Page 42 of Of Flame and Fate

I startle awake from my position on the concert floor, Destiny’s bleeding body tight in my arms.

Chapter Ten

“Omigod.”

My words jumble, my mind trying to take in everything at once. Destiny is convulsing in my arms, blood pooling from her mouth and seeping from her eyes.

Before all this shit, I was a nurse, and thank God. My ingrained training pushes past my shock and forces me to act.

I flip Destiny onto her side, keeping her from choking. “I’ve got you,” I tell her. “You hear me? I have you, just stay with me.”

Truth is, I don’t have anything. There’s a forest of people circled around us. No one sees me, and for certain no one sees Destiny or the blood pooling around her.

“I need help,” I yell. “I need a medic here now.”

The audience members continue to sway, failing to respond to anything but Johnny. I reach out, grasping the man closest to the stage by the leg. A familiar buzz builds from my core, sending a current of lightning shooting across my arm and into the man.

It’s stronger than I intend, making him jump. He slumps forward, gripping the stage to keep from pitching forward. He looks at me, his dazed expression dissolving as his stare falls on Destiny.

“Get help,” I yell, when he doesn’t move. “This woman is injured.”

He backs away. “Holy shit,” he says, scanning the area for someone to call.

His mouth opens wide, his stomach tightening as if ready to holler, only for him to become alarmingly still. As I watch, his fear and shock dissolve into confusion. “Get help,” I say again. “Are you listening, she needs a doctor!”

His attention flickers to me and then back to the stage where it stays.

“Goddamn it.” I say, almost leaping out of my skin when I see Shayna.

She shoves her way through the crowd, pulling Emme behind her. They fall to their knees on either side of me.

Emme’sforceshoves those drawing closer away from us, expanding the small space around Destiny. “What happened to her?” she asks.

“I don’t know,” I say, trying to push through the images of the skulls flooding my mind. I swipe at my eyes, anxious to forget what I saw. “We have to get her out of here.”

“She’s seizing,” Emme says as if I don’t already know. “We can’t move her like this.” Her small hands slip over Destiny’s paling skin, her soft yellow light encasing Destiny all at once.

Emme shakes her head. “I can’t stop it,” she admits, her voice panicked. “None of her systems are working correctly.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Shayna asks, shoving a woman away who almost steps on Emme.

Emme keeps her eyes closed, the yellow light surrounding her intensifying. “Her heart, her brain function, everything is off.”

“Then heal her wounds and let’s get her out of here,” I urge.

Emme shakes her head and opens her eyes, her expression grave. “There’s nothing to heal,” she tells us. “There aren’t any wounds. It’s her body, it’s just shutting down.”

“Why?” I ask.

No sooner do I get the word out than my attention trails to the stage.

Johnny’s voice fades, ceasing to sing in the middle of his next verse. The stacked bodies part, everyone appearing confused as to why their legend would simply stop and deprive them of his glory.

But it’s the look of horror on his face when he sees Destiny that keeps me from moving. He sees what’s happening, except instead of rushing to help, or calling help for her, he backs away in fear.

Fear of Destiny.

I rise slowly. “Get her out of here,” I say, my anger punching each syllable. “He’s the one making her bleed.”

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