Destiny's Revenge (Destiny Series - Book 2) Straight, Nancy (book club reads .TXT) 📖

him trying to absorb it. “Max, I was there in Afghanistan with you.” He cocked his head sideways as if trying to reason through what I was saying.

“When you were dragging Ski up the mountain, I was with you all day.” A bewildered expression stared back at me because he hadn’t shared anything with me about Afghanistan, the fire fight that wounded his friend, or anything about Ski at all. “I could see you, I could touch you, I was right there – you just didn’t know I was with you.”

“While you were in a coma?”

I shook my head, “No, after I woke up. The first time, I thought it was a dream.”

Max cut me off again, “The first time?” A look of wonder appeared. “How many times did you see me?”

I couldn’t help but laugh when I had to confess, “I’m not very good at it. Rewsna said I needed to practice. I was there twice: the first time you were dragging Ski up the mountain, the second time you were about to be rescued. By the way, what happened to Ski? Is he okay?”

Max stuttered for a second when he said, “He’s, he’s fine. So you were right there the whole time?”

I shook my head, “Not the whole time. The first time I was there I thought I was dreaming, I didn’t realize that I was really with you, but the second time I was really trying. Once I knew you were okay, I came back.”

“So can you go anywhere?”

I hesitated for a second, “I’m not sure. I really only wanted to see you. Once I knew you weren’t stuck on a mountain in the middle of nowhere, there didn’t seem to be a reason to do it again.”

“Wow, so you knew I was coming to see Gramps?”

“No, that was a shocker. Joe said his grandson was coming to see him, but he had never shown me a picture, so you walking through my door was a complete surprise.”

It felt good to finally fill Max in on everything, more like old times. Every minute we had spent together since his return was great, but so much had happened in a short period of time that I didn’t want to tarnish any of our bliss. This was my first real stab at trying to share everything with him.

“So this thing, you took visions from it? How?”

“I wish I knew. Rewsna says it’s a good thing, because now it shouldn’t be able to find me again.”

“Find you, again!!! What do you mean?” Horror was looking back at me through Max’s eyes, and I could feel his anxiety immediately. “It’s still out there? What is it?”

I shook my head. There wasn’t much of an explanation that I could offer that would make any sense. “I guess it is something like a demon, maybe? It is supposed to be able to shift into any shape it wants. Rewsna said it feeds on people’s spirits. She thought whatever it was – was extinct, but obviously that wasn’t the case.”

“Why you? Does Rewsna think it’s going to look for you again?”

Not wanting to lie to him, but terrified to tell him the truth, I just shrugged my shoulders. Max nearly yelled, “You are the world’s worst liar! It is coming for you, isn’t it?”

In barely more than a whisper, “It’s a possibility.”

“Lauren, tell Rewsna to come here now. Tell her I want to talk to her, now.” Max sounded fierce, a cross between fury and fear.

Without having to call to Rewsna, I heard her answer resonate in my head. “Tell Max I am on my way. It is good you finally told him. I will be there in an hour.”

Chapter 8

Rewsna pulled into the driveway, and I could feel her energy before I could see the expression on her face. She wasn’t overwrought like Max. He had been pacing for over an hour, switching between horror, madness, and anger from one minute to the next. She was here to help, and I believed her serene way not only would calm my nerves, it might even diffuse some of Max’s hysteria, too.

The three of us sat at a picnic table in the shade. Rewsna was not at all troubled with Max’s demeanor; she must have expected it. She went into a much more detailed explanation than she had with me previously.

“Max, you know how special Lauren is, but you think of her gifts as isolated parts of who she is. You must wrap your mind around the idea that her gifts have a specific purpose. Her friend Paul, whom you disliked so much - do you know she was summoned to delay his death?”

Max shook his head that he didn’t, and she continued. “There are errors in everyone’s destiny. Paul was supposed to have been killed that day with Mr. and Mrs. McMasters. The Council would not have involved Lauren had it not determined her assistance was necessary. If Paul’s murderer was not caught, he would have executed two more families in an effort to cover up his actions. To prevent those other tragedies, a murder suspect had to be caught. By Lauren intervening in Paul’s destiny, she merely delayed the inevitable, but in the process the police looked more deeply at other suspects and did find the real killer. Had she not intervened, the killer would have escaped and may never have been stopped. Involving Lauren before the man developed any level of proficiency or thirst for murder prevented the slaying of more innocents. She was critical in stopping a serial murderer-in-the-making.”

She looked at me, “I know you believe you failed Paul, but I can assure you that you did not. He saw both paths after his death, and was pleased that his family was given closure, that seven people whose destiny was not to be murdered were spared, and that he was cleared of all wrong doing. All of this was possible