Blood Sacrifice Read Online Free Page B

and change into something less heavy. It was still bloody hot outside and the a/c in here, though doing its job, couldn’t overcome stifling layers of fancy gear. “Okay, let’s try for something a bit more explanatory and less cryptic,” I said as I strode over to the desk.
    The parchment gleamed in the soft overhead light, its colorful illuminations as complex and grand as any manuscript painstakingly hand-drawn by medieval monks. Only this was fresh off the pen… or spell. I could feel magick tied into the complex symbols and imagery. Unicorns, wyverns, dragons, and other fantastical creatures entwined in some sort of mystical dance, while runes and knots embellished the sides of the parchment. Perhaps they were only protective spells, keeping the information from being read by anyone other than us. Perhaps not.
    “Did you feel the magick?” I asked.
    Adam nodded. “It is part of the material itself.”
    I looked at him in surprise. “And you didn’t think to not touch this without checking with me? What if—”
    “It’s mostly harmless,” he said, without apology.
    “And you can tell this how?” I crossed my arms and glared at him. He may be his father’s son, but when he became vampire, the Sidhe part of him died, replaced by the magick of the Nightwalker.
    “I’m not sure,” he said. “But I know.” He smiled. “Give me a little credit, Keira. I may no longer have my magick, but I can feel it.”
    “Hmph.” I stepped closer, but avoided touching the document. “I’ll take your word on that for now. What language is this? I sort of recognize the symbols, Ogham runes, right?”
    “
Beith-Luis-Nin
, yes.” Tucker ran a hand down the side of the sheet. “They used the script to write in the Old Tongue, grandfather to modern Celtic languages. See this word?” He pointed to a set of runes. “
Arigeacht
. It means ‘fealty.’” His brow furrowed as he translated. “Here, ‘
Gideon Branogeni Mucoi Kelly.”
That’s ‘Gideon, born of Raven of the tribe Kelly.’ It goes on with various phrases of ownership? I’m not positive. I can recognize the runes, as they’re similar to my own early learnings, but the language is old, not something I’m well versed in.”
    “‘Born of Raven?’ That’s precious.” I growled. “His mother wasn’t named Raven, but that was a name she took after Change.”
    “Is that significant of something in particular?” Adam asked. “I know that in some cultures, children take a new name upon adulthood, but I’d never thought you did so.”
    “Not typically,” Tucker answered. “Alys, Gideon’s mother, fell very much into the sixties counterculture. She ran off to the Haight in sixty-five, came back a few years later and Changed somewhere around the earlyseventies. Then she seemed to fall back in with the family and got pregnant with Gideon.”
    I stared at my brother. “You’re not joking?”
    “No, why would I be?” He seemed puzzled at my question.
    “So Gideon is the product of some airhead former druggie hippie—and the Faery King?” I began to laugh. Oh, the irony. “No wonder he’s so fucked up. I never knew that about his mother. He didn’t talk about her much.”
    “I never said she was a druggie,” Tucker said. “Though you aren’t off the mark. She really enjoyed the sixties.”
    I couldn’t control my mirth. “This is priceless.”
    Adam shook his head, smiling at me.
You amuse me
, he said with a look. I could only wipe my eyes and shake my head. It was too funny not to laugh. Despite the Challenge and the silly pomp-and-circumstance of the Reception, I couldn’t help but think life had become something out of a bad Syfy Channel fantasy movie. What next? CGI dragons? Mega Shark meets megalomania?
    Adam’s hand brushed the center portion of the scroll, ignoring my chuckles. “Much of this primary text is in the old language. Part of this is slightly more modern, not using Ogham. It’s a mix. The Ogham speaks