Hotblood by Juliann Whicker Read Free Book Online

coat.”
    My mother sounded irritated. “You lost Dariana, you have no idea what happened or who lured her out of the house when your entire purpose here was to protect her, at least that’s what you claim. Now you say you got lost in a fog trying to find your precious coat when…”
    “ It felt Nether,” Satan said with a growl cutting her off. “I don’t know that she was lured out. I’ve heard stories of Nether, what they can do, what their blood is like, the things they do with other people’s blood…”
    “ What does that have to do with anything?” My mother’s voice was gradually rising.
    “ Your daughter bit me and then used one of my favorite moves on me.”
    My mother was silent for a moment. “What are you saying? She tried to fight you?”
    “ She didn’t try. She broke my arm clean in two. That skinny little thing is not remotely defenseless. Why don’t you tell me where she got that kind of ability? It’s Alex, isn’t it? You had kids with a freaking Nether.”
    “ You’ve known him for years. He’s not like that. Anyway, it’s none of your business. The House disowned me. I don’t have to explain anything to you!”
    “ You may have left the house, but you took your blood with you. You can’t have Wild blood and no House. That’s not how things work. It’s getting bad all over. You think you can hide out here but all you’re doing is refusing to prepare for what you know is coming.”
    “ Oh yes. The great ending. The cataclysmic destruction. The imminent end of life as we know it. I’ve heard the stories as often as you have, Satan. The War was supposed to end that problem, wasn’t it? But for some reason, it didn’t quite work out that way, did it? How many people have you slaughtered? Do you really think that’s going to help you or anyone else in the end? Out of all the brothers, you are so focused on destruction you’ve completely missed out on life. I know that death comes. I know that bad things exist, but you can’t fight it by becoming the enemy. Here I’ve created a world that can’t be touched. Maybe you don’t think that buying tranquility is worth the price, but what happened when my son left here? How long did he last? Not even a year. What does massive destruction matter if there isn’t anything to live for? Tell me, Satan. You would know.”
    “ Devlin shouldn’t have died. There was no reason to think that he could be taken by a blood worker. I don’t understand it, and as soon as we’ve made sure Dari’s safe, we’ll be happy to take care of Devlin’s killer…” Satan had come closer to my mother, his voice harsh.
    “ You think I want vengeance? I want my son to be alive! Why do you think more blood is ever going to make the tear in the world made by my son’s death smaller? And what do you mean ‘make sure Dari’s safe’? You mean wait until she’s dead.”
    “ The girl’s not dying anytime soon. Whatever happened in the woods, whether possession or…” Satan turned his head and looked through the darkness of the hall to where I sat on the steps, a black shadow on the white carpet.
    My mother turned to look, and the intake of her breath sounded very loud. “Dariana, what are you doing up?” she asked with her hand at her throat.
    “ I had a nightmare, and then I heard your voices. What are you guys talking about? What’s Nether?” I asked coming down the stairs to stand beside them.
    “ A nightmare?” My mother’s voice was whispery.
    “ See?” Satan said brusquely. “Soulless don’t have nightmares, do they?”
    “ What does that mean?” I asked feeling frustrated by their apparent inability to listen to me.
    I heard the hum of an engine, much more quiet than Satan’s car had been. Satan turned and muttered something under his breath. I could hear it but I didn’t know what the sounds meant.
    “ Looks like nobody’s sleeping tonight,” my mother said glancing from me to Grim where he was getting slowly out of his