SHADOWS OF THE BLOODLINE

CHAPTER 3

 Home Is Hell

RUNE

The apartment building looked worse in the dark. There was peeling paint and broken windows covered with cardboard, graffiti on the walls that made the crumbling stones look even more ugly. I pulled into the cracked parking lot and sat in my car for a moment while staring up at the third floor where a single dim light glowed through our window.

Home.

The word felt wrong in my mouth. I never saw this place as a home, to me, it was just your walls and a roof that barely kept the rain out.

I flexed my fingers on the steering wheel, wondering if I should just sleep in the car and go up. My frost-burned wrist had turned from purple to a sickly gray color that looked infected.

I needed to wrap it in something before my parents saw, not that they would notice, or would care.

I grabbed my backpack from the passenger seat and shoved the card Aeris gave me into the front pocket, the address was burned into my brain already but I didn't want to lose it. Tomorrow night at eight. Part of me thought I should just throw the card away and pretend tonight never happened, the other part knew that was impossible.

That shadow creature had been real, the fire had been real, the light that exploded from my hands had been real.

I couldn't pretend anymore.

I got out of the car and locked it even though half the neighborhood knew how to break into a Honda Civic in under thirty seconds.

The building's front door was propped open with a brick, the lock had been broken for months, and the landlord didn't care enough to fix it. I climbed the stairs slowly because my legs still felt weak from whatever Aeris had done to me.

I reached the third floor and stopped outside apartment 3F. Our door had three locks but only one of them worked. I could hear voices inside. It was mostly my father's voice and I figured he was angry...he was always angry. I sighed as I rested my head on the door, I wasn't ready for this at all.

My stomach clenched.

I unlocked the door and stepped inside. The apartment was exactly how I'd left it this morning. There were dirty dishes piled in the sink and empty beer bottles scattered across the coffee table. The whole place smelled like cigarettes and chemicals, and it burned my eyes.

My mother was passed out on the couch, smelling strongly of weed. Her complexion was an unhealthy pale, and her breathing was shallow. Looking at her made me, for a brief second, question that man's claims about my lineage of magic.

My father stood in the kitchen doorway, his phone in his hands. He'd been shouting into the phone, and his eyes were bloodshot.

"Where've you been?" he demanded.

"School," I lied. "Studying at the library."

"Studying." He laughed but there was no humor in it. "Right, while your mother and I are here working our asses off to keep a roof over your head."

I looked at my mother unconscious on the couch, and then at my father, who hadn't had a real job in two years. I internally scoffed, working their asses off, sure.

"I need money," my father said as he took a drag from his cigarette. "A guy is coming by tonight and I'm short."

"I don't have any money," I said.

"Don't lie to me." He stepped closer, his fists tightening. "I know you've been dealing, don't think I'm stupid, you've got cash and I need it."

My jaw clenched. "I need that money for food."

"Food?" My father's face twisted. "You think food is more important than keeping this family afloat? You think you're better than us?"

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to." He moved faster than I expected, and before I could blink, he grabbed my jacket and shoved me against the wall. "Empty your pockets, now."

I stared at him with all the years of hatred pouring into that one glare. I was usually scared of him because he proved to be violent sometimes, but my anger replaced the usual fear. My hands started to shake, and I could feel a crushing pressure building behind my ribs.

"Let go of me," I said quietly.

"Empty your pockets or I'll do it myself."

The pressure in my chest grew stronger. I could feel that same sensation from the parking lot, like I'm about to be painfully ripped open. Light flickered beneath my skin, and when my father saw it, his eyes went wide, and he stumbled back like I'd burned him.

"What the hell," he whispered.

The light faded as quickly as it appeared. I pressed my back against the wall and tried to control my breathing, my heart hammering against my ribs. That had almost happened again, I'd almost lost controland would have killed him since my powers were unpredictable.

My father stared at me like he didn't recognize me, fear swirling in his eyes. Then he just farted away, towards the fridge.

"Get out of my sight," he muttered, as he brought out a can of beer.

I didn't need to be told twice.

I locked my bedroom door and leaned against it, my heart thudding in my chest.

I dropped my backpack on the mattress and sat down. My whole body ached, and the frost burns on my wrist had spread further up my arm. The gray skin looked dead, and when I touched it, I felt nothing.touched it carefully and felt nothing.

I pulled out the card Aeris gave me and stared at the address. He'd said there were four others like me, four other people with Etherwind bloodlines. I was curious, but still cautious.

Shadow creatures, magic and a man who could throw fire from his hands, telling me I was part of some ancient bloodline.

I didn't know what to believe anymore.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, I pulled it out expecting another message from a customer, but it was a news alert. I almost ignored it, but something made me tap the screen.

**BREAKING NEWS: Three people found unconscious downtown, authorities baffled**

I clicked on the article, my heart starting to race again.

**Three individuals were discovered unconscious in downtown New Haven tonight near the Harbor Point district. Emergency responders arrived at approximately 9:47 PM after multiple 911 calls reported people collapsing on the street. The victims, whose identities have not been released, were unresponsive and showed no signs of physical injury. They have been transported to Yale New Haven Hospital, where doctors report they remain in an unresponsive state with no clear cause. Witnesses described seeing shadows moving strangely in the area before the incidents occurred. Police are investigating but have no leads at this time.**

Shadows are moving strangely.

My hands started shaking again, I read the article trying to convince myself it was a coincidence but I knew better. This was connected to what happened in the parking lot, and that creature that attacked me. I remember Aeris saying more of this would be happening, and that was one of the five people who would stop it.

Tomorrow night at eight, warehouse district, I will be there.

I had nothing left to lose and everything to learn.