Silver Blood (Series of Blood Book 1) by Emma Hamm (bill gates book recommendations .TXT) 📕

was ankle deep in the fog. The Juice was sticking to the glass walls and balling up into condensation. Wren knew that these droplets were incredibly strong doses that if touched would only make the Juice that much more powerful.

They continued to pour more mist into the chamber. It was up to her knees in a few more minutes, and Wren could not help but wonder what their game was. This was too much Juice for any creature; it was a waste. There was only so much truth that a person could tell.

The door to the larger room banged open, and Wren turned to look in shock as Jiminy busted through. His eyes danced around the room before darkening when he saw Wren seated in the glass cage.

“What are you doing?” he asked angrily. He was staring at Gaia as though she was committing some kind of crime.

“We’re finding out what kind of creature her Entity is,” Gaia replied. She appeared to be calm, but Wren could see the flashes of anger in her eyes. She wasn’t surprised that the powerful being would be angry that Jiminy was questioning her actions. Wren was more surprised that Jiminy was angry at her.

“You can’t do this. You don’t know what you might be unleashing.”

“We’re about to find out.”

He turned on his heel to walk towards the glass. “Wren, you have to stop this. Talk to E about this first.”

“E’s asleep,” she said softly. Her head was held high, and her jaw was set, but a flicker of uncertainty darkened her storm grey eyes.

Wren watched as he stepped closer to the glass as though he didn’t want the others in the room to overhear what he had to say. “Wren, you don’t know what this might do. What if we’re unleashing a Demon? What if this rips E out of you, and it can’t get back in?”

“I have to know,” she said as she stood to walk towards the glass. “I have to know what is happening in my own body. E has been silent for too long.”

“It’s only been asleep for a little while.” Frustration made his voice harsh.

“E has been silent for my entire life,” she replied. “Do you really think that they would let me make any other decision? They kidnapped me, brought me here, and you think they’re going to let me say no? At least now it’s by my choice. By my hands.”

“Are these your words? Or are they Gaia’s?”

She looked into his eyes before her gaze traveled down the length of his broad shoulders to the hand he had placed against the glass. White mist of Truth swirled around her shoulders and long tendrils of it caressed her neck.

“Both?” A small bitter laugh erupted from her mouth. “I don’t know. I’m feeling very lost without E.”

“Don’t make a decision you will regret. You can stop this right now.”

Wren raised her hand to trace the outline of his hand against the glass. Her fingertips left a smudged trail through the droplets of Juice. Her fingers curled against the outline of his palm and some of the liquid Truth was absorbed into her skin. She could feel the mist tickling the underside of her jaw.

“I can’t.”

She stepped back then. Her fingers lingered upon the cool surface of the glass until they slid from its surface. The back of her knees hit the chair. She was staring over the edge of a wall made of Truth and the mist that carried it.

Jiminy stood on the other side of the glass. His expression was darkened by concern as his hand also fell back to his side. She didn’t want him to talk. She didn’t need to hear anyone else’s opinions at this moment. This was her choice.

And it would be her burden to bear once it was over.

She inhaled slowly and sank into the thick Truth that surrounded her. She settled onto the chair and continued to breathe as steadily as she could. All around her was white. Wren could not see anything from the other room, only the swirling columns that made her vision spark at the edges.

A memory surfaced. One that felt as though it was hers and not. Standing on a cliff with a man, warm flesh, a sense of safety and danger at the same time. It wasn’t exactly a memory but the kind of daylight flash she would get when she remembered a dream.

But this one felt more important. She poked at the edges of the memory with her mind, hoping to find some kind of weakness that would pop the bubble. If she could just remember the rest of it, then maybe she would know why it felt so important to remember.

Regardless, she had little choice now that the Juice was thick in her system. Truth always made it difficult for her to focus on things that were not concrete fact.

She did not know how long she sat inhaling the sickly sweet scent. As when she had first awoken in Haven, time seemed to stand still. There was nothing but her breathing, the sound of her heart, and the color white.

“Wren?”

The sleepy voice startled her. She jumped at the sound and then sighed.

“E, are you alright?”

“The drug finally wore off.”

“Right,” she whispered. From one drug to the other it appeared.

There was a long pause as Wren continued to breathe and held herself as still as possible. She was tense as she waited for E to realize what was happening. It did not take long for the creature to understand.

“Wren, what did you agree to?”

The growl seemed to echo through her head at the same instant she heard Gaia begin to chant. Instantly, the mist drained out of the glass cage around her, and Wren felt leather strappings snake around her wrists.

“What?” she murmured as she jerked against the bindings.

Wildly, she looked towards the other people in the room. Gaia nodded her head at her, and Wren felt as though someone was tugging her out of