Blood Destiny Read Online Free PDF Page A
Author: Tessa Dawn
somewhere deep in the forest. The tree felt like two evil hands snatching her legs, and she was certain the howl was an insidious snarl—that the vampire had found her and was about to take her to his lair. She screamed a hair-raising shriek of terror as her knees struck the ground and her hands flew out in front of her to catch her fall. She clenched her eyes shut and trembled uncontrollably.
She was too afraid to open them.
Too afraid to move.
So gripped with terror she was paralyzed.
She huddled close to the ground, trying desperately to regain her composure.
As long as she lived, she would never get over what had happened in that chamber. No matter how tightly she held her hands over her ears, she couldn't shut out the echo of those anguished cries. Now, miles away from the bloody cavern, Jocelyn finally began to feel—not just to analyze or survive—but to deeply, intrinsically feel the full horror of what she had seen.
Like the rising tide of an ocean wave, the anguish swelled in her heart, and she began to sob. She gathered her knees to her chest, buried her face in her hands, and rocked back and forth while she wept.
Jocelyn Levi cried uncontrollably, maintaining a far too fragile hold on her sanity.
34
Blood Destiny
by Tessa Dawn
* * * *
Nathaniel had stood at Shelby's grave site deep into the night, so consumed by his grief that he'd lost track of time. It was only the harsh, desperate sound of a woman's cry, coming from deep within the forest, that brought him back to the present moment.
He lifted his head to scent the air, his mind becoming alert.
The sound had come from the valley just beyond the red canyons. The canyons once used by the Dark Ones to conduct their hideous rituals. Was it possible that his shadow brothers had returned to the familiar chamber?
It had been many moons since a son of Jaegar had dared to sacrifice a human in the sinister ritual so close to the lands of his Lighter Brothers. The last Dark Vampire who had flaunted such arrogance had been Vladimir Lazaro, and he had paid a heavy price for his audacity when the sons of Jadon had punished him for his crime.
As was the only true way to destroy a vampire, a creature whose very life and power existed in the blood, Vladimir's had been drained from his body by the warriors. He had been dealt a lethal wound to enable his capture, and his blood had been siphoned from several major arteries to ensure a rapid loss of life-force.
Normally, his head would have been severed and destroyed along with his heart, but Vladimir's punishment had been much harsher. An example to the rest of his kind. He had been drained of all but a few drops of blood, leaving just enough essence to keep him weak but alive. The sons of 35
Blood Destiny
by Tessa Dawn
Jadon had then staked him through the heart; anchored him to the ground; and surrounded him with their most powerful ancients, holding him there until the sun had risen the next morning.
Completely exposed, Vladimir's flesh had been incinerated beyond recognition, his unclean heart burned from his body in the most painful death a Dark One could endure. The Evil Ones continued to have children, to make human sacrifices, but like the cowards they were, they hid in the shadows and struck only when there was little chance of being caught. The red canyons, with all their hidden labyrinths and chambers, were far too close to the shared valley of Jadon's people. To use them was to commit certain suicide.
Nathaniel cloaked his presence and took to the skies, flying toward the canyons to investigate. He considered the world around him as he flew.
The night air was cool, but the skies were clear. The moon cast radiant shadows over the land. As Nathaniel basked in the glow, it occurred to him that the Rocky Mountains were not at all like the mountains of his ancestral homeland—a homeland he could only embrace through visits and genetically passed-on memories.
While the Transylvanian Mountains of
She was too afraid to open them.
Too afraid to move.
So gripped with terror she was paralyzed.
She huddled close to the ground, trying desperately to regain her composure.
As long as she lived, she would never get over what had happened in that chamber. No matter how tightly she held her hands over her ears, she couldn't shut out the echo of those anguished cries. Now, miles away from the bloody cavern, Jocelyn finally began to feel—not just to analyze or survive—but to deeply, intrinsically feel the full horror of what she had seen.
Like the rising tide of an ocean wave, the anguish swelled in her heart, and she began to sob. She gathered her knees to her chest, buried her face in her hands, and rocked back and forth while she wept.
Jocelyn Levi cried uncontrollably, maintaining a far too fragile hold on her sanity.
34
Blood Destiny
by Tessa Dawn
* * * *
Nathaniel had stood at Shelby's grave site deep into the night, so consumed by his grief that he'd lost track of time. It was only the harsh, desperate sound of a woman's cry, coming from deep within the forest, that brought him back to the present moment.
He lifted his head to scent the air, his mind becoming alert.
The sound had come from the valley just beyond the red canyons. The canyons once used by the Dark Ones to conduct their hideous rituals. Was it possible that his shadow brothers had returned to the familiar chamber?
It had been many moons since a son of Jaegar had dared to sacrifice a human in the sinister ritual so close to the lands of his Lighter Brothers. The last Dark Vampire who had flaunted such arrogance had been Vladimir Lazaro, and he had paid a heavy price for his audacity when the sons of Jadon had punished him for his crime.
As was the only true way to destroy a vampire, a creature whose very life and power existed in the blood, Vladimir's had been drained from his body by the warriors. He had been dealt a lethal wound to enable his capture, and his blood had been siphoned from several major arteries to ensure a rapid loss of life-force.
Normally, his head would have been severed and destroyed along with his heart, but Vladimir's punishment had been much harsher. An example to the rest of his kind. He had been drained of all but a few drops of blood, leaving just enough essence to keep him weak but alive. The sons of 35
Blood Destiny
by Tessa Dawn
Jadon had then staked him through the heart; anchored him to the ground; and surrounded him with their most powerful ancients, holding him there until the sun had risen the next morning.
Completely exposed, Vladimir's flesh had been incinerated beyond recognition, his unclean heart burned from his body in the most painful death a Dark One could endure. The Evil Ones continued to have children, to make human sacrifices, but like the cowards they were, they hid in the shadows and struck only when there was little chance of being caught. The red canyons, with all their hidden labyrinths and chambers, were far too close to the shared valley of Jadon's people. To use them was to commit certain suicide.
Nathaniel cloaked his presence and took to the skies, flying toward the canyons to investigate. He considered the world around him as he flew.
The night air was cool, but the skies were clear. The moon cast radiant shadows over the land. As Nathaniel basked in the glow, it occurred to him that the Rocky Mountains were not at all like the mountains of his ancestral homeland—a homeland he could only embrace through visits and genetically passed-on memories.
While the Transylvanian Mountains of
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