Half-Blood

CHAPTER 19

JUST LIKE THAT.

What a bitch.

I screamed and twisted back to her as Eric pul ed me into his arms. “Don’t let them do this!”

She raised her hand. “Eric.”

The daimon flipped me around. I kicked and I threatened every possible method of death and dismemberment, but it didn’t stop him. The daimon smiled at me through my rant.

Then his fingers squeezed, and in a mil isecond, his teeth sank through the soft flesh of my arm.

Red-hot fire shot through me. I reared back, trying to escape the burning, but it fol owed my movements. Over my screams, I could hear Caleb yel ing and begging for them to stop. Neither Mom nor the daimon paid any attention to him. The pain slithered through every part of my body as Eric continued to drain. The room tilted, and there was a pretty good chance I was going to pass out.

“Enough,” she murmured.

The daimon lifted its face. “She tastes divine.”

“It’s the aether. She has more in her than a pure does.”

Eric let go of me then, and I fel to my knees, shaking.

There was nothing—absolutely nothing that felt like that.

Even the aftershocks of the tagging stole my breath.

Gasping for air, I stayed there until the fire dul ed to nothing more than an ache.

Only then did I realize Caleb was silent. I lifted my head and saw him staring at me. There was a dazed look to his eyes, as if somehow he’d managed to remove himself from this place, left his body or something. I wanted to be wherever he was.

“Now, that wasn’t too bad?” Mom grasped my shoulders and forced me back against the wal .

“Don’t touch me.” My words came out weak and slurred.

She gave me a cold smile. “I know you’re upset, but you’l see. We’l change the world together.”

Daniel returned to Caleb’s side, but he didn’t move. The way Daniel looked at him made me think he wanted to do bad things to Caleb. Abruptly, the oracle’s words came back to me.

One with a bright and short future.

Caleb would die. Horror forced me toward the bed. This couldn’t be happening! In an instant, Eric had me pinned back against the wal . Blood— my blood—stil stained his lips. Once he was sure I wouldn’t move again, he let go and leaned back with a smug half-smile.

Sickened, I pushed down my own pain and fear. “Mom…

please let Caleb go. Please. I’l do anything.” And I meant it.

There was no way I was going to let Caleb die in this godforsaken place. “Please, just let him go.”

She studied me silently. “What would you do?”

My voice broke. “Anything. Just let him go.”

“Would you promise not to fight me or run?”

The oracle’s words kept replaying over and over, like some sick chant. There was no tel ing how much more of this he could take. Caleb’s color was chalky, sickly. What was about to happen was fated, wasn’t it? Had the gods already seen this? And if I chose not to fight, I would be turned into a daimon.

I swal owed down the taste of bile. “Yes. I promise.”

Her gaze flickered over Caleb and the daimon. She sighed. “He stays, but since you made a promise, I’l make you one. They wil not touch him again, but his presence wil make sure you keep your promise.”

Snapping out of his daze, Caleb frantical y shook his head at me, but I agreed again. I wanted him out of here, but for now, this was the best I could do. I sat opposite the bed with my back pressed against the wal , eyes trained on Caleb and Daniel. Eric took up position beside me. Al I could do was hope someone had checked on us by now.

Maybe Aiden final y had come to talk to me or start practice again. Maybe someone had checked on Caleb, and someone at the Covenant put two and two together. If not, in a horrible twist of fate, the next time I saw Aiden, he would try to kil me.

And I doubted he would falter like I had.

Daniel turned from Caleb and stared at the fresh tag on my arm. I squeezed my eyes shut and turned my head. Next was Daniel’s turn, and I had a feeling he was going to make it as painful as possible. My eyes burned as I pushed against the wal , wishing I could somehow disappear into it.

An hour came and went, and my body tensed as Daniel knelt down and pried my other arm from my chest. This was wrong, so wrong. There was no way to prepare for this, and when Eric placed his hand over my mouth, Daniel bit into my wrist.

I sagged against the wal , reeling after it was over. Like clockwork, Daniel and Eric took turns tagging me. Mom blabbed on and on about how we would eradicate the Council members, starting first with Lucian. We would then sit on the thrones, and even the gods would bow before us.

The tables would turn, she said, and the daimons would rule over not just the pure-bloods, but the mortal world, too.

“We’l have to take down the First, but when you’re a daimon Apol yon you’l be stronger than him—better than him.”

Mom was real y, absolutely nuts.

I learned about their draining. Maybe she was trying to prepare me for my new life? Pures kept them wired for days, halfs only for a few hours, and mortals, wel , they kil ed them for the fun of it. Too bad there wasn’t a pure I could hand over to the daimons now. That may sound terrible, but my arms were covered in crescent-shaped bites, much like my old instructor had been scarred. And I’d pitied her—

ironic.

The draining continued. Pieces of who I was disappeared with each tag. I no longer pressed away when Daniel dipped down or Eric leaned over. I didn’t even scream. And the whole time, she stood by and watched it al . I was losing myself to this sick madness, and my soul turned dark and desperate.

Eventual y, she left to go check the roads. Not once did she feed off me. I supposed she’d bagged herself a pure earlier, but when she left, I immediately wanted her back.

With her gone, Daniel got bold, and though it made me want to vomit, I let him get close. Every so often, he would run the tips of his fingers over my arms, around the bite marks. At least it kept his attention off of Caleb.

“I can already feel it,” murmured Eric.

I’d forgotten he was stil there. Even though he was tagging the hel out of me, I preferred him to Daniel. “Feel what?” My voice sounded sleepy.

“The aether, I’m buzzing from it. Almost like I could do anything.” He reached over and poked one of the bites, causing me to wince. “Do you feel it leaving you? Going into me?”

Refusing to answer him, I lowered my head to my bent knees. He sounded high… and I felt sick—my soul felt sick.

By the time Daniel tipped my neck back, I was exhausted and near delirious from the pain. Caleb hadn’t moved in a while, and Eric didn’t need to cover my mouth anymore. I only whimpered as the teeth pierced the skin at the base of my neck.

Eric made soothing noises as Daniel drained me, his thumb tracing the wild pounding of my pulse. “It’l be over soon. You’l see. Just a couple more tags, and it wil be over. A whole new world is waiting for you.”

After Daniel was done, I slumped to the side. The room spun, tilted. I had a hard time focusing on what Eric was talking about.

“We’re going to change the half-bloods first. They can’t be spotted like us. They don’t need elemental magic. Al over the world, we wil launch our attack. It wil be beautiful.”

Eric smiled at the thought. “The Covenants wil be infiltrated… and then the Council.”

It was a good enough plan, one that could easily become a scary reality. Eric didn’t seem bothered by the lack of conversational input. He continued on, and I found it hard to keep my eyes open. Fear and anxiety had ridden me hard. I dozed off. For how long, I didn’t know, but something jarred me awake.

Weary and confused, I lifted my head in time to see Daniel standing in front of me. Had it already been another hour? Was this it? I couldn’t help but wonder if they were preparing for the last bite, the last drop of aether and the last of my soul.

“Daniel, it’s not time.”

“I don’t care. You’re getting more than I am. You’re practical y glowing. Look at me!” Daniel scowled. “I don’t look like you.”

Eric wasn’t glowing, but his skin had taken on a healthy infusion. He looked… like a normal pure-blood. Daniel, on the other hand, was stil sheet-white.

Eric shook his head. “She’l kil you.”

Daniel dropped down in front of me and shoved a hand through my hair, wrenching my head back. “Not if she doesn’t know. How would she? I just want one more.”

“Don’t… let him.” My weak voice held a pleading edge, but if Eric was concerned with Daniel’s fate, he sure didn’t show it or try to stop him.

There was a spare spot on my neck stil bite-free. I silently begged that he wouldn’t go for that. I don’t know why I cared at this point, but dammit, I stil had some smidge of vanity left.

“She probably likes it,” Daniel said. A stuttered heartbeat later, he sank his teeth into that one little spot and his lips moved against my skin. The pain shot through me, causing me to go rigid. His one hand tightened in my hair and his other got friendly, slipping over my shoulder and down further.

Out of everything that was happening, this— this was too much. With every ounce of strength I had in me, I lifted my hands and dug my nails into the sides of his face.

Daniel reared back, howling. My shirt ripped in the process, but the sound—the look on his face fil ed me with a sick sense of satisfaction. Deep and angry-looking welts formed on his face, beading with fresh blood. Blindly, he lashed out and caught me in the eye, toppling me into Eric.

“Hel !” Eric leapt to his feet and I ate the floor.

I curled onto my side and into a fetal position. Above me, I felt Eric push Daniel back, yel ing in his face, but I wasn’t listening. Something long and thin dug into my thigh. I slowly rol ed over, inching my fingers down until they closed over the object hidden in the seam of my pants.

The knife—the retractable one.

Suddenly, Eric lifted me up and straightened me so that I looked at him. Something wet and warm ran down the side of my face, dripping into my right eye. Blood. Not like I had much more I could afford to lose.

Over his shoulder, I saw that Caleb was awake. He stared at me, and I tried to send him a message, but as it was, Eric was doing a good job of blocking him. From the front of the house, we heard the door open, and the click of my mother’s heels resonated through the cabin. Eric let go of me and backed clear across the room. My lips curved into a sad little smirk. He knew. I knew.

Mom was going to be pissed when she got a look at my face.

She stepped into the room, and her eyes narrowed on me. In a second, she was kneeling in front of me, tipping my head back. “What has happened here?”

Blood loss and exhaustion addled my thoughts. Moments went by as I stared at her. I couldn’t remember where I was or how I got there. Al I wanted to do was press my face against her, for her to hold me and to tel me everything would be okay. She was my mother, and she would stop them. She had to, especial y something this vile, this horrendous. “Mom? Look… look at what they’ve done to me.”

“Shh.” She smoothed my hair back from my face.

“Please… please make him stop.” I gripped her in a weak hug, wanting to climb into her arms, wanting her to hold me. She didn’t. As she turned away from me, I cried out and reached for her.

No. This—this thing in front of me wasn’t my mother. My mother would never have turned her back on me. She would’ve held me, comforted me. I snapped out of it, blinking slowly.

“Who did this to her face?” Her voice was so cold, so deadly and so unlike Mom, but at the same time I heard the edge in her words. Recognizing her tone from the many times she’d yel ed at me for getting in trouble—it was the tone that happened right before she launched into a major bitch-fest. Eric and Daniel didn’t know. They didn’t know my mother like I did.

“Who do you think?” Eric sneered.

She pressed cool lips against my forehead, and I squeezed my eyes shut. She wasn’t my Mom. “I gave you both explicit orders.” She straightened, her eyes fal ing to Daniel.

Reality settled around me once more, and I came to my knees. I couldn’t think about her anymore, couldn’t see her as my mom. I made my decision. Screw fate. My eyes met Caleb’s, and I nodded at Mom’s back and mouthed the words, “Get ready.” I could only hope he understood.

“That is simply unacceptable.” That was the only warning she gave. She launched herself at Daniel, knocking him over Caleb. The two daimons crashed to the floor, swinging and tearing at one another.

I seized the opportunity. Scrambling to my feet, I grabbed for Caleb.

Thankful y, he got the message. He slid off the bed as Eric went after Daniel, too. I staggered to my feet just as Mom pul ed Daniel to his feet. He was a good foot tal er than her, but she threw him around the room like he was nothing. There was a moment when I couldn’t move. Her strength was shocking, unnatural.

Dizzy and nauseous, I stumbled away from the room with Caleb in tow. We raced through the cabin and out the front door. Rain pounded on the roof of the deck, almost but not quite silencing the wet, sloppy crunch from inside the house. The sound propel ed both of us over the railing.

Forgetting how high the decks were, I hit the ground hard, fal ing to my knees.

“Lexie!”

My mother’s voice pushed me to my feet. Glancing beside me, I saw Caleb do the same. We ran, half sliding and half fal ing down the muddy hil . Branches slapped me in the face, pul ed on my clothing and hair, but I kept running. Al that gym time paid off. My muscles pushed past the pain and the lack of blood.

“Alexandria!”

We weren’t fast enough. Caleb’s startled yelp spun me around. My mom plucked him up from behind, tossing him sideways. Shock flickered over his face right before he slammed into a thick maple tree. I screamed, backtracking to where he’d fal en.

A barrier of flames went up, pushing me back. The fire destroyed everything in its path as it spread. Caleb rol ed to his side, barely escaping it. I stumbled backward as the world burned in red and violet colored flames. The rain did nothing to beat down the unnatural fire.

And there she stood—tal and straight, like a terrible goddess of death. Twice now, I’d failed to see that. In the al ey in Bald Head and moments earlier in the cabin, right after I’d realized I had a Covenant dagger in my pocket.

“Lexie, you promised me you wouldn’t run.” She sounded surprisingly calm.

Did I? My hand slipped into the side pocket. “I lied.”

“I took care of Daniel. You won’t have to worry about him.” She edged closer. “Everything is going to be okay now. Lexie, you should sit down. You’re bleeding al over the place.”

I glanced down at myself. Running had gotten my blood pulsing. I could feel it trickling down my arms and neck. I was kind of surprised I had any left in me. Out of the corner of my eye, a shot of dark blue darted between the flames.

“Just do it, Rachel e. She’s weak.” Fury and impatience colored Eric’s words. “Take care of it and let’s get the hel out of here!”

That was so true. Light-headed and off-balance, a bunny rabbit could get the best of me right now. “Don’t come any closer.”

My mother laughed. “Lexie, this wil be over soon. I know you’re scared, but you have nothing to worry about. I’m going to take care of everything. Don’t you trust me? I’m your mother.”

I backed up, stopping when I felt the heat from the flames.

“You’re not my mother.”

She moved forward. Somewhere in the distance, I thought I heard my name being cal ed. His voice— Aiden’s.

It had to be a hal ucination, because neither Eric nor my mom reacted to the sound, but even if it was just a sad manifestation of my subconscious, it gave me strength to keep standing. My fingers slid over the slender dagger.

How had they missed this? “You’re not my mother,” I said again, my voice sounding hoarse.

“Baby, you’re confused. I’m your mother.”

My thumb brushed over the release button. “You died in Miami.”

Her eyes held a dangerous glint. “Alexandria… there is no other option.”

Wait, a voice whispered in my head, wait until her defenses are down. If she saw the blade, it would be over. I needed her to believe she’d won. I needed her vulnerable.

Though, the strange thing was, I was almost a hundred percent certain the voice didn’t belong to me. But that real y didn’t matter right now.

“There’s another option. You could just kil me.”

“No. You wil join me.” Her voice sounded like it had in the room, right before she’d kil ed Daniel for touching me. How messed up was that? “And since you broke your promise, I wil have to kil your little boyfriend over there. That is, if he hasn’t been burned alive yet.”

Everything came down to this moment. Die or kil her. Be turned into a monster or kil her. The breath I drew in wasn’t enough. “You’re already dead,” I whispered, “and I’d rather be dead than become what you are.”

“You wil thank me later.” Moving inhumanly fast, she wrapped her hand through my hair and jerked my head back.

The handle of the dagger felt awkward, wrong even.

Sucking in air, I pushed the little button. There wasn’t a lot of space between us, but I stil got my arm in between us. It wouldn’t be a precise hit, not at this angle, but it would kil .

You will kill the ones you love.

Fate had been right about that.

My mother jerked back, her mouth gaping open in surprise. She looked down. So did I. My hand was flush with her chest, and the blade had sunk through her skin like titanium did when it met the flesh of a daimon.

She stumbled backward as I withdrew the dagger. Her face contorted and blurred. Bright, beautiful eyes met mine, and then they disappeared. Like a switch had been thrown, the fire circling us ceased to exist.

Her scream fil ed the forest, and my screams overcame hers. She slumped just as my legs refused to cooperate.

We both folded into ourselves at the same time, except I col apsed into a messy heap and she buckled into herself.

There was a moment—it was quick—but I saw the glimmer of relief cross her face. In that instant, she was Mom. She real y was. And then she started to flake apart, fading until there was nothing left but a fine layer of blue dust.

I sagged forward, resting my head against the damp ground, vaguely aware of Eric running and the rain hammering me. Months of grief and loss swirled inside me, invading every cel , every pore. Nothing existed but the raw pain of a different kind of hurting. The tags and the bruises faded in comparison to it. Anguish consumed me. I wanted to die—to just cave in like Mom had. I’d kil ed her—my mother. Daimon or not, I’d kil ed her.

Time stopped. It could’ve been minutes or hours, but eventual y there were voices. People cal ed my name, cal ed Caleb’s, but I couldn’t answer. Everything sounded far away and unreal.

Then strong hands surrounded me, lifting me up. My head fel back and cool rain splattered off my cheeks. “Alex, look at me. Please.”

Recognizing the voice, I opened my eyes. Aiden stared down at me, face pale and drawn. He looked stricken as his gaze roamed over the many bite marks. “Hey,” I murmured.

“It’s going to be okay.” His voice held a panicked, desperate edge. He ran wet fingers over my cheeks, catching my chin. “I need you to keep your eyes open and talk to me. Everything’s going to be okay.”

I felt funny, so I doubted that. There were so many voices, some I recognized and some I didn’t. Somewhere I heard Seth. “Where’s… Caleb?”

“He’s okay. We have him—Alex, stay with me. Talk to me.”

“You were… right.” I swal owed, needing to tel someone

—to tel him. “She was relieved. I saw it… ”

“Alex?” Aiden stood, cradling me to his chest. I felt his

“Alex?” Aiden stood, cradling me to his chest. I felt his heart thundering under my cheek and then I felt nothing at al .