Worth Dying for (A Dying for a Living Novel Book 5) by Kory M. Shrum

Author:Kory M. Shrum [Shrum, Kory M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction, Horror, Dark Fantasy, Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, Thrillers & Suspense, Supernatural, Suspense, Paranormal, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Fantasy, Lgbt
Amazon: B01C0PFMJ6
Published: 2016-05-02T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

Jesse

“Breathe, Jesse,” a voice says. It’s neither male nor female. And it sounds so far away. “Come on, breathe.”

Feeling as though I’ve broken the surface of an enormous lake, I suck in a great gasping breath. I come up on my elbows, and then roll onto my knees and heave. My hands scrape against the wood. My chest burns as if I’ve been holding my breath for a long time.

“Thatagirl,” Monroe says and slaps my back. “In through your nose.”

I open my eyes and the first thing I see are my hands. They’re pressed against the wooden floor in the small room inside a tiny house off the Rue Dauphine. I remember the little sidewalk and the rotting screen door. The place comes back to me. I sit back on my knees and find out how shaken I am.

Maisie is sitting against one of the walls, a blanket wrapped around her. She’s shaking too, with sweat beading across her forehead and face. Her cheeks are flushed bright red and her eyes dilated. I can still smell the blood, but also ash and the stench of an extinguished candle.

“Why was she in the dream for so long?” Maisie asks. Her teeth chatter around the words.

I reach up and wipe my brow. I’m as sweaty and gross as she is. I feel like I’ve come out of a feverish delirium, my eyes focusing on the first tangible object I see. Gloria’s face.

She pushes a cup toward my face. I take it, but the cup trembles so badly in my hand that Gloria doesn’t let go. She holds onto the bottom of the cup.

I take a big gulp of coffee. I know it’s coffee from the rich smell, but the taste is off. It’s so strong, bitter. “What. The. Fuck?”

“Chicory,” Gloria says, holding the cup up to my face until I push it away. “It’s better than Dr. Pepper.”

“If you say so.” I rake my teeth across my tongue. The flesh feels burnt. “Seriously, what the hell just happened?”

“You saw the truth,” Monroe says. He’s unwrapping the half remaining inch of his cigarette and tapping the unused tobacco out onto his palm.

“O-kay.” I pull at my face again, trying to shake off the feverish sickness clinging to me. “What the hell is the truth?”

“We wasn’t supposed to be killing each other.” He stuffs the last bit of rolling paper in his pocket and slides the sealed container of tobacco back into his front shirt pocket.

Maisie’s teeth chatter. “But there’s supposed to be an apex. There’s only supposed to be one who holds all the power.”

“No. It was never meant to be a burden for one soul to bear.” Monroe looks absolutely exhausted. Deep puffy bags sit under his dark eyes. He rubs his forehead. “The shield is a gift. If we want to keep this rock spinning, we’ve got to recharge the shield. How do we recharge?”

“Electricity,” Gloria offers. Probably because Maisie’s teeth are chattering too wildly to speak and I feel like my head is split in two.

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.