What the Dead Fear
Page 11
Part 11
Cricket blocked Gareth by planting her body between him and the mirror.
Chains for Juniper hung from his hand.
His jackals, rumbling a blend of eagerness and anger, circled them both.
This is the way Juniper found them. She emerged from the mirror to stand behind her friend.
The sky had once again fallen red, and the raised hackles on the canines' fur bled a flurry of ashes into the air. The ever-present fog had transformed into ominous clouds to bar the land and the canyon from view.
Once again, there would be no escape. He was ahead of the game this time.
"You run me ragged, Juniper Townsend. I barely had time to lock Mordecai in his cell."
Cricket broke into a sob, which seemed unnatural for such a strange beast.
Juniper stepped closer to Gareth. She moved past Cricket.
He tightened his grip on his chain, but his hard expression faltered.
She told him, "I think you should let me go."
"I can't do that."
"Yes you can. You did it once."
"I knew you couldn’t leave her to destiny. You had no choice but to break the law again and end up back in my charge. I would be replaced if I let you free.”
She approached him without fear.
"That's not true."
Juniper moved closer still, until they were chest to chest.
"Jun," Cricket began in a soft voice.
As Gareth looked down at her with his death pale eyes, the sky cooled to a gray blue color.
"I can't." He insisted in a weak voice.
Juniper took his hand into hers. The chain in his other hand evanesced, and she took that hand as well.
"Would you really lock me in a cage?"
"Yes."
She reached up to kiss him.
The growling around them ceased as the jackals crumbled into nothing.
Gareth's lips were cool and so was the hand which slid along her neck to touch her cheek. He held her to him for several moments.
When he finally pulled away, he told her, "No one has ever kissed me. I still -," His voice broke. "Maybe I can give you a head start."
She smiled up at him, "Thank you."
"You should use that head start to cross over."
Juniper backed away a step at a time, “Like I told you, no one offered me the chance for anything but Limbo. I think that means I’m supposed to stick around.”
Cricket picked up the mirror.
"The mirror!" Gareth came for it.
Before he could get near them, Cricket grabbed Juniper and leaped into the air. The ground and the shouting guardian fell far away.
They were free...for now.
Other Titles by Lea Ryan
Novels
Babylon Dragon
MacDowell Sisters & AnnaBeth
Also a digital trio of e-shorts
Like Clockwork & A Tangled Mind
Information about the author
https://www.LeaRyan.com
https://Lea-Ryan.blogspot.com
If you would like to be notified when new books and stories are released, please send
a blank e-mail with the word ‘subscribe’ in the subject line to LeaRyan@LeaRyan.com
Babylon Dragon
Print edition ISBN: 1453683054
Also available as an ebook
What if the only way to save every living soul was to betray the person you love most?
Karmen spent her troubled life missing something. She felt closer to death than most people, but could never figure out why. That unknown torments her most on the day her mortal life ends.
She awakens in the wasteland of Purgatory to discover that in the afterlife her name is Adrea, and she is a hunter of unredeemable souls. But corrupt human souls aren't her only problem.
Tiamat, Babylonian goddess and queen mother of the Daemons, strives to annihilate God's order by destroying the boundaries between the living and the dead.
What's worse, Adrea's mortal brother, Kyle, is somehow involved. Adrea must strike a balance between her violent past self and who she has become before Kyle dies. She will decide whether saving his soul is worth risking the annihilation of divine order.
MacDowell Sisters & AnnaBeth
Print Edition ISBN: 1453787399
Also available as an ebook
When Anna Montgomery inherits her grandmother's mansion, she receives more than just a house. She inherits the family secrets and, interestingly enough, her grandmother’s strange friends.
Vestra and Madeline MacDowell draw her into their circle with the promise of power and the possibility of romance with their son, Justin. But there are consequences when you ally yourself with those who practice witchcraft.
AnnaBeth will risk everything to protect the town of Fosters Branch and the people she loves.