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

“Wolfgang,” she repeated the name to taste it against her tongue. Salty and sweet, it burned its sound against her lips. “Can you give me a chance, Wolfgang?”

“Why are you so belligerent?” he asked her. She noticed his hands were fisted at his sides.

“It’s the only way I know how to get what I want.”

“And you want me?”

Did she want him? Lyra looked him over once more. Her eyes lingered on the broad strength of his shoulders, the line of muscle that ran down his throat, and the scars upon his knuckles.

“Oh yeah,” she said.

He swallowed hard as he stared down at her in shock. “Why?”

She shrugged. “Do I need a reason why?”

“With me you do.”

“I don’t have an answer for you. I’m interested. That’s just the way it is.”

Lyra watched the gears turn in his head. He was staring down at her as though she was a puzzle he was unable to figure out. A muscle on his jaw jumped twice before he slowly nodded.

“Yeah,” he finally muttered.

“Yeah?”

He growled at her.

“Fine.” She dug into her pocket and handed him an orb. It glowed brightly as soon as it touched his hand. Bright rays of light peeked from between his fingers until it dulled to a soft glow.

“What is this?” he asked her.

“Sorta like a telephone but more private. You just have to say my name, and the orb will get in touch with me.”

“You’re an Enchanter.” The words weren’t a question. He was staring at her as though she had grown a third eye and started spouting off prophecies at him.

Lyra snorted. “Unlikely. I’m just someone who can afford the good stuff. You remember my name?”

A figure was moving towards them from down the street. Jasper and all his leonic presence barreled towards them with a thunderous expression marring his usually handsome face. Trailing behind him was a lovely young woman who Lyra remembered was the shopkeeper.

Oh right. The boot.

She was going to have to face the music on that one. They were both angry at her because she had stolen the shoe on her foot. Just not the other one. Sighing, she started backing towards her angry friend while trying to wrap up her conversation.

“Wolfgang! Do you remember my name?”

“Yes.”

“What is my name?” she insisted even as she leaned down to start yanking the shoe off of her foot. Hopping backwards wasn’t particularly lady-like, but she had already tossed that out the window.

“Lyra.” It was like ripping teeth out of this man.

“Correct! Talk to you soon then?”

His eyes were darting for the nearest exit away from this situation. Lyra wasn’t sure if it was her or everything else around him that was causing this reaction. It didn’t matter the reasoning. She was going to peel him apart like an orange to figure out how that beautiful and strange mind worked.

That would take time that they did not have at the moment. “Just go.” She waved her hand.

He didn’t run, as she had expected. Instead he arched a critical eyebrow at her and slowly turned away. Lyra shouldn’t have been looking at him like he was a steak that needed to be tenderized, but damn. He sure was pretty. She wouldn’t mind hitting him with a hammer a couple times.

“Lyra.” Jasper’s angry words were harsh compared to the other man’s. “Are you staring at that stranger’s ass?”

“Absolutely,” she said with a happy sigh.

“Boot.”

Lyra finished pulling it off of her foot and handed it over to Jasper without taking her eyes off of Wolfgang’s retreating form.

“You’re a piece of work, you know that?” Jasper grumbled.

“I know.”

Maybe to others. But she wasn’t a piece of work in her own world. Lyra was just Lyra. Confident, demanding, often times a little bit too much for other people around her. This was why she worked for the Five. No one else would have her.

Jasper finished dealing with the angry shopkeeper who yanked the boot out of his hand with a disapproving sound and flounced away from them. He ran a hand through his long hair in frustration before letting out a long breath. At least Jasper knew that he had to treat Lyra with a little bit of care.

“You good to go now? I got a message from the Five saying we’re next up in a raid,” Jasper said while handing her forgotten shoes over.

“Sure.” She’d get the man out of her head and a little blood on her skin. She did so enjoy that. “Where to?”

“It’ll be a surprise,” he muttered as he reached out to grab onto her hand.

Jasper was an anomaly in this world. He was one of the few species that could teleport, although not many people knew what he was. Lyra did.

Fairy wasn’t particularly the kindest term for them. They weren’t tiny. They didn’t fly around. And they certainly weren’t hot little women who whizzed through the air in tight dresses. But the term proceeded them with a certain stereotype that Jasper wasn’t likely to free himself from.

This was precisely why he kept it a secret. He didn’t want anyone to look down on him for what he was. The world they lived in could be a cruel place.

Once his warm hand was on her skin, they disappeared from the street. Nothing was left to signify that they had ever been standing in that spot. Not even their footprints remained.

Blood splattered as Lyra whipped her dual blades around her head. They were always called to battle on the worst days. She was distracted. She was in her own head. Now was not a good time for either of those things to be happening.

The Five were frequently sending them to protect the Red Bloods. They were the last remaining humans and the only hope for new species to evolve. Every time a child was born, a magical soul zipped inside to claim its rightful place next to the human soul.

There were rare moments when a soul was not waiting for a human body. It only happened once or twice