Bloodfire (Blood Destiny)

by Harper, Helen

  She was lying in a corner, face turned away from me. Her arm was broken, and spread at an awkward angle. A man I’d never seen before was crouched down beside her. It looked like her right leg had been ripped off at the knee. Corrigan was stood, naked from the waist up but wearing jogging bottoms below, with his arms folded. He was staring down at her with a look of intense worry and concentration. Several members of the pack were doing the same. I spotted Lynda, with tears running down her face, clinging onto Anton for support. Betsy was there too, and Johannes, both covered in blood.

  I was rooted to the spot with fear and felt my tongue cleave its way to the roof of my mouth. Was she…?

  “She’s not dead,” a soft voice said beside me. It was Lucy. I ripped my eyes away from Julia, even the image of her broken body was still seared into my eyeballs, and looked at her blankly. She was pale and clearly still in a lot of pain after the ispolin’s attack. No doubt the Brethren doctor had helped her already impressive regenerative powers, but she still would need a considerable amount of time to heal. I wondered if she’d been involved in the fighting despite that fact and felt frustration that even a shockingly wounded shifter had been there to help when I hadn’t. She continued, “She’s not far off though. The Doc will do what he can for her, make her comfortable, but…” her voice trailed off.

  I found my voice. “What happened?”

  “We were attacked. I don’t know by what. The mage is trying to work out what they are. They came completely without warning, from the front and the back. A few got in through the doors,” she nodded towards the other side of the keep, “and others came here. Your alpha was in the garden. I don’t think she had time to even shift. We’ve lost three other shifters altogether.”

  I wanted to ask if they were Brethren or pack but I didn’t dare. Lucy understood though and her gaze hardened slightly. “They were ours, not yours.”

  She limped away inside, back ramrod straight. I couldn’t worry about her hurt feelings right now though so I turned back to Julia but caught Corrigan’s eyes blazing angry gold at me instead.

  “I called you. Why weren’t you here?” he snarled.

  The other shifters looked at me. I could the weight of their accusing glares and my whole body tensed. I’d failed them, and Julia. Again.

  “I…was trapped. There was a faerie ring,” I stuttered.

  He took a step closer, and his eyes seared into me. “Then how did you escape?”

  “I don’t know. After I heard your Voice – and Julia’s – I hit the edge of the ring. A lot. And then it gave way. I don’t know why.” I was aware that my voice was high-pitched with stress, trying to justify to everyone listening that my reasons for not being present to protect the keep were genuine.

  “That’s not possible. Did you have iron?”

  I shook my head, mutely.

  He towered over me. “Seems awfully convenient, that this is the time you chose to suddenly get yourself trapped by the Fae. And then miraculously escape.”

  Now I felt angry. Was he insinuating that I’d deliberately excused myself so that the keep could be attacked? “If I’d had a choice, I would have been here, my lord.” I placed heavy sarcastic emphasis on the word. “I would not have abandoned my pack. And I think that between the terrametus and the ispolin, I’ve proven my loyalty. I was stupid and I didn’t look where I was going but if you’re trying to suggest that I’m some kind of traitor…”

  “And yet, even with the ispolin, you still didn’t shift, when you could have.”

  “And you know my reasons for that.” At least my pack knew my reasons for that, anyway.

  He glowered at me with the threat of violence contained within the stance of his body. “I’d compel you to tell me everything, Miss Mackenzie, and yet I wonder if it would work after, as you say, what happened with the terrametus.”

  Oh what a tangled web we weave. I opened my palms to him, in a marked display of submission. He seemed to be getting closer and closer to the truth. But once I got inside the portal, then it wouldn’t matter. Because either I’d kill Iabartu or she’d kill me. And in killing her, her portal would close and I wouldn’t be able to return. Fucking Corrigan and his clever eyes, and the fucking Brethren with their all too obvious air of superiority, would never find out I was human. Despite Alex’s clever assertions to the contrary, I knew I felt human. I couldn’t for the life of me really contemplate being anything else. There was the bloodfire, sure, but I didn’t really have any special skills that I’d not gained through hard work and years of training. Wanting to be a shifter wouldn’t make me one. And, anyway, being human would not stop me from redeeming myself and getting revenge for John, Julia, and everyone else.

  The shifter, probably the doctor, who’d been crouched down by Julia interrupted us. “My Lord Corrigan, we need to move her inside. I will try my best to heal her but she may be too far gone.”

  I felt ill and briefly shut my eyes before forcing them open again. Corrigan nodded briskly and looked at me. “The keep’s perimeter needs to be repaired. You will make sure that it is. And then you had better get that taken care of.” He looked pointedly at the bite marks from Tom. Although blood still dripped from them, soaking into the dishtowel, I didn’t feel any pain. Not physical pain, anyway.

  I motioned acquiescence and fixed my attention on Julia. “Anything she needs,” I said to the doctor, “anything at all, tell me.”

  Corrigan growled at me, but the doctor nodded in sympathy. I hitched my backpack on my shoulder and went inside.

  Chapter Twenty One

  I couldn’t shake the image of Julia’s broken body from my mind. I wasn’t sure if I could cope if she died as well as John. Oily nausea rolled through the pit of my belly; I only just made it to the bathroom in the time to retch up the meager contents of my stomach.

  Splashing cold water on my face, I stared miserably at my pale reflection in the little mirror. I was supposed to help protect my pack. Instead, as long as the Brethren were around, my presence endangered them. Not only that, but when they really needed me I hadn’t been here. No wonder Corrigan had looked ready to murder me. If I could stick to my plan, and get inside the portal, then I’d just have to hope that I could make things right.

  I walked back out into the hall and made my way to the front door. Pragmatically speaking, fixing the entrance seemed to be the best way to secure the keep. Not least because if we didn’t then anyone who came knocking, such as the local postman first thing tomorrow morning, would immediately think that some kind of massacre had taken place. Which it actually had. Iabartu was kicking our butts.

  Johannes joined me, shaking his head sadly. “Sad days these, lass, sad days.” He was carrying a toolbox which I took from him.

  “What’s happening, J? I don’t understand why we keep being targeted.”

  “Aye,” he said heavily. “We have summat that someone wants. Trouble is, we dinna know what.”

  I thought about that, and what I’d uncovered so far. Was this related somehow to the Draco Wyr that Craw had mentioned? But then, I could pretty much lay my hand on my heart and attest to the fact that we were not hiding any dragons anywhere. We weren’t concealing anything, other than that we were a bunch of shapeshifters. Perhaps Iabartu had something against the were. But then that didn’t make any sense because why would she target us in isolation? Why not go straight to the heart of the shifters and aim for the Brethren in London? Strategically it was a stupid move.

  Johannes moved the door back into position and held it, whilst I clambered up on a ladder and started to connect the hinges back into place. It was awkward getting this done with a dishtowel wrapped round my arm, but not impossible. I pulled out a heavy iron nail. If only I’d had this in my pocket a few hours ago. I pushed it into the hinge bracket and began hammering, imagining that it was Iabartu’s face that I was hitting. I just couldn’t think of anything that we had that a demi-god would so desperately want. Up until now, I hadn’t examined in much detail w
hat her motives might be, but perhaps if I could understand why she was doing this, I’d have more chance of understanding her. Know thy enemy.

  “J, can you think of anything that we have that someone would go to this trouble to get?”

  He sighed. “Nah. There’s nothing that I ken of. We dinna have onything locked away because it’s too valuable to be seen by others.”

  I paused. Actually we did. In John’s office there was that magically sealed drawer that I’d been unable to open. It was just possible that there was something inside there that Iabartu was after. I couldn’t think of any reason for why John would have wanted to keep anything hidden away from the rest of the pack, so whatever was in there must be important.

  I knocked the nail into place. I needed to get into that drawer. Unfortunately I’d not seen Alex since I returned and he would surely be my best bet for breaking through a ward. Remembering the melted pen, I figured that attacking it myself might not be best the idea. But silver could work. I needed to get some anyway for when I went through the portal so I reckoned that there was no time like the present. Quickly finishing up the door, I shouted down to Johannes to try closing it. The heavy oak slammed shut into place. Perfect. At least if Corrigan caught up with me again I could prove that I’d been busy.

  “I need to take care of a few things, J,” I said to him as I climbed back down the ladder.

  “Aye, lass,” he nodded, “you do tha’. ‘n’ make sure ye catch that fecker ‘n’ all.”

  No prizes for guessing who that ‘fecker’ was. At least someone still had faith in me.

  *

  I had to make sure that none of the Brethren saw me returning to the keep. I was pretty sure that if I was caught shirking the orders that Corrigan had given me, then they’d throw my sorry ass down the disused well at the back of the keep and wipe their hands of me. Before I did anything, however, I had to find Julia.

  As I was confident that she’d have been taken to her own room, where she could be made the most comfortable, I headed back inside the keep but avoided the main stairwell. Off the great hall was a small door that led to a staircase that had been used by servants in times gone past. I reckoned that the Brethren wouldn’t know about it yet – and even if they did, they’d have no cause to use it. Despite my gut feeling that I wouldn’t bump into any of them along the way, I moved cautiously up the steps, trying to be as silent as I possible could. When I reached the third floor, where Julia’s room was located, I carefully pushed open the door just a chink and peered through.

  I could just make out her room at the other end of the corridor and voices coming from inside it. I watched for a few moments and then Corrigan and the doctor emerged. The looks on both their faces were grave. Swallowing hard, I waited till they had headed to the main stairwell and begun to descend before I made a move. There was one heart-stopping moment where Corrigan seemed to pause and sniff the air, and I pushed myself back against the wall and held my breath, praying that it wasn’t me he could smell, but then he continued onward murmuring something inaudible.

  Tiptoeing forward, feeling like a thief in my own house, I made my way to her room and inside, gently closing the door behind me. Her pale broken body lay on the bed, unconscious. I didn’t have much time before someone returned to check on her, but I had to do this. I knelt down beside her prone form and placed my hand on her arm. Her skin felt clammy to the touch and a wave of despondency ran through me.

  “It’s all my fault, Julia,” I whispered. “The wichtlein said so. I don’t know why or how, but it is. And if,” my voice broke slightly, “if I could have been here when you called then I could have saved you.” I gulped in air and tried to swallow down the tears. “I’ll make it right though. I promise I’ll make it right. Just stay strong until I return.” I smoothed a strand of hair away from her brow and slowly stood up. This was my battle now. I was going to do what I should have from the beginning. I turned and left, without looking back.

  After leaving the third floor, I sneaked up to the south garret where the silver weapons were kept, managing to avoid any Brethren along the way. The door was kept locked, simply because of how dangerous silver was to shifters, but everyone knew where the key was. I reached up onto the dusty sill of the door frame and felt around. My fingers found it before too long and I managed to unlock it quickly.

  Inside, the little room was spartan but clean. I pulled a bow off the wall and tested its string. It twanged with a pleasing tautness so I slung it round my shoulder, then opened up a battered chest and pulled out the silver tipped arrows. There would be a limit to how many I could realistically carry – and I still had to get out of the keep without any of the Brethren spotting me – so I only took eight and stuffed them into my backpack. The length of the arrows were such that it looked like it contained weapons. As long as no-one asked me to open the bag though, I’d probably be okay. Next I unhooked a small dirk from the other wall and hefted it in my palms, feeling its weight. It was perfectly balanced and would suit me well. It was light and easy to carry so even if I found myself wandering around the portal’s other plane for some length of time trying to find the bitch, then at least it wouldn’t weigh me down. I tested the blade gently against my skin and made a small nick. It would cut through even the toughest hide. Excellent.

  My next stop was the dorm. I’d have to bandage up my arm to stop it from bleeding any further. Some otherworld creatures, shifters included, could smell blood at fifty paces. There was no point in giving myself away too easily. And I was pretty sure that I still had some of Julia’s yarrow ointment to slather on too.

  I headed back down the narrow stairs and almost banged straight into Staines as I rounded the corridor. Shit. He scowled at me and then wrinkled his nose. Damnit, when was the last time I’d put on the scented lotion? I couldn’t remember, but it had definitely been more than eight hours ago. His eyes narrowed suspiciously at me, so I headed him off at the cross.

  “I stink of human after being in that town. And blood too. Makes me feel unclean. The trouble is that we only have a limited supply of hot water and I have a horrible feeling that the girls will have already used it all up.” I was vaguely aware that I was babbling. “I don’t suppose you have that problem in London though, do you?”

  He looked at me like I was slightly demented in the head. Which was fine. Then he strode off without saying a word and I made a face at his back. Manners cost nothing. Another one of Julia’s favourite sayings. I winced at the thought of her and quickly picked up my pace.

  Fortunately no-one was in the dorm. I was hoping to avoid any of the pack, because I didn’t want to blurt out my plan to them, in case they tried to stop me or, worse, tried to join me. This was a one way mission and I was going solo. I changed my clothes, slapped on some lotion and then carefully cleaned and bound the bite marks on my arm. Tom’s reaction times must be improving to have latched on so quickly, I thought idly. He’d make a strong pack warrior one day, assuming of course that the Brethren didn’t vanish him away first. I supposed I’d never know now which way he’d decide to jump.

  Once I was safely dehumanized, I went out in search of Alex. I didn’t know which room Julia would have put him into, especially with the Brethren already occupying all the guest rooms on the floor above. However there were a few spare rooms on my dorm’s floor, such as the one that Tom and I ‘shared’, so I wandered along in the dim corridor light, swinging open a few doors as I went. All the rooms were bare and unslept in apart from one on the far side, facing north. As the door squeaked open and I peered around, I noticed there were a few bags dumped on the floor by the window and some odd chalk marks on the floor. Probably some kind of paranoid mage runes, the equivalent of a teenager’s Stay The Hell Out sign. I reached into my bag and pulled out a scrap of paper and a pencil and scribbled him a note, sticking it to the inside of the door, and telling him to come and find me, either in the office or outside the keep, as a matter of urgency. Hopefully he’d come back soon and read it
. In the meantime, I’d have to keep my fingers crossed that the silver dirk would be able to break through John’s magic.

  Vaguely remembering an old war film I’d watched years ago, where the British spy in enemy territory had commented that you had to look as if you belonged and knew where you were going and what you were doing to evade capture, I strode out of the dorm and down into the office, trying to make it appear as if I definitely wasn’t skulking and was still working on Corrigan’s ‘repair the keep’ orders. I needn’t have worried. I passed a few pack members, and a few Brethren too, but they were all lost in their own thoughts and own grief and paid me little attention. Ally gave me a ghost of a smile as I tripped again on the hole in the carpet going down the stairs, but didn’t say anything. It had seemed that everyone had forced themselves to bounce back quickly after John, but with the threat of more imminent attacks, and the shocking events of just a couple of hours ago, it felt as if the will and the spirit of the keep had been stripped away. The feeling was almost as depressing as thinking of Julia upstairs fighting for her life. And it also gave me reason enough to keep going with my plan.

  I had a couple of ready made excuses prepared in my head, in case anyone, especially Corrigan, was inside the office, but I was in luck and it was empty. Someone had already started to tidy up some of the devastation that the invaders had caused, but whoever it was had left a few tidy piles of papers and then disappeared. It suited me perfectly. I carefully twisted the knob on the door to John’s study and stepped inside, flicking on the light switch.

  It was exactly the same as it had been when I’d last been in, breaking into his computer. I ignored the machine this time around, however and bent down to the bottom drawer of the old desk. There was a tiny brass keyhole fashioned into the wood, where I guessed the source of the magic ward would be. I could feel it pulsating even from where I was, broadcasting to keep out and stay away. Sorry, not this time. I pushed my index finger towards it, experimentally, and felt the cold burn of the barrier. I drew back quickly and tried the sides, knocking the lower edges of the wood that encased all the drawers. The buzz of the ward was there too, although a bit fainter. I tried reaching underneath, to the bottom of the drawer, but jolted back with a hiss as again I met painful resistance. Then I pulled out the drawer above, completely taking it out of its place and peering down. It was a pitch black well of nothingness.