by Amy Cross
I stare at him, and I can't help noticing that he looks so much healthier than before. I know it's crazy to think that his cancer might have gone away entirely, but Sebastian's words are still ringing in my ears and I can't help wondering about the deal I made in order to save my father's life. It's not as if I can pretend there was any confusion. I know exactly what I did.
“Nothing,” I tell him. “I'm just being dumb.”
As he turns and heads back to the other officers, I make my way between the trees. The air is still warm from the fire, and some of the trees have small glowing patches on their trunks. There's more rain expected this evening, so the fire won't have a chance to start up again. Still, as I look around at the scorched earth that runs all the way to the horizon, I feel as if something dark is hanging over me, even if I know that there's no way I could have done anything other than save my father the other night.
Deep down, though, I have this uncomfortable feeling in my gut.
“You did the right thing, Ramsey.”
Turning, I see Sebastian watching me from nearby, peering from behind a tree. He immediately steps back, out of view, only to suddenly peer at me from behind a different tree. There's no way he could have moved that fast.
“Everything's right with the world,” his voice continues, even though this time his lips don't move. “Can't you tell? I got what I wanted, you're getting what you want, and nobody has to be afraid of that nasty witch breaking free from her prison.”
As he speaks, I look around and realize that the voice actually seems to be coming from the wind as it blows through the few remaining trees.
“There's a fresh start for everyone,” the voice continues as I turn back to look at his face. “What more could you want? Our deal -”
“I never made a deal with you!” I hiss.
“Oh, but you did, and you know it. I made you confirm that several times. Your father was absolutely right just now. When you think you don't know the truth about something, often you're simply refusing to listen to your instincts. Deep down, Ramsey, you know exactly when I threw that girl's corpse at you. I offered you a deal, to save your father's life in return for you leaving the witch alone, and you took it. If you ask me, you're a very lucky young lady.”
“Go to hell!” I sneer, stepping toward him.
“Would you like to undo your decision?” he asks, with his voice this time being blown from behind me. “You can try to find the witch again, even though I've hidden her away once more. And of course, in return, I shall have no choice but to take back everything I gave you.”
He looks past me for a moment.
Turning, I follow his gaze and see Dad talking to some of the deputies.
“He seems like a good man,” Sebastian continues. “You should be proud of what you did to help him. Fret and worry if it makes you feel any better, but if you follow your father's advice and listen to your gut, you'll have to accept that you wouldn't have things any other way.”
I watch Dad for a moment longer, before turning and finding that Sebastian is nowhere to be seen.
“I didn't make a deal with you!” I say firmly, stepping between the nearest trees and looking around, still trying to spot him. “I just saved my father, that's all! That doesn't make me a bad person!”
“We all choose our burdens,” his voice whispers, blowing away through the burned branches. “Be sure to carry yours with strength and pride.”
The wind picks up for a moment, whistling between the burned trees and briefly sounding almost like a low, heavy laugh. When I look back over toward the police cruisers, I see that Dad and the deputies are struggling to keep their papers from getting blown away, although after a couple of seconds the breeze dies down again.
“I didn't make a deal with the devil,” I whisper, even though I can feel a nagging sense of doubt in the pit of my stomach. “I just saved my father, I'm not -”
Before I can finish, I hear a faint scratching sound nearby, and I turn just in time to see a large black crow hoping across the burned ground. The entire landscape has been devoid of animal life since the fire, and at first the sight of the crow makes me smile slightly. After a moment, however, I see that the bird has several small black stones balanced on its back and shoulders. The stones are wobbling as the crow hops along, and one or two of them even slip slightly, but they remain more or less in place.
Suddenly the crow spreads its wings and flies away. I look up and watch as it soars high into the gray, rain-heavy sky. And I swear, not one of those stones falls from the crow's back.
Coming Soon
LIKE STONES ON A CROW'S BACK
(THE DEAL BOOK 2)
Also by Amy Cross
B&B
A girl on the run, hiding from a terrible crime.
An old B&B in a snowy city.
A hidden figure lurking in the streets, waiting for his next victim.
When Bobbie takes a room at the rundown Castle Crown B&B, all she wants is to get some sleep and make a tough decision about her future. Unfortunately, the B&B's other guests won't give her any peace, and Bobbie soon realizes that she's stumbled into a world with its own rules. Who is the mysterious bandaged woman? Why is there a dead man in the bathtub? And is something deadly lurking in the basement?
Before she can leave, however, Bobbie learns that the city of Canterbury is being terrorized by a mysterious figure. Every time snow comes, the Snowman claims another victim, leaving their blood sinking into the ice. If Bobbie leaves the B&B and ventures out into the empty streets, she risks becoming his next target. But if she stays, her soul might be claimed by something even more deadly.
B&B is a horror story about a girl with a secret, and about a building with a past.
Also by Amy Cross
THE BODY AT AUERCLIFF
“We'll bury her so deep, even her ghost will have a mouth full of dirt!”
When Rebecca Wallace arrives at Auercliff to check on her aged aunt, she's in for a shock. Her aunt's mind is crumbling, and the old woman refuses to let Rebecca stay overnight. And just as she thinks she's starting to understand the truth, Rebecca makes a horrifying discovery in one of the house's many spare rooms.
A dead body. A woman. Old and rotten. And her aunt insists she has no idea where it came from.
The truth lies buried in the past. For generations, the occupants of Auercliff have been tormented by the repercussions of a horrific secret. And somehow everything seems to be centered upon the mausoleum in the house's ground, where every member of the family is entombed once they die.
Whose body was left to rot in one of the house's rooms? Why have successive generations of the family been plagued by a persistent scratching sound? And what really happened to Rebecca many years ago, when she found herself locked inside the Auercliff mausoleum?
The Body at Auercliff is a horror story about a family and a house, and about the refusal of the past to stay buried.
Also by Amy Cross
PERFECT LITTLE MONSTERS
AND OTHER STORIES
A husband waits until his wife and children are in bed, before inviting a dangerous man into their home...
A girl keeps hold of her mother's necklace, as bloodied hands try to tear it from her grasp...
A gun jams, even as its intended victim begs the universe to let her die...
Perfect Little Monsters and Other Stories is a collection of short stories by Amy Cross. Some of the stories take place in seemingly ordinary towns, whose inhabitants soon discover something truly shocking lurking beneath the veneer of peace and calm. Others show glimpses of vast, barbaric worlds where deadly forces gather to toy with humanity. All the stories in this collection peel back the face of a nightmare, revealing the horror that awaits. And in every one of the stories, some kind of monster lurks...
Perfect Little Monsters and Other Stories contains the new stories Perfect Little Monsters, I Hate You, Meat, Fifty Fifty and Stay Up Late, as well as a revised version of the previously-released
story The Scream. This book contains scenes of violence, as well as strong language.
Also by Amy Cross
ANNIE'S ROOM
1945 and 2015. Seventy years apart, two girls named Annie move into the same room of the same remote house. Their stories are very different, but tragedy is about to bring them crashing together.
Annie Riley has just broken both her legs. Unable to leave bed, she's holed up in her new room and completely reliant upon her family for company. She's also the first to notice a series of strange noises in the house, but her parents and brother think she's just letting her imagination run overtime. And then, one night, dark forces start to make their presence more keenly felt, leading to a horrific discovery...
Seventy years ago, Annie Garrett lived in the same house with her parents. This Annie, however, was very different. Bitter and vindictive and hopelessly devoted to her father, she developed a passionate hatred for her mother. History records that Annie eventually disappeared while her parents were executed for her murder, but what really happened to Annie Garrett, and is her ghost still haunting the house to this day?
Annie's Room is the story of two girls whose lives just happened to be thrown together by an unlikely set of circumstances, and of a potent evil that blossomed in one soul and then threatened to consume another.
OTHER BOOKS
BY AMY CROSS INCLUDE
Horror
The Body at Auercliff
B&B
The Bride of Ashbyrn House
The Disappearance of Katie Wren
The Horror of Devil's Root Lake
The Haunting of Blackwych Grange
Perfect Little Monsters and Other Stories
Twisted Little Things and Other Stories
The Printer From Hell
The Farm
The Nurse
American Coven
Annie's Room
Eli's Town
Asylum
Meds (Asylum 2)
The Night Girl
Devil's Briar
The Cabin
After the Cabin
Last Wrong Turn
At the Edge of the Forest
The Devil's Hand
The Ghost of Shapley Hall
The Death of Addie Gray
A House in London
The Blood House
The Priest Hole (Nykolas Freeman book 1)
Battlefield (Nykolas Freeman book 2)
The Border
The Lighthouse
3AM
Tenderling
The Girl Clay
The Prison
Ward Z
Fantasy / Horror
Dark Season series 1, 2 & 3
Grave Girl
Graver Girl (Grave Girl 2)
Ghosts
The Library
Thriller
The Girl Who Never Came Back
Other People's Bodies
Dystopia / Science Fiction
The Dog
The Island (The Island book 1)
Persona (The Island book 2)
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter Fifty-Four
Chapter Fifty-Five
Chapter Fifty-Six
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Chapter Sixty
Chapter Sixty-One
Chapter Sixty-Two
Chapter Sixty-Three
Chapter Sixty-Four
Epilogue
