Zoe Thanatos
Page 26
“Kill her!” Korina screamed. There was no fear in her voice, only passionate anger, igniting her from within. “Do as your Queen commands!”
The throng of Crown Soldiers that congregated around Zoe and the Queen Mother descended upon them, hiding them from view of Evander. From behind the wall of uniformed Soldiers he heard Korina scream, her voice blood curdling as it pierced the room before cutting off suddenly. Something loud and heavy dropped to the floor. An arm protruded lifelessly from between two Crown Soldiers, and Evan couldn’t tell if it was Zoe’s or the Queen Mother’s. There was a struggle. Several Crown Soldiers fell to the ground, some piling on top of others. Evan let go of Eva’s hand and took several steps forward, fighting the impulse to scream as he heard hard sounds of muscle hitting soft flesh.
The mob of Soldiers collapsed, imploding from the middle to the ground. He watched along with the Queen as each of the Soldiers stood, some bleeding from cuts to the face, others already bruising around the eyes and mouth.
“Where is she?” the Queen demanded, screaming at the men before her. Each stood empty handed, and as they stepped backward the dead body was finally visible, slumped face-down into the Throne, tattered blond hair strewn around her head like a fractured crown.
Zoe was nowhere to be found, having escaped the mob of Soldiers without being seen. “Where is she?!” the Queen demanded again, her scream resonating throughout the great room. Evan turned to look at Eva but found only empty space where she once stood.
“Eva?” he called out, looking around at everybody on and around the throne for his sister. He frantically looked around the room for any signs of his sister or Zoe, panic stricken at the thought that they were gone. “Zoe!” he screamed. They were gone. Vanished into thin air. His heart raced in his chest, threatening to give out as he desperately looked for any sign of their presence. “Zoe! Eva!”
They were gone.
End of Part Three
Zoe emerged from beneath the surface of the water and took an enormous breath, desperately welcoming the fresh intake of oxygen into her lungs. She coughed out the small intake of water she had inadvertently swallowed and gasped for more air, opening her eyes to take in her surroundings. The water was unlike anything she’d seen before, an unnatural shade of translucent violet. She could just make out the shape of turquoise colored kelp languishing several feet beneath her in the ocean floor. The water met a white sand shore more than a dozen feet in front of her. A body was slumped over in the sand, limbs contorted strangely as it lay still. Zoe swam towards the shore, her pace increasing as she realized the lifeless form was Evadine Nero.
“Eva!” she called out, water splashing in her mouth as she swam furiously for the shore. Once her knees touched the gritty sand of the ocean floor she stood, running as fast as she could towards Eva.
With great care she turned Eva’s body over so that her back nestled into the sand, freeing her chest to take in fresh air. Zoe checked her vital signs and found she was unconscious, but breathing.
She looked around, taking in the sight of the unfamiliar place. The violet colored ocean stretched out for what seemed like miles with small white islands dotted along in the distance. Instinctively she knew she was in a place she’d never been to, and wondered how she ended up there to begin with.
“Zoe? Are you all right?” Zoe looked up and found a young man running towards her, and for a split second she thought it was Evan. The man had golden light hair and familiar, close set brown eyes. He was the spitting image of their mother.
“Zarek?”
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For more information about Crystal Cierlak, visit http://www.crystalcierlak.com.
I would like to thank my mother and grandma for encouraging me to write for more than 20 years, and for always supporting my endeavors. You’ve always been my best friends, and you always will be.
I love you both.