The BlackBurne Legacy (The Bloodlines Legacy Series Book 1) (21 page)

“Did you honestly think we would pass up this chance to gain true power, Sabrina?” Lorelye’s feet move out of view. “Your friend is going to give our family what it needs to survive the next century.”

“Grandfather would never have sanctioned this!” The anger rolling off Bree is unmistakable.

“That old fool would have us walking around in a sea of sharks unarmed. No more. He’ll see the wisdom in taking her magic once it’s done.”

“I won’t let you hurt her.”

“You always were the weakest of us, Sabrina.” Scorn drips from her tongue like acid, spraying Bree with contempt. “I told Grandfather you would be useless, and I was right. Step aside or I will hurt you to get to her.”

Bree takes up a defensive position in front of me, feet braced.

“Bree, think about what you’re doing.” Jeremiah shifts away from us both. “This isn’t going to end well. You know Lorelye is right. We need her magic. Ours is getting weaker every day.”

“I’m ashamed of you, Jeremiah.” Bree sounds hurt. “You know this is wrong.”

“It’s not wrong to try and keep our family alive,” he says. “More and more often, the others are beginning to attack. We don’t have the power to fight them off if they decide to ambush all at once. What happens if Abby or Cara is killed? Babies who can’t protect themselves. Can you live with that? This one girl for their lives. Think about it.”

“No,” Bree shouts. “This is wrong. I will not let either of you hurt her.”

“It doesn’t matter what you want, Sabrina.” Lorelye’s voice is deceptively soft. “Her power will be ours. If I have to kill you to get it, so be it. Grandfather will be disappointed, of course, but he’ll understand.”

“I’m sure he’ll understand what I had to do to keep you from murdering an innocent girl for her gifts.”

“You’re assuming you’re going to live that long.”

“I’m banking on it.”

“Let’s see what you have, baby sister.”

“You first.”

My eyes widen at the power levels rising in the room. I can feel it burst over my skin, and I’m standing directly in its path. Oh, crap. Luka and Micah are coming, I remind myself. Conner said so. I feel myself panic again as I reach out to Micah and feel only emptiness. They’ll be here soon.

But will it be before these crazy people destroy each other—or me?

Chapter

Twenty-One

Where to go, where to go? There is nowhere I can go. The minute I step away from Bree, any one of the people standing in the room can grab me. They want my power, and even as fuzzy as I feel, I know they’ll do whatever it takes to get it. No help there.

Another energy ball flies at us, bouncing off Bree’s shield—an invisible wall of sorts that surrounds us in a circle. When I say energy ball, I mean an actual ball of glowing blue fire. Just like the ones I’d seen demons hurling at the sisters on
Charmed
. And who says TV can’t teach you anything?

Good Lord, how do I manage to get myself into these kinds of messes?

I jump at the sound of Lorelye’s magic bouncing off Bree’s shield. The crazy banshee is relentless. It seems to be all Bree can do to shield us from her attacks. As far as I can tell, she hasn’t even gotten off one good shot of her own. I want to help her, but don’t know how. I’d refused to let Uncle Sabien teach me anything. Now I feel plain stupid. Death watches, waiting for his chance to take me, and there is nothing I can do to defend myself. Stupid, stupid me.

I’ll sure as certain rectify that if I get out of here alive.

The enraged cry of a wolf catches my attention. Relief sweeps through me. Bree tenses in front of me, hearing it as well. Micah. If Micah is here, that means Luka is here.

Thank you, God.

The doors behind us crash open, and a wolf the size of a small car bursts through, snarling in fury. He leaps, taking down the first guard by the door. His teeth tear into him, ripping his throat out before he can even defend himself. The others come in more slowly, assessing the situation before attacking.

Luka dives into the group of people hovering close to the west wall. Jason takes the second guard down. Conner hurls himself into the fray after Luka. Micah snarls, throwing bodies as he plows his way to me. I can’t take my eyes off the wolf. I gulp air. Even though I know what he is, knowing and really seeing are two completely different things. It’s a little overwhelming. Then his eyes find and hold mine. They are panic-stricken too. He can’t feel me either.

I step away from Bree, breaking the circle. I fall to my knees and wrap my arms around him, letting him drown out the sounds of the fight. In that instant, my mind clears. The clean, fresh smell of maple and pine trees washes away the fog clouding my thoughts. My wolf stretches lazily under my skin, awake now that Micah is with us. We close our eyes and let ourselves get lost in the feel of warm fur, of dirt beneath our paws, and of the smell of honeysuckle. We are pack. We are home.

It has gone quiet, I realize after a moment. Opening my eyes, I see everyone watching us. Except Bree. She’s watching her sister.

“Alexandria?” Luka asks, pulling my attention to him.

I’ve never heard him sound so cold, so empty. His is the voice of death. He and Jason have forced Lorelye’s cohorts into a corner. Jason’s eyes glow with his beast rolling behind them. Blood runs from a cut on his face. He looks dangerous. I don’t ever remember seeing him like this before—strong, powerful, an alpha in the making. My wolf growls with pride. Our brother, our pack.

“Alexandria?” Luka asks again, his voice growling with irritation.

“I’m fine, Luka.”   

I feel Micah’s muscles bunch beneath my fingers, preparing to spring at Bree.

“Micah, no!” I tighten my hold on him.

His growl turns hair-raising.

I grab his head and force him to look at me.

You will not hurt her.

Blue…

No. She protected me from them.

She brought you here!

No, she didn’t. Her brother did. Bree had no idea what they were planning. She risked her life to save me. You will not hurt her.

But I can hurt the others?

Let’s try to get out of here without hurting anyone else, okay?

He growls his frustration at me.

I get up, really seeing the room for the first time. Lorelye stands a few feet from us, her face flushed in rage as she glares out of eyes the color of the sea after a storm. A table is placed about foot from her. On it rests a long dagger and a silver goblet.

Taking a shaky breath, I remember my uncle and Lorelye’s words—the power is in the blood. To consume the power, you have to consume the blood. She’d planned to drain me dry.

Uh, no. So not gonna happen.

The buzzing gets louder, and my skin crawls with the force of a thousand insects. My magic starts to react to my fear and anger. I need to calm down. If my magic forces its way out again as it had last time, I might really hurt someone. I haven’t learned any kind of control.
Idiot
, I berate myself. I will learn to control it. I just have to make it out of here first.

Taking a deep breath, I step out from behind Bree.

“Decided to stop hiding, sweetling?” Lorelye asks.

“I wasn’t hiding to begin with.”

“Really? You seemed to be doing an excellent imitation of it.”

“But I wasn’t thinking very clearly, now, was I?”

“You’re not leaving this house alive, sweetling,” Lorelye barks. “Your power is mine!”

“I don’t think so,” another voice says from behind us.

My mind goes blank. No. It can’t be. Turning, I see the impossible and fall to my knees. Shock ripples through me. No, no, no. The woman standing in the light of the doorway can’t be here. I look over at my brother, and he’s in a state of shock, his eyes glowing with pain. His gaze meets mine and neither of us can say a single word. It’s just too much.

She strides forward, stopping about a foot from the redhead. Lorelye gasps, backing up a step. “Impossible…you’re supposed to be dead.”

My mother smiles. It’s cold and full of teeth. “Never say the word impossible, Lori. You and I both know that’s a bad idea.”

“They promised me…” Lorelye stutters. “They said you were dead!”

“So it was you who gave them my location.” My mother’s dark chestnut hair begins to float in an invisible breeze. The power rolling off her makes me cringe. “I wondered who gave them the information.”

“You!” Lorelye points her hand at Luka. “Kill her now!”

Luka barks a laugh at her. “Why would I do that?”

“You owe my family a blood debt, you filthy Gypsy cur. Do as I say, or the rest of your family will suffer the same fate as your father and sister.”

Luka’s eyes burn with a rage that is impossible to fathom. I don’t think he ever knew which family the direct orders came from, but now he does. Standing in front of him is the woman responsible for the deaths of the people he loved.

“No.” The word is ripped from him, low and feral.

There is no warning. She lashes out, the force of her anger making her magic that much stronger. Luka is simply faster. He lands behind Lorelye before the last word leaves her lips. His hands wrap around her neck and start to squeeze. I swallow, watching Luka’s beast take over. Again, knowing and seeing are two very different things. He is in complete control of the beast within him. His red ringed onyx eyes, full of death, glint black fire. The mask of civility slips away and the monster stares back at me now. He is truly frightening to behold, and I am not the least bit afraid of him.

Lorelye laughs and whispers a single word. Luka falls.

Smoke. I smell…smoke.

And then I understand.

Oh Jesus. Luka is being burned from the inside out.

Micah howls in rage. My wolf answers him. The snarl rips from my throat as blind rage blurs my vision. I embrace the feel of the power rushing over me, through me. My blood begins to boil as my power builds. The buzzing becomes a dim echo in my ears. All I can see is Luka in agony on the floor and the glee on Lorelye’s face at the pain she’s inflicted. She stands there, laughing over his body.

I don’t know any spells or have any potions to aid me, but I truly don’t need them in this moment. My rage is all I need. It compels me, takes over and allows me to do what needs to be done. Holding my hands out, palms facing outward, I focus on Lorelye and let my power rush toward the witch, imagining the fire that slowly burns away at my Luka.

“Alexandria, no!” I hear my mother, but I ignore her.

Lorelye tries to block my attack as Bree had hers, but it’s a useless attempt. There is no stopping the force of the rage coming for her. She screams as the wall of fire hits, wrapping itself around her in a cocoon. She can’t escape its touch.

I watch her burn, the fire in my blood cooling as the fire I’d let loose slowly destroys Lorelye Winters. Only when there is nothing left of the woman but ashes do I turn my attention to everything else. I see the ashes and shudder. Oh God, what have I done? I killed her.
I killed her.

Blue, get a grip
, Micah says sharply.
Luka needs us
.

“Luka,” I whisper, tears pouring down my cheeks. Micah is right. Now is not the time to fall apart. I look at Luka, my Luka. He’s lying there on the floor, so still. His body twitches every couple of seconds. Conner is already there, kneeling beside him.

“Stay back, Alex,” he warns. “He’s too dangerous right now.”

I have every intention of ignoring that nonsense. “Conner…”

“The boy is right.” My mother stops me. “What has been done to him can’t be undone. He is dangerous, poppet.”

I glare up at her, anger, rage, grief all rolled into one stare. How dare she? She has no right, no right at all to be here.

Pain flickers in her eyes, but she blinks and it’s gone. “You can hate me later, you and your brother, but we have more pressing issues right now. Your friend needs to heal. His curse is an old one. The only way for him to get better is through the sacrifice of fresh blood.”

“I don’t understand.” Bree glances from me to my mom. She has no clue who Alesha is.

“He needs to be fed fresh blood.”

“I…Conner, what are you doing?”

Conner rolls up his shirtsleeve.

“He needs to feed so he can heal.” Conner shrugs.

“Conner, you just said…”

“I know what I said!” he snaps. “I’ll take care of this. You watch that lot.”

I’d forgotten ‘that lot.’ What is left of Lorelye’s cohorts, including Jeremiah, huddle in one corner of the room with Jason standing guard. Their expressions have gone from hungry to fearful. They stay still, watching. The sudden demise of their fearless leader seems to have turned them into spineless cowards. They hide from us now. When I get my hands on them…

Conner grunts.

My eyes snap back to him. Conner’s wrist is pressed against Luka’s mouth, held there by an iron grip. Luka sits up after a minute or two, still locked onto Conner’s arm. We can hear the sounds of his suckling as he feeds. It isn’t anything like what you see in the movies. It is loud, and it’s messy.

“Luka, he’s looking a little gray,” I worry aloud. “You need to stop now.”

“He needs more,” Conner grinds out through clenched teeth.

“I’ll do it,” Jason volunteers, coming forward. His hands shake and he looks everywhere but at our mother.

“How do we know this is even going to work?” I ask. “He’s not a vampire, so how is feeding him blood helping?”

“It works a little like vampirism,” Alesha explains. “It’s an ancient curse developed centuries ago. It was meant to punish those who refused to kill for us. The spell turns them into a killing machine. It makes the cursed shift into a beast that would make even Satan himself flee in fear. The cost of the transformation is a sacrifice of blood. He has to hunt, to kill, to feed. When he’s injured, the blood works as a restorative to heal him. Same concept as a vampire, at least in the healing aspect.”

“I’m sorry, just who are you?” Bree demands.

“She’s my mother.” The words are hollow, broken, and I hate myself for sounding so vulnerable.

Bree gasps. “But we went to her funeral…”

“You went to
a
funeral,” Alesha corrects her. “I needed everyone to think I was dead so I could protect my children.”

“Luka, let go of Conner.” Jason sounds terrified. “You’re taking too much. You can…feed…from me.”

Monstrous eyes swivel to look up at him. Jason cringes, but keeps his arm extended. Luka’s nostrils flare, smelling his fear. Faster than you can blink, he latches onto Jason’s arm. My brother isn’t nearly as brave as Conner. He cries out and swears as Luka’s teeth tear into him. It has to hurt like the devil. Luka’s not a vampire, so he doesn’t have two long, pointy teeth. He bites into Jason’s flesh, and I can smell the blood as it flows.

“Dear God, how much damage did she do?” I whisper, watching Luka feed.

“He’s lucky to be alive,” Bree tells me. “Lorelye was attacked about a hundred years or so ago by a vampire. She created a spell that would incinerate someone from the inside out. he should be dead. That spell is lethal. I’ve seen people explode seconds after she cast it.”