Fate's Demand (Twisted Fate, Book 3)

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Deryk and I froze.

Marcus glared and crossed his arms. Without asking a single question, his presence demanded answers. The vial was hidden out of sight, but all he had to do to validate the suspicion written on his face was look at my hand. Trying to hide the potion on my finger now would only place a target on its existence.

Standing by the door, Marcus was nowhere near close to being able to stop me.

I would get back to my body.

But how could I leave Deryk behind knowing Marcus had discovered his betrayal?

Torn between staying and going, I couldn't decide, and my eyes darted between them as I held my breath. Either way was a win and a loss tied together. At least, given time to recover, I could rectify the problems surrounding my departure at a later date. I could be with David—Mike. The only thing I could do by staying is get weak, deteriorate, and maybe—and this was no guarantee if I was too feeble—help Deryk.

What would helping Deryk accomplish if I couldn't last here?

"Aly," Deryk said, pulling me out of my thoughts, and I blinked.

What was Marcus's punishment of choice?

Would Deryk suffer when I left?

Deryk looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Go. Now. Or you'll never get the chance."

He was right and we both knew it.

Hesitating now could prove fatal for me, and none of us knew what that would mean for the Dark or the Pure Souls. Leave or be forced to rob myself of my own life by helping others. After already dying on similar terms, it wasn't selfish to choose life. Die to save a few, or live so I could help them all.

"Now, Aly," Deryk said. "You have to go."

"Don't," Marcus warned.

His attempt to seem threatening was eclipsed by the fear that he couldn't hide from within his eyes. If I left, he would never gain another advantage over me. Never control me by means of manipulation. Was he scared that I'd come back to hold him accountable? I hoped so. The thought was certainly entertaining and, had I been a darker soul, a probable outcome.

Marcus was lucky the angel waiting for my return held a more attractive lure.

If I died, I wonder if I'd have the powers of an angel. Could I smite Marcus? I mean, angels did it all the time. To them, the righteousness of such an action negated sin—a loophole.

Besides, technically, Marcus wasn't human—isn't that where sin lie? Harming humans or depriving them of their free will? He'd been arrogant when I'd first met him, but then it hadn't been enough to dislike him outright. Now, I couldn't believe Marcus's audacity. How had he imagined he would be able to do this to me without suffering for his actions? It might not be an immediate consequence, but my memory, when it wasn't affected by supernatural means, was impeccable.

"Go," Deryk mouthed, barely audible over the escalated volume of my beating heart.

Marcus took a step forward and I shoved my finger into my mouth, completing the task. I did it. Deryk—and even Tyler—had saved me, and now I could be whole. Alive. Free. With Mike.

The effect was delayed, gradual.

Starting at the crown of my head, a tingling spread throughout my body until it reached my toes and the intensity of the sensation increased. The whole of my body was a limb that fell asleep, the tiniest movement causing discomfort to the point of pain. I squeezed my eyes shut and clenched my teeth, trying to focus on anything else.

Endure it, don't move, and don't scream.

Over and over, my mind recited these words, but the only thing keeping me from cracking to pieces from the pressure—of dying—was David.

His name and image took me to Heaven's garden of painless beauty.

The tingling stopped.

A lull of maybe two seconds followed.

It was just long enough to allow me to catch my breath before it was knocked out of me.

Pressure built to breaking, and then snapped.

The whole room lit with a blinding silver-white sparkling light. The outer layer of my skin stretched away from my body, pale and blue. The translucent layer lifted, pulled up like an elastic band, and vibrated as it hovered an inch away from what was confined within. It sounded like a car revving its engine. Finally, with the blast of a backfire to bloom in the air, it burst.

Glowing sparks floated down to settle on the bed like fireworks and dust, blue and silver and white.

Back to the mist of an unaltered astral form, my soul soared.

Sucked up through the ether like a particle travelling through the hose of a vacuum, I left Hell's Fire.

My vision blurred.

As quick as my heart beat, my trajectory was faster. Blinding. I entered a tunnel of light. The force of the thrust slowed the farther I travelled from my launching point, and finally, I could breathe. I watched in awe as I passed through the Mortal Realm, bursting up through loose soil to soar above thousands of homes, and into the clouds.

Heaven.

My body.

Mike.

My destination arrived and the pain of my journey began to fade from memory as true agony blossomed. I zoomed through the walls of Glory Academy, gravitating on auto pilot back to my body. Instead of connecting, I hit a wall. My soul pressed against the chill of my neglected form, frozen from misuse.

Was I too late?

No, I couldn't be.

I pushed harder, using the pain to chip deeper.

A pickaxe against brick, my emotions—love, desire, hate—whittled against the barrier restricting my access until a splinter deep enough to mist into formed. Once inside, the fight ceased to exist, and a gnawing ache began to throb. The warmth of my soul finding its home thawed my body from the inside-out.

With limbs too heavy to move, I fought to glimpse my surroundings.

Instantly, I realized that physical pain was nothing compared to a fractured heart.

The effects of frostbite were manageable compared to what I saw the first time I opened my eyes. In a literal sense, home was where my heart was, but where my heart was wasn't necessarily a home. Emotional pain devoured physical wounds, making them almost desirable in comparison.

I closed my eyes to avoid being detected, but there was nothing to erase the image of Suzie being held in Mike's arms while he kissed her from my mind. No. My heart felt like it hadn't survived the journey.

Now that I was whole, with my soul and body merged, I became fractured.

There was nothing left for me here.

What kind of joke had I been pushed into the center of? While watching Death take David had been hard, this blatant show of betrayal made me wish Death would come for a visit. Scratch that. Death wasn't my problem and the answers I needed wouldn't be found by baiting it into the open. No. That was a relationship best left severed. Keeping my eyes closed tight, I chanted against the pain as a plan began to take root.

If I wanted information, I would have to go straight to the source.

The Sisters of Fate were going to receive a visitor and this time, I wasn't giving up until I had my answers.

The End

A/N: I know, it sucks leaving on a cliffhanger, but I couldn't help it :) Fate's Revenge will start getting posted this coming weekend!

While Fate's Revenge and Fate's Disguise are complete, I am a few chapters away from completing the final novel in the series, Fate's Escape. I seem to have hit a wall because it has been at this point for months. Does anyone have any music to suggest that suites this series to play while I attempt to complete it?