Free Hotblood by Juliann Whicker

“I can smell blood. Satan’s, Grim’s, and someone else’s, behind those bushes,” I said pointing. This time my voice came out cracked, like I felt. When I opened my eyes, I looked towards the house and my dad turned his head.
    “ Ethel, come and meet my daughter.”
    Ethel? The woman who came into view looked into my eyes with clear gaze. She was older than my dad, her wiry gray hair in a high bun, only a few strands sticking out around her face. Her sharp blue eyes studied me. “You’re certainly scrawny. I’d better do something more for breakfast than I’ve got planned.”
    “ Dariana, this is my housekeeper and cook. Ethel, we will need some meat, the fresher the better.” My stomach growled at the mention of fresh meat, and I swallowed hard. I’d been a vegetarian my whole life. Why did the idea of something I’d never had appeal so strongly to me? I could hear Ethel’s heart rate steadily increasing while she stood there seemingly at ease, but her heart…
    She nodded then gave Satan a look. He gave her a sheepish grin while her eyes narrowed. “Mr. Slide, you are playing the role of escort for a young girl? What is the world coming to?”
    “ Hi, Ethel. Good to see you,” Satan said. He looked very uncomfortable. Ethel snorted and turned back to the house and was out of sight in a few steps but I could hear her heart beating a brisk tempo as she went.
    “ Since breakfast won’t be ready for some time, would you rather walk around the grounds or explore the house? Maybe you’d like to stretch your legs after such a long drive before you return to your work,” my dad suggested to my uncles. I followed him, glancing at Satan and Grim. Grim looked cautious and Satan looked irritated. I still had no idea why I was there. I opened my mouth to ask him why he left my mother, why he left us, but nothing came out. I took a deep breath of the cool morning air, studying the trees as we followed the gravel drive past the house. The road ended and a path led away from the house through the woods. I walked towards the trees but my legs were shaky. I felt irrationally furious at legs that were tired after such a short walk. I gritted my teeth and walked faster. Soon I saw a weatherworn bench beneath a large tree. I tried not to collapse on it. I was still tired from last night. I leaned my head back, looking up into the swaying branches while my head rested on the rough bark and tried not to notice the sympathetic expression on my dad’s face.
    “ If you don’t mind, we’ll walk a little farther,” Satan growled and stalked off. Grim shrugged and followed him.
    “ Stay on the path and you won’t get lost,” my dad said, a trace of amusement in his voice.
    I stared up at the swaying leaves and felt as dizzy as if I were up there swirling around in the wind. “Do you think I hurt someone? Why can’t I smell your blood? What am I doing here?” The questions came out rushed and weak. I tightened my grip on the bench and realized how much I was shaking.
    “ I think it’s very unlikely that the blood on you belongs to anything human. Satan is right that you are my daughter. As my daughter it would be impossible for you to harm an innocent. I know how terrified you are, but I want you to know how glad I am to see you talking, asking questions, feeling something. It’s been so long since I saw those eyes full of anything besides emptiness. Do you know the saying, ‘the eyes are the windows to the soul’? Ever since you were six your eyes have been vacant.”
    Fighting down tears, I closed my eyes. “Yeah, thanks.” It felt like a dream sitting there in my dad’s woods, but it couldn’t be a dream unless what I’d had in the car had been real. Both realities couldn’t be real but maybe both could be dreams. I shook my head but the memory of the dream stayed with me, not just the color of his warm eyes but the feeling in my stomach that might have been flu.
    “ You’re smiling,” my dad