Blood of My Blood by Kat Gracey

Blood of my Blood

I watched helplessly, as the images overwhelmed me. Images of blood, torture and death at the hands of the vampires. It lasted only moments, but when the visions took over, I was transported to different places and times. It was like I was actually there.
“Alexis!”
The images vanished and I was snapped back to reality. My great uncle James sat in front on me, in the small parlor, looking annoyed.
He knew exactly what was happening to me, it was part of my powers, being sent visions of threats, past and present, yet he acted like I did it deliberately to avoid his lectures. If I could control them, I would. They struck without warning, most of them indecipherable, leaving me reeling afterwards.
I rubbed my temples trying to focus. It’s a wonder I haven’t lost my mind yet.
“Blood of my blood, it is almost time to be inducted into the Anuri clan. As Priestess you will hold our sacred knowledge inside you. You will move to the reserve after the ceremony and guards will be appointed to keep you safe.”
And there it was. The rest of my life mapped out as a priestess. The title meant nothing, I was nothing more than a loyal servant, there to work for the good of the clan. I wasn’t even allowed to marry or have children. It was a lot to put on anyone’s shoulders, but I was only eighteen.
“Yes, Uncle James. How long before the ceremony?”
“When the full moon rises. Six days from now.” He checked his pocket watch, getting to his feet with the help of his silver tipped cane. It was a mark of his rank rather than an actual walking aid. The silver, of course, was to protect against vampires. The scourge of our world.
I stood too. “I’ll be ready.”
When he left the room, I let out a frustrated breath. Six days! That’s all I had left. That was nothing.
Most priestesses didn’t take on their role until their early twenties, as they only inherited the knowledge of eighteen. I was different. I had very little memory of that day in the cornfield, the day the previous priestess gifted me with the clan knowledge. I was only thirteen. According to my aunt, I spent weeks in bed, bombarded with visions as my brain tried to process everything.
Feeling boxed in, I left the farmhouse and headed outside to the yard. The hot July sun beat down on me. It felt good. Looking out across the fields, I was tempted to just start running and never look back.
I’ve lived my whole life under scrutiny. Even after my parents died and I came here, the clan were still watching me.
I’ve never done anything a teenage girl should. I’ve never had a drink or been with a boy. I’ve never sneaked out of the house to go to a party.
I knew this day was coming though, so I had no one to blame but myself. I wasn’t brave enough to break the rules, but now, faced with a deadline, I knew I had to do something.
It was early evening, my aunt was in town, visiting a friend. She wasn’t part of the Anuri, she didn’t understand my role, but James made it clear early on, that while I would live here with her, I would be taught the ways of the clan in preparation to join them.
What could I do that’s impulsive? I wondered. There was nothing to do out here. Which meant going into town, some five or six miles away.
My uncle’s truck was parked by the barn, Aunt Rachel never got rid of it after he died last year. If it still worked, I could drive into town.
I went inside to change my clothes to jeans and a t-shirt and grabbed the keys from the hook in the hall. Tucking my dark hair back in a ponytail, I was ready to go. I just hope no one I know sees me and tells Aunt Rachel.
Butterflies fluttered in my stomach, as I climbed behind the wheel of the old Dodge truck. I’m really doing this.
I turned the key and the engine choked and died.
“No, please don’t do this.”
I turned the key again, but this time nothing happened. Slapping the wheel, I let out a groan.
The one time I act my age, and this happens.
Well I wasn’t a priestess for nothing. Closing my eyes, I placed my hands on the dashboard. The Anuri clan were all able to wield magic, but as priestess I had every spell and ritual stored in my brain. It was just a matter of accessing it.
Words flitted by my mind’s eye before a spell appeared. It was in German, but my brain was able to translate it. It was a spell to bring forth a spark.
Reciting the spell, I felt my hands heat up as the power left them. After a few seconds, I turned the key again and the engine roared to life.
Grinning, I threw it in reverse and backed up. There was a loud thump as I struck something. Slamming on the brakes, I checked the mirrors.
Oh Goddess, what have I done? What if it was Aunt Rachel?
Leaping from the truck, I stumbled but caught myself. Rushing to the back of the truck, I found a man with dark hair and a beard, lying on the ground. He was unconscious.
Kneeling beside him, I shook him. “Hello? Are you…alive?”
He wasn’t wearing a shirt and his torso was covered in wounds. His jeans were stained with blood, it looked like someone had tortured him.
He’s still breathing. I should get help.
As I got to my feet, he let out a groan.
“Hey, can you hear me?” I asked.
“Where…?” he muttered, squinting at me.
“Where are you? On the Tate Farm, just North of Wyattsville.”
His lips were cracked and bleeding, he needed water and a doctor.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
His lips moved, but I could barely hear his response.
“David?”
He nodded.
“Look, I’m going to help you inside and we can get you cleaned up.”
“I need…to find…priestess.”
I froze. How did he know about me? What if the blood wasn’t his own?
I removed the solid silver pendant, a sigil for the clan, from around my neck and laid it on his chest. No reaction.
“Not one of them,” he croaked.
“Then who are you?”
He stared at me for a moment, realization struck him and he reached for my hand. “I’ll show you.”
After a moment, I took his hand.
Images flooded my mind – a battle, a young boy crying over his mother, vampires ripping people to shreds. The images changed, I saw David here, on this farm the day I received my power. Then he was on the road, then locked in a cell. Tortured, beaten, fed on. A woman, well, a vampire with red hair.
The image changed again and I saw myself standing alongside the entire Anuri clan and David as we faced an army of vampires.
Yanking my hand away, I fell back onto my butt, breathing hard.
“What was that?” I asked.
“Our end, if we can’t find a way to stop them.”

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