He stared across at her. She was sipping her cup again, staring off into space, one hand clawing away at her once beautiful skin. Edward had destroyed this woman. If he hadn't left her after he caught her baby. If he had carried them to the car before he called it in. If he had stayed conscious during the crash. Look at her! She's gone mad. How could she stay sane? Her father slaughtered, her baby stolen. She set the cup back down with trembling hands, clawing again.
He reached over and took her hands. "Hey." Her intense eyes connected with his, stealing his breath. "I am gonna find her," his firm voice reassured.
She leaned in close, her eyes burning into his. "Let me out so I can kill him."
They froze. Hearts beating, eyes burning into each other's souls. She seemed so powerful, even broken as she was. "What else do you know about him? Where did he go? Tell me so I can get her for you! Testify against him. That's all this is gonna take."
Jaspierre's haunted eyes looked away, then frantically snapped back. "Let me out!" Her whole body shuddered.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Peter stood in the trees. He was hopelessly lost. All the trees were the same; he had been wandering for days. If he could find a road, he could follow it somewhere. But he hadn't found a road yet.
Roads went places.
His hair had been shaved off. He kept thinking that his mom wouldn't like it. She'd be so mad it was gone. He used to have these long, shaggy curls. When school started this year, he asked her if he could chop them off, if he could have a buzz cut like the other boys.
But she said no. She said it was a rare thing for boys to have beautiful curls and insisted he keep them.
Well, he got his buzz cut now. Jack told him it would be fun, but instead, he just felt... unhappy.
He didn't want his mom mad.
He saw a little flicker, like a bright light whizzing past.
Climbing over a fallen tree, he walked towards the sparkle. He was eight years old, in the middle of second grade. He liked second grade; it was pretty fun to go to school and see his friends. He stumbled on a branch and his knee hit the ground hard. Tiny drops of blood ran down his leg and he burst into tears. He wanted his mom, even if she was mad about his hair. He could grow more curls, probably. He missed his school, he didn't like being lost, and he was hungry. Really hungry.
A little flicker of light danced past him again.
He stopped sniffling and walked forwards. It was a road! The sun reflecting off the cars shone brightly. A car was driving up. He raised his hands and waved them back and forth. The car slowed down, and the driver rolled down the window.
Peter hesitated, but he didn't see any other cars. This might be his only chance, his last chance, to get help.
"My name is Peter Mirabella. I am lost and I need my mom. Can you help me find her?"
The man with the thick sunglasses and big hat stared at him. "Did you say Peter Mirabella? I saw your name on a sign." A tiny cry from the backseat tittered through the air. "You can sit by Lucille; shake her rattle if she starts to cry."
Peter got in the back seat nervously. A tiny baby girl with blond curls sat in a car seat in the middle seat.
"What's your name, sir?"
"You can call me Chance."
Jaspierre
Jaspierre's Descent
Jaspierre's Last Chance
Severina- Jaspierre Begins
Landlocked Lighthouse
Padlocked Penthouse
www.mixijapplebottom.com
A Note from Mixi...
Thank you for reading Jaspierre's Descent. I'd really appreciate a review if you aren't too busy!
Ready for the sequel? Jaspierre's Last Chance- Where Jaspierre finds out what happened to her daughter.
Here is a little excerpt:
Had Dru found the maze and the prison in the basement? Probably. She walked through the kitchen, which was a mess, and into her library. The books were strewn on the floor, half of them charred. Her desk was broken. But worse than that, the carved servals on both sides of the fireplace had been smashed. The cold, smooth marble had been destroyed for no reason. No, they were destroyed for a reason. The servals were all destroyed to send her a message. The message was received loud and clear: Jaspierre had been betrayed. The ear on the right serval was still intact, and the fireplace was open.
She walked down the concrete steps to the maze and the little prison. She could smell the stink of the room before she even reached the bottom. It smelled like sweat, shit, and urine. She stared into the maze; the white platforms and walls could move at her command if she so chose. No longer white, they were smeared with dirt and blood and who knew what else. Inside the maze were people, at least Jaspierre thought they were people. They had been altered, taken apart, and put back together in a variety of ways. Those 3-D printers had been put to quite a bit of use. She wondered idly if he had finished Mother's work. But it looked like he had done his own variations. Outrageously long noses, tails, oversized ears. One lady had breasts that looked like long snakes. Would it have killed him to make a sheeple? All these people warped into creatures, and he refused to finish Mother's work. They were sneaking around the maze, avoiding each other. She wondered what they were doing in there. She turned and glanced at the three rooms on the right. In the first room, in Lucas's room, Arnold sat on the little cot. He looked the same as ever, thin and nervous. His room looked as tidy as he could get it. But also, it seemed that he had not been shown his bathroom.
In the room in the middle, a large Asian man was chained to the pairs of rings that went up the wall. He looked angry and wild. In the final room, a skinny redheaded girl sat. She had apparently gone under some sort of surgery and had her arms and back wrapped with bandages. Jaspierre wasn't exactly sure what to do with all of these people, so she left them. She had such a mess to deal with--the house, the people--and that didn't even include Dru.
I am currently living in a five story house I am remodeling. I'm almost done with the fourth and fifth floors and man, am I tired. More books to come. If you want to hear when my next book is out, sign up for my newsletter.
Thanks so much!
Mixi J Applebottom
Feel free to contact Mixi directly at: [email protected]
or visit her blog at: mixijapplebottom.com
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Jaspierre's Descent (Jaspierre Trilogy Book 2) Page 15