Destiny Gift (The Everlast Trilogy) - By Juliana Haygert Page 0,52

almost empty except for one customer and two attendants inside the diner.

“Not only his,” Micah said. “Yours too. And mine, but for some reason, they prefer not to come too close to me.”

“What else do you know?” I asked.

“Not much more,” he said. “Since my parents died, I’ve been experiencing certain things. Weird things. One of them is the ability to feel when a person has a different and strong aura. And the three of us have strong, unusual auras.”

“Three beacons,” I whispered.

“Yes, our auras together become like beacons, calling the bats and whatever else,” Micah said.

Victor gave him a sidelong look. “Do you expect me to believe this shit?”

“Believe what you want,” Micah snapped. “I’m just telling you what I know.”

“And the pain?” I asked, interrupting them before the bickering increased. “Did it start after your parents’ deaths too?”

“Nope.” He shook his head. “It started a few days earlier.”

“Wait.” Victor raised his hand as if he was asking for a time out. “You also have pain?”

Micah’s brow creased. “What do you mean, also?”

I answered before Victor could. “You two have pain. And, so far, I’ve been able to take it away with my touch. For both of you.”

Both guys gaped at each other.

Micah stepped closer to Victor. “Back to your question: Do I expect you to believe all that? Hell yeah! If you’re like me, the aches you feel are inexplicable, and yet you won’t believe the bats want to chew on us specifically?” He snickered. “If you didn’t believe, why did you come?”

“You want to know why I’m here?” Victor asked, clenching his fists. “I’m here because she”—he pointed at me—“has visions about me. She knows everything about me and I just met her. I gotta figure that out. Besides, she’s the only one that can lessen the ache.”

Well, that hurt. Deep down, in the darkest corners of my soul, I’d hoped he’d say he came because he wanted to be with me. I was so naïve. Of course he was here for himself. Why else would this Victor do anything?

“Visions?” Micah turned to me. “What visions?”

“Like the one I had where I saw when your parents died.” I stared at my feet, afraid of his reaction. “I’ve been having visions of Victor for quite some time. Though, this past month or so, my visions have become more delusional, less … ah … personal.”

With his typical smile, Micah said, “You won’t try to tell me the visions about him”—he nodded toward Victor—“weren’t delusional, will you?”

I almost laughed, as if it didn’t hurt to be here and believe I was in the craziest vision ever.

“If you made us come here to tell us bats are after us, can I go home now?” Victor asked.

“If you want to die, be my guest,” Micah said, flinging a hand toward the road that led back to the highway.

“You make no sense,” Victor muttered, turning his back to us.

“Can’t you see something is going on here?” Micah asked, his voice strained. “I’ve been wandering Earth for the last four years, looking for people who could explain things to me, people who were like me. And I found you two. I couldn’t believe it when you healed me.” He stared into my eyes, so grateful and so hopeful, he took my breath away. “And then you.” He pointed at Victor, who turned to listen. “Your aura is comparable to mine, but it’s also different. I can’t explain. And you feel the pain and the dizziness like I do.”

Victor shrugged. “That doesn’t explain things.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Micah said. “But aren’t you wondering why we are the way we are?”

Wait. “You left,” I said, turning to Micah. “You said you had something to do abroad. What was it?”

“I followed the lead of a strong aura,” he confessed, regret and rage filling his features. “But it was a trap. Someone wanted me away from here. From you.” He stared at me, sending chills up my spine. Away from me? “I was attacked, but I managed to escape.”

“Attacked?” I advanced toward him, my hands rising to search him, to see if he was okay, but I caught myself before getting too near. I cleared my throat. “By whom?”

“I don’t know!” He raised his hands in exasperation. “I couldn’t get a good look at them, but one thing I do know—whatever it was, it didn’t feel human.”

“What?” A hysterical laugh was stifled in Victor’s question. “You’re kidding, right?”

“All right, Nadine.” Micah offered his hand. “Leave this damn skeptic behind