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

“That’s a horrible thing to say to an old man.”

“It’s the truth.”

“I don’t ask why you stay so young do I?”

Lydia laughed again and wiped the tears from underneath her eyes. “No, no you don’t. I’m sorry I guess I just… I always see you as the young man with broken glasses who startled me out of a vision.”

“I’m not that young man anymore.”

“And I slept through all of it.” She squeezed her hands in the plush carpeting beneath them. “I’m sorry for that too.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for.”

Louis reached behind her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. His presence had always been comforting although she wasn’t certain she knew him as well as she used to.

He pressed his lips against her hair and asked, “You’re feeling a little overwhelmed aren’t you?”

“A little?”

“It’s a lot to take on, even if you are two hundred years old.”

“I wasn’t even awake for most of that.”

“What brought on all this? You’re usually rather confident in your abilities, or you have been lately.”

Lydia took a deep breath, unsure of how much she should tell him. Her soul wanted to purge all the information she knew, all the terrible things she had seen, but Lydia settled for, “Pitch’s creation, the Legion, just lost everything.”

“Ah. And you feel like this is your fault?”

“Yes.”

“Oh Lydia, none of this was caused by you. Just because you can see what will happen, doesn’t mean you can save every little person. And you shouldn’t do that, even if you could. Bad things have to happen for people to appreciate the good.”

He had a good point. A spark of light glowed inside of her once more. Hope. It was such a dangerous emotion but so necessary to life at the same time.

“When did you start being a philosopher?”

“Oh I’ve always been one. Why do you think I have the glasses?”

She snorted. Phlegm caught in the back of her throat, making her cough violently before shaking her head. “I’m sorry I missed so much of your life, Louis. You deserve better.”

“But you’ve always been a part of my life. I married my wife because she had your calm grace and quiet demeanor. I raised my daughter on stories of the sleeping goddess who walked our future and our past. And I always made sure I was here for you when you woke up. You never left my side, Lydia.”

“I’m a legend to you?”

“A myth, and a person all wrapped up in one. There’s two people in you, whether you can hear her voice or not. You never lost that frightened human child who wanted someone to talk to in a scary house full of shadows.”

“I lose more of her every day.” And that was her worst nightmare. She could feel the burning passion of her power. The white molten lava of magic which could burn a hole through the very fabric of time.

“That’s not true, and you know it. Stop feeling sorry for yourself.”

Louis’s words startled another barking laugh out of her. It had been over two hundred years since someone had taken that fatherly tone with her. But that was exactly what she needed.

She wiped the tears off her face one more time, took a steadying breath, and shook her head firmly. “Right. Okay. I’m okay now.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Now we’ll get you back into bed.”

She rolled onto her knees with a smile on her face. Louis always made her feel better. The talent was natural, but she had a feeling it had a lot to do with his daughter. He’d never brought his little one to Pitch’s home. A pity, because Lydia would have loved to see a tiny little cat girl.

Pitch’s voice echoed in the hallway, “Now that’s something I never thought to hear another man say to you, Lydia.”

All the blood drained out of Louis’s face, his skin almost matching his hair.

“Oh hush, Pitch. Stop teasing him.”

“But he makes it so easy to do.”

“That doesn’t mean you should.”

Her shadow man scooped her off the floor, tucking her securely against his side. He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “You’re always trying to make me a better man, my love.”

“I can’t help it, there’s just so much to improve.”

Louis cleared his throat. “Old man needing a little help here.”

She wrenched herself out of Pitch’s arms and held out a hand. “I’m so sorry! We forget ourselves.”

Pitch followed and grasped Louis’s forearm. Hefting him to his feet, Pitch patted his back. “You’re not that old yet.”

“To a God perhaps not, but my bones aren’t what they used to be. Stop making me sit on the floor and get back up again. And fix your damn stairs!”

“You sound like your father.” Pitch patted his shoulder. “It’s not a bad thing.”

Louis blushed. “You two go talk and save the world. Stop teasing me!”

He huffed as he walked away. Lydia stifled a giggle when she heard his hushed curses and mutterings about young people who thought they knew so much more than an old man.

Pitch crossed his arms over his chest. “Do you think he forgets that easily that I’m thousands of years old?”

“I think he forgets that easily that I’m hundreds of years old. So yes, most likely he still sees you as a young boy.”

He reached for her while shaking his head. She pressed her ear against his chest, listening to the steady beats that meant she was still alive. He was still hers.

“I made it home alive,” he whispered in her ear. “I told you I would.”

“I can’t help but worry.”

Power sizzled through her veins. Her fingers clenched the muscles of his spine and her body seized as a vision swept her along in its path.

Fear made her weak. Ash swirled in dust all around her and a man screamed.

“E, if you don’t take control of her, we will both lose her forever!”

The tang of blood coated her tongue. The building before her was already crumbling. The beams groaned under weight they