In The Blood Book Review Novels & Stories

How she charmed that sick kid and his mom, feeling their heads and hearts with hope which might be useless, yet it’s something they do need to pass by, hope I don’t know how to give anyone and has been denied to me my entire life. By the time I am out of the study, I feel my limbs heavy and my head light. I am not headed towards the back garden and the pool, but the sound of splashing water draws my attention and I look out the opened windows only to find the woman who’s been haunting my waking hours there.

I hugged the her immediately “You came,” I whispered. “You know I would.” She answered. And in her hands, wrapped carefully was the book. She unwrapped it and my breath caught. My mother didn’t speak, she just simply let the cloth fall away. The air charged more. The pressure could be felt. Kael had a horrified face staring at the book. It was entwined in vines— Blood vines. The raw power from the book pressed against my skin, my lungs, my bones—everywhere.

I picked it up and chuckled. “What are the odds that if I pricked my finger and dropped a few droplets to this blank page that it would uncover some form of invisible writing on it. Chuckling at the insane thought, I decided to humor the idea. I pricked my finger with the needle and allowed some of the blood to fall onto the page. “If I get some kind of blood disease from using a random unsterile needle, I am going to hate myself,” I spoke. I watched as the book absorbed the blood leaving no stains or traces of any blood.

She let herself feel it—the racing pulse, the phantom itch at the crook of her elbow. “Who could have sent it?” she wondered. She searched for a name, a motive. Was it a final gift from a ghost? A trap? A bribe? But the more she looked at the vials, the less the "who" mattered. The "what" was filling the room, turning the air into honey. The sun began to bleed over the horizon, casting long, grey shadows across the floor. By the time the first light touched the peeling wallpaper, the documents were gone. Her phone had fallen asleep, its screen dark and forgotten on the desk.

Perhaps it's effect is only mild. She poured a little of the blood in an empty glass she found on the table, then she added just a little ash and stirred. She frowned when nothing happened. Was the book wrong? If the book was wrong, the book wouldn't be restricted. She then added a little more ash, and the the blood began to foam. Interesting. She watched it closely, taking note of every single change. By the time the blood stopped foaming, it had turned black. She smiled. Now she wondered if this would work on the royal vampires. If only she could get their blood.

That memory haunted him and it always would. A lot of shit haunted Gage. Dead bodies didn’t bother him anymore since the first one he saw had been his mother’s. One day she’d been reading him a story and tucking him into bed after Hunter had already gone to sleep and the next day she was in her bathtub, bleeding out as he watched her. ** “Gage … I’m sorry,” she mumbled. Gage stood next to the bathtub and stroked her hair. The blood ran down her arms and mingled with the water. Her nightdress was soaked through and her breathing was shallow. Gage looked into her eyes and kissed her forehead softly.

It didn’t scream. That was worse. I unfolded it slowly. The words swam for a moment before settling. My sweet girl, If you are reading this, then I have failed you in the only way that matters. I wanted to believe that loving you would be enough to keep you safe. I was wrong. There are men who use blood as ownership and memory as a weapon. If one of them ever tells you that you belong to him—know that he is lying. You belong only to yourself. My throat closed.

I whispered thanks to book, shaking my head at the notion of talking to it, and eagerly began to read. The book outlined everything, from the history of vamps to their threat to my kind. Apparently, the magic in our blood made us an exceptionally delectable treat for them. I was surprised that they had been dormant with how thoroughly they were documented as coveting us for feeding. Even more surprising was the way the book seemed to sense my thoughts and present me with the answers to all of my questions. Our most valuable weapon against the vampires was the wolves.

"I think I know what Einar is looking for," Richard tells me when I'm already sitting on one of the sofas in the room that he uses as an office, while he looks for one of the books, he was reviewing a moment ago and he hands it to me, "here it is." He opens the book and points to a paragraph, and I read. "Heal the blood, the blood of the strongest. In harmony it lies, in harmony submits. The strength of the blood rules the world."

But I can't hide things forever so, I will reveal the truth to her. "Oh you're talking about that cure? Yes there is a cure. You know what is it? It's the blood of Albino people," I heard Lucia gasped. I did not react to that but rather continue on informing her. "That's why the capital, and the King are eager to get your twins. People are calling them witches. People are out to drain their blood, Lucia. The reason why the King knows about it is because there's a book about that"