In the Forest of Light and Dark (39 page)
Read In the Forest of Light and Dark Online
Authors: Mark Kasniak
I looked down finding Casper’s motionless body in my hands and when I loosened my grip on him the orb that had once been trapped inside of him floated up passed me on its way to the stars. It was so close that I could’ve touched it. I wanted to touch it, but feared possibly screwing up little Brandon Kolinski’s ascension into the afterlife.
Katelyn!
I then suddenly thought. “Where’s Katelyn? What happened to her? Is she…” I frantically asked my grandmother.
“Oh, don’t worry about her.” My grandmother said, as she hugged me close once more, her warmth, comforting me in the cool night’s air. “That pain in the butt will be just fine. I’ll have an eternity of her questions and antics to look forward to on the other side.”
“Yeah, she is kind of a pain in the ass, isn’t she?” I then said to my grandmother feeling for the first time tonight that Katelyn will truly be alright.
“She sure is, kiddo. She sure is.” was all that my grandmother replied.
A new Dawn
A new dawn arose over Mount Harrison a few hours later. And, with Abellona’s curse having been lifted from the village, a new sense of hope and well-being emerged along with it among the villagers. For many it was like awakening from a long slumber and knowing that you’ve had a nightmare about something, but not for the life of you remembering what it was.
Later that morning we had buried Casper’s body in the backyard along with the remains of Midnight and Popsicle. I had said a little prayer for them even though I knew that they were never truly real. They were just vessels that Abellona had used to contain the souls of my grandmother and the other villagers. But still… Something just felt wrong about leaving them there to decompose in the forest.
Katelyn’s family had buried her in the cemetery next to her grandparents and her Aunt Catherine. At her funeral the entire village showed up, having been drawn to it and wanting to pay their respects which I’m sure would have made her sick if she were watching it from somewhere nearby.
At the wake I had a little chat with Katelyn’s parents informing them of just what a wonderful person their daughter was, and I even had thought about telling them the truth about what had really happened to her. But I knew they would never have believed me and it would’ve only made me look as if I was making light of her death. Besides, they were in no way ready to handle the truth anyhow.
In the end, though, I had walked away feeling that they were much more at peace with their daughter’s death than they would have been if I had actually told them what happened. In addition, I figured that after a little time had passed. I’ll go ahead and conjure Katelyn up from the other side so they can see her again. I’m a witch. I can do these things.
After the funeral, Tucker and Owen returned home to Alabama, but I have a feeling that I’ll be seeing them up here again real soon.
A week later I had returned to school, and it was like walking into a brand new atmosphere. Dirty looks were replaced by smiles and sneers exchanged with hellos. I had even gotten an invitation from Keri Mahan to sit with her and her friends in the lunchroom—which I accepted with a bit of caution. But after I had sat down with them, I quickly realized that none of them had seemed to remember the past all too well or how they’d treated me. They just accepted me as
the
new girl
from Alabama, and that was fine by me.
As far as things went with Katelyn, she was just another one of their many classmates who had tragically died too young, having drowned while swimming drunk one night in the Genesee River.
I had decided that these are as good of truths as any, and to leave things at that.
Later that afternoon when I’d gotten home from school and for the first time not having been accompanied by a clowder of strays. To my surprise I had found that the pea-green Pontiac Safari whale, which normally would’ve been parked in the driveway was now replaced by a 1977 Pontiac Trans AM, black with gold trim and a Firebird screaming on the hood.
Holy shit!
I thought as I stared at it in awe.
It’s the Holy Grail, the Bandit’s Firebird.
“So what do ya think?” my Step Daddy Cade asked as he stepped out from the house. “Ya like it?”
Like it?
I thought.
“I fuckin’ love it.” I told him.
“Good. Because it’s yours.” he said, tossing me the keys. “You’ve earned it.”
That evening I drove through Mount Harrison’s winding roads with the T-tops off even though it was Mid-October and I still only had a learners permit. As I accelerated my new car I felt the wind whip through my hair as it assaulted my face making me feel as if I was flying on a broomstick, but I felt no discomfort. In fact, I never again felt uncomfortable in the village or on the mountain and in its forest. For I am Cera Singer—scratch that—for I am Cera Barrett and I am the witch of Mount Harrison.
Author’s Note
First and foremost, I would like to thank you for purchasing this book! And, if you’ve gotten it for free, well… Score for you and still thanks for reading it. There is no purpose what-so-ever of having created a story if there is nobody to enjoy it.
As an independent author. I, like many of us out there, are subject to tackling every segment of the production process involved in the making of our novels. Unfortunately though, for a lot of us, we just do not have the resources available to hire professional editors, beta readers, cover designers etc. With that in mind mistakes can and will sometimes happen. Nobody is perfect. So, I am respectfully requesting, that you, the reader, would do me the goodwill of acknowledging to me any errors found in my text, whether it be in the storyline or grammatically, before leaving any negative review. I can be reached at
[email protected]
.
I do however fully understand that reviews are part of the writing and marketing process for any author, and in being so I would like to strongly urge you to leave a review of this book on Amazon or anywhere else of your choosing. You can reach my Amazon review page here.
I would also appreciate you leaving an honest review of any of my other books based on your enjoyment of them whether good or bad.
Again, thank you.
Coming soon…
Autumn Harvest
A celebration of Halloween and the macabre
Lovienthal Montague
Spiritual
Detective
A Zombie Novel
Michael
A continuum of In the Forest of Light and Dark
The Hunger
The Volunteers
Kayla’s Story
Ashland
The good, the bad, and the Lovienthal
Acknowledgments
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Andreas Krappweis for allowing me the use of his photograph seen on this book’s cover. You can find more of his works at his website
www.andreaskrappweis.com
.
I would also like to thank you, the reader. I know it was a long story, but I do believe that the length was justified. If, you did enjoy this book, be sure to check out my novel
Michael
coming out in 2016. It’s a continuum of In the Forest of Light and Dark which centers around the archangel Michael having come down to earth on a mission to kill a child. Cera, Katelyn, Lyanna, and Tucker are all players in this action-packed thriller.