Second Lineage (The First Blood Series Book 2) Page 20

  Turning in my seat, I found he'd parked us on the street in front of the stalker's house. Louis wasn't going to be happy about this, but I doubted Raven was up for secrecy or negotiating. The hard set of his jaw as he unbuckled his seat belt and reached for the door said enough about that. I didn't blame him. Time was of the essence.

  "You do realize that he's going to have to touch one of us," I whispered before any doors opened. My words halted Raven, and he nodded.

  "Yes, and I'm sorry for that."

  "I'm not. I’m nervous that he'll know where I am for the rest of my life, but I'd rather know where the Mind Reader and witch are. It's the price we need to pay."

  With a sharp nod, Raven opened his door and rounded the car while Lee and I exited on my side. My brother was taking his protection detail seriously. By the time I was out, he was at my side, eyes sweeping the neighborhood. I didn't want to burst his bubble, but if the Lich decided to come after us now, Lee wouldn't stand a chance. But I supposed that if he sent another wave of undead, Lee could handle it with us.

  We stepped onto the sidewalk and strode up to the house where Raven didn't waste time pounding on the door. Unlike last time, there was no patiently waiting. After a few seconds without sound on the inside, Raven rapped again, harder and more determined. This time, there was shuffling inside and the door cracked open with the security chain still attached.

  "Hand," came Louis's firm order.

  "Let me in," Raven growled, stepping into the opening. "Open up now or I'm breaking the door down."

  Without question, the door closed, the chain was retracted, and the door reopened just as far as it had before. Louis didn't seem a bit willing to let us inside, even if Raven had ordered it.

  "What is this?" Louis snarled.

  "Life and death for a lot of people, including you."

  "How?"

  "A Mind Reader."

  The door swung open and the dark-skinned man ushered us inside. His hood was up like last time, but not snug tight so I could see more of his face, including a short, black goatee. When the three of us were safely inside Louis's house, he closed the door and activated all five security locks. In any other situation, I would've considered this overkill, but he was a Stalker, and no security measure was too much.

  Louis turned back to us, focusing all of his attention on Raven. "A Mind Reader got into your head?"

  "Almost," Raven confirmed. "If she was able to sneak past my block, I didn't sense it, but if she did, I don't know what she saw."

  "What about these two?"

  "Koda was also pressed by the Mind Reader, but she fought as well. I'm not sure if she was compromised either, but there's still a chance. We came to warn you, but also to retrieve you."

  "We need your help," I added to clarify when Louis's jaw clenched. "You have to come with us."

  "No," Louis snapped. "No, I'm not getting involved in whatever this is."

  "You don't have a choice," Raven countered, his voice calmer than I'd expected. He stretched his hand out to the Stalker. "You're our only hope to find this Mind Reader. And you know I'd never involve you if there was any other way."

  "There has to be another way because I'm not doing it," Louis snarled.

  "Not one as fast as we need it. This isn't a request. You either come with us willingly or I arrest you."

  "For what?"

  "I'll think of something."

  "We don't have time for this," Lee muttered, staring between us and the door. "We're like sitting ducks."

  "Who is after you?" the Stalker asked us, stepping further into the small kitchen just inside the house.

  Raven released a long breath. "He's not just after us, but he plans to take over the world."

  "Who?"

  "A Lich."

  The blood flowed from Louis's face the next second. I was sure he'd continue to argue, but he nodded. Like the rest of us, he was in complete shock and shaking within seconds, but his voice held steady.

  "A Lich. You're certain?"

  "We've been attacked by more undead in the last three days than I have in the last three years." Raven grunted. "Trust me. We also have a Chameleon hostage who's pretty much confirmed our suspicions."

  Louis balked. "You have a Chameleon and you want me to come with you?"

  "She's behind a magical shield and we'll kill her before she reaches you."

  "She's also not with us," I added. "The others took her to our rendezvous point."

  "Which is?"

  I shrugged and pointed to Raven. "Ask him." Louis turned to Raven, who shrugged.

  "We're taking you there. I'm not saying where we're heading."

  "Can I pack a bag at the very least?" Louis asked, frustration bleeding into his voice and tense body.

  "You have five minutes."

  Louis must've known Raven liked his schedule to be kept because two minutes later, he'd joined us back in the kitchen with a backpack. I would've packed more, but as we were in a hurry, two minutes was perfect if he had all he felt he needed. Raven stuck his head outside to check for danger and led the way back to the truck. Once we were all inside, with Lee and Louis in the back seat together, Raven pulled away from the curb.

  No one spoke as we raced through the city. By the time I recognized where our destination was, the narrow dirt road opened up to the sight of a large house and garage beside a forest and lake. Even Louis moaned, recognizing Jezzelle's house at the same time I did.

  "Girlfriend," I muttered under my breath, reaching for the door as I scanned the vehicles in the lot. Our SUV was there as well as Jonas's car and a little red sports car.

  Raven gripped my shoulder, stopping me from climbing out. "We were never an item. She's a close friend, that's all."

  I shrugged him off. "As long as whatever it was is in the past, it doesn't matter. You're mine now, and I don't want to share."

  It wasn't quite fair of me to hold his friendship, or whatever it was between Raven and "Jezzi" against him. She was beautiful, and it wasn't like he hadn't dated. I'd already met Hailey, the first love of his life, so he did have a history with women. It was probably my lack of dating that had me jealous, or the fact that both women were far more attractive than I was, but whatever it was, I needed to stop taking it out on him.

  Raven squeezed my hand. "You'll never have to share me. I promise."

  "If she touches you, I'll bite her," I warned with playful sarcasm. My words stoked a fire in Raven's eyes, and forgetting our audience in the backseat, he slid closer to me and ran his fingertips along my jaw. He didn't speak, but he didn't have to. When his eyes drifted to my lips, my breath caught.

  "I realize I'm probably going to be bitten myself for interrupting," Lee stated, the dry tone of his voice with a touch of humor, proving how awkward we'd just made the two of them feel back there. "But can we go inside now? I really don't want to watch my sister make out with her boyfriend, as much fun as that promises to be."

  Raven growled in my face, but didn't back away. Instead, he pressed his lips against mine for a raw, hard kiss that lasted mere seconds but left my body heated beyond belief and my mind spinning. He was outside and around to my side of the truck before I could pull myself together. When I slid to the ground, Raven enveloped me in his arms and buried his face in my hair as the other men exited the truck.

  "I never thought of Jezzi as more than a friend, and she knows it. You, Koda, you're far more to me than a friend. Please, never doubt me," Raven whispered into my ear. "You're the future I never thought I'd have."

  Chapter 23

  Jezzelle answered the door before we even reached it. Her eyes were wild and raging, but when she caught sight of my hand in Raven's, she lost the fiery anger and a large grin crossed her lips. She leaned against the door frame, her multitudinous curves on display in a pair of tight jeans and an equally skin tight t-shirt.

  "Avery told me you were unavailable. I'm sorry to hear it, but I'm happy for you. Both of you." Her eyes reached behind us to Lee. "H
e available?"

  "Nope," I muttered. There was no way I was letting this female lay a claim on my brother. My curt response made Raven chuckle as he stepped up to Jezzelle and pulled her in for a one armed hug. This time when she kissed him, she made sure to keep her lips from his mouth. I fought back a growl that she'd even touched him with those lips at all.

  "Come on in," she invited, stepping aside. When she caught sight of Louis, her eyebrows jumped halfway up her forehead. "Who do we have here? I do believe you've been lying to me, Rave."

  "A bit," he confirmed with a grin, stepping past her and pulling me with him.

  "Then we need to have a talk about that," she snickered, eyeing Louis, who kept a watchful eye on her as well.

  Raven didn't stop to let Jezzelle lead the way into the house, but strode in like he owned the place. He likely knew exactly where he was going if the two were such close friends. Voices from further in the house led us to a large study past a kitchen. Our entire team was present, as was Jonas, a dark haired female I didn't recognize, and General Davis. The last three took interest in our clasped hands, much as Jezzelle had, but none said anything, but grinned.

  "Where's our friend? In the basement?" Raven asked Jezzelle as she entered last, giving Louis a wide berth. Louis was also conscious to stay as far from others as possible, but still close enough to be part of the conversation.

  "Yup, in the basement. There's no way she can escape that, and I've got my guards watching her on video. If anything suspicious happens, they'll notify me and we can take action." She took a seat in a large, plush armchair, crossing her legs over one another. "Now, you mentioned something about St. Louis coming back to bite us. Care to explain?"

  Raven turned to General Davis with a hard stare. "Do you mind if I lead this, Connor?"

  The general shrugged. "You know what's going on, so go ahead."

  "Well," Raven stated, "we know who the mastermind was behind that attack, and all the others. He's the same one who's been destroying the vamlure Third and Fourth Houses. We've recently learned that Koda is the last remaining heir of Third House, making her the Head of that House. She now has a target on the back of her head much like we had in St. Louis. If we can keep him occupied with finding Koda, we'll have more time to stop him."

  "And who is this 'Him'?" the woman I didn't know asked. She met my gaze and grinned. "I'm Felix, by the way."

  "Koda," I introduced. Raven nudged me and nodded toward the newcomers who didn't know our information. "What?"

  "Tell them. You're the one who figured it out."

  Taking a deep breath, I held it before releasing it. "He's a Lich."

  Like most everyone else, there was various stages of panic and shock manifested in gasps and pale faces. General Davis ran a hand over his head, and being this close to him now that I had a better sense of smell, I could scent his bear shifter. He was large enough for one.

  "I suppose that makes sense," he muttered. "This can't be good. But why is he so intent on the vamlure Houses?"

  Raven squeezed my hand and stared down at me with a sympathetic cringe. "I think it stems back to the Blood War and Witch Trials. If he's a Lich, he could easily be old enough to have been affected by those events, more likely the Witch Trials."

  Felix tugged on her lip. "If he lost someone, then that would make sense why he would want revenge on the vamlure. And if he's powerful, he's capable of anything. Plus, he's had time to plan."

  "He brought back a minimum of twenty half soul undead this morning and that many regular undead. And I promise he wasn't anywhere near them or he'd likely have attacked himself." Raven shuddered at that idea. It didn't comfort me when he reacted like that. He was supposed to be the strong one. The brave one.

  "If he can do that, I don't want to meet this creature," Jonas murmured, his usual sly grin a mask of horror. "How do you stop someone like that?"

  "It won't be easy," Raven confirmed. "And he likely has allies everywhere. We can't let word spread too far that we know who and what he is. Most of you know Louis, but for those of you who don't, he's our best bet right now to find some of the Lich's henchmen, mostly a Mind Reader we also met this morning. Louis is a Stalker."

  Jezzelle's eyes widened as she took in the man standing a few feet away from her. "Yeah, I can see why you lied to me. It's nice to meet you." She turned back to Raven. "I won't tell my pack, but they're at your disposal. If he's strong and has been hiding in the shadows all this time, then he wants more than to destroy the vamlure."

  "That's for sure," Felix muttered, eyeing Louis as well as Jonas, who knew him. "We need a plan, and we need to find out what a Lich's weaknesses are and how to beat them."

  Raven chuckled, an odd sound for this somber meeting. He nudged me with his hip and grinned. "It's a good thing we have a walking encyclopedia."

  "Oh shut up," I grumbled. "I don't remember ever learning any of the information she mentioned."

  "Then let's get you a computer so you can study up. If anyone is going to read up on this, it's you and that photographic memory of yours. Who knew it would come in so handy?"

  "I'm going to smack you," I warned.

  "As long as you're smacking and not kissing," Lee grumbled from his seat on a couch to my right.

  "Here, here," Louis agreed, making Jezzelle's eyebrows raise again and her lips twitch.

  "Okay, so our end game is to destroy this Lich," Davis interrupted before Jezzi could speak. "I'll give you whatever support I can from within the Elite without spreading the word too far. If a time comes we have to let others in, I'll aid in that. Raven, you have lead on this mission. The rest of us will be backing you up. We need a headquarters. I'm not sure this is the safest place, and neither is your home. We need somewhere that's somewhat off the grid but nearby."

  "Our parents' house is out of the question," Lee threw in. "The Lich's cyclops already trashed it."

  Felix chuckled and tapped fingers on her crossed knee. "I know a certain gorilla shifter who's out of town for a month or two. I'm sure he wouldn't mind letting us borrow his place."

  Davis nodded, his mouth puckering as he thought. "That's a good idea, actually. Give him a call. Or I suppose I should let you make that decision, Captain."

  Smiling, Raven nodded to Felix. "Call him. Don't tell him what's going on or he'll be back in town in a few hours. He needs to enjoy retirement."

  "Will do." Felix pulled out her phone and started tapping on it. Maybe she was like me and would prefer to text this man instead of calling him.

  Raven released my hand and crossed his arms, drawing everyone's attention. "Tonight we move into our new headquarters. Go grab what you need. Make sure you aren't followed. We'll be bringing a few others who are aware of some of the details. I'm sure there's a place where we can lock up our Chameleon friend until she's ready to play nice. Once we're set up, Louis will help us locate the Mind Reader and anyone else involved in this mess."

  "Like Clara," I cut in, mentioning my missing ex-friend and former roommate who'd been working with Ashtin and Sadie.

  "Exactly," Raven continued. "Buckle up, people. This is going to be a bumpy ride. We're officially at war, whether we like it or not. For the safety of all creatures on the planet, we cannot lose. Let's go."

  Author’s Note

  I hope you enjoyed reading Second Lineage! As a note, Second Lineage was actually written third. Zero Tolerance, the prequel, was written after First Blood and was meant to be a fun story for me. Little did I know that the characters had other plans for it! Third House is not quite ready for publication, so Zero Tolerance, Raven’s story, will be coming next. It will help fill in some gaps and give more information as to what is to come. It may be one of my absolute favorite books yet! Continue reading for a sneak peek into the first couple of chapters of Zero Tolerance (Note: it has not yet received final edits, so there may be some editing errors. These will be corrected before publishing).

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  Also, please feel free to leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. I’d love to hear from you and what you thought of the book!

  Continue for a sneak peek at Zero Tolerance.

  Sneak Peek of Zero Tolerance

  The First Blood Trilogy, Book 4

  By: Heather Karn

  When sixteen-year-old Raven Cartana leaves his underground home for the surface, his only goal is to join the Elite and create a safe place in the world for his species. As blood drinkers, the vamlure are despised and feared, but Raven intends to prove that bonds between the supernatural races and vamlure can be forged again. All he has to do is pass his Interview and join the Elite ranks.

  Once an Elite, Raven isn’t prepared for all that follows. Besides the obvious need to find a blood source to sustain him, he also has to survive the Magic Users who hate him and the sun which threatens to blind him. And then there are the Threats, and Raven’s worth is put to the test when he’s the only one who can sense them.

  With each ensuing attack, the Threats grow stronger. It’s up to Raven and his team to locate and stop the mastermind behind the attacks before disaster befalls them, but can a teenage Elite Captain succeed at the job?

  Join Raven Cartana and other beloved characters in this enthralling prequel to the First Blood Trilogy. This book is set ten years before the start of First Blood. There are no spoilers for the series. It can be read as part of the series or as a standalone novel.

  Chapter 1

  If I was too late, they’d close the gate. If they closed the gate, I’d lose my one chance to help the world instead of hiding from it. I’d never have another opportunity like this.

  So, I couldn’t be late.

  Heart racing, arms pumping, and feet slapping against the pavement, I forced resolve to strengthen my pace until the Elite base’s gate came into view. Four soldiers manned the entrance, one with his hand on the fortified gate to pull it shut and lock it into place. One of the men heard the clatter of my feet and glanced toward me before calling to his companion to halt.