by Anne Hope
Emma pushed the damp strands from her forehead. “I have to go back for Adrian.”
Tension ripened between them, then melted away. Her mom released a laborious sigh. “Be careful.”
Emma smiled despite the crippling anxiety swamping her system. Maybe Adrian wasn’t the only one who was slowly learning to let go. She gave her mom a quick hug. “Thank you.”
Then she bolted from the stables in search of the man she loved.
The water was determined to carry him away, but Adrian wasn’t going down without a fight. He struggled against the current, grabbed hold of a tree to stop his tumble toward oblivion. Weakness clawed at him, a result of the rain and the countless hours he’d spent cut off from his soul. Still, he held on.
The Kleptopsychs split up, still magically shielded from the rain. Wherever they stepped, the water parted to admit them. They began a frantic raid of the townhouses, probably looking for a sign of Emma.
“You’ll never find her,” he yelled, even though he was pretty sure they couldn’t hear him past the hammering rain. “She’s long gone.”
The woman controlling the weather drew closer, a frigid smile contorting her face. “You must be the famous Adrian,” she purred. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
From Kora, no doubt. “Tell my mother her little scheme isn’t going to work.”
“Why don’t you tell her yourself?” The flood swelled around them but failed to swallow her. It was as though she stood in a bubble, protected from the elements.
He, on the other hand, wasn’t as lucky. Churning water buffeted him, and he nearly lost his hold on the tree.
“She’s eager for a mother-and-son reunion. It wasn’t nice of you to let her think you were dead.”
Like Kora gave a damn one way or another. “Is she the one leading you?”
Another icy smile. “What do you think?”
“She’s the logical choice.”
“Yes, she certainly is.” The wicked glint of satisfaction in the woman’s eyes perplexed him.
“Unless we have it all wrong, and you’re the one behind this.”
A muscle leapt in her jaw. “Do you think a firstborn would take orders from me?”
He shrugged noncommittally. “Anything’s possible.”
The water bubbled around him. If he didn’t act soon, it risked sapping him of what little strength he had left. While the woman deliberated on her response, he freed the butcher knife from its plastic wrap and swiped at her.
The creature anticipated the blow. She willed the weapon from his grasp, and the blade was promptly carried away by the flood. “I love a man of action.” She ran the back of her finger over his cheek, and he flinched at the touch. “Shame you’re a Hybrid. If you were a pureblood, I may have been tempted to keep you as a pet.”
“Leave him alone.” Emma’s voice clanged inside Adrian’s head, filling him with renewed dread.
What the hell was she doing here? She never should’ve returned. She should’ve headed to the main road, hitched a ride if necessary.
The water-wielding woman turned her back to Adrian. If he could only reach the small paring knife he’d strapped to his boot…
Emma stood on the opposite side of the gravel road, the muddy water swirling around her feet reaching all the way to her knees. He didn’t know how she did it, but somehow she managed to hold her ground.
A band of Kleptopsychs raced from the buildings to surround her, and urgency gripped him.
It was now or never.
Battling weakness and the ever-strengthening tide, Adrian slumped against the tree and extended his arm toward his boot. His fingers brushed metal. Just one more inch. That was all he needed. Just one small inch and he could save them both.
Sweat coated Emma’s palms as old insecurities surfaced. She’d spent her entire existence running from these creatures, and now they surrounded her, towered over her. Her pulse spiked.
There’s no way out, nowhere to run.
Briefly, her gaze connected with Adrian’s, and her heart folded. His skin was pale, his shoulders slumped as violent tremors racked his body. Still, he battled the weakening effect of the water and reached for his right boot, where he’d secured the paring knife earlier.
Even now, he fought to protect her.
His dedication, his bravery, both touched and inspired her. Emma had never killed anyone before, but that was about to change. Scraping together every pathetic ounce of courage she possessed, she dug into her pockets and closed her fingers around the knives she’s stashed there, one for each hand.
Two Kleptopsychs launched themselves at her, and she shook the blades free of their protective coverings and stabbed them both. Black smoke spewed from her attackers’ bodies, right before they collapsed at her feet, to be carried away by the swift tide. The act threw Emma off balance, and she nearly toppled over and joined them.
Regaining her footing, she made a menacing arc with the blades. “Stay back,” she warned the Kleptopsychs who formed a shrinking circle around her.
Across the gravel road, still clinging to the tree, Adrian managed to free the knife. He took a swing at the hideous woman standing next to him, but she moved out of the way just in time, then seized the meager weapon from him.
“This is starting to get old.” The creature raised her hand, and a whirlpool formed in the churning stream. To Emma’s horror, the water level began to rise, receding from the road and creating a tidal wave about fifty feet high. “Move an inch and my hand might slip.” Which was another way of saying she could drown them all at the snap of a finger.
Six Kleptopsychs came at Emma at once. Emma swung again, but this time they anticipated her move and deflected her blow. A massive creature with bleached blond hair knocked one of the blades from her hand. Another grabbed her by the wrist, immobilizing her other arm. And all the while the tidal wave continued to rise, faster and faster, higher and higher.
Emma fought not to lose it.
The last conversation she’d had with Micah replayed through her mind. “A great flood will come and wipe out everyone you know and love.”
“How do I stop it?”
“By fulfilling your destiny and destroying she who now rules the Kleptopsychs. She will come for you soon.”
Understanding unfurled within Emma, and her destiny became clear. Kora wasn’t the one she was meant to destroy. It was this woman, who wielded water like a weapon. She was the true threat.
Emma’s heels dug into the mud as the Kleptopsychs fought to drag her away. Determination crowded out fear. She was through being a victim. These creatures would never terrorize or hurt anyone she loved again.
Her blood pumped hard and fast through her veins. Energy surged through her, gathered at her core and spread outward. Blinding light shot from her body, striking the Kleptopsychs nearest her. A white glow filled their eyes, spilled from their mouths. Then they vanished in a puddle of ash.
Emma plunked to the muddy ground, her muscles jarred by the impact. She felt bruised and beaten, but she was free.
The Kleptopsychs who’d maintained a safe distance from her survived. They stood momentarily frozen, staring at her in horror and bewilderment. Then, one by one, they came to their senses and scattered into the surrounding woods.
Only the deformed woman remained, still holding the gigantic wall of water at bay. It hovered above Adrian, cresting at the tip, like the flicking tongue of a serpent savoring his scent on the breeze.
Emma took a step toward the woman, raised her hand and summoned the energy within her. This time she was able to control it, and electric light began to pulse from her fingers.
“Kill me, and he dies,” the creature spat, and the waterfall shivered in warning.
“Do it.” Adrian’s shoulders sagged. He implored her with his gaze to see this through, to eliminate the threat this woman posed, even at the cost of his life.
Emma’s insides shook. How could she do this? How could she make this horrendous choice?<
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“I can’t.” Defeat made the light around her fingers dim. She couldn’t let Adrian die. Her heart would never forgive her if she did.
Flashes from the past unspooled in her mind—Adrian jumping into the East River after her, Adrian heaving the metal fence that pinned her down, Adrian propelling his last breath into her lungs.
She understood now why Micah hadn’t wanted her to remember. To remember was to love, and to love was to flounder.
“You have to.” Adrian’s lips were a frightful shade of blue. “She’s going to kill me anyway.”
“Would a gesture of goodwill sway your decision?” The creature flicked her wrist, and the rain ceased abruptly, the clouds parting to reveal a wounded sky. The sun’s dying rays painted the water purple and made it glow from within. Emma stared at it, mesmerized. Sometimes, the deadliest of things held a morbid kind of beauty.
“I promise I’ll give you a minute or two before I release my hold on it.”
Emma believed her. The creature would need at least that long to get away and ensure Emma didn’t follow her. Giving her a small window of opportunity within which to save Adrian would prove the perfect distraction.
“Go ahead. Make your choice.” The woman smiled.
She goddamn smiled. The witch knew she’d won.
Emma let her arm drop to her side in a gesture of surrender.
“Smart girl. I knew you’d eventually come to see things my way.” She retreated toward the woods, still holding the wave upright as she’d promised.
Wasting no time, Emma rushed to Adrian’s side, wrapped his arm around her shoulders and began to run toward higher ground. He leaned on her for support, fighting to stay on his feet as weakness dragged him down.
“You have to go,” he grunted. “Leave me.”
“No.” She hadn’t gone through the trouble of saving him to let him drown now.
“I’m slowing you down.”
“I don’t care. We make it out of this together, or we don’t make it. Period.”
The silo. It was their only hope. The tower stood about ninety feet high. Emma made a beeline for it, insanely happy that Adrian hadn’t gotten around to tearing it down. She reached the ladder just as the wave collapsed. Water roared, a livid beast experiencing its first taste of freedom. It exploded through the valley, devouring everything in its path, spreading in every direction.
“Hurry.” She pushed Adrian toward the ladder. “You’re going to have to climb, because there’s no way I can lift you.”
He nodded, his faced scrunched in pain as he gripped the rung and began his slow ascent. Emma followed at his heels, constantly looking over her shoulder, her heart threatening to burst from her chest. The wave continued to gain speed, whooshing between the townhouses, tearing at the foundations upon which they stood. Roofs were ripped off like cardboard lids. Cars were swept away as though they weighed no more than a feather. Trees were viciously torn from their roots.
Emma watched a Jeep float away, bobbing in the current, as the tide surged toward them. “Faster. We’re not going to make it.”
Grunting, Adrian heaved himself up the ladder with herculean effort.
“Good, just a few more rungs,” she encouraged, even as her own resolve faltered.
His hand slipped, and he nearly fell. Emma steadied him with one palm while clinging tight to the ladder with the other.
The flood rolled toward the woods, climbed up the path leading to the main road. Emma thought of her mom, prayed that the stables were on high-enough ground to be spared from the water’s rampage.
With the force of a tsunami, the wave struck the base of the silo, and her teeth jarred. A grinding, metallic sound issued from the structure, and powerful vibrations traveled up the ladder, threatening to dislodge them.
Wind whipped at their faces, and a fine mist rose to dampen the air. Emma crawled up behind Adrian, flanking him with her arms. “Hold on.”
And he did. With whatever strength he had left, he held on.
The water pummeled the base, harder and harder. The grinding sound worsened, and the silo leaned sideways. Too late Emma realized it wouldn’t withstand the assault. They were going down.
A hollow feeling expanded within her as the structure crumpled, then toppled over. Her stomach shot straight to her throat. She squeezed her eyes shut as the world tilted and blurred.
“I’m sorry. I failed again.” Adrian’s words were like a knife to the heart. “I really wanted to save you this time.”
She pressed her cheek into his wide back, felt the shudder that coursed through him. “I’m not yours to save.” When would he realize that? “I’m yours to love. For as long as fate allows.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
The silo hit the water like a ton of bricks, and Emma screamed. Her muscles gathered in a tight, painful snarl, but she didn’t break. That was one of the benefits of being half angel.
Water sluiced all around them, relentless in its pursuit. The tide pushed and pulled and tossed them, but she refused to give up. She shielded Adrian with her body as the ladder cracked in half and steel panels tore free. Emma swam, grabbing hold of a floating piece of wood, her other hand secured around Adrian’s.
“Are you all right?” she yelled past the loud whoosh of the current.
“Yeah.” The word was weak and strained but enough to reassure her.
“Whatever you do, just don’t let go.”
His body tensed beneath hers as they went under, then bobbed back to the surface.
“Remember that time in the East River?” she told him, her breaths coming hard and fast. “Remember how long you stayed under? You didn’t quit until you knew I was going to be all right.” Tears thinned her voice. “Don’t quit on me now.”
He didn’t reply, and her soul ruptured. Lethargy was the first sign that hypothermia was setting in. Next, his organs would start to shut down, and he could die. She needed to get him to dry land, and soon.
The violent swells hurled them forward at breakneck speed, threatening to overturn the makeshift raft that kept them from sinking. Broken tree limbs whizzed by, branches flailing in the deadly current. One of them struck the wooden board they clung to, sending them cartwheeling through the muddy water.
Emma lost her grip on Adrian. She thrashed violently in a desperate attempt to grab his hand, but his fingers slid free of the glove he wore, and he slipped away from her.
Debris whirled all around her—a man’s shoe, a broken lawn chair, a satellite dish. She struggled to avoid getting struck, while spearing upward. She breached the surface, called out Adrian’s name, but he was nowhere in sight.
Panic fought to take her over. This was the East River all over again. But this time, she had more going for her than a strong ability to swim. She had the power of the angels coursing through her veins. She drew strength from that thought. A feeling she hardly recognized spread to invade every corner of her soul—faith.
She wasn’t weak and powerless. She wasn’t some hapless pawn to be used in a twisted game of chess that would decide the fate of the world.
She was the freaking savior. It was high time she started acting like one.
Words Micah had uttered when she’d seen him in Central Park echoed through her mind. “You simply need to will it to happen.”
Filling her lungs with air, she stopped flapping her arms and legs and let the tide sweep her away. While the current carried her, she cleared her mind and willed herself to become a part of it, to connect with it on a molecular level. She grew aware of every atom that composed the water, felt the energy resonating from each drop. There was beauty and harmony in the way the molecules merged and separated, the way they swayed and danced to a silent tune. A dance she began to recognize and understand.
Tapping in to the well of energy within her, she willed the molecules to part. At first nothing happened, and she nearly despaired. Then, the water shivered, and the harmonies changed. The dance grew wild and frantic, until it ceased alto
gether. To her shock and relief, the flood started to ebb.
Soon, she lay splayed in a puddle of mud surrounded by debris. She’d done this. She’d exerted control over her environment, had ordered the flood to stop, and it had somehow obeyed her command.
Coughing, she pushed herself up on trembling arms and studied the desolate landscape. “Adrian?” Her legs threatened to buckle beneath her weight, but she managed to stand.
Night had crept in when she’d been busy battling the tide, and now darkness cloaked the valley. Strangely enough, she could see clearly in the shadows, as though it were still day. “Adrian!” A frantic pitch laced her tone. He was out there somewhere. She had to find him.
She raced down the damp road, her shoes becoming mired in the muck over and over again, forcing her to pry them free with a loud smack. Night pressed down on her, dark and oppressive and still smelling faintly of ozone. She barely recognized her surroundings. The road had been washed free of gravel, the flowers ripped from the ground. The nearby arroyos now bubbled with water that shone silver in the moonlight. It was hard to believe that such an inoffensive substance had caused this level of damage. Trees that had once stood tall and proud were now stooped and broken. Cars lay overturned on the side of the road, and mounds of debris littered the ground.
A short distance away, between a shattered television set and a lone boot embedded in the mud was a slumped form.
Adrian.
Her pulse sped up, then halted as she stumbled to his side and fell to her knees. She touched her palm to his face, gasped when she felt the coldness of his skin. “No, don’t do this.” She pumped his chest, over and over again, hard. “I won’t let you die on me. Do you hear me?”
She breathed air into his mouth, coaxed his heart to beat again. Her movements grew choppy and desperate, her hands glowing in the dark as they labored to keep him alive. She inhaled in broken sobs. “It’s not supposed to end this way.”
Turning her gaze to the blackened heavens, she implored her father for help. “Micah, I need you. Don’t take him from me. Please.”
“It’s his time.” She heard her father’s words in her mind, sharp and familiar.
