“Would your friend be willing to do that though?”
She shrugs. “He’s done it before so I don’t see why not.”
Hunter turns to me, smiling a little. “We can go together.”
I smile back. “Yeah, that sounds awesome. I’ll have to call my friend and ask her but I’m sure she’ll be okay with it too.”
“Great, I’ll have everything arranged.” Li turns to go but then turns back to me. “Oh, and Chrys, Shikoba told me you completed the third task.”
“Yes,” I say.
“Why haven’t you come to me?” She has a sort of sly smile on her face, like she knows what I’m about to say.
“Well, I decided to keep my gift,” I say.
“What?” Hunter exclaims. “After everything?”
Li chuckles. “Oh, I’m so glad you said that, Chrys. The truth is, if I remove your gift from circulation, it’ll kill you. But, after doing the tasks, now you feel like you can live with your gift, and yourself, right?”
I let out a sigh. “Are you serious, Li?”
“I wish I weren’t. But I’ve tried many times. Never managed to do it without taking their life too.”
“Honestly,” I say. “I should have known. Every gift has some sort of messed up twist.”
She nods sadly. “I’ve never known a gift without one.”
Epilogue
Hunter and I finally reach the entrance of town. Ron is standing there tugging on the straps of her backpack. A black car with tinted windows sits next to her, the engine idling. That must be the car Li’s friend sent for us.
I speed past Hunter to get to Ron. She hugs me tightly. It’s way too hot to be this close to someone else but I don’t mind one bit.
“Why didn’t you answer my calls?” I say, my voice muffled from my face pressing into her chest.
Ron chuckles. “I didn’t want you to tell me you changed your mind.”
“Didn’t you see my text though? I sent one while I was walking here.”
“Yeah, I saw it.” She pulls away with a big grin on her face.
“You could have replied to my text then, you jerk.” I can’t help but mirror her smile.
She shrugs. “A little bit of mystery never killed no one.”
I roll my eyes.
Hunter has finally caught up to us. He peers into the driver’s side of the car. The driver rolls down the window. He’s a middle-aged man with a neatly slicked back hair and a bushy mustache. He’s wearing a suit and white gloves, like a butler or something.
“Heading to New York?” he says.
“Yes, that’s us,” Hunter replies. He gestures for Ron and me to get in the back. He then walks around to the passenger’s side and gets in.
“Ready to go?” I say to Ron.
“I’ve been ready since we got here.” Ron nudges me toward the car.
Book 2 will be released on August 21st, 2020!
Lover of Death
"Lover of Death" is the prequel short story for this novel. It's told from the perspective of Vic Blanchet, the man who had Chrys's gift before her. If you'd like to know how gifts are passed on to the next person, this story is a must read!
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About the Author
Lin Augustine is a fantasy writer from the United States. She currently lives in South Korea as a native English teacher for adults. Languages, words, and stories are her passions. Oh, and her two cats are pretty awesome too.
Website: linaugustine.com.
Instagram: @lin_author
Facebook: facebook.com/linaugustinewrites/
Acknowledgments
I'd like to thank my friends Erin, Brianna, and Ivy for keeping me accountable and encouraging me to keep writing. I'd particularly like to thank Erin and Brianna for being my very first readers and giving me valuable feedback. I'd also like to thank my sister Stefane for reading my work too in the early stages and letting me know what she thought. If it weren't for all of you, I probably would have given up on writing the story before I finished it, like I have done many times in the past.
And thank you, mysterious reader, for giving my story a chance.
Thank you for reading.
I'd love to hear what you thought! Please consider leaving a review on Amazon and Goodreads.
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