapped his wings and tail around her. His form grew smaller and smaller until he was once more a lizard holding tight to her shoulder.

  “And then I found you,” he said. “Now I am no longer lonely. Though I think of them every day, their memory does not sputter or cool. It burns bright and strong.”

  Mercy smiled. “Then I shall endeavor to remember the same of my bloodthirsty family.”

  He lifted his blunt head. “You’re thinking of them?”

  “Being awake is different than being asleep. I’m seeing a place that I don’t control, and it reminds me of them, of how we left things.”

  “Do you miss them?”

  “No. I wish I did, but after one’s family burns them alive, that fades. I have you. Family is not just blood.”

  Ignes had said the words many times to her over the years. He whispered it into her ears when they’d first combined. He had shouted it to the wind when they were imprisoned. She would always think of him when she thought of family. Not those who were her blood relatives.

  “Yes.” The word was drawn out with a long ‘S’ sound as his forked tongue licked the air. “Family is not just blood. It is flames, fire, and ruin.”

  She chuckled. “Maybe not ruin.”

  “Certainly, ruin. There are none other than your family who can harm you.”

  “Are you certain of that? What if we run into a Hippocampus?”

  Ignes dug his claws into her shoulders. “Then I will scorch it.”

  “You know they spit water.”

  “They could do little against me.”

  “Against us?”

  She would like a little credit at least. Ignes was the one with all the power, but she had discovered how to wield it. Before her, Ignes had been very young and untrained. They learned to use his magic together.

  “Against us.” He tucked his head underneath her chin. “Now sleep for real. For the first time in a long time.”

  “I don’t think I can. This is the Dream World, and I’m wide awake.”

  “Let your mind relax. I will take care of you while you rest.”

  Because she trusted him, Mercy did just that.

  6

  Her screams rang in his ears hours after she had been taken. Jasper paced back and forth in his cell like a caged lion. Chuffs of angry breath preceded him.

  None of the prisoners had been speaking when the guards came. They used silence as a shield. The condemned, oddly companionable quiet eased Jasper’s troubled mind.

  He had watched the guards drag prisoners from their cells more times than he cared to count. But from the moment they had entered, he knew this time was different. He’d never seen the contraption they had held in their hands — a long pole controlled by a pulley system with claw-like metal arms pinching the air.

  Mercy had watched them approach her cell with a wild look in her eyes. Her fists burst into flames. He had worried she would destroy them all.

  They never gave her the chance. The iron claws darted forward, wrapping around her throat with a decisive click. Jasper had smelled her blistering flesh burning beneath the metal, and then she had screamed.

  “Mercy”. He had whispered her name as though it was a prayer.

  Mercy, for them all.

  Now — hours after she had been taken — he paced in his cell and waited. He hoped that they would bring her back. That she would return in one piece, and he hadn’t brought her to her death.

  Anger surged through his veins, unlike anything he had felt before. Fairies were not hateful creatures, and Bluebell’s instinctive good nature complemented Jasper’s kindness. It was easier for him to place all his energy towards love, even if it led to great abuse.

  His teeth clacked together as he snarled at the bars. His fists curled into clubs, longing to bludgeon his enemies into a fine mist. His skin felt tight, as though he wasn’t capable of holding his form.

  Bluebell shuddered in his mind. He steeled himself for her fear. She always hated it when he got worked up. It was the main reason why he had trained himself to prevent anger from becoming his master.

 
Jasper stilled when she spoke.

  “Angry.” She sounded as though she were holding back a growl. “They took her.”

  “I know. I saw.”

  “They took our pretty thing.”

  A guttural growl vibrated in his throat. “I know.”

  “They cannot take my pretty things!” She screamed, causing Jasper to wince and clutch his skull. “I will make them wish they did not have eyes to see. That they did not have hands to steal. That they did not have minds capable of coveting what is mine!”

  He had never heard her sound so possessive of any creature. In fact, she generally disliked most people who were close to Jasper. She wanted him all to herself.

  Apparently, she also wanted Mercy to herself.

  “They’ll bring her back,” he said in a guttural tone.

  “You don’t know that.”

  “I have to believe it.”

  “If they don’t, I’m going to rip their wings off—”

  He had to interrupt her. “They don’t have wings, Bluebell.”

  “Then their teeth. I will take their teeth one by one!”

  His anger cooled slightly as he thought of the Tooth Fairy myths. The creatures were now thought of as fierce, the legends had changed when the dimensions collided. He always thought it was a children’s tale, but Bluebell spoke with confidence. Almost as though she had done it before.

  “Jasper.” Ella’s voice cut through his thoughts like a knife. “You need to calm down.”

  “I will not!” he shouted.

  “If you continue, the guards will come back in, and you might not see her again.”

  He increased his pace, nearly throwing himself from each end of the cage. “I want to hurt them. I want to hurt everyone who touched her.”

  “This is not logical thinking.” Her voice was calm, and it made him irate that she couldn’t get angry on behalf of Mercy. “Jasper, you need to be still. They will bring her back.”

  He spun towards her, his face twisted and his teeth bared.

  “Do they ever? Do they ever bring anyone back?” His shouts bounced off the stone walls, his deep baritone laced with Bluebell’s piercing scream. “She is gone, and I will make them regret their existence!”

  Ella crawled towards him and rose onto her knees. He looked into the deep pools of her eyes, and something in him shifted.

  “You are calm,” she said.

  Suddenly, he was.

  Her eyes were hypnotizing. “You will sit back on the ground and rest. Think of your Lyra and the family waiting for you.”

  He recognized the glow of magic in her eyes, and did not want to bow to its weight. She was forcing him to feel what she wanted him to feel, and though he fought against it, he did not have a choice.

  Power pushed at his shoulders and he sank until the cold ground pushed against his knees. His heartbeat slowed, his gaze locked upon hers. Unicorns, he thought bitterly. They were capable of far more than anyone ever thought.

  Ella’s eyes were limpid jewels, and they held him entranced like a snake being charmed. Eventually, she blinked twice. The spell shattered, but Jasper remained on the ground.

  His chest heaved once, twice, in long breaths. Finally, he nodded. “Thank you.”

  “I did not know Fairies were so deeply possessive.”

  “Neither did I.”

  Bluebell whined in his head. “I like pretty things. They are mine and no one else’s. They should not steal things that aren’t theirs. Mine, ours, mate.”

  Perhaps he did not know the Fairy as well as he had thought. He did not want to consider that Bluebell had attached herself to yet another stranger. Jasper rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. He had made a fool of himself. Again.

  “I apologize,” he told Ella. “This place is getting to me.”

  “It gets to all of us. I don’t blame you for your anger.”

  “I appreciate it nonetheless. You have been a solid rock for me to hold onto.”

  When he looked towards her, there was a blinding smile upon her face.

  “I am glad I was able to do at least that,” she said. “If I am lost to this world, I can go happily knowing I made yours a better place. Even for a few moments.”

  The doors to their prison banged open. Jasper and Ella surged to their feet simultaneously. They stood as close to the iron bars as they could.

  “Mercy...” His heart kicked back into overdrive as he watched her.

  A pig-like guard dragged her down the hall, holding a fistful of her shirt in his meaty hand. He didn’t even have the kindness to hook his hands underneath her arms and hold her upright.

  She hung limp in his grasp, scraping against the floor. Red rashes bloomed and blue blood streaked down the backs of her legs before his eyes. The neck of her shirt caught underneath her, and her face began to turn red.

  “You’re choking her!” Jasper shouted.

  The guard did not acknowledge Jasper. He lifted Mercy like a ragdoll, her limbs dangling limp and unresponsive. A wicked grin spread across his face as he threw her back into her cell. She bounced off the iron bars and hit the floor with a sickening crunch.

  Jasper slammed his palms against his own bars. The guard didn’t even flinch as he turned on his heel and left. The only sound remaining in their prison was Ella’s shuddering breaths.

  “Is she alive?” Ella asked. “I can’t tell.”

  “I don’t know.” Jasper crouched, leaned as close to the bars as he dared, and called her name. “Mercy?”

  She did not stir. He stared at her chest, hoping to see movement.

  “Did he kill her?” Ella asked. “He’s never brought a body back here. She can’t be dead.”

  Jasper ran a hand across his mouth. “Maybe he’s trying to send us a message.”

  “It is a cruel message.”

  “He is a cruel man.”

  Light caught his eye. Jasper locked his gaze upon Mercy’s body and watched as the small fire lizard crawled out of Mercy’s shirt. It crawled over her hip and up onto the valley of her waist.

  It looked at him. The little lizard stared straight into his soul with surprising intelligence. Things created by magic always seemed empty, their gaze void of thoughts or emotion. Yet, this lizard stared as though it recognized him. The thought was entirely overwhelming and utterly strange.

  The lizard made a clicking sound and looked away. Its tongue tasted the air, red embers spurted from its mouth. A tiny spark lit upon her shirt and it took hold.

  Jasper moaned as the flames grew upon her body. He had seen her create fire, but it had been controlled. Even an Elemental could be overwhelmed by its own power. Their human bodies were fragile.

  “No,” he breathed, as though it were a command. The fire did not listen.

  If anything, the fire intensified. It spread across her body and devoured everything in its reach. He was watching her burn. Jasper did not know if she was alive or if this was her funeral, but it was horrific all the same.

  Bluebell began to moan in his mind. Incoherent sounds of distress fractured his concentration and his thoughts dissolved into panic.

  Jasper furrowed his brow as the lizard stepped off her body and walked towards him. Mercy’s body began to crackle. Odd that her magic was still working. Even odder than something born of magic making eye contact with him.

  It miraculously stepped between the iron bars and began to grow.

  Within three steps it was larger than a dog. Six steps and it was no longer a lizard but a column of flames. Jasper slowly rose from his crouch as the flames took the shape of a man.

  It stopped in front of his cell. Heat blasted his face and sweat slicked his brow. Jasper’s stomach clenched in fear, but he forced himself to stay still.

  A crackling voice erupted from within the figure, his face featureless billows of fire. “Fae. Listen to my words and heed them.”

  Jasper had never been so afraid. Even Bluebell cowered in his mind, her whimpering making his knees quake. But he woul
d not back down. Not now.

  “I’m listening.” His throat ached. Sparks showered from the figure, stinging Jasper’s lungs.

  “The woman in that cell is important to me. Swear you will protect her.”

  An oath was a powerful thing. For Fae, oaths were unbreakable. To swear his protection to this creature would be the same as binding himself to her for the rest of her life. He only had one such tie, and that was with Lyra. His family.

  The words tumbled from his lips before he could catch them. “I swear it.”

  Sparks rained off the fiery man like fireworks into the night. “Good. I will hold you to your words, mortal.”

  The weight of Jasper’s oath settled upon his shoulders. The figure billowed left as a wind brushed past it. He turned and walked back to Mercy’s cage.

  The flames slid between the iron bars as though they held no effect to the creature. It knelt beside Mercy, gently touched her jaw, and dissolved into a rain of sparks around her. The flames devouring her body grew all the more bright.

  How was Jasper to protect her when she was already dead?

  Her back suddenly arched, and her mouth gaped open as though she were struggling for breath. Jasper’s fists clenched, in hopes she would live or in fear, he did not know. It seemed like a thousand years before she coughed. Flames sprang from her mouth in a spray of light, and she drew in a panicked breath.

  Jasper pressed himself close to the bars. She had been dead, he was certain of that. Her body had become a bonfire and was as close to ashes as flesh could be. Yet now she was breathing. What miracle unfolded before him?

  She continued to cough as she rolled to her side. Propped on her elbow, the flames covering her retreated to reveal flawless skin. No bruise or scrape remained. Long, wheezing breaths shook her shoulders.

  What words he might have said caught in his throat as his gaze caught on the bloody slash across her forehead. His eyes widened as the flames danced across the weeping wound. It was closing. The sliced skin that had been dripping blood into her eyes sealed like a zipper. The flames traced her body, healing any remaining injuries and licking the blood clean.

  He couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.