Southern Cauldrons by Amy Boyles

Author:Amy Boyles [Boyles, Amy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: LADYBUGBOOKS LLC
Published: 2021-10-09T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Axel’s words stayed with me all night. Ealum Halegrove had been killed with his own weapon. There had been a struggle, and he’d been the one who wound up dead. I always wondered about the last few moments of a person’s life, you know? What fear went through their minds, what sort of thoughts?

No, I hadn’t liked Ealum Halegrove—he was a liar and someone who didn’t take responsibility for his own actions. But I hadn’t wanted him dead.

But someone had.

I did my best to push any thought of Ealum from my head as I went to bed that night. Axel breathed softly beside me, and I counted sheep, trying to quiet my mind. I felt myself sinking, sinking into sleep when suddenly I was wide awake. Everything in the room was still. Axel’s breathing had gone silent. I turned to make sure that he was okay when our bedroom melted away.

The dark walls disappeared, becoming covered in green vines. “Where am I?” I whispered.

I rose and walked toward the walls. It was then I realized that I wore my nightgown. That was strange. Something or someone had transported me away from my room and to this…place. I brushed my fingers over the green vines, and they snaked away, revealing a thick patch of grass that led to a hill.

A chill crept over me. The forest air was cool and smelled sweet. Dew clung to the grass and tree leaves. This place, I wondered if it was heaven. Had I died in my sleep and wound up here?

That thought angered me.

It better not have been heaven, because I had a bunch of work to do on earth. There was Gizzy to raise and Axel to annoy until death did we part. Plus, I had my cousins and grandmother to watch over. No siree, I was not going anywhere fast. I was staying put in Magnolia Cove or else.

Not that I knew who I would say “or else” to. But I think you catch my drift.

Anyway, the light coming from the very tippy top of the hill was bright, like the sun cresting a wave. I tented a hand over my eyes to shield them, but I couldn’t stop staring in that direction. It was like the light compelled to me look, and I didn’t want to glance away for fear that I would miss something important.

As I stared, a shape appeared. At first I thought it was a man holding his hands over his head, but as I watched and as the light slowly receded, the form sharpened.

It took a moment, but finally I realized that what I was staring at was a set of twisted antlers that reached for the sky.

A gasp escaped me. We were alone, me and the stag. Finally, finally I could touch its nose (if it would let me). We could communicate and I could see what the big deal was.

The creature waited as I nervously made my way toward it. The nightdress I wore was really long, and my feet kept catching on the hem.

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