The Souls of Lost Lake by Jaime Jo Wright

Author:Jaime Jo Wright
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romantic Suspense;Thrillers (Fiction);FIC042060;FIC042120;FIC027110
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2022-02-11T00:00:00+00:00

25

Ava

“Where are we?” Noah’s whisper was more of a hiss, and completely unnecessary.

“In the woods.” Ava’s response was sassy, but she took pride in that she wasn’t whispering. Who was there to hear them? Owls? Coyotes? Maybe a black bear, but then even a footstep would spook that furry beast into a full-on escape from them.

Noah was sure hard to see in the dark, the branches casting shadows over his face. She was certain he was annoyed, but also attempting that preacher-thing he did where he summoned patience from the Lord above. “I meant”—his response was evenly measured, this time in a voice louder than a whisper—“where in the woods are we? We need to find Jipsy’s body and get her back before sunrise.”

Well, that might be a problem. Ava wasn’t sure how to break it to the man that they were utterly lost in the forest. She did not know where that poplar grove was—leastways not in the dark. She had thought she could find it, but now Ava was pretty certain finding Jipsy was going to be more like finding Widower Frisk’s hidden whiskey that everyone knew existed but never saw.

“You don’t know, do you?” Noah pushed a branch out of his way as he walked the few paces back to Ava.

She looked up at him, trying to see his eyes but instead making out just the vague shadows of his face. “I’m sorry.” Ava couldn’t think of anything else to say. But somehow it satisfied him.

“Then where’n heck are we?” Noah’s hands were at his hips, and he twisted, peering into the night as if he had some special ability to see in the dark.

“You didn’t bring a flashlight?” she asked.

“I don’t own one.”

“Even Widower Frisk owns one.”

“Well, I don’t.” It was said with enough emphasis that Ava could take the clue Noah was shutting down the conversation. “Listen.” He leaned close enough that she could see the whites of his eyes. “Do you have any sense of where Jipsy’s body is from here? Any sense at all?”

Ava looked around, eyeing the depths and recesses of the forest. It was haunting here. All the crevices and sheltered places were hiding spots for all that couldn’t be explained. It brought unheralded the fact that the woods resembled her memories. Her life. Filled with places that were unseen and unexplained.

A chill passed through her. She squinted, staring into the blackness. If a spirit could call to her, beckon her, it would be now. A specter weaving among the trees until it drifted into her, merging with her.

Come.

Ava could hear it. Noah dissipated into nothingness, his body becoming a vapor that bled into the trees like a fog.

Come home.

“Jipsy?” Ava called. The night was not a friendly place. The voice was unfamiliar to her. Neither male nor female. Simply a murmur.

Ava moved toward the voice, straining to see, to make out a person, a form, but she saw nothing. The void beyond was unending. It was a maze of twisted trees and branches, bushes and undergrowth.

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.