by S. K Munt
‘What?’ Another splash, then the squeak of the towel rail as Kohén reached for something to dry himself off with.
‘Ugh...uh, nothing I just… I need more sleep, I think. Some, erm…’ I stared at the blood on my hand as I rose to my feet, yelping a little when I saw that it was on the tile too. I pressed my fingers to my face then pulled them back- and felt hot pins and needles drive into every square inch of my flesh and insides too, when I saw that they too, were covered in blood.
I knew what was wrong before more than half a heartbeat had lapsed, but I twisted and stumbled toward the mirror all the same, a scream building up inside me and giving mean instant migraine when I saw the rivulets of blood that were streaming down my face were coming not from a wound, but from my suddenly scarlet eyes. Well, they were scarlet where they were usually white, stained from the claret pooling behind my lower lashes. Panic grasped my heart and squeezed it hard enough to burst every vessel within, but I stepped closer, as fascinated as I was horrified, and remembered Miguel’s promise to God- that no woman in the new world would ever be so badly wounded again, that she’d weep blood instead of tears.
He’d lied.
I’d told Kohén that things weren’t right- that things weren’t fair. I’d told Karol too, and Elijah, and Atticus… I’d told every man in a position of power that what they were doing was wrong, but though they’d heard me out- none of them had heeded my warnings and now...
‘Well…’ I whispered to my fingertips, rubbing them together to check that the blood was in fact, sticky, warm and real- not some figment of my imagination. ‘They’ll listen now, won’t they?’
‘Are you talking to someone?’ I heard Kohén call out, and a smirk twisted my lips. ‘If anyone comes to that door Lark, you ignore them, got it?’
‘Got it…’ I said, sniffling and wiping the bloody tears across my face, feeling it smear and stain me like war paint. ‘I was just talking to the girl in the mirror-’ I looked up, excited to see how grotesque I’d look when Kohén came out- anticipating giving him the fright of his life, but the girl who looked back at me wasn’t covered in blood, and her eyes were not crimson. They weren’t lilac either, or periwinkle, or midnight blue- they weren’t mine at all!
They were brown, and narrowed in wicked determination- gleaming and burning right through me, making my heart not falter- but halt. They were Gabby’s, and if not hers- then her twin sister, Siria’s- and they were full of more malice than any other set of eyes I’d ever seen before. My hands clapped my mouth to hold in a bloodcurdling scream, and the girl brought her finger to her lips, silencing me just as effectively.
‘There’s no need to scream,’ she whispered, wriggling her eyebrows at me. ‘Your thoughts have been doing that for years, little swan- more tonight than ever before. And as relieved as I am that you’re finally ready for a bit of divine intervention, I must admit, I’m a little disappointed...’ She feigned a pout. ‘I really thought you’d be the exception to the Barachiel rule, you know? But apparently not.’ She extended her hand to me, and my stomach knotted when it passed through the glass and into my room. Perfect. Milky. Corporeal- and undoubtedly, Satan’s. ‘Well… are you going to help me out, or not, daughter of mine?’
I stared at her, unbelieving, but utterly convinced. Mind reeling, and yet making calculations that only someone who was thinking rationally would be able to make. I held my breath- she blinked in expectation. I shook my head- but the woman in the mirror nodded. I let out a moan- she snorted derisively and just as I heard Kohén pull the plug out of the bath, I found my voice at last:
‘Or not,’ I whispered, before shock claimed me, and everything went black.
-End-
To be continued in the Eden Chronicles #3 The Wildest Woods, available late 2015. Thank you for reading, and please, support Indie authors, and leave a review! Every single one is a blessing
Adult Titles by S.K Munt
The Fairytail Saga
#1 The Marked Ones
#2 Three Rings
#3 Heads Or Tails
#4 Stained Glass
The Kissed By A Muse Trilogy
#1 Unchained Melody
#2 Turn The Page
#3 More Than Words
The Highway to Never After
#1 Palpitations
#2 Sanguivorous
#3 Kinemortophobia
#4 Thanatophobia
The Harlequin Bros Legacy
#1 The Harlequin Doll
The Eden Chronicles
#1 The Given Garden
#2 The Forbidden Fruit
#3 The Wildest Woods
4#The Tangled Trees
Young-Adult Titles
The Siren Song Quartet
# 1 The Legasea
#2 The Turning Tide
#3 The Maelstrom
Urchin
(Prequel to the Fairytail Saga)
All titles available through Amazon Kindle.
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About The Author
S.K Munt lives in the sunshine state of Queensland, in Northern Australia and has been writing full novels since she was a little girl. When she isn’t writing, Samantha is running after her three daughters, hosting karaoke, surfing, rehearsing for the local musical theatre company and avoiding sleep in general. The Forbidden Fruit is her 15th published title.
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Quotes and References in bold:
KingJames Holy Bible
‘And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God's angels worship him.”
Romeo & Juliet
William Shakespeare
‘Do as thou will, for I am done with thee.’