Black Blood (Series of Blood Book 4) by Emma Hamm (scary books to read .TXT) 📕

made Legion shudder. The little girl it possessed was no longer at the forefront, and Pitch doubted she even knew what was happening. Her mind couldn’t take such stress. He was thankful for it. Explaining to an eight-year-old what connection he had to Legion was not a conversation he wanted to have.

He shifted them, moving the weight of her body completely into his lap before his legs fell asleep. “And now you possess a human child? I wouldn’t have thought their minds capable of it.”

“She’s strong.”

“She must be to house all your souls. How have you not broken her?”

“I have kept the souls from her. We have gotten very good at releasing only one at a time.”

“Ah,” Pitch nodded. “That’s highly innovative. And it’s working?”

“So far.”

He hadn’t thought that possible, and he had made Legion. They never ceased to amaze him. His creations always took on a mind of their own, changing and adapting in ways he had never expected them to.

It was the first reason why he thought his siblings might be wrong. These creatures weren’t just objects they had placed on a shelf. They could change, in most cases for the better, with no one telling them to do so.

They were both strange and lovely.

Pitch squinted his eyes, looking beneath the flesh of the little girl and at the soul trapped beneath her skin. There it was. The mass of wispy darkness he had created thousands of years ago.

“You were one of my first creations, you know.” He flexed his hands. “I was always told that you were a mistake, a fanciful delusion that such a creature would ever survive. Feasting upon the souls of others was supposed to be evil, but you were never inclined to be bad. Even in the beginning.”

“I don’t eat souls,” the words were strange coming out of a little girl’s mouth. “I save them.”

He had known that, but listening to someone say it sparked a memory. Saving souls had been his intention all along. He had seen how many creatures had died, how many creations they were losing to the senseless war between Light and Dark. So he created a creature which would save them all, even if it was all housed within one mind.

Perhaps he hadn’t always been evil after all.

“You have returned after all these years?” Legion asked. “Why?”

“I have been preparing us for an even larger battle than before.”

“You will save the world?”

He leaned back, peering down at its milky white eyes. “Why would you say that?”

“We’ve known since you created us, since we absorbed our first Oracle, that you would save us all. We thought long ago that it would be our original dimension, but we were wrong. That one is gone, but the vision remains the same. You were meant to save us.”

“Huh,” Pitch shrugged. “You’ve always surprised me, Legion.”

He couldn’t leave the little girl here. She and her creature, although he had never recognized it before, were now his children. Legion did not deserve to be alone anymore. It didn’t deserve to wander the streets in the body of a little girl, wondering who would feed it next.

Even for an ancient creature that kind of stress would wear upon its sanity. Legions were closer to insane then most. They walked the fine line of madness with the precision of a Tightrope performer, but even the talented could falter. Pitch couldn’t see that happen.

“I’m growing soft in my old age,” he muttered. “I’m going to bring you somewhere safe.”

“Where?”

He didn’t answer. Lydia would approve of this choice. She was the reason why Pitch had any bit of kindness left in him. Strange as it was, he didn’t resent her for that new addition to his life.

The little girl was limp in his arms as he stood. Legion released control over her body, but she did not complain. Perhaps the creature had explained who he was, perhaps she recognized him as part of herself. It didn’t matter. Trust was not required to keep her safe.

His shadows pulled them into the darkness, melting their bodies into nothing and propelling them forward. The winds of night were easy to control. They bent to his will with few complaints and formed a shield to protect the girl.

Her hand was so small. It almost made him uncomfortable. She snuggled against his shoulder, holding on to the back of his neck without hesitation.

Trust. It was a notion he had forgotten in his long life.

Shadows melted away, sticky strands oozing from their skin and disappearing. Pitch stared at the warm lights of the white farmhouse and smiled. This was the perfect place to bring a little girl for at least a few months of safety.

She had fallen asleep. Her breathing was deep and even, her hands curled under her chin. Pitch was surprised she didn’t wake as he walked up the stairs and knocked on the red door.

It opened to reveal a face he hated to see lined with age. Leo’s tufted ears twitched and his flat nose sniffed at the girl.

“This is a sight I never thought I’d see. You father a child while I’ve been retired?”

Pitch snorted. “Not recently. The little one isn’t mine, but the creature inside her is.”

“Ah. Well, I suppose you’re here for a reason.”

“She’s homeless, or so it seems. Might be one of the orphanage rats, but either way I found her in an alley, cold and afraid. I need you to look after her until I can find a place for her.”

“When did you become such a softie?” Leo reached out claw-tipped hands. “I’ve never said no to helping a child. Give her here.”

They transferred the child from father to new grandfather, and Pitch felt as though he were letting a part of himself go.

“The creature inside her-”

Leo interrupted him. “I know. If it’s one of yours, then I need to tread carefully.”

“It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Legion is precious to me.”

Pitch reached out, smoothed the hair from her forehead, and smiled at her bleary