by Sarra Cannon
No one else could ever know what had really happened that night. We would carry these deep dark secrets with us for the rest of our lives.
And my secret was the darkest of all.
The ancient power inside me was twice as strong now, and I could feel it pushing against the light inside me, struggling to break free and consume what was left of my soul. But I was learning to control it, and I would fight against that darkness until my last breath.
We stayed until the funeral was over and the crowd had dispersed. I held two bouquets of flowers in my hand, and I placed one at the foot of Nicole’s grave as I said goodbye.
Jordan started toward the car, but I held back.
“Can I have a few minutes alone, if you don’t mind?” I asked.
We had something we needed to do before the day was over, but a few minutes wouldn’t hurt.
“Of course,” he said. “I’ll wait by the car.”
I walked over to another row of tombstones twenty yards away and placed the second bouquet of tulips on Hailey’s grave.
“They were always your favorites,” I said as I sat down in the grass next to where her bones would rest for eternity.
I took a photo from my bag that I’d had framed and engraved with the words Best Friends Forever. It was one of the earliest pictures of the two of us. We were five years old, both in pigtails and swim suits, our arms around each other’s shoulders.
“I miss you,” I said, propping the photo up against her headstone.
It was getting late. I needed to go, but I hated to leave her side.
Some things never changed.
Reluctantly, I got up from my place in the grass. I still had work to do before the sun set.
I left Hailey’s grave behind me and walked to the car where Jordan stood waiting. We stopped off at his apartment to change, and then we drove across town and up an old mountain road as far as we could go. When the terrain got too tough for my Jeep, we parked and got out. We would have to walk from here.
“How long will it take us to get there?” he asked.
“It shouldn’t take more than an hour,” I said.
“Are you sure you’re up for this?”
I nodded and took his hand as we walked into the woods.
The path we were taking was not marked by any trail, but I knew exactly where to go. We hiked through rough, overgrown woods, holding hope in our hearts. This was our second trip into the woods this weekend, searching for the idols.
When the Three Sisters had been confined to their stone prisons, their powers separated from each other, they had lost a great deal of their strength. Any one of them was powerful alone, but together, they were almost unstoppable.
As long as the other two idols were undisturbed and safe, there was still hope.
Yesterday, we had found the first of the remaining two hidden safely inside a cave near Augren’s Peak. At the request of the medicine woman, we brought it to her so that it could be guarded by those in her village.
Nerves tightened my chest as we hiked. The uncertainty of what we would find terrified me, but it was better to know the truth.
When we reached the cave, I was relieved to see that the area looked undisturbed. Even the mouth of the cave itself was mostly hidden by trees and vines that had grown over it. For the first time in over an hour, I relaxed a little bit. Maybe the idol was still intact.
Everything was going to be okay.
Jordan took a flashlight out of his backpack and handed it to me. With his wolf eyes, he could see clearly in the dark, but I hadn’t yet learned to control all the powers of my Spiritwalker heritage. Someday, I hoped to learn to surrender to my own spirit animal, but that would take time and training.
For now, though, I turned on the flashlight and followed him inside.
This cave was much narrower than the last, and once we got about twenty feet inside, the path had narrowed so much, I had to fall behind him. We didn’t speak as we searched the cave, but I knew we were both feeling and thinking the same thing.
Please.
But today was not the day for answered prayers.
On the floor of the cave’s deepest, darkest spot, we found a broken idol lying in a pool of black oil.
And there, in the center of the darkness, was a single footprint.
THE END
Book Two: Deep Dark Whispers
I sincerely hope you enjoyed Deep Dark Secrets, Book One of The Spiritwalkers series. If you loved the book, I would appreciate an honest review.
Book Two: Deep Dark Whispers will be coming soon. Be sure to sign up for my mailing list to get release date announcements and cover reveals for my upcoming books.
About the Author
Sarra Cannon is the author of several series featuring young adult and college-aged characters, including the bestselling Shadow Demons Saga. Her novels often stem from her own experiences growing up in the small town of Hawkinsville, Georgia, where she learned that being popular always comes at a price and relationships are rarely as simple as they seem.
Sarra recently celebrated six years in indie publishing and has sold over half a million copies of her books. She currently lives in South Carolina with her programmer husband and adorable redheaded son.
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Also by Sarra Cannon
Books marked with an * are currently free
The Shadow Demons Saga
Free Box Set of Books 1-3*
Beautiful Demons*
Inner Demons*
Bitter Demons*
Shadow Demons
Rival Demons
Demons Forever
Emerald Darkness
Forgotten Darkness
After Midnight
A Demon’s Wrath (Jackson’s Story)
Sacrifice Me Series
Episode 1: The Demon*
Season One Box Set
Eternal Sorrows
Death’s Awakening
Sorrow’s Gift
The Fairhope Series (now complete!)
Free Box Set of Books 1-3*
The Trouble With Goodbye*
The Moment We Began*
A Season For Hope*
The Fear of Letting Go
A Life With No Regrets
The Trouble With I Do
