Maybe Fate: A Novel (New Adult Paranormal Romance) (8 page)

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.

Ethlyn
f
erreted
me out rather quickly. Perhaps I SHOULD have been more subtle. If
Valenforth's curious enough to get involved, my Mistress's prophecy
is surely hinting at something large on the horizon.

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?

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.

Remmy
frowned, but he pressed on carefully. “I'm sure you're tired
and just want to go home, after all of this. I hear you're a hero.”

“
Not
really,” I muttered, though I felt a flicker of pride at the
word. “I just acted on instinct.”

“
She
says you pushed her out of the way.”

“
That's
right.”

“
Well,
then take the title for what it is,” he said, sounding like he
was trying to be humorous.

I
wasn't in the mood for any sort of ribbing. Especially not after
being brushed off at the station earlier.

Standing
with a groan, my body sore from all the stress I'd put it through, I
looked at the detective warily. “Is there something you
needed?”

He
considered me a moment. “After seeing you only a few hours
ago, I was just surprised to come to this scene and find you here.
Call it coincidence, but I thought I would take the chance to make
sure this wasn't connected to what we talked about earlier.”
He shot a meaningful look at Becky, who leaned away and passed that
look on to me.

I
wished the migraine medicine would kick in faster. “She knows
about Nethiun.”

“
You
actually reported him to the police, then?” she asked, staring
at me incredulously.

Folding
my arms, I looked from her to the detective. “Yeah. And I was
told they couldn't do anything about him until he did something
'illegal' or whatever.”

Remmy
sighed in exasperation, glancing over his shoulder at the wreckage.
“Listen, Gale, I'm only following procedure. So, unless you
want to tell me this Nethiun fellow had something to do with this
accident, I'll leave you be so you can go get some rest.”

Hesitating,
I followed his eyes to the place I had almost had my life cut short
earlier.
Nethiun
did have something to do with this, actually, but not in the way
you're thinking, detective.

He
actually saved me.

“
Detective,”
I said slowly, forming my words precisely. “I do want to amend
my statement, actually.”

“
You
do?” he asked, seeming surprised.

Nodding,
I adjusted my backpack, looking him straight in the eye. “I'd
like to remove my statement entirely. I don't want to report
anything against Nethiun any longer.”

“
I—excuse
me?” he blurted, freezing his hand on the pen in his chest
pocket. “You want to remove the report? Why would you do
that?”

Turning
on my heel, I half faced away from Remmy. “Please, just get
rid of it. It was a mistake to report him, that's all that matters.
Come on Becky, I'd like to lie down now.”

Her
face was blank, I caught the wide eyed look she offered the
detective. “Uh, okay. I guess... um, bye, detective?”
Even her words blared her uncertainty to the world.

As
I walked off down the side of the road, she followed after me with
loud clicks of her heels. When we had left the scene far enough
behind, she grabbed my upper arm and hissed out a stream of
surprise. “Gale! What the hell was that all about?”

“
What
do you mean?” I grumbled, shaking off her hold.

“
You
know what I mean!” Flipping her long curls of hair, she easily
kept pace with me. She was a master at walking in those stilettos.
“Why would you report the guy stalking you, then just...
randomly revoke it?”

Shrugging,
my mind flashed with those unnerving white eyes that held no shine.
“I just don't think it matters. I was... too quick to make a
report, I think.”

“
You
think.” She repeated me, words soaked in disbelief. “You
think
?
Gale, what happened that you aren't telling me?”

Crossing
under the lights of the housing district, I moved faster at the
promise of reaching the campus. “Nothing happened.”

Beside
me, the heavy clacking of heeled shoes stopped. I kept on a few more
steps, before finally giving in and turning around. Becky was
standing still, staring at me with a mixture of annoyance and
curiosity. “What? What is it?”

Pointing
accusingly, she covered her mouth. “Oh my goodness. You met
him again, didn't you?”

“
I—what?
No, I mean, no!” Dismayed by how on target she was, I knew my
reaction was giving me away.

“
Yes!”
She crowed triumphantly, jumping my way with delight. “Yes,
you did! You can't lie to me! When was it, when did you see him? It
had to be before you met up with me, right?”

Shaking
my head, I continued on my path towards the college. “Drop it,
Becky.”

Laughing,
she bounced around me like a puppy dog. “I figured it out. I
was right all along! You thought he was some creep, but it turns out
he's a guy with a crush, and now, after your near death experience,
you want to finally give in and date someone! I cracked the code!”

Holding
my temples, I didn't correct her. It was easier to lie by omission
at that point. Ignoring her giggles, we climbed the grassy hill and
slipped back into our dorm.

She
continued to babble about how happy she was I'd 'finally met
someone' long after we'd changed into clothes for bed.

Falling
back on my mattress, I covered my face with a pillow. “Becky,”
I begged, “please stop.”

“
Fine,
fine,” she sighed. I heard the springs of her bed creak as she
laid down. “You have to promise that you'll introduce me to
the guy that finally got your guard down, though.”

Closing
my eyes, I just pressed the pillow harder against my face. The cool
blackness was extremely welcoming.

Introduce
you to him?
Thinking
about how much Becky had gotten wrong, and how much she had gotten
right, made my stomach ripple.

Yes,
I've decided to give him a chance... but it's because he saved my
life, not because of some mistaken idea of dating or something.

Recalling
his hard jaw, the wicked curve of his grin when he looked at me, I
shivered down to my toes.

Dating
is the last thing I'm worried about.

Right
now, I need to understand who the hell Nethiun is, or at the very
least, WHAT he is.

He
called himself a twaelin, I've never even heard of that before.

My
head filled with the images of the two of them fighting in the sky,
the pure rage that had surrounded me when those gold eyes looked my
way.

It
was a wonder that I even fell asleep at all.

****

Walking
across the commons the next morning, I was relieved to not have any
classes on a Saturday. Sleeping in till the afternoon was barely
enough to make me feel revived.

Clutching
a cup of coffee from the free dispenser in the college's mess hall,
I strolled over the grass towards the library.