Free Anathema by Maria Rachel Hooley Page B

hand and starts to lead
me back toward the crypt and Jayzee when I fight him, not that it
does much good.
    “I don’t want to go back there!” I dig in my
heels and try to jerk back, but he keeps towing me toward Jayzee
regardless. “Lev, please. I can’t go back…there.”
    My voice is filled with panic and pain, which
halts him. “Will you promise to sit here, then, and let me look
after her if I don’t force you to go?”
    “Yes.” At his point, I would promise him
pretty much anything not to have to revisit what I’ve done. It
doesn’t matter that maybe she did deserve it. She was alive, and
now she isn’t, which is all my fault, and that goes against
everything I believe.
    “Sit down,” he says quietly and waits for me
to sink to the ground before he turns and heads to the crypt. Once
or twice he looks back to make sure I’m staying put. Satisfied, he
rounds the corner and disappears. I draw my knees to my chest and
wrap my arms around them so I can lay my head on my legs. Once I’ve
settled, I close my eyes and wait, wondering how Lev will deal with
Jayzee and what will happen next.
    As I sit there, I feel myself start to drift
to sleep, so I jerk upright. Even though the dreams haven’t begun
again, I see those angelic faces, and they frighten me, and I force
myself to sit straighter, hoping that will drive away the
exhaustion. The cold night air is definitely helping on that score.
Chewing my bottom lip, my gaze keeps shooting toward the crypt,
waiting for Lev to re-emerge.
    I know I tried not to kill her. I warned her,
but she refused to listen. But knowing that doesn’t change how I
feel about what happened. I blink to see Lev return. At first, his
head is tilted to the ground, but as he walks he looks up at me, a
frown etching lines into his forehead.
    As he gets closer, I stand. “What did you
do?” I shiver.
    “Dealt with her human form.” His gruff voice
hints that he really doesn’t want to talk about this.
    “I’m sorry,” I whisper, feeling my shoulders
sag.
    “It’s not your fault,” he says, taking my
hand so he can check the bleeding. “You look like you are
freezing.”
    “Yeah. It’s colder than during the day.” I
try to brush the hair from my face, but the wind keeps blowing it
back, blocking my vision.
    “I should get you home.”
    I try to orient myself to the parking lot,
but I’m still turned around enough so I can’t even guess where it
is. “Did you drive here?”
    Lev shakes his head. “What do you think,
Elizabeth?”
    “Guess not.”
    “Are you ready to fly?”
    I nod , and he slips in front of me and wraps
his arms around my torso. Seconds later, we rise into the air
toward the bruised sky sans stars. Once again, Lev’s hold seems so
casual, not like he’s the only thing keeping me from falling to my
death, and even as we soar across the sky, all I can see are his
blue eyes staring at me. His lips are parted, and I know he must be
thinking a million things, but I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know
any of them right now.
    “Are you all right?” he whispers.
    “I don’t understand any of this. I never
meant for it to happen.” As he embraces me, I feel his warmth begin
to suffuse through me, and I’m grateful for it—anything to drive
away the wind.
    “I know,” he finally replies, taking a
cursory glance around us. It’s nice to know that angels have to
check their bearings from time to time to get to their
destinations. “It’s not exactly your fault, Elizabeth. Sometimes
things just happen.”
    “I’m scared.”
    His hands tighten their hold, but we both
know the fear has nothing to do with the sensation of being
dropped. I trust Lev with my life; I just don’t trust myself with
his.
    “It will get better.” He leans close and
gives me a soft kiss on my temple. “You have to believe that.”
    “What if it doesn’t? What if you can’t teach
me how to control these powers?”
    “There’s no point worrying about the