by Emma Hamm
A tremor shook the trees. Some of the birds went silent, others remained singing. And so the silent ones were encouraged to sing again. The tremor did not rock the earth again. So they continued in their songs of love.
The little bird was not so easily fooled. It cocked its tiny head and followed the jagged edge of magic, which had caused the tremor. Although magic had not gifted this bird with beauty, it was much smarter than the others.
Opening its plain, dull wings, it drifted through the air. It followed the line of magic to a nearly impenetrable wall of vines. No other creature could have fit through these thorned plants. But, as mentioned, this was a tiny and smart bird.
Slowly, it inched its way through the vines until it reached the opening. Inside the vines was the largest of trees. Larger than a building, the tree’s roots were exposed.
A sweet smell filled the air. Cloying, it tried to reach into the bird’s mind.
Sleep, it whispered. You wish to sleep.
But the bird did not wish to sleep. It wished to discover all the things that were being hidden from it. Intelligence came with a healthy dose of curiosity.
Once more, it spread its tiny wings and floated down to the roots where it had seen the most curious of colors. Red was not often in this forest.
Most creatures tended to be brown. Green. Sometimes beautiful and mimicking a sunset. But never red.
Red was easy to see. Predators liked things that were easy to see.
The bird landed on the roots and hopped sideways. Red again.
Strange. It cocked its head and tapped a tiny claw against the roots of the tree. Something was tangled in the fallen leaves and was hidden from prying eyes.
But the bird did not have hands. It had a beak, which was not particularly easy to use when one was trying to not disturb predators. So the bird left to find other curious minds who had hands.
It returned many days later with a mouse, a shrew, and a toad. All of these creatures had hands, so the bird was rather proud of itself. It hopped up the root again and waited for its new friends to follow.
Together, they uncovered the red thing that was so strange. Except the red thing was attached to many more things. So much red that was much larger than all of them put together.
They looked at each other in confusion but managed to clear just a little bit more of the leaves and dirt away from the red thing. What they revealed was even more confusing than before.
The prettiest of human faces lay still and tangled in the roots. Dirt smudged her nose and cheeks, but even they thought she was pretty. The mouse, shrew, and toad were rather disappointed in the dead human. They left while promising to never tell anyone about their foolish adventure.
The bird remained. It was curious about this dead human buried in the hidden place.
When all its friends were gone, it hopped from the root to human’s forehead. It pecked once against the soft flesh in hopes that the human might move.
She did not.
The bird sighed and flew away. It did not look back soon enough to see the bright burst of flame, which healed the angry red mark the bird had left upon the woman’s forehead.
To be continued in Blue Blood…
About the Author
Thank you for reading this book! What a lovely adventure we’re traveling together, and I hope you enjoy this just as much as the first. If you’re walking through Dream Worlds, drinking Juice, meeting skeletal Necromancers, and enjoying yourself as much as I am, then I did something right!
If you are so inclined to find yourself in a giving mood, I would adore it if you left a review. It always seems a little like begging, but reviews are the lifeblood of an author. I don’t ask for much, but a review would be much appreciated.
If you want to get in touch with me, you’re in luck! I love hearing from readers so please don’t hesitate to send me a message and say hello!
For more information:
@EmmaHammAuthor
EmmaHammAuthor
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Also by Emma Hamm
Silver Blood, Book #1 in the Series of Blood