Blood War (Book 1, the Halfblood Chronicles)

15.1 | She Who Never Weeps

They were known as the Oldbloods, a group of siblings with unique, and sometimes monstrous, abilities that had been passed on to their descendants. Of course, they were also a myth. But considering other impossibilities had recently come true, maybe it wasn't wise to assume.

Still, Nika didn't understand why Elliot had bothered taking notes on such a thing. It seemed irrelevant to Lu's abduction.

"Magic," Nika said, tasting the syllables like one might savor wine.

Elliot nodded eagerly. "Whatever their reason for taking her, I think it's connected to all of this."

"But what about those coordinates? What has Jade found on them?"

"Nothing yet. She says it might take some time, and I left it at that, because I really don't want to be implicated in whatever crimes she's committing to get the information. But"—he pulled out a few more papers, and Nika restrained the urge to mock him for carrying a purse"—this is what she found on Hekatolith and Kresolith."

It was a copy of an email from Jade, which explained that a hedgewitch lived in a human town near headquarters, and sold trinkets made of Hekatolith from her magic shop.

The hedgewitch—Mizelle Mitra—also ran a blog, which declared all sorts of fanatical ideas about supernatural creatures called Daemonstri. Mizelle claimed to be a member of a powerful bloodline of angel-witches.

"Damn," Nika muttered. "This woman has a grudge."

Mizelle had been trying to expose the Daemonstri species and force them out of hiding. She even wanted to destroy the Ministry, claiming that the Daemonstri leaders of North America had used her grandmother to create a werewolf curse one hundred years ago. After Mizelle's grandmother had done what the Ministry asked, Prime Minister Rostova ordered her to be murdered.

Nika sucked in a breath.

If this hedgewitch was telling the truth—and if her bloodline was responsible for the Volkari curse—then Nika had just gotten one step closer to finding Lu.

She glanced at Elliot. "Did you read all of this?"

A curt nod. "She's crazy, I know. But just think—"

"She's not crazy."

Elliot frowned. "You believe me? About magic?"

Nika worried her lip. She hadn't known what to expect from Elliot tonight. Part of her wondered if he was only pretending to help, but now that he'd given this information . . . 

"The hedgewitch isn't lying," she said. "The Ministry cursed the Volkari one hundred years ago. My dad told me."

Elliot gaped. And in the minutes that followed, Nika relayed everything she knew about the curse and magic and the wolves' intention to exact vengeance on the Daemonstri community.

"We have to go," he said when she was finished. "We have to visit the magic shop, it isn't far from here."

"We aren't doing anything."

Elliot clenched his jaw. "I'm getting real sick of you not trusting me, Nika."

"It's not that."

Though she would have been lying if she claimed to fully accept his involvement, her main concern was Elliot's status. It was no small thing to lead a Minister's heir into an uncertain and possibly dangerous situation, let alone sneak him out of headquarters. And besides that, he would only be a nuisance, slow her down.

Is this how Ren feels about me? she wondered.

"You need to keep translating. Let me handle Mizelle Mitra."

While he sulked, Nika studied him, the deep purple beneath his eyes, the slightly wan cast to his rich, brown skin, the lack of life in his dark curls.

"Elliot . . . when was the last time you slept?"

"I had a nap earlier today."

"No, I mean, really slept. Like for eight or more hours, in a bed, pajamas and everything."

He must have stared at the journal in his lap for a minute before he answered, "It's hard to stay asleep these days." His breath turned shaky. "I keep replaying it over and over, dreaming about the attack. I could have done more to stop that woman. I was such a coward."

Nika watched him, trying to discern if this was an act. Elliot lifted his head.

"This is when you tell me, 'You were in shock and you did the best you could,' and I deny it a few times until we both decide you're right."

"Hmmm, no, I agree with you on this one. You could've done more."

He scoffed, but Nika didn't miss the flash of guilt in his eyes.

"I could've done more, too," she added. "And Jade. The only one who gave it their all was Miles."

And he'd given everything. His very last breath.

"You don't believe that—"

"I do. We were outmatched from the start. I should have told all of you to run as soon as Dante showed up." She looked at her hands, remembering how the gun had felt inside them. "I should have shot him before he even started talking. But I wanted the glory of being the one to catch the thief, wanted to show the world that the Halfblood Bastard is just as good as any other keeper . . . I was only thinking of myself, and now Lu has to pay for it."

Nika didn't know how long they sat in silence, staring at each other. She thought of all the arguments she'd had with Lu regarding Elliot Mirza.

He's bad news. I don't like him.

Why can't you just be happy for me?

Nika shut down the thought and abruptly got to her feet. "Have Jade message me everything she finds on the coordinates," she said, opening the bathroom door. "I'll let you know how it goes with the hedgewitch."

"Wait—"

She didn't.

Instead, she rejoined the party and located the wet bar, where the world's most infamous halfblood poured herself a drink.