Dragon Lords Blood Contract Read online

  “Oh, good. So you’ve done your homework then, I see,” I said derisively. “Come on. Tell me – what else do you know?”

  Ethan smiled, and there was just a hint of smugness. “Is there more to know?” he asked innocently.

  I scowled, which only made his smile widen into a grin.

  “Are you referring to the fact that you’re a kitsune – a fox faery – a húli jīng?” He remarked, almost offhandedly as he waved his hand dismissively in the air.

  His words made me suck in a shallow breath.

  Those three names made my heart stop several beats. “You’re definitely not human are you?” I asked warily, a dreadful hunch growing in the pit of my stomach.

  “Does it matter, Miss Wyatt?”

  Yes, it does, you smug asshole. Grinding my teeth together, I rubbed the knuckles of my balled fist with the thumb of my other hand, hiding the action underneath my desk.

  How the hell did this guy know so much about me? I wondered, finding solace in the knuckled ridges on my hand. Especially, when all I knew about him was basically his name.

  I narrowed my eyes, hardening my gaze. “You know, many people have died trying to expose that piece of information about me.”

  “I’m not surprised,” Ethan smiled faintly, completely seeing through my lie. But he had enough tact not to point it out.

  “Miss Wyatt, trust me – you don’t want to make me your enemy. Rest assured, I will not spread this secret of yours anywhere.”

  I looked back at Ethan mistrustfully, but at this point, I had little other choice but to take his word for it.

  Don’t worry buddy. If you try to expose me, I won’t hesitate to put an end to you. Afterall, this was my most closely guarded secret, and I would make damn sure it wasn’t going to get out anywhere.

  Everyone else just thought I was some average fox shifter with a gifted nose… The truth was, I was actually from the bloodline of an ancient species of faery.

  My kind were virtually extinct, and there were many individuals and organizations who would love nothing more than to get their hands on me. So you can understand why Ethan knowing my secret would set my alarm bells off on high alert, and trigger my survival skills to kick in.

  Sometimes you had to fight to survive. It was a dog-eat-dog-world out there.

  “What if I decide to reject your job offer?” I asked, unwilling to completely submit.

  “Then I wish you the best of luck in finding this person you’re searching so desperately for,” Ethan replied snidely.

  I glared at him. Wow. This asshole seemed to have a real talent for pissing people off.

  “You’re a real piece of work, you know that?” I snarled, fingers twitching with the temptation to glamor him on the spot.

  Ethan chuckled, seeming to read my mind. “Take a look at the contract. You have twenty-four hours to make a decision. I’ll be back to collect the document tomorrow either way.”

  With that final statement, Ethan picked up his briefcase and stood up.

  “It was a pleasure meeting you,” he said, throwing me a devastating smile.

  “I wish I could say the same,” I retorted without shifting from my seat, making it clear I was not going to bother walking him to the door.

  Ethan didn’t respond, instead I saw a sparkle of amusement flicker across his dark, striking, chocolate brown eyes.

  Dammit. Even as I scowled, I had to admit he was incredibly handsome, and I was sure as night follows day, he was well aware of this.

  This only served to make me dislike him even more. When it came to guys, there was nothing worse than a charming asshole.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said.

  With briefcase in hand, he turned, and with a straight back he strode confidently out of my office, leaving me to stare at the contract lying on my desk, brooding over what to do.

  I kneaded my temples with the tips of my fingers, feeling a headache coming on.

  I only had twenty-four hours to decide what to do. The clock was ticking.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Jasmine

  Moonlight streamed through the balcony window in soft blue rays. There was a slight wind tonight, causing the translucent curtain drapes to flutter gently in the breeze coming through the gap in the open door.

  It was actually a beautiful night, I thought as I looked out through the glass pane of the door, but I was too distracted to appreciate it.

  Returning my head to a forward position, I lay on my bed, restlessly gazing up at the ceiling above. I was struggling to fall asleep. It felt like there was storm raging inside my head, and I wished the turmoil would abate and stop altogether, along with my worries and uncertainties.

  I glanced over at the digital clock sitting on my bedside table.

  Two-thirty a.m it read.

  I groaned, turning over onto my stomach and lying prone there like a dried-up starfish, with my eyes glued shut, trying to blank my mind and force myself to sleep.

  It didn’t work.

  Ten minutes later, I was fed up.

  I sat up and clicked on the bedside lamp. I grabbed the contract I’d left lying next to it and flipped it open for what seemed like the gazillionth time.

  Turning the pages, I skimmed my eyes over the text, but there was nothing new that jumped out at me.

  The contract was tightly worded – requiring me to help locate the amulet, retrieve it, and bestow it upon Ethan or one of the members of his team. I was not allowed to steal it, sell it, or keep it for myself. The written terms were very specific, and bound me to remain in Ethan’s services for one full year, after which, if the amulet could still not be found, the agreement was null.

  All in all, I could tell Ethan was a shrewd bastard, and he’d planned for basically every contingency.

  Which only served to spark my interest further, as I continued to speculate what type of supernatural or magical being he was.

  I suspected he had been cloaking his magic during our meeting, and that’s why I couldn’t get an accurate read on him earlier.

  As I flipped to the back of the contract, I could smell the magic seared deep into each page – and it wasn’t any of the second grade magic crap they peddled around at those fake spell and potions stores, but the real, potent, expensive stuff.

  After reading the contract so many times, I had to grudgingly admit, it was airtight. All it needed now was a blood signature from both parties to seal the agreement. Once sealed, neither party would be able to back out until the contract was completed. Otherwise the magic of the contract would erupt into a dark curse, and turn the blood of the individual who’d failed to complete the contract into poison, and they would end up dead.

  It was a charming magical device invented by the ancient orientals.

  Effective and highly lethal.

  I got off the bed, walked over to my dressing table and sat in the chair in front.

  Flipping the contract closed, I put it on the table, and pulled out the top drawer. There was a small, velvet jewelry box sitting out in the front section. Picking it up with my hand, I carefully opened it, and lying inside was a familiar silver bangle, with two foxes stretched across its band with emerald green eyes.

  I took it out, and carefully turned it over in my hands. The small bell charm attached to it jingled lightly, reminding me of the sound my mother would make when she use to wear it.

  Pressing the cold metal of the bracelet to my lips, I closed my eyes and sighed. When I opened them again, I found my beautiful yet haunted face reflected in the mirror. Golden, almond shaped stared back at me accusingly.

  My reflection was a grim reminder of another face, very similar to my own. Dark, ink-black hair, a delicate brow, sharp eyes and rose petal lips. I was the spitting image of my mother.

  Just recalling her face was painful.

  I swallowed, trying to push down my guilt and grief, but it was hard to suppress the memories of the past.

  My mind travelled back. Back to a time when th
e view I had was predominately obscured by cold, steel bars. Caged. Too dangerous to be let out. That was, unless it was for a mission.

  For generations the Kiang bloodline had held me captive, using me as a form of insurance so they could keep their control over my mother, forcing her to be their tool - a weapon to seduce, steal and kill, to bring down all their rivals and adversaries. Already naturally gifted with great powers, they honed her skills to become one of the most lethal assassins in history.

  I shuddered, the memories flooding me – images, scents and sounds returning to flash before my eyes: my mother’s weary figure, swaying as she walked down our bedroom corridor reeking of blood, her clothes matted in patchy hues of wet and dry crimson, the whistle of the whip as it sliced through the air, ripping open her delicate flesh – punishment for failing her task. The countless welts and bruises scattered across her body from beatings - dark and ugly, as they marred her smooth, pristine white skin.

  She endured…for centuries she endured. All this to protect me. We were nothing but prisoners; slaves to our cruel and greedy masters.

  It was only due my mother’s resourcefulness that I was finally able to escape one fateful night. But it had been at the cost of her own freedom.

  She’d stayed behind to stop the guards from chasing after me, wielding her sword at them with desperation and the devil’s fury.

  That was the last time I’d seen her. Two centuries had passed since then, and I still hadn’t been able to find her, even after travelling across multiple continents and searching countless countries.

  Until ten months ago there wasn’t a trace of her, but then on one of my lonely treks along the outskirts of the city, I caught a faint whiff of her magical signature.

  I was ecstatic but also careful as I followed the scent through narrow streets and winding alleyways. Firstly, because I didn’t want to get my hopes up, and secondly, in case the final location of the scent was somewhere dangerous.

  Finally, it led me to a small pawn shop at the outer edge of the city. I entered the place and was immediately drawn to the glass case nearest to the back, and that’s where I saw her bangle.

  Being a cash-in-hand, no-questions-asked sort of business, the owner didn’t have any record of the seller or how he’d obtained it.

  Nevertheless, it was a lead. My first, and not my last, I’d promised myself as I held the bangle in my trembling hands.

  I had to find her – my mother. Dead or alive, I needed to know what had happened to her.

  Tilting my head up, I whispered a heart-felt prayer up to the heavens, in the hopes she was still well and alive.

  Then I rose from my seat, swallowing back the lump in my throat, and as I forced back the tears, I returned the bracelet to its box, before stowing it away safely in my drawer.

  The blood contract sat on the dresser in front of me.

  It was hard for me to deny the temptation. The money and scrying mirror being offered could make the crucial difference in finding my mother.

  All the scrying mirrors I’d tried before had produced no results, but the magical artifacts of Nicolas Flamel were rare and said to be imbued with incredibly strong enchantments. It might just be powerful enough to locate her.

  The possibility she was being held captive, and being tortured and abused, lay like a block of cold fear at the back of my mind.

  Inhaling deeply to calm my shuddering nerves, I picked up the blood contract and flicked to the last page, making up my mind.

  There was a small sewing kit in one of the other drawers in the dresser. I took it out and pulled out a thin needle from the round pin cushion inside.

  Without another thought, I pricked my index finger and pressed the bloody digit down on the paper and signed my name.

  While my finger was still pressing down on the page, a spark of electricity shot up my arm from its surface and travelled in shivers down my back – the magic of the contract binding me.

  Taking my finger off, I stared down at the bloody imprint of my finger and name with calm determination.

  “I will not fail you, mother,” I swore out loud.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Jasmine

  The next morning, I woke up in bed with the taste of rat in my mouth.

  Squinting, bleary eyed against the shafts of early afternoon sunlight streaming through my windows, I immediately tried to recall the events of last night.

  “Oh, shit…”

  It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now in broad light of day, and with my body having returned to its human form, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat repulsed by my chosen cuisine from last night.

  With my back lying on the bed, I lifted my hand up and swiped my tongue with the back of it, trying to get rid of the furry sourness on my tastebuds.

  After signing the blood contract, the fox inside me had been feeling uneasy and restless, so I’d decided to go out and hunt.

  Standing safely in my bedroom, I’d shifted into my animal form, walked out onto the balcony, and jumped up onto the ledge connecting it to the exterior wall, before leaping across to the fire escape to the side.

  I’d bounded down the steps of the fire escape, racing down the final steps to get to the bottom, and from there, I’d skirted to the back of my apartment building and taken a trek to the local park where I’d often hunted before.

  The grass covering the large park had been soft and dewy in the cool night air. It had felt good to be able to run freely across it and to stretch out my limbs, especially as a while had passed since I’d last shifted.

  The rat appeared not long after. I’d smelt it before I saw it.

  Part of me – the human part – was repulsed as I recalled stalking it.

  But really, the rat had stood no chance.

  With deadly agility, my vulpine form had pressed its belly to the ground and leapt at it, flattening its small, squeaky body beneath my furry, white paws.

  Before I even had time to think, my jaws had instinctively snapped down, piercing its warm, tender flesh, killing it with my sharp incisors.

  I’d devoured it hungrily, wolfing down flesh and bone until there was nothing left. At the end of it, I’d felt disgusted and hugely satisfied at the same time.

  There were some aspects of being a fox the human side of me still had trouble reconciling itself with. And eating small, furry rodents was definitely one of them.

  After that, I’d slunk home in the wee hours of the morning and slept thereafter.

  The small excursion had taken its toll on me, and I didn’t wake up when my usual morning alarm went off. So, by the time I actually woke up, it was pretty late.

  Ugh. Rolling over groggily, still with the furry taste of rat in my mouth, I stretched my arm out lazily to grope for my mobile phone on my bedside table. My hand found purchase, and I curled my fingers around the device, bringing it to my face.

  Peeking at the screen with one open eye, I saw it was a quarter past noon.

  “Hmmm…Still early…” I groaned, lying to myself, and feeling in no position even close to being ready to wake up, I went straight back to sleep.

  When I woke up the second time, it was to the sound of ringing.

  I jolted awake with a start, no idea how much time had passed.

  For a moment, I was disorientated, trying to locate the source of the noise. Somewhere between my muddled thoughts, I was able to work out it was my mobile ringing, and my hands fumbled beneath the covers, until I finally managed to find it.

  I quickly fished it out, bringing it to my face.

  Shit. It was three p.m. That shot a lightening bolt right through my system – hard and fast.

  I quickly rubbed my eyes awake and slid the bar on the screen to accept the call. Since, it was a private number, I had no idea who the caller was on the other end.

  “Hello?” I croaked out, bringing the phone to my ear.

  Even I cringed at hearing the sound of my voice.

  “Jasmine?” The deep, slightly
patronising tone was more than familiar.

  I rolled back down, onto my side. Ughhh, great – it was Ethan.

  I made an attempt to clear my throat, only to come out sounding like a dying frog.

  “Hello, Ethan,” I finally managed to get the words out, and I heard Ethan snorting on the other end.

  “Are you sick or did I just wake you?” he asked.

  “Neither,” I sniffed indignantly at his snide remark, feeling not an ounce of guilt for lying shamelessly. “I just had something stuck in my throat.”

  “If you say so…” Ethan replied, not sounding at all convinced.

  “What did you call me for anyway?” I asked brusquely, making a move to change the subject. I was pretty damn sure it was about the contract, but I was going to play hard to get anyway.

  “Well, I’m calling from the front door of your office right now. But I can see you’ve stepped out,” Ethan said, his tone clearly mocking my lie.

  “Ahhh, yes – that’s right. I went home to quickly grab something. I was just about to head back now.” There was no way I was going to admit I’d slept in. “If you’re able to wait, I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

  There was a pause on the other end, and I took it as Ethan thinking. “I guess I can go for coffee…” he finally replied.

  “Great. I’ll see you shortly.” I spoke quickly, not giving him a chance to change his mind. “See you in fifteen,” I finished and hung up.

  There was no time to dawdle. I sprang up from my bed, leaping into a whirlwind of action, conscious that I had very little time to prepare and make myself look civilized.

  Flinging my wardrobe wide open, I proceeded to yank my nightgown off from up and over my head, and tossed it aside. After a brief rummage through my drawers, I pulled out a pair of dark blue denim jeans and a white sleeveless top.

  I donned them quickly, and raced into the bathroom to splash some water on my face and brush my teeth.