Destiny Gift (The Everlast Trilogy) - By Juliana Haygert Page 0,8

He turned the spike toward Mitrus, putting it in the center of a huge white bolt, and hurled it at his foe. Mitrus did the same with another stake he had hidden.

At the same time, Levi and Mitrus were pierced by the spikes. Both stood, wavering, staring at each other with fury in their eyes, then their bodies shivered, shimmered, and disappeared.

All the noise and the movement in the room ceased.

For a couple of moments, nobody breathed. The gods seemed petrified.

Levi and Mitrus were gone. Not just dead, but gone. Bodies and staves, just gone.

“I can’t feel them,” Imha whispered, as if she hadn’t trusted they would be able to kill Levi. Though, I was sure, killing Mitrus hadn’t been a part of their plans.

A scream, desperate and piercing, ripped from Ceris’s throat. I flinched and closed my eyes, unable to bear the pain and the wrath carried by her cry.

***

“Nadine,” someone called me. “Nadine, wake up!”

My eyes fluttered open. Cheryl. My rushing heartbeat waned.

“Hi,” I muttered as I scanned my surroundings. We were in the university bookstore, and I stood before a shelf, a book opened in my hands. It took me a moment to clear my mind. I remembered I had finished my shift at work, and Cheryl had invited me to the bookstore. Then, I had spaced out and the insane vision overtook me. Could any of that have been real? I had never seen anyone but Victor until now.

“Are you okay?” she asked, her silver eyes anxious. “I have been calling you for over fifteen minutes, and you didn’t even blink. You freaked me out. I was about to call 911. What happened?”

“I-I’m not sure,” I said. My head spun.

It had been the longest vision ever. Who were those people? And the crystal palace? It felt so real, so powerful.

“Come on.” Cheryl grabbed my arm and led me toward the coffee shop inside the bookstore. “You should sit down.”

“I’m fine.” I pushed her hands away, but didn’t offer any more protest. I needed some time to think about what I saw.

Oh God, was I losing it? Besides visions of Victor, now was I going to see gods and goddess I had never heard of? I sighed and considered telling Cheryl, who sat across from me looking as if she expected me to blurt out some horrible news.

I opened my mouth. Nothing came out.

“You know you can tell me anything, right?” she asked, her expression pleading.

I so wanted to talk to her about the visions. I really did. Though, the thought of losing her friendship won over and, once more, I let the opportunity slip away. There was no way she could understand. She’d think I was mental.

I averted my gaze. “I know.”

She patted my hand. “I’m gonna get us some coffee.” She stood and went to the ordering line.

My mind spun through the images of the crystal palace and the impeccably dressed gods. Not that I knew why I had visions about Victor, but why the hell had I seen those gods?

Chapter Four

I walked out of the university café to the street and took a deep breath. My nose wrinkled from the foul smells flooding over the walls. I tried to ignore the stench. I was too wound up for anything to bring me down. I figured I’d better head home and give myself a break. Maybe I was working too hard. Maybe the visions were from exhaustion, not some psychiatric disorder. Maybe I just needed to sleep the whole weekend.

After ten days of working ten-hour shifts, I was relieved it was Friday and I wouldn’t have to work during the weekend. Though, to keep my spirits high, I had to block from my mind the knowledge that on Monday the summer semester would start, which meant more studying, more work, and more crazy-hour shifts. But maybe soon I’d be working with something more satisfying than coffee grounds and bagels. Following Cheryl’s advice, I had applied for the Patient Care Technician position. I was told I’d hear from them in a few days. For now, I planned to chill.

I greeted the security guard at the university’s gate with a quick nod and stepped outside the protected area. I always felt safe inside the walls. Besides providing students with an outstanding education, the institution emphasized security, earning the vote of trust of many parents throughout the country and around the globe—including mine.

After the darkness took over, NYU changed too. Before, its campus had been spread through Lower