All Chapters of Blood Beneath the Cypress Knees: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

The air outside the plantation reeked of death and ozone. Rain churned the swamp into a writhing black sea, its surface crawling with the twisted spawn of Vera’s shattered magic. The hurricane screamed overhead, tearing at the ancient cypress trees and hurling branches like spears across the battlefield.The Valentine men stood shoulder to shoulder—golden auras blazing like furious suns against the storm’s gloom. Their eyes burned with a shared, unyielding rage. Behind them, Junie held her ground, her red-gold hair plastered to her face by the wind, her emerald eyes glowing faintly with that strange, new light. Electricity curled around her hands like restless serpents, and the mud hissed where her bare feet touched it.The ground trembled beneath them.The demon gator’s mate emerged from the trees with a roar so deep it cracked the plantation’s windows. Its massive body was even more grotesque than its fallen mate’s—scaled flesh twisted into unnatural ridges, dozens of glowing eyes s

A new sound rolled through the swamp—a deep, guttural croak. The water churned violently.And from the darkness emerged yet another nightmare. A colossal, twisted frog-like creature, its mouth stretching wider than the plantation’s front gate. Rows of jagged teeth lined its maw, and glowing pustules pulsed across its slimy skin.Adonis spat black ichor from his mouth and rolled his shoulders.“You’ve got to be kidding me.”Lucien cracked his neck. “Round three?”The swamp seemed to hold its breath as the monstrosity slithered forward, the water roiling around its massive frame. Each step sent ripples crashing against the plantation’s barricades. Its enormous webbed hands clenched the muck, pulling its bloated body through the floodwater with sickening slurps.Lightning forked overhead, illuminating the monster in stark detail. Its bloated throat expanded like a bellows, glowing faintly green as foul gas hissed from its nostrils. Two bulbous eyes, the color of rotting moss, rolled grotes

The trek back to the house was slow and heavy, every step through the flooded yard a battle of its own. The hurricane had grown worse as the day stretched on. The air was a wall of water and wind now, lashing violently at their battered forms. Cypress trees bent and cracked under the onslaught, their roots ripped from the swollen earth. The ground was a murky soup, the rising floodwaters swallowing the remains of monsters and fallen trees alike.Behind them, the swamp seemed alive with shifting shadows and faint, guttural snarls—the last horrors that had slipped through the gate waiting just beyond sight.Inside the plantation, silence had reigned for hours as the others waited. Faces pressed against UV-shielded windows, their breath fogging the glass. When the first silhouette broke through the treeline, Adelaide’s sharp cry shattered the tense stillness.“They’re back!”The room erupted with motion. Claude and Thomas surged forward, boots thudding across the floorboards. Odessa’s fi

The plantation house felt like a mausoleum. Each gust of hurricane wind rattled its old bones, rain slamming against windows like desperate hands. Somewhere deep within, the baby cried softly—an anchor in the howling chaos outside.Junie’s boots were soaked through as she stood in the upstairs hallway, holding Jade tight. The little one’s warm, fragile body seemed impossibly small in her arms. Jade’s tiny fingers grasped at Junie’s tangled hair, eyes fluttering as she let out a soft, confused whimper.Junie kissed her daughter’s forehead, her lips lingering. She could smell the faint sweetness of milk, feel the rapid beat of Jade’s heart against her own.“Stay safe for me, okay?” Junie whispered. Her voice broke despite her efforts. “You’re everything. Don’t forget that. If I don’t…” She couldn’t finish. The words turned to glass in her throat.Willa stepped forward, her hands trembling slightly as she reached for Jade. “Go. She doesn’t need to see… this.”“She doesn’t need to lose he

The progenitor’s claw struck the ground where Junie had stood seconds ago, sending a shockwave that churned the swamp into a rising tide of mud and water. Rio’s body crashed against hers as he shoved her aside, dragging her to safety in the sucking mire.“Junie! Get up!” His voice was raw with urgency, rain streaking down his blood-smeared face.Junie’s limbs felt like lead. Sparks fluttered feebly between her fingers as she tried to rise, but her knees buckled. “I—I can’t…”“Yes, you can.” Rio’s hands cupped her face, golden eyes burning even through the chaos. “You don’t get to quit. Not here. Not now.”Around them, the battlefield descended into hell. Silas’s wards had failed. Beasts poured in from all sides—slick, eyeless things with needle jaws and claws that gleamed like obsidian. The sound of chittering, howling, and shrieking blended with the howling storm until it was impossible to tell where nature ended and nightmare began.“Left flank is breaking!” Celine’s voice carried o