Blood War (Book 1, the Halfblood Chronicles)

10.2 | Unexpected Companions

Thanks to Jade's keycard, slipping into the building was easy. Staying out of sight as they made their way through the labyrinth of corridors and emergency stairwells was the true challenge.

By the time they were on the lower levels, Nika had timed ten minutes of dodging out of sight and sneaking around the paths of security cameras. And when they reached the entrance to the Vigil's archives, she was practically salivating with anticipation.

The archives were a wonder. Row upon row of shelves, all of them filled with physical documentation. The Vigil was careful about everything, and they always backed up electronic information with hard files.

"Split up," said Jade. "Look for anything on Volkari or the journal of Konstantin the Keeper. We need to connect them to each other, find out why Dante stole it. Then we're one step closer to saving Lu."

They immediately parted and scoured through books and documents on Konstantin the Keeper, refreshing their memories on the Volkari race. Nika kept an eye out for anything regarding moon curses and magic.

After Jade had surprised her by inviting Elliot on their escapade, she'd decided not to share that vital information. As far as Jade and Elliot were concerned, magic was all but dead. Nika was certain they didn't know about the curse or the Volkari's revenge mission, and they weren't going to discover it from her.

"I can't find anything on Volkari that I hadn't already known," Jade said when they regrouped later. "How about you?"

"Some of the biographies on Konstantin say he had dealings with wolves," Elliot replied. "But they weren't major incidents, so there isn't enough detail to work with."

Nika shook her head. It was true, unfortunately. She wondered if the Ministry had disposed of any texts and records mentioning curses. It wouldn't have been a shock if they had.

As they departed, spirits now shattered, Nika sent one last, hopeful glance around, assessing everything. Then she saw it.

The shelf on her left, just beside the exit, was . . . different. While all the others were pressed against the wall, this one was set a few inches away.

"Wait."

Jade and Elliot shuffled after her as she approached the shelf. Thanks to her small hands, Nika was able to reach behind it and warily feel the surface. Her fingers brushed a groove in the woodwork. Slipping them inside, she pushed, tapped, pulled, and then . . . the panel moved.

Her pulse fluttered as she slid it toward her. Jade and Elliot gathered closer as Nika blindly searched the secret compartment.

Inside, there was something smooth and soft. Nika grabbed the object, removing it from the hiding place. All three of them blinked down at her palms.

In them was a book bound in dark leather that frayed on the edges and was smooth to the touch. There was no title on the front cover, but when she opened it, holding her breath, she found its contents to be handwritten with an elegant script in a language she couldn't decipher. She leafed through it, passing pages stained with sloppy sketches, log entries, and scribbled paragraphs.

"I can't understand any of this," Jade said, squinting at the lettering.

Elliot snatched the book, his eyes a dark frenzy as they scanned and scanned. He turned it over, studying the front and back, several pages in between.

"Oh my Oldbloods," he finally said. "It's a journal." Nika's stomach flip-flopped. "This is Romanian—an older dialect. Difficult to translate."

Jade and Nika came around to either side of him, peering down at the pages as he devoured them. "This part talks about some kind of blight or disease that weakened a Volkari pack in the 1400s." He turned the page and gaped at the mess of ink, swearing.