Beautiful Beings (23 page)

                Even though this feels so much more serious than that, I snatch up my phone and speed dial his number. For once, I don’t get that stupid message, either. Now all I need is for Grayson to pick up.

                Come on, Grayson, pick up.

                He answers on the fifth ring, though given how fast my pulse is currently racing, it feels far longer.

“Hello?” he asks. “Celestra?”

                I’m so happy to hear his voice in that moment that I can’t think of anything to say. There’s too much of it, and it all sounds so mad. There’s the house, and the emptiness, and the stuff with my phone. For a couple of seconds, all I can do is stand there, listening to him on the other end of the phone like some kind of weird stalker.

                “Celes, is that you? Are you all right?”

                His use of that pet version of my name snaps me out of it. This is Grayson. I can tell him anything, even the strange stuff. He’ll find a way to make all this make sense, or at least a way to make me feel better about it. I open my mouth to explain. To simply say his name.

                Before I can get the words out, my cellphone dies. Just dies, without an explanation. There’s no power, even though I’m sure I charged it up this morning. It won’t turn on, it won’t light up, and it certainly won’t let me say anything to the one person who might be able to help me. I stand there, just staring at it dumbly, for second after second.

                The main house phone starts to ring in the kitchen. It’s an old thing my dad liked the look of and had rewired, even though we all have individual cellphones. The ring is harsh, cutting through the silence of the house in a way that only emphasizes it.

                Has Grayson called me back on the house number, guessing what has happened to my phone? That must be it. I rush through to the kitchen, knowing that I have to talk to someone about this, or I’m going to burst. I snatch up the handset, cutting off that sharp ringing.

                “Hello?”

                “Celestra Caine?”

                A man’s voice. It’s not Grayson. It’s not anyone I know. And yet, whoever he is, he obviously knows me. Coming here and now, I know the call has to have something to do with whatever is going on.

                “Who is this?” I ask.

                “Celestra Caine, you are about to fade.”

From Bestselling Author Kailin Gow comes

DESIRE

A Dystopian world where everyone’s future is planned out for them at age 18…whether it is what a person desires or not. Kama is about to turn 18 and she thinks her Life’s Plan will turn out like her boyfriendnt ss and friend’s – as they desired. But when she glimpse a young man who can communicate with her with his thoughts and knows her name…a young man with burning blue eyes and raven hair, who is dressed like no other in her world, she is left to question her Life’s Plan and her destiny.

Available Now

Want to Know More about
Beautiful Beings
, New Releases, Author Insight, Author Appearance, Contests and Giveaways?

Join the
Beautiful Beings Series
Official Facebook Fan Page at:

http://www.facebook.com/BeautifulBeingsSeries

Talk to Kailin Gow at:

http://kailingow.wordpress.com

and

on Twitter at:  @kailingow