“Chloe is a doctor, she was only trying to help Jane and you aren't even showing any remorse. You haven’t learned,” he growled at me, “I’ll teach you a lesson.”
He ordered his men to grab me as they hauled me outside. My coat dragged, my boots skidding on the stone.
They pulled aside a sheet in the yard. My mother lay there, white and still under a plain cover. My throat closed, my legs turned to jelly at the sight.
“This is your punishment,” Jason said, and pushed a torch to the sheet.
The flames rose fast. Heat hit my face. The smell was raw and terrible. I screamed and lunged forward but the men tightened their hold on me.
“Jason stop this!” I begged.
“Your mother will be buried with no honor, a pitiful way to send her into the other world,” he sneered.
I tore away, ripping free, and dove for the sheet. The flames bit into my hands and sleeves. Pain flared like a hot brand. My skin broke. I felt the hot sting, then the shock.
“Amber, no!” Jason shouted, as he ran toward me.
I gripped at the burning sheet, tearing it off. My fingers left smoking cloth. Everything blurred and I blacked out.
—
I woke up in a hospital room. White lights flickered and I felt bandages on my body.