Blood Storm Read Online Free PDF

Turned harming were even icier than our own, and their veins tended to pop out in their necks and on the backs of their hands. Lharmellins, on the other hand, could never pass as humans. They were something else entirely, a strange species that, with acombination of blood and ritual, turn humans into harmings. Harmings and Lharmellins shared many characteristics, like the glowing eyes and craving for blood. But Lharmellins couldn’t walk among us. That’s why they needed harmings to do their bidding. They were constrained to Lharmell by the air temperature, needing the cold to function. I had seen a Lharmellin with its hood thrown back and it was a grisly sight. It had been hairless, its skin grey and mottled by a network of swollen veins. A lipless mouth had revealed dozens of sharp, pointed teeth. But when it sang, a sound of the purest beauty filled the air that could transfix even the most reluctant harming such as me. I shuddered at the memory. I had worked hard on strengthening my mind over the spring since I’d returned from Lharmell. I wouldn’t let myself be overcome like I had been at the last Turning.
    But did we wish to be identifiable to our own kind? The cloak was warm, and the only suitable garment of its kind that I owned. I would take it, but be wary when I wore it.
    I would also take my bows. The crossbow and bolts I would use the most, but nothing would be more soothing than firing a few slick arrows once in a while. Between us, Rodden and I had a few dozenarrows and bolts tipped with yelbar, as well as some regular points for hunting. The yelbar-tipped points we had to be extremely careful with, wearing gloves when handling them as the tiniest nick could make us ill for days. If enough got into our bloodstream we would die – even just from a foot wound. I carried my yelbar points in a metal-reinforced quiver.
    When I was done I sat on my balcony to wait. I wished there were more things to pack, to organise. It would give me something to do instead of just sitting and worrying. What if Lilith had already told the steward not to give Rodden horses? What if there was a guard outside my room right now to prevent me from sneaking away? What if this was a huge mistake and Rodden and I were going to be ambushed by harmings as soon as we stepped beyond the palace gates? We didn’t know how many were out there.
    But that was the whole point: to discover such things as how many harmings had infiltrated Pergamian cities, and what they were doing now that we’d killed their leader. They must have a new one by now. But would they have rallied round that Lharmellin? Would the Turnings be occurring every full moon like they should? And what was the best way for us to sneak into Lharmell again and disrupt the harmings and Lharmellins even more?
    I took a deep breath and gazed out over the city, trying to calm my thoughts. I had an excellent view. The streets were lit by lamps and the western sky was filled with stars. It was also very hot, and I pulled at the neck of the plain shirt I wore. Not even the feeblest puff of wind stirred my hair. This long after sunset the temperature still hadn’t dropped. Leap lay on the cool stone, indolent with heat. If only there was a breeze it wouldn’t be so stifling.
    Distractedly, I tested the atmosphere with my mind, attempting to detect any movement at all. In frustration I grasped at it with clutching thought-fingers, trying to drag a stubborn wind towards me. I felt the air give like a rope being tugged loose, and a soft gust fanned my face. I looked around, surprised. Where had that come from? I cast my mind out again, and pulled. Cool wind lifted my hair from my shoulders. I laughed in delight, and directed a gust down at Leap. He bared his belly to the breeze.
    A dull hammer-blow squashed my good mood as I realised what was happening. Lharmellins could control the weather. They could draw down ice and acid storms that brought misery and death. I remembered reading