Breach (The Blood Bargain) by Macaela Reeves Read Free Book Online Page A

anyone, I turned the knob on the back door and pretty much fell through the door onto the cold tile floor.  The kitchen was pitch black, no witnesses for my amateur gymnastics.  Three shaking attempts to get back on my feet ended in failure, I don’t know how much time passed between them.  I was tired, exhausted really.  Music -where was music coming from?-was in the distance lulling me to sleep.  This was a good place as any to take a nap.
    Perhaps in the morning I’d do better.
    There were warm hands on my shoulders, soft singing.  No that wasn’t music that was Zoe?  Where did she come from?
    “ Liv! You’re freezing.”
    “ Sssorry I needed a ssshower.”  Zoe was helping me stand.  My towel was a crumpled mess on the floor, making me vaguely aware that I was naked in the kitchen but I was too tired to care.
    “Get in here, cover up.  My goodness you’re practically hypothermic.”  She dragged me through the kitchen into an oversized fabric chair in the living room, my head lulled to the side against the off white cloth.
    “I need ccclothes.”  My mouth mumbled, teeth chattering.
    “You need blankets now shush.”  She wrapped me in blankets, so many layers.  I sighed, burying my face further into the soft fabric that smelled of lemon, fingers starting to burn as they warmed up.
    While my body temperature rose I drifted in and out, vaguely aware that someone was sitting by me. My eyes focused on the candle burning in the living room, watching the fire dance blissfully in the darkness.  In less than lucid moments I heard his screams, that poor man being ripped to shreds.  I pushed it to the bottom of my mind; forcing everything-every thought, every feeling down with it.  There was just this little flame in front of me, a beautiful mixture of orange and red light frolicking as it consumed all in its path.  This basic element, a building block of our world.  There was no blood in the air, only the sweet tartly smell of fresh laundry.
    When my head cleared I sat up a little straighter,  registering Zoe’s presence in the chair next to the candle topped end table. Her thin body drowning in a bulky burgundy sweater and an open book in her lap.   Her eyes flipped up from the pages as I cleared my throat.
    “Boys are in bed with Mark, Candice is out.  I was just doing a bit of reading before I turned in.”  She looked my face over in that practiced motherly way. “Feeling better?” 
    I nodded.
    “Would you like some tea?”
    “That sounds like heaven.”  I rasped.  She closed the novel in her lap and set it gently on the side table.  Moving with quiet grace, she exited to the kitchen.  While I waited for her to return my eyes traced the spine of the book, I didn’t recognize the title but I was familiar with the author.  Who would have guessed Zoe liked seedy romance novels.
    She was back before I could work myself up to an immature giggle, two crackled blue ceramic mugs of tea in her dainty hands.  The aroma of mint wafted into my nose from the cup as I accepted the hot weight into my grip.
    “Liv, why on earth did you feel the need to go and do something like that?”  The usual sing song of her happy housewife was gone; her tone flat and lifeless.  I didn’t even know what to tell her.  How could I say that our safe world that we had lived in for the last decade wasn’t so safe?  That the wall, our pride and protection was actually breached, that earlier this night dead blood spilled inside Junction.  I thought of the boys sleeping upstairs in their innocence, I didn’t want her to worry.  I didn’t want them to know.
    “You missed dinner, both you and your father.  I still haven’t seen him yet.”  She pressed gently. 
    I took a sip of tea, trying to formulate a way to explain it.
    “ Liv, is it that bad?” Yeah it was.  With a deep breath I responded factually.
    “Horde came at the North wall.  Held them off till nightfall, then well they got through