Chapter 19 #3
“Useful thing, being Cursed,” he said, taking a large syringe and holding it to the bend of his arm, in the space where the large veins sat close to the surface. “Our blood is known to have essence properties.”
Without even cleaning the area, he stuck himself.
“That’s not…” I started—but let him go. It was too late for a warning about sterilization.
With one hand, impressively, he drew blood from his vein. “Hold this, please.” He held the syringe out to me when he was finished.
I grabbed it with two fingers, keeping the needle suspended over the desk.
After he quickly bandaged his scar-riddled arm, he took it back.
“When you drink from a bloodline, someone with an Archetype, the drinker becomes Cursed. It’s a terrible way to gain magic, a painful transformation, and it comes with a few undesirable side effects, but we have access to essence, even when we do not feed. ”
“Then why do you have to feed?” I asked, leaning a hip against the desk. Elli poured herself a drink while we talked, not interested.
“While we keep trace amounts of essence in our system, it takes a long time to replenish. That’s where the undesirable effects come into play.
” He twisted off the needle and positioned the tip of the syringe into a test tube, filling it halfway with blood.
“We feed to refresh the essence, to fuel the power it gives our bodies, and to keep from succumbing to a bloodrage when we bottom out. Unlike some people I know”—he glanced at Elli knowingly—“I find no shame in drinking from willing donors.”
“You mean Maxence?”
“Yes.” He went to the mantel and took some of the sand from a jar labeled Binding Salts. “Max, however, has something else to fuel his power, so he doesn’t need to feed like the rest of us. And his access to the Archetypes is uniquely—”
Elli cleared her throat, looking cross at him. Andre glanced at me and shrugged. “My blood can be useful in recharging relics, since it has essence. But if I have blood directly from an Archetype, then I can make almost anything.”
“You make relics?” I asked, distracted from my former question by the possibility.
He nodded, smiling a little. “And I strip relics we find to learn their codes. That is half the battle. I was part of the Trials in my younger years, as I’m sure you can see.
I grew up around engineers who were constantly sticking me and testing the properties of my blood.
I learned—and stole—a few things from them in the process. ”
He dissolved some of the sand in the blood before placing it over a burner and returned the monocle over his orange eye.
“As I said, Cursed blood can only recharge relics that have decayed over the years. We have no Archetype, just the essence that heightens natural senses. But a sample from a true bloodline…” He canted his head. “That I can use to write code.”
He poured the solution over the dagger’s blade, letting it hiss across the metal.
“So, why did you ask for my blood then? I have no Archetype.”
He focused on the weapon before him, flipping it until it was entirely coated. “Lots of people don’t know they have a bloodline. Most of us don’t even know where we truly come from. You never know until you test it.”
An Archetype. To find that I was descended from a bloodline would be a true twist of fate.
My Siphon wasn’t an ability recognized by the Academy, and I didn’t know anyone else, save my mother, who had the same gift.
Perhaps it was a part of an Archetype, and my mother hadn’t had the chance to tell me before her mind became muddled.
Don’t you dare bleed for anyone but me.
I considered how furious he would be if I disobeyed him, but what did I owe him? What exclusivity did he have over me or my body? There was nothing between us, and he owned no part of me. Certainly not my blood.
He wanted answers about his past, but so did I.
“Just one drop?” I asked.
“The more the better,” he drawled, “but yes.”
I offered my hand. “Take it, then. See what you can find.”
Andre grabbed a small knife from a drawer and a small towel. Behind me, Elli cleared her throat. “That’s not a good idea, Andre.”
But the Cursed engineer pretended not to hear. He made a quick slice down my finger, too quick for me even to flinch, and he brought the test tube below the cut. Slowly, my blood gathered at the bottom.
“There,” he murmured. “That should be plenty—”
“What the hell are you doing?”
Max’s voice was thunderous, his strides a storm as he burst into the room. Before Andre could answer him, he took the test tube from his possession and shot it back like a strong gin, licking his lips before throwing the empty tube into the fire.
Andre only sighed, his empty hands still in the same position. “Welcome back, Max.”
“What did I tell you?” He looked at me then. “You can’t just give anyone your blood, Nina!”
“Why not? It’s mine to give,” I challenged.
He seethed. Fire heated the edges of his eyes. “You know why.”
“It’s my fault,” Andre said. “I convinced her that I could possibly see if she was connected to a bloodline.”
“Some things are better left unknown and untouched,” Max hissed. “I thought the Academy would have taught you that.”
Andre stepped back, his chest deflating. “Do not compare me to them.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Max wiped his face, struggling to find the words. He glared at me before looking back at Andre. “Nina is different. That doesn’t mean she gets to be your new specimen. Is that clear?”
“Fine, but don’t get mad at me when we have no new relics to challenge the enforcers.” Andre tore off his monocle. “Speaking of relics, did you find yours?”
Elli rushed to speak before him, handing me a drink as she did. “He did. Then he gave them to Nina.”
Andre had taken a sip of his drink at the wrong time, shocked by the news, and spat clear liquor all over the instruments. “You did what?”
“Why does it matter?” Max grumbled, his arms crossing.
“You won’t even let me touch them!” Andre shrieked. “What’s so special about her? No offense, Nina.”
I shrugged, taking none.
“You can’t touch them, because I don’t want you accidentally stripping them of their magic with your tinkering. As for Nina”—Max glanced at me, keeping eye contact to a minimum—“she can actually use them.”
The room went quiet; not even Andre had anything to say to that. I wasn’t sure if I appreciated Max giving away my secrets, but I supposed it would be difficult to keep them from his siblings if we were going to be working together.
“Show me!”
“I can’t…”
“Come on!” Andre pleaded, getting excited.
I held up my bound wrist. “I still have a bit of poison in my bloodstream. Can’t do anything for another day or so.”
“Ah, fuck that stuff.” He tossed the rest of his drink back before mumbling something about my blood again.
“That was from the cuff?” Max spoke to me then, voice quieter than before.
I nodded, pretending our previous encounter had never happened. “The Commissioner cuffed me tight and almost burned through my wrist before Ronnette got it off.”
“I’ll kill him—”
“It’s possible I already beat you to it,” I muttered over my drink, taking another sip as he stared at me. “Hopefully not, though. I didn’t stick around to find out.”
“Your girl strangled him with his own handcuffs. Even I was impressed,” Elli told him, winking at me.
Max paused, his face slack with shock. “Guess you don’t mind killing people, after all.”
I didn’t look at him as I replied, “Turns out I don’t. Not when they hurt me. Maybe you should keep that in mind.”
Elli glanced between us, trying to read what was left unsaid. She cleared her throat. “Anyway, now that you’re finally back in town, you can bring Damien back into line.”
Max straightened. “What happened after I left?”
She sighed. “Since you ran off, he’s been a menace. He controls everything now, Max. Not just here, but the Upper District as well. I’d be surprised if you have any influence left besides the Final Wager.”