"The Sacrifice:;The Sacrifice Trilogy"[Book 1.]

11.Fire At the Routes

Braiden

Except for the pounding of the-she-devil's shoes, a room so silent and solemn as this one, people would assume somebody had died in here. I guess in a way, someone had; that part of my crippled soul has experienced its timely demise with Noah this night, and I can't help but feel numb. My eyes lack any sense of life or purpose as I look at the woman who just killed the love of my life, while I choke on a sob. "Kill me, Adelaine," I say, voice emotionally detached; however, tears give way. "Dear God, please kill me," I tell her, full-on sobbing now. Inclining her head to peer down at me, she smiles but also chuckles. "Now sweetie, what fun would it be if I didn't let you stew in your grief, drown in it? No, I don't think I will end you tonight, not yet." She exited the room and when the door slammed behind her, my depression settled inside me, making a home. Eyes sliding to the gun at my right side, I reached for it. My love is dead, also my best friend's paralyzed next to his lover's feet; yielding to these dark thoughts would be a blessing in disguise, I told myself. Through an act like this would do nothing but knock me out for a few seconds, I figure if I shoot myself enough in the chest then my immortality would give out. Tilting the black gun up to my head, it clicked.

Sudden and unexpectedly, Noah's body shudders and he gasps, sitting upright with eyes like blazing fire. "Stop. This. Now! commanded Noah, his demeanor an absolute pit of anger unable to be contained or tamed. An entire room froze on the account that his voice is ice itself. "What in the unholy hell are you doing, Braiden Calie St. Micheal?! Don't ever do that again, do you understand me?" He tipped my face up to his so I was staring straight at him. I nodded, just once, but that seemed like all the confirmation and reassurance he needed. "How did you learn to rejuvenate? I know from where, but from who?" My questioning gaze only earned a firm shake of his head. "I thought you were dead, baby. Honestly, truly gone. God, I hate this world so much! Alexander pays all our expenses like he's a landlord, and I can't take it! You know, sometimes I feel like I'm seconds away from drowning but if I submerge myself under, I'll suffocate to death. Which one would you choose, love? Suffocating or drowning?" I tried wiping tears away but they kept streaming down as if they were little waterfalls. Pointing to where Savannah sits on the floor cross-legged and motionless, his head moves back and forth. "Although you will not understand this until the time comes, she is our only hope of destroying him. And so it seems, you are too, my beautiful love." Leaning in, he kissed me so softly it was like a mesmerizing white feather had landed on my lips, but at the same time, a kiss like this was addictive and passionate.

Snapping his fingers as he pulled away from me, a smile lit his face. "I love you, Brai. Always," he said just as I replied, "Forever." Time spun and rocked the cabin, spots jumping in my eyes. Before they caved to black, Noah's voice entered my mind: "Be strong, love. For you will need to be for what's coming." he warned.

These tired eyes gave out, allowing darkness to take hold.

* *

Some time earlier...

When Adelaine called Noah to her room, I didn't think anything of it. I had just passed it off as her needing his blood for the tracking spell locating Savannah, but wait...that didn't make sense. Why would she need him? Turning and facing Jakob, his lips parted as if he wanted to ask me a question. However, he started clutching his head like he was in an immense amount of pain, and I shot forward immediately following when Jakob's crumpled knees met the floor. Suddenly, he was dragged-and I'm being serious-something literally forced his ass out of the house. As it turned out, though, that was so not the bigger issue.  A second later, the fire started. Big puffs of fire spread quickly, and looking for a source, I found nothing. In addition to being the only shapeshifter, I'm also flame retardant. While searching for another solution to our problem, I heard a horrible scream and...was that a gunshot?