Out of Reach by Jocelyn Stover Read Free Book Online Page B

receded from my limbs, I stood. The angels all around us
were chanting. Outwardly I looked no different, but at my very core
I no longer resembled my Sylph brethren. Nor did I resemble the
angels ... or the humans.
    I was other.
    We were all other.
    Frantic, I began to spin about, casting my
gaze to and fro, looking for something familiar to latch onto for
perspective. Then, above the sea of noise, the clear voice of Uriel
rang out. With an air of authority, he called to me by name. My
brothers he named as well, one by one, as they rose to their feet.
A new name for a new creation.
    “Kaden, my companion. Adil, who is
judicious. Basel the brave. Nabil, who is noble. Zafir the
victorious. Fadil of generous spirit. Arif the knowing. Halim the
gentle. Aziz, full of power. Hashim, destroyer of evil. Makeen the
strong. Rashid, full of integrity.”
    With incredible eloquence, he then charged
us: “Fate is in your hands, to you twelve the Sylph are entrusted.
You will ensure they bear the full measure of their punishment,
maintaining the sealing done here today. Forevermore you will guard
mankind with the means at your disposal to avert catastrophe from
Sylph influence. Wanderers, forever you shall be.”
    A light breeze dries the cold sweat upon my
brow as I look out over the city. That faint touch breaks hold of
the waking nightmare I’ve fallen into. My knuckles are white with
exertion, my grip on the banister uncomfortably tight. It takes
serious effort to relax my fingers enough to let go. Straightening
up to my full height, I turn and walk back inside the penthouse,
slightly more somber. With the deadline weeks away and Adil
unwilling to utilize Gwen, I truly don’t know what we are going to
do and I fear the outcome.
    Rubbing a hand against the
stubble covering my jaw, I continue to think. It’s way past time to
call Zafir and give him the run down. Moving across the living room
I bend down and retrieve my phone off of the couch. I notice a text
message I’d missed earlier when I was outside on the balcony. The
message is from Adil. Bile coats my mouth as I read his
note: Do not bring the girl with
you.
    Pushing a hand through my disheveled hair I
dial Zafir, silently fuming.
    “To what do I owe the pleasure of your
call?” Z answers jokingly.
    “Wanderer business,” I reply curtly.
    Dropping the humor from his voice he asks,
“What gives?”
    “Makeen and Rashid’s lead was bogus,” I tell
him.
    “Shit! What are we going to do, Kade?” Z
asks.
    “Adil wants to try and perform the spell
ourselves.”
    “What! Has he lost his mind?”
    I hold my tongue, unwilling to speak ill of
my brother but my heart agrees with Z.
    “It can’t be done. It’s an angel spell for
crying out loud. We have to have angel blood to seal it ...” Mid
tirade Z pauses. I can practically hear him thinking through the
phone and catch snippets of his thoughts as he mutters to himself
on the other end of the line.
    “We’ll take her with us, that’s what we’ll
do! When do we have to be there, Kade?”
    “Now wait, I’m under strict instruction not
to involve Gwen.”
    “This is horse shit! I say we take her and
show them all what she can do.”
    And that’s when the elephant in the room
finally sits his fat ass down on top of me.
    “That’s just it,” I concede. “She’s never
shown a hint of power in the last ten years, and I don’t know what
it would take to bring it out of her again.” The defeat in my voice
must be audible even to Z, who backs off.
    “Z, we have to be there within two weeks.
Start boxing up the spheres we’ve found for transport. I’ll be in
touch.” Without allowing him a chance to respond, I end the call.
Setting the phone down on the end table, I reach for my bottle of
water and take a long swig. I drop into the recliner once more and
stare at the backdrop picture on my phone. It’s a shot of the three
of us: Gwen, Melanie, and me, taken at the beach last summer.
Staring at Gwen I whisper