The Blood Reader

The Blood Reader Chapter 2

The snow in the forest was only a dusting as opposed to the several inches in the grassy field. The dense canopy of trees and branches overhead kept the accumulation to a minimum. That made following the intricately placed beige stones easier along the gravel path. Even still, my mother lagged behind, dragging the twig broom after us to mask our muddied boot prints.

The red sun wasn't quite set yet, but already everything acted as if. Silence greeted us, except for the soft crunching and swooshing of the frozen leaves as our footfalls landed. The trail had us zig-zagging around trees and trudging through a creek. For over an hour we continued until the path abruptly stopped.

"Where do we go now?" A chilled wisp of air crept from my lips as I spoke.

My mother squinted while searching for any indication of movement on the horizon. A few downed logs, some dead leaves, twigs, and branches littered the ground. A blanket of quiet and white covered everything. There was nothing. Just us.

"Why don't you tell me?" Her bright hazel eyes blazed into me, as did her accusing tone. She removed her snow-covered hat, her pale blond hair spilling in spirals past her shoulders. As opposed to my tangled blond mess knotted in a braid.

"How am I supposed to know?" If that was the case, I wouldn't have stopped. My feet, already numb from stepping into that frigid water a few minutes ago needed constant movement to keep warm and to avoid freezing altogether.

She cocked a thin eyebrow at me in disbelief. "Astra, you're telling me you didn't see any of this?"

"She wouldn't," came Killian's brusque voice as his tall, muscular frame rounded a large tree. As good-looking as he was devious, the way his light green eyes gleamed against the creamy backdrop of his dark skin momentarily caught me off guard.

That and his ability to sneak up on anyone, completely unnoticed. Including me.

My mother turned her attention to Killian. "Why not?"

Killian tapped the timepiece he wore. "Look."

Prompted by his invitation, we stepped closer. Idal grabbed hold of his wrist to ascertain what he meant. I kept a comfortable distance between Killian and myself, seeing as whenever I was too close to him, these strange feelings would take hold of me. Ones of longing and warming and pondering a future with a man two-hundred and fifty years older than me. Although he looked like a perfectly fit and deadly handsome twenty-five, he was way too old for a girl barely even seventeen.

One of the few benefits of being a Blood Reaper was endless youth. But to be privileged in knowing the exact age of a reaper was a rarity. Ruthless as they were cunning, their kind had a habit of lying about everything. Their age. The real identity of their intended. Half the time, they even lied and claimed they possessed an entirely different Blood Code altogether. Usually, that of a Blood Healer since their abilities were remarkable in their similarities.

My mother, a known Blood Healer, was just as audacious with her age. She claimed a humbling thirty-eight when the truth was almost ten times as much. The only reason she even allowed herself to age past the standard mid-twenties was to have me. Apparently carrying and birthing a child was one of the awful downfalls to a Blood Healer of her high standing. The only other time a person like my mother aged was if they lived in an alternate realm for any extended period.

Idal shook her head and sighed. "How long?"

Killian shrugged. He glanced my way as his marvelous hazel eyes pinned mine. "Astra?"

 "I don't." It took a second to catch my bearings. I cleared my mind and centered everything. From my quickening pulse to my fast breaths, everything slowed as did my thoughts.