Collide by Ashley Stambaugh Page A

though? Showing her how to use her powers was the one way he could help her, and he had shown her all he could. Now the rest was up to her.
    Adelia had told her that to have complete control over the powers, to make them not have a painful reaction and not overload her and kill her, she had to help a select individual with his problems. And that select individual for her was Lee. But what she didn’t understand was why she couldn’t get the powers to fully work for her. Why couldn’t she bring her light shield up on command? Why couldn’t she block out people’s thoughts and the feelings from the visions? What was she doing wrong?
    Walter had told her to get rid of the doubt and she thought she had. So what else could it be? She was lost in thought and was nowhere near ready to get out of the shower, but she didn’t have much of a choice when the water suddenly turned cold.
    She turned off the faucet, wrung the water out of her hair, and stepped out of the tub. After she dried off, she slid into her bathrobe and combed her hair out before she blow-dried it. Using a roller brush, she slowly brushed through her hair and made sure it was completely dry before turning off the blow-dryer. She applied more ointment and a fresh bandage to her wrist and then sat down at her small vanity table to put on her make-up.
    After dressing herself in a dark green, long-sleeved cotton shirt, jeans, and brown flats she made her way into the kitchen and had a bowl of cereal with a glass of orange juice. When she finished with her breakfast, she remained at the table for a while. She didn’t want to leave her apartment, but the clock said that Tessa, and probably Gwen, would be showing up to help open the store in about half an hour.
    She reluctantly stood up from her chair, placed her dishes in the sink, and went back to her bathroom and brushed her teeth. When she came back into her bedroom, she heard a loud knocking sound coming from downstairs. She ran into the living room and pushed aside the curtain to peer out the window. The mail carrier was standing at the front door of the bookstore with two large boxes.
    “What is he doing here so early?”
    He knocked one more time, and when he still didn’t receive an answer, he set the boxes down by the front door and left.
    “No,” Melina said as she stamped her foot. “Why didn’t you just take them with you and come back later?” She let out a frustrated sigh as she closed the curtain and turned around. She didn’t want to go downstairs until Tessa arrived, but that wouldn’t be for another thirty minutes, and she couldn’t risk leaving the boxes outside for someone to possibly damage or steal.
    Okay. The demons know that I work in the store downstairs, but we’re not even open yet, so why would they think I was there right now? If I’m quick enough, I can make it down to the boxes, bring them inside, and then run back upstairs.
    She took in a deep breath and headed downstairs. There wasn’t much sunlight coming in through the windows so Melina tiptoed over to the side wall to turn on the lights. She reached her hand out to flip the switches up when she saw a shadow flash by on her right.
    With her hand frozen in place, she turned her head slightly to see what it was. She scanned the room, but it was hard to see around the bookcases with the lights off. At first she didn’t see anything and thought her paranoid mind was playing tricks on her. But as her eyes started to adjust, she noticed the pair of glowing red eyes in the back left corner of the room.
    “Oh no.”
    Melina spun around and darted for the front door. If she could get out in the open where other people might be, there was a chance the demon wouldn’t come after her. But just like before, she wasn’t quick enough.
    The demon grabbed her left arm and flung her backward into the side of the nearest bookcase. Her head and back slammed hard against the wood, causing several books to fall from the shelves onto the