Half Blood Rising

I suddenly felt like someone had just dropped a bucket of ice-cold water over my head. The vampire was hard as he rubbed himself against me, and his lips caressed my neck. Damn it, was I slowly losing my mind? Did he just hypnotise me? Use his glamour?

I pushed him off me, which required a lot more self-control than I'd expected. My mind was racing, and the world around me was spinning.

"Thanks, but I'm fine," I said, my voice hoarse. My core was throbbing with need, and I was so turned on. He must have used his abilities to weaken me. That's what vampires did when they wanted to drink from someone.

Vlad was in the club and I had to keep an eye on him. It was the main reason that I was here. The vampire looked baffled and pissed off, but I didn't care. Seconds later I grabbed my drink, remembering I had my knife with me.

Last year, I'd killed a vampire who'd turned small children into half-breeds. He was vile, and a lot of his victims hadn't survived. As soon as I'd showed Tristan the corpse, he'd given me a lot more than I'd expected, so I decided to invest in a selection of knives afterwards. I'd never regretted spending money on them.

I was surprised to learn that Oldman had managed to ship our weapons to Dimitry's house, but my sword wasn't in the package that came from Kiev.

"Don't you want to taste an ancient?" the vampire asked, grabbing my hand. "I guarantee you'll enjoy it." Then electricity raced down my spine. My panties were soaked as I wiped a bead of sweat off my forehead. I had to take a deep breath to gain control of my bloodlust. I had a job to do, and this damn vampire was distracting.

"I do, but not the ancient who's using his abilities to make me want to bite him," I spat and then walked away.

Vlad was talking to a beautiful blond Russian, whose dress was barely there; you could almost see her arse. He looked exactly like his photograph: older, taller, and probably wiser than any other vampire in here.

Karina was sitting across from me. I'd only just noticed her, she was talking to another shifter and winked at me when our eyes met. She was wearing a fitted black leather dress, and she looked bloody gorgeous. All the human men were eyeing her. I just wasn't confident enough to wear things like that, especially with Lachlan around. He was disrupting everything, and I had to ignore the way I felt about him. I sat down at a table and sipped my cocktail, not taking my eyes off Vlad. He shook hands with a few other vampires, even the one who'd tried to hypnotise me earlier, but luckily, he didn't talk to him for long. I was a little worried that my cover had been blown.

Sometime later Karina vanished, most likely following her own subject, and I was still stuck in the same spot. The craving for blood returned again, and my fangs extended. I was surrounded by so many vampires, and it wasn't really helping matters. Before I'd met Lachlan, this had never happened to me before.

Men kept approaching me, trying to flirt, but it just irritated me even more. I sent them all away, nearly growling that I wasn't interested. This whole world was new to me, and it was difficult to know how I was supposed to act in certain situations. I'd been anonymous before, possibly because I'd always looked like a vagrant. Vlad kept his eyes on the women who were performing. He kept taking small sips of his drink, and I wasn't sure what it was-most likely blood. Ten minutes later, he pulled out a cigarette and then asked the guy next to him for a lighter. The human pointed at the door and Vlad stood from his seat, appearing annoyed.

It surprised me that he smoked. Vampires didn't have the same cravings as humans, but the other day, Marco admitted that he, too, was addicted to cigarettes, or maybe it was the whole act of smoking. I wouldn't know. I'd never smoked a day in my life as a supernatural. Right then, I had no other option but to follow him outside the club. When he stopped nearby the busy road, I pretended to be with a group of girls who were trying to hail a taxi.

Vlad didn't end up smoking that cigarette after all, he was just staring ahead. Was he waiting for someone? Time was ticking, and something felt off. Maybe he knew I was here. Maybe each one of us was being watched. A cold shiver crawled down my spine as I stepped out of the way, trying to think on my feet. There was a small takeout shop next door, and I decided to blend into the crowd of Russians who were queuing to go inside. The group of girls had already left, and I didn't want to look suspicious.

I felt drops of rain as they fell on my face, the temperature was decreasing, and I was just about to call Dimitry, when a split second later, I saw Ramona and Lachlan walking up to Vlad. I was shocked to see them here, asking myself why the hell they were approaching my subject.

Ramona smiled, then leaned over to Vlad and whispered something in his ear. I was furious and baffled at the same time. This was definitely not the plan, and they were going to ruin everything. Pretty Boy seemed a little apprehensive, but a moment later, he shook hands with the vampire. My heart started thumping loudly inside my chest. I dragged my hand through my hair, wondering what the hell was going

on.

I needed to find Karina, but she probably wouldn't have a clue why Ramona and Lachlan were talking to my subject. It seemed to me that he knew them well.

The tiny voice inside my head told me I needed to head back to headquarters and speak with Dimitry straight away. Maybe Lachlan was following another order, but that didn't make sense. I would know about it otherwise.

I started pacing around, watching them, wondering what the hell I was supposed to do right now. They appeared to be having an intense conversation. Vlad didn't seem happy, he kept shaking his head, and Ramona continued talking like she was trying to convince him to do something or go somewhere.

Lachlan kept glancing around, and for a moment, I thought he spotted me inside the takeout, but I quickly hid behind someone. Soon, it started raining, and when I glanced back, I couldn't see them any longer. I left the shop in a panic. When I finally spotted them again, Ramona, Lachlan, and Vlad were crossing the road. They were heading towards the town centre.

Anger was pumping through me at that point. I felt betrayed that no one had filled me in on this new plan. For some reason, I decided not to call Dimitry right now. Those two were up to something, so I decided to follow them, anyway, thinking that they were going to lead me somewhere in the end.

I pulled up the hood of my sweatshirt from beneath my leather jacket and ran to the other side of the road. I just had to remember to keep a safe distance. It was my first mission of this kind, and I didn't want to screw anything up. Lachlan was much more experienced, but I didn't trust Ramona at all. Minutes later, the rain started pouring from the sky. Cars were speeding down the road as I followed the three vampires. Not once did they glance behind, and the entire time, my heart was pounding like a drum inside my chest. I normally trusted my intuition, and this time, I was getting a strong feeling that the warlock's daughter was near.

I carried on walking until it seemed as though they had vanished inside the park. As I approached the unlocked gate, I realised that they must have gone inside. The chain was broken, but there was no living soul around.

By that time, I was soaked and miserable. I followed the path to the main entrance to the park, getting lost a few times. It was getting cold, too. Finally, on the edge of the park, my senses picked up another creature a warlock.

I didn't want to stop, convinced that the creature had nothing to do with why I was here, so I continued walking. Finally, after half an hour, I caught up with them, but Lachlan had disappeared somewhere. They had just reached the industrial area and entered one of the red brick buildings. This was completely suspicious. He wouldn't leave Ramona alone with someone so dangerous. I didn't wait then; I pulled out my phone and dialled Dimitry's number.

Several seconds later, I realised I had no signal and my battery was running low. This was strange, because the phone was fully charged just before I'd gotten inside the taxi. The streets in this area were completely deserted. We weren't in the city centre anymore. I'd lost all sense of time.

I truly didn't think this could happen right now. I waited and waited, and there was still no sign of them after another half an hour. I had to go and check out what was inside. I couldn't return to headquarters just yet.

Many times in the past, I'd been in situations where I was on my own, fighting a group of werewolves or vampires. This wasn't new to me. I was aware of the risks, itching to get inside that building. It took me a few minutes to go over the pros and cons.

Maybe I was risking everything, but I didn't come all this way for nothing. I ran along the side of the building until I came to a set of rusty old doors. The entrance was obviously locked, and my magic was fading. My energy could melt metal, but right now, I had to get inside the old-school way.

As I'd predicted, there was a fire escape on the side of the building, so I climbed up, all the way to the top floor. I was soaked by the time I slipped inside a small broken window. I found myself in a long corridor This must have been some kind of factory, an old place that had been abandoned for some time.

The smell of blood was growing intense at that point, and a dull pain began throbbing in my head. Vampires were in the building, at least three or four. I sensed them somewhere on the lower level.

Once I got to the stairs, I removed my knife from my pocket. Blood stains were everywhere on the floor. The windows were covered with metal panels, so I decided to check out the entrance to my right. It was a large open space; my eyes were slowly getting used to the pitch-black darkness.

Someone giggled and panic dug its claws inside my gut. I couldn't sense anyone in here, and yet I wasn't alone. My stomach dropped when I saw someone to my right. It wasn't just one person, there were several of them, and they were all pure vampires ancient ones.

I saw the glint of a blade, but I crouched down, and at the same time, stabbing one of the bastards in the foot. He roared out in pain, and then a short spasm of electrical current jolted through me. At the same time, someone grabbed me, and pain exploded in my ribcage. This strange energy penetrated me from the inside, and it made me so weak that I thought I might pass out.

"We have been waiting for you, dear half-breed,” someone spoke, and I saw small circles of smoke to my right. Another vampire with a cigarette, or maybe I was hallucinating? I saw Vlad standing next to a very old silver-haired vampire when the lights came on. Vlad was the one smoking, staring at me with a mixture of curiosity and annoyance.

I kept breathing in, trying to figure out if I'd been stabbed, or if this was some sort of spell they'd used to disable me. My breathing was coming in short ragged breaths, but I couldn't see any blood. They were definitely using magic on me. I didn't understand how they were able to do it, until a warlock stepped forward. I'd never seen him before and hadn't noticed him earlier, only sensed a presence.

"What the hell do you want from me? And where is Ramona?" I shouted, trying to move, but pain started pulsating around my temple. The elder vampire walked towards me. He must have been in his mid- fifties when he was turned, and his silver hair was slicked back. He was dressed in a stylish suit, and expensive shoes. I noticed his cuff links. They were filled with magic so strong that the energy was taking my breath away.

"Ramona made a deal with us, we are just about to free the girl in exchange for the immortal half-blood," the ancient said, smiling and smoothing his jaw.

What about Lachlan? Why did he agree to it, and what half-blood was he talking about?

"She stinks of fae," the warlock said. "There is something wrong with this one, master."

I tried to yank my arm away from the vampire who held me, but it only made the situation worse. The exaggerating pain spread to the other side of my ribcage, and my knees went weak.

"Leave her, Gordon, this one is very special, and we don't want to damage her. I can smell her energy; it's delicious." He turned his attention towards me. "What are you?" the ancient asked, staring into my eyes. I didn't want to look at him directly, but it was already too late.

A split second later, I was ready to reveal everything-the whole truth about myself.

"I don't know what I am, half-vampire and, possibly, half-fae. My memories were taken from me when my maker abandoned me four years ago." I explained as much as I could, wanting to please him. The craving for blood hit me all of a sudden.

"Hmm, interesting, someone made her this way. She was supposed to die, but she survived," the ancient said, releasing me from a hypnotised state.

I nearly passed out, kneeling on the ground. He'd just used compulsion on me, and I was prepared to tell him anything he wanted to know. Now I understood why ancients were so dangerous.

This had been a trap and, I'd walked straight into it. That bitch, Ramona, must have known I was following her.

I counted at least five vampires in the room, plus the warlock. They were all much older than me and undoubtedly more experienced, too.

"How do you know that?" I asked, trying to ignore the pain that was making me so weak. I wasn't going to pass out, I wouldn't give them the satisfaction. The vampire in front of me was special, and I needed to be closer to him. Maybe he had the answers to all my questions.

"I can sense your strength. Marvel, taste her, but be careful. She could hurt you. I'll let the councillor know we are ready for ransom," the ancient said, sounding pleased. My pupils dilated as I tried to figure out which vampire was Marvel.

The blood of an ancient vampire could transform me, and I was waiting for them to approach. Then something or someone hit me on the back of my head, and I went down like a sack of potatoes. Then darkness began shading my vision.

"You fools, she's too precious! Achilles, taste her, measure her strength. In a few hours, we shall know if Armadil's experiment survived."