Half-Born (Half-Blood Chronicles #1) (The Half-Blood Chronicles)

by Ivy Baum

  Beyond the door was another hallway, albeit slightly better-lit than the previous one.

  Finally, we came to a set of double-doors.

  This was more like what I’d been expecting: an ornate, intricately-carved door, accented by what looked like inlaid silver.

  This time, Mr. Montort used a single old-fashioned key to unlock the door.

  Sol said, “This is his apartment?” He sounded impressed.

  Nev raised an eyebrow, and Sol whistled softly.

  I figured they’d been talking about Mr. Montfort. Then I read the name on the door—Marovech.

  We stepped into a magnificent foyer.

  It was high-ceilinged, and so spacious that I almost forgot about being underground.

  Up near the ceiling, there was even a series of stained-glass windows—though the light currently streaming through them must have been artificial.

  There was a woman waiting for us—as beautiful and elegant as her surroundings.

  “Welcome,” she said, throwing her arms wide.

  She had blond hair and dark, deep-set eyes. Like the accountant, she was decidedly not young.

  Another human?

  She ushered us into the room. Several servants, who were mercifully not dressed in pre-revolutionary French garb—came to take our bags.

  “My name is Elspeth. Charles asked me to welcome you in person. He regrets that he could not be here in person.”

  Charles. As in Charles Marovech.

  “Please, come inside. I have refreshments waiting upstairs. You must be tired from your…ordeal.” She raised an eyebrow.

  She led us to a sitting room, which was indeed stocked with all manner of food and drink.

  We’d barely had time to take in the splendid display when Elspeth—or should I call her Mrs. Marovech?—excused herself, claiming the need to oversee preparations for tonight’s dinner.

  More likely, she was giving us a moment for a more private reunion.

  Sol grinned at Nev. “Well, that was good timing.”

  Nev frowned. “Why did you come here?”

  “You heard what happened at Sanctuary?”

  “My sources tell me that it’s not as it seems.”

  Sol snorted. “Correct. The whole thing was a false flag operation by Blood Right. They want to get the half-blood population riled up about the Capitol…or something.”

  “And you thought your best course of action was to come here?” Nev’s normally mild voice had grown pointed.

  No, I thought, guiltily. His first choice had been to get the hell out of Dodge…and instead, I’d twisted his arm to come here. Well, me and everyone else.

  But Sol only smiled. “We were running a little low on options.”

  Nev sighed. “Well, the crisis seems to have been averted. For the moment. But once the lockdown is lifted, you might want to consider finding a new place to hide out.”

  Junie said, “I thought Charles Marovech had given up on this place. You know, after Sforza and his cronies took over.”

  “He won’t step foot inside the city. That would be suicide, or something like it.” Nev’s voice was dry. “But he likes to keep an apartment here. A foothold, of sorts.”

  Deo looked up from a tray of cookies. “A foothold inside the lion’s den?”

  “It gives Charles the opportunity to keep an eye on his enemies.”

  Junie wandered to one of the “windows”—actually just a very convincing video screen. “Are we safe here?”

  “No place is safe inside Outlaw City,” Nev replied evenly. “But…it’s as secure as one can get within city limits.”

  I thought back to my conversation with Hades.

  What he’d said about my parents coming to live here, about it being safe…Was that all a lie?

  Surely, this place had to be safer than the outside world. Especially if things got bad with Blood Right…

  I asked Nev, shyly, “What about my Mom? How’s she doing?”

  “Wonderfully,” she said, smiling widely for the first time. “She still has a ways to go, but compared to most people hit by a Thanatos…Anyway, you can see for yourself.”

  She gestured for me to follow. Mystified, I trailed her to a pair of double doors at the rear of the room.

  On the other side was a small sitting room.

  And my mother.

  Chapter 40

  I rushed forward.

  I almost couldn’t believe that she was here. She smiled gently, her green eyes sparkling. It was a far cry from how she had looked the last time I saw her.

  She was even standing on her own.

  But as I got closer, I noticed a servant hovering nearby—ready to support her.

  I slowed, but Mom beckoned me forward.

  She pulled me in for a hug.

  “Mom? Are you okay?”

  I didn’t even realize I was crying until she pulled back to wipe the tears from my face.

  “Of course I am.” She smiled. “We have so much to talk about.”

  Nev caught her eye. “Take a seat on the couch. We’ll give you some privacy.”

  When we were seated comfortably, Nev and the servant retreated. Nev promised that they would be “just outside.”

  I stared at my mother, still not quite believing that I was finally seeing her.

  “So this is where you’re staying?”

  She nodded. “For now. But Nev tells me that once I’m well enough to travel, we’ll be going somewhere a little more…anonymous.”

  “You’re not staying in Outlaw City?”

  My mother placed a soothing hand on my leg. “Don’t worry about it—for now, I’m here. Ellie is a wonderful cook, by the way. You’re in for a treat tonight. I’ll bet you haven’t had much real food since you’ve been on the road.”

  She reached out and stroked a piece of hair that had fallen loose from my half-hearted braid.

  “No—I guess not.” I tried to say more, but felt my voice catch in my throat. Seeing my mother like this…well, it reminded me of how much I had to lose.

  She smiled. “And what are you wearing? Isn’t that the shirt Aunt Liddie sent for Christmas? I thought you hated it.”

  I laughed, surprised at how good it felt.

  The shirt in question was tight, with a gaudy display of rhinestones. The words You Wish You Were Me were emblazoned on the back.

  I really hated it. But it was also the last clean shirt I had left.

  I smiled. “Nah. It’s sort of growing on me.”

  Mom smiled, but then her expression grew serious. “So…you know the truth, now.”

  I nodded. I didn’t trust myself to speak.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, Kestrel. Nev told me all about that night—the night you had to run away from White Falls. Of course, I don’t remember any of it.”

  My heartbeat picked up. “Dr. Sotheby attacked you.”

  She nodded. “Sol called me while I was at work and said we had to get to the safe house. You’d gone to the dance.” She smiled sadly. “I went back to the apartment to grab our things—and found Galen waiting for me.”

  “Did you know about him? Did you know what he was?”

  “Only recently.” She was silent for a long moment. “In retrospect, we should have just left everything behind.”

  I frowned. Something had just occurred to me. All the money we should have had—all those extra shifts Mom was constantly picking up…

  I said, “You were planning for this, weren’t you? That thing you said about traveling the world—”

  She smiled. “I knew we would have to go—eventually. I have some money saved and a few—contingencies. I’m sorry I had to keep you in the dark.”

  “When did you know? When did you know I was…different?”

  She was quiet a long time.

  Finally, she said, “They told you, didn’t they? About…your father?”

  Here we go.

  I still wasn’t ready for this conversation.

 
“They said Dad wasn’t—” I found that I couldn’t finish the sentence. “That I had a pureblood father.”

  She bowed her head.

  “Kes, you have to understand…” She seemed to be having an internal argument. “No, I’m not going to sugar-coat this.”

  I waited. This was as hard for her as it was for me. Maybe harder.

  She took a deep breath. “I dated Jonathan a long time before having you. Seven years, actually. But there was a time when we broke up. I wanted to get married—Jonathan didn’t. He was always so cautious.”

  Her smile was sad, her eyes distant.

  “During the breakup, he went on sabbatical, to another university. That was when I met—well, your real father, I suppose. He called himself Vincent Parker, though I suspect that wasn’t his real name. He swept me off my feet…”

  She trailed off. There were things unsaid in that silence—things she would never tell me, I realized.

  “And then, just like that, it was over. He said he had to leave. I begged him to take me with him. I didn’t even care where. But…he said I couldn’t go with him.”

  She took a deep, shuddering breath, like someone awakening from a deep slumber.

  “When Jonathan returned from sabbatical, we got back together. He…he asked me to marry him. I was going to say no.”

  “But you didn’t.”

  “That was when I found out I was pregnant. I knew you would need a father.” She looked away. “I never knew for sure—whether you—”

  Her cheeks reddened.

  I blinked. She hadn’t known who my father was.

  “Last spring, when you got sick—that was when I knew. There were a lot of blood tests. One of them confirmed that you couldn’t possibly be Jonathan’s biological child.”

  “How did he find out?”

  Her face darkened. “Someone sent the results to Jonathan’s office. I suspect it was Galen, though I suppose we’ll never know.”

  I stared, waiting for more.

  But she had lapsed into silence.

  There was no more to the story, apparently.

  “Anyway, after we moved out, a handsome young man approached me. I remember—I was just getting off from the night shift. He said, ‘My job is to keep your daughter alive.’ That’s when I learned what you were.”

  I shook my head. “Did you know about White Falls? Is that why we never left?”

  She smiled enigmatically. “I didn’t know it was a Treaty Zone—I didn’t even know what a Treaty Zone was. But White Falls always felt safe to me.”

  Me too.

  “Does he know about me? My real father, I mean?”

  She seemed surprised—and maybe a little disappointed—by the question. “I don’t know, Kes. When I say that he left, I mean he was gone. Like he’d dropped off the face of the Earth.”

  Nev appeared in the doorway. “You need to rest, Diana.”

  My mother flashed a cheeky smile. “You would have made a very good nurse. Has anyone ever told you that?”

  Nev smiled serenely, but said nothing.

  I looked at Nev. “What happens now? With my mom, I mean?”

  “We will take a few more days to rest. And to prepare. Then, once the lockdown is lifted, Charles Marovech’s personal security retinue will escort your mother to somewhere…safer.”

  “You’re not going with her?”

  “Not this time.”

  I looked around—at the smooth rock walls, the artificial light emanating from some hidden source. “It’s safe here, isn’t it?”

  They exchanged a knowing look.

  Finally, my mother said, “The world is changing, Kes.”

  Nev said, “The places we once counted as safe are dwindling.”

  “Maybe you should stay here, then.”

  My mom smiled. But instead of answering directly, she said, almost gently, “There may come a time when we need to fight, Kestrel.”

  “Fight? You can’t even—”

  “We may not have a choice.” My mother smiled, but there was something unreadable in her expression. “Which is why I need to rest—for now. While I still can.”

  Chapter 41

  Elspeth’s feast was magnificent, as promised.

  Everyone seemed to relax, at least for the moment. But I couldn’t stop thinking about the conversation I’d had with my mother—and her parting words.

  Afterwards, we were shown to our rooms. Compared to the cells in the Tower, they were palatial. And the bed was luxurious beyond anything I’d ever experienced.

  Someone had taken my clothes to be washed. A set of neatly-folded pajamas had been left in their place.

  I had only just finished buttoning the top when I heard the knock at my door.

  From the doorway, Sol smiled—but it didn’t reach his eyes. “We’re having a meeting.”

  I followed him to a small sitting room, where the others were waiting.

  The celebratory mood of dinner had evaporated. In its place was something serious.

  Sol didn’t mince words.

  “That business with the Tower isn’t finished. I guarantee it. They let us walk out of there today because they didn’t have a choice. But Mr. Sforza isn’t going to take this lying down. I say we get out of here. Like, ASAP.”

  Junie frowned. “Where would we go?”

  Sol glanced briefly in my direction.

  “Somewhere off the grid. We all have contacts. We might need to move around. But—I think we need to do it now. While we still can.”

  Deo leaned forward. “Is there some reason you think we’re not going to be able to bug out later?”

  “You saw what Blood Right did at that Rest Area. They’re getting the humans involved. On purpose. Once the human government gets involved, it may be difficult to travel. To leave the country.”

  There was a brief silence.

  Junie said, “I think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself. The humans aren’t doing anything right now. They’re barely even covering the Rest Stop incident on cable news.”

  “And what if Blood Right ups the ante? What if they pull off something really big? How fast do you think it will take for the shit to really hit the fan?”

  Deo seemed to mull this over. “Okay, yeah, that’s a possibility. But have you considered the possibility that the Capitol will just take out Blood Right? That’d solve our problems in a hurry.”

  “Yes, the Capitol might get involved. Or they might keep their heads buried in the sand until this Tacitus asshole is literally knocking down their front door. And in the meantime, we’re going to have a new enemy.”

  “The humans?” Junie sounded amused.

  Sol gave her a long look. “I wouldn’t underestimate them.”

  Deo said, “If things get as bad as you’re saying, then hiding out may not be all that easy.”

  Sol shrugged. “Maybe not. But we could protect ourselves. Between the five of us, we have skills and resources. Not to mention the advantage of foresight. Assuming we choose to avail ourselves of it.”

  Junie said, “And what about everybody else?”

  There was an uncomfortable silence.

  But Sol was unfazed. “I never said I wanted to save the world.”

  “So everyone else can just go to hell in a hand-basket?”

  “They can take care of their friends and family. I’ll take care of mine.”

  Junie shook her head. “There must be others like us. Other half-bloods who aren’t on board with Blood Right’s plans for world domination.”

  “You mean like the ones at Sanctuary?” Sol snapped.

  “The Dens—”

  Sol scowled. “There are no Dens. They’ve been gone for decades.”

  “So you say. But I’ve heard rumors. Not everyone ran screaming to Sanctuary.”

  “Forget about the Dens for a minute,” Deo said. “I think our priority should be to find this Tacitus guy. He’s the one driving all this. We find him, we take down the entire group.”

&n
bsp; “If he even exists,” Sol said gloomily. “For all we know, he’s some sort of mascot.”

  “He exists,” Deo insisted. “Or—someone like him. A group like this doesn’t just run itself.”

  “I suppose we could just show up at the nearest Blood Right recruiting center.”

  “We’re sitting on top of the greatest wealth of gossip in the world,” Deo said. “Why not start there?”

  Sol and Deo began to argue about the Common Market. Finally, Junie got their attention.

  “I think we all know what the solution is. Even if we don’t want to admit it.”

  I looked around the room. Was I the only one who didn’t know what she was talking about?

  Deo nodded slowly. “We need to split up. Go our separate ways. Maybe if we’re lucky, one of us will hit on the right answer.”

  Sol frowned. “We’re a team. We should stay together.”

  Junie said, gently, “We accomplished what we got together for—we rescued Kes.”

  Deo shot an apologetic look at Sol. “Sanctuary’s gone. The Rescue Program is done. Our team no longer exists.”

  “That doesn’t mean we should split up.”

  But the other two were adamant, and Nev didn’t offer an opinion.

  Finally, Sol seemed to accept the inevitable. “Fine,” he said. “But we stay in touch as much as possible. Keep each other up to date on what we learn.”

  The others readily agreed.

  “I’ll shake the old Den network and see what falls out,” Junie said.

  Sol looked to Deo. “And you? Will you be heading down to the Common Market to start shaking down the swindlers?”

  Deo was quiet. “Eventually. But I have some other connections I can use first.”

  Junie looked alarmed. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

  It hit me, then—they were talking about Deo’s father, Liberatus Sforza. Who, I now realized, Junie had referred to as an evil bastard.

  And who had to be at least two hundred years old.

  Deo smiled thinly. “I don’t like him any more than you guys do. But when it comes to information…”

  They dropped the subject. But the mood in the room had gone from bad to worse.

  As the others started to leave the room, I saw Sol hang back, looking upset.