ROYAL'S CHILD by Sharon Sala

Author:Sharon Sala [sala, sharon]
Format: epub
Published: 2010-12-24T00:17:24.508000+00:00

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Chapter 10

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Royal came out of the cellar braced for the worst. Although a steady rain continued to fall, the absence of wind seemed surreal. And it was dark. So dark. No security light. No intermittent flashes of lightning—just a curtain of water between him and what was left of his world.

Holding his breath, he lifted the flashlight, aiming the beam of light over the ground, then staring at broken branches, an uprooted tree, part of the pump house roof.

My God.

He clenched his jaw and aimed the beam toward the house, past the spiderlike roots of the upturned tree, past the roofless pump house. But it was raining hard, and the beam of light was too weak to pierce the darkness. He took a step forward, then thought of Angel and Maddie alone in the cellar. The idea of leaving them was repugnant, but he had no option. He stopped and turned, aiming the flashlight toward the cellar.

"You two okay?" he yelled.

Their voices echoed faintly in unison. "Yes."

"I'll be back soon."

Their answer was lost in the rain. Squinting against the downpour, he started toward the house, stepping around boards, over buckets, dodging whatever was in his path. He kept thinking of the generations of families who'd lived in the house before him, of the laughter and tears that had been shared behind those walls. Was it gone? Had it been damaged beyond repair?

He hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath until the beam of light caught and held on a corner of the house. He stopped, using the light to trace the angles of roof and walls. To his overwhelming relief, it was still standing.

"Thank you, God," he said softly, and moved up the steps into the house.

The first thing he stepped in was water. Expecting to see holes in the roof, he aimed the flashlight up. The ceiling seemed fine. He looked toward the porch and remembered running out of the house with Maddie in his arms.

The door! He hadn't closed the door behind him. The water had blown in with the storm. He aimed the flashlight to his left and started walking.

The living room had not fared well. A limb had blown off a tree and was half in and half out of the picture window. Sodden drapes hung askew, and the furniture near the window was soaked. The carpet squished as he walked across it, but it didn't matter. Things could be replaced.

He moved down the hallway, checking ceilings and floors, and entered Maddie's room. The window was broken, and the covers on her bed, as well as the floor around it, were covered in glass. He shuddered, then quickly moved away.

The door to Angel's room was standing open. Torn curtains and broken glass marked the beginning of the storm's entry there, as well. It was as if a madman had gone through the room, tossing things awry. Pictures had fallen off the walls. Lamps were on the floor. He aimed the flashlight to the ceiling, to the spreading water stain above Angel's bed.

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