Fate's Demand (Twisted Fate, Book 3)

Chapter Nineteen

Burnt wood scorched through my airways like the vapor from a strong household cleaner chokes you until you are in a fit of coughing.

A snap sounded above and the thick branch that had been hanging too low hurtled to the ground, changing course with the sudden gust of wind that pushed my hair into my eyes. I reached up, pulling at the strands as I tried to spit them from my mouth. Finally, I slapped both palms on my face and pushed it all back, hardly noticing as tufts were ripped from their roots on my head. I looked up, the branch still falling.

Towards me.

I raised my arm, bent at the elbow, and crouched, and then turned to hide my face. If I were smarter, I could have rolled. I should have at least tried to run. Maybe one of these days, I'd figure things out before it was too late.

The branch crashed like a beat of a gong and a bright flash lit the air, though I didn't feel a thing. I must be in shock. Had I just done the instant death thing again?

"Oomph!" Mike barrelled into my side and we both toppled over, belatedly rolling out of the way.

Okay, so not dead.

"Ow," I moaned and thumped him on his chest so that he would roll off me to let me breathe.

Taking a huge breath, I sat up and looked around. I couldn't see the branch. Not that it wasn't in front of us, but that it wasn't there at all. Bark, smoke, the smell of death, but no branch. Not even rain. The sound of nature fell to the background. I wheezed, dragging in the tainted air to pollute my lungs, and crawled to my knees.

"What the hell was that?"

"I think you said it—Hell. Darkness. I told you—"

"Yeah, yeah. Darkness wants me. It's the same spiel your guys' doppelgangers gave me instead of an introduction." Reaching out my hand, I let him pull me up and then smacked his hand away before he could help clear the leaves from my clothes. "Angels really aren't that good, are they?"

He smiled and stepped back, the corner of his lip turning up. "We are good at anything we try."

Ducking his arm, I ran from reach. Away from the trees and shadows, I didn't stop until we were touched by the light radiating from Teigan's home escaping through floor-to-ceiling walls made of glass. I stopped mid-step. The movement was so sudden that Mike took a few steps before realizing I was no longer with him and had to backtrack. I lay on my back on the ground to stare at the cloudless sky.

My breath came in gasps. Instead of exhaustion, I was filled with energy, followed by calm. Closing my eyes, I pushed my questions from my head and thought instead of what had just happened. New questions formed. I took a deep, calming breath, and opened my eyes to see Mike standing above me, looking down.

"It was a warning, wasn't it?" I asked, turning my head to follow his motions as he lay beside me and propped his head on his hand, lifted by his elbows. "The lightning was a warning."

"Yes." He nodded. "It was."

"But I stopped it?"

"Yeah, that's some shield you made there." He laughed and the corner of his eyes crinkled, but as nice as it was to hear, it wasn't contagious.

Shield? Me? Well, that was new. "From which side?" I asked, confused.

"What do you mean? Your shield came from you, front and center."

"No, not that. I always pictured evil as coming from below and good from above. Is He tired of me being so wishy-washy?"

He leaned over so that his face hovered just above mine and then reached to tuck a stray strand of hair behind my ear, making my skin tingle where his fingers trailed. "The problem with Darkness, Aly, is that it can come from all sides. Up, down, left, or right."