The Revelations of Preston Black (Murder Ballads and Whiskey Book 3) by Miller Jason Jack

Author:Miller, Jason Jack [Miller, Jason Jack]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Raw Dog Screaming Press
Published: 2014-01-20T05:00:00+00:00

In my dream, Preston and I wandered through Cordoba. Or Barcelona. The dream lacked the specificity of a memory, which, I supposed, was kind of the point. But it felt hot, and the air felt dry, and I didn’t hear the Castilian accent I’d grown so tired of hearing in Barcelona. As soon as I figured out we were in Cordoba, I felt a cool breeze from the Guadalquivir and saw the Roman Bridge, which reminded me a little of the Charles Bridge in Prague. Preston wore a white Oxford and khaki shorts and I wore clothes like a Spaniard. A soft violet dress, and strappy sandals and a necklace like I’d seen the women in Barcelona wearing. My hair looked darker, and my high school Spanish sounded perfect. Preston understood me, but continued to speak English.

That was how I remembered where we were. I’d regretted not getting one of the long necklaces I’d seen the women in Barcelona wearing, and Preston told me not to worry, because we’d see something and it would be more meaningful because we weren’t looking for it. The one I’d been wanting had a long strand of thick string, like sisal or hemp, embellished with a clunky stone ornament. Almost like a fairy stone my mom had when I was little. But I couldn’t recall seeing the fairy stone in years. When my dad was at his worst—coming home from work, drunk, and pulling her out of bed to fight—she clutched that little fairy stone like nothing in the world could ever harm her. And I supposed she was right. Because as much as he beat on her and ran her down, he never managed to once leave a mark on her.

A tap on the door woke me up. The noise pulled me from sleep and I fought to keep the dream fresh in my mind. Even as the door opened my mind raced to see the dream through to its end, replaying the few things I could remember over and over so as to not lose them too.

“Katy,” a woman whispered. Lights from the kitchen window above let me see her outline in the doorway.

Breakfast? So I knew it had to be seven in the morning, at least.

But I didn’t answer her, because I knew speaking meant I’d fully awoken, and the contents of the dream would be lost to me forever.

“Sorry,” she said. “I have to get the blanket and pillows before Elijah finds out.”

Early morning birds called from deep in the forest. Their songs trickled through the vegetation, calling flies and gnats to join them for breakfast. “Okay,” I said, already shivering from the cold.

I sat up and pushed the blanket toward her with my feet.

“I’m sorry.”

No, you’re not.

“I brought something for your arm too.” She clicked on a little flashlight and showed me a tube of Neosporin. “I don’t want it to get infected. Does it still hurt?”

I didn’t want to speak to her.

“I can’t leave it for you. It can get infected.

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.