Red Blood (Series of Blood Book 2) by Emma Hamm (best short books to read .TXT) 📕

“Fine. Then we stay out of the Black Market,” Aether conceded.

“There were rumors that a creature might fit that description.” Wren whispered. Her eyes had returned to their usual turbulent gray. “They call him the Graverobber.”

“One of the Lords.” Lyra nodded.

“He is supposedly a creature that has been destroyed by something. No one knows why, but he is rumored to be so incredibly disfigured that he cannot show his face in public. I do know that he is powerful and capable of great things.”

“Or terrible things.” She slowly stood. “Am I to be the person going back into the Black Market then?”

“No,” Jasper growled.

“Your opinion is unnecessary. You’re always going to say no. Am I going?”

“Yes.” Aether was the one to speak. She nodded even as her eyes stared into the blank void ahead of her. “It has to be you.”

“A vision?”

“An inclination.” Aether met Lyra’s gaze. “Go to the Market and see what you can find there.”

“Understood.”

“I don’t like it.” Jasper grabbed her arm. “They don’t know what they are asking you to do.”

“No one does.” She smiled down at him and patted the big hand attached to her. “You know the drill. Drop me off at the entrance and don’t look back.”

He slowly nodded. His hand shifted, so he had a better hold on her arm, and they disappeared.

Their bodies reappeared on a dingy street far from Haven. The cobblestone around them had once been carefully laid, but now it was cracked. Weeds grew from the ground to take back the land that had been stolen long ago.

Looking down the street that disappeared into darkness made her heart clench. She hated going into that place. And yet, there was a part of her that would always long for it.

“Why do you always do this?” Jasper slowly dropped his hand from the soft rise of her bicep.

Lyra shrugged. “Who else would do it?”

“Anyone. Anyone else could put their own lives on the line.”

“My life isn’t on the line.” She couldn’t explain to him why it wasn’t. She couldn’t explain that to anyone.

“It is when you walk into that place. Whether you want to believe it or not.”

“Maybe so. But it has to be me.”

“One day you’ll tell me why,” he said quietly.

“Probably not, big guy.” She patted his shoulder. “Go on with you. I’m sure they’ve got a piece of the puzzle for you too.”

“You’ll let me know when to come get you?”

“Of course.”

He gave her one more lingering glance before he disappeared. She let out a long breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. It was so much easier being here when he wasn’t. She could be the person they were waiting for.

Movement in the pool of water at her feet made her glance down. Her reflection shuddered and morphed. The nose wasn’t right. Her nose wasn’t that long. Nor were her eyes slanted and black as night. That wasn’t her face. It was close, but it wasn’t hers.

A chill went down her spine, and she remembered a time that mirrored this moment. She had been fourteen. Children shouldn’t play with fire or dark magic. But she had.

Long ago she had stood on this very road in the hopes that she might find something there. Her eyes had lingered upon the pools of water that never seemed to disappear. The younger version of herself had thought herself to be the most beautiful woman to ever live.

After all, that was what most Sirens thought of themselves.

But she had been beaten down by the words of her parents. Sirens were unnatural, horrid creatures. She was a disgrace to the family name.

The Black Market had been a sanctuary. No one had thought her unusual. No one had thought that her species was disgusting. There were far more dangerous and ugly things here.

For the first few weeks, she had been allowed to wander. She had spent her money on frivolous things that held no power at all. Until someone had offered her a place in the Black Market. She was offered a home, food, a reliable job, and everyone had wanted her. Until the unthinkable had happened.

The contract that had come from that encounter weighed upon her shoulders. Her foot stomped hard into the puddle of water to clear her reflection. Lyra had always known what was coming. There was no other end for her.

She turned a corner and walked into the Black Market. Every fiber of her being wished she had forgotten this place. But she remembered every tiny detail as though it had been etched onto her soul.

The candles that lined the path flickered to life as she walked past them. Unlike its name, the Black Market wasn’t dark. It was one of the most vibrant places she had ever seen. Bright streamers of colors billowed from the windows, and all manner of creatures wandered freely.

This was the home for the freaks and the evil creatures that could not be allowed anywhere else. Not to mention that it was also where magic was practiced freely. The crumbling buildings on either side of her fairly reeked with the scent of it.

No one was on the streets, not this close to the main road. It gave her the time she needed to become the person that the Black Market had turned her into.

Lyra hated this person. She hated stepping back into the shoes of this woman she no longer knew. But she also couldn’t deny that letting go of all her restraints had a certain charm. The freedom was enthralling, tantalizing, and so deliciously sexy. At first.

Her walk grew loose as her hips swiveled. In this place she wasn’t any regular woman; she was a Siren. Every inch of her perfect flesh was soft. Every curve and valley begged for the warm touch of a man whom she deemed worthy.

She reached up to untangle her hair from the long ponytail she usually wore on her missions. The long tresses fell down her spine in