“And how are you going to pay me, girl? Dragon credits are useless in this world and I have plenty of magic to last me for a lifetime,” he chuckled.
I glanced at Nicolas; he seemed like he didn’t know what to say. Waiting in silence drove me to pace the length of the room. My nerves were stretched to the point where I thought my heart was going to burst inside my chest. I didn’t want to tell him about the egg. I had to protect Avianna. There was really nothing that I could offer him, maybe only part of my magic, but he just confirmed that he had plenty and didn’t need anymore.
“I’ll do anything you want. Back in Draconia, I was one of the best thieves in the city,” I said, and that instantly sparked his interest. My pulse was pounding in my ears.
“A thief? Interesting. I’ve had carpenters, buyers, beggars and cooks, but never a warden thief working for me,” Harvey said, smiling at me. Then he rose from his chair and walked around the other side of his desk. He was extremely tall. I only reached his shoulders. “And just who are you?” he asked Nicolas. “What? Have you forgotten how to speak?”
“No, sir, I’m here for the company. I just couldn’t let this beauty come here alone,” Nicolas finally said, and he sounded amused. I wanted to slap him, because deep down, I was freaking out wondering what the hell I was going to have to do. I didn’t want to be afraid of this warlock. He didn’t seem frightening in any way and on top of that, Nicolas was acting odd.
“What’s your name?” Harvey asked me.
“Francesca.”
“So, Francesca, you have intrigued me and not many wardens do. There are a lot of you in London, more than enough, and it seems to me that the Dark Ones aren’t controlling the cracks any longer,” he said, walking around us with his hands behind his back. Suddenly, his magic slammed into me. It felt like someone doused me in boiling hot water. My skin was burning, and my chest seemed to crack open. I started shaking. Waves of magic were turning inside my stomach. Something was wrong, and I needed to get out of there. Now.
“Fran, are you all right? What the hell is going on?” I heard Nicolas’s voice in my head. Then I crashed to the floor, my whole body trembled like I was having a seizure of some sort. The excruciating pain escalated to my head, and I knew it was Harvey—I couldn’t stop him. Then everything stopped. My chest rose and fell with each slow breath that I took. I hated that pain and I never wanted to experience it again.
“Don’t ever doubt me, girl. I can read a wardens’ mind, and I don’t like being underestimated, especially by someone like you,” his voice reached me. Nicolas helped me back to my feet. The world around me was spinning. “Now, there is something that I want, and maybe you can get it for me. I want you to get inside the Phoenix club and steal a bottle of blood from an attractive blond wearing a red dress. In a moment, Lincoln will show you the way out.”
My senses were picking up magic, masses of energies tangled together. I was numb, ready to agree to anything. My heart was pounding way too fast and my fingers were stiff as hell. Harvey had done something to me; he interfered with my magic somehow. It felt a lot like when the Dark Ones were in my head, but this was much worse. Now, I regretted listening to Marek. Harvey used his magic against me, breaking me apart from the inside and then put me back together again.
“Fine, whatever you want,” I said breathing heavily, and a huge smile split his face. This was a genuine smile filled with warmth. I was so confused.
“Take her, warden, and don’t even think about coming back here without that blood. Let’s see how useful you can really be, Francesca.”
12
His power.
Sweat was surging down my face, but this time it had nothing to do with anxiety. Several weeks ago, I visited an ex-Dark One. He was intimidating. I handled him well, but after five minutes with Harvey, I felt like I was falling apart.
Nicolas was talking to me, dragging me away from the office. His voice was muffled, sounding like he was talking under water, and my ears were blocked. I instantly felt better once we walked outside the building.
Lincoln was with us, smirking at me, and he handed the gun back to me. At least Aly wasn’t going to be disappointed. I had a feeling that she was attached to that particular item of her husband’s. My energy was pulsing, pushing against the back of my head. Lincoln walked us across the busy street. About half an hour later, we were standing just outside the entrance to the club that Harvey was talking about earlier on. I didn’t want to walk inside just yet. My head was throbbing painfully now, and I didn’t feel ready. Nicolas must have sensed that there was something wrong because he pulled me to the side.
“Breathe in and out continuously. It’s over. That bastard warlock won’t be able to get to you here. You’re all right,” he kept telling me.
“Yeah, get yourself together, girl. You have a job to do,” a familiar voice barked. I turned to my right and saw Dara standing next to Nicolas. I shook my head, telling myself that she wasn’t there. I was hallucinating because I lost control again.
I closed my eyes for a second, then opened them again after taking several deep breaths. My strength was coming back, and I felt better. The anxiety was fading away. Dara disappeared, and my breathing was less erratic.
“What the hell happened up there?” I asked Nicolas, but I wasn’t sure if he could explain it to me.
“It was a warlock spell,” he said. “I heard about magic like his back in Draconia, but I never believed that warlocks were real. I guess that we missed a lot while living under the rule of the Dark Ones.” His hand was on my back and a surge of heat rushed down my spine. Faint waves of lust rose in the pit of my stomach. I really needed to gain control of myself. The warlock was another magical being from our world. I’d read about them while I was doing research about the egg. They vanished from the Lower World when the dragons disappeared. Maybe the two were linked together.
“I’m fine. I can do this,” I said, aware that a few humans were staring at us. Harvey accessed the magic that I never thought I had—the same magic that had only recently been awakened. He somehow managed to twist it around. It felt like he was splitting my genetic cells apart, and there was nothing that I could do. He made me feel helpless and completely out of control. It pissed me off.
Nicolas and I still needed him, and I had to steal that damn blood to get back home. Maybe there was someone else in London who could help me, but right now, we couldn’t afford to waste any more time. I didn’t know if the Dark Ones could sense Avianna in the shell and I wasn’t about to stick around to find out. They sensed the magic within me, and that was close enough.
“Are you sure? You look pale, Fran. Maybe a good, old fashioned make out session will bring your colour back?”
I rolled my eyes and hit him a bit too hard.
“Forget it. Let’s just get inside, and try to stay close, will you? The woman in the red dress should be in there somewhere.”
“Whatever. We’re attracted to each other, so you can stop denying it,” he said.
I was trying really hard to ignore him. Several girls smiled and giggled at him when we passed the entrance.
“Right now, it doesn’t matter. We have to concentrate on our task,” I said, rubbing my forehead.
“You’re too uptight. You need to loosen up a little,” he shouted, still laughing.
The place was busy; there were a lot of people dancing around in the middle of the bar. Sometimes, I enjoyed chilling out and dancing to the rhythm of music myself, and I liked being here. It reminded me of being back home. Once in a while, I would sneak out to better areas of Draconia and go to some of the higher-class street clubs with Dara. Lower class wardens didn’t have much to do, but I always made sure we had fun.
Nicolas was holding my hand and every time I tried to pull away from him, he entwined his fingers around mine. His energy was flowing through me. There were people everywhere, pushing each other through the crowd, so we decided to head towards the bar. The space on the first floor was le
ss busy. I noticed that in this non-magical world, humans had a lot of freedom. Back in Draconia, nearly every faction of a warden’s life was controlled by the Dark Ones, and here, everyone could do whatever they pleased. It was one of the things that I liked most about this world.
Nicolas directed me towards the first floor, but there was a large man blocking our way.
“This is the VIP section. Do you have your passes?” he asked us.
I didn’t understand what VIP passes were, and I decided to focus on his eyes. Magical energy skated across my skin, and I felt a strong wave of power ignite inside my bloodstream. It seemed that the incident with warlock refined my magic, somehow making me more adaptable to my surroundings. I didn’t understand, but I knew I could control this human otherwise. I discreetly entered the man’s mind, convincing him to allow us upstairs. Without a word, he stepped aside and motioned for us to go ahead.
I climbed the stairs, amazed at my newfound power.
“Nicolas, it worked. Did you see that? Nicolas?” I asked, glancing around, but he wasn’t behind me any longer.
I stood on the stairs, wondering what the hell happened to him. Only a second ago he was holding my hand. I couldn’t see him anywhere in the crowd. My heart skipped a beat, but I decided not to panic. I hoped that he hadn’t left the bar, and I really needed to find the lady in the red dress—with or without him.
I felt vulnerable being in here—exposed—and definitely out of my comfort zone. The VIP area was filled with men and women. Most of them looked drunk. A tall, handsome human winked at me when I approached the bar. There was no one there that fit Harvey’s description, so I went back downstairs. Harvey didn’t give me a specific time limit to steal the blood; he just wanted me to get it done.
Ten minutes later, I was squeezing through the crowd downstairs, attempting to locate Nicolas. I was beginning to get worried because he was nowhere to be seen. It was very busy, but I managed to make my way around the entire club. Something was wrong, and I didn’t know why he left so suddenly. I specifically told him that we needed to stick together.
“Hey, girl. Dance with me. We’re going to have a wild time together,” someone said, grabbing me from behind. The man’s breath smelled of whiskey, and it instantly made me sick to my stomach. I pushed him off me, trying to squeeze through the throng of people. Dara would have known what to do in this situation, but I reminded myself that she was freaking dead. I couldn’t have seen her earlier on—it was just another hallucination induced by stress.
I made my way through the sea of sweaty bodies, growing more and more aggravated. I kept flicking my wristband, telling myself to keep it together. And on top of everything, my muscles were hurting, and I had a feeling that this had something to do with Harvey’s magic.
People around me were starting to get on my nerves. They were pushing and touching me, getting into my personal space. I could smell the sickening stench of sweat and blood. I wanted to get out of there, but I had to find Nicolas. Avianna assured me that I was much more powerful than I ever thought possible. I needed to continue to remind myself of that.
I stood against the wall for several long moments, gaining control of my breathing. I saw staff members walking downstairs to what I assumed was a staff members area, because everyone that approached the door had to punch in some kind of code in order to get inside. Just as the doors were about to close, I slipped through. Nicolas wasn’t anywhere on the dance floor, so I needed to make sure that he wasn’t in one of the staff lounges, just in case. Right now, finding him seemed much more important than stealing the blood.
I managed to sneak downstairs without being seen by anyone, still hearing the loud music in the background. Now and again, I had to hide in a cellar room when someone from the staff appeared in the corridor. My breathing was laboured, and I didn’t know why the hell I was still hanging around. Nicolas couldn’t have come down here; the whole basement was empty with the exception of a few staff members.
I decided to check the end of the corridor; there was another door there leading down to the main cellar. I heard muffled voices inside, so I kicked the door in, and walked inside.
What I saw inside chilled my blood instantly. Nicolas was standing by the wall and he wasn’t alone. There was a woman with him, and it looked like I just interrupted them. For a moment, I thought that she was kissing his neck. Nicolas’s eyes were wide open, pupils dilated, and his hands were underneath her dress, caressing the skin on her backside. He moaned, and a second later, I realised that the woman was feeding from him, drinking his blood. She was blond wearing a long, shimmering red dress.
Fear paralysed me for a split second, and a flashback of the monster from the abandoned house raced in front of my eyes. I remembered his hands on my skin, his raspy voice whispering in my ear. He was planning to rape me while he was drinking from me. I shuddered in revulsion, trying to breathe in at the same time. Now I knew that the blood-sucking creature was called a vampire in this world.
“Hey, leech! Leave him alone,” I shouted, forgetting that earlier on my magic wasn’t working like it was supposed to.
I shook my hands, extending them in front of me, charging my fingers with static electricity. The vampire woman turned away from Nicolas and hissed at me like a snake. Blood was dripping from her teeth, and she wiped it away with the back of her hand. She was beautiful, with a pale complexion, clear soft features and bright crystal blue eyes.
Nicolas’s body slid down the wall, falling limply to the ground—he didn’t move. He must have lost a lot of blood. My magic sparked back to life. I created a ball of energy in the centre of my palm and then sent it flying toward at her. I missed by only an inch and she laughed, opening her mouth, showcasing her long, pointed fangs. I tilted my head to the side, and the energy inside me ignited, pounding through my entire being.
“I can’t wait to taste your warm blood,” she said with a sardonic smile, taking a step closer. “And your stupid magic can’t protect you here.” She opened her mouth, fangs extended, and then launched herself at me. I blocked her advance, then dug my nails into her shoulder, melting her skin with my magic. She screamed and managed to punch me with her other arm.
Blood poured out of my nose, but I didn’t let her get close to me. I pushed her away with every ounce of strength inside me. The thought of her mouth on me was revolting. Lifting my right leg, I kicked her in the stomach and she went flying across the room crashing against the far wall.
Fire streamed from my pores, and I kept throwing balls of magic in quick succession. The energy bounced around the walls, growing inside me with every heartbeat. I felt it in my bones, spreading like wildfire.
“Fran, stop. Please, stop. She’s dead—gone. I think you have proven your point,” someone was shouting at me, trying to bring me back from my murderous rage. It was Nicolas. He was standing beside me now, blood flowing down his neck, and he looked pale. All at once, I ceased all magic and breathed in deeply. The vampire was burning now, and her body was slowly turning to ash.
“Are you all right? You were gone, and I looked for you everywhere,” I said, not even knowing why my hands were trembling. Waves of magic were still exploding inside of me, causing complete havoc in my system. I was out of control, yet I never felt better.
“All I knew was that I had to follow her. Come on, let’s check her purse,” he urged me. “Maybe the blood that Harvey’s after is inside.” But I knew that we didn’t have time. We heard voices in the corridor and getting caught would slow us down.
A few security guards were shouting at us to stop when we barged through the door right outside the corridor.
“Come on, this way,” I urged Nicolas, wondering if he was well enough to run. He seemed all right, but I kept glancing behind me to make sure he was keeping up. We turned left and then followed a long corridor until we spotted the stairs. The bouncers from the upper level were chasing us. I found out later that was what humans called them. We managed to get through the back d
oors, then outside the club. Luckily, it was the back entrance, so we didn’t bump into any other guards. We circled around the building, then ran along the side street while my heart was pounding in my chest.
Nicolas was a few steps ahead of me; he was still running, and I didn’t know how he was able to keep going. He’d lost a hell of a lot of blood.
I glanced around just to make sure that we weren’t being followed, when a second later, I crashed into a pedestrian on the street. Pain exploded along my right side and I ended up falling on top of some stranger.
“Motherfucker,” I snapped, mainly because I was annoyed that I had been so clumsy.
“Qesborth would do too,” a voice rang in my ears, sending a blast of desire through my core.
I looked up, staring at the most mesmerising eyes that I’d ever seen in my life. They were gleaming a brilliant shade of the darkest blue, reflecting from the lights surrounding me. Heat rose with every beat of my heart, and then it skipped a beat. I felt so lost—I was ready to press my mouth over his, just so I could taste him.
13
The after-warmth of magic.
Fire spread throughout my entire body, igniting my core. I allowed the heat to encompass my hand. I stared into his dark blue eyes that shone like diamonds, burning straight through me. It felt like the world around us no longer existed. We stared at one another for a short while, but it felt like an eternity. I was completely lost in the intensity of his deep cobalt gaze. He curled his body around mine in a near crushing embrace. My heart stopped and then sped up again. Nothing could have pulled me away from him, because the warmth he radiated was reaching deep inside, further into the depths of my soul…
Hatched (Draconia World Book 1) Page 9