Destiny's Wrath (Destiny Series - Book 3) by Straight, Nancy (read full novel .txt) 📗

The police have obtained a confession from Jacobs for these vicious murders. Reports have surfaced that Jacobs was a home-grown terrorist and speculation is that he murdered all nine people to keep his alleged bombing plot under wraps.

Jacobs’ attorney was not available for comment . . .”

The article provided graphic detail of the incident. I finished reading the article and felt sick to my stomach. “Should we call Dakota?”

Max didn’t look at me. Staring off into the distance, he murmured, “I’m sure she already knows.”

“What should we do?”

Max shook his head, “There’s not much we can do. The kid made a choice.”

I leaned heavily into the couch, hoping to disappear into it. I hadn’t seen Renny since the day Dakota brought the kid to our house. Renny had been a make shift mentor and friend, right up until the moment that she and the Council showed up, prepared to murder Max.

A demon, Samael, had taken up residence in Max. Max seemed to be able to control Samael, to keep him from taking over. At the time, I worried that one day Max might not be able to control Samael; I know Max worried about the same thing. Renny and her Council were prepared to take Max’s life that day in an effort to eradicate Samael. I know I would have been collateral damage. Whether they had laid a hand on me or not, the loss of Max would have destroyed me.

Max is the only man I’ve ever loved, the only one ever to infiltrate my dreams, the one whose touch makes my toes curl. The thought of losing him was unbearable; it still is. I would have done anything that day, including opening fire on the Council, whether or not Renny was my friend. Luckily, it didn’t come to that.

It’s hard to describe the relationship between the Council and the Cabinet. Both are made up of people, all mortals, but each has the ability to influence emotions in the people they choose to affect. The Council is made up of people who influence “positive” emotions; the Cabinet is made up of people who influence “negative” emotions in people. I’m sure there is a more complex description than that, but my simple explanation is accurate. Dakota is on the Cabinet and is able to insert “doubt” in a person’s thoughts. She once told me this was her way of helping people make good choices. Renny is on the Council and she influences “confidence,” so she, too, uses her influence to steer people to better choices. I’m not convinced either group is necessarily bad or good; the only thing I do know is the two people who are opposite one another cannot stand to be physically near each other.

The day the Council, with Renny, showed up at the house to kill Max, Dakota arrived out of nowhere. She brought with her a new host for Samael. A willing host, Jimmy Jacobs was a kid who wanted a demon inside him. At the time it seemed like a great solution, the only way out of the nightmare. The whole Cabinet showed up with her and escorted Jimmy away. Since that day, Max and I have had months of bliss.

Every now and again, conversations migrated to Samael, but more as a mechanism to cope with the situation, to talk through the fact that he no longer had a hold on either of us. We had, in all earnestness, gotten on with our lives.

Staring at the newspaper in my hands, I wondered what could have been done differently. If Samael had remained in Max, we would both surely be dead: maybe by Samael’s hand, maybe by the Council’s. I watched Max stand up and absently walk into another room. I could hear him pick up the phone and dial.

Max’s voice echoed down the hallway, “Hi, Dakota?” My heart sank. “It’s Max, Max Meyer. Have you seen the paper today?” There was a long pause. Max re-entered the room and turned on a news channel with a special report being broadcast. He sounded full of remorse, “This is my fault. I told you I didn’t care what happened. It’s my fault those nine people are dead.” More silence. I could see the turmoil in Max; I wanted to reach out to him, but I stayed planted on the sofa. I could only hear his half of the conversation, but I felt my world beginning to crumble in front of me.

Max held the phone away from his ear and looked at it: Dakota must have hung up on him. Max turned to me, his eyes full of grief, “What a bitch! She says there’s nothing we can do for the kid. She said he knew the repercussions when he agreed to let Samael in.”

Mortified by her dismissal of the situation, I nearly shouted, “Repercussions? How could the kid possibly know the repercussions?”

I knew what I needed to do. I hadn’t used my “power-of-sight” in months, but I could look in on Jimmy right now. I pulled myself off the couch and made my way to the bedroom. As I lay there looking at the ceiling, I began to question this plan. Maybe I would be better off trying to contact Renny? But I had broken all contact with her, severed whatever ties the two of us had the day Samael had been exorcised from Max. I could hire a lawyer for the kid, maybe a doctor – heck maybe even a priest. As I lay on the bed, I dismissed each one of these options right now. The only thing I knew was I couldn’t lie here pretending it didn’t happen.

As I lay there arguing with myself, I remember Renny once told me I had the power to change peoples’ destinies. I never asked how it worked; at the time I was just floored with the knowledge. Somehow lives were mapped out well before people were born. This kid, Jimmy, hadn’t been destined to have a demon