Blood Kin Read Online Free PDF Page A

to, under Lucius. He was content with his bite of the gin dens. But things change.”
    I bit down the desire to swear again. Many things had changed since Lucius left. The former Blood Lord had been ruthless and twisted, but there had been some degree of stability in the Night World under his iron rule. I had agreed he’d needed killing—the secret he’d discovered had been too dangerous, not to mention that he’d been targeting my brother, Simon—but I’d hoped his death would be the end of the City’s troubles, not the beginning of new ones.
    It had become increasingly obvious over the last few weeks that that had been wishful thinking.
    Which meant I had to try again to convince Simon and Lily that they could well be in danger. My brother and his fiancée had met when Lucius sent Lily to kill Simon. Instead—and I still wasn’t sure how it had happened—they had fallen in love. And then they’d teamed up to kill Lucius to save Lily’s life and to keep the secret of the powers her wraith blood could bestow on a vampire. They’d been convinced that would be the end of things.
    I wasn’t so sure. For some reason, Lucius had wanted Simon dead. There might be other Blood Lords who felt the same way, not to mention many who had grudges against Lily. The unrest in the City might just provide a tempting cover for someone who wanted to try again.
    I straightened, shaking my head. Worrying about Simon and Lily had to wait, as would trying to work out what was driving my growing sense that they were in danger. “We’ll take the bodies back to the Brother House, then head back out.” If no one claimed the dead, they’d be buried in the common graves maintained by the order. Hardly a glorious fate. But the likelihood of a pack coming to claim these particular dead was small. “Anyone hurt?”
    Gavin looked around, counting heads. “Nothing serious.”
    “Good.” As I spoke, I heard the faint tolls of the cathedral bells sounding one a.m. Still three hours to go before our patrol was over. People called the damned city Half-Light, but lately I felt as if I lived only in darkness, guarding the streets while the sun—and the humans we protected—slept. I scrubbed my face, wiping it clean of Beast blood and sweat, and wished desperately for coffee. Tonight was going to be another very long night.
    * * *
    I pulled Gray’s saddle from his back, wishing for a shorter horse, food, and anything resembling a bed.
    None of which were going to appear any time soon. I blew out a breath, trying to ignore the ache in my arms and shoulders, and hoisted the saddle across the stall door to the waiting groom.
    Gray’s head drooped. I knew how he felt. The first hints of dawn were starting to lighten the sky—we’d stayed out an extra hour— and the rest of our patrol had been busy. Nothing like the ambush, but more than the usual quota of fights and disturbances in the border boroughs. Hell only knew what was going on deeper into the Night World boroughs. We had no jurisdiction there, so had to confine ourselves to doing what we could on the borders.
    I rolled my shoulders again, feeling the bruises where the Beast had clawed me. Once upon a time, I could’ve patrolled all night, slept for an hour, and set out again after breakfast. But I was no longer twenty-one and foolish.
    Not even close.
    Still, I wasn’t ready to give up patrolling, even if our Abbott General had been dropping some broad hints about promoting me upward again. Upward and inward that would mean. Strategizing and politicking and administrating. All of which were important but about as appealing as a Beast sinking his claws through my guts.
    Turning to Gray, I picked up a brush and set to work. Tack I would delegate, but my horse, never. Gray made a halfhearted “where’s breakfast?” snap at my hands before he settled and relaxed under the strokes.
    Around us, the sounds of the rest of the patrol seeing to their horses rose and fell in a familiar low