Reality Ruptured, page 18
part #8 of The Gallows Series Series
She’d seen the fight through his eyes, glad she couldn’t read his mind at the same time. It was awful enough knowing he was fighting for another woman. The connection broke when he was staked. The vampire was gunked. Her heart hammered. This was it. The price for his resurrection was to be paid. The crippling pain that shot through her body made her fall to her knees. She curled into a ball on the ground, eyes squeezed shut. Her hands shook as the spell began to take what it was owed from her. She bit back a scream, knowing it would be over soon. Wave after wave of fresh agony coursed over her as she grew weaker. Her vision started to blur as her body convulsed. By the time she finally passed out, she knew she’d made an awful mistake. It was too late to undo it now.
“Flicky, wake up. You have to wake up.” His voice was soft and encouraging.
She blinked as she took in the darkness and pushed herself to sit. “Where... Where am I?”
He came into focus as her eyes adjusted, sitting right in front of her, his features hard to make out.
“This place... You can’t stay here. And you can’t ever come back.”
“But... What happened? I don’t understand.” Her voice quivered and she shut her mouth, afraid to say another word for fear of breaking down in front of him. She knew what had happened. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know what it meant that he was here now.
His arms closed around her, warm and reassuring. He sighed. “You have to let me go now. I didn’t make it.”
She held on to him. “You’re here. What are you talking about?”
“The spell,” he said. “It worked, but it was too late. I was too caught up in the past. I let it destroy me.”
Her stomach turned as she felt the truth in his words. “No. This can’t be happening.”
“I’m sorry I let you down,” he said. “You deserved better.”
The whoosh of air she felt around them made her gasp and shudder. She closed her eyes, feeling safe in his arms and never wanting to let go.
When she opened them again, she realised she was shivering on the cold floor of the shop, disoriented. Her head spun when she moved, attempting to get to her feet. Her arms shook as she steadied herself, her legs too weak to take her own weight.
“What did I do?” she whispered. Her voice sounded frail. She felt as fragile as glass. She’d known this would be the price. That was acceptable when she knew it would save him. That he’d died anyway, after her efforts to bring him back... She stopped trying to get up. Tears fell from her tired eyes. She’d just lost something she didn’t even really have. It shouldn’t hurt so much, but it felt like she was going to die from the pain.
The rattling of the shop door made her wipe at her eyes. She sniffled. Whoever it was could get lost. She wasn’t in the mood to face anyone right now, let alone a customer.
Knocking came next, light but insistent tapping on the glass door. She knew the stand in the middle of the shop floor was hiding her from sight. If anyone saw her right now, she’d never be able to hide the truth of what she’d done. No one could ever know. She’d given up part of her own life for nothing. More tears fell as she put a hand over her mouth to cover the sound of her uncontrollable sobbing.
“Flicky, I know you’re in there and you’d better open this damn door before I break it down,” the irritable voice was familiar and made her heart sink further. If Suze was the one to find her heartbroken like this, she’d never live it down.
She summoned the strength to pull herself together just enough to lift her head and yell, “Fuck off, I’m busy.”
It was torture, but she managed to haul herself to her feet using the stand in the centre of the floor. Her legs trembled under her but she was able to stand. The full brunt of her decision hit her as she looked down at her hands. Her skin had paled, but that was a temporary effect. She’d given up 23 years from her lifespan to bring Ray back. She had maybe thirty years left to live, if she was lucky. That hadn’t seemed like much of a sacrifice considering how short the lifespan of a practicing witch usually ended up being. She’d be lucky if she survived the next supernatural attack that came her way. What did getting old matter in the face of that?
“It’s happening,” Suze called through the door. “Let me in.”
Flicky frowned. “What?”
The irritable witch rattled the door again, waving a brick in her other hand.
“Don’t break it,” Flicky snapped, making her way over slowly. She unlocked the door against her own better judgement and let Suze in, blinking in confusion as she saw past the girl to the weird green smog that seemed to be hiding the sun outside the shop. “I think I’m seeing things.”
“Think again,” Suze told her, with a wry smile. “The end is here, Felicity. It’s time for us to step up to the plate.”
Flicky locked the door and turned to the tall blonde witch. “What?”
Suze shrugged. “The gates have opened. The prophecy came true. Guess what that means?”
“Shit,” Flicky said. “We’re up.”
Also by Sharon Stevenson
The Gallows Novels:
Blood Bound
Demon Divided
Fate Fallen
Curse Corrupted
Hell Halved
Spirit Splintered
Heaven & Hell
Reality Ruptured
Prophecy Passed (coming soon)
Box Sets:
The Gallows Novels Books 1-3
The Gallows Novels Books 4-6
Short works in the Gallows series:
Back from the Dark (novella, best read after Fate Fallen)
Double Dare (newsletter exclusive short story, set before Blood Bound)
False Front (newsletter exclusive short story, set before Blood Bound)
Shadows Grove (newsletter exclusive short story, best read after Spirit Splintered)
The Raised Series:
Dead Man Running
Death Magic Rules
Restless Spirits
Limitless Magic (coming soon)
Short works in the Raised series:
Walking Away (novella, coming soon)
The Shady Arcade Trilogy:
Amnesia Bites
Sweet Oblivion (coming soon)
Beyond Shadows (coming soon)
At Hell’s Gates Anthologies:
At Hell’s Gates: Existing Worlds (Gallows short story: Welcome to Hell)
At Hell’s Gates: Origins of Evil (stand alone horror short: Forget Me Never)
At Hell’s Gates: Bound by Blood (stand alone horror short: Monster)
Standalone Paranormal Romances:
Heart (Saint’s Grove Series, book 10 of 12)
Twisted Magic (Gallows World Standalone)
Forthcoming works:
The Gallows Novels, Raised and Shady Arcade series are expected to be completed by the end of 2017. Release dates for the remaining books are still to be announced.
Sign up to Sharon’s newsletter to be the first to know about release dates and new works:
http://sharonstevensonauthor.com/newsletter/
About the Author
Sharon Stevenson lives in Scotland with her husband. She spends her spare time creating entertaining fantasy worlds full of strange creatures and unconventional characters. The Amazon bestselling Gallows series follows twin demon trackers Shaun & Sarah Gallows through fictional Scottish towns as they come up against various supernatural threats, while their biggest problems are caused by their own personal demons. The Raised series is a magical take on zombies, set in Edinburgh & Las Vegas, and following the after death adventures of twenty-three-year-old Pete and his friends.
Want to keep up to date with Sharon’s latest releases, receive three exclusive short stories, and find out about subscriber only offers and giveaways?
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Sharon Stevenson, Reality Ruptured
