Page 64 of Conflicted

“What they don’t know won’t hurt them.”

Once again, I felt like Micah was hinting at something. Or, rather, letting something slip. My eyes narrowed. “What else don’t they know, little angel? What are you hiding from them?”

Micah didn’t speak, but the wine in his glass started to tremble. I scooted my chair closer, resting my hand on his knee. “Okay, forget about them for a moment. What are you hiding fromme?”

He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, he stiffened. His head snapped towards big glass windows in front of the bar, his eyes widening as he scanned the surrounding skyscrapers. “Can you hear that?”

I paused, immediately picking up on the high-pitched shriek, too high for human ears. It sounded almost like metal sliding over concrete. “Yeah…what the fuck is that?”

Blood drained from Micah’s face as his eyes fixed on something a few buildings over. A new skyscraper was under construction, covered in scaffolding. On the roof of the building beside it, approximately twenty stories in the air, was a crane. A crane that was listing dangerously to the side. “Fuck. The crane, it’s going over.”

My brain raced as I plotted the angle. The route it would take. What it would hit on the way down. The disaster that was unfolding before our eyes.

We moved simultaneously. Micah’s compulsion net washed over me, which was a good thing. We didn’t have time to take the lift or the stairs.

We were going through the window.

Our wings came out as we launched through the glass. But as the wind caught us and lifted us higher, I knew weweren’t going to make it in time. Even with our supe speed, there was nothing we could do.

Micah’s power shot out to try and catch it, but we were too far away, the momentum already too great. Even if he used lightening to teleport, he wouldn’t reach it in time.

Screams started on the street below. The sound of pounding feet as humans tried to race from its path.

There was an almighty crash as it collided with the building opposite, the jib dragging through multiple floors.

Bodies fell in its wake.

It wasn’t finished. The weight of it pulled through the entire building before crashing to the ground.

It didn’t stop.

It went straight through it.

The cacophony that followed was unlike anything I’d ever heard topside.

Horror filled me, my voice hoarse as I asked Micah to confirm my worst fears. “Are we above a tube line? Is there a station nearby?”

Micah didn’t answer, the terror on his face telling me all I needed to know. Normally, the tube was deep underground…

Unless you were by a station.

Please don’t let there have been a tube on the line. Please.

The fire I could see licking up from below showed that wasn’t the case. We paused in mid-air, both too overcome by what was unfolding to move.

I stared at the flames filling the cavern left in the road. For a moment, I was transported back downstairs.

You’re not there. These people don’t deserve this. You can help them. Save them.

“Okay,” I said, forcing my voice to stay steady. “Let’s focus on extinguishing the fire and getting people evacuatedfrom the tube line. Then we can tackle the building. How fast can you get your unit here?”

Micah didn’t answer, so I turned in mid-air to face him. He was still so pale, his fists clenched at his sides. “Micah? Come on, they need us.”

“I can’t.”

For a second, I thought I’d misheard him. But when Micah made no effort to summon the rest of the Seraphim, I knew I hadn’t. “What the fuck?”

“We can’t interfere. It goes against free will.”

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