Maybe Fate: A Novel (New Adult Paranormal Romance) (7 page)

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.

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.