Kindle Edition
Amazon
KateMarie Collins
Category:
Action/Thriller
Publisher: Solstice Publishing
ISBN-10: 1491298162
Type: Fiction
Pages: 168
Copyright: August 6, 2016
ISBN-13: 9781491298169
Price: $2.99 (eBook)
A novel of Tiadar
Dominated and controlled by an abusive mother, Lily does what she can to enjoy fleeting moments of normality. When a break from school only provides the opportunity for more abuse at home, the sudden appearance of a stranger turns her world even bleaker. Disappearing without a trace, he has left a lingering fear in Lily. His parting words to her mother, “Have her ready to travel tomorrow,” is something her mind refuses to accept. Running away is the only answer. But before Lily can execute her plan, a shimmering portal appears in her room. Along with two strangers who promise to help keep her safe. With time running out, she accepts their offer for escape and accompanies them into a brand new world. A world in which she is the kidnapped daughter of a Queen, and the heir to the throne of Tiadar. Can she find her own strength to overcome both an abusive past and avoid those who would use her as a means to power?
Excerpt
Mr. Johns stopped in front of the shelter, opening the bus door. “Have a good break, Lily,” was all he said in parting. He’d tried talking to her many times when she first started to ride the bus. That was until she told Mama he was being nice. She hooked the phone in and called the school district, screaming how he wanted to hurt her Lily. They didn’t fire him like she demanded, but he never said much beyond goodbye after that.
Stepping off the bus, Lily made it the few steps to the shelter. Pretending to adjust a strap on her pack, she waited patiently for the bus to rumble off. Swiftly, she pulled the plastic bin out from the hidden spot under the bench. In went her pack and better clothes, the jewelry, and nice shoes. Her nose wrinkled a bit at the clothes she’d left in there that morning. Mama refused to let her do the laundry until every piece of cloth in the house was dirty. “No sense filling the tub and scrubbing clothes more often,” was Mama’s rule. And there were so many of them.
The bin had shown up one morning, with a note saying the contents were for Lily’s use. It was full of school supplies, the kind Mama had said she didn’t need to have. There was a set of clothing too, the kind Mama thought only belonged on folk who didn’t know an honest day’s work. At first, there had been a lunch pail as well. Since she’d started high school, though, a wallet with money for school lunch had replaced it. Lily used to dream of faces and make up stories about them being another family that really cared about her. The faces were always the same, but they weren’t real. She’d given up on that fantasy years ago.
Sighing, she finished changing and stashed the bin. It was never there if Mama came to look. She’d done that once, when Lily had forgotten to put something inside before she got home. The bruises from that beating taught her a lot. She was more cautious now.
She made her way slowly up the drive, trying to avoid some of the bigger rocks in the road. The soles on these shoes were almost gone and did nothing to cushion her feet from the sharp edges. Still, her birthday wasn’t far off. It was like Mama to wait until her birthday to give her shoes or clothing. Usually, they were ones that they’d found. Mama disliked shopping, and outright hated charity groups. “You and me ain’t no charity case, Lily. Just ‘cause I know the value of a dollar and don’t waste it, don’t mean we poor and need handouts.”
Smoke billowed up out of the chimney, black and thick. Mama was canning again. The kitchen would need cleaning already. The clamps on the pot never held, leading to all sorts of explosions.
Lily stopped, peering at her reflection in the huge pile of broken metal and hubcaps near the right side of the road. Her fair skin appeared smudged from the distortion. It had scared her, the first time she’d seen herself in a clean mirror in the school bathroom. Mama kept mirrors dirty, broken, or covered up. Vanity was another sin. Devils lurked in mirrors, waiting for girls to preen too long and then they’d steal their soul. It had taken her years to realize that wasn’t true.
A crashing sound filtered through the cracked glass of the window, past the cardboard used to cover it on the inside. Turning her attention back to the house, Lily cursed silently. She’d taken too long. Mama would be suspicious. She deftly avoided the larger pieces of trash and junk around the yard, darting through the front door to face the inevitable.
It took a moment to adjust to the dark room. It hadn’t been terribly bright outside, but Mama always kept it dark inside the house.
More pots banged loudly.
Lily swallowed, steeling herself. “I’m home!” she called out as she shut the door behind her.
Mama came around the corner from the kitchen. Her salt and pepper hair was pulled back from her face, the tip of her braid swinging ominously. Her small height only exaggerated the extra weight she carried. She’d squeezed herself into a shirt that morning that barely would’ve fit Lily. Her breasts fought a winning battle against the buttons holding them back. She wiped her hands on a towel, brown eyes blazing with fury.
“About time. You at least five minutes late. Who was he?” The edge of Mama’s mouth twitched. That was never a good sign.
“I wasn’t with anyone, Mama. I saw a rabbit near the road and stopped to try and catch it.” Hopefully, Mama would believe her. Lily wasn’t a good hunter, so not having it with her was plausible.
Mama snorted, but the twitch at the corner of her mouth stopped. “You got a lot of work you been slacking off on with this school learning them making you do. I know you don’t go back for a week, so best get moving on it. I want it all done before them make me send you back.” She turned on slipper shod feet and retreated to the kitchen.
Lily dropped her shoulders in defeat. Mama didn’t do much anymore, not since Lily turned twelve. She left all the cleaning for Lily.
She threaded her way past piles of things Mama never let her get rid of, toward the bathroom. She always started there. If nothing else, she’d have a clean place to wash herself when she got done.
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