Free The Lawgivers: Gabriel by Kaitlyn O'Connor

that Gabriel was striding along the
street, selecting people from among those gathered and sending them
to stand with her. Puzzled, wondering if there was some
significance to his selection, she hesitated, watching. He seemed
to zero in on the women with children first. That made her more
uneasy at first, but then he asked each if they had a man and, when
they reluctantly pointed the man out, he sent the man she indicated
with the woman.
    Thoroughly confused by that, Lexa’s
curiosity overcame her fear sufficiently to distract her from the
search for an avenue of escape.
    She’d felt a threat in being singled
out that hadn’t dissipated a great deal when he first began
separating other people out and sending them to stand with her. As
the group surrounding her grew, however, instead of feeling an
increasing need to act, Lexa began to feel far less threatened. She
didn’t know what his intention was, but he didn’t merely choose
women, so the idea that he was picking breeders fell by the wayside
along with the suspicion that he was choosing the ‘guilty’ for
punishment. He also didn’t select only men or predominantly men—who
were far more likely to be guilty of having broken some of his
laws, she was sure—so she began to think punishment wasn’t what he
had in mind.
    Besides, he’d simply waded through the
gang members and slaughtered them. It didn’t seem unreasonable to
consider he would’ve done the same with anyone else he thought
guilty of breaking one of his laws.
    After glancing toward her, or the group
with her, several times, he finally turned to the others who were
gathered and told them they could go about their business, that he
would return for them later.
    That sounded ominous but even as Lexa
realized she’d completely mistaken his intentions, he approached
them.
    “You have been selected for relocation
and rehabilitation.”
    Lexa wasn’t alone in being completely
and totally baffled by that announcement. It didn’t sound like
punishment, but she was no longer convinced it wasn’t. She was
still trying to get up the nerve to ask what he meant when someone
else spoke up.
    “What’s that mean?”
    Gabriel stared coldly at the man who’d
spoken. “It means I’ve been ordered to take you to a place more
suitable to live so that my people can teach you how to take care
of yourselves.”
    Everybody stared at him blankly—no
doubt because they had as much trouble understanding the words
veiled by his strange accent as she did!
    “What’s wrong with what we got here?” a
woman asked in a quavering voice.
    He sent her a look Lexa found difficult
to interpret. “Beyond everything?” he asked dryly.
    “But … what if we don’t want to
go?”
    “I don’t recall asking for volunteers.
Gather up the supplies you were instructed to bring.”
    Everyone stared at him blankly. “The
food and water,” he clarified, and then glanced up at the sky. “If
we move quickly, we should be able to reach the first campsite I
selected before nightfall.”
    Everyone merely stood where they were,
gaping at him with expressions that varied from angry disbelief to
terrified suspicion. He pointed. “That way. Now!”
    Since he punctuated the command by
assuming a stance that seemed distinctly menacing—feet spread,
balled fists on his hips, a dark scowl on his face—and then lifted
his wings in such a way that he suddenly seemed twice his size the
entire group whirled enmasse and fled down the street. Lexa, a
little slower to react, was buffeted by the throng and nearly mowed
down. She stumbled but was able to keep her feet under her and leap
into motion with the others. She was carried along with the
panicked wave until they’d nearly reached the gate. She managed to
spare a look back then, however, and discovered the angel, contrary
to what she’d expected, wasn’t right behind them. He’d
vanished.
    That circumstance puzzled her, but it
was enough to prompt her to remember she’d planned to