Returned (44 page)

“Jack!”

She pushed her energy again. His combined with hers, lifted Evander. The pressure on her body intensified. Jack screamed in pain. She couldn't breathe.

             
Evander regained his footing. She watched helplessly as Evander stepped behind her mother and brushed her nutmeg curls behind her ears. Cora looked into her mother’s eyes as Evander placed his death white hands on either side of her lovely face.

No! No! No!

“Get off her!”

She lurched forward again only to be forced back to the ground. Everything was moving in slow motion. She could hear her own panting, hear every beat of her heart.

“No!!!”

Rage made her blind, her lungs were raw yet she was taking another breath to scream. The pressure on her body lifted and she stood to run at him.

The snap echoed around the woods.

             
The breath left her lungs. She slammed her eyes shut as the bile rose and erupted out of her mouth. The image of her mother’s face flashed through her mind. She saw now, the goodbye in her mother's eyes. She'd known what was going to happen.

             
A sickening thud hit the ground making her cry out knowing without opening her eyes that it was her mother’s lifeless body hitting the floor. Sobs wracked her body pushing their way up her throat, consuming her. She opened her eyes and saw his face, those cold steel eyes with that mocking, self loving smile. Her breath came hard and heavy. She took several deep breaths before the rain poured down on them. She could hear Ayden sobbing. Wind swirled around her, pulsing angrily. Her eyes locked onto her mother, her body lying on the cold ground. Her body buckled underneath her, she felt the frozen ground smash hard into her knees as she crumbled. Her heart shattered into tiny pieces.

“Cora! Get up!” Jack bellowed.

She couldn't move. Evander stalked towards her with the smile still painted on his white face. Her vision blurred, a mixture of tears and shock making it difficult to see. Before the darkness took her, Jack's voice was the last thing she heard.

Keeley Smith currently lives in West Yorkshire, UK. She spends most of her time with her book “friends” creating new and exciting stories. She also loves to read and spend time with her friends and family.

Visit Keeley’s website at
www.keeleysmithauthor.com

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