Once the green haze cleared, the necklace and gun clatter to the ground. The emerald now having streaks of black. The raccoon slowly drifted away from them and into Cory’s arms. Az picks up the gun and then hands the necklace to Cory.
“Looks like she really did get the last four she needed.” I said as I looked over the bodies of the three Ashen, dead after being struck by the lightning. “By the way, who is Tineva?”
◆◆◆
We head out to the parking lot, back to Pappy. We explained what happened and how everyone in the casino and the bar were dead.
“Well, we’re going to need to take this all back to the council. Especially that gun. It needs to be locked away completely until we can figure out how to destroy it, and the emerald should be kept locked away as well.” Pappy said, pulling out his phone when it rang. “Excuse me, I need to take this.”
He stepped to the side and answered the phone.
“So, not to sound rude or anything… But I hope I don’t see you guys for a while.” I told Cory and Az. “That was… Terribly interesting, to say the least. But I have had more than my fill of saving the world.”
“I don’t blame you.” Az replied. “I’m still waiting for a call and a little bit of normalcy.”
“I hate to break it to you, Az, but it looks like we’re not done yet.” Cory said in a low voice.
I followed her gaze and saw Pappy hanging up his phone, shaking his head.
“I hope it’s just that he’s annoyed with what they had to say.” Az said, watching Pappy walk back to us.
“Well, that was the Council.” He said, looking nervous. “It seems like I need to head to a Council meeting immediately. I’ll get Chris to send you both to the house so you can get settled in.”
Cory sighed. “We need to get this raccoon to the sisters of fate before we can get settled in anywhere.”
“That’s my queue to hightail it back to California before I get sucked in. I don’t think I want to meet the sisters if I had to endure what happened with this psycho hag Araminta.” I said. “Lariska and I are looking at apartments tomorrow, so I need to make sure to be rested. Hopefully you can visit someday.”
Acknowledgments
First, we would like to thank our mothers, Kristie and Rainelle, for pushing us to succeed and being big champions standing in our corners our entire lives. We love you both dearly.
Our Aunts, Joice and Sandy, for being trumpeteers to our success. Making sure we knew you believed in us, no matter what.
Our cousin Shane, who is more like a brother than anything.
Our brother Justin, as crazy as his little mind is sometimes, we love you.
Amberlee, our Araminta. Please don’t feed us to the sharks for imprisoning you. It really was for the best.
If we didn’t list anyone, it is not for a lack of memory. There are simply too many of you to add to this list. Just know that we are extremely grateful for all that you do and all the belief you have shown in us.
And last, but not least. With a joint effort in this series, J.A.X. would like to thank each other. One is too far lost in his dream world, and the other is forever firmly on the ground. We are forever grateful to have each other, and love that we can create a perfect balance of grounded dreams, and lifted realism.
About the authors
J.A.X. MIKESELL
Jason and Xander Mikesell are married and live in Northern Utah with their son. When they aren't writing they enjoy spending their time together, sometimes helping each other with other projects.
Jason enjoys woodworking and gardening. He has one of the best green thumbs around, and all the neighbors enjoy the fruits of his labor.
Xander enjoys being creative outside of books as well. Crafting is a passion for him.
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