Free Arianna Rose: The Awakening (Part 2) by Christopher Martucci, Jennifer Martucci

incident, powers darker than the ones that lurked inside of Lester.
    “What did she look like?” Howard asked.
    “Brown hair, dark eyes, maybe eighteen and fucking hot,” Lester answered.
    “What was her name?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “What was her friend’s name?’
    “It wasn’t a date, man.  I don’t know.  Are you going to help me now? I told you all I know.  I’m getting dizzy here.”
    Lester’s words had confirmed what Howard had sensed all along.  The Sola had been in the alley, had maimed one of the men and killed the other.  And she remained nearby.  He needed to find her and kill her before she got away, b ut not before resolving matters with Lester Vice.
    He looked at the bleeding man and spoke.  “You are a wicked and foolish man,” he charged.  “In that alley, you actually attempted to rape a soldier of the devil.”  Howard trained his gaze on Lester who looked unbothered by his words.  “And no one is coming for you,” he said then shoved the rag back inside his mouth. 
    Lester’s eyes widened in horror for a second time, but a look of arrogance never replaced it as it had earlier.  Howard stared long and hard at him, at the panicked look etching his features.  He wondered how many times Lester had caused others to make the exact face he made now.  A swell of satisfaction jolted through his core and he realized that his decision to purge the world of an awful man like Lester was the right one.  God would have wanted it. 
    Howard Kane walked out of room four-hundred-twenty-eight on the fourth floor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Hospital and ordered his men to block anyone from entering Lester Vice’s room for at least half an hour.  Lester would bleed to death, a slow and painful death deserving of a being as despicable as he .  But Howard did not feel remorse for his death.  Instead, he took hope in the fact that he had done work God would approve of , that his Maker would have had him carry out the task eventually ; he’d simply taken the initiative and done it sooner.  H e had rid the e arth of one more sinner.

Chapter 7
     
    Hours had passed since Arianna had called for Desmond in the woods, and in those hours her thoughts had continually returned to their discussion, to his words.  He had attempted to explain away his disregard for Lily by saying his mission was to protect her , and only her, the Sola.  That hadn’t been what she’d wanted to hear.  She ’d wanted to hear that her friend was okay, to have her worries allayed and questions answered.  Yet, s he had left their meeting with more questions than she’d arrived with, questions that nagged at her brain. 
    She needed answers. And if Desmond did not have them, she would find out for herself.  After a night of restless sleep, she awoke and decided she would ask Luke for yet another favor.  She would ask him to go with her to Rockdale, back to the town she’d fled with her mother less than a month ago.  With all the help he’d given her already, she felt like an ingrate asking again.  Of course, he had offered to repair her motorcycle, as well as taking her to school each morning until the work was finished.  But she had accepted. Accepting help had been foreign to her then, was foreign to her still.  Though she liked Luke and he seemed more than willing to help, motivated by his own unique set of reasons, she did not like feeling indebted to anyone.  A thin smile touched her lips as she recalled Luke telling her he was helping in hopes of someday bedding her.  He had been blunt, almost to the point of offense, yet completely charming all at once.  Yes, she liked him.  And he liked her. 
    After showering and dressing, Arianna waited outside her trailer .  Before long, s he heard the faint rumble of Luke’s pickup truck.  Within seconds, it came into sight then wheezed to a stop in front of her porch .  She noticed that Stephanie was not with him and breathed a sigh of