Death's Awakening by Sarra Cannon Read Free Book Online Page B

haven’t been that great this
year. Not enough rain.”
    She nodded, trying to
understand what he was telling her.
    “Are you feeling
better?” he asked.
    “Much.” She
managed a smile and looked into his eyes again. They were kind eyes.
    He smiled back. “You’re
so pretty,” he whispered.
    She touched her knotted
hair and shook her head.
    He swallowed nervously.
“You’re the most beautiful girl I ever saw.”
    The young witch
blushed. No one had ever called her beautiful in her whole life. No
one had ever looked at her like that. Like he thought she was
something special and unique.
    In the next room, the
man’s mother started coughing again. She called out to him,
calling him Marcus. Disappointment flashed in his eyes as he stood
and moved the chair back to its place against the wall. “I’ve
got to go see about Momma,” he said. His eyebrows pinched
together. “She’s not feeling so well these past couple
days. Might end up having to call that doctor after all.”
    The man nodded to the
tray beside her bed.
    “There’s
more tea in that pitcher if you want some,” he said. “And
there’s plenty of food in the kitchen if you feel up to coming
down in a little while. I’ll fix us some supper here in a bit.”
    “Thank you,”
she said.
    He turned and started
out the door, then looked back at her. “I’m really glad
you’re feeling better,” he said. He reached into the
pocket of his jeans and pulled something out. He stepped toward her,
his fist outstretched. “I almost forgot.”
    She lifted her hand to
his and he dropped a small purple stone into her palm.
    The witch gasped and
pulled the stone closer. The Fatalis stone. She thought it had been
lost with Tobias. She picked it up carefully and studied it, turning
it around and around in her hand. It was faceted with five sides.
Each side had a unique mark engraved on it.
    “Where did you
find it?” she asked.
    “It was laying on
the ground in a pile of dirt where we found you,” he said. “I
figured it must be yours.”
    She nodded. “Thank
you.”
    The older woman coughed
again and the man glanced nervously toward the hallway. “I
better get going,” he said. “I hope I see you for supper
later.”
    He shut the door behind
him as he left.
    The witch clutched the
purple stone close to her heart. She had no idea how to use it, but
seeing it made her heart soar. Tobias had used this stone to somehow
create the portal that brougt them here. If she could figure out how
to use it, maybe she wouldn’t be trapped here in this world
after all.
    Maybe there was still a
way home.

Parrish
    The door to her room
opened with a creak and Parrish pulled her headphones from her ears.
    “I told you not
to come in without knocking,” she said, jumping up from the
bed. If her mom came bursting into her room without asking one more
time, she was going to seriously lose it.
    “It’s just
me,” a soft voice said.
    Parrish relaxed and
moved back toward her bed. Some of her schoolwork was spread across
the comforter. She brushed it to the side in one big pile and sat
down.
    Zoe walked in and shut
the door behind her. Her hand looked so small on the doorknob and
Parrish smiled. She was like a little porcelain doll, but when she
picked up her bow and violin, she was transformed. She could play
something soft and heartbreaking like Barber’s Violin Concerto,
but she could also bring out the strength of a composer like Bartok.
That little girl had more talent in her pinky finger than Parrish had
in her whole body.
    She was really going to
miss her.
    “Are you guys
about ready to go?”
    Zoe shrugged and hung
her head. Her long hair fell across her shoulder, partially covering
her face. “Dad said we should leave in a few minutes just in
case there’s any traffic.”
    Parrish nodded. “Are
you nervous?”
    Zoe crossed the room
and sat next to Parrish on the bed. She had to raise up on her
tiptoes just to reach high enough. “A little,” she said.
“I