Page 85 of The 13th Daughter
My dad pulled me up.He didn't say anything. There wasn't anything to say. Instead, he pulled me into his arms and just held me. I wanted to cry, but couldn't. There were no tears. I felt empty, cold. He was gone and there wasn't a thing I could do to bring him back. But there was one person I still might be able to save.
"Dad, Jeff," I pulled away. "They shot him, please, you have to find him."
"I know," he nodded. "I've already got people on their way to get him."
"He has to be alive," I whispered. He had to be.
Billy brought Kay over to me. Her legs were covered in burns and she whimpered as he moved her. She reached out blindly and I took her hand. I noticed Billy had used his shirt to bind the wound on her arm. Dad stepped away so we could talk.
"Sorry," she whispered hoarsely. "So, sorry."
"Shh," I soothed. "Don't talk. We need to get her to a hospital."
"I know," Billy fretted, "but she wouldn't go anywhere until she talked to you."
"You little bitch!" My mother screamed from behind me. I turned and stared at her in horror as she flew at me, Deputy Sims' gun aimed and cocked.
Time didn't slow down like it did in the movies. It happened so quickly, I would have missed it if I'd blinked. Kay threw herself out of Billy's arms and knocked me down. The bullet hit her instead of me. It threw her backwards a good ten feet.
"KAY!" Billy let out a strangled cry and rushed to her.
I stared at my mother. My mother.
"Mama?" I whispered.
"You ruined everything!" she spat. "Everything!" She cocked the gun again, but my father wrestled it from her.
"Rebecca, you may have killed one child, but you will not harm the other."
"Daddy?"
"I'm sorry, CJ." He looked so tired. "I didn't know before tonight. I swear I didn't know she'd planned Emily's death."
Planned it? "I..." Shock, anger, hurt—they all warred within me. She was our mother. She had planned Emily's death?
"I'll deal with your mother," he told me. "See to Makayla."
Kay—I forgot her when I heard Dad's words. I ran. Billy's hand pressed into the wound in her shoulder. Her face was graying. No, I thought desperately. I couldn't lose her too.
"CJ," she gasped. "Love you...forgive me...so...sorry..."
I couldn't save Ethan, but I'd be damned if I'd let Kay die.
"Spirit, aide me once more this night.
Settle into your daughter and help her find peace and feel your healing balm."
Kay let out a gurgle of pain at the force of the blast that hit her. It didn't just settle, it attacked. She cried out and tried to fight it, but in the end it was too strong. She collapsed into unconsciousness. I felt the Element begin to strengthen her, heal the wounds inside her soul, my soul.
"She'll be alright," I whispered. "Get her to the hospital."
"No," Dr. Allen, the town doctor shook his head. "There will be too many questions asked, Mistress. Bring her to the clinic. I'll tend her there."
"I'm not..."
"Yes, Mistress," Mr. Corey nodded. "We tend our own. Marcus, take Rebecca, Jonas and Tom into custody. We'll deal with them in the morning."
I stared in shock as Deputy Hall collected my mother, Mr. Martin, and Deputy Sims. He and a few others herded them away from the clearing.
