Prologue

Writer: Aurelia Young

Cover design: Ebook

ISBN: 9789464923315

Copyright © 2023 by Aurelia Young

All rights reserved. Printed in the Netherlands.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address Brave New Books.

www.bravenewbooks.nl

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First Ebook edition 2023

Also available as soft cover

Prologue

The door flew open, a young man with a knife in his hand was standing in the kitchen of the elderly lady. The fear in the woman's gaze was immediately visible. After a brief moment, she recognized the boy she hadn't seen in years. Her younger brother stood before her… he hadn't changed with time, but she had.

''Imion…'' She murmured. Her voice was soft and she did not sound afraid but astonished.

''Finally, we found you.'' He whispered as the others came into her house as well. Four other young men stood before her that she did not recognize from the past. Probably his new bootlickers. She thought.

''Where is the book?''

''I burned it.'' Her eyes were shining in triumph when she saw the look in the boy's eyes. Her wrinkled hands grabbed her electronic necklace. She pressed the emergency button after which a high-toned beep came from her necklace. ''Get out of my house!'' She hissed furiously. Even though the elderly lady was in her late eighties, she was still as spirited as she used to be!

''I do not believe you, little sister. I will ask one more time, Marina. I will spare your life if you tell us where the book is. Perhaps we will let you return home before your old bones crumble to dust.'' A loud voice croaked out of the necklace:

''Mrs. Lightheart! Can you tell me what happened to you?''

All the boys were laughing at her after Imion gave a signal. They walked further into the kitchen and surrounded her.

''There's a break-in! Call the police and tell them to come here!'' Her voice changed… now the fear in her voice was tangible. The old legs of the lady trembled like a leaf, it seemed as if she was about to fall. Imion was grinning when he came closer to his sister. He buried the knife in her belly before she could utter a syllable. Her brown eyes stared at the knife that was now in her stomach. Dark blood dripped on the floor when the boy pulled the knife out of her. Marina ended up on the floor, her trembling hands were trying to keep pressure on the wound. She groaned while becoming as pale as her kitchen floor. Desperately, the old woman tried her best to stop the bleeding but she knew that she would die.

''Quick! Search the house!''

The boys left her for dead and did as their boss commanded. Her brother was looking at his sister for a few more seconds before he also started to search for the book. Luckily, that gave her the chance to try and get up. Despite all the pain that she felt, she was able to get up using the countertops. Her brittle body was leaning against the cupboards as she was collecting her thoughts. She shuffled through the kitchen to get to a drawer and took a pen and paper. Her bloody hands wrote something on the paper while the bastards were contaminating her beloved house with their presence! They smashed the telly on the floor, and the books as well… later on she thought she heard the videotapes being flung to the walls, but it did not matter.

The doors towards the garden were still wide open. Sticky blood ran down her legs onto the floor and on the grass. There, close to the pond, there was the tree… her only chance!

Sirens were audible from a distance… she was almost at the tree! Blue lights were flashing over the hedges… the police had arrived! The shadows of the boys were dancing over the grass as they ran away from the scene. It doesn't matter anyway… they'll never find it. She thought while having trouble breathing. Marina leaned against the bark of the tree trying to get the necklace with the key from her neck. She placed the necklace with the letter into the hole that was inside the tree. After that, she had no reason to keep fighting, she had done what she needed to do. Now she could die. The woman sank to her knees and ended up on the grass looking at the stars…