Blood War (Book 1, the Halfblood Chronicles)

1.1 | Monsters in the Shadows

If you thought this is Percy Jackson or Harry Potter fanfiction, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news. This book is an original work with original characters. But I'd still be very grateful if you kept reading, as those series definitely influenced me to write this story.

Sincerely, 
The Author
(katycage)

✦

Nika Dimitrovich was tightening the knot in her shoelace when she felt it—a presence. The hair on her arms surged upright, the thump-thump-thumping in her chest quickened. And when she rose from her kneeling position, her supernatural senses warned that something wasn't right.

Squinting through the window, she found Konstantin Academy swathed in the hazy hues of twilight. No more than thirty feet beyond her dorm, two golden blurs flickered like flames amid the army of dark pines that surrounded the campus.

Are the third-years setting something on fire again?

The color winked out for half a heartbeat, then returned in a vibrant glow. Instinct screamed to step away, but Nika leaned closer and studied those twin orbs of light.

A pair of fireflies, she told herself. Your warrior senses are just on edge because of tonight's practice exams.

But her skin tingled with a readiness for danger as adrenaline shot through her veins. Outside, the golden specks grew brighter. Bigger. Closer . . .

When the door behind her burst open, Nika slammed into her desk chair with a gasp, then whipped around to find her roommate's familiar smirk.

"So jumpy," Jade teased, shutting the door.

Heart thundering in her ears, Nika glanced back at the window, but those orbs of light had vanished.

"I think I'm going insane," she whispered.

"Funny. I always thought you'd been born that way."

Nika leveled an unamused look Jade's way. "Where have you been? You weren't here when I woke up this evening."

Jade's brown eyes twinkled with mischief. "I left early to check our mailbox. And while I was in the office building, I overheard something very interesting."

"Which was . . . "

Jade plucked a pillow from Nika's bed, examining it. "The school is going on lockdown, which is a perfect time to get revenge on Miles for the prank he pulled last week." A pause. "Can I have the feathers in this?"

If not for the bombshell news, Nika would have snatched the pillow from her hands . . . and hit her with it. But she could only blink in stunned confusion.

"Hold on," she said after a moment of thought. "If there was a lockdown, they would've announced it."

This must have been yet another of Jade Ramsay's tricks. She had several peculiarities—a grungy style of dress, delight in torment and chaos, and, most notably, an uncanny ability to unearth information. But it was the second to which Nika fell victim most often.

"The announcement hasn't come yet," Jade said with a shrug.

"How do you know? Did you bug the headmaster's office again?"

A wicked smile. "A magician never reveals her tricks."

"Don't you mean meddler?"

"Speaking of meddling . . . " Jade tossed the pillow back on the bed, then reached into her pocket and removed a white envelope. "Found this for you."