Read Online Take Me To Your Reader: An Otherworld Anthology by Amy A. Bartol, Tiffany King, Raine Thomas, Tammy Blackwell, Sarah M. Ross, Heather Hildenbrand, Amanda Havard, C.A. Kunz - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Amy A. Bartol, Tiffany King, Raine Thomas, Tammy Blackwell, Sarah M. Ross, Heather Hildenbrand, Amanda Havard, C.A. Kunz
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Tellico next to him. Joplin 's body falls to the dock in a puddle of blood. Tellico sinks to his knees in supplication, but it does no good. Mattie throws another blue ball of light at him and he's nearly torn in half; pieces of him fall everywhere.
May pushes herself up from her sprawled position on the planks. She rises to her knees and bows her head to Mattie in surrender. "Matteyo, I'm the one who came to help you—" When light begins to form in Mattie's hand once more, May screeches, "You can't kill me, Matteyo! It'll be war." Fear and desperation drip from May as she wrings her hands, unsure of what he'll do.
Mattie growls in frustration before he grits his teeth. "Run, Maybelle," Mattie says with a look of pure malice, "run far away and hide until I forget about you."
May gets to her feet and does as he ordered. She runs past us, out over the water at a speed I can 't even fathom. Her feet make small splashing sounds as rippling rings billow out in her path over the lake, but they quickly fade and disappear as if they were never there at all. It only takes her a few seconds to fade into the night.
" Are you hurt?" Mattie asks while his hands travel over my limbs in an assessing way.
I shake my head no, but my lips answer, "I don't know."
He buries his face in my neck, holding me like we 're the only two here. "Violet," he says with his lips, nuzzling me. My body becomes alive in an instant, craving his touch. "You came for me."
" You can't be real," I murmur, my hand traces the muscular curve of his shoulder. My tears blind me.
" This is real. I'm real," Mattie assures me with a look of concern that melts my heart. "You saved me."
" How did I do that?" I ask.
" You reunited my spirit with my body when you poured my ashes into the lake."
His eyes are losing their glow, settling back to a normal hue. It reminds me that he 's not the Mattie I know; he may be the same person, but he never showed me this side of himself before. He never trusted me with his secrets. "I missed you so much...but I've been missing a lie. I've been in love with a lie," I murmur. I'm trembling all over and I can't stop.
" Shhh, you're going into shock, Vi. You're safe now—everything will be okay—I'll take care of you. I'll fix everything. I promise." He kisses my temple, and strokes my hair.
I want to believe him. "You took all those bullets for me," I whisper.
His lips turn down in a grim line. "That should never have happened. I was blind. I underestimated my enemies. It won't happen again. From now on, you'll always be protected."
Clyde groans and tries to sit up, but he clutches his head and lays back down on the dock.
"Stay there, Clyde," Mattie orders with concern in his tone. "I'll be back shortly to help you. I'm just going to take Violet to the house." He moves at a speed that makes me dizzy. In an instant, we're on the porch. The glass door opens for us and he carries me over the threshold. Mattie places me gingerly on a leather chair with a matching ottoman. Taking the blanket from the arm of it, he lays it across my knees. He sinks down to my eye level and uses his finger to tuck my hair behind my ear.
" You're safe here, Vi. I won't let anyone hurt you. Do you understand?" he asks me gravely. I nod because my throat is so tight I can't speak. He places a kiss on my forehead, "Don't be afraid. I'll be right back."
I nod again. He immediately rises and is gone before I can blink. As soon as I realize that I 'm alone, I put my hands to my face. It takes me a second to realize I'm crying. I pull my hands from my eyes and look around, spotting a box of tissues on the side table next to me. Reaching for it, my arm shakes so much I knock over a picture on the table. I pick it up to set it back where it had been until I notice it's a black and white picture of Mattie. I wipe my tears on my sleeve. He's standing in a field in front of an enormous zeppelin. Next to him is a bald man with spectacles and a white handlebar
May pushes herself up from her sprawled position on the planks. She rises to her knees and bows her head to Mattie in surrender. "Matteyo, I'm the one who came to help you—" When light begins to form in Mattie's hand once more, May screeches, "You can't kill me, Matteyo! It'll be war." Fear and desperation drip from May as she wrings her hands, unsure of what he'll do.
Mattie growls in frustration before he grits his teeth. "Run, Maybelle," Mattie says with a look of pure malice, "run far away and hide until I forget about you."
May gets to her feet and does as he ordered. She runs past us, out over the water at a speed I can 't even fathom. Her feet make small splashing sounds as rippling rings billow out in her path over the lake, but they quickly fade and disappear as if they were never there at all. It only takes her a few seconds to fade into the night.
" Are you hurt?" Mattie asks while his hands travel over my limbs in an assessing way.
I shake my head no, but my lips answer, "I don't know."
He buries his face in my neck, holding me like we 're the only two here. "Violet," he says with his lips, nuzzling me. My body becomes alive in an instant, craving his touch. "You came for me."
" You can't be real," I murmur, my hand traces the muscular curve of his shoulder. My tears blind me.
" This is real. I'm real," Mattie assures me with a look of concern that melts my heart. "You saved me."
" How did I do that?" I ask.
" You reunited my spirit with my body when you poured my ashes into the lake."
His eyes are losing their glow, settling back to a normal hue. It reminds me that he 's not the Mattie I know; he may be the same person, but he never showed me this side of himself before. He never trusted me with his secrets. "I missed you so much...but I've been missing a lie. I've been in love with a lie," I murmur. I'm trembling all over and I can't stop.
" Shhh, you're going into shock, Vi. You're safe now—everything will be okay—I'll take care of you. I'll fix everything. I promise." He kisses my temple, and strokes my hair.
I want to believe him. "You took all those bullets for me," I whisper.
His lips turn down in a grim line. "That should never have happened. I was blind. I underestimated my enemies. It won't happen again. From now on, you'll always be protected."
Clyde groans and tries to sit up, but he clutches his head and lays back down on the dock.
"Stay there, Clyde," Mattie orders with concern in his tone. "I'll be back shortly to help you. I'm just going to take Violet to the house." He moves at a speed that makes me dizzy. In an instant, we're on the porch. The glass door opens for us and he carries me over the threshold. Mattie places me gingerly on a leather chair with a matching ottoman. Taking the blanket from the arm of it, he lays it across my knees. He sinks down to my eye level and uses his finger to tuck my hair behind my ear.
" You're safe here, Vi. I won't let anyone hurt you. Do you understand?" he asks me gravely. I nod because my throat is so tight I can't speak. He places a kiss on my forehead, "Don't be afraid. I'll be right back."
I nod again. He immediately rises and is gone before I can blink. As soon as I realize that I 'm alone, I put my hands to my face. It takes me a second to realize I'm crying. I pull my hands from my eyes and look around, spotting a box of tissues on the side table next to me. Reaching for it, my arm shakes so much I knock over a picture on the table. I pick it up to set it back where it had been until I notice it's a black and white picture of Mattie. I wipe my tears on my sleeve. He's standing in a field in front of an enormous zeppelin. Next to him is a bald man with spectacles and a white handlebar
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