Half Blood Rising

I was running, panting for air. Someone was after me. It was getting dark, and I was lost in the dark alleys of London, parts I’d never been to. My father had always warned me not to wander off my usual route, and now I realised he was right.

Fear dug its claws inside me. I hid behind a dumpster, panicking, trying to breathe in and out. These men were after me and I had no idea why. I’d never seen them before.

I was soaked with rain and sweat. Consciously I started counting the amount of money I had in my wallet. There wasn’t much there at all, but maybe these men wanted it. Maybe they thought I was someone who had rich parents.

“Where the hell did she go, Nicodemus?” a deep voice asked. I peered around the dumpster. The man who I was looking at was tall and blond. He didn’t seem to be affected by the rain; it appeared as though he had an invisible umbrella above him. I stared at both of them with my jaw wide open. His skin was shining, it almost seemed like it was radiating. I made the sign of the cross over my chest, shaking with cold and fear at the same time.

“She was just here; she can’t be far,” the other man said. “Are you sure she’s the right test subject? Humans are weak, and this one has a family. They will start searching for her at some point.” He looked ordinary; the rainwater was soaking him.

“Humans, test subject, what the hell were they talking about?” I whispered to myself.

“Jaymin is the perfect test subject and her distant relative was fae. We will transport her to Eastern Europe afterwards where no one knows her, but her blood needs to be infected first,” the blond guy said, revealing his white teeth. I couldn’t see his face fully, only his pointed chin. He was turned to the side, wearing a dark coat.

My stomach contracted with fear. I had to call someone, maybe the police, but they would never believe me. It looked like these men didn’t want any money from me, but something else. Only my sister believed in these kinds of things. She was eleven.

I managed to dig the phone out of my pocket, but my fingers were so numb from cold. I waited for them to walk away, but they were just standing there, like they knew I was nearby. My thoughts began racing. Recently I’d started having dreams, nightmares where I talked to dead people, because they could understand me so well.

“This has never been done before, it’s against all the rules,” the other man, Nicodemus said, scratching his chin.

“It’s the only way for me to get rid of the High Council, and I’m the only person capable of going through with this experiment,” the blond man said, and something glinted in his mouth. I rubbed my eyes, trying to see it more clearly. No, it was impossible. They couldn’t have been fangs ….

I pulled away from his neck, thrown backwards by an invisible energy inside the room. I must have hit the wall, because now the world around me was spinning out of control. His blood tasted incredible: it was sweet, delightful, rich, and it filled me with energy. With every sip, I’d only wanted more. I’d never tasted anything like it—and these memories. It was my past—it had to be. There couldn’t have been any other explanation. Lachlan’s blood made me see who I truly was—my previous life. Was it a skill he was hiding from Oldman, or maybe something he was unaware of?

He stood several meters away from me, taking long pulls of air, and his normally pale cheeks were infused with colour. The deep wound on his arm was gone, and there were obvious signs around his crotch area that he’d enjoyed our moment. He had a full-blown erection and he was staring at me with hunger in his eyes. I exhaled sharply, trying to gather my thoughts, touching my face, and trying to understand what the hell just happened here.

My mind was in havoc. I needed some air; his energy was overwhelming.

session is over.” I wanted to look him in the eye and ask what exactly caused that flashback.

gone before I could ask him anything. I could finally breathe. The heat was slowly leaving my body, but I was still turned on—overwhelmed by this unexpected bloodlust. I wanted him. It was difficult for me to admit it, but Lachlan had become the first vampire I’d ever desired. The other creatures were right; the taste of vampire blood

because he saw it, too, the past—my past? Had I just been an experiment for

girl in my previous life, I had a family: my dad and a sister.

insides—why Lachlan? Why him? This was what I needed to find out. Either way, I hated his guts and I could never feel anything beyond that fatal attraction. I could move past it, but first, I needed

* * *

I asked Marco the next day. He was standing outside the entrance to the academy, smoking what appeared to be human cigarettes and he seemed to be enjoying it, too. I didn’t sleep well that night, still thinking about what had happened between me and Lachlan. On top of that, I kept re-dreaming that

women like it. There is always one who smokes,” he answered, then he winked at

said you don’t age, so you must have lived for a long time, but you still have an accent?” I enquired, thinking that it was bizarre. I didn’t know why,

enjoy when I

here. Most fae were mortal, only certain castes had the ability to live forever. I didn’t know

of who I was before that,” I answered honestly. He tossed his cigarette to the ground and smashed it with his boot. He

exposing you, so there is always a story,” he said. “I embrace this new modern world, but I miss living in the seventeen hundreds. Back then, women were more adventurous than they are now. I have many tales to

my sensitivity. That was interesting. Marco was an asset; his knowledge and experience couldn’t be

red instantly as she gave me a nervous glance. Then he embraced her waist and

I was normal, like I was part of the group and the academy. After Marco and his girl vanished around the corner, I went back inside. It was the first day of lectures, and I was looking forward to diving into my

get used to my new life, to the schedule and all these new rules. Everyone in our group was there, too, and surprisingly, I found I was fitting in.

day, I knew more about her than I wanted to. She was bubbly, funny, and genuinely wanted to get to know me. It was going to take me a little while to trust

it or hid it from Ramona. Either way, I really had to get over this absurd crush. There was no way I could afford to lose

were around twenty students in each class or lecture. Oldman and Karina had been right; all the classes were interesting and there was a lot of things we had to memorise. We had history of supernatural breeds, magical potions, spells and charms, defence classes, and a few others I’d only seen on the list. There was also an option to improve your English language skills and study a bit of literature. I

never gone to any sort of school, but I’d spent a lot of time in the library. I knew

spells and charms. Karina had gone to the gym at seven a.m., and I didn’t have a fancy phone with an

probation period included everyone new in the group. I rushed through the empty corridors and noticed a few lonely students—mostly fae—were running late, too. It took me another ten minutes to find the right auditorium. My