Read Online The Vampire Diaries: Bound By Blood (Kindle Worlds Novella) by J.R. Rain - Free Book Online Page A

understand.”
    “You will, Max.”
    And, as the wind continued blowing over me, surrounding me, enveloping me, I took in a lot of air, nodded to myself, and then crossed the field … and I followed Michael to the abandoned shack.

     
    We stood before the dilapidated structure.
    “And why are we here?” I asked.
    “To begin your training.”
    “What do I do?”
    “For now, I just want you to close your eyes.”
    “Close my eyes?”
    “Yes. Easy, right? Don’t be so nervous, Max. You are among friends.”
    “Friends?”
    He swept his arm before him, the breadth of which encompassed the entire field and the tree line to the forest beyond. “All of nature is your friend, Max. It always has been.”
    “This is weird.”
    “Weird can be good. In this case, weird is very, very good. Now, close your eyes, Max, … and relax.”
    I took in a lot of air and, feeling stupid, closed my eyes as instructed. I hoped I was better at this than I was at yoga.
    “Good, Max. Good. Now breathe deeply a few times. Focus on your breath only, clear your mind.”
    I did as I was told, breathing deeply, except I couldn’t clear my mind. It kept going back to the word “vampires.” God, was this really happening?
    “Clear your mind, Max. Focus on your breathing. It is a trick that all great masters use. The focusing on breath triggers a deeper realization; it quiets the troubled mind.”
    “Well, my mind is damned troubled.”
    Michael chuckled quietly, and I took in some more air, determined this time to focus on my breathing. I noticed the way the air felt moving over my lips, the way it flowed down into my lungs, the way it seemed to complete me—and, interestingly, the way it seemed to connect me with Nature itself.
    “We are all connected,” came Michael’s soothing voice, seemingly far away. “The air we breathe is one such way we are connected.”
    “But I thought you are not of this earth.”
    “The connection reaches further than the physical, Max. Further than you can even imagine. Now breathe and relax.”
    I did as I was told, and, as I continued breathing and relaxing, I began hearing something in the not-far distance. Voices. No, whispers. The whispers were so faint that I could have been imagining them. Try as I might, I could not make out the words.
    “Keep trying, Max. Someday, you will.”
    “What is that?” I asked. My eyes were still closed, I still breathed evenly. I felt deeply relaxed, standing there in the middle of the field, next to the shack.
    “It is Nature’s chorus.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    “It is all of life that surrounds you, from the blades of grass beneath your feet, to the great oaks that stand outside this clearing. It is the smaller insects that crawl, to the bigger cats that prowl.”
    I thought about this, tried to digest it all … but just couldn’t wrap my head around it.
    “It’s okay, Max. I do not expect you to understand everything at once. Just know what you are hearing is real and loving: the voice of the wind, of the animals, of the plants themselves. And all are here to aid you.”
    “To help me fight the vampires?”
    “In a nutshell, yes.”
    “Because they are an abomination to Nature.”
    “The easy answer is yes.”
    I opened my eyes and the whispering stopped. “And I’m here to kill them?”
    “No, Max. You are here to restore balance.”
    “I’m just one man,” I said.
    “One man who has Nature on his side. Now, close your eyes and breathe, Max. Good, good.”

Dear Bloody Diary,
    Stefan is acting strange. Well, stranger than usual. The events at the Grill had sparked something within him, I can tell. Or did he know something that I didn’t? No, I doubt it. The only mention of the Four Elements is in the grimoire that I now possess. Unless, of course …
    Hellfire!
    I’ve searched everywhere for the grimoire. It is gone. Blast! Blast! Blast!
    My brother, of course is gone—and I should assume he has read this very diary.
    Think, Damon