Bloodfire (Blood Destiny) (36 page)

Alex took it from him and glanced at him
with a serious, warning look.
 
“Mackenzie is one eighth Draco Wyr.
 
She has dragon blood in her veins.
 
It’s what makes her stronger and what fuels the bloodfire.
 
It’s also why she can do things that
most humans can’t.
 
It’s diluted
enough by her human side that no-one can detect it unless they go looking
specifically for it.”
 
He waved the
paper in the air.
 
“Which your alpha
obviously did.”
 
Alex looked back at
me.
 
“You’re still human, Mack
Attack.
 
It’s only a fraction of
you, and it’s not your fault.
 
It’s
not as if you could control it.”

“I should have known,” I said dully.
 
“You worked out within just a couple of
days that I couldn’t be fully human.
 
I’ve lived with this for my whole life.
 
Even though I realised that the
bloodfire was strange, I didn’t try to work out why I had it.
 
I just pretended that it was
normal.
 
And it got John killed.”

“But he knew, Mack.”
 
Alex’s voice was soft and
insistent.
 
“He knew and he didn’t
tell you.”

My eyes blazed and I growled.
 
“Are you trying to suggest that it’s his
fault that he was killed?”

He sighed and ran a hand through his dirty
blond hair.
 
“No.
 
What I’m saying is that he was trying to
protect you.
 
He was your alpha and
your guardian, and keeping you safe was his job.
 
If he’d thought it was something you’d
needed to know, he would have brought it up.
 
But he didn’t.
 
Remember what you told me about him
trying to break the geas when you originally arrived?
 
If he’d had this letter and he knew your
mother then he must have made that part up to keep your identity secret even
from yourself.
 
Everything you’ve
told me suggests that he loved you like a daughter; that it didn’t matter to
him that you have the fire of the Draco Wyr in your veins, but it did matter
that you were safe.
 
He knew what he
was doing.”

I sank back down in my chair.
 
“If he knew what he was doing, then why
is he dead?”

Nobody answered.
 
After a moment, Tom cleared his
throat.
 
“So, this Iabartu half god
woman.
 
Why does she want your
blood?”

Alex answered for me.
 
“Draco Wyr
haven’t
been seen for centuries.”
 
I looked
at him, startled.
 
He shrugged at
me.
 
“You’re not the only one who
can do research, Mack Attack.
 
Anyway, as I was saying there’s not been sight or sound of them for
longer than even the Fae could remember.
 
Not just on this plane but on any plane.
 
Most people think they didn’t ever
really exist in the first place.
 
The
stories say, though, that their blood is strong enough to bring down an
army.
 
Or to cure
the most terrible afflictions imaginable.
 
It depends on how it’s used.
 
Even though Mack is only an eighth Wyr,
there is still power there.”

“And Iabartu must need it to kill and
destroy or because she wants to open up a pharmacy.”
 
My fire was still flickering but I knew
with cold certainty what I needed to do.
 
“Tom, I need you to hide these papers.
 
It’s still enough to hurt the pack if
the Brethren find them.”

“But it means you’re not human!” He
exclaimed with sudden realization.
 
“They won’t do anything because now we’re not breaking the Way.”

He could be really naïve sometimes.
 
“And until now we all thought I was
completely human so whether we did break the Way or not, we had the intention
of doing so.”

Alex frowned.
 
“And the dragon blood is only a fraction
of you.
 
In essence, Mack Attack,
you are still human.”

Whatever. The point was moot as far as the
Brethren were concerned.
 
But I
looked steadily at Tom and gestured expansively.
 
“You see?
 
Corrigan still can’t find this out.
 
Please, Tom.
 
Find somewhere to hide this stuff.” I
gently touched the letter quietly saying, “This is the first time I’ve ever
seen my mother’s handwriting.
 
It’s
proof that she might still be alive, still exist somewhere.
 
I don’t want to lose it.”

“Okay, okay, Red.
 
Whatever you need.”
 
He picked up the papers and moved
towards the door, then suddenly turned, holding up a finger.
 
“Just one thing though – how does
a dragon mate with a human in the first place?
 
I mean how did your great-grandfather or
grand-mother have sex with a fire breathing lizard?”

I was the spawn of a lizard.
 
Oh my God.

Alex pushed Tom gently towards the
exit.
 
“Let’s not think about that
part for now,” he said briskly.

Tom nodded slightly and finally left.
 
Alex looked at me silently for a second
before speaking.
 
“So, what do you
have in mind?”

“Whatever do you mean, Alex?”

“You know what I mean.
 
You couldn’t wait to get rid of your
wolf friend.
 
And I’m getting to
know you, Mack Attack.” He placed emphasis on the ‘Attack’.
 
“You have a plan.”

I nodded briefly. “I have to get into that
portal.”

Alex gave a sharp intake of breath.
 
“I’m not sure that’s wise…”

“It’s what I was planning to do along
anyway, Alex.
 
And now it just makes
even more sense.
 
It’s me she must
be after.
 
If I go to her, then all
this will stop.”
 
I gestured around
the kitchen and at the still present signs of the invasion.
 
“You know it makes sense.”

“I know Lord Corrigan is planning something.”

I interrupted.
 
“Lord Corrigan can go fuck himself.”
 
I felt a brief twinge of something as I
said his name.
 
Regret?
 
Fear?
 
I wasn’t sure but I pushed it way and
focused on the here and now instead. “Only I can do this.
 
And I need your help to do it.”
 
I held his eyes.
 
Please, Alex.

He was silent for a long moment before
speaking.
 
“Okay, then, Mack
Attack.
 
What do you need?”

*

We walked outside into the cool night,
heading for the little outhouse where the bolt of cloth was situated.
 
Even after the Brethren had examined it,
they’d left it where I’d placed it, unwilling to bring the
death
streaked
material inside.
 
It
also meant that Tom wouldn’t know where we were should he manage to quickly
hide the papers and then return looking for us.
 
This was my fight.

Only the porch light leading from the keep
was on, so we had to carefully pick our way along the path.
 
I was alert for signs of the watchers
that Corrigan had so arrogantly spoken of, but everything seemed quiet.
 
Perhaps the Brethren weren’t as good at
their jobs as he thought they were.
 
All to the good.
 
Neither of us spoke until we entered the
small hut.
 
I winced slightly as the
old hinges creaked when the door opened, but there were fortunately no sounds
of alarm from the keep behind us.

Inside it was pitch black.
  
I sensed Alex make a movement
beside me, and the interior was suddenly glowing with a soft light.

“That’s a handy trick,” I grunted.

He shrugged and walked over to the cloth,
recoiling slightly as he got closer.
 

“This reeks of power and death.
 
Are you sure about this?”

I didn’t even deign to answer.
 
He lifted up his palms slightly in
acknowledgement and got to work.
 
I
watched him, still fascinated at the display of magic.
 
His eyes closed, much as they had the
previous time, and he began to chant softly.
 
After a moment, the now almost familiar
swirl of blue smoke curled around the cloth then began rising into the air and
filling the small space.
 
I felt my
bloodfire warm in anticipation and I knew I was ready for this.
 
It would kill me, but it would be worth
it.
 
And the rest of the pack would
be safe.

Tendrils started sneaking away from the
cloth and curling around my ankles.
 
I felt tingles of cold on my skin and shivered slightly.
 
Alex chanted louder and then fell
silent.
 
The smoke bled away into
the atmosphere.

“It won’t activate again until you’re
inside the portal,” he said softly.

“Good.
 
That means nothing else will see it
between here and there,” I commented.
 
I deliberately kept the tone of my voice light.
 
“And the portal itself?”

“Let’s synchronise our watches,” he said,
with a ghost of a smile at the spy like phrase.
 
“At exactly 2.15am, I’ll open it for ten
seconds.
 
I can’t give you longer
than that though.”

“It’ll be enough.”

“You don’t have to do this, Mack.
 
The Brethren…”

“Don’t, Alex.
 
I do have to do this and you’re not
going to change my mind.”
 
I picked
up the cloth, trying not shudder, and stuffed it inside a plastic bag to avoid
the smell escaping.
 
Then I shoved
it into one of my backpack’s side pockets.

“I can come with you,” he offered
tentatively.

I laughed sharply and without mirth.
 
“You don’t do fighting, remember?”
 
I touched him gently on his arm and
tried to put conviction into my voice.
 
“I will be fine and back here in no time.”

He smiled slightly at the lie.
 
“I’ll wait right here for you then.”

I tried to smile in return.
 
“Don’t wait up.”
 
He looked at me with a mixture of
sympathy, hope and understanding.
 
“Thank you, Alex,” I said quietly, “for everything.”

“Anytime, Mack Attack.”
 
He gave me a mock salute, which I
acknowledged with a forced grin.
 
Then I turned and left for the beach.

Chapter
Twenty Five

As I left Alex and the wooden hut behind,
I noticed that there was a light on in one of the third floor rooms, where
Julia – and the Brethren – were housed.
 
A shadow moved across the window from
behind the drawn curtains but I couldn’t make out
who
it was.
 
It didn’t matter
though.
 
I knew this area like the
back of my hand and could easily skip in and out of the shadows, staying out of
sight, until I could get away into the woods.

Despite my bluster in front of Alex, I was
feeling a bit scared.
 
Okay, more
than a bit scared, in fact I was bloody terrified.
 
I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that
this was the right move to make, however.
 
I skirted behind a tree and then ducked to the fringes of the keep’s front
garden, hopping over the low-lying fence.
 
I was about to edge into the cover of the woods when I noticed a dark
shape moving towards me.
 
It looked
vaguely lupine so I figured it was probably one of the Brethren out
patrolling.
 
Luckily, the wind was
down so my scent wouldn’t carry far.
 
I still froze, however, and waited, holding my breath and hoping the
figure would turn into the garden rather than continue on towards me.

I counted my heartbeats.
 
One one thousand, two one thousand,
three one…excellent.
 
The wolf
turned back once it reached the gate and began to head down the way from which
it had just come.
 
I breathed a
silent sigh of relief and entered the little forest.
 
I paused just before the path, turning
back to take one final glance back at the keep.
 
My eyes travelled the length of its dark
shape, over the familiar
breeze blocks
and slightly
crooked outline.
 
I prayed
desperately that Julia would pull through.
 
It didn’t bear thinking about what might happen if she didn’t.
 
Hot anger flickered again inside me at
what she, and the rest of my adopted family,
were
being forced to go through on my behalf.
 
If I could stop Iabartu, it wouldn’t make amends for the danger I’d put
them in or for the consequences my presence had caused them, but it would
prevent any further problems.
 
They
could return to their quiet little lives, unbothered by the arrogantly superior
Brethren or nasties that threatened their very existence.
 
I tried not to wonder if any of them
would really be sorry that I was gone.
 
Tom would, probably.
 
Betsy
perhaps.
 
I hoped that they realised
what a good thing they had going here in our little corner of the world and
didn’t take the decision to move to London with the Brethren.
 
It was out of my hands now though.