Page 5 of Halfblood Deceived

The sound of angry male voices snapped Aella out of her doze. She was lying on one of the library’s comfortable sofas, Emma spread open on her stomach. She stood on stiff legs, placed the book on a table, and followed the sound.

The metallic scent of blood hit her nose as soon as she entered the hall.

Heart leaping, Aella followed the smell of salt and iron to the infirmary in the right wing of the mansion.

Aella opened the double doors and gasped.

Ben was on the table, growling and hissing as two nuns applied holy water to a gaping wound in his stomach that had been just shy of disemboweling him. He was still shifted. His skin was gray, horns out and stone fangs flashing. The bed barely accommodated his almost 6-foot-6 frame. His wings twitched convulsively and knocked down a cart of supplies. His thrashing was barely controlled by the iron grip Micah, Eli, and Isaiah had on him.

“What happened?” Aella dared to ask.

Eli turned his angry blue gaze on her, short blond hair sticking to his forehead with exertion. “What do you think happened, you idiot?”

The doors opened behind Aella.

Esther let out a yelp and pressed herself against the wall. She covered her mouth with her hand, barely stifling a whimper.

Bethany gasped and stood beside Aella, eyes wide.

Claudia rushed to help the nuns get more bandages. “What happened?”

“The vampires were better prepared than we expected,” Isaiah, the largest of the gargoyle males, answered his wife. “And there was a royal among them.”

“A royal?” Claudia asked.

Aella inhaled sharply along with Bethany. Royal vampires were mighty foes. Capable of transforming into beasts that resembled gargoyles, with wings, sharp claws, and teeth. Their skin wasn’t as impenetrable, but they were viciously strong and could wield demonic blood magic that affected gargoyles.

Ben’s thrashing lessened. His breathing was labored, but the worst part of the pain seemed to have subsided. The wet, creaky sound of joints moving reached Aella’s ears as Ben returned to his humanoid form. His wings tucked into his back, disappearing, as his skin went from gray to a sickly white. His size decreased to the usual 6-foot-1 and his stone fangs vanished as if they’d never been there. The transformation was always as fascinating as it was terrifying.

“We didn’t get a good look at the fucker’s face, but we got one of his buddies.” Eli laughed. “He’ll tell us what we need to know.”

“Eli,” Micah scolded. “Not in front of the females.”

Father Israel entered the room as fast as he could, leaning on his cane. “Aella, Bethany, go to your rooms.”

Bethany obeyed at once.

Aella lingered, curiosity sparking to life in her veins. She had never understood why the hunts were kept a secret from them. The males claimed that it was not the females’ duty to know about the war, but Aella wanted to know. She needed to know the gargoyles were slaying the monsters who had killed her mother.

Micah snapped his fingers. “Aella. Now.”

Knowing there was no point in arguing, but hating it anyway, Aella complied.

For the time being.

* * *

Behind the kitchen, down a flight of stairs, there was a storage room. It was dark, damp, and moldy. With old furniture stacked on the walls and enough dust to make Aella’s nose itch.

It also had a few ducts. One led to the forest, almost two hundred yards away from the property. Another to the utility room. Aella’s favorite duct was tucked into the furthest corner, which was part of the underground facility’s ventilation system.

It had been hours since Ben’s arrival, and all the males had vanished into their underground command center.

Aella had been itching to reach her favorite, definitely forbidden corner of the mansion, but had to bathe, feed and get Ez to sleep first. Esther was too shaken to do so.

Now she crouched, careful not to make any noise, and listened.

“… took longer than expected,” came Micah’s voice. Aella missed the first part of his sentence.

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