Skeleton Flowers

By Erin Donoghue

Tessa Young has lived fifteen years but only remembers eight of them.

After living a sheltered life with minimal proximity to those other than her family, an intruder nearly takes Tessa right out of her own home. A man named Brooks saves her by pulling her into an otherworldly painting. Brooks reveals he has been living in a painting watching over her for seven years- but no one told him why. He tells Tessa her mother was a reaper, a servant of death that captures souls and uses their memories to determine if the soul belongs in heaven or hell.

The reaper's long time enemy, the snatchers, have stolen a part of the Young family's soul called vitality. To return it, Tessa goes on an epic quest to become a reaper to find her family's vitalities and defeat the snatchers. Tessa travels to the land where reapers reside, Sceleflorus, and enrolls in the Vivemore Institute of Reaping. Tessa is sucked into a world of magic and danger she never thought possible- and there her life starts to unravel.

Tessa finds out she has no memory of the first eight years of her life. On top of that, no one knows how to find her family's vitality and one by one students are disapearing or their vitalities are getting snatched. If the Snatchers take over, it would wreck chaos on the afterlife and the Young family would stay asleep forever. In the mind-blowing paranormal fantasy, Tessa's mission is not only a life and death situation- but it's success dictates the existence of death itself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Erin Donoghue
• Release date: Nov 2, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370142408

Erin Donoghue

My name is Erin Donoghue and I am a senior in high school. I love writing fantasy and paranormal stories. I am a coffee enthusiast, and avid Disney fan!

Book preview

Skeleton Flowers

Erin Donoghue

Published by Erin Donoghue at Smashwords

Copyright 2016 by Erin Donoghue

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEDICATION

CHAPTER ONE - THE PAINTING IN THE ATTIC

CHAPTER TWO - THE FROZEN HOURGLASS

CHAPTER THREE - THE FORGOTTEN MEMORY

CHAPTER FOUR - WISHING FAREWELL TO SUNLIGHT

CHAPTER FIVE - THE GIRL WITHOUT A PAST

CHAPTER SIX - SLEEP WHEN WE"RE DEAD

CHAPTER SEVEN - STAR-CROSSED

CHAPTER EIGHT - RED-HANDED

CHAPTER NINE - THE MISSING YEARS

CHAPTER TEN - THE VANISHING ACT

CHAPTER ELEVEN - THE FLIGHT TO THE TRUTH

CHAPTER TWELVE - THE FORGOTTEN DAY

DEDICATION

FOR SHANNON, KELLY, SHANE, AND MY MOM

CHAPTER ONE

THE PAINTING IN THE ATTIC

Tessa swore the painting moved.

The picture was simple. In a plain black frame, a gardener stood in a meadow of white roses next to a small stone cottage. This is what the rest of the Young family saw.

But upon further inspection, the youngest sister Tessa noticed discrepancies in the painting’s image. Everyday after school, Tessa sprinted to the attic to play with her toys. She began to notice the image in the painting was a little bit different than the day before. As months went by, the sun seemed to travel across the frame. The powder blue sky darkened and lightened and the clouds swirled into new shapes.

Tessa scrutinized the painting with her small amber eyes. She noticed delicate brush strokes blossomed on the canvas. The ivory roses would start as miniscule buds. Over weeks each bud would unravel into a vivacious mass of petals. Then, the petals would wither away into a stiff beige flowerhead. After about a month, the droopy flowers were only held up by a thin arched stem. Tessa had tried to convince her mother of these strange happenings- but to no avail. The movement of the paint was so subtle that others dismissed it as Tessa’s imagination.

Claudia,  I will get rid of that thing if Theresa spends one more hour just staring at it. She needs to stop making up these absurd stories. Mr. Young swore glaring up towards the attic.

Tessa saw her mother’s eyebrows furrow and her entire heart shaped face mold into a look of outrage. Don’t you dare! Mrs. Young shrilled. It was a gift from my sister. Besides, it’s good Tessa has an imagination.

Mr. Young scoffed. I wouldn’t call this imagination. Yet he agreed to keep the painting despite how much it unnerved the family. As Tessa grew older, she spent less and less time playing in the attic. The moving painting went from a captivating fascination to a fleeting memory. As years went by, everyone suppressed thoughts of the enigma. Even though on the canvas the flowers still bloomed and shriveled and the sun still rose and fell. The painting in the attic had almost been completely forgotten until one August night.

Tessa had just turned fifteen.  She was spending the evening swimming in the ocean that her colonial home overlooked. As she looked up from the murky waters, an infusion of sapphire and tangerine covered the sky as it turned to dark. Out of the corner of her eye, Tessa saw a dark figure. He stood there unmoving with a steady gaze towards the Young children. Tessa motioned to her elder siblings, Leo, Ariana, and Beckham and shouted, Look! Who is that person watching us? All three stared back at her with disconcerted expressions. Tessa glanced back at the figure only to find where he once stood replaced by a void of emptiness. As if he had vanished from thin air.

Tessa told her father what had happened. We live in an isolated house at the edge of Montauk, Mr. Young insisted. An edge of annoyance appeared in his voice. No one is coming on our property. Your mother made sure of that when she insisted we move here from San Francisco.

Tessa plopped down on her bed exhausted as her mother entered her bedroom. She considered bringing up the figure again but bit her tongue. Out of the two girls, Tessa resembled her mother the most. Both had petite hourglass body frames, rounded almond eyes, and just reached five four. Mrs. Young twiddled with her short ash blonde hair and sat down on the edge of Tessa’s bed. The moonlight beamed highlighting her protruding collarbone and icy eyes. Mrs. Young pressed her lips together.

I know you have been feeling uncomfortable. You think you saw someone watching you, She started. Tessa rolled her eyes imagining the conversation between her parents. She pictured them venting about how their crazy daughter hallucinates things.

Yeah, but no one believes me as usual. You don’t believe me. Tessa retorted looking down from her mother’s piercing stare.

Mrs. Young paused and sighed with a sad look on her face. It seemed for a brief moment like she would reveal to Tessa that she did believe her daughter saw someone. Instead, Mrs. Young danced around the subject. Tessa, I hate to see you so paranoid. I think knowing you have a plan if a situation like that does arise will ease your nerves.

Oh, so this is about making me feel better. Not about the person watching Leo, Ariana, Beckham, and I while we were swimming? Tessa shot back.

Mrs. Young continued despite Tessa’s tone. If a dangerous situation arises, you and your siblings should go up to the attic. Lock yourselves in there. It’s the safest place.

Tessa nodded as a steady rain started to drum like fingertips on her windowsill. Maybe her mother’s plan had given her a sense of relief. Ok. I will. Tessa agreed.

Mrs. Young left and shut the door. Tessa laid her head down and let her mind drift. Her anxiety faded as she thought about things to come. Tessa was starting high school in the fall and trying out for the field hockey team. Silence hung through the Young household as she just started to doze off to sleep.

Tessa jolted awake to a deafening scream. Her breathing hitched. How much time had passed? Tessa squeezed her quivering hands into fists and threw her snow white comforter off,  Her hand reached for the door handle. She prepared to see if everyone was ok but stopped when muffled voices started to argue.

Tessa pushed back her thick sandy brown hair and pressed her ear to the door.

I’m going to ask one more time. Where is she? A man threatened.

I’m not telling you. Tessa knows what to do when there’s an intruder. Tessa identified her mother’s voice and swallowed. Her mouth was dry. Was this man looking for her and was he the dark figure who had been watching them?

Blood pumped through her ears as Tessa remembered her mother’s words, Go up to the attic. Tessa’s shaky hands slowly turned the door handle and she stepped out carefully as to not make a sound. In the manner of a tightrope walker, Tessa tiptoed towards what she hoped would be her safe haven.

Who is this man? Tessa heard her incredulous father shout. His usually composed disposition was gone and for the first time he had a hint of terror in his voice.

Please don’t do this, Mrs. Young didn’t acknowledge her husband’s question. Instead she pleaded to the man. Tessa hurried upstairs to the attic and shut the door with reticent precision. She locked the door. The voices became muffled and indistinguishable again. Tessa backed up and found herself in the small dark attic. A thin layer of dust topped a few cardboard boxes and a massive painting hung up on the back wall.

The arguing voices halted and excruciating screams shook the house. She felt the hard wooden floor scraping against her bare feet as she backed up farther into the attic. The wails quieted and heavy footsteps trudged up the stairs. Tessa heard doors opening and then slamming shut.

He was looking for her.

The boisterous thuds of footsteps caused the floorboards to creak. Tessa felt her back against the painting as she pinned herself up against the wall. She prayed whoever this man was, he would just go away.

The attic door handle shook.  He was trying to get the door unlocked. Tessa’s stomach churned with nausea.

Suddenly big hands wrapped around Tessa from behind. She jerked forward from the unexpected contact. Seconds ago she had been leaning against a painting with no one behind her. Tessa opened her mouth to scream and no noise came out. One arm seized her waist and the other clasped her mouth. The grip pulled her back and Tessa shut her eyes in anticipation of hitting the wall. But rather, she fell back into nothingness completely confounded.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first thing she felt was crisp grass  her enveloping her arms and legs. Tessa opened her eyes to wispy clouds and a beaming sun in the middle of the sky. Her head pounded as she rose from the ground.

Whoa,  easy there little one. A voice came from behind. Tessa’s head whipped back to meet leaf green eyes. The smiling boy was an average height, on the skinnier side, and dressed in a white tee and blue jeans. Tessa clamped her fists.

Who are you? Where am I? Tessa tried to sound confident. Instead, she heard herself stammer the question on brink of tears.

The names Brooks. Nice to meet you. The boy extended his hand out. Tessa pulled back looking around for the first time. She was sitting in a meadow with a stone cottage and white roses- just like the painting.

How did we get here? Tessa demanded thrashing her head from side to side. She looked for something that would make sense of this situation. Brooks laughed at her bewildered expression.

Relax. I know this will come as a shock. Brooks explained as if falling into a painting was a completely average everyday occurrence. The painting in your attic is a nignook.

How did you get into my house? And what is a nignook- Tessa started rubbing her temples.

A nignook. Brooks interrupted. And don’t you recognize me? You did spend the most time watching me.

Tessa narrowed her eyes. What do you mean I watched you?

A nignook is a secret place hidden in a painting, drawing, book-  any piece of artwork. This has been my home for the last six years. Brooks elaborated as Tessa stared back at him dumbfounded. I’m the gardener. Brooks threw his hands up expecting Tessa to have a big aha! moment.

You mean to say, that for all the years, you lived in this painting? Tessa was skeptical and her eyes widened in disbelief.

Yeah. I thought you would have figured it out by now. You were the only one who figured out that stuff moved. Brooks replied running his hands through his curly hair. Look back at your house.

Tessa turned around and saw a big rectangular hole in the meadow with the image of her attic in it.

In reality, Brooks went on, You should be thanking me for getting you out of there when I could. Memories flooded back of her family's attack and Tessa sprang to her feet.

I have to help them! Tessa exclaimed planning to run towards the gaping hole.

Hey, I can’t let you do that, Brooks stopped her by grabbing her wrist.  He might not be gone yet.

Tessa was almost in tears. I’m so confused. Why are you here? Why is someone attacking my family and looking for me?

Brooks’ hard gaze softened, I know it’s hard to understand. I lived in this painting to protect you. If anyone ever tried to take you, I was always there watching in case you needed somewhere to hide. No one can get you in here. In a nignook someone is only brought in from the inside unless they have the utensil that created it. In this case, I have the paint brush

Why would I need protection in the first place? Tessa countered.

I’m not sure. Brooks looked down somewhat embarrassed.

So you claim to have lived in this painting-

Nignook. Brooks corrected.

Painting, Tessa repeated in spite. Because you wanted to protect me, and you don’t even know why? That’s ridiculous.

Brooks nodded. Look Tessa, Tessa blinked weirded out at the fact he knew her name and he had been watching her all these years. This is my job. I protect you and I get paid- no questions asked. If you want answers than you have to take that up with the person who sent me here.

And who would that be? Tessa snapped.

Your aunt Eliana. Brooks answered unphased. Wait- look. The snatcher broke down the door. Quiet. Tessa turned to see the man in her attic. He was tall and dressed in a black cloak that shielded his face. This was the man that had been watching her.

The man looked around and roared in anger when he realized Tessa was gone. The dark figure exited the room fuming, throwing cardboard boxes against the walls. Tessa had never been more grateful for not being in the attic.

That was a close one. Brooks wiped sweat off of his forehead. I get to keep my job another day. Tessa was speechless and thankful all at once. She didn’t even want to think about what would happen if she was still in that attic.

Wait so your  job is to protect me- from this ‘snatcher’? Tessa pried for more information.

Yes well- my job is to serve the Halifax family. And Eliana gave me an assignment to protect you in case the snatchers came looking for you. So here I am. Brooks explained. Eliana is Claudia’s sister- so she’s your aunt. Tessa’s mind spun. She knew she had an aunt named Eliana. Mrs. Young had always said their Aunt Eliana had been too busy traveling to visit. Tessa couldn’t even imagine the possibility of her aunt’s involvement with all this.

But why would the snatchers want me? Tessa looked back to the broken down door in her attic.

I don’t know. Brooks responded. This is high up intelligence you’re asking about. I just do my job- no questions. The snatchers are malicious people- they start out as valiant reapers who serve Death. Then they become greedy and want to escape Death. snatchers suck the vitality out of average humans- I don’t know what agenda they have with you.

Wait, so are you a reaper? Tessa inquired catching on.

Brooks averted his eyes. I went to school to become one and well- I wasn’t good enough. Tessa regretted asking as an uncomfortable awkwardness hung in the air. So that’s the sad tale of how I became a servant. Brooks joked trying to lighten the mood.

Tessa wondered how one could not be good enough to be a reaper, but