Ancient Blood: The Fallen Read Online Free Page A

place within the hands of God…” I heard the priest’s words, words meant to soothe, to comfort in times of grief and though I followed the rite, I felt no comfort, no soothing, I only felt loss, a great abandonment.
    I, as well, felt a sense of irony, for a storm had moved through the night before, cleansing the air and spreading fresh life upon the ground that we now, not twelve hours later, prepared to place death within.
    The funeral was simple, as Miles would have wanted, a solemn ceremony, a simple coffin, simple flowers, simple music, a few words of sympathy at his passing, then simply...over.
    Realizing that I was the last to say my goodbye, I stepped forward, running my hand over the smooth surface of the coffin, feeling the warmth of sun kissed wood beneath my palm.
    My eyes shone with moisture as I laid the single rose I held clutched within my hand atop the coffin whispering, “I'll see you again Miles... daddy ...thank you…” then with a catch in my voice I continued, “…for loving me.”
    As my quivering and breaking voice died away, I wiped at the tear that slid down my cheek and turning, became aware that Arreon and Luke had stepped forward, standing near me as I'd offered my goodbye to the only man I'd ever been able to look upon as a father figure, the only man that had ever given me a reason to in my seventeen years.
    Gently Arreon reached out, draping an arm across my shoulders, drawing me close as he wrapped me within his arms, his own inky black lashes shimmering wetly within the sunlight as he huskily murmured, “ready?”
    Pushing slightly away so that I could peer up into his face, I gave him a trembling smile and nod, then glancing away, I looked about us, searching for, and encountering the sapphire blue gaze of Dante's, where he stood solemn and alone, some distance away as the rhythmic click of the Imperial device began echoing about us, indicating that the process of lowering Miles remains into the ground had begun.
    The sound was mournful in its cry of finality, enforcing within me the reminder that life was forever changing.
    * * *
    Six months had passed since the day we’d placed Miles body into the ground. Half a year that had been wrought with a plethora of change. Which was why, in the process of dumping a load of manure from the stalls, I felt my stomach do a funny little somersault with the onslaught of uncertainty that swept through me at the sight of the beat up old Chevy pickup that came barreling down the drive.
    Squinting my eyes to help with the glare of the sun, I gazed apprehensively toward the oncoming vehicle.
    The driver was in need of a haircut, the edges of his rich brown hair, resembling chocolate syrup in its coloring,  fell around his shoulders, and was fluttering madly in the wind beneath the baseball cap he wore pulled low onto his forehead, concealing his features from my prying eyes, a cap that was nearly as beat up in its appearance as the old pickup he drove.
    His arm, I saw, rested casually on the door of the truck, his fingers thrumming in beat with the song blaring out the open windows as the truck dipped and swayed its way down the long drive.
    However, though anxiety flowered full bloom within me at seeing him again, the shovel I held clutched within my hand hit the ground as I hesitated for only a fraction of a second, then took off at a run toward the truck when it spewed to a stop before the barn.
    Rounding the driver’s door as it was slung open, I barely allowed the boots of the man inside to hit the ground before I threw myself at him. A man who had raptly held my attention from the age of twelve, a man to whom I'd ran the gauntlet of emotions towards, from the shy hero-worshiping of an insecure pre-teen, into teenage infatuation that morphed over time into a rocky friendship, before finally changing into what now lay secretly within me…unspoken need.
    With moisture filling my eyes, I snuggled tightly against Dante's chest, the top of my