Promised in Blood: Chapter 32

Alexandros. The concern in Ophelia’s voice sets every nerve in my body on edge.

I pause in the middle of my lecture, leaving the hundred or so students sitting in front of me waiting with anticipation for me to finish my sentence.

What is it, little one?

I’m still with Sienna. She said something’s happened in the woods. Her father needs you.

My pulse spikes with adrenaline. Osiris? What happened?

She doesn’t know. He wouldn’t say. He asked for you.

Is this come kind of trap? Where are you?

At Silver Vale with Cadence and Sienna.

Is Enora there?

She’s on her way to the woods. Osiris asked for her too.

I draw in a breath, trying to drown out the sound of my heart pumping in my ears. Stay where you are. I will send Xavier and Malachi to come stay with you.

But I⁠—

Stay, Ophelia! My tone is harsh but necessary, even as I sense the hurt in her.

A student from the front row reminds me I am supposed to be teaching by raising their hand. “Uh, Professor Drakos?”

“Class is done for today,” I call as I exit the classroom. I am making my way out of Clio Hall when I reach out to the boys and instruct Xavier and Malachi to go to Ophelia and Axl to meet me. Once I reach the cover of the trees, I break into a run.

I search out Osiris’s energy to pinpoint his location. It is not an exact science, but today, I feel his anger and despair so keenly that it makes him easy to track. Heavy emotions radiate from him with such ferocity that they guide me to him like a beacon. I give Axl directions to my location as I grow closer and sense him moving through the trees not too far behind me. Osiris’s pain grows heavier as I get closer.

I breach the thick clearing of trees and immediately see why. My old friend kneels on the ground, his head bent low over the remains of a young wolf. However, it is only her scent that tells me she was a wolf; her body has been torn to shreds. There are other scents here too. Vampires, witches. My nose twitches, trying to determine whether any of them are familiar.

Osiris lifts his head at my approach, but a growl from beside me snatches my attention. A meaty hand darts out, aiming for my throat, but I dodge it easily. A second later, I have my hand wrapped around my would-be assailant’s neck. I recognize Osiris’s nephew from my history class as he claws at my forearm, futile and desperate.

“Mack. Enough. He is not the enemy.” Osiris’s commanding growl vibrates through the air around us and is enough to make Mack stop fighting against my hold.

With a weary sigh, I release my grip on his throat. His tear-filled eyes narrow as he rubs the red skin of his neck.

“Forgive him, old friend.” Osiris’s voice is calmer now. “She … Esme is …” He clears his throat. “Was his girlfriend.”

I offer Mack a nod of condolence, and then make my way to Osiris. Crouching down, I inspect the body more closely. Her torso has been torn open from pelvis to neck, her internal organs pulled out and ravaged. Her nose and lips were ripped from her face, leaving it unrecognizable. “You knew her well?”

He nods. “She’s a senior Amalthea Crescent member. And she’s been Mack’s girlfriend for two years.”

I place a hand on his shoulder and squeeze. “I am sorry, old friend.”

He jerks his head in the direction of the river. “Those animals were feasting on her when Mack got here.”

I follow his gaze and find the object of his and Mack’s fury. The two vampires who look vaguely familiar are bloodied and beaten and being watched over by two very angry wolves. My hackles rise. Vampires drink blood; we do not eat flesh. At least not ordinarily.

The sounds of a scuffle breaking out come from behind me, and I do not need to turn around to know that Axl has arrived. His growl and scent are too deeply ingrained in my mind. No doubt he, too, has been accosted by Mack. Without taking my eyes off the two vampires, I yell, “He’s with me.”

“Boys. Enough,” Osiris says with a weary sigh.

A few seconds later, both boys join us beside Esme’s body, and I drag my gaze from the vampires to Mack. “What happened? How did you find her?”

Mack scrubs at the tears running down his cheeks. “I heard her howling for help. And when I got here, those two …” He bares his teeth in their direction. “Animals were eating her. They were fucking eating her.”

I glance at Osiris, and his skeptical expression mirrors my thoughts. “Vampires do not eat flash, old friend.”

He nods solemnly.

“They do. They were. I fucking saw them,” Mack screeches.

Axl snarls in warning.

I keep my gaze fixed on Osiris as I speak to Axl through our bond. He is upset. They are no threat to us. To accuse either me or one of my sireds is not what Osiris has brought me here for this day.

Osiris puts a steadying hand on his nephew’s arm. “Nobody is disputing what you saw. But this”—he glances down at the girl’s ravaged corpse once more—“isn’t natural vampire behavior. That’s why Alexandros is here.”

The lacerations covering almost every inch of her limbs suggest not only immense rage, but also a hunger that would be unusual for any vampire within a hundred-mile radius of a town full of humans. Not to mention this happened in a forest filled with deer and other wildlife.

“Do you recognize them?” I ask Axl, jerking my head in the direction of the vampires and the wolves still holding them captive. Everything about this situation has my nerves on edge. Nothing adds up. Vampires who devour a body like this are feral. Driven mad by blood lust that does not abate no matter how much they consume. Yet the two vampires accused of this crime stand idle under the watch of their wolf guards.

Axl sniffs the air and trains his eyes on the accused. “Two of the Onyx recruits. Sophomores, I think. Definitely not this year’s.”

“Esme was a senior, but she was taking a couple classes with sophomores because she changed her major last year,” Mack offers, his voice thick with grief.

“Did you ever see her hanging out with those guys? With any vampires?” Osiris asks his nephew.

Mack shakes his head. “She was shy. Only ever mixed with other wolves.”

“So what the hell was she doing out here with a pair of nutsacks from Onyx?” Axl asks with a snort.

“What the fuck are you implying, you stupid fuck!” Mack leaps on top of him, and a second later, the two of them are rolling around in the dirt, throwing punches at each other.

Osiris pinches the bridge of his nose and shakes his head.

“Axl,” I say, the cold warning evident in my voice. Have a little respect for their grief, I add in private.

He wrenches free of Mack’s hold and dusts off his clothes before crouching by my side once more. Mack grumbles and goes to lean against a nearby tree. He stares off into the distance, no doubt avoiding looking at his girlfriend’s body any longer than he has to.

Osiris’s dark eyes meet mine, and they are clouded with sadness and anger but mostly fear. “Why would they do this, Alexandros? Is this linked to what happened to the witch?”

“It is more likely than not,” I admit, stealing another glance at the two vampires and the wolves guarding them. They were once two of Osiris’s finest students, and now they are part of the faculty here. They both appear ready to tear off some vampire heads at their pack leader’s command. “Is that why you spared them?”

He swallows harshly and gives a shaky nod. “Mack found her. He called for me …” His eyes darken. Wolf packs can communicate with each other much like vampires can. “When we got here, he was fighting the two of them off.” He glances down at his bloodied knuckles. “We pulled them off her, and it was like …” His brow furrows. “Like they were fucking rabid one second, and then they were just …” He shakes his head.

“Just what?”

He jerks his head in the direction of the two vampires who killed the girl. “Like that.”

Another quick glance in their direction finds them standing in the clearing. One leans against a large rock; the other stares at the horizon. Both of them appear distinctly vacant.

Using the tip of my index finger, I collect a sample of Esme’s blood and hold it close to my nose, inhaling deeply. Whilst there is the distinct scent of vampires, there is something more. Something darker. Ancient.

I wipe the blood on my pants and make my way over to the accused with Axl close behind me. The wolves, bristling with pent-up rage, step aside and allow me to inspect the two suspects.

The one staring off into the distance has remains of Esme’s intestines stuck to his clothes. The pink twisted meat obscures part of the silver skull motif on his T-shirt, making it appear like brain matter oozing out in some kind of bizarre three-dimensional image.

“You know their names?” I ask Axl without taking my eyes off the young vampire in front of me.

Axl hums. “Pretty sure they call this one Bones.”

Tall, skinny, dark circles under his eyes. Makes sense. I take a quick look at his accomplice. Shaved head, heavyset, square jaw. His eyes have the same glassy look as Bones’s, but he looks directly at me. Or more likely through me. He wears a dog collar, adorned with red and black spikes. “And the other?”

Axl snorts. “Bad Dog, or some stupid shit like that.”

“Watch him,” I order, and Axl and the wolves step in front of him, but Dog shows no indication of registering their presence.

Tightly gripping Bones’s jaw, I tip his head back, and I am unsurprised when he offers me no resistance. His fangs are still protracted and coated with Esme’s blood. A growl rumbles from his chest, and if I had to guess, it is more instinct than anything else because he remains otherwise compliant. I twist his head from side to side, examining his throat for any sign of a bite mark but finding none. “What is your name?”

He blinks in response, his gray eyes almost lifeless.

“Alexandros.” Enora’s breathless voice comes from behind me. She can teleport only short distances and must have run most of the way here. “What happened?”

I take a few more seconds to appraise Bones. His eyelids look heavy now, shuttering closed. I shake him roughly, and they flicker open once more. “What is your name?” I repeat.

Still nothing.

Enora’s arm brushes mine as she reaches out and plucks a strand of long dark hair from Bones’s T-shirt. She twirls it between her fingers. “Dark magic was used here, filis mous.”

I hum my agreement.

She leans closer to the accused. “Can you read his mind?”

“I can search his memory, but I will only know what he knows, and I suspect it will be little more than we do.”

Osiris stands beside me now too. “Do it.”

Searching another’s memory, even their recent memories, without biting them takes time and focus. Blood never lies. And drinking another’s blood connects me to their mind with precision, allowing me a level of control while we are connected. But to read another’s mind without that connection is not as simple as opening them up and plucking out what you want to see. It is akin to searching an archive of thousands of books with no reference to guide you. But it would leave my own mind vulnerable to invasion if I bit him without having any idea as to who is pulling his strings or what type of powerful magic he may be under the spell of. It makes Ophelia vulnerable, and I will not put her at risk.

Placing my hands on either side of Bones’s head, I close my eyes and concentrate. My mind penetrates his easily. Although it is fogged with confusion and terror, I move without resistance even when I probe deeper, combing through his most intimate memories. I flick through them at lightning speed, the images flashing by so quickly that they make my own head spin. I draw a deep breath and will them to slow. When they do, I concentrate on the events of today, and as easily as if I had bitten this vampire standing before me, the memories that I want to see come to me as though I summoned them through him.

Esme running through the trees. Bloodlust, his heart racing. The overpowering urge to devour her flesh. I search further back, to the events that happened right before. Bones and Dog walking on the edge of the forest, tossing a football back and forth. Then there is fog. Darkness. Bones’s fear. A hooded figure draws closer. Are there two? Maybe three? The memory lacks clarity, swimming with uncertainty and plagued by darkness. Ancient dark magic is whispered in his ear, the voice low and soothing, even as it speaks of spells so dangerous they were forbidden before I was born.

Bones’s inner turmoil makes the memory too difficult to see clearly. Such is the problem with memories—it is only possible to see what the person recalls themselves. There are more cloaked figures. Hundreds swarming around him now. The Skotádi. I know this cannot be real because we would have noticed an army of Skotádi invading the campus grounds. But Bones’s terror is real. I can taste it as clearly as if I had tasted his blood—the dark magic snaking through his veins and permeating every limb and organ, forcing him to submit to a master that he cannot see. Then one hooded figure draws closer. He snarls, tipping his head and revealing the lower portion of his face. Lips curled back. Fangs bared. He drops his hood.

Lucian!

My heart stops beating. I stagger back, dropping my heads from Bones’s head. It cannot be true. If he were here, I would feel him. If he had done this … Why would he do this? I ask the questions despite knowing my son is capable of much worse.

Opening my eyes, I half expect my companions to be pointing accusing fingers my way, somehow knowing what I just saw. But they watch me with concern. Osiris, Enora, Axl, and the two wolves, all eyes fixed on me as they wait for an explanation.

“What did you see?” Osiris’s voice cuts through the chaos that rages inside my brain.

“The Skotádi.” My voice is firm and even, disguising the terror and betrayal that is burning me up from the inside.

Axl’s dark-brown eyes narrow. Is everything okay?

We need to speak with Ophelia and your brothers urgently.

Enora grabs my arm, her grip tight, conveying the tension that vibrates through her body. “Then it is true. They are able to infiltrate the campus grounds.”

My jaw clenched, I offer a brief nod. “We need to call a faculty meeting.”

Osiris growls, his nostrils flaring with unsuppressed rage. “I’ll speak to Ollenshaw.”

Although I have no idea how, I am certain that the death of the wolf girl is somehow linked to Ophelia. Perhaps others sensed her powers awakening. Ollenshaw cannot know of her existence, nor can the rest of the faculty. Her safety is paramount. Osiris and Enora watch me intently, waiting for me to speak. The Skotádi are another field of expertise of mine, even if I wish with all my heart that I did not possess such intimate knowledge of their kind.

I feel the weight of my colleagues’ concern. Their uncertainty. It has been a very long time since I have needed allies, but I am now painfully aware that this thing grows bigger than all of us. And both Osiris and Enora have proven that they can be trusted. Enora may have sworn an oath to Nazeel, but I do not believe that either of them would ever cause Ophelia any harm.

“Before we speak to him and the rest of the faculty, I need to discuss something with you both.”

Osiris frowns. “So speak of it.”

I suck on my lip, tempering my frustration. “I must speak with Ophelia and the boys first.”

Osiris scowls. “If this is something to do with my pack, Alexandros …”

“I suspect this is something much bigger than all of us. I am asking that we delay bringing this to others’ attention for no more than an hour. I implore you to trust me.”

Enora nods and loops her hand through the crook in Osiris’s arm. “It is in all our interests to discover what happened here tonight and why, my friend. If Alexandros thinks he can find some answers, we should let him do what it takes to locate them.”

Osiris’s nostrils flare, but he eventually gives me a nod. “Let us all meet at Silver Vale at the top of the hour, yes?”

As soon as they have assured me of their agreement, Axl and I sprint through the woods and head to the house.

Are we going to tell them about Ophelia? he asks.

Perhaps. But first, I need to tell you all something.

We continue sprinting in silence, but I feel his mind racing with questions. I focus on getting back to them as quickly as possible. It seems there will be several truths revealed before this night ends. Whether I am ready for that or not.