Death by Tara Brown Page A

and blood work done."
    His fingers bite into my arm and we are standing on the porch of the old
mansion. The redhead is standing on the porch, as if waiting for us. "It
might be easier to give her back her memories."
    The redhead stands, "Do you remember me?"
    I nod, "Somehow. I know you but not in a memory."
    She shrugs, "Good enough for me. This way is better. No more mopey
Aimee."
    I frown, "Hurtful."
    She shrugs, "It's the truth. You were god awful to be around. One
minute it was Shane then it was Aleks and then it was Shane and then it was
none of them and you were kissing Dorian here in secret and thinking no one
knew." She rolls her eyes and storms into the house.
    I glance back, "Dorian. I know you. I know you all."
    He grins, "Not quite as well as I would have you know me."
    I blush and turn to walk back into the house. He grabs my arm and spins
me. His lips meet mine. The intensity is there but the hunger isn’t. His kiss
is passion and darkness. I know I shouldn’t kiss him, but I want to.
    "Stop kissing her and go get Aleks. He won't leave until we kill
Jon."
    He lets me go and looks over me at the redhead, "Lorri, it can wait
one more day."
    "No. Do it now, and stop messing with the plan." Her tone is
sharp.
    He steps away from her and then is gone.
    I look back at her, "How do you know him?"
    Her eyes glass over, "He's my best friend."
    "He's a good kisser. Weird and kinda creepy but, wow."
    She rolls her eyes and takes my hand, "Come on. I want to show you
something."
    She pulls me inside and down the dark hallway. Her hands are hot.
Uncomfortably hot.
    "What are you?"
    "Angel. Didn’t Lydia explain?"
    I nod, "She did. I just don’t get it. I don’t believe in God. I
believe in science."
    She stops and looks at me, "He believes in you. Why do you think he
asked me to fall?"
    I shake my head, "I can't see it. It doesn’t feel real."
    She snorts sarcastically, "Well it is. It felt real on my end. Let
me tell you."
    "Can you show me?"
    She looks uncomfortable and then puts her hand up, "Lace you fingers
through."
    I do it and instantly I am somewhere else. Her voice narrates in my mind.
It's soft and distant.
    "The mountaintop was a vantage point I didn’t get to
appreciate often. I sat on the stones of the ruins, where once a long time ago
Adam met Eve and the world fell apart.
    The darkness was chasing the sun across a plain in front of
me. It felt like the battles going on in the cities below. Good was chased to
every corner and snuffed out by the dark that somehow always felt stronger. I
wanted to be indifferent to it all. I wanted to watch them kill each other and
not get involved, but I knew my turn was coming. I could feel it in the
electrically charged air all around me. Even there on the mountaintop, the
sparks of the changing winds reached for me. He was calling me.
    "Daughter."
    I glanced up into the shifting skies, where his voice
beckoned me to the meeting place. I had ignored the call as long as I could. I
closed my eyes and when I opened them I was there, at the meeting place.
    I stood amongst the columns of the old world. The world
where we could see his light and feel his presence. The old world where many of
us were no longer welcome. None of the fallen could ever enter. It was the last
haven for my kind.
    I watched as light slithered silently along the cold stone
columns and floor. It found me, even in the small corner where I stood in the
shadows.
    A voice, a soft whisper that blew through the drafty stone
columns spoke to me. "You must save them, you must save my creations. You
will select four to go with you and you will fight for them. Only from the
ground may you defend them. Only from the earth will you find success."
    I couldn't breathe or gasp. The air sat stuck in my
windpipe. I remained silent as I processed the request.
    Finally, I was able to speak. "You wish me to fall as
others have?"
    A snake filled with doubt and fear slid through my insides,
wriggling and twisting.
    "I