Crossed: An Urban Fantasy Novel (Unturned Book 2)
Page 19
That's all I could really remember. The threads of the dream broke quickly when the scream hauled me out of sleep.
I shot up, heart pounding. I couldn't tell if the scream had been a part of my weird nightmare, or from the real world.
I listened, panting.
Instead of any screaming, I heard sobbing coming from Mom's room.
I scurried out of bed. My bare chest was covered with sweat. My legs felt weak when I first stood, the clumsiness of suddenly broken sleep making me stagger.
I steadied myself against the nightstand for a second to let the room stop spinning.
Before it did, Mom shuffled through the door. The light from the parking lot behind the hotel streamed through the window, illuminating her pale face and the tears glazing her eyes. She was trembling so hard the hem of her nightdress wavered around her ankles as if caught in a breeze.
She opened her mouth, but only emitted a soft croak.
"What is it?" I asked as I hurried over to her.
She grasped my arm. Her fingers dug into my forearm so hard I expected a bruise by morning. I could feel her quivering. Her eyes bulged as she balanced on the edge of hyperventilating.
"You need to take a breath, Mom."
I guided her over to the bed and had her sit at the foot. Her painful grip on my arm hung tight the whole while.
"Breathe," I reminded her.
The lines in her face had deepened and filled with black shadow. She visibly swallowed and squeezed my arm even harder. But she took a deep breath, allowing her to finally speak.
"I know..." She squeezed her eyes shut as if in terrible pain. "I know who killed your father."
A shock ran through me so hard I nearly dropped to the floor. I wanted to ask who. Who? Who? Who?
I couldn't speak.
I didn't need to.
"Sebastian, it was me."
My guts turned to a cold mess, like the organs from a corpse on an autopsy table. “That can’t be,” I said. “You just had a bad dream.”
“No.” Tears streamed down her face. "I killed him. I killed your father.”
~~~~
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Books by Rob Cornell
The Lockman Chronicles
Darker Things (The Lockman Chronicles #1)
Dark Legion (The Lockman Chronicles #2)
Darkest Hour (The Lockman Chronicles #3)
Darkness Returns (The Lockman Chronicles #4)
Darkening Dawn (The Lockman Chronicles #5)
Unturned
Branded (Unturned #1)
Crossed (Unturned #2)
Visit Rob Cornell’s website at robcornellbooks.com
About the Author
Rob Cornell is the author of The Lockman Chronicles, a five-book urban fantasy series featuring ex-government agent and monster hunter, Craig Lockman. He is also the author of Branded, the first book in a new series about Detroit sorcerer, Sebastian Light. Raised on a steady diet of Star Wars, He-Man, G.I. Joe, and Transformers, Rob has always spent much of his time wandering the halls of his imagination, conjuring stories. Nowadays, he writes them down like a responsible adult. He lives in rural Southeast Michigan with his family.
Published by Paradox Publications
Copyright © 2016 by Rob Cornell
All rights reserved.
Cover Design by Beth Flumignan
Crossed is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.