Crystal Rose by Leah Rhoades

Author:Leah Rhoades [Rhoades, Leah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dark Shifter Publishing
Published: 2020-10-17T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

I didn’t understand why the voice changed. Perhaps it was a dream, but it felt real. The forest spoke, the trees whispering softly and calling my name. But they didn’t sound the same. The voice resonated in my head, and it belonged to Luke. How could he be the source of the voice? I hadn’t known him as a child.

My mind played tricks on me, the face of the beast morphing into Luke’s handsome one. And then, the glowing eyes of the beast replaced Luke’s, like embers that burned softly, driving me into absolute terror. And then he aged, until he became Everett, foul smelling saliva dripping from fangs that cut into the old man’s lips while he hovered over the torn body of my grandmother.

I woke with a start, none of it making sense as my body seized, and I didn’t recognize my surroundings for a moment. When I found myself in the cabin, I had a moment of panic, thinking I had gone back in time to my childhood to experience my grandmother’s death all over again. The darkness hung thick around me, and I couldn’t pull myself out of it.

“Crystal, are you awake?” Luke’s voice trickled in with reality, and suddenly I jumped. My head lay in his lap, and I sat up, not quite comfortable with that, all things considered. I still didn’t know the details of the situation, my brain not ready to admit to the truth as I came fully awake, even though I vaguely remembered doing so in the middle of the night.

“I feel weak,” I said, my throat dry and aching as I forced the words out. Then, I sniffed the air, scenting something vaguely familiar but far stronger than I’d ever smelt it before. “Bacon,” I whispered.

Luke stared at her oddly, and then he nodded. “I took it out of the freezer last night to defrost. I was going to cook it for breakfast.”

Odd. How could I smell uncooked bacon? And how could that scent entice me to the point I salivated? “I’m hungry.” The words came out harsh and painful as my stomach churned and twisted in knots of starvation. I had never eaten last night, but I shouldn’t have felt like months had passed since my last meal. It was excruciating, and I almost felt like I would retch if I didn’t eat soon.

Luke got to his feet quickly. “I’ll cook it now. Give me five minutes, and I’ll have a plate ready.”

I wanted to follow him, but my legs didn’t seem capable of holding me up. I wondered about the infection, but my shoulder hurt less than before, and I didn’t feel the burning sensation of the fever in it. Had it started to heal? I couldn’t see from this angle, but I didn’t want to risk falling on the way to the bathroom, so I had to wait.

And then the aroma of the bacon, before and after it started to sizzle, called to me, and I found myself stumbling toward the kitchen without my conscious consent.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.