Second Sight (31 page)

“
But how could the powers
do that? Would that have happened if an angel had absorbed the
blow?”

“
No,” he admits, turning
his gaze toward the stars. “But you humans are different. Your body
is formed differently and composed of things which houses a soul.
We don’t work that way. The best I can figure is the energy assumed
it was being transferred into another a new object not a living
being.”

I lick my lips, trying to wrap my head around
this new chain of events, but I can’t. It seems so weird. “So what
does that mean for us?”

“
That you got your wish.
I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

What a strange
answer
, I think. “Why?” I ask.

“
Elizabeth, you absorbed an
energy source meant to kill angels. Until we figure out how that
works, I don’t want you to be around those who might want to
somehow channel that power.”

I gasp and shake my head. “So what you’re
telling me is I might be some kind of a weapon? Could I hurt
you?”

He shakes his head. “I don’t know. I wish I
did.”

I have that queasy, rolling stomach feel even
if Lev weren’t holding me far above land. Nothing like knowing
you’re a time bomb to make you wonder how the rest of your life is
going to play out.

Maria Rachel Hooley has written over twenty
novels, including New Life Incorporated, When Angels Cry, and the
Sojourner series. Her work has been featured in numerous
publications such as Green Hills Literary Lantern, Westview, and
Kimera. Her first chapbook of poetry, A Different Song, was
published by Rose Rock Press in 1999. She is a high school teacher
and lives in Oklahoma with her husband and three children. You can
see more of her work at http://www.mariarachelhooley.com