Page 18 of Blood Sings (Beyond the Gloom #1)

“How did a half-original end up on the battlefield? No, scratch that,” Selena growled, raking her fingers through her hair. “How in the bloody Underworld does he even exist ?”

I watched my best friend pace the room like a caged panther, her spiked heels gouging deep grooves in the golden pine floors. Dust billowed in her wake and caught in my throat. I longed to throw open a window, to let in even a whisper of fresh air, but the wooden boards nailed to the frame made that impossible. I wasn’t even sure if there was glass beyond them anymore. Still, they did an excellent job of keeping the sun rays at bay while I slept.

Selena whirled on me, her eyes lit with fury. “He couldn’t have been Changed,” she snarled. “It’s biologically impossible!”

I nodded, the weight of Harbinger’s revelation settling on my chest like a granite slab. If anyone could figure it out, it was Selena. But out here, she didn’t have her lab or her technology.

His mere existence had shattered everything I thought I knew. We were born, not made. Then again, I’d always believed we couldn’t procreate with mortals. So much for certainties.

“Do you think the Commander knew about him?” she whispered.

“He couldn’t have. The only thing that gave Harbinger away was his blood.” I gulped, and it carried. I could still feel it rushing in my veins, warm and enticing, like an unrestrained river. “You heard him, Sel. He’s been bitten before. I don’t think his immortal side is strong enough to react to pure blood. But to original…”

A bitter laugh escaped her lips. “Oh, you raised something alright. At least one part of him stood at attention.”

“Selena,” I muttered, but my protest lacked conviction. My face flushed with heat, a ghost of that electric connection surging through me again.

When Elena pestered me about the blood banks, I gave in just to silence her. I could have ignored her like a bothersome fly, but then I risked facing worse consequences. So, I had complied, exploring the ‘intricacies’ of logistics she’d prattled on about. But when she had insisted I grasp the chemical and biological reactions between synthetic blood and our bodies, I drew the line. I knew my limits. Let the brainiacs handle the complex stuff. Just give me the results. Ruling was all about delegation, after all.

Now, I wished I had at least a modicum of understanding, and perhaps a microscope at hand, to witness the phenomenon coursing through me. I could never explain it in scientific terms, but I sensed him everywhere , in every cell. A feverish heat, an electric rush, an adrenaline spike—the rhythmic thump of my heart made me feel invincible. Within, tiny sparks ignited where HemaTech-9—my favorite blend—and the essence of the other outliers clashed with Harbinger’s blood in its vicious rampage throughout my system.

I felt like I could uproot trees, deforest entire woodlands. Perhaps I could phase through solid walls and join Terraknight in laying waste to buildings just for the thrill of it. The power was intoxicating, terrifying, and utterly addictive. Half of me reveled in this newfound strength, while the other half recoiled at its intensity.

Was this what it felt like to feed from the vein? To be truly alive? Or was it his original blood changing me?

And yet, despite this rush, one question still burned in my mind, sobering me: What exactly was Harbinger, and what did his existence mean for our kind?

Abruptly stopping, Selena smacked a hand onto her hip, making a sharp sound. Her obsidian gaze narrowed into slits and scanned my face as if it held all the secrets of the universe.

Outside, skeletal trees scraped against the wooden boards, like oaken nails on a coffin lid. A breeze passing through and billowing the curtains carried the scent of decay and damp earth, adding substance to the moldy odor already persistent in the room. The sensation of the air gave a momentary reprieve from Selena’s stare.

Inhaling a low, hissed breath, she blew a stray strand of hair from her face, her lip curling into a sneer. “Aren’t originals usually paranoid about sharing their genes with just anyone?”

“So, you’re pinning this on me? Unbelievable,” I huffed as I sank onto the satin-covered window seat, my limbs suddenly too heavy to support me. My hand brushed the out-of-place fabric.

She dropped her gaze, scuffing the floor with the tip of her boot. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have snapped at you, but this is… it’s too much. It terrifies me.”

“I know. It terrifies me, too. Harbinger, his existence… what if this changes everything?” I paused, gathering my thoughts. “I’ve never drunk from an original before, but I can tell you right now, his blood doesn’t taste like any of the outliers I’ve sampled. It’s not just intense, it’s… transformative.”

Selena’s head snapped up, her eyes wide. “Transformative? What exactly do you mean by that?”

I couldn’t tell her the truth: that it was the finest elixir to ever cross my lips, that it was the highlight of my life. But I had to say something.

“It’s hard to explain,” I began, choosing my words carefully. “Every sense is heightened, every emotion intensified. I feel stronger, faster, more alive than ever before. But there’s also this… hunger. Now that I’ve had a taste, I crave more. It’s terrifying how badly I want it.” I snapped my mouth shut, realizing how that sounded. Like an addict frequenting the bloodletting bars, justifying their next fix.

I met Selena’s concerned gaze, her brow furrowed deep enough to etch permanent lines.

“Am I losing it, Sel? Everything happened so fast, it’s become a blur. The Sparrows’ blood came in neat little vials. I’d never even seen a mortal up close before, let alone…” The mere thought of Harbinger’s blood made my fangs ache.

Selena’s face drained of color, her fingers curling into white-knuckled fists. The fear in her eyes echoed the anxiety swirling in my belly.

Who was I trying to fool?

I had fantasized about the taste of fresh blood since I was nothing but a foolish girl, lost in fanciful tales and romantic delusions. If I failed to come up with something close to what it really felt like to puncture a healthy, throbbing vein then, it was a hopeless cause now. Because deep down, a twisted piece of me wished to have joined the Wurdulaks in their massacre; understood why my forefathers brought humanity to the brink of annihilation. I wished Harbinger hadn’t stopped me from taking more.

My stomach rolled, and although I hated myself for even thinking it, at least I now recognized what had triggered my anxiety since arriving. The thought of losing control, of hurting innocent people… It was almost too much to bear.

“I’ll keep myself well-fed,” I choked out. “But Sel, if you see me slipping… I need you to stop me. Promise me.”

She gripped my shoulders, her floral scent grounding me. “I’ve got you, A. One hint of a black vein, and I’ll do whatever it takes. Even if it means knocking you out cold.” A humorless smile touched her lips. “But let’s be real. You’re the strongest person I know. If anyone can resist this, it’s you.” Her grip tightened. “Just… don’t make me follow through, okay? I’d hate to break your neck.”

She spun, her boots sending tremors through the floor. Porcelain figurines atop the maple vanity rattled like chattering teeth.

I sighed, grateful the Black Guild was out on patrol.

Selena snatched a ballerina mid-pirouette, clenching her fingers around its delicate form. “I’ve seen his eyes… but what are the chances he’s a pureblood?” Her nose scrunched. “Please, for the love of holy darkness, tell me he’s not one of us. We have enough assholes as it is.”

Harbinger’s blood had packed a meaner punch than any pureblood’s I’d ever tasted. It was more direct, like a slap to the face rather than a tender stroke. Raw power with a side of danger, served straight up.

If he hadn’t pulled away… My cheeks burned, imagining the spectacle I’d have made. The mother-of-all-orgasms, on full display for the Black Guild. I gulped, all too aware of how close I’d teetered on that precipice. How much I wanted to throw myself off it.

“He’s not a pureblood,” I admitted, my voice coming out a little husky. “But he’s telling the truth about his bloodline. I sensed Derzelas’ power in him.”

“Then what is he?”

My heart pounded. “I have no idea.”

The vanity groaned as Selena pushed off it. In a blur, she yanked me from my perch, wrapping me in her trembling arms.

“We better figure out his other half before it’s too late,” she murmured, combing her fingers through my hair as I bent to hug her. After decades of friendship, we had the height difference sorted out.

I forced down the knot in my throat and squeezed her tighter. While I didn’t trust Harbinger any further than I could throw him, working with him was a necessity. And after witnessing Gale and Quakelord’s power, I was convinced the Black Guild offered our best chance for survival.

The mountain of anxiety that had weighed on me shrank to a hill, a glimmer of hope peeking through the clouds of uncertainty. We had a plan, however tenuous. It would have to be enough.

“A?” Selena’s hands stilled on my hips.

“Hm?”

She cocked her head, onyx eyes glinting with the light of candle flame. “Were you about to scream Harbinger’s name when he pushed you away? Or just moan it really, really loudly?”

A snort bubbled up in my throat, followed by uncontrollable laughter. My life had gone from bad to worse to ‘we’re both going to die,’ and here I was, still fantasizing about riding Harbinger like a bucking bronco. After everything that had happened, it surprised me how easily my thoughts flew to him. I had never thought a man would make me think like that.

“Oh, do tell,” Selena teased, more in reproach than amusement. “Did you savor every drop? Did his hands leave scorch marks on your skin? Was his throbbing—”

“Selena!” I yelped, squirming out of her grip. A grin pulled at my lips as I bolted for the four-poster bed, a Victorian monstrosity that would make even the most reserved historian wince.

“A lady never kisses and tells!” I shrieked, diving onto the mattress.

She ducked under the velvet canopy, grinning like a lynx. “Since when are you a lady? Is that a blush I see? What are you, a swooning debutante?”

Armed with a tasseled pillow, I snorted, hurling it at her face. “I am not swooning!”

“Are too!” Her eyebrows disappeared into her hairline. “Was it that mind-blowing?”

“Let’s just say it puts your Red Brownies to shame.” I chuckled, unsure if it was Harbinger’s blood or the man himself that had me so flustered.

The pillow smacked me square in the face. “Then keep your fangs to yourself, missy! I don’t care how delicious he is, getting involved with a projector-killer is bad news.”

Spitting out a mouthful of tassel, I protested, “I don’t plan to—”

“To what? Jump his bones the second I turn my back?” Selena wagged her finger. “I’ve seen that look before. It usually ends with me bailing you out.”

I gasped in mock offense. “Name one time!”

Her mouth opened, likely to remind me of the Belt Incident of ‘27, when tiny fireworks erupted under my skin. Tingles raced down to my fingertips, my heart pounding in anticipation.

Selena’s words faded as I brushed the Nexus on my nape—the source of my distraction. It awakened with a burst of sparkling stars crowding my vision.

“Projector Tepes, Harbinger speaking,” his urgent voice crackled over the Harmonization.

“I hear you, Harbinger. What’s wrong?”

Selena dashed around the bed; her eyes latched onto mine.

“Prepare for battle. The Stalkers are coming.”

“How do you—” My senses jolted with alarm. “Harbinger, don’t get too close! You don’t know how many—”

“I’m on my way. Wait for the briefing.”

“Be careful—”

The thread linking us snapped.

My stomach flipped and squirted acid into my throat. I closed my eyes, fighting it. The image of Harbinger surrounded by Stalkers intensified the queasiness in my abdomen. Immortal or not, his original blood wouldn’t save him from a brutal death.

Selena’s hands on my shoulders jolted me back. Worry lines aged her face by centuries. “What did he say?” she asked, the cords in her neck taut like tree roots.

“The Stalkers are attacking. We need to—”

Electricity coursed through me again. I tapped the crystal. “Harbinger? Report, do you hear me?”

Silence, broken only by distant winds and a sinister howl. Selena’s anxious gaze burned into me. I gave a slight head shake, about to speak when—

“Hunting party, do you read?”

Relief flooded me, until Harbinger’s presence fragmented, brushing jagged against my consciousness. I winced.

“What is it?” Selena’s voice sounded rough, but quiet.

“It’s… different. Echoey. Like a weak radio signal.” I strained to listen beyond the static. “Harbinger? Say something.”

“Captain, what’s the situation?” Terraknight’s smooth, gruff voice cut in, clear and direct.

“I picked up on Harbinger’s transmission,” I told Selena, then quickly added, “Initiating Lieutenant Popescu.”

Her consciousness collided with mine, a torrent clashing with a still river. Her Initiation had left me breathless before, but linking to her now felt like a fist to my gut.

“Aurora…” she groaned, but her words faded as the frequency shifted.

Harbinger’s voice boomed in my head, “Change of plans. We have visitors.”

My skull throbbed, splitting in two. His presence wavered, a glowing apparition devoured by shadows.

“When?” Terraknight replied, another wraith fighting for supremacy.

Head-jumping while harmonizing had always been effortless, like stepping from one room to the next, but now, I couldn’t brace myself fast enough.

Darkness expanded within my consciousness, pulsating—once, twice—then stillness. The silence was liberating.

A ripple crossed the inky pool. A shapeless face lunged, jaws gaping as it spoke in Harbinger’s voice. “About two hours from now. A pack of Limuses regrouped with a mixed force trailing behind. They’re probably tracking Mandrake’s corpse. We should ambush them near point six-five-A.”

I ripped my eyes open. Two hours away meant the Stalkers were at least eighty miles out. He couldn’t have seen them, yet he described their composition as if watching them with his own eyes.

Selena collapsed onto the mattress, ancient springs groaning from the strain. “How the hell does he know about the different Stalkers out there? Even our radars can’t reach that distance.”

I shrugged and shuffled to the window seat. Blackness consumed my thoughts, draining the fight out of me.

“Roger that. Meet you at the entrance to route twenty-five,” Terraknight said.

Harbinger’s reply landed like an avalanche. “No Shepherd this time. They’ll likely try to brute force us.”

Leaning against the rugged planks, I covered my eyes with my forearm, relieved to find the headache lessening as I relaxed into the conversation. Not that I knew how to silence the voices in my head, other than turning off the Harmonization.

I didn’t want to do that. Not yet.

“Just a bunch of Sheep, huh? Like shooting fish in a barrel,” Terraknight’s apparition released a gruesome laughter, stirring the shadows.

“Even Sheep can be dangerous.”

“Easier when they’re not led by a Shepherd, though. We’ll regroup with the girls at the lake on our way back…” The vice-captain’s voice crackled. “—Gale’s turn on laundry duty.”

My hands clenched on my thighs. They were supposed to be on patrol. I scrunched up my face until it went numb, then released it, mentally yelling at them.

“I’ll call Gale right away,” Harbinger’s specter said.

“Copy. See you soon.”

The background noise faded into hungry darkness. Finally, my head quieted, the pounding subsided, and the nausea skedaddled with its ghostly friends.

I looked up, meeting Selena’s stormy eyes. She stood with arms crossed, delicate eyebrows furrowed.

“You look like shit,” she hissed, blunt as a kitchen knife. Stretching an arm into her back pocket, she pulled out a bottle of synthetic blood.

My mouth watered. “Gimme!” I blurted, curling my fingers in a grabbing motion.

She dangled it just out of reach. “How are you feeling? Does your head still ache?”

“Not anymore.”

Selena tsked, unsatisfied.

“I was nauseated, and it throbbed at first, like a wrench pressed against my skull,” I rushed out. “It got better once I stopped fighting it. I feel great now. Happy?”

“Good girl,” she muttered, releasing the bottle into my keen hands.

The blood was cold, but I took a long swig, humming contentedly. “I don’t know what I’d do without you,” I said, flashing my most charming synthetic blood-stained smile.

She snorted, shaking her head. Her wit seemed to be on vacation. “What’s with this Shepherd and Sheep crap?” she asked, tipping the bottle when I froze to digest her question. “Bottoms up.”

I slurped the last drop with a gratifying sigh. I didn’t want Selena to catch on to my frustration with Harbinger’s lies.

“No idea. Don’t worry,” I muttered, eyeing the door as if he could pop up at any moment. “I won’t force my blood magic on them, but I’ve picked up a few tricks from Elena. I’ll uncover all their dirty little secrets when they come back.”

Selena resumed pacing, cutting a circle into the floor. “Think about it,” she said, tapping her finger against her lips. “The transmitters are clearly malfunctioning with your Nexus. Thank the Moon I was against it when you asked for a device for yourself—”

“What are you up to?” I interrupted.

She stopped, glanced up at the ceiling as if seeking divine inspiration, then fixed me with a stony gaze. “You could spy on them whenever they’re out doing… whatever the fuck it is they’re doing.”

“Very mature,” I scoffed. But not wrong either. “Your vocabulary gets more colorful each day.”

“Don’t give me that look! Yesterday, they treated you like a welcome mat, and you just took it. How much of their crap are you gonna take?”

“Fine, I’ll do it,” I conceded, springing up. “You want me to play dirty? I’ll dive right in—elbows deep in muck. Get ready. They’ll be here any moment.” I needed the Black Guild to trust me, and to include me in their plans. If that meant getting cunning like my mother, so be it.

My bag lay against the pale pink wall, looking bleak surrounded by watercolor field flowers and magnificent sunsets. I snatched the leather belt, shuffling toward the bed with Selena trailing behind.

“You mean, ‘get ready’ for another boring night in your room.” When I didn’t correct her, she went full beast mode. “Are you out of your mind? Commander explicitly told us to avoid direct combat. It’s too risky!”

“You didn’t think I was going to sit back while they fought for us, did you?” I tried to sound calm, but I was too giddy. “This is what you signed up for. You said you were ready. And if I recall, you weren’t a total loser at the Academy.”

Selena’s finger was sharper than a sword as she poked my ribs. “Screw you,” she hissed. “I aced Combat class.”

“Then show me what you’ve got,” I puffed, folding at the middle. That damn finger. “If you don’t want to engage, stay on the sidelines. But we’re going. The Stalkers have mortal blood, and we know our magic works on them thanks to the Republic’s armed forces.”

Her stare bore holes into my forehead. “They are all dead, A.”

Pain shot through my chest. For a moment, I saw their faces—family, friends, teachers, innocent immortals—all gone in an instant. I pushed the ache aside, their memory fueling the fire burning in my veins. All the more reason to retaliate.

I unzipped my bag, spilling its contents onto the bed. It wasn’t much: protective leather suits, lightweight clothes for indoor wear, a worn photo of Father—his smile forever frozen in time—and my prized possession, the wristband that secured my combat needles.

I’d never been good with a sword, but these? These were an extension of me. Delicate, deadly, and deceptively innocuous. I plucked one from the band, its weight a reassuring presence in my palm.

With practiced ease, I gathered my hair, twisting it upward. The needle slid in smoothly, followed by a second, forming a secure knot at the nape of my neck. A ghost of a smile tugged at my lips. Ready for both battle and a night out—multitasking at its finest.

The remaining needles I gave to Selena, who accepted them with a raised eyebrow and a wicked smirk. She twirled one between her fingers, testing its balance.

I shrugged. “Just in case.”

But the weapons weren’t what I’d been searching for. The metallic box rolled out from the pile, landing on the bed with a satisfying thump. “The army didn’t have this,” I said, grinning as it opened at my touch and the soft blue glow lit up Selena’s eyes. “With the Astral Visor, we’ll identify the Stalkers before getting too close,” I explained. “We’ll know exactly what we’re getting into.”

Selena nibbled her lip, gaze darting between the Transpection device and me. She sighed heavily. “I can’t believe I’m agreeing with this, but if we get hurt, I’m going to kill you!”