Desperate to stop the events of a recurring nightmare, Leora is forced into a world that wants nothing more than to see her dead.
***
After being plagued with nightmares of the murders taking place in t...
¡Ay! Esta imagen no sigue nuestras pautas de contenido. Para continuar la publicación, intente quitarla o subir otra.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
SHE NEVER THOUGHT SHE'D BE THE ONE TO KILL HER ENTIRE FAMILY yet there she was, on her way to hammering the final nail in their coffins.
Her fingers grazed the cold doorknob but that wasn't what sent chills down her spine, it was the hollow feeling in her chest that grew as she snuck into the room and closed the door, muffling the lively voices behind her - like wind blowing out candlelight.
She walked deeper into the room, ignoring the cobwebs and dust in her path, her eyes never strayed from the tall stone table in the middle of the room even as she walked up the little steps. It was surrounded by three high chairs at each pointy end, on the chairs, already forgotten were three skeletons - they hadn't even given them a proper burial.
That will be you if you fail.
With gritted teeth, she moved until the edges of the table were pressed against her stomach. "No hesitation, this what you want, "she whispered to herself.
There was one piece of paper on the table, one of the skeletons still had their grip on a quill that was hovering over the paper, the tip dry and there wasn't any ink in sight but she knew that wouldn't be a problem.
She took a deep breath and reached for the quill, the second her fingers so much as grazed it she lurched forward, pulled by the skeletal hand. Her gaze darted to the skeleton's hollow eyes. This is it, this is what you want.
"Are you prepared to pay the ultimate price for touching what is not yours?"Three hoarse voices, barely whispers spoke to her.
She clenched her jaw. "Yes. "
There was a heavy silence followed by snickering. "And what is that you want?"
No hesitation. "I want to use the quill. "
"Impossible!"It was a collective response.
She felt panic rise in her as the feeling of their presence began fading away. "No! The old laws state that you have to listen to me, I've already touched the quill, I've already sacrificed everything. You have to listen to me. "
When they did not reply she let out a low, "Please. "
By the old laws, whether or not they gave her what she wanted, she family would die. The price had to be paid.
"You took the risk knowing-"
"Please, there is no other way, you have to understand, "she pleaded, she could feel the ground tremble beneath her.
"Silence, little girl. We cannot-"
"No please!"Their presence was fading, the hollow feeling in her chest was coming back.
"The contract has been completed, the connection will now be severed-"
"I have her blood! I have her blood in me!"Heat exploded in her chest, snap, all the skulls turned to look at her. "I drank her blood, "she whispered, she couldn't allow herself to feel guilty.
"You... you!"The grip the skeleton had on her hand sent an excruciating sharp through her wrist to her arms. "How dare you?"Their voices were thunderous.
"Fulfill the agreement, fulfill the old laws now or... or... or my comrade - I'm not alone, he won't show mercy, he will consume more than just her blood. "
It was a gamble. Tension echoed through the room, the skeletons were quiet but their presence was still there, rushing through her body, no longer warm but scorching hot. Her only reassurance was the fact that she was still alive, the skeletons pondered until her arms began to cramp and her knees began to wobble. They're wasting time. She tugged at the hand still gripping her, their empty gazes didn't unsettle her as much when she knew what their decision was.
"Take it, one page is all you will have..."They sounded saddened, defeated, she made sure she paid it no mind. What she was about to do was forbidden, punishable by a fate worse than death but she needed to do it and if she succeeded, they'd be no one left to punish her.
The skeletal hand fell away, she began scribbling onto the paper. The first things to unravel were her feet as her flesh, her blood, her very bones became the ink to color the paper. She wrote with abandon as she convulsed, blood gushed out from her eyes, mouth, and ears. The pain was nothing to her as her waist twisted like a rag being wrung and exploded into crimson and gold. She wrote until she was forgotten, she wrote until the last drop of ink - the tip of her finger became a dot to wrap up what she'd given her family's lives for.
On that day, silently but surely detrimental, the worlds deviated an inch.
The mountains trembled.
The world's waters cried out.
The skies turned away.
The ground itself shook and shattered in retribution.
What she did not know was fate is a tricky, mischievous thing, as stubborn as a jagged nail hooked into the wood. Even your most careful words can be contorted.
You must never.
Ever...
... let it get hold of you.
Never, ever bend to fate, especially one poisoned by ill intent.
¡Ay! Esta imagen no sigue nuestras pautas de contenido. Para continuar la publicación, intente quitarla o subir otra.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
And that is how we will begin.
QOTC
Any inkling who the three skeletons are?
Do you believe in fate?
Thank you for reading, don't forget to vote and comment or follow me for any updates on this or any other book in the series.
