DEATH (The Justice Cycle Book 1) by J Kiefer (best classic books to read TXT) 📗

The stream of shadow shot through Dana so quickly that it took her a moment to register that she had been impaled. Her eyes went wide with shock when she saw the long shadow blade sticking out of her stomach. She tried to scream but all that came out was a wet gurgle as her legs lost their strength and she toppled to the ground.

Steve clapped his hands and laughed maniacally at his good fortune. “Well now, big brother, look who has come to the rescue! I knew it was only a matter of time before I would have to kill dear Dana, but who would’ve thought I’d get to kill her in front of you the way I killed you in front of her. I’ve gotta say, the man downstairs is far more helpful than the one upstairs. You chose the wrong side, brother.”

Jared tried to rise, but he felt sluggish and slow like he was moving through liquid. He had to get to Dana, but his body would not respond fast enough. He could feel Tzedakah just at the edge of his consciousness, but he could not connect with it. Even now when Dana was in mortal danger, he still could not bring himself to kill his brother. He did not trust Tzedakah because it wanted him to kill his brother; hence, the disconnect between him and the sentient sword.

Steve slugged him again, sending him back to the ground. He then reached down and grabbed him by the hair, jerked him up, and making him face Dana’s prone body.

He breathed in his brother’s ear. “Do you think she is still alive? If she is, how long do you think she has? An hour? Ten minutes? It really is a crapshoot, isn’t it? I mean, I’m not exactly precise with my aim, so I may have hit her kidney or some other vital organ. Or I may have missed everything entirely. You never know, really.”

He let go of his brother’s hair and his head dropped back to the ground. Jared lay on his stomach. Dana’s moans had stopped, and she wasn’t moving. All he could do was watch her helplessly as his brother stood over him.

“I think I’ll do this the old-fashioned way,” Steve said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a medium-sized hunting knife. “There’s no need to rush, so I might as well take my time and enjoy myself.”

A soon as he turned toward Dana, a shot rang out. Steve looked down at his chest in surprise as a large red stain formed in the center of his shirt. He looked up to see Dana on her knees with her pistol trained directly on him, holding her stomach with her other hand. Their eyes met and he saw not only recognition in them, but death. He smirked, and she unloaded her clip in his torso.

Steve stumbled back, jerking violently as the bullets ripped through his body. Click, click, click—Dana’s clip was empty. She was still dry firing when her strength finally failed, and she slumped in the grass.

The sun crested the horizon, bathing the scene in light just as Steve’s legs gave out and he toppled face-first into the river. The last thought he had before his consciousness faded away was that he hoped he’d have the chance to tell God off before he went to Hell.

Dana turned painfully onto her back. Her vision was hazy, and she knew that it was only a matter of time before she passed out. The man Steve had been assaulting gingerly rose to his feet and stumbled toward her. The lightness she felt in her head increased and she fought to stay awake as the figure approached.

She knew she should be frightened as the man reached down and lifted her head into his lap, but she didn’t have the strength. He stroked her hair and spoke something to her that she couldn’t make out. His voice not only sounded odd to her ears but a thousand miles away. Strangely, it was soothing to her. She felt that she should know it somehow.

Dana could feel herself slipping away, but she needed to know who this person was. So, with all her remaining strength, she willed herself back to consciousness. For just a moment, her vision cleared. The face that appeared before her eyes made her heart skip a beat.

As the darkness overtook her, she smiled and breathed, “I love you, Jared.”

Forty-Five

Jared watched anxiously from the tree line as Officer Lee worked to save Dana’s life. Thankfully, the officer who had found her had the hands of a surgeon and the skills of an emergency room doctor, so it did not take him long to stop the bleeding and stabilize her. Nevertheless, if she did not get to a hospital soon, she wouldn’t make it.

Tzedakah glowed brilliantly and a faint blue aura appeared around Dana’s body. She relaxed and her breathing grew steady.

“I have done what I can for her,” he said tentatively. “Now her fate is in God’s hands.”

Jared nodded. It took everything in him not to rush to her side. He desperately wanted to be with her, to be the first thing she saw when she woke up. If she woke up. The thought of her dying both infuriated him and broke his heart at the same time. Oh, how he wished he had been strong enough to kill his brother when he had had the chance. It was a regret he knew he would carry for the rest of his life, however long that would be. He silently prayed that it would not be long since the thought of living without her for even a moment was unbearable.

Both of them watched, hidden from view, as a helicopter appeared overhead. Lee leaned over Dana, shielding her from the debris kicked up by the helicopter’s rotors.

As soon as the helicopter landed, a big man wearing a brown suit and a Boston Red