Crossroads by Kennedy Harkins (red scrolls of magic .txt) 📕

better.
My eyes widened and a gasp of horror forced its way past my lip. Someone was on it. No, someone was nailed to the cross. It was like my vision zoomed in and I could see everything. Every. Excruciating. Detail.
Blood dripped lazily from the woman’s wounds, meaning she’d been up there a while. Her body was covered in welts and deep cuts, like someone had whipped her within an inch of her life. She looked thin, too thin, and her skin had a grey quality to it. I swallowed back bile. She had to be dead. No one could with stand this kind of abuse. It wasn’t possible. Wasn’t right.
That’s when I noticed the slight rise and fall of her chest. She was breathing.
“Tread very carefully, my child. Don’t play with Death.”

I jerked forcefully, almost falling from my sitting position on the coach. That would have felt good. Trying to shake off what I had seen in the dream, I pulled the comforter closer to me. My whole body was shivering from the below freezing temperature. It seemed like it had dropped thirty degrees since the time I’d falling asleep. I could see my breath.
A loud pop sound came from the kitchen, my head snapped towards the noise. Rising carefully from the couch, I moved with lethal silence across the wood floors. I cursed myself for falling asleep in a spot devoid of weapons. Not likely, to work against something I can’t run from, anyway.
A woman was standing in front of my dishwasher. Her flame red hair looked truly alive, rising up and burning through anything in its path. Next to her paper white skin, it stood out like a neon sign.
“I know you didn’t pull a ‘break-and-enter’ in my house, because if you did, your ass is mine. I’ll hang it above the mantle, ward off anymore unwanted visitors.”
She turned to face me. Her eyes were such a bright shade of green that it seemed to glow with the intensity of an electronic alarm clock. “You would do well not to threaten me, Tabitha Sharlet Brennan.” Her voice was like ice, frozen and void of emotion. Someone like her could’ve mutilated my corpse without blinking. Everything about her was detached; she simply had nothing that translated to this dimension, as if she was a hologram. It was a wonder she was able to hold a corporeal form.
I cocked an eyebrow, “Are we dropping names now? Yours was pretty impressive, don’t know if I can top it.”
“Your sarcasm hides confusion and frustration.” Her expression didn’t change, but I got the feeling she was chiding me, as if you would a child.
“Ouch.”
“I have come to warn you-”
I rolled my eyes, “Thanks, Lady. But really-” I gestured to myself- “I think I’ve got it covered. Nothing really catches me off guard anymore, feel me?”
She showed her first expression of the evening, disbelief. “You claim to be an all knowing being?” That caused me to hesitate. I didn’t pretend to know everything. No one did, that was the whole point of ‘free will’, the power to change your own future past what anyone expects of you. But I did see more than most.
“Your fate hangs in the balance, along with many others. You will have no influence on the upcoming events. Outside the realms of normal, of course.” The woman continued.
“...What are you smoking, chick?”
She tapped her foot tapped in a dead giveaway of impatience. “This is where I take my leave.” She paused as if considering something, she met my eyes and a burst of raw power shot through me. I winced from the uncomfortable sensation.
“Be wary, Tabitha. Take nothing at face value. The world is at a vital turning point. A miss step and your end could mean chaos.” I opened my mouth to ask her ‘what the hell are you talking about?’ A blink of the eyes later she was gone. No fading, no exiting stage left, just...gone. As if she’d never really been there in the first place.


“Remember, you can’t save someone who’s already Dead.”

Her voice rang out in my mind, clear as a bell, though her body was nowhere near. I shuddered as her words sunk in. One thing was for sure, whoever she was; she had some mega skill under her belt. This meant deep shit for me.

Cardinal rule; don’t get involved with an Ancient.

Imprint

Publication Date: 01-21-2012

All Rights Reserved

Dedication:
I dedicate this book to Erin Baker. Thanks for never ignoring my late night calls when I needed book advice!