Read Online Tears of Blood (The Blood Chronicles) by Tamela Quijas - Free Book Online
Authors: Tamela Quijas
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inhaling sharply. The faint scents of earth and sandalwood invaded her lungs, the aroma tingling against the roof of her mouth, and causing her to cough. Meghan staggered a bit and brushed a clammy hand over her arms. Shuddering, her body shaking with an incomprehensible cold, she raised her hands before her. She remained where she stood, lost in the shadows of her eyesight, unable to make out the slightest image.
Silence filled the air, thick as a fog.
“I don’t have time for games, damn it!” She shouted aloud and with far more bravery than she felt.
“I’m not playing a game.” A somber voice replied from ten feet before her.
Meghan lifted her chin and exhaled a long and shuddering breath, wondering at the odd hush surrounding her. She didn’t pick up the slightest hint of a breeze, a whisper, or a betraying shuffle of feet. She sensed her assailants had vanished as swiftly as they appeared and, for a moment, she felt the earth had come to a standstill.
“Thank you for chasing those guys away.” She stammered and stepped backward, an inner warning bell going off in her head.
The man chuckled beneath his breath. She ran her tongue nervously over her mouth and frowned, wondering why the smell of blood seemed so prevalent in the alley.
“Were you hurt…?” The pressure of an icy finger rested on her parted lips.
“Stay quiet, cara .”
His speech was charming, slightly accented, the rhythmic tone startling her. She jerked back, the fingertip immediately leaving her fullness of her lower lip, and she stumbled backwards. Fearful, Meghan assumed she’d lost two assailants in exchange for another.
Just this once, she damned her lack of sight, wanting to see who stood before her.
“Who are you?” She demanded sharply. He remained in front of her, whoever this newcomer was, his shadow a spectral mass in her damaged vision.
“You don’t need to know but, trust me, you’re safe.” He assured her in the same persuasive tone, not moving from where he stood.
“Where are the…” She couldn’t say much else, her body quaking with every breath she struggled to take.
“They’re gone.”
She wondered if he told the truth. She couldn’t see her surroundings, or hear the betraying presence of her assailants, but the stench of the alleyway, freshly turned earth, sandalwood, and blood encircled her. She coughed again, wrapping her arms around her torso, attempting to ward off the cold.
“Where…?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Still, he spoke in husky tones, the melodiously pronounced words echoing with a charm and elegance from the past.
“What the hell do you mean it doesn’t matter ?” Meghan bit out, and her teeth chattered violently.
“The scum have vanished, cara .” He repeated easily. “As long as they can’t harm you, or any other woman, the world is a better place.”
Meghan was certain there was a hint of lethality beneath the calmly spoken words. For a man who had just taken on her two attackers, he seemed miraculously composed. She drew in a deep breath, coughing again, her teeth chattering more intensely.
“Look at me.” He ordered quietly and she listened to the soft trod of his shoes as he stepped closer. He didn’t touch her again but a profound cold emanated from his nearness.
She lifted her face, powerless to speak, her brain thinking strange thoughts that were far too detached for her to rationalize.
“You’re in shock,” he stated calmly, the scent of sandalwood embracing her as it radiated from him. He leaned in close, until his face was merely a few inches from hers, their brows nearly touching. “If you look into my eyes, I can make the fear leave you.”
“I’d love to,” she snapped sarcastically, moving away from the unspoken enticement he exuded. She stepped further back, the rough edges of the wall lining the alley digging into her back as she attempted to avoid him. Fury rose in her, fueled by her outrage over the evening events, and she struggled
Silence filled the air, thick as a fog.
“I don’t have time for games, damn it!” She shouted aloud and with far more bravery than she felt.
“I’m not playing a game.” A somber voice replied from ten feet before her.
Meghan lifted her chin and exhaled a long and shuddering breath, wondering at the odd hush surrounding her. She didn’t pick up the slightest hint of a breeze, a whisper, or a betraying shuffle of feet. She sensed her assailants had vanished as swiftly as they appeared and, for a moment, she felt the earth had come to a standstill.
“Thank you for chasing those guys away.” She stammered and stepped backward, an inner warning bell going off in her head.
The man chuckled beneath his breath. She ran her tongue nervously over her mouth and frowned, wondering why the smell of blood seemed so prevalent in the alley.
“Were you hurt…?” The pressure of an icy finger rested on her parted lips.
“Stay quiet, cara .”
His speech was charming, slightly accented, the rhythmic tone startling her. She jerked back, the fingertip immediately leaving her fullness of her lower lip, and she stumbled backwards. Fearful, Meghan assumed she’d lost two assailants in exchange for another.
Just this once, she damned her lack of sight, wanting to see who stood before her.
“Who are you?” She demanded sharply. He remained in front of her, whoever this newcomer was, his shadow a spectral mass in her damaged vision.
“You don’t need to know but, trust me, you’re safe.” He assured her in the same persuasive tone, not moving from where he stood.
“Where are the…” She couldn’t say much else, her body quaking with every breath she struggled to take.
“They’re gone.”
She wondered if he told the truth. She couldn’t see her surroundings, or hear the betraying presence of her assailants, but the stench of the alleyway, freshly turned earth, sandalwood, and blood encircled her. She coughed again, wrapping her arms around her torso, attempting to ward off the cold.
“Where…?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Still, he spoke in husky tones, the melodiously pronounced words echoing with a charm and elegance from the past.
“What the hell do you mean it doesn’t matter ?” Meghan bit out, and her teeth chattered violently.
“The scum have vanished, cara .” He repeated easily. “As long as they can’t harm you, or any other woman, the world is a better place.”
Meghan was certain there was a hint of lethality beneath the calmly spoken words. For a man who had just taken on her two attackers, he seemed miraculously composed. She drew in a deep breath, coughing again, her teeth chattering more intensely.
“Look at me.” He ordered quietly and she listened to the soft trod of his shoes as he stepped closer. He didn’t touch her again but a profound cold emanated from his nearness.
She lifted her face, powerless to speak, her brain thinking strange thoughts that were far too detached for her to rationalize.
“You’re in shock,” he stated calmly, the scent of sandalwood embracing her as it radiated from him. He leaned in close, until his face was merely a few inches from hers, their brows nearly touching. “If you look into my eyes, I can make the fear leave you.”
“I’d love to,” she snapped sarcastically, moving away from the unspoken enticement he exuded. She stepped further back, the rough edges of the wall lining the alley digging into her back as she attempted to avoid him. Fury rose in her, fueled by her outrage over the evening events, and she struggled
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