Chapter 4

  Bloodline Hunt

  Abaddon awakens to find himself sitting on an opulent throhe nterns on the walls lit a small area around him but everything else past it was shrouded in a solid wall of darkness.

  “Who’s there?” Abaddon stared into the void sensing something was staring at him.

  (Listen, well, we don’t have much time.) Abaddon clutches his head in pain. Something was f its way into his mind. (I’m approag. but I’m still far away. They’ll reach you first.)

  “Who are you? And who’s ing for me?” Abaddon gritted his teeth fighting back against the searing headache while peering into the darkness, searg for any signs of whatever was talking to him.

  (I’d left something for you in the waking world. Use it to protect yourself.)

  “Expin yourself!” Abaddon shouted. “Who the hell is looking for me?!”

  (Stay safe, hide, and be careful.) The voice grew fainter despite it speaking in his head.

  “Hey!” Abaddon jumped to his feet. “You didn’t answer any of my questions. Who the hell are you?!”

  (We’ll meet iime, my dearly beloved.)

  A deafening sound rang in Abaddon’s ear. Instinctively, he reached out towards the noise, grabbing something cold aallic. Abaddon opens his eyes, not realizing they are closed. A digital clock rested in his hand. Slowly, everythiuro him as his brain woke up.

  “A dream?” Abaddon stared bnkly at the ringing clock, still uo fully his head around his new reality. After a moment of ption, he presses the button, sileng the arm.

  Three days have passed since Abaddon awoke in the body of a nine-year-old girl named Anna.

  Anna sighed and crawled out of her bed. “Time to get up.” She said as she stretched. Aaron groaned in response. He threw his b over his head to shield himself from the cold and the waking world.

  Anna clicked her tongue annoyed. She was tempted to leave the boy a him miss school. But it always been her job to wake him up and it’d be suspicious if she just stopped doing it now. She walked over to the other side of the room and ripped the b off Aaron’s body.

  “You better be up when I e back,” she said as she carried Aaron’s bo the bathroom.

  After shutting the door, she took off her bunny pajamas, barely resisting the urge to burn them. After taking off her clothes, she carefully gnced around. fident no one was looking at her, she let out a sigh. Abaddon ran a finger down the back of his neck. He couldn’t see it, but he could feel the heat of the mark that formed when he made a tract with Typhon.

  The tattoo did until three days ago when Abaddon awakened in this body. As much as that worried him, there was something far more pressing on his mind.

  Abaddon unched his hand. a small light hovered in the ter of his palm. The moment he woke up this m he felt something attached to him.

  I’m guessing you’re the gift the thing in my dream was talking about?” The light pulsed in his hand as if it was trying to respond. Somehow, Abaddon knew almost instinctively that something would happen if he fed the star some of his mana.

  “I’ll deal with you ter,” Abaddon said as he ched his hand, making the light vanish. He turned on the shower while avoiding looking at himself in the mirror. His small and frail form was a cruel reminder of everything he lost: his kingdom, his people, and even his own body.

  There’s a lot to worry about. Abaddon thought as he began to wash himself. “It’s bad enough. I woke in the body of a sick girl. But I just so happeo be in a nd ruled by one of my enemies, surrounded by mountains and monsters.” That’s way too many inveniences.

  For a moment, Abaddon believed that someone might be behind this but quickly dismissed that thought, as it didn’t make sense for his eo revive him after killing him. He also couldn’t imagine his allies purposely putting him in a weak body surrounded by enemies.

  Maybe the thing in my dream is behind all this. “Ha.” Abaddon sighed heavily as he brushed back her wet hair, deg to drop the issue. No point in trying to solve a mystery with no information. I should focus on finding an ally like Typhon.

  Abaddon iwines her fingers, making the hand signs to summoher of Monsters. Now where I summon a mohe size of a mountain?

  “Anna, your brother o wash up too.” A knock at the door shook Abaddon out of his thoughts.

  “Fine.” Abaddon hopped out of the shower and quickly dried himself off. He stopped at the bathroom door. In the er of his eyes, he notices his tattoo refleg in the mirror. The image of a massive dragon with tless monsters emerging from its body was etched to his back. His eyes glowed faintly as he cast an illusioo hide the marking. Ohe tattoo faded, he opehe door without putting clothes on.

  “Anna!” Olive gasped. She pushed Aaron away and grabbed the towel hanging on her daughter's shoulder. “You ’t walk around like this!” she shouted as she ed the towel around her daughter.

  “I don’t see what the problem is. I’m sure I bathe with everyone in this house at some point.”

  “That’s not the problem.” Olive pushes Anna to her room. “You’re a young dy. You o learn modesty.”

  “I guess that’s true.” Abaddon looks at himself, realizing he’ll have to live the rest of his life as a woman. Even if he learned whatever spell put him in this body, it would be impossible to return to his inal si was turo ash turies ago. Abaddon’s shoulders dropped. The realization nearly sapped him of his strength.

  Olive hums to herself as she brushes her daughter’s hair, unaware of the mental anguish she's going through. She smiles softly as she looks at her daughter in the mirror. “I’m so happy you ied your dad’s good looks.” Olive whisper. Her smile quickly vanishes wheices the short, ht woman with dark blemishes in the er of the mirror. Reflexively, she took a step back. Afraid her presence could somehow sully her daughter’s beauty.

  Anna gnces back at Olive, fused as to why she suddenly stops brushing her hair.

  “You should get dressed before you're te,” Olive whispered as she backed out of the room.

  Anna turtention to the outfit hanging on the closet door. The outfit included a dark green overall dress, a bck shirt, and tights. “Do I have to wear this?” Abaddes at the thought of wearing a dress. However, what truly bothered him was wearing the colors of the ehat destroyed his kingdom.

  Anna clicked her tongue annoyed, as she grabbed the uniform. After being an emperor Abaddon quickly learned how important a person’s appearance was. Thus, he took his time to dress properly.

  “I wonder if I’ll ever get used to this,” Anna grumbled as she examined him, her dress fluttered each time she turned.

  “Anna, yoing to be te?” Olive shouted. Anna sighed and headed downstairs, to see Olive running bad forth across the house making sure her children had everything they needed for school.

  “Ah, Anna, your breakfast is oable. Hurry up a, or you’ll miss the bus.”

  “If we miss it, we’ll just walk,” Anna said as she grabbed sausages and toast from her pte before heading to the front door.

  “Aren’t you fetting something?”

  “Hm?” Anna looked back at Olive, fused, with a piece of sausage in her mouth. Olive sighs and opens her arms wide, waiting for a hug.

  Anna ged, remembering almost being crushed the st time Olive hugged her. “Maybe ter,” Anna mumbled as she fled outside.

  “Don’t fet about your health!” Olive yell. Aarohis moment to sneak around his mother to avoid being hugged and chased after his sister.

  As she walked, Anna looked up at the sky, expeg to see Eris, but a b of gray clouds covered the sky. She absentmindedly stared at the slowly casg snow, unsure if she was relieved, she couldn’t see the celestial.

  “Cold,” Aaron mumbles, his body trembles untrolbly. The frigid wind wipes away any lingering drowsiness from the boy. However, his desire to return home and himself in his b increases every sed.

  “Sis.” Aaron turns to his sister, hoping to start a servation that would distract him from the cold. His eyes widen in disbelief wheices she isn’t wearing a coat. A cold gust blew through her hair, yet Anna stood perfectly still, ued by the winter breeze.

  “How are you not cold?”

  Anna tilted her head fused. “Abjuration,” she said matter-of-factly as if the answer was obvious. Aaron waited silently, thinking she would eborate further, but she turned her attention to something else, ending the servation.

  Aaron nervously reached for his sister’s hand but quickly pulled away. Even though he never wao attend Dys Academy, he thought it would be fun if his sister went with him. Aely, she seems colder than usual, more distant.

  Maybe she’s nervous. Aaron thought. She has always wao go to school, and this is her first day. Not to mention the principal put her in the elite csses. I bet she’s under a lot of pressure. Aaron nodded his head, satisfied with the answers he came up with.

  An awkward silence closed in owo siblings that was occasionally broken by Aaron’s groan and his teeth chattering.

  Growing annoyed with the boy’s whimpering, Anna pces her hand on his head. A soft light ed around his body before suddenly vanishing.

  Aaron blinked a few times, unsure of what he saw. It took him a moment to realize he wasn’t cold anymore. “What did you do?”

  “I cast an abjuration-based spell on you.”

  Aaron blinked a few more times, not sure his sister was even speaking the same nguage as him. Anna sighs heavily. “How do you not even know the basics? Have the school taught you nothing?”

  “So far, we’ve only been dois to determine our ranks?”

  “Oh, and what’s yours?”

  “They say I’m an appre have the potential to be a sage,” Aaron said as he shrugged his shoulders. Unsure of what any of that meant.

  “Sage? That ’t be right.” Anna took towards the boy to examine him closer

  “Um, Is that bad?” Aaron looked at his sister nervously. Anna simply replied with a smile finding the boy's cluelessness somewhat endearing.”

  “Mages are divided into five ranks. Apprentice, Caster, Adept, Sage, and Archimage. All mages start at apprentice.”

  “I guess. I’m strohan I thought.”

  “That’s not how it works." Anna tinue. Mages are not ranked by their strength but by how many spells they know and how effectively they cast them. Apprentices are people who just learn about magic.”

  Then agaiuries have passed, and they might’ve ged how the ranks work. Abaddon thought.

  Anna looks down at the little boy. The st time she checks Aaron she only observes the mana gathering around him. This time she focuses her attention on how well magic flowed inside Aaron. The smoother flow the more skilled the mage was.

  Anna's eyes glowed faintly as she narrowed them. A vast energy explodes from the little boy’s body. She reflexively jumped away almost believing the energy might e her.

  “No way.” Anantly took a step towards the boy still in shock by the dense mana that shrouded Aaroire being. “To have this much mana at such a young age...”

  As expected of my offspring. An almost predatory smile stretched across Anna's face. She grabbed Aaron’s shoulders, her eyes glowing bright from excitement. “Looks like they weren’t wrong, you have potential. How about I teach you? I help cultivate that potential.”

  “Oh…sure.” Aaron tilted his head, fused as to why she suddenly wao train him when just a moment ago, it seemed she didn’t want anything to do with him.

  The bus blew its horing the sibling of its presehe annoyed and tired driver silently beed to get on.

  "We talk about this ter." Anna patted the boy's back gently shoving him towards the vehicle. Aaroantly stepped onboard, freezing almost instantly when he felt a dozen eyes on him and his sister. Anna pushed the frightened boy into a nearby seat. As the bus began to move Abaddon found himself thinking about the dream he had earlier.

  As much as Abaddon wao dismiss it as nothing more than a dream. The moment he saw the star earlier, he knew something somehow was trying to reach him. As he stared out the window a chilling thought came to his mind.

  How does anyone know I’m alive?