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

“Just hurry up,” Jasper growled. The door wasn’t moving yet behind him. Apparently the magical orb Lyra had tossed did more damage than Burke had imagined.

She was pulling at another small bag that was tied onto her waist. Quickly, she pulled a table up that had been tossed aside during the fight. It listed to the side and nearly fell back to the ground. Frowning, she stooped to stare at the missing leg.

“Burke, hold this please.”

“Shouldn’t I be waiting to back up Jasper when the men start pounding on that door?”

“I don’t know. That’s your choice. Find the girl or fight.”

“Damnit,” he growled. But he walked over to hold the table upright for her. “You know, you’re really getting bossy lately.”

“I’m bossy all the time; you just don’t deal with me often,” she muttered as she emptied the contents of the bag onto the table.

“She’s right,” Jasper grunted.

On the table were a random hodge podge of items. Chicken bones, a few runes, a bright red feather that had seen better days, and another one of Lyra’s glass orbs that was filled with clear liquid. Lyra grabbed the feather and ran it through her fingers to smooth it out.

“I deal with you often,” Burke muttered.

“Only on missions.” She started to create a pattern with the bones. Small, large, small.

“More than that!”

“You leave after the mission and go off on your own. You’ve always been a loner.”

He didn’t think of himself like that. But Burke supposed they were right. He had never really attempted to get to know the people that he worked with. He just never thought he’d find that out while they were all battling death back.

“What’s that?” he asked when she picked up the orb.

Lyra arched a brow at him. “Liquid acid.”

“Really?”

A snort echoed through the room from the man holding onto the door. He braced his legs as the door started to shake behind him.

“No. It’s water.”

Burke rolled his eyes. “Really? Jokes right now?”

“Jokes always.” She cracked the orb on the table and sprinkled the droplets onto the runes and bones. The feather was then placed on top of all of it as she muttered in a language Burke did not understand. The runes started to bubble as the bones rattled on the table.

“Done, Lyra?” Jasper growled from the door.

“Almost!”

“Well hurry it up!”

“You can’t rush perfection.” She leaned down and breathed on the runes. Instantly, water started to pour from seemingly nowhere. It rushed into the room so quickly that within seconds Jasper was calf deep in it.

“Done now?” he shouted.

“Yes, fine, let go!”

He instantly bolted away from the door. The water continued to pour. On the other side of the table, there appeared to be some kind of shield. It was only filling up half of the room. The other half remained untouched by the wall of water that was quickly growing.

“That should do it.”

“How’s that helping us find Wren?” Burke growled.

“It’s not. She left the building.”

“Why did we do this then?” Burke shouted as he turned towards the door.

“Cause we needed a distraction! What are you? An amateur? She’s heading north.”

Jasper and Lyra ran ahead of him. They had managed to get through much of this underground bunker, and now they were backtracking. Burke looked once more at the wall of water that Malachi’s men were attempting to fight through. To her credit, they were having a really hard time battling up a waterfall.

“I hate working with you two,” he muttered as he ran to catch up with them again.

They ran past rooms filled with the bodies of the injured men they had beaten. They ran past rooms filled with magical objects they didn’t dare touch. They ran until they were breathing hard and sweat dripped down their backs.

Finally, they could see the door that would lead them back out into the snow. A burst of energy propelled Burke in front of the other two, and he struck his shoulder hard against the door. It flung open, and he ran out into the knee deep snow.

Only then did they pause. Their chests rose and fell as they looked around and only saw blankets of white that covered the land.

“Lyra?” Burke asked.

“I’m working on it!” Once more she looked at the contraption that covered her wrist. Her hand rose to point directly ahead of them. “Somewhere in that general direction. I think.”

“You think?”

“Give me a break! It’s cold, I’m tired, and the damned girl is running. That way!”

He sprinted in that direction. The snow made it hard to run. All of them were half as quick as they should have been. But their goal was in sight, she was close to him.

He could feel it.

The snow parted ahead of him. A dark shape stumbled in no general direction. She wasn’t moving very fast, but at least she was upright.

His throat convulsed. “Wren!”

The wind took his words and dashed them into the storm behind him. She didn’t stop moving, but he was moving faster. His feet plunged through the snow, and his body bowed forward as he rushed towards her.

Spots of bright red decorated the snow.

“She’s hurt!” he shouted, hoping that the others would hear his cry.

Her arm was pressed against her side, and every step seemed to be forced. The closer he got, the more he could see that she was seriously injured. Her entire right side was bright red against the white background.

She tripped. Her feet tried to catch her, but she fell to the side.

This time, he wasn’t letting her fall. Burke lurched forward and caught her falling body. He held her to his chest and sank to his knees. Finally. Finally, he had her in his arms.

Trying to catch his breath, he held her against him and pressed his forehead against her neck. His hand rose to shakily brush her hair away from her face. It was so tangled that he didn’t notice the mottled color of her skin instantly. Her eyes were closed, and her chest was barely moving, but he