Inheritance

By Zoe Cannon

Lena's grandmother defended her small town against the supernatural. So did her mother. Lena should be next in line. But her autism makes that impossible. At least that's what her mother has always said. Lena couldn't even get through college—what makes her think she could wield a magical sword and banish the undead?

 

But now her mother is gone. And Lena's little sister is in danger. It's time for Lena to take up the role she was born for… or lose the last of her family forever.

 

This short story is 6500 words long, or approximately 20 pages.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zoe Cannon
• Release date: Jan 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215025109

Book preview

Inheritance

Zoe Cannon

© 2020 Zoe Cannon

http://www.zoecannon.com

All rights reserved

This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and events are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

Inheritance

Present Day

Voices whispered at the windows. Ghosts, Lena thought, Mom always said Halloween was the busiest night for them—and then the sound resolved itself into children’s laughter. The trick-or-treaters outside rang the doorbell three times in quick succession. Lena resisted the urge to cover her ears as she tugged at the wings of her sister’s costume.

Meg glowered over Lena’s shoulder at her reflection in the mirror. The left one is crooked.

Lena gave the offending wing another yank. This is as straight as I can get them.

Then you made the costume wrong. Meg scowled. Mom would have gotten it right.

I did what the book told me to do. Giving up on the wing, Lena tightened the sash around her sister’s waist.

You can’t do anything right. You can’t take me anywhere because you can’t drive, and you forgot to come to my school last week, and now you can’t even make a stupid costume. Meg clenched her hands into fists, preparing for war.

Lena bit back an angry response. However hard this year had been for her, Meg had it worse. She tried to ignore the pain of the old wounds Meg’s words reopened.

She adjusted the sash one last time and stood. There. You’re done. Get your candy bucket so we can go.

The doorbell rang again. This time Lena’s hands went to her ears before she could stop them. Meg rolled her eyes. "It’s just the doorbell. You should have bought candy to give out. Why didn’t you buy any candy?"

Lena had meant to. But after an hour of glaring lights and tinny music and rushing from one end of the store to the other for things she had forgotten, she had grabbed the first bag she