Bloodline Contingency: An Urban Fantasy Academy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 12) by Lan Chan

Author:Lan Chan [Chan, Lan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-07-29T16:00:00+00:00

33

My little chest of notes was nothing compared to the suitcase of money Kai brought with him. My cheek twitched, but I kept reminding myself that it was for a good cause. It wasn’t a competition.

Clint lived in a small red brick house with a gnarled lemon tree in the front yard and a withered garden. The presence of some perennial flowers amongst the weeds said that somebody had once cared for this garden and couldn’t anymore.

It was mid-morning, and Clint’s truck was under the carport. The plan was to just drop off his wallet and leave without letting him know we’d been there. It would have gone well if a wave of unease didn’t sweep over me as my feet hit the front porch.

Kai tensed beside me. The air dropped five degrees between the stone path and the porch. Condensed air blew out my mouth when I exhaled. Ice pricked the tip of my nose.

I was banging on the front door before I realised what I was doing.

Kai didn’t try to stop me.

“Alright!” Clint’s voice shouted.

Another sound followed him out. The ghastly, raspy quality to it made me see red. It reminded me so much of how Nanna sounded when she’d been inside the psychiatric hospital. I couldn’t even imagine the look I had on my face when Clint opened the door. His mouth flatlined.

“You two!” he shouted, as recognition hit him. “What, you back to rob me as well as steal my wallet?” He reached for something beside the door. Probably an axe judging by the piles of firewood stacked by the side of the house.

“Can we come in?” I shoved the suitcase at his chest and let it go so he had to catch it before it fell. It gave me enough time to squeeze past him. Kai couldn’t do the same, so he had to do the explaining.

Fine by me. Hoping that Kai would stall, I marched through the house I didn’t know and straight into the master bedroom where a middle-aged woman lay bundled up in blankets.

“Oi!” Clint yelled after me.

There was a tussle. “I wouldn’t go in there if I were you,” Kai said. “She’s mean when she’s in a bad mood.”

“Screw you, Pendragon,” I shouted back at him.

But my attention was locked on the woman in front of me. Or rather, the aether demon consuming her. I flashed back and she would be Nanna, so gaunt and lifeless, even though she continued to breathe.

Clint refused to believe all the human news stories about demons, but he had one living in his home! This was my fault. I’d allowed Death to encroach on the human world.

The thing behind the woman’s eyes peered out at me. It cackled in her soft voice. “Lucifer’s scion,” it said. “Your time–”

Bone magic slammed into the woman, making her convulse. I grabbed hold of the demon and with metaphysical touch, it imparted all its memories to me. Memories of taking Edith’s body while she was completely unawares. Memories of

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