Blood Prophecy (Vampire-Cursed #5)

Chapter 1

Kara

My legs are burning by the time I reach the secluded section of the garden where Rowan had found the note…the one intended to lure our grandmother into danger.

But before I even get there, the sense of wrongness overwhelms me. I can feel it in the air, taste it… The familiar tang of magic, sharp and metallic, prickles my nostrils. Tingles on my skin.

And beneath it all is something else. Something darker. The stench of decay and corruption makes my stomach churn.

No, no, no, no…

Black magic! He’s used the dark arts to take her. And although Gran is powerful, she would never resort to that to fight back. The consequences would simply be unthinkable to her. And after seeing what it did to Mia, I understand her concern.

“Gran!” I shout as I burst through the hedge to the small clearing in the garden where Rowan’s squirrel likes to hang out.

There’s a towering oak in the center, the moonlight glinting of small crystal chimes in its branches.

Normally, they’d be tinkling, but tonight, there’s nothing.

Just a heavy stillness that seems to have descended over everything like a weighted blanket.

“Gran!” I call again, knowing already that it’s pointless. I reach the foot of the tree and tip my head back to peer into the thick branches high overhead. As if I might see her there. It’s a ridiculous gesture. I know I won’t. I know it’s too late. I don’t even know why I came out here.

Because you’re Kara Blackwood, and you don’t just sit around on your ass.

My grandmother needs my help.

I pace around the oak’s massive trunk, scanning the ground. Lucien’s too smart to leave obvious traces, but maybe… My fingers brush over the rough bark, sensing lingering traces of sorcery. Not Gran’s – something colder, darker.

“Come on, you smug bastard. You had to have left something.”

A glint catches my eye – I move closer, narrowing my focus on an item in the thick grass. It’s a small crystal bell, a charm from one of Gran’s bracelets. I reach down to pick it up. The cool crystal tingles against my fingertips, residual magic touching my skin.

“Gran…where did he take you?” I whisper, closing my hand around it as I look around me again. Anger churns in the pit of my belly. After all that man’s put this family through, to now add this to the list. I could kill him with my bare hands.

What the hell does he want from us?

Blood.

Power.

And he’s been planning this for who knows how long. Watching. Waiting. Although, now he’s getting impatient. It’s only been a day since he lured Mia out to him. Tried to get his hands on her again. Now Gran.

Don’t forget Poppy.

For a moment, I feel a small pang as I think of my sister’s familiar. Yet another pawn in Lucien Marlowe’s twisted game.

It has to end. And I’m going to end it.

First, I have to find Gran.

But where would he take her? The vampires have safe houses all over the city. Underground lairs, abandoned buildings, fancy penthouses… Lucien’s rich enough to own dozens of properties under different names.

I close my eyes, trying to think like him. He’s calculating, strategic. He wouldn’t risk keeping her anywhere obvious. Somewhere remote, maybe? Or hiding in plain sight?

A twig snaps behind me, and I whirl, hands already glowing defensively. My breath catches as Marcus Nightshade steps into the moonlit clearing, his tall frame casting a long shadow across the grass.

“What the hell do you want?” I snap, hating how my pulse quickens at the sight of him. His snug black T-shirt hugs his muscular chest in all the wrong ways, annoying me.

“Thought you might need some help,” he says in that deep, maddeningly calm voice. His eyes scan the clearing before focusing on me. The moonlight catches them, and I suddenly realize that they’re an indigo blue, so dark I’d always thought they were black.

And the reason I’m noticing his eyes right now is completely beyond me.

“I don’t need your help.” I turn my back on him, scanning the clearing. Maybe I’ll find something that will help us somehow – footprints, a trail, a sign of which direction they went.

“What’s that in your hand?” His voice is right beside me, and when I turn to face him, he’s inches away. I bite down a yelp of alarm.

Goddamn vampires and their stealth movements.

I hate it. In fact, I hate everything about them.

I can’t understand how both of my sisters have managed to get themselves hooked up with these bloodsuckers.

Mia, of all people, should be more cautious around them.

The bastards had her locked up for an entire year, for fuck’s sake.

“You going to tell me?” Marcus’s expression is inscrutable.

“What?” I scowl. I realize my hand has closed into a fist around the small charm. “It’s no business of yours,” I say, knowing I sound belligerent and not caring.

He doesn’t seem to care either because he squats down and examines the ground where we’re standing.

“Looks like he took her from over here.” He looks up at me.

“Well, duh.” I roll my eyes. “The scuffed earth and flattened grass would be the obvious giveaway.”

“Along with the enhanced magic signatures right here,” he says, dusting his hands off as he rises.

“You can read magic signatures?” I frown.

“Of course I can,” he says as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. He nods at my hand. “You gonna show me what you found?”

I glare at him for a long moment, debating. Every instinct screams not to trust a vampire, but if he can actually help track Gran…

“Fine.” I uncurl my fingers, revealing the crystal bell. “It’s from Gran’s charm bracelet.”

Marcus reaches for it, but I pull back. “I’ll hold it.”

He sighs, extending his hand palm-up. “Place it here. I just need to make contact.”

Reluctantly, I let the crystal bell drop into his palm. The moment it touches his skin, a jolt of energy surges between us. My magic flares instinctively, clashing with whatever power he’s channeling. Purple-white sparks crackle in the air.

“What the hell?” I try to pull away, but his fingers close around mine, trapping them against the crystal. The feedback intensifies, sending tingles up my arm. It’s not exactly painful, but it’s…unsettling. Foreign.

“Wait,” he murmurs, stepping closer. “I’m picking up something…”

He’s so near now I can feel the cool radiating from his skin. My heart pounds traitorously as I look up at him. In the moonlight, those indigo eyes seem to glow with an inner fire. For a split second, I forget he’s a vampire, forget everything except the strange connection humming between us.

“Get your hands off my daughter!”

Dad’s voice shatters the moment. Marcus releases me instantly, stepping back as my parents emerge from the shadows.

I clutch the crystal bell to my chest, trying to steady my breathing.

What the hell just happened?

Dad strides forward, his hair gleaming like mercury in the moonlight. Mom’s right behind him, her face etched with worry. Rowan appears from another direction with Darick. Mia and Soren are right behind them. Soon, the whole family is converging on this spot where Gran vanished.

Just moments ago, we’d all been inside, celebrating Mia’s return, talking about Rowan’s future with Darick. Everything had felt so normal, so hopeful. Then Rowan found that note by Poppy’s tree, and Gran rushed out here…

Now she’s gone.

“I can track her,” Marcus says, interrupting my thoughts. “The trace is still fresh.”

“Like hell you will,” I snap. “This is family business. We don’t need vampire help.”

“Kara—” Mia starts, but I cut her off with a glare. Just because she’s fallen for a vampire doesn’t mean I have to trust them.

“Look,” Marcus says, his voice irritatingly patient, “I understand your distrust, but I can smell things your magic can’t detect. There are traces here—”

“I don’t care what you can smell!” I step between him and the oak tree. “This is witch territory. Our magic. Our problem.”

Marcus moves faster than I can track with my eyes, appearing beside the tree trunk. His nostrils flare as he runs his fingers over the bark. “There’s something else here. Beyond the dark magic signature.”

“Get away from there!” I raise my hands, sparks crackling between my fingers.

“Blood,” he says quietly, showing me his fingertips. There’s a faint reddish smear. He raises them to his face, nostrils flaring. “And it’s vampire…not your grandmother’s. Lucien was injured when he took her.”

I hate to admit it, but that’s information I wouldn’t have picked up. Still… “That doesn’t mean we need your help.”

“Kara—” he begins, his eyes locking onto mine.

“I think it’s time we acknowledge that we’re facing a common enemy here,” Darick interjects. He’s positioned himself between Marcus and me, which is probably a good thing.

“Darick’s right.” Mia steps forward. “We combined our strengths to get Soren out of that vampire hell. We need to put our heads together to figure this out, too.”

“What do you propose?” Dad asks. He doesn’t look entirely convinced, but I can feel that he’s softening toward the idea of working with the vampires. Which makes my jaw tighten.

Mia turns to him. “If Marcus can pick up a trail, then I can go after Lucien and—”

“No!” Soren’s voice is like a whip-crack. As one, we swivel to face him. The vampire’s usually calm expression is dark with tension. “No, Mia. It can’t be you.”

“What?” My sister’s brow furrows. “I’m the obvious choice, love. My powers will—”

“Your power will kill you,” he says. When Mia opens her mouth to object, he adds, “And who knows how many others you might harm if you lose control.”

“No, I wouldn’t…” She trails off.

“It’s true, Mimi.” Dad turns to face her. “Your own magic is formidable, but the dark power has already taken hold.”

“But I’m stronger now with vampire blood in me,” she says. I scowl at the thought of that. My own sister is now one of them. A vampire-witch. If she wasn’t my own flesh and blood, I’d be tempted to call her an abomination.

Get a grip, Kara. She’s your sister.