Tightening my fists at my sides, I glared at her. “No freaking way, Nora.” My tone was low, tight. “I’m going. Don’t try and stop me. I won’t warn you again.”
Nora flinched. We stood for what seemed an eternity face to face, her gaping, me glowering. Finally, she shook her head in a gesture of defeat. “You’re threatening me now? That’s what we’ve come to?”
“That’s what you’ve brought us to. I don’t have time to talk about relationships right now, Nora. You know this. Or maybe you just don’t care about what it really means to be a guardian anymore.”
Her face reddened.
Good, I thought, maybe I pissed her off enough to finally leave me the hell alone.
“Nora, let her go,” a voice behind me echoed. Hadraniel.
I stiffened. He took me by surprise, not only had I not known he was in the room, but also because he was willing to let me go. I whirled around to face him.
“You’re letting me leave?”
“In your state, I don’t see that any of us have much of a choice, but I agree, you should go.”
Arms crossed over my chest, I studied him. “What’s the catch?”
Hadraniel shot me with a soft, friendly smile. “No catch. I talked with Anael. She convinced me you’ve grown in your abilities since you were nearly captured the last time you were out. I trust you won’t prove her wrong.” The threat in his words was subtle. So much so, it would have been missed by most, but there it was, not only in his words but also in the piercing gaze he leveled on me.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Hunter won’t like her leaving,” Nora piped in, bursting my freedom bubble.
I gave her a fierce stare.
She ignored me and kept her focus on Hadraniel.
I was about to give her my uncensored opinion, but Hadraniel stole my thunder, only in a calm-before-the-storm kind of way. “You and Braydon can accompany Cassandra, along with a team of angels. All of you will watch for any threats to her while she does her job.”
Unsure how I felt about that, I wasn’t going to argue. I guess it wasn’t a bad thing to have someone watching my back. Out there, I was fair game. Caleb’s minions had come after me before, and it could happen again. While I felt more powerful and sure of my abilities now, it didn’t hurt to have extra ammo.
“Hunter would definitely not agree,” Nora argued. Again. I wanted to punch her.
“Jesus, Nora,” I said. “Cut the Team Hunter bullshit or go find his ass so you can kiss it in person.”
She swung her gaze at me, nostrils flaring, eyes practically bulging out of their sockets. “Dammit, Cassie. I’ve had it with your little temper tantrums. I’m only trying to help you.”
“You want to help me?”
“Yes. If you weren’t so damn stubborn—”
“If you want to help me, then help me. Come with me. Don’t stand in the way of what little freedom I have here. Let me worry about Hunter later. He’s my problem anyway, not yours.”
“I’ll deal with Hunter,” Hadraniel said as he stepped between us. He turned his attention to Nora. “You will go with Cassandra. That wasn’t a request.”
Whatever look he gave her caused her to bow her head.
“Now all of you, go.” He dismissed us with the swipe of one hand. “Before the poor soul is lost because his guardians can’t play nice.”
“C’mon, Cassie.” Braydon urged me forward with a gentle touch on my lower back.
We made our way toward the entrance of the training room where I noticed a group of angels already waiting in the hallway. I didn’t bother to check over my shoulder to see if Nora followed.
To be honest, I really didn’t care.
***
Most people would feel blessed to have a group of angels watching over them. I wasn’t most people. It might have had something to do with the fact I’d been snubbed by them for the last few months, or simply that my blood pumped to the beat of a darker drum. Needless to say, I didn’t offer them a cheery welcome when our group joined them in the hallway, nor did I get one in return. Geared up and ready for battle, they were military statues with stoic expressions, there to do a job, nothing more.
Nora joined us as I was giving a quick summary of my vision. I glanced in her direction, but she quickly turned to talk with one of the angels. It was deliberate avoidance, and I knew then our relationship had changed. The new tension between us seemed irreversible. No time to deal with it now.
Being with the angels did have its advantages. Travel was… well, instantaneous. It was a power both angels and demons held, but somehow I hadn’t inherited it. Command of my powers was still developing, however, so I had hope it would yet transpire. I also hadn’t dismissed the possibility Hadraniel was blocking me from using that particular one to keep me under his watchful eye. Nothing surprised me anymore.
We arrived at the construction site, on the outskirts of the fenced area. No one around us seemed to think it strange we appeared out of nowhere, but I imagined the angels had something to do with that too. People continued to mill around, going about their normal, daily bustling lives, walking around us as we stood in the middle of the sidewalk staring at the workings inside the fence.
The site was exactly as it had appeared in my vision. Workers shouted over the drone of machines to one another, clouds of dust billowed all around and sparks flew as metal clanked against metal. The shell of the building was growing piece by constructive piece. Each worker seemed to know exactly what he or she needed to do, but every one of them was oblivious to the fact someone was about to die.
My plan was to find the victim and get him out of the way of the crane before it had a chance to crush him. How I was going to do that had yet to be determined. Nothing new there. Nora had volunteered to go with me. At first I wanted to argue, but I realized it was just out of spite, and it wouldn’t hurt to have someone close by. Regardless of what had transpired between us, I knew she wouldn’t let anything happen to me.
While Nora and I searched out the victim, the angels went to scout out any threats in the area. To the mortal eye, they’d appear as normal Joes, blending into a society that barely noticed their surroundings anyway. Their weapons, armor, and undeniable beauty were veiled so as not to draw any attention.
“Do you see him?” Nora asked when we walked through the opening in the fence.
I scanned the area and spotted the crane. The operator was inside, but the man with the earphones wasn’t around.
“No.” I pointed. “But that’s the crane.”
“Okay, let’s go over there. Maybe you can distract the operator before the guy even gets close.”
I nodded, and we set off but didn’t get far. A big bulk of a man came out of nowhere and blocked our way.
My heart jumped out of my chest at the same time I heard Nora gasp.
“You two can’t be here,” he shouted.
“They’re here for routine inspections.” Braydon had come up from behind us to stand in front of the man with us at his back.
Frowning, the man looked up at Braydon. The guy was at least a head shorter than the angel. He rubbed the back of his neck and opened his mouth to say something, but whatever it was never came out. Mouth still agape, his gaze was transfixed on Braydon.
“They’re on your itinerary for the day.” Braydon nodded in the direction of the clipboard the man had tucked underneath his arm. “You can check.”
The man seemed in a trance for a moment, as if processing the information Braydon had just given him. He blinked once and pulled out the clipboard.
I held my breath, knowing we couldn’t have been listed on his itinerary.
Opening the metal cover, he examined the contents and nodded. “Yes, okay, that’s right.” He shook his head. “Don’t know how I missed that. Where would you like to start?” His gaze darted back and forth between the three of us.
Braydon spoke up, “Actually, I have some paperwork I’ll need you to look over with me. The la
dies know what they need to do. Do you have a mobile office we could go to?”
The man hesitated, and for a moment I thought he might argue, but Braydon grabbed his upper arm and the man stared up at him again.
“Mr. Bilcron, your office?”
The man bobbed his head. “Yeah, okay.”
Braydon urged me on with a nod as he led Mr. Bilcron away.
The tension released from my body, and I glanced at Nora. She let out a whoosh of breath. After finding our break, we turned towards the crane.
“Wait,” the foreman called out.
I froze.
“Mr. Bilcron,” I heard Braydon say, his voice smooth, but demanding at the same time.
I thought about continuing to walk but froze when the man approached, fast. I turned to face him.
“You’ll both need to wear hard hats. It’s mandatory for anyone on site.” He tapped his own yellow, battered one.
“Of course,” I said to him. “Where can we get them?”
“There’s a barrel of extras over there.” He pointed to a fluorescent orange barrel off to the side of the entrance. “You can pick one from there.”
I thanked him, and Nora and I set off to get a couple hardhats from the barrel. He watched us, a confused expression on his face until Braydon approached, capturing his attention once again. With a clear path to the crane in sight, I made a beeline to it with Nora in tow.
My eyes were focused on the crane, trying to key in on any distinctive shadows inside with the operator, but I couldn’t make anything out. I turned to the building and spotted the man from my vision walking around the structure checking various areas of the floor and ceiling braces. He wasn’t paying attention to the crane.
The operator was distracted with the load he was maneuvering so he didn’t see Nora and I come around the back and over to the other side of the crane.
“Anything?” Nora whispered.
I looked into the elongated window but still couldn’t see any shadows that didn’t belong.
“No,” I said over my shoulder.
We had to walk alongside the crane as it crept toward the building. I peeked in frequently. As we drew close to the building, the man in the structure began to shout and wave his hands. The actions had been the same in my vision. My heart raced, adrenaline pumping again for what I knew was coming, but when I glanced into the crane, there was still no sign of the shadow.
What the hell?
The crane stopped.
“Isn’t this when—” Nora started.
With a curse from the operator, the crane began to reverse.
“Shit. Something’s wrong.” I spun around in search of the worker with the earphones, and spotted him about twenty feet behind, his back to us, completely unaware of what was taking place. Without concern for our covert positions, I grabbed the handle of the crane door, swung it open and jumped inside.
The operator jumped in his seat as he faced me, eyes wide eyes, mouth open. The crane jerked to a halt.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
I wasn’t prepared to answer him. I wasn’t prepared for anything. Every move I’d made so far came from pure adrenaline.
“I… uh…”
I glanced out the back window to see that we’d stopped about ten feet away from the man with the earphones. He’d turned to face the crane, narrowing his eyes in our direction, no doubt trying to figure out what was going on. His gaze strayed to one side, and I glanced over my other shoulder. He was watching Nora, who stood next to the crane, anxiously darting her eyes between him and me.
It took me a moment to realize this was the first time I’d seen his face, and I looked directly at him. In the vision, I’d never had the chance.
Wait a minute. He’d seen the crane. Would that be enough to change his fate? Was my job here done?
“Hey,” the operator shouted to me.
I turned to him with every intention of spitting out some half-assed apology and getting the hell out, but his hand was resting on one of the levers attached to the console, and I couldn’t seem to take my eyes from it. Darkness descended over me, like a thick blanket being laid upon my soul, smothering it. A shiver passed down my spine. I closed my eyes and worked my neck, silently waiting for a coherent thought to tell me what was happening. A tiny voice inside my head kept telling me this body wasn’t mine, while another, deeper, more powerful one demanded my job was not yet done here.
“I asked what the hell you’re doing in here?”
The angry words from the operator quieted the voices in my head like a whistle in a crowded room. They fused together inside, binding into one echoing call of duty.
With a sweet smile aimed at him, I quietly locked the door behind my back.
“I’m going to have to ask you to leave, sir.”
He shook his head. “What?”
“I’m taking over.”
His eyebrows furrowed. “The hell you are.”
“Exactly.”
After a quick wave goodbye, I made him disappear.
With him gone I took to his seat and started working the controls of the crane. I’d never manned one before, but somehow I knew exactly what each lever, button, and pedal did. I hit the lever for reverse and put my foot on the gas.
The crane inched backward. Out of nowhere, Nora was at the passenger door, slapping her hand on the window, yelling through the Plexiglas. My head spun and I checked over my shoulder, careful not to meet her gaze when I saw the man was backing away. The crane lurched to a stop when I hit the brake.
“Cassie, what are you doing?” Nora yelled once she got her footing back.
Our gazes met through the window for a split second, and in that brief moment, something within me cried out as if in pain. It paralyzed me, and for a few flashes in time, I could do nothing but stare at one large button on the dash of the crane, my hand hovering over it.
“Cassie, no.”
Nora’s cry broke the spell, and my hand dropped down on the button.
CHAPTER NINE
A loud crash and several screams sounded near me, and I jerked in the seat of the heavy equipment. My hand hovered over a button on the dash, and I snatched it back as if I’d been burned. Relief washed over me when I snapped my head up and saw a slab of cement dangling from the crane clasps above, but utter confusion remained.
What the hell had happened?
A rustling noise caught my attention off to the side, and I had to strain my eyes to see through the cloud of dust, but eventually I spotted Nora’s form standing and helping someone else up. I rotated in the seat and moved to the passenger’s side window to get a better view.
Nora’s glare over her shoulder burned into me through the glass, but with her sideways stance, I was able to see the man standing behind her. Bending down, he picked up the earphones. No doubt in my mind who he was.
So, I hadn’t killed him, but how close had I come? Pushing that button to release the block of concrete over the man was so clear in my mind, but it hadn’t actually happened. Thank God it hadn’t happened, but the act of doing it had obviously run through my head. In my mind, I’d killed the man. Not the shadow… me. And I’d liked it. No, I thrived on it. The memory created a heavy darkness in my heart I wasn’t sure I’d ever shed.
I opened the door of the crane and took a step down when Nora stalked toward me, fire in her eyes.
“Is he okay?” I asked.
“Stay the fuck away from him, Cassie.” She jabbed a finger in my direction as she stepped closer.
I froze next to the crane… staring at her in disbelief.
“I mean it.” Her jaw clenched. “Don’t go anywhere near him,” she hissed.
With arms out and palms up, I shook my head in defeat. “Nora, I didn’t…”
“I saw you. I saw what you were going to do.”
“I didn’t know what I was doing. Something just came over me… I don’t know…”
Nora closed her eyes for a moment and whe
n she opened them back up, I witnessed the sadness in their depths. “There’s something wrong with you, Cassie. You’ve changed, and I don’t know what it is. Ever since you got back from Hell, you haven’t been the same. I’m actually afraid of you now. Afraid of what you’re becoming, and scared for who you’ll hurt in the process.” Her eyes filled with tears threatening to brim over. “I can’t help you anymore. I just… I just can’t.”
She turned away from me but was stopped short by Braydon and the other angels when they all approached on the run.
“What happened?” Braydon asked.
All I could do was stand there, frozen by my thoughts and fears. Nora had been my friend through everything, by my side for every shocking thing that had transpired in my life during the last few years. And now, because of actions I seemed to have no control over, I’d lost her. I’d lost Hunter, and after what happened here, I was sure to lose my parents. Whatever was inside of me, eating away at my soul, was making damn sure I’d face it all alone.
I had no idea how to stop it.
“It’s over,” Nora said. She motioned toward the man, who was now standing about twenty feet away, rubbing the back of his neck and shaking his head as another man questioned him. “He’s safe. We’re done here.”
I’d held my breath, waiting for her to explain my part in the whole incident to the angels. Instead, she marched toward the entrance of the site without another word. My breath came out in a slow, steady stream. I had no idea if she was giving me a temporary reprieve, but I wasn’t about to ask.
Braydon’s questioning gaze fell on me and I nodded.
He came close and cupped my cheek with his hand. “You’re okay?”
I let my head fall to his chest, unable to look him in the eyes. “Yeah.”
His arms wrapped around me. “You’re shaking.”
I took another deep breath to try and steady my nerves. “It’s just… It’s been awhile since I’ve done this. I need rest to come down from it all.”
“Well, then let’s get you home.” He kept one arm around me as he steered me toward the entrance.
Angel Of Fate (Fate Series Book 3) Page 8
