Table of Contents
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
From The
FALLS
The Falls Trilogy, Book Two
By: Heather Renee
Table of Contents
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
Copyright © 2017 by Heather Renee. All rights reserved.
No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the production of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, live or dead, are purely coincidental.
For more information on reproducing sections of this book or sales of this book, go to www.heatherreneeauthor.com or email [email protected]
From The Falls/Heather Renee -- 1st Printing.
ISBN: 978-1548992933
Dedication
To our angel daughter Emma, thank you for always watching over us.
PROLOGUE
~ Miah ~
“Not again,” I groaned. I had been enjoying my hot chocolate while visiting with my roommate when I was suddenly thrown into a vision. I didn’t mind the visions. I enjoyed helping people when I could, but they’d been more frequent lately and I was getting nervous about what it might mean.
I sat at a corner table in the coffee shop sipping my caramel hot chocolate. I wasn't sure what I was waiting for, but I'd know it when it happened. There was a sweet elderly couple sitting on the other side of the shop. The woman had short silver hair and sparkling blue eyes. Her husband, who had thinning hair and large eyebrows, watched her with adoration. I watched as they shared a chocolate chip cookie and laughed over something he had said. I sighed at the love they clearly had for each other. I could only hope to have love like that one day.
Some college students were gathered around a table in the middle of the store with their tablets and books. I briefly wondered if it was a study group or some sort of project for class they had together.
I watched everyone in the coffee shop, wondering whose life was about to be changed. I hated this part, but there was nothing I could do to stop it yet. I could only hope it was something I would prevent later.
Suddenly, there was a loud crash and a scream. There’s my cue. What I was looking for wasn’t in the coffee shop, but instead right outside of it. I headed toward the door and from the window, I saw a man lying on the ground in front of a car. A woman was crying while kneeling over him, screaming uncontrollably. I looked down at my phone. It was 4:16pm on the second of June.
I took one last glance at the scene before me, noting any details that I could before I was pulled out of the vision. The car that had hit the man on the ground was driven by a young teenage girl with blonde hair. The man on the ground was wearing blue jeans and a striped green polo shirt. The woman kneeling over him was wearing a long purple summer dress and had long red hair. Then it was all gone.
"Miah, are you okay?" Lily asked me.
I blinked a few times to clear my head of the vision. My plans for the afternoon were set now. Definitely not what I had planned to do, but I wouldn’t ignore the premonition.
"Sorry, Lily,” I smiled at my roommate. “I must have zoned out. Long night of tossing and turning. What were you saying?"
Lily’s hazel eyes narrowed at me. There had only been two times when I’d had visions around her. Hopefully, today wouldn’t be the day she decided to question my occasional tendency to space out.
"I was just wondering if you'll be home for dinner. I’m going to cook if you will," she finally said.
Lily had been my roommate for two years now. She was tall and lean with mahogany hair and fair skin. Her hazel eyes were always full of happiness and a smile was usually found on her plump lips. I absolutely adored her.
"I have an errand to run at four, but I should be home by five. Does that work?" I asked.
As long as everything went smoothly, I wouldn't be home late. All I had to do was save someone's life. No big deal, I thought to myself.
"Perfect, I need to get to work. I’ll see you then," Lily said as she walked out of the kitchen.
When she disappeared out of sight, I let out a deep breath and tried to shake off the vision. That had been the third one this week. I was starting to get worried. I usually only had a few a month, not a week. Unfortunately, there was nobody I could talk to about it. I had made that mistake once before and I'd never do it again.
My body recoiled at the memories of the psychiatric ward I spent two months in after I told my mother about our neighbor Mrs. Grey. I foresaw that she was going to have a heart attack, but nobody would be there to help her. We had to go to her and call 911 or she would die.
My mother didn't believe me, so I called emergency services by myself. When the ambulance arrived, Mrs. Grey was fine, but mentioned she’d had some chest pain that morning. When she went into the hospital for a precautionary checkup, they found several blocked arteries and did surgery immediately. The doctors said if she hadn't come in when she did, she could have had died.
I was only eleven. My single mother didn't know how to deal with her crazy daughter, so she sent me to the psychiatric hospital. I pretended to play along and survived the two-month stay. When I got out and came home, I told my mom I was all better and acted as if it never happened.
For eight years, I kept my visions to myself and tried to help as many people as I could. I moved out the day I turned eighteen and hadn’t spoken with my mother since. While she had cared for me by giving me a roof over my head and clothes on my back, she never really took the time to get to know me. I felt like a guest in my own home and had no desire to live that way longer than necessary.
I heard the front door open and close, meaning Lily had left for work. I needed to get up and do something with myself. I had the day off from the animal clinic and had planned on being lazy, but with the vision this morning, I was feeling antsy. I’d have to figure out something productive to do to pass the time.
***
It was ten after four and I was standing in front of the coffee shop looking for either the teenage girl driving the car or the couple. I still hadn’t figured out how I would stop whoever I saw first, but I was usually good at winging it and that was my plan.
A few minutes later, I saw the couple coming out of the store ne
xt to the coffee shop. It was a baby store and they had radiant smiles on their faces.
“I can’t believe we’re having a little boy! Thank you for taking us shopping for his first outfit.” The woman beamed as she held her belly and leaned in to kiss the man.
“I plan to spoil the both of you as much as possible,” he replied with his own mega smile.
I hadn’t noticed the bump in her stomach when she had been leaning over her husband, or who I assumed to be her husband since they both had rings on. I peeked at my phone and it was 4:14pm. I had to keep them with me for at least two minutes.
“Excuse me. Can you help me with something?” I asked.
“Of course, hun. What do you need?” the woman responded.
“I was trying to find this shop my friend told me about, but I don’t remember the name of it. Are you familiar with this area?”
“We’ve lived here a few years so we’re pretty familiar with it. What kind of shop is it?” he asked.
“It’s a specialty store, more like a boutique. It sells little knickknacks and homemade items that are made locally. I was looking for something unique to get my mother for her birthday and was told that was the store to go to,” I explained with a sweet smile.
The store wasn’t made up, it just wasn’t in this part of town. I hoped that would buy me a little time. The woman looked thoughtful while she tried to think of a place like the one I had described.
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I’ve seen anything like that around here. Have you, babe?” she asked her husband.
“Sorry, but the only stores I know around here are the sporting and hunting stores,” he said with a laugh. “Well, and now the baby store.”
I turned to look down the street hoping enough time had passed and sure enough, I could see the black car. I saw through the windshield that the girl was on her phone and not paying attention to the road. The light turned red and she hadn’t seen it. The pedestrian light turned on and the couple turned to cross the street.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t help you, but we need to get going.” The woman smiled warmly and they turned to leave.
“Wait!” I called out.
They glanced back at me before stepping off the curb and the teenager’s car made a screeching sound as it went through the crosswalk while she slammed on her brakes. The young girl had finally seen the red light, but she still would have hit him.
“Oh my gosh!” the woman exclaimed. “She could have hit us. Thank goodness you stopped us.”
I peered into the car to see if the teenager was okay. She was white as a ghost and clearly upset, but physically she was fine. I turned back to the couple.
“Are you guys alright?” I asked.
“Yes, thanks to you we’re perfectly fine. I hope you find the shop you’re looking for, but after that close call, we definitely should be getting home,” the husband said while watching his wife closely.
“Of course. Get home safely. I’m glad I was here,” I said with a smile to each of them.
I stood there watching them walk away. A calm swept over my body, but at the same time, I was vibrating from the adrenaline. I enjoyed being able to make a difference, even if nobody realized it. There was no way I could ever ignore the visions, but I had no idea what I would do if they kept coming as frequently. I really hoped I didn’t have to figure it out anytime soon.
CHAPTER ONE
~ Kali ~
I paced back and forth in the Elder room as Lorelle explained to us what she had been up to for the past year. I had been close to sending a search party for her when she finally came home. I hadn’t been able to get to know her before she left, but she was a vital part of our community and she was missed.
“So, you’re telling us that you’ve been on Earth this entire time and you’ve found others similar to us? Others that aren’t even supposed to exist?” I asked, astonished.
One of the things I’d learned this past year was that Guardians were never born outside of Arvata. They were born every twenty years, went to Earth, and came home twenty years later like clockwork. Occasionally, a Guardian would choose to go live back on Earth, but they’d be stripped of their memories and magic. It shouldn’t be possible for others like us to be out there.
“Yes, I’ve only found half of them, but the Fates say there are more,” Lorelle said with a heavy sigh. “There are five left that I need to check on. It took me a while to figure out how to find them, which is why I was gone for so long.”
Lorelle’s stormy grey eyes showed how tired she was. Dark circles stood out underneath them against her fair skin. Her normally shiny silver hair was dull and frayed at the ends.
“Are they just like us or different somehow? How did you finally figure out to find them?” Lucas asked.
“They’re not full Guardians. So far, they’ve all been raised by human mothers. We assume their fathers are Guardians who chose to leave Arvata permanently. The Fates helped me channel a power I don’t often get to use when the search was beginning to take too long. Once I could do that, things became much clearer.”
I knew there was more to Lorelle than I had been able to learn so far and that comment made her that much more intriguing to me. I wondered what type of power she could possess that would require help from the Fates.
“Why would someone leave here permanently?” Lela asked curiously.
“This life is not for everyone,” Oliver answered. “Sometimes Guardians will have strong ties to Earth and giving all that up for something that shouldn’t even be possible isn’t all that appealing.”
I remember feeling that way myself last year. The fear and uncertainty of everything had been a lot to process. I was glad I didn’t walk away from it all, but I could certainly sympathize with anyone who might have felt like going back to Earth was the better option.
“Why are the Fates just now curious about these half-Guardians?” Jordan asked.
“All I know is that they may be in danger,” Lorelle said. “If they have magic already, then the Parias could be after them. If they don’t, then they’re safe with their human mothers.”
I listened carefully to the conversation going on around me. My gut was telling me something wasn’t right. We were missing more information, but I wasn’t sure whether the Fates had been keeping Lorelle in the dark or if she was keeping something from us. I intended to figure it out as soon as possible, though.
“How old are the ones you’ve found?” Lucas asked.
“They range from age six to seventeen so far. Lena from Germany is the youngest at six, Conor from Ireland is eight, Juliane from Greenland is thirteen, Adi from India is fourteen and lastly, Emilie from Norway is seventeen. The Fates told me to head back here before I went to the States. The next one is in Seattle, Washington.”
“Seattle? That’s so close to home,” I said wistfully as I turned to Jordan.
“Yes, the Fates believe you may be helpful with the next half-Guardian we need to find,” Lorelle replied. “She hasn’t had the easiest life. She’s had powers since she was young, and because of that, didn’t have the same upbringing as the others I have encountered. Our goal will be to bring her back to Arvata with us.”
“What about the first five? Do they not have powers?” Tiana asked.
“No, their powers either don’t exist or will be dormant until their twentieth birthdays like the rest of you. We will send someone to check on each of them when the time comes. If they have powers, our hope would be to bring them to Arvata. If they don’t, we will let them live the rest of their lives unaware of what they are.”
“Are we all going to Seattle?” I asked.
I didn’t think it would be a good idea to leave Arvata without any Elders now that we were officially done with training. The previous Elders had deemed us ready about a month ago and I didn’t want to screw it up already.
“No, half of you will need to stay in Arvata. We can’t have the entire council gone at the same time and risk something happe
ning. You, Lucas, Jordan and Kane will be joining me in Seattle. The rest will stay and make sure Arvata is safe and taken care of. If we need additional help, we can have Mathias and some of the others cover for you, but for now I don’t think it’s necessary.”
I glanced around the room at the others and could tell they weren’t happy about being left behind. Oliver’s shoulders were tense and his face was drawn tight in concern.
“When do we leave?” Lucas asked.
Lorelle checked her watch. “I need to go home and check on some things. Can you be ready to leave within the hour?”
I looked at Lucas and he nodded.
I had to admit, I was pretty nervous about going back to Earth after being gone for a year. Time had flown by while we learned all our new responsibilities as Elders and I worked with Strix on my Arelia abilities, which turned out to be harder than I thought. Channeling my Arelia abilities was more than scanning the previous memories I had received from others before me or working with my water abilities. I was supposed to have this deeper power that I hadn’t been able to completely bond with yet.
“Should we meet you at your house?” I asked Lorelle.
“That would be easiest. I’ll see you four in an hour,” Lorelle replied and walked out of the room.
“Well, wasn’t that just peachy? I didn’t see that coming.” Jordan rolled her eyes.
“Neither did I. Has this ever happened before?” Tiana asked.
“Not that I’ve ever heard of, but I’m sure something like this wouldn’t be publicly available,” Lucas said. “Make sure until we’re back and know more, that the information we learned today does not leave this room. We don’t know what the wrong person might do with this knowledge.”
“These poor kids. To grow up confused and not know why they were different must be awful,” Lela muttered.
“Agreed. We will fill you guys in as soon as we can. While we are gone, please arrange for housing in case we bring more than a couple back with us,” Lucas said.
From The Falls (The Falls Trilogy Book 2) Page 1