Destiny Gift

by Juliana Haygert

  Weak against my emotions, I opened the door and found him leaning against the doorframe, his damned sexy hair over his entrancing eyes, looking straight at me.

  I crossed my arms and placed myself in front of the door to emphasize he was not welcome. “What do you want?”

  “To apologize for what I said. Or the way I said it. Can I come in?”

  “I don’t think that’s necessary.” I reached for the door to close it.

  He put out his arm to hold the door open. He took a step closer. “Let me come in.”

  Sighing, I turned my back and walked to the small open space in the room. He closed the door and followed me inside.

  “So? I made a fool of myself, but that wasn’t enough?” I snapped, my calm temper slipping away like water through my open fingers.

  “No, no. You just left, and you weren’t in a great state. I needed to make sure you got here okay.”

  My soul wrenched inside my body, watching him run those fingers through that beautiful hair, but I still felt resentful. I spread my arms wide. “As you can see, I got here okay. You don’t need to pretend to be my babysitter. You can go now.”

  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  I glanced at the floor, praying to gather strength from somewhere. “Please, Victor, don’t make me feel worse than I already do.”

  “I never meant to make you feel bad,” he said, sounding closer.

  I glanced up. He was closer. “I don’t want your pity,” I whispered, hot tears in my eyes. “I can’t take your pity.”

  “Nadine, I do not p—”

  “Please! You’re not helping.”

  “What do you want me to say to you?” His voice took on an angry tone as he took another step toward me.

  I flinched, but felt a little relieved to see he wasn’t so calm all the time. “I don’t know. The things I wanted you to say aren’t true, so it doesn’t matter. I want you to forget everything.”

  “No, no. Say it.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it helps.”

  Helped whom? Not me anyway. He wasn’t making any sense. “Victor, go away, please.” I tried to push him back, but he wouldn’t budge. “Why are you doing this? Please, let me be.” I punched his chest. “I opened up my heart to you, and you shut me out. Please. GET OUT!”

  “I won’t! What do you want me to say?” He paced forward, making me retreat. “Want me to tell you that you get to me? That since the first time I saw you, you affected me?” His voice was high and rough. “That I tried not looking for you every time I felt the pain because I knew I would be weak and would fall for you? Do you realize that everyone I have ever loved is now dead?” He trapped me between the bed and him. “Should I tell you I’m scared of getting close to anyone because they might end up dead? That I’m scared of getting close to you? That I’m scared of losing you?”

  I was sure I had died.

  He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulled me up, and covered my mouth with his.

  God, I had dreamed of this moment so, so many times. Yet, this Victor wasn’t my Victor, was he? In truth, right at this moment, I didn’t care. All I wanted was to kiss him back.

  And I did. His mouth was sweeter than I could have hoped for, his tender lips eagerly moving against mine, his tongue exploring my mouth as if it were a new, rich land to be discovered. One of his hands traveled up my spine until his fingers knotted my hair. The other hand went down, cupping my hips. Oh, and I was over him too, my hands already under his shirt, exploring his lean, hard muscles.

  He pulled my hair back, making me tilt my chin up. Startled by how avid he was, I moaned. In my dreams, I had believed he would be gentle and calm. Very different from this Victor. And I loved every second of it.

  “By the way,” he breathed in my ear, “you’re so, so beautiful.”

  With his tongue, he traced a line down my neck to my collarbone. He bit it, scorching my skin, using his hands to press me against him. I felt intoxicated by his scent, by his touch, his breath.

  I pulled his shirt over his head and threw it on the floor. Then, he tugged on my dress. I closed my eyes and prepared myself for this moment. I had been naked in front of a guy only once before, and he had been too drunk to really care. This was going to be different. With my eyes still closed, I brushed my hair aside and gave him access to the zipper.

  A stab hurt my chest, and tingles spread over my skin.

  When I opened my eyes, I wasn’t in the room with Victor anymore.

  I was at the pub, watching over Morgan, Micah, and Brock. What the hell? What was I doing here? A ghost-type vision now? Was this a sick joke? Please, I wanted to get out of here, to get back to my room, back to Victor’s arms.

  But I couldn’t leave. An intense feeling in my gut made me approach and observe them. I pushed Victor and his sizzling touch out of my mind.

  The trio discussed something, their serious conversation interrupted by a chuckle or two. However, there was something strange going on. Whenever Micah or Morgan weren’t looking, Brock glanced to a corner in the back of the pub. I frowned, and with a feeling I was supposed to find out whatever it was, I went to the back of the pub, behind the stage. I found a corridor with dressing rooms, restrooms, and storage doors. I followed the corridor to the end to a door that led outside. I opened the door and froze.

  For a moment, I couldn’t register what I saw.

  But I knew: demons. Dozens, maybe. Large, nasty creatures with pointed teeth and crippled bodies, slobber dripping down their slanted mouths, sharp claws where fingers should be. Bats hovered over them, silhouetted by the dark skies.

  My stomach hit the floor, and nausea made me lean against the doorframe.

  What were they doing here?

  One of them, clasping a sharp spear, entered the back door and ran down the corridor. He met three humans who halted and opened their mouths to scream. Before they could emit a sound, the demon held his spear high and stabbed their hearts, deft and fast. Their bodies crumpled to the floor, and he stomped over them without losing his focus.

  I screamed. Thankfully, I was a ghost here.

  The demon stopped at the pub’s door at the end of the corridor and spied from it. Brock glanced at him. Relief showed in his features, then he nodded toward Morgan and Micah.

  The blood drained out of me.

  “Hurry,” a disembodied voice whispered.

  The whole image disappeared—the demons and bats outside, the dead bodies in the corridor, Brock nodding at Morgan and Micah—gone.

  “Nadine!” Victor held me in his arms, seated on the bed. The worried look he cast over my face touched me. I took a deep breath and counted while my pulse slowed and my breathing grew easier.

  I couldn’t believe this was happening. I couldn’t believe I would have to walk away from Victor, from this amazing moment, but if my vision was right, Morgan and Micah would be attacked soon. And the demons would also come after us.

  “I’m here,” I answered, disentangling myself from him.

  “What is it? What happened?” he asked, standing and seizing my arm, pulling me around so I would face him.

  “I’m so sorry.” God, why was this happening right now? Couldn’t my visions have waited thirty minutes? I had finally gotten some response from Victor, the real Victor. He had touched me the way the vision Victor always had, and now I had to get away from his warm, yummy body. Damn it! “You have no idea how much I want this, how much I want you, but we have to leave. Now.”

  “Wait, why?” He cupped my face. “You had a vision, didn’t you? That’s why you were so still.”

  I stepped out of his reach and grabbed my jeans, blouse, and flats—clothes I could run in. I turned to him. “I don’t know how long we have, but we’re about to be attacked.”

  Chapter Twenty Three

  Victor and I ran from my room to the pub and found the guys still at the same table, drinking and talking under the smoky light.

  “Where have you been, darling?
” Micah asked as we approached.

  I didn’t have time to play his games. Demons were about to descend. We had to get the heck out of here.

  “Brock, here”—I jabbed a finger in the man’s direction—“is setting us up. There are monsters and bats surrounding this place, waiting for his signal to strike at us.”

  “Excuse me?” Brock asked, pretending to be stunned by my accusation, but I could see past his act.

  Serious, Micah asked, “A vision?” When I nodded, he stood and grabbed Morgan by his arms. “Let’s go.”

  “Wait! Where are you going?” Brock shot up. “I didn’t finish telling you about the gateway yet.”

  Micah pivoted and punched the man, who fell over the table. “How long do we have?”

  “I have no idea.” I took a step back in case Micah wanted to hit someone else. I had seen how violent and scary he could be, and I didn’t want to be in his way. “I only saw them preparing to attack, so I don’t know when, but I know we have to hurry.”

  Startling me, Micah turned to Morgan and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. “Spill it. Do you have something to do with Brock’s plan? Are you helping him?”

  “No!” Morgan’s eyes were wide and fearful. “I swear by the love of my dear gods!”

  “Why should we believe you?” Victor asked, his voice spitting the same venom as Micah’s.

  “I-I don’t know,” Morgan said.

  Then I heard in my ear, over the pounding of the music and chatter of the bar crowd, “Trust him.” It was the same incorporeal voice from my vision.

  “Morgan is on our side,” I said, pushing Micah’s arm so he would release the grip on Morgan’s neck.

  “How do you know?” Micah asked.

  Some of his anger spilled onto me. I glared at him. “Trust me, I know.”

  His grip didn’t lessen. Morgan’s skin grew purple.

  “Let him go,” Victor said, his tone authoritarian.

  Finally, Micah released Morgan, and then turned to Victor. “Never speak to me like that again.”

  “Why?” Victor scowled. “Do you think I’m afraid of you?”

  I saw Micah’s rage surging upward and threw myself between them before it was too late. “Boys,” I called out. “We have to go!”

  This time they heard me. The three men followed me as I ran to the hotel lobby, where I stopped in front of the glass walls, motioning to the guys to stay inside with me. I didn’t know if the demons and bats were out there. Yet. As fast as I could, I told them the details of my vision—the demons, the bats, the dead people in the corridor, the look that had passed between the demon and Brock. As I spoke, I glanced around and tried to locate anything or anyone suspicious. A few customers milled around the lobby, talking to themselves and hotel workers, but I saw no demons. Or bats.

  “How are we going to get out of here?” I asked. Victor’s car was in the parking lot, yards away. Even if we made it to the car, how would we be safe? The demons seemed fast; they could easily catch up with us and yank off the car doors, like plucking wings off a ladybug.

  “I could run to the car and drive it closer to the exit,” Micah suggested.

  “I don’t think that will work,” Morgan said. “There are too many of them and too many of us. They must be tempted to risk everything to get to us. Together, we’re like a beacon of power they can’t resist.”

  “So what?” Victor asked. “We can’t stand here and wait for them to attack. Besides, they must know Brock was discovered by now.”

  He shifted, drawing nearer to me. Warmth radiated from his body. I blinked, wishing his arms were still around me, with his perfect body touching mine, his sweet kisses intoxicating me, his inebriating scent … I cleared my mind, then refocused. Control of the situation was slipping from our hands.

  “I have an idea,” Morgan said. “My aura is much weaker. I’ll go outside and check it out. Perhaps they’re still in the back, like Nadine saw in her vision, and we can run away before they see us.”

  “I don’t like it,” I said.

  “It’s all we have,” Micah said.

  As if we were voting, we turned to Victor. He shrugged. “I’m impartial. Though, I’d rather find a solution where none of us takes risks.”

  “I agree.” I glanced up at him. He returned my quick look with a warm shine in his eyes. I wondered what would happen between us when we were done with this adventure—if we survived.

  “We don’t have time to brainstorm,” Morgan argued. Then, he took off.

  I watched, wide-eyed, as he passed through the hotel’s main door and then looked up and down the street. He seemed to see nothing alarming, but I found myself twirling my hair with both hands. Beside me, Victor squeezed my wrist, causing me to stop my nervous habit and causing my heart to beat even faster.

  Through the glass walls, I saw Morgan give a shrug. He came back inside with an easy smile. “Nothing out there. Are you sure about your vision?”

  His words felt like a punch in my stomach. I didn’t like when people doubted me. I ended doubting myself too. “I-I don’t know.”

  “Just to be sure, I’ll go out again and get the car. When I pull up to the front, we leave.” He motioned to Victor who fished the car keys out of his pocket and handed them over.

  “Do your visions ever betray you?” Micah asked, his gaze following Morgan as he strode outside, then down the sidewalk.

  I thought about Micah’s question for a moment. Even if what I had seen wasn’t real—my time with Victor, for example—all the things I was told or saw in my visions had come true.

  “Never.”

  That was when Morgan ran toward the car. I squinted and stepped closer to the door, trying to see what had triggered him to run, but stopped when I saw bats descending.

  “We need to help him,” I yelled, ready to sprint outside.

  Micah’s hand on my shoulder prevented me. “Want to get yourself killed?”

  “We can’t let him get hurt.”

  At that moment, a bat landed on Morgan’s back. He fell onto the pavement. He tried to crawl away, but another bat landed beside him.

  “I’ll go,” Victor said.

  I recoiled, watching as Morgan tried to protect his face from slashing claws.

  “Don’t be stupid,” Micah snarled. “I’m the best one for this. I hope I still can repel them.”

  I didn’t like the idea of any of us going out there, but I also didn’t like the idea of leaving Morgan alone to serve as bat food. So, I didn’t stop Micah when he ran outside.

  But Morgan did. “Don’t,” he shouted, wrestling one of the bats that was trying to bite his neck. “It’s you they want. Go!”

  We didn’t have time to process. The bats’ attention turned to us just as the demons I’d seen in my vision rounded the corner of the hotel. They hurtled toward us and growled like gorillas, saliva streaming out of their gaping mouths and baring sharp teeth. Yellow eyes burned with pure death and desire.

  I froze. Victor and Micah pulled me back, though I had no idea where we could run to, especially since Brock was coming toward us, holding a gun pointed at my face.

  The guys stiffened, and my knees quivered, threatening to buckle. Brock shoved his way through the lobby, pushing the doorman to the ground. A woman saw him and screamed, shifting the attention to us.

  “Turn around and step outside,” Brock ordered.

  “Or what?” Micah asked, clenching his fists.

  “The demons won’t like it, but I’ll kill the girl.” Brock pulled the gun’s safety off.

  Behind me I felt Victor move, and then a lamp flew past me, smacking Brock in the temple. His gun wobbled, and Micah jumped at Brock and punched him again. Hard.

  When Brock seemed too weak to stand alone, Micah let go.

  Victor grabbed me. “What now?” His arms around my shoulders tried to steady me as I shook uncontrollably. My head spun. I heard women scream and men yell, but Victor and Micah didn’t seem to care that the customers an
d staff were freaking out around us.

  Scenes flashed in my mind. The front desk, two guns under a table, a back door, a covered alley.

  “We find another way out.”

  In four steps, I reached the front desk. I jumped over it and, from inside, opened the side “employees only” door for Victor and Micah.

  A hotel employee ducked and tried to hide.

  “Shut the door,” Victor ordered. The employee nodded and pressed a button that canceled the automatic opening of the front door. I doubted the barrier would hold the demons for long, but the closure had gained us a few precious seconds.

  From under the table, I took the guns and passed them to the guys. Micah didn’t hesitate, while Victor took one with wide eyes.

  Scratching sounds came from the main door.

  “How can we get out of here?” Victor asked.

  “Here,” I said, opening a door that led farther in. I turned to the employee cowling in the corner. “Where does the alley in the back lead to?”

  “A-a department store. Then, a residential building.” His voice cracked.

  As we closed the door behind us and ran down a long corridor, a strident bell warned us that the front door had been breached. The demons were now inside the hotel, hunting.

  Micah opened a door labeled “Exit” and stuck out his head.

  “Not that one,” I said.

  He quickly closed the door again. Something bumped into it—hard. I winced.

  We continued down the hall until we found another exit. Confident but holding my breath, I opened the door and stepped into a narrow, dark alley. It had a low zinc roof to protect passersby from rain, but in this case, the roof protected us from being devoured.

  “What was that?” Micah asked as we ran down the slippery alley. “You knowing what to do?”

  “Visions.”

  “Really?” He showed me a half-smile. “Interesting.”

  I nodded, though I wasn’t sure “interesting” was the right word.

  Soon the hotel was behind us and the wall of the alley gave way to a steel fence.

  “This must be the residential building,” Victor said, spying through the fence. I only saw a garage filled with cars. “Any more tips from here?”