Immortal Blood (1) by Ramz Artso Read Free Book Online Page A

our lips locked in a steamy, passionate kiss that had me wanting to bite his warm flesh and pull at his hair, but I resisted the urge. My affection for him was much stronger than my thirst for his blood.
    W e were in the middle of an intense snogging session when Asvi’s voice came drifting from the balcony below. She must have heard Calvin’s yells and decided to check if everything was all right. ‘Ranka, you up there?’
    ‘Yeah, yeah,’ I said, quickly pushing Calvin aside and positioning him flat on his back, before getting up to wave at her. ‘Right here.’
    ‘What was that noise?’
    ‘What noise?’ I said, my nerves blaring in a manner redolent of sirens.
    ‘ I thought I heard someone cry out.’
    ‘Maybe you did. But if you ask me, I didn’t hear a damn thing. Now let me read, all right?’
    She lingered for a moment, peering into the darkness around us, then voiced, ‘You and your books. Enjoy the read.’ Boots clicking, she was gone.
    ‘Phew, t hat was close,’ I breathed, releasing a sigh of relief, then felt Calvin’s arms wrap around me; his touch was so heartwarming and soothing. ‘What are we gonna do? We can’t live like this forever, can we?’
    ‘Maybe we should run away.’
    I shook my head, savoring the moment. ‘I could never do that to my family. They love me too much.’
    ‘Yet , they would have you killed if they knew you were dating a sorcerer.’
    ‘You make them sound so harsh. Besides, don’t you have a family of your own? Wouldn’t you have second thoughts about leaving them behind?’
    ‘Sigurd is the only family I have.’
    ‘Sigurd is your slave, Calvin. Don’t try to sugarcoat it. Whatever happened to your family?’
    ‘First of all, Sigurd isn’t my slave. Sure, there are laws that oblige me to treat him in a certain way, but trust me when I say no other magician and genie are as close as we are. As for my family, my father died in a car crash and my mother of a heart attack about a year ago. I also had an older brother.’
    I turned around to take in his handsomeness. ‘Had?’
    ‘He was killed by one of your coven members.’
    I felt a pang of unease at this discovery. ‘See, that’s exactly why you and I aren’t a good match. There’s too much bad blood between us.’
    ‘Don’t talk like that. I loved my brother and I still do to this day. But it’s not you who killed him. You have nothing to do with it.’
    ‘Do you know the name of the killer?’ He stayed quiet, as if he hadn’t hear d me. ‘Hello, I asked you a question, you know?’
    ‘I don’t want to talk about it. At least not here.’
    ‘Why? What’s wrong?’
    ‘I don’t – ’
    ‘Just tell me, Calvin.’
    ‘I’m afraid you won’t like what I have to say.’
    ‘It’s okay. You can tell me. I’ll deal with it.’
    ‘Promise?’
    ‘Uh-huh.’
    ‘It was one of your sisters.’ I felt my gut tighten and would have probably broken a cold sweat if vampires could perspire. I stepped away from him, shocked by the unexpected news. ‘Now, now, now, don’t act like that. Come here and give me a hug.’
    ‘Are you sure?’ I asked, paying scant attention to his words.
    ‘Yes. But please don’t let the past intrude on our present, okay?’
    ‘Which one?’
    ‘What does it matter ?’
    ‘Give me a name.’
    ‘Fine, it was,’ he took a brief pause. ‘It was Adisa.’
    ‘H ow did it happen?’
    ‘Ask her about her hunting incident with your mother.’
    ‘You know I’m not going to do that. It’ll raise suspicion. Can’t you just tell me?’
    ‘There really isn’t much to tell: Your mother, Adisa and a few other coven members were out hunting near the Upper Eastside. They were outsmarted by a group of sorcerers. One of them was my brother. My brother and his partners killed everyone off, leaving Adisa and your mother alive. They were spared because of their high status…’
    ‘Go on.’
    ‘When my brother and his friends let down their guard, your mom and sister