Maybe Fate: A Novel (New Adult Paranormal Romance) (6 page)

When
a waitress came to order drinks, I blushed as I asked for water. I
knew no one else would be having dumb regular water, but they all
probably had money to afford something better.

Beside
me, the young man asked for a beer. Surprised, I shifted over so I
could watch him hand his ID to the waitress. She squinted at it,
nodded, then handed it back before scurrying off.

Stewart—Jim?—whoever
he was, caught my eye. “What's wrong?”

“
Oh,”
I mumbled, rubbing the side of my neck, “uh, nothing. I
just... I didn't think you were twenty-one.”

Laughing,
he winked at me in a way that made me stomach twist. “I'm
not.”

Oh,
wonderful, now I'm mixed in with some fake ID toting asses. Great.
Mom would be very proud.

The
man who's name I did not know leaned in close, too close. I could
see the stubble on his cheeks. “So, Becky said your name was
Gale?”

“
Erm,
right. Yes. And she said you were...”

He
spared me the humiliation of guessing, his bright green eyes
sparkling as he whispered in my ear. “Stewart, yeah.”
His breath tickled my skin, and that was the breaking point for me.

Jumping
up, my knees slammed the table solidly. Grimacing, ignoring the
surprised voices and hands grabbing for spilled liquids, I shoved
Becky over.

“
Hey!”
She gasped, allowing herself to be moved from the booth. “Gale,
what is it, where are you going?”

“
Outside.”
Shooting a look back at her as I passed, I saw Stewart staring at
me. “Air, I need air.”

Pushing
through the crowd, I nearly fell onto the sidewalk when I exploded
into the cool outside world.

Inhaling
slowly in relief, I pushed my hair from my forehead with a groan.
Ugh,
was that normal? Dammit, that guy was just... Do I not know how to
flirt? Is it just me?

Frustrated
with myself, with everything happening to me lately, I shook my head
until my ears rang.
I
don't know what to do anymore. Maybe I am a little scared of guys,
and maybe I should thank Mom for that, but... but he freaking
breathed into my EAR and...

Running
my hand over my face, I peeked up along the sidewalk. It was quiet
outside, everyone quick to escape the cold October weather and hide
with friends inside the bright buildings.

Dejected,
I walked slowly down the cement, noticing a few people hanging
around a tiny stall across the way. An older man was selling
sparklers, a few kids holding them high in delight.

Smiling
at the sight, I ignored the pang of jealousy in my gut.
It
must be nice to be so carefree.
Huffing,
I watched my breath swirl in front of me in the crisp air.
Maybe
I should try to relax more, or care less, or... or something.

My
scalp tingled, mere seconds before I heard an oddly metallic groan.
As if drawn by a sense of knowing dread, I tilted my chin to the
sky.

Above
me, on the side of a building, I spotted a large sign proclaiming
how delicious a certain brand of beer was.

Blinking,
unsure what had tickled my intuition so much, I squinted at the
display.

Amazingly,
it began to move, tilting forward and sliding from the stone. It
strangely reminded me of fudge melting down a slope of ice cream.

Impossible,
I thought, fighting with myself over what I was actually seeing.

The
giant structure was about to come crashing down on me.

I
need to move, to run!

My
legs felt like they belonged to someone else. My whole body was
boiling, but none of the heat could reach low enough to give me
control.

I
might have stood there, letting myself become crushed, if it wasn't
for that sharp scream.

Turning,
I saw her. Only slightly bigger than the bag of bread I shared with
the birds, the girl couldn't have been older than five or six.

In
one hand, she was holding a sparkler. Her eyes, wide dollops of wet
emerald, were fixed above. Following them back up, I watched the
metal snapping, grinding on wire in a downward spiral.

Suddenly,
my legs seemed just fine.

Rushing
forward, I bolted across the stretch of sidewalk. There was no one
else, no one but me could have made the distance and reached that
little girl in time.

I
wondered, as I grabbed her and threw her forward, out of the way, if
they would put something heroic on my tombstone.

Around
me, the squeal of crunching metal began to rain down. On my knees,
fear mixing with an odd sense of acceptance, I didn't even feel the
scrapes from my tumble.

Firm,
tight, something made contact with my shoulders. My brain cried out,
wanting to shut down, expecting the touch to be the deadly debris
slicing me to pieces.

Whatever
it was, instead, curled around me firmer.
Arms,
I
thought, just before everything in me, around me, shifted into
nothing.

I
swore, I saw a familiar smile.

Swimming
in blackness, in chunks of grey, I realized I heard nothing. It was
like sound didn't exist for me; nothing existed, I felt empty.

What...

Then
it ended, the reality of screams and smoke and the scent of fear
crumbling back down on me. Someone set me on the ground, then stood
over me fluidly.

Confused
to the point of delusion, when I glanced up and caught a glimpse of
Nethiun, I didn't believe it.

He
wasn't looking my way, but off at something in the distance. Behind
me, I heard the roar of cries still going. I thought I heard my
name, but wasn't positive.

Glancing
over my shoulder from where I sat on the hard sidewalk, I saw the
remnants of the sign where it lay in a destroyed heap at the foot of
the building.

How...
how did that not kill me?

The
little girl I'd pushed to safety was surrounded by what had to be
her parents, the trio of them sobbing in relief.

Across
the street, the man selling sparklers stood there, staring, his
mouth open wide.

Again,
I heard my voice.
That's
Becky, Becky's calling for me. She must think I got crushed. Why...
why am I NOT crushed?

Turning
back, I stared up at Nethiun, the scent of fire and melted copper in
my nose. “You saved me,” I whispered. “You saved
me, didn't you?”

He
didn't answer, he simply shot one look down at me, eyes ever hidden
behind those glasses. Then, in a sudden burst of impossible speed,
he sprinted down the alley.

“
Wait!”
I shouted, refusing to be left in the dark. I couldn't handle having
no answers.

How
had he managed to rescue me?

I
needed to know.

Standing,
ignoring both the stinging cuts on my knees and the panicked shouts
of my friends in the crowd, I chased after the blonde man.

It
was an impossible task, he'd already escaped my view when I finally
broke out into the empty industrial area behind the buildings.

The
place was all dust and garbage, barely illuminated by the orange
lights of distant windows.

Panting,
I whipped my head around, searching for Nethiun.

My
eyes couldn't spot him, yet my gut was screaming at me to keep
going.

The
urge for unraveling the mystery of my stalker was too tempting. With
fists pumping at my sides, I ran further into the murky evening.

Sliding
down steep hills of gravel, I realized I'd wandered into a
construction area. It had been demolished recently, no one bothered
to guard such a useless stretch of rock and trash.

Breathing
so hard my lungs strained, I bent over with my hands on my thighs.
Dammit,
did I lose him? How did he get away?

Riddled
with despair, I almost missed the electric current of anxiety that
ran into the base of my skull.

Unable
to understand
why
,
just that there was
something
around,
I jerked my attention to the sky.

There,
I finally found what I had been chasing.

Like
a kingfisher, he dove through the air. Weaving, bobbing, Nethiun was
moving erratically.

I
understood why when I realized he was chasing after something. I
couldn't tell who or what it was, only that it seemed human enough
from where I was.

It
was like watching two dancers. Peaceful, beautiful in a sort of
perplexing way. That is, until one of them took a swipe at the
other.

Wait,
they're fighting!

Nethiun
ducked the attack, spinning away smoothly. They were both so high up
I couldn't see their faces, but I
felt
their intensity. It made the air vibrate, my skin ripple in
goosebumps.

In
a quick flicker, the other shape vanished, leaving Nethiun alone in
the sky.

Turning
in place, I scanned the air in a panic.
Where
did the other one go?

The
being flashed into existence above and behind the blonde man,
pulling my attention there instantly. Holding my breath, I watched
to see what Nethiun would do.

He
glanced to the side, but not at the thing high overhead.
He
doesn't see it! Oh, dammit, I'm going to get killed after already
surviving one near death experience, I just know it!

Kicking
up gravel, I scrambled down the slope, arms waving over my head.
“Nethiun!” I screamed, voice bouncing around the empty
site. “Nethiun, behind you, look out!”

Shit
shit shit shit.

I
was proud no one heard my thoughts, and delighted that my
stalker-turned-savior had heard my warning. Especially when, in an
explosion of light, something flashed from the other figure's hands.

Covering
my mouth to muffle my dismay, I watched as Nethiun vanished a
half-second before the attack would have hit.