War Is God Blood Meridian Novels & Stories

] [Repaid: 15. Then, I unfolded a map. My gaze drifted north, all the way from Southridge, past so many cities and states, until it finally settled on Winterford. More than 2,000 kilometers away. A city of ice and snow. Far enough. I closed the map, pulled out a practice test, and dove back into solving problems like my life depended on it.

It had turned blood red. The real war was just beginning.

“Well, I do believe you’ve struck gold today. A. I’m a history buff and B. I’m from the Blood Moon pack, so I have firsthand knowledge of the war.” The Red River War was the attack on our pack five years ago. We lost our leadership and nearly twenty-five percent of pack members. The war changed everything for us all. It caused Xander and I to take up our positions as Alpha and Beta of the Blood Moon pack. We had been able to make it stronger and rebuild, but it still pained us significantly. There were certain events in life that people could not get past. That was one of those events for many of our people, Xander and me included.

He turned to the ablaze clubhouse, which burnt against the sky, beyond me. “Call the crews. Torch what’s left. We’re going to war.” Then, quieter, just for me: And you, Mrs. President--you are shotgunning. He gave me the AR covered in blood like a crown. I took it. The war had begun. And I was not the New York girl anymore. I had been the lady to torch kingdoms in order to maintain her monster.

I will never ever play with death ever again Shall we begin? I PREPARE FOR THE NOBLE WAR, I’M CALM. I KNOW THE SECRET. I KNOW WHAT’S COMING AND I KNOW NO ONE CAN STOP ME, INCLUDING MYSELF. I KILL PEOPLE I LIKE. SOME OF THEM BEG FOR THEIR LIFE. I DON’T FEEL SAD. I DON’T FEEL ANYTHING. IT’S A FILTHY WORLD WE LIVE IN. IT’S A FILTHY GODDAMN HELPLESS WORLD, AND HONESTLY, I FEEL I’M HELPING TO TAKE THEM AWAY FROM THE SHIT AND THE PISS AND THE VOMIT THAT RUN IN THE STREETS. I’M HELPING TO TAKE THEM SOMEWHERE CLEAN, AND KIND. AND THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT ALL THAT BLOOD, MAN I DROWN IN IT AND INDIANS BELIEVED THAT BLOOD HOLDS ALL THE BAD SPIRITS. AND ONCE A MONTH IN CEREMONIES THEY WOULD CUT THEMSELVE

His followers surged forward like a tide of madness, blades flashing, voices rising in grief and fury. We fought for hours that felt like days. The sky darkened with smoke until even the sun disappeared. By the time the last of them fell, the field was a graveyard of fire and silence. Darven collapsed beside me, helmet dented, breathing ragged. “It’s done,” he said. I looked around. “Nothing’s done,” I whispered. Bodies littered the blackened earth believers, soldiers, innocents. The cost of mercy, the price of lies. When the rain finally came that night, it wasn’t cleansing. It hissed on embers and turned blood to mud.

“A war of threes. Three deaths. Three victories. Three trios. Three losses. Betrayal. Birth. Death. Sorrow. Joy. Warn them, Meredith. Be prepared!” I jolt awake, sitting up and gasping. Instantly, Hakeem and Gael sit up. Gael lets out a growl, getting in a defensive position. Hakeem pushes me behind him, protecting me with his body. Hakeem looks at me out of the corner of his eye while still scanning the room. “What is it, Merry? What’s wrong?” Still breathing heavily, I pant out, “I had a vision from the Goddess!” _________________________________________

~~~~~~~~~~ BOOK OF BLOOD — NEW ENTRY "The world blinked, and everything false burned away. That wasn’t war. That wasn’t revolution. That was one boy whispering ‘no’ loud enough for empires to kneel." "They will call him god. But we know better. We call him ours." — Aria

"She's working, sweetheart. She'll be back soon." "Promise?" Meredith can't promise. But she lies anyway. "I promise." Hemston wakes too. "I had a bad dream. Mama was fighting and she was hurt." "Just a dream, baby. Nothing more." Meredith holds both children. "Your mama is the strongest person I know. She'll be fine." But Meredith's hands shake. Because she knows the truth. Tonight, her granddaughter goes to war. And war doesn't care about strength or love or four-year-olds who need their mother.

The Black Sun Blade on his back vibrated softly, giving off a faint gleam. The final trial, the place where human blood must be burned for a god to be born. “So this is where everything ends?” he murmured. “Or perhaps, where everything begins again.” The white sky above him cracked open, and from that rift descended a massive figure clad in dark red armor, radiating an aura that could halt the vibration of the air itself. The War God’s Spirit. Its eyes burned like living embers. Every step made the ground tremble. When it spoke, its voice rumbled like thunder in Rayden’s chest.