BlackMoon Beginnings (35 page)

Larkin blinks in behind Logan. He glances
down at me and frowns when he sees my appearance. “You guys have to
get out of here. The house is going to blow up in less than thirty
seconds.” He leaves as quickly as he came. I look towards the
backdoor to alert Claire, but she’s gone.

Colton and Logan jump up and reach down to
help me. I try to walk, but I’m still weak and can barely stand on
my own. Instead of running out the backdoor and back into the
fighting, Colton drags me towards the front door. Logan reaches it
first and throws it open. Pausing in the doorway, he waits for us.
Colton reaches down and picks me up, carrying me the rest of the
way.

Running out the front door, both guys jump
off the front porch and onto the grass. After a few steps, Logan
drops to the ground and covers his head. Colton falls to the
ground, covering my body with his as the sound of an explosion
rings out behind us. Wood splinters, glass shards, and the smell of
smoke and fire fill the air. Colton’s body tenses above me as
debris falls and litters the ground around us. I close my eyes and
pull Colton closer, waiting for it to stop raining fragments of the
destroyed cabin. If I had enough energy, I would have tried to send
out some magic to knock the debris in other directions, but doing
that would probably cause me to lose consciousness and we don’t
know if this is over yet.

After what feels like forever, the explosion
starts to die down. The splintering sound of wood crackling from
fire can be heard, but no large fragments are falling anymore. Only
small pieces of debris are floating to the ground.

“Colton? Logan?” Tom shouts from the
backyard, clearly distressed. “Ryanne?”

Logan responds to his call. “We’re out
front!”

Colton pushes himself up onto his elbows,
wincing at the effort. His body is perched over me and his green
eyes staring into mine. “Are you okay?” Technically, I’m not okay.
I’m really weak, but I’m alive.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Logan
start to sit up. Tom and the others round the corner and run
towards us. Colton pushes up further; his arms holding his body
weight above me. David and Bragden stop at Logan and help him up.
Tom reaches down and helps Colton stand up. When Colton is up, Liam
bends down to help me. Colton whispers to him, “Be careful with
her, she’s very weak.”

Liam sucks in a breath, clamping his lips
shut when he gets a good look at me. I’m sure I look as bad as I
feel. I have to lean against him to remain standing. He wraps an
arm around my waist to support my weight.

David walks over to me. “My god, Ryanne.
You’re covered in blood.”

“What happened? One second you were there and
the next time I looked, you guys were gone,” asks Liam.

“I got stabbed. I don’t really remember
anything after Larkin showed up and stabbed Thomas. I died, I know
I did, and then I woke up on the kitchen floor,” I whisper, my
voice sounding far away.

Liam’s arm tightens around my stomach. I gasp
as pain shoots through my abdomen. “Liam, loosen your grip. You’re
hurting her,” Colton says through clenched teeth.

Liam loosens his hold and looks between
Colton and Logan, “I don’t understand. That’s not possible. You
can’t bring someone back to life, unless…” He trails off. Colton is
rubbing the back of his neck; his gaze cast down to the ground as
he kicks a piece of garbage in the grass. Logan shakes his head at
Liam.

I arch my head back and look at Liam, “Unless
what?”

Shaking his head, he answers me. “Nothing.
It’s impossible.”

“Wait, where did everyone go? Where are all
the Gadramicks?”

Emma walks towards me. She’s covered in dirt
with a small scratch across her right cheek. Besides looking tired,
she seems to be fine. “We don’t know. They scattered when the house
exploded. They all just ran back into the woods.”

“That easily?” Colton looks extremely
shocked. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“I’m just telling you what I saw,” Emma says.
She steps back into David’s embrace. He pulls her towards her and
kisses her on the temple. Emma smiles and leans into his arms. I
glance over at Colton. His hands are linked together resting on the
top of his head. Turning around, he examines what’s left of the
house.

“Oh my gosh, Colton, your back…” I try to
walk over to him, but my legs won’t listen. The back of his shirt
is completely shredded. It looks like a cat used his back as a
scratching post. Blood is oozing out of the deep scratches and
pooling in the fabric that is left.

“It’s not as bad as it looks, Ryanne. I’m
fine.” He turns back to me. It’s obvious that he is in pain, but he
won’t admit it. “Don’t worry about me. I wasn’t the one just
stabbed.”

I scan the crowd and recognize most of the
faces. It looks like everyone is there. I turn back to ask Tom what
we are to do now, when I realize that something is wrong. I do a
double take of the crowd. “Tom, where’s Claire?”

“She’s not with you guys?”

I look behind him at the burning rubble of
the house.
NO!
I let out a wail as my body collapses in
Liam’s arms.

THE END…FOR NOW.

###

Kaitlyn Hoyt is the name. Currently a student
at Ball State University, she’s aspiring to be a self-published
author, while continuing her dream of becoming a wildlife
biologist. She loves weird and random moments in life. They keep
things interesting. Vegetarian. Proud tree-hugger. Lover of comic
book movies. Avid reader. She has an unhealthy love for the
soothing music of Josh Groban. Give her anything with pretzels,
peanut butter and/or chocolate and she’ll be your best friend.

She currently has four books planned in The
Prophesized Series and a possible companion novel. In addition to
The Prophesized Series, she’s working on the untitled first book in
the Guardians of the Chosen series and a standalone contemporary
romance.

Connect with me Online:

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Check out my blog
for upcoming book information:
http://kaitlynhoyt.blogspot.com