Read Online The Bonds of Blood by Travis Simmons - Free Book Online Page A

voices, this
voice had been neither. The closest thing she could think of to
describe it was the squeaking of a hinge in desperate need of
oiling.
    Joya giggled a little when she compared
the voice to the description people gave of an old hag’s
voice.
    Amused now, Joya rolled over and shut
her eyes.
    She was just drifting off
when the voice came again: Joya , it creaked. Joya Neferis, come to me, come closer.
    By now Joya’s eyes popped wide open and
all thoughts of sleep were scattered to the Quarters. Her breath
was shallow and fast, just as her heart beat was thunderous and
rapid.
    Joya, I know you are
awake , the voice called. I can sense your consciousness. You are telling
yourself not to be afraid, and you are also lying to yourself.
This, dear child, is not a dream, and I am most certainly not a
trick of your mind.
    “Wh-who are you?” Joya stammered,
closing her eyes tight and feebly trying to think of any prayer she
could. Her mind a blank, Joya regretted not being more in touch
with her spiritual side.
    You know me; at least, you
have seen me before.
    “When? Today?”
    Oh yes, today you touched
me. I like being close to you, I like being touched.
    Joya was scared now. She had heard of
many people that could invade another’s mind, and she had touched
many people today. What if it was strange old man Miller? What if
he was in her thoughts, intimately knowing her darkest secrets, her
most scandalous desires. She shut out her mind trying to think of
something other than secrets and desires.
    I already know them all,
dear. But I am not interested in who you desire, and for what
purposes. I know all of you intimately already. And I must say that
you have no control over your mind at all. The first lesson you
should learn is that when you try not to think of something, it
only increases your thoughts of it.
    “Who are you?” Joya asked again, this
time more forcefully.
    Good, I like
determination.
    “That didn’t answer my question. Who
are you?”
    Open your eyes, daughter
Neferis, and know me.
    Slowly Joya opened her eyes.
Immediately her sights were flooded with a brilliant light, a
magnificent, white glowing. The light did not in one bit reflect
the wickedness of the voice. The light was one of the most pure,
most elegant lights she had ever witnessed in her life.
    “Dear Goddess,” Joya whispered, sitting
up in her bed. The light was so brilliant that Joya could not have
seen her hand before her face if she tried. Yet at the same time,
the light was soft enough that it did not hurt her eyes. She peered
into that light, watching it pulse and shimmer in the dark room as
if it were the most alluring thing she could ever witness, and
truth be told it just might have been.
    A giggle flooded her mind, and the
light seemed to flutter with the sound, pressing against Joya,
soothing her. She felt elated, loved, warm, and happy. Joya smiled,
wishing this experience to never end.
    When the voice spoke again,
Joya was shocked to find that it was still the same wicked,
squeaking voice from before. Not quite, my
dear, not quite.
    “Then who are you?” Joya was desperate
to know who this being was. “Why can I feel you in my very body?
Why can I feel you thrumming through me, as if you and I share the
same heartbeat?” she asked, her voice sounding more and more
desperate with each question. “I need to know, why can I feel you
within me, as well as all around me? Who are you? What are
you?”
    In time, dear one, the voice croaked. For
now it is time for you to know my instrument.
    With that the light coalesced and
condensed into a single shimmering point, brighter than any oil
lamp, but illuminating a portion of the room like a lamp would. The
light settled in the corner at Joya’s bookshelf.
    Standing, Joya walked to the bookshelf,
and the light condensed more, until it illuminated one single
binding. With shaky hands, Joya pulled the book from the shelf,
amazed to see the strange geometric pattern and blocky