Bloodfire (Blood Destiny) Read Online Free

thing .   “What about bits of material?”
    “Material?   Nae that Ah’ve heard, lass.”   He leaned back and folded his arms and frowned
at me with a serious expression on his weathered face.   “You teck care of yersel’ min’?”
    I nodded.   I appreciated that he hadn’t asked my
why I was suddenly so interested in wichtleins but the gnawing worry for John
ate at me.   “I don’t think I’ll be
eating dinner after all, J.”
    Concern flickered in his eyes.   “Aye, mebbe best not, love.”
    I stood up to leave.   “It’s Mack.”
    He looked puzzled.   “Eh?”
    “Never mind.”  
    I headed for the door, checking the straps
on my arms that held my daggers as I left.   I did briefly consider picking up a bow and some silver tipped arrows as
well.   The shifters wouldn’t go near
silver, but it didn’t affect me and was a powerful weapon against anything not
wholly of this world.   Chances were
I’d make a mistake and end up hitting John himself instead though.   I was a mean shot but I knew enough of
the vagaries of prophecies of doom that they were as
likely to come about by your attempted actions to stop them as anything else.   Perhaps it had been clear that the wichtlein’s
token wasn’t intended for John though because he would surely have known what
it portended and how it worked, and acted more appropriately concerned for himself . He’d certainly known enough to know that it was to
be taken seriously.   I mean, after
all, he was calling the Brethren in for goodness’ sake. He wasn’t anyone’s
fool.  
    Yet despite taking the sudden appearance
of the stone seriously, John hadn’t appeared that immediately worried about his
own safety this afternoon.   He’d
been laughing and joking around in fact.   I paused.   Or had he?   I tried to think whether it had been
both of us laughing about the repeated bunny adventures or whether it had just
been me.   Damnit.
    I stopped to grab my trusty hunters’
backpack and leather jacket to stave off the cold night air on my way out.   Hearing Julia moving about on the first
floor, I called up the stairs to her.   “Julia?”
    There were a few thumps and I could hear
someone cursing.   Her head eventually
peered down from above the shiny first floor banister.   “Yes, dear?”
    “Something’s wrong.   Where did John say he was going to?”
    My question hung in the air for a
heartbeat and something flickered in her face.   Fear?  
    “He didn’t say.”   There was another moment’s silence
before she cleared her throat.   “Should I muster the troops?”   Her voice was quiet.
    I thought about it for a second.   Perhaps I was just being paranoid.   But if I wasn’t and John was really in
danger then he’d need all the help we could give him.   I’d rather look like an idiot and have
him safe than risk the fact that he might be hurt.   “That might be best. I’m going to head
for the beach by the old cottages.   Get the others to fan out from here and see if they can find him. “  
    Julia lifted back her head and
roared.   It was unbelievable that
such a small woman could create such a racket.   Almost immediately the sounds of
shifters running for the hall could be heard.   I couldn’t wait even for them
though.   The fire inside me was
already rising with every moment that passed. I shrugged on my jacket, swung
the pack on my shoulder and left.

 
    Chapter Two

 
    Practically speaking, there was a limit to
the number of places that John could have gone to.   We’d been east that afternoon so he
wouldn’t be there again now.   Having
little patience with the local humans, he generally avoided the village so that
was probably out.   North of the keep
was the road and south was the forest then the coast.   It was usually the case that any nasties
around would try to avoid being inadvertently run over by a heavy goods lorry
and stay in the opposite direction.   And where there were nasties,