Dying Light by Kory M. Shrum Page B

, I tell Gabriel, aware that my back
is exposed to Nikki.
    “ If you have to go, fine.”
His tone suggests it is everything but fine. “I only want to make sure
you understand that I am on your side.”
    “ You shot me in the neck,
sedated me, let my dog get kidnapped, left me and Ally trapped in a
burning building, tried to hold me hostage. Oh, I don’t know why I
must be so confused about whether or not you’re on my
side.”
    His jaw clenches. “If you need our
help, you need only ask.”
    “ I can’t sit here in your
fancy building while Caldwell has Winston. The fact that you expect
me to do that is absurd. What really pisses me off is that you
think you can just give Ally a good shake whenever you want
something from me. If you ever do that again, you’ll be lucky to
keep both your hands.”
    My firebombing power flares. Ally is
safe in the shield and Gloria is far enough away, assuming I don’t
actually explode. The flames dance up my body and I let them
simmer, despite the creepy way my skin crawls. It’s all I can do
not to squirm like I have to pee.
    “ You know what they say
about playing with fire, right?” Okay, I can be a little
melodramatic. Shoot me. What’s the point of having a fancy power if
I can’t make people back off?
    He turns toward Gloria.
    “ I want to thank you for
warning us about the bombing.” Jeremiah meets Gloria’s eyes.
“You’ve saved lives.”
    “ Damn right she did. And
don’t forget it.”
    I snap my fingers for dramatic effect,
and the flames sputter out around me. I can smell the strange
stench in the air, almost like burnt rubber. I wonder what the fire
burns from the air?
    “ Now move so I can save my
pug.”
    Jeremiah steps aside. His men do the
same. “Call us if you need us.”
    I don’t say anything more.
I don’t need to. That’s the awesome thing about being me. Just go
all fiery and walk out like, what,
bitches? What?
    We make it out of the building without
further incident, Jeremiah and his men standing illuminated in the
great foyer, watching us leave.
    The freezing December air whips around
my face, tousling my damp hair. At least Ally was smart enough to
ask for those dry clothes or I’d be completely miserable right
now.
    “ This way.” Gloria points
us down North Michigan Avenue toward the subway.
    I come up beside Ally and offer to
carry one of the three bags she packed. She lets me take
one.
    “ I need to talk to you,” I
say, adjusting the weight of the bag on my shoulders.
    “ I won’t share anything
you say with Jeremiah,” Nikki says. “I promise.”
    “ Pinkie promise?” I say,
derisively.
    Nikki’s face falls flat.
    “ Seriously, can we have a
minute alone?”
    “ Can it wait until we get
to Gloria’s?” Ally asks, pulling hair out of her mouth.
    No, because I’ve already half decided that as soon as we reach
Gloria’s, I’m taking off, but I can’t say that with Sasquatch
listening.
    I want Ally to know I’m leaving but
not to worry about me. It will never fly, but maybe I can get her
to understand if I explain it to her. I want to tell her what
Gabriel said about the earth and the shield. After all, it’s the
first real clue we’ve received about what the angels might mean.
Ally could figure out Gabriel’s warning, I just know it. And I know
she has her own secrets to share, like about this so-called sister
of mine.
    We descend the stairs to the subway.
The pale fluorescents overhead flicker as we wiggle through the
turnstile and then down another flight of stairs. At this time of
night, the platform is nearly deserted. Gabriel catches up with us
as we are stepping onto the car. His wings lay flat against his
back as if in consideration of the few other passengers riding the
train. I find it comical since they can’t even see him, let alone
get an angel feather to the eye.
    Where’d you go?
    “ I was watching,” he says.
He floods my mind with images of Jeremiah returning to the control
room. Jeremiah