Maybe Fate: A Novel (New Adult Paranormal Romance) (39 page)

It
was not to be.

“
Is
she gone?” My Mistress asked, smoke wafting around in lazy
billowing curls.

My
jaw hurt from being squeezed like a vice. “She is gone,
Mistress.”

“
Good.
Then it's done with.”

Saying
nothing, I crouched there and waited. I didn't even know what I was
waiting for, anymore.

Nothing
felt like it mattered.

“
Nethiun,
look at me.”

Tilting
up my head, I watched her where she lounged.

Unfolding
her legs, she set her nails on her knees. “Someday, you will
understand the good that was done with this decision. The girl was
able to eradicate us. Do you understand the implication of that?”

“
Yes,
Mistress.” I'd comprehended from the first moment I'd seen it
happening. I still hadn't cared.

Studying
me, she smoothed the front of her silken dress, like my mood had
been the one to wrinkle it. “Leave me. Do as you will. This
matter is done, entertain yourself.”

Long
ago, that would have excited me.

Now,
I simply bowed my head low and vanished. It didn't matter where I
went, everything was bland and pointless.

But
to get away from her, that was as good as it could get for me
anymore.

****

Time
is a funny thing when you've got no one to spend it with. It had to
have been several days since Gale's death.

I
couldn't have been sure.

Pushing
through the doors of the bakery, the bell jingled over my head.
Inside, I saw the face of the girl that had left such a hole in me.

The
poster was stuck up in a few spots, her smiling face and tamed hair
making me positive it had been a schoolbook photo.

She'd
never looked as put together as that.

Missing
person signs. So, they still haven't found her body?

At
the front of the store, I locked eyes with the broad baker who I
recognized as Josef.

He,
too, clearly remembered who I was. His eyes boggled, eyebrows flying
high. “You!” He gasped, dropping the loaf of bread in
his hands onto the floor. He picked it up, frowning at the dirt on
it. “I—sorry, you just surprised me.”

“
Forgive
me.”

“
I
haven't seen you since the festival,” he murmured. A deep
sadness coated his tone, made worse by how his eyes watered. “Seems
like so long ago, now.”

Turning
my head, I looked pointedly at the posters. “I was hoping
you'd be kind enough to hand off some old bread of yours to me.”

“
Old
bread?” Josef squinted, before smoothing his thick brows. “Oh.
You wanna go feed the birds, like Gale used to. That it?”

Inclining
my head, I hoped he wouldn't argue with me.

If
I had any luck, it was with me. Smiling gently, he offered up the
loaf he'd dropped. “Here, just take this. No good now,
anyway.”

Smiling
sideways, I cradled the bread carefully. “Thank you.” I
was done, I wanted out. Turning, I began to stride for the door.

His
words made me freeze.

“
There
isn't any chance you've seen her, is there? Know where she is, any
clue?” He sounded desperate.

The
look I tossed him was brief, my hand already on the door. “I'm
sorry.” It was all I could think to say.

The
walk to the park was an easy one. It was quiet out, the sky
threatening snow as November drew near.

Sitting
on the familiar bench, I started pulling off chunks of bread. The
birds arrived slowly at first, but the more I tossed, the grander
the flock became.

Watching
them peck at the crumbs, I was helpless to think of anything but
Gale.

This
was the place we'd first talked. That evening, how frightened she
had been of me...

I
never would have guessed how things would have turned out, that I
would have fallen so deeply for her.

And
to think it's over. What do I do with myself?

If
I could have broken away from my Mistress, from the twaelin, I would
have. But I knew better than ever, I wasn't human.

Pretending
to be something I wasn't, it was pointless. That hadn't stopped Gale
from loving me. She
had
loved me, even though she'd never said it.

Laughing,
jaded by it all, it occurred to me that what I longed for was death.

And
the one person who could have given it to me, had to die for me to
want it in the first place.

What
an awful world this was.

“
Nethiun?”

The
voice was feminine, one I knew. Sitting up, I looked over to find
Becky standing beside me.

Her
blue eyes were gigantic, as if I was an impossible ghost. “It
is you,” she whispered.

“
It
is.” I threw more bread to the hungry sparrows.

“
I—it's
just, I haven't seen you since... since before Gale vanished.”

“
It's
been a while, yes.”

I
could feel the vibe of unease coming off of her. I wasn't sure of
the reason, until she looked behind her.

Wide
shoulders and thick mustache, it took me a minute to remember his
face.
The
night the sign fell, this man... he talked to Gale and Becky on the
street.

He
gave me a grin that would have rivaled my own, if I had been
inclined to smile. “Hello there,” he coughed, wandering
up to stand by Becky. “I'm detective Remmy. You're Nethiun,
correct?”

Ah,
a detective. Now I see.

“
Yes,
that's me,” I said. More bread fell at my feet.

“
I've
been told a bit about you. Would you mind if I asked you a few
questions?”

Tilting
my head, my ear came close to brushing my shoulder. “What
about?”

Becky
bit her lip, shooting her eyes between us. The girl was radiating
with her anxiety.
I'm
guessing she called him when she spotted me on the campus. They
moved fast, have they been looking for me, waiting?

“
It's
about Gale Everette,” he mumbled, yanking out a pad of paper.
“I understand you and her spent some time together. Did you
know she came to me, over two weeks ago, wanting to report you as
her stalker?”

That
wasn't a pleasant memory. Standing, I brushed the rest of the bread
to the ground, scaring some birds into the air. “I didn't. So
this is about how she's missing, and you seem to think I know where
she is.”

How
have they not found her body yet?

Frowning
hard, Remmy tapped his book. “There are two people that I
think might have some idea of her location. You're one of them.”

I
knew who the other was.

Becky
was pleading at me with her eyes. I was sure she felt I knew
something. It was not a position I wanted to be in. “Are you
going to arrest me as a suspect?”

Bristling
overtly, the detective looked me up and down. “Not right now,
no. We're just looking for some help.”

“
That
is where this ends, then.” Inhaling slowly, I slipped around
them and began walking from the park. “I'm not able to assist
you.”

“
Wait
a minute!” Remmy shouted, but I kept going.

My
goal was to get to a secluded place and simply flash away. I was
tempted to just do it, what would it matter if they saw?

It
does matter, though. Inherently, it would be no good to do that. A
basic thing, but one that can't go back in the hat once it is out.

Heels
pounded on the ground, Becky's panting labored when she ran up
beside me. “Nethiun, wait, please!”

Glancing
at her, I kept going.

The
girl walked beside me, trailing me across the commons. “Please,
talk to me. I won't even tell the detective anything, I just need to
know where she is. I need to know—they told me, she...”

Her
voice broke, slowing me down. “They told you she what?”

Becky
shook her head, unable to speak. Covering her mouth, tears glistened
in her round eyes.

Forcing
myself to stop, I turned, facing her. “Tell me, tell me what
they're saying.”

I
could see her skin trembling, taste her pungent terror. Her voice
was muffled behind her palms. “I heard they found her boots,
on a beach, hours from here.”

They
found her shoes, but...

“
But
no body,” I whispered.

Her
nod was violent, curls flying. “Nethiun, why would her shoes
be out there? Where is she, Nethiun?
Nethiun!
”

The
suspicion I had was an awful one.
Someone
took her body. Why would they...

I
hurried off campus, not turning back to answer Becky's shouts.

Gale
Everette

My
dream was safe, I didn't want to wake from it. In it, I was wrapped
tight by arms; arms that held me, protected me.

Arms
that would never let me go.

Sensual
lips touched my cheeks, my eyelids, kissed me places I'd never
imagined.

It
was perfect, so perfect.

Why
would I want to awaken?

The
thing that pulled at me, tore into me until something grew and rose
higher... That thing demanded I stop dreaming.

Resisting
was not an option.

The
scream rippled out of me, grating along my throat until everything
was raw. I felt like my very skin was being tugged at from the
inside out.

Breathing,
it was new all over again.

The
warmth that had been inside of me, it burned hot, jolted down my
legs. With it, now, I felt something else.