Maybe Fate: A Novel (New Adult Paranormal Romance)
Page 4
Firm, tight, something made contact with my shoulders. My brain cried out, wanting to shut down, expecting the touch to be the deadly debris slicing me to pieces.
Whatever it was, instead, curled around me firmer. Arms, I thought, just before everything in me, around me, shifted into nothing.
I swore, I saw a familiar smile.
Swimming in blackness, in chunks of grey, I realized I heard nothing. It was like sound didn't exist for me; nothing existed, I felt empty.
What...
Then it ended, the reality of screams and smoke and the scent of fear crumbling back down on me. Someone set me on the ground, then stood over me fluidly.
Confused to the point of delusion, when I glanced up and caught a glimpse of Nethiun, I didn't believe it.
He wasn't looking my way, but off at something in the distance. Behind me, I heard the roar of cries still going. I thought I heard my name, but wasn't positive.
Glancing over my shoulder from where I sat on the hard sidewalk, I saw the remnants of the sign where it lay in a destroyed heap at the foot of the building.
How... how did that not kill me?
The little girl I'd pushed to safety was surrounded by what had to be her parents, the trio of them sobbing in relief.
Across the street, the man selling sparklers stood there, staring, his mouth open wide.
Again, I heard my voice. That's Becky, Becky's calling for me. She must think I got crushed. Why... why am I NOT crushed?
Turning back, I stared up at Nethiun, the scent of fire and melted copper in my nose. “You saved me,” I whispered. “You saved me, didn't you?”
He didn't answer, he simply shot one look down at me, eyes ever hidden behind those glasses. Then, in a sudden burst of impossible speed, he sprinted down the alley.
“Wait!” I shouted, refusing to be left in the dark. I couldn't handle having no answers.
How had he managed to rescue me?
I needed to know.
Standing, ignoring both the stinging cuts on my knees and the panicked shouts of my friends in the crowd, I chased after the blonde man.
It was an impossible task, he'd already escaped my view when I finally broke out into the empty industrial area behind the buildings.
The place was all dust and garbage, barely illuminated by the orange lights of distant windows.
Panting, I whipped my head around, searching for Nethiun.
My eyes couldn't spot him, yet my gut was screaming at me to keep going.
The urge for unraveling the mystery of my stalker was too tempting. With fists pumping at my sides, I ran further into the murky evening.
Sliding down steep hills of gravel, I realized I'd wandered into a construction area. It had been demolished recently, no one bothered to guard such a useless stretch of rock and trash.
Breathing so hard my lungs strained, I bent over with my hands on my thighs. Dammit, did I lose him? How did he get away?
Riddled with despair, I almost missed the electric current of anxiety that ran into the base of my skull.
Unable to understand why, just that there was something around, I jerked my attention to the sky.
There, I finally found what I had been chasing.
Like a kingfisher, he dove through the air. Weaving, bobbing, Nethiun was moving erratically.
I understood why when I realized he was chasing after something. I couldn't tell who or what it was, only that it seemed human enough from where I was.
It was like watching two dancers. Peaceful, beautiful in a sort of perplexing way. That is, until one of them took a swipe at the other.
Wait, they're fighting!
Nethiun ducked the attack, spinning away smoothly. They were both so high up I couldn't see their faces, but I felt their intensity. It made the air vibrate, my skin ripple in goosebumps.
In a quick flicker, the other shape vanished, leaving Nethiun alone in the sky.
Turning in place, I scanned the air in a panic. Where did the other one go?
The being flashed into existence above and behind the blonde man, pulling my attention there instantly. Holding my breath, I watched to see what Nethiun would do.
He glanced to the side, but not at the thing high overhead. He doesn't see it! Oh, dammit, I'm going to get killed after already surviving one near death experience, I just know it!
Kicking up gravel, I scrambled down the slope, arms waving over my head. “Nethiun!” I screamed, voice bouncing around the empty site. “Nethiun, behind you, look out!”
Shit shit shit shit.
I was proud no one heard my thoughts, and delighted that my stalker-turned-savior had heard my warning. Especially when, in an explosion of light, something flashed from the other figure's hands.
Covering my mouth to muffle my dismay, I watched as Nethiun vanished a half-second before the attack would have hit.
I had no clue what the light had been, but it was clearly dangerous. It smashed into the ground, sending up a burst of rock, dust and smoke.
With a shout of rage, the being in the sky turned its head to look at me. I caught a flicker of gold eyes, wide with fury.
In my bones, in my core, I felt a horror so strong it dropped me to my knees.
Whatever that thing was, it could murder me in an instant. I'd never felt so frail before.
Trembling in the face of such a foreign power, I understood this was the real paralyzing fear of helplessness.
Nethiun flashed into view beside the humanoid thing. His pale hand, long fingers extended like a fan, were placed a scant inch from the figure's temple.
The blonde said something, but it was so soft I couldn't hear from the ground. Whatever it was, it caused his enemy—for what else could it be?—to freeze anxiously.
Then, with a guttural snarl, it vanished in a blur.
Seeing it gone, I jerked my eyes around nervously, wanting to know where it was.
Nethiun appeared beside me, as if materializing through a metal sieve as fast as a blink. Too fast, really. His sudden arrival made me scream, my hands hitting the gravel as I scrambled back a few feet.
“I—whe—where did that other guy go!?”
Nethiun turned towards me, I saw he was no longer wearing his sunglasses.
He must have lost them in the fight, I thought silently, blinking up at his amused expression.
Sharp as a knife, his features were an odd mixture of intensity and beauty. I knew I was staring, but it wasn't because of how handsome he was.
No, that wasn't it at all.
“Your eyes,” I whispered, pointing helplessly.
“Hmn?” he asked, lifting an eyebrow at my rising bubble of nervousness. “What about them?”
Gawking, I couldn't find my voice.
Nethiun's eyes were dulled, as if the light that touched them was absorbed inside and eaten away.
Unfortunately, that wasn't all.
Those narrowed, hard orbs were the same color as frosted glass. Those were not the eyes of a human.
“I seem to have lost my glasses,” he sighed, ignoring my look of abject terror. “A shame, I liked them. I'll have to find another pair, but I'm not convinced I'll find any as nice.”
Slowly, like moving too fast might break everything around me, I stood. It was impossible to look away from him, it made me wonder when I had last even blinked. “What,” I said, my voice hoarse and shaking, “are you?”
Cocking his head at me, he let his smirk spread so wide, I feared it would keep growing until it cut his face in two. “Do you have a guess?”
I did, and the words filled my mouth faster than I had sense to pull them back. “You're... you're a demon, aren't you?” It was the
first thing that made sense to me, brought forward by years of movies watched in the late hours.
What else could he even be?
The last thing I was prepared for was his laughter. Covering his mouth, Nethiun bent over as if I'd told a wonderful joke. “A demon? Oh, come now. What a terrible thing to call someone. Demon is so... blunt, so ugly.”
“I—then what?”
Those frightening eyes fixed on me, making my center melt into water. If I'd tried to move, I was sure I'd fall over. “Ah, my dear Gale. The proper word would be twaelin.” Chortling, he turned away, surveying the sky. “Demon, really now. And you called me awful, tsk. Such an insult.”
Staring, I touched the side of my skull gingerly. “I don't feel any wounds, but I'm starting to think that rubble from the sign did hit me after all. Am I lying some where, having delusions right now?”
Shaking his head, Nethiun didn't even glance back at me. His hands went to his pockets, tucked in tight. “Oh no, you're quite fine. I suppose you're a little jostled, but that's to be expected.”
“Right,” I said quietly, looking at my palms like they belonged to someone else. The tiny cuts were hardly even bleeding. “Right, totally fine. I... this is weird. Isn't this weird? I mean, I'm not crazy. So how can any of this be happening?”
Sighing, Nethiun watched me from the corner of one pale eye. “I'm not sure how many ways I can explain what I just said. This is indeed happening, but I guess if you'd rather I'd left you under the sign back there, well...”
The clarity that slammed into me made me stand up tall. “So you really did save me back there, didn't you?”
The blonde man didn't even blink.
Stepping forward, trying to rationalize the fact that if he'd saved me, it made little sense for him to want to hurt me now, to be dangerous, I licked my dry lips. “Why then, why save me?”
For a long moment, he only observed me. The face I had grown used to seeing wear a smile now let a tiny frown take hold. “Ah. Someone forced my hand.”
“I don't understand,” I said, touching my forehead. My skin felt tight, headache growing persistently bigger. “I don't... understand a lot of this. Who forced your hand?”
Scratching at his cheek, the man—was he a man?—made a small sound. “Mn. Someone who was keen to find out if I was watching over you. Now, of course, they know the answer to that.”
“I thought you were following me, not protecting me.”
“To be fair,” he said, the smile returning full blast, “I never said I was or wasn't. More importantly right now,” he pointed towards the buildings back from where I had come.
Shifting, I squinted at the flashing red and blue lights dancing through the alley cracks in the distance. “Oh, dammit,” I winced. Of course the cops would come, a giant sign fell and my friends think I got caught under it.
“I need to go talk to them.” Pursing my lips, I turned back to Nethiun. “But when I'm done, you better—hey!”
Once again, like the night before, my mystery man had vanished.
Kicking the ground in frustration, I clenched my fingers into hard fists. “Dammit! Stop running off in the middle of things. I have so many questions,” I lamented.
Only silence came in response.
“This is impossible, all of it,” I grumbled, striding towards the lights in defeat. “And, now I'm talking to myself. Fantastic.”
Kicking gravel as I went, sliding through the cool shadows of the back alleys, I prepared to tell the police and news crews a version of what had happened that was entirely not the truth. I wasn't a good liar, so I prepared myself.
My only solace was that they'd never believe the truth, anyway.
I certainly was struggling to do so.
Chapter 3.
Nethiun
Sitting on the edge of the building, I observed the red-head below as she approached the police.
Instantly, she was wrapped in hugs by another girl, one who wouldn't stop sobbing in relief.
I watched the encounter with interest, curling a knee to my chest and propping my chin on top comfortably.
Watched how Gale held the girl with curly hair at a distance, trying to placate her.
Watched how the police gathered around to ask questions, and how the young woman I'd been following conceded reluctantly to getting checked out by paramedics.
I watched it all.
The wind brushed along my neck, tugging at the collar of the shirt I wore. Reaching back, touching the skin there idly, I was reminded of how close I'd come to getting blasted by the twaelin I'd been fighting.
Well, HE was fighting. I was mostly trying to encourage him to leave, to stop stirring up trouble.
Which worked, once I'd told him I had no qualms with tearing him to bits if he insisted on staying and playing games with me.
The memory of the brief flash of fear in his yellow eyes when I'd warned him so calmly, my palm inches from his face, made me grin.
Ethlyn was strong, no denying that, but brute force wasn't so easily used on me. Nothing mattered if you couldn't hit your target.
Lifting my arms, I cracked my back sharply. Still, I thought with cool interest, peering at Gale as she sat inside the back of an ambulance, letting someone check her over, I'm surprised she managed to warn me in time. That attack would have... hurt, I suppose, if I hadn't been ready for it.
Mulling the scenario over in my head, my mouth melted into a hard, serious line. Gale Everette, why did you help me?
And how did you manage to track me so easily after I left you at the foot of that mangled sign?
I'd been sure, phasing out of this reality and through my own, that locating me would have been impossible.
But she did it... perhaps it was a fluke?
As high up as I was, I could still see her wild hair blowing around her cheeks. The young woman was deceptively impressive, I had clearly underestimated her.
Although to be fair, I had never really expected much from humans.
Standing fluidly, perched on the very edge of the high building, I tilted my eyes towards the blackened sky.
Below, on the streets, I could hear the sound of trucks arriving. They'd be surveying the scene, deciding how to best move all the rubble left by the fallen sign.
Peering down, I studied the spot on the side of the structure where the heavy metal rectangle had been attached.
It was obvious that the sign hadn't simply fallen on its own. Ethlyn had sliced it free, like a razor through soft butter.
I'd expected to draw attention to myself eventually. It hadn't been unintentional that I'd let Gale spot me the day before. Stalking her in secret had grown boring, but more importantly, I'd felt like I was being observed by someone as well.
Even so, I hadn't predicted I'd need to step in and save the girl. That much was beyond the scope of my duties, my Mistress had only instructed me to watch her.
Yet, seeing the metal come crumbling down on Gale... I'd simply acted. Phasing into the plane beside her, snatching her up in my arms, all of that had been no effort, simple.
What wasn't simple was going to be explaining to my Mistress the details of my evening.
She wouldn't be pleased to learn we were being watched. That someone had wanted to pull me from the shadows, make me show my motives, and had succeeded in it.
One to pull the strings, the other to be the muscle.
This was no mystery. There only existed three source twaelin, incuding my Mistress. Three beings capable of using their own energy to create servants.
If I'd wondered which of them was sticking their nose into my business, seeing Ethlyn confirmed it.
I was being watched by the Corpse King himself, Valenforth.
Once more, I stared down at the street. The young woman was now speaking warily to a reporter on the scene.
Gale Everette.
Why is everyone so interested in you?
Chapter 4.
Gale Everette
Reaching out, I took the pills and bottle of water from Becky eagerly. “Thanks,” I said, choking them down with a mouthful of cool liquid.
“You're really sure that's all you need? Something for your headache?” she asked dubiously, hovering over me where I sat on the cement ground.
Nodding, I pushed my crimson hair from my neck, letting the air cool me down. All of the questions, the concerns, it was burning my already exhausted mind to bits. “I'm fine. Remember, I didn't get smushed by a giant sign. Okay?”
“Don't joke,” she grumbled, crouching down beside me, staring across the street at the remains of the twisted metal. After the news crews had done their pieces and the police their surveying, most everyone had cleared out.
There was, however, one familiar face still talking to a certain set of parents and their little girl. Seeing her green eyes fix on me, my heart stuttered.
Glancing my way pointedly, detective Remmy nodded to the family, then crossed the street towards me.
Becky saw him coming, her confusion in contrast to my disdain. “Is he coming to talk to you?” she whispered.
“Yup,” I sighed, watching his calm face as he approached. When he arrived, stopping a foot away, I didn't bother to stand.
Clearing his throat, his mustache bristling, he gave me a weak smile. “Hello again, Gale.”
“Detective,” I replied flatly.
My roommate looked between us, chewing her lip uncertain on how to respond. The pink gloss she'd been wearing had worn off over the evening from similar behavior, yet amazingly, despite her tears of relief when she'd found out I wasn't dead, her makeup was still pristine.