Karma (Karma Series) by Donna Augustine Page B

than with him but why should she be the one whose life was stolen? If I was Karma, shouldn't I get some discretionary power?
    “ What if it's not enough? What if I don't agree?” I asked in a hushed voice as we approached their campsite. I could hear the screaming clearly now.
    “ We don't decide what the job is, we just do it.”
    “ This doesn't make sense to me. If the universe can stop me from killing him, why can't it do this itself?”
    “ Some people are just born slightly out of reach.”
    “ Of the universe?”
    “ Yes.”
    “ But why not have me kill him like the last guy?”
    “ I don't know. Maybe rotting in a jail cell for fifty years is the way things need to play out.”
    “ You're Fate. Is that what will happen?”
    “ If you do this, then yes.”
    Neither of us spoke as we walked the final distance. I knew exactly what was going to happen next. I'd seen it like a movie clip replaying in my head.
    We stopped right outside their clearing and then Fate made a move to walk closer.
    “ What are you doing? Is that safe?”
    “ They won't see us because they aren't supposed to.”
    Fate walked into the area, not far from where they had their campfire. He was as clear as day, the fire illuminating him in an alarming way but neither of the occupants noticed him. But their chocolate lab was staring right at Fate.
    The dog definitely knew he was there. I could hear a low growl but he didn't make a move toward Fate. The couple was too busy arguing to notice something amiss with their dog.
    Feeling more confident, I stepped out beside him.
    He leaned his head down slightly to the side. “You can talk.”
    “ How do they not see us or hear us? Are we invisible?”
    “ We’re just as tangible as we were a few hours ago, just shielded from view.”
    The man went back from arguing to screaming again. He was carrying on and on about her flirting with someone, all while she denied it.
    The man was twice her size and loomed over the small brunette. Her hands were shaking as she cowered. He'd hit her before, even if I hadn't seen it, I'd know it. The evidence was there in her very stature, the pleading in her large eyes. She was scared.
    I wanted to scream at her. You knew what he was capable of. Why did you stay? Why didn't you leave before now?
    I cringed be cause I knew what was coming. His large fist connected with her stomach. I flinched with the pain she must have felt. And I also realized, whatever was going to happen, right now he didn't intend to kill her. He hit her somewhere that could be hidden and not on her face. So what was going to changed things? That part I hadn't seen.
    I watched her bent over form, hoping the outcome I'd seen was wrong. Maybe it would be okay. She straightened a nd I saw a look in her eyes I recognized. Something had snapped. The fear was gone.
    Oh no, lady, this was not the time to get some balls. This was a time for her to cling to fear because it might save her life. Fear isn't always bad. Sometimes it's the lighthouse on the shore telling you to steer out of the storm.
    Don't do it. “Please.” I looked upward.
    Fate turned to me and I thought I saw regret in his face as well but he turned back to the scene quickly.
    She straightened to her full height of a foot less than him. “You bastard! I'm leaving you and if you try to stop me I'll fucking kill you!”
    His hands struck out and were on her throat. He actually lifted her from the ground just by her neck. She grasped at his arms and clawed at his face. Her feet kicked wildly but never hit their target. He was choking her to death.
    I didn't think about what I should do or not do, I reacted. Fate lunged for me but missed. I caught myself before I fell over the log that appeared in front of me. I ducked a branch and then another one, somehow untouchable now that I was desperate. I leapt on his back before he even knew I was there, and with a knowledge I'd never had in my human life, sprang into action. I broke the