Knight's Blood

By Jason Leary

In a world where all mythology is real,  Alexandra Blood, a former Knight, is called out of hiding when Legion, a secret government organization that polices the supernatural, locates a young girl they believe to be the long prophesized Hope of Humanity. It's up to Alex to protect the girl from the petty and selfish Greek gods of Mt. Olympus and establish her true identity. In a desperate roll of the dice, Alex takes the girl to see Cassandra, the Oracle of Troy, who has been driven made by visions of the future to uncover the girl's destiny.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wings ePress, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9781597054171

Book preview

Part One

Blood and Wine

One

The Prodigal Knight

Alexandra Blood brushed a stray lock of bright red hair out of her face and behind her ear as she waited patiently in the back corner of the coffee shop for her order. Out of the corner of her eye she could still see the man who had been following her for most of the day. She may not have recognized him, but she recognized his nondescript clothing, and knew instantly who he worked for. To most people he would appear to be an average business person, but Alex knew it was all an illusion, a carefully cultivated image to keep those less observant from asking too many questions. But once you knew where the seams in that disguise were, they were easy to detect. To Alex it was obvious he was Legion from the top of his neatly groomed hair down to the high polish on his black loafers. Although night had begun to fall she wouldn’t have had any trouble picking him out of a crowd. As far as she was concerned he might as well have been wearing a flashing neon sign.

What she was unable to figure out, however, was what he wanted with her. She hadn’t had dealings with Legion for more than eighteen months. When they parted it hadn’t been on the best of terms.

Legion was a secret government organization that policed the supernatural activity in the world. Mostly they dealt with the occasional Vampire clan or Werewolf pack. They were entrusted with keeping the dark forces at bay. However, when a situation arose that they were either ill equipped to handle, or the United States government was reluctant to take sides in, they turned to specialists known as Knights. Once upon a time Alexandra Blood was best of that elite group.

But that was a long time ago, she reminded herself, as she felt the cold silver of the crucifix dangling from her necklace resting on the subtle, but visible scar which ran over her heart and between her breasts before disappearing beneath the soft fabric of her red satin lined black corset.

As far as Alex was concerned, Legion was a sinister name for an even more sinister organization. It was a name that had been carefully selected within the corridors of power in Washington and the biblical undertones had not been lost on anyone within the organization or those they hunted.

In one of the stories related in the Bible in which Jesus performed an exorcism, he asked the demon for his name. In response the demon sneered and replied, We are Legion, meaning, We are many.

In Alex’s estimation the adoption of the name Legion for the organization tasked with the duty of protecting the world from the forces of the supernatural was an unnecessary taunt. She understood the meaning behind it, You may be many, but there are many standing against you, but she couldn’t shake its demonic and sinister origins. If she were completely honest with herself she’d have to admit that the darkness of the name had rubbed off on the organization it represented as well.

She was reminded of an old saying, if power corrupts; then absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Alex couldn’t imagine what anyone in Legion could possibly want with her. She would have thought that with the bloody way she had ended her involvement with them no one even remotely associated with the organization would want to have anything to do with her. And yet, here this man was, watching her from across the street while pretending to nonchalantly read the newspaper he held in his hands. Blood was no amateur, no matter how much Legion wanted her to be, and this also was not the first time she had been followed. It was painfully clear to her that each time he glanced up from his neatly printed page and into the darkened windows of the coffeehouse he was checking to make sure that she hadn’t moved, reacquiring his quarry.

Blood knew she could’ve lost him easily if she had wanted to, but she also knew that this man posed no threat to her. Not to mention, there was something that she wanted more than her privacy. She wanted answers. If Legion had become interested in her all over again there had to be a reason for it and she intended to find out what it was.

Besides, a smile spread over her blood-red lips, this could be fun.

Alex. The young man behind the counter called her name. She stood, crossed to the countertop, claimed her coffee, and headed back out onto the quickly darkening city streets.

She made her way along the sidewalk, weaving in and out of the foot traffic, luring her prey to follow as she took a sip of her iced coffee. Although it had been almost six months since she had used her training she discovered that her abilities hadn’t waned in the slightest. She could feel the man keeping pace with her, careful not to take his eyes off of her.

None of this was making any sense. Legion knew about the training she had been given. They knew how competent she was and yet they sent this man who was obviously inexperienced and had no idea what he was being put up against. It was like sending a fly to catch a spider. The only reason could be that they wanted her to know that she was being followed. But why?

Calm and collected, Alex stopped outside the window of one of the fetishist shops that peppered the streets of downtown. She pretended to study the black leather bondage outfit in the window, but in reality she was using the darkened interior to create a more defined reflection in the glass and get a better look at who was following her. Again, he stopped a comfortable distance away, opened his paper, and proceeded to act as if he was reading the articles.

Like most of the agents employed by Legion everything about him was average. Average height, average weight, average body type. There was nothing about him that would draw undue attention. Ironically that was the very thing that had tipped Alex off to him in the first place. She took another drink of her coffee as she narrowed her eyes and focused in on his face which looked as though it was actually turning red from embarrassment. This brought an evil smile to Blood’s lips, my God; I’m going to eat this man alive!

With her plan formulated, Alex turned and proceeded down the street, checking reflections in the store windows every now and then just to make sure he was still on her tail. She walked several blocks before the crowd finally thinned and she decided to make her move. She quickly turned and entered the alleyway.

THE MAN WATCHED HER disappear around the corner and then took one last, nervous look over his shoulder before finally following her in. As he came around the corner and entered the filthy alley his stomach dropped. He scanned the debris strewn passageway but Blood was no where to be seen. He was flanked on both sides by brick buildings that towered over him. Otherwise the alleyway was empty, with the exception of two over-flowing metal garbage cans lined up against the left wall. There was simply nowhere for her to hide. As his mind struggled to cope with the impossibility of the situation he suddenly heard the sound of someone whistling behind him. He quickly turned to face the source. Cool liquid splashed into his face. Blinded, he wiped at his stinging eyes in a desperate attempt to clear them.

JESUS CHRIST! THE man yelled in shock, What in the hell was that? Holy Water?

Frapaccino, Grande... Alex purred.

The man paused for a minute embarrassed by his reaction, and he collected some of the light brown liquid on his finger and tasted it. Hmmm, it’s good... the man responded, looking into the face of Alexandra Blood, who kept her 9mm Berretta trained on him. He could tell by the serious expression on her face that she wasn’t amused.

Who are you? she asked. Her steely gaze burrowed its way through him. Why are you following me?

I’m sorry, the man answered, not wanting to take his eyes off the barrel of the gun. I’m not field personnel.

He started to reach for his pocket, but was stopped by Alex, I don’t think so.

My card, the man answered, too terrified to look up.

Two fingers. Alex kept her inflection even, not wanting to betray any of the conflicting emotions churning just beneath the surface of her calm exterior.

Doing as he was told, the man reached into his pocket and pulled out one of his business cards with two fingers and offered it to Alex. As she stepped forward to take the card, the man grabbed her gun hand, twisted it painfully behind her back, and using that as leverage pinned her against the wall of the alley with all of his strength. You’re not so tough. The man hissed in her ear, Maybe you’re not the one we need after all.

Without thinking Alex quickly wrapped her left leg around the man’s right and head butted him with the back of her skull, sending him sprawling to the ground clutching his bleeding nose.

Alright, so maybe you are who we’re looking for, the man corrected himself as he felt to see if his nose had been broken. Was that really necessary?

No, Alex answered him as she studied his card. It was fun. The business card had been printed on plain white card stock with neat black typeface. Again there was no logo or anything else that would set this card apart from any other. The only writing on the face read ‘Legion—Marcus Ritter’.

Ritter, huh? Alex asked as she studied the man still beaten and bleeding on the ground.

Ritter nodded as he spat out some of the warm blood pooling in his nasal cavity.

Get up slowly, Alex ordered. Ritter rose to his feet, the pain in his joints written all over his face.

If you’re Legion, Alex spoke keeping the gun focused on him, then you know who I am, I take it. She was well aware that her past had taken on almost mythic proportions within the halls of the agency. She doubted there was anyone employed by Legion who didn’t know who she was, or what had happened to her. The whole situation was probably used as standard training now, as an example of what not to do.

Ritter knew as well as Alex did that there was no point in denying it and instead nodded. Alexandra Blood. You’re a Knight, he answered softly, the words forming in the back of his throat.

"I was a Knight, Alex responded, unable to hide the anger in her voice any longer. I don’t hunt monsters anymore. I’m retired."

Ritter took his hand away from his nose and looked at the bright red blood smeared across his fingers, You could have fooled me.

Alex was not amused and she had no intention of backing down, If you know me, I’m sure you know my history. You were brave to follow me. I don’t really have a warm place in my heart for Legion any longer.

I know you don’t like us very much, Ritter conceded.

That’s an understatement.

Trust me. The feeling’s mutual, he shot back. You have no idea how hard I had to fight to bring you back.

Well, you wasted your time. I don’t want back. Ritter studied the hatred searing behind her eyes.

Look, I know you’re not happy with how things went down the last time, but we need you, Ritter countered. A lot has changed since then. It’s not the same Agency.

I should think not, Alex growled through a devilish smile.

We have a problem, Ritter continued, trying to ignore her obvious threat. A problem that only you can solve. You may not like Legion, but you can still save the world. Just come to the next meeting of the Round Table. Listen to what we have to say. If you don’t like it then you’re free to go.

Alex’s eyebrows rose in uncertainty. No questions asked? she pressed; the distrust in her voice palpable.

No questions asked, Ritter agreed.

There was a pause as Alex thought about the offer, not wanting to commit.

You don’t have to give me your answer right now, Ritter responded, attempting to put her at ease, Come down to HQ, tomorrow night, 1100 hours. You can give us your answer then.

Alex glanced down at the card thoughtfully as Ritter turned to leave the alley. She couldn’t believe that she was actually considering this. Joining Legion was the last thing that she wanted, but he had piqued her interest. What could be happening that only she could stop? Alex wracked her brain but could only think of one thing. That just wasn’t possible. There weren’t any more of those creatures left, were there? They were extinct. She’d killed the last of them herself, years ago.

Alex pushed the thought out of her head and pocketed the card.

RITTER QUICKENED HIS pace as he retreated down the street. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end and he fought every urge to look back to see if she was following him. He was lucky to have escaped the meeting with his life and Ritter knew it. Blood’s hatred for Legion was matched only by her impatience, and he had done something no one working for the agency had been able to do for more than a year. He had spoken with Alexandra Blood and lived.

As he came around the side of a brownstone building he was relieved to see the nondescript, unmarked white van parked on the street corner just where Wine had promised.

Since taking the reigns of Legion, Jonathan Wine had been tasked with rebuilding much of what Alexandra Blood had destroyed during her infamous resignation. It was not an enviable undertaking and it was not one that Wine had entered into lightly. A lot of the respect, quiet authority, and ambiguity had been shattered the day that Blood took her vengeance and Wine had been working hard to rebuild it ever since.

Ritter, unlike the field personnel, was in the unique position of knowing firsthand the challenges that faced Wine. When Wine first took the assignment he knew a lot of the trust and faith that had once been put into Legion by their agents had been lost and it would be a long and arduous process to put it back together. It wasn’t something that Wine had looked forward to, but it was something that was necessary none the less.

In Wine’s short time as the head of the agency he had already managed to make more than his fair share of enemies, but he was also beginning to make a few friends. With every new directive, with every new action that Wine took, the agents who made up the bulk of the personnel of Legion were beginning to come around and trust him more and more. Slowly his reputation, along with that of the agency, was being restored.

Ritter, however, was not like the majority of the agents who worked for the shadowy organization. He had not been employed by Legion at the time of Blood’s resignation and his knowledge of the situation was limited to what he had heard from the veterans in the agency, the whispers in the hallways, the off-hand comments made here and there. No one would speak with him directly about it, but from what he had heard he had been able to cobble together a vague picture of what had happened in those dark days.

Blood apparently had been one of the most successful Knights in the employ of the agency. She had a gift, not only when it came to slaying the dark creatures of the night, but also in negotiations with the gods of Mount Olympus. Ritter had heard many people say that she was the only Knight who could go toe to toe with the gods, challenge them, and survive, and it was because of this that she was the only Knight the immortal beings ever respected. But while hunting one of the most dangerous creatures ever to walk the earth, Blood fell. The story went that with its clawed hand, it had pulled her still beating heart from her chest, and watched as she died.

As Ritter went over Blood’s story in his head he remembered the scar, plainly visible on her chest, a glaring reminder of the truth that had become legend. But as is obvious now, her story did not end there. From what Ritter had gathered, Maximillian Price, the former director of Legion, performed a ritual with the help of a coven of witches who had been taken into custody. They brought Blood back from the Underworld. She was the only Knight ever to have returned from the land of the dead. The only problem was that she hadn’t wanted to come back. As far as Blood was concerned she had performed her duty for God and country and now was her time for peace, her time for rest.

She had been so enraged