Fatal Sight (Harbingers Of Death Book 2) by LeAnn Mason (book club reads .TXT) 📕

box, which was acting as a makeshift sarcophagus. I wondered if the man had some relation to Seke. Or maybe it was the body of the first soul he had ferried across to Duat, the place he’d said was the ancient Egyptian underworld, a memento of his first success. Was Jessica interacting with that man on the other side?

“Aria.”

I jumped for the second time and whirled to face Seke. I absolutely hated being caught off guard, and it irritated me that he was so readily able to render me unprepared.

More tempting out of his mourning attire, Seke’s lean, muscular build was completely veiled by the gray, three-piece suit, but it hugged him much like I wanted to, giving hints of the body that lay beneath.

What had I said about leaving me alone in a room with this god?

“Thank you for coming,” he said, holding out a hand to indicate that I should take a seat on the brown leather couch against the far wall. I noticed that the end table had a lovely blue and white vase atop it that looked decidedly Eastern Asian. It was the first thing I’d noticed that didn’t scream “Egyptian”. I wondered what else I could find among his things if left to explore on my own, which I wasn’t.

“Not like I had a choice,” I muttered. He was my captain after all. At least, for the time being. I was kinda stuck doing the HDPU thing until I figured out who to turn to in order to find an off switch for my vocal freak-outs. The mundane part of my life had gone tits-up when my powers began to leak.

Seke leaned toward the desk to grab a file. “I have your next harbinger assignment.”

He was being oddly formal, almost cryptic. We hadn’t been so straight to business for months now. Something was off.

“I thought you told Raven that we were taking a bereavement absence and to relearn how to work together as a smaller team?”

I had mixed feelings about jumping back in so fast. Not that I wanted to redo my training, as much as getting sweaty with Seke had been delicious. Sitting around the bunker was just going to let me wallow in my guilt… and give the others time to plot their implementation of my murder.

Now that was a question: We know now that I can predict supernatural deaths… but can I predict my own?

“Correct. We, the HDPU, are not.” I noticed the emphasis on the subject of that sentence as well as his refusal to meet my eyes. Without opening it, Seke passed me the folder. “You are.”

“I don’t understand.” Keeping my hands in my lap, I stared into his impassive face, seeking some kind of reassurance or clue about what that meant. Was I going in alone? Did he fear that the others were in danger with me? Was I going to have to do a mission alone to prove I wasn’t a liability?

“Please.” A nod of his head suggested that I should read the file myself, but he added a soft smile, one he knew I was a sucker for, as encouragement. “I think this will be a good opportunity for you. You have much to learn, room to grow. I would like to see you really explore your full potential.”

Uneasy, I took the folder, flicked it open, and only needed to read a few sentences of the typed memo to get the gist of what was happening.

“Reassigned?” Suddenly too warm, I stood up, my thoughts churning and brows slamming down. “You’re kicking me off the team?”

He didn’t flinch at my harsh accusation. “Please, sit.” I didn’t. “The director decided to reassign you, yes,” he continued when I wordlessly insisted on looming over him, crossing my arms and widening my stance. “Your abilities are unique, a miracle. They should be shared. It was only by chance we were the ones to find you. All Harbingers have their skills weighed and their fit measured once their powers come into being — usually at puberty. Your situation, with the deterioration of a bind, is nearly unheard of. It is best that you try out other units where you might feel a... better fit.” His words were halting, reluctant, like he chose them carefully.

“You’re saying I don’t fit with you guys, in this team.”

I already knew that I didn’t fit. Hell, everyone except Seke had literally said they didn’t want me here. But the crushing weight of being forsaken tore up my insides because now Seke was agreeing, telling me to leave.

I thought there was something between us, was what I wanted to say, but I wouldn’t stoop to show such vulnerability. Not now. “I thought you said you wanted me to stay until I find what I seek?” I said instead.

At that, his gaze shifted downcast again, staring at my boots, which, along with my gauges and piercings, were the only things of my old life I had. “We would like you to continue to be a member of the Harbingers of Death. Your skills are incredibly useful to our mission.”

‘We’ was code for ‘the director’. “You don’t want me.” I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from tearing up. I would not cry over this; unlike losing Jessica, this was business.

Never let them know they’ve gotten to you. Buck up, Buttercup.

He rose, coming to full height; he loomed over me, his beautiful greenish-brown gaze flicking between my eyes. “You are always welcome back should that be the right course of action.”

Swallowing, I nodded. I would not let his magnetism lull me into accepting his decision gracefully. As far as I was concerned, the request — the order — was a betrayal. I backed away. The file crunched as I hugged it to my chest. Getting attached was dumb. Seke felt nothing for me. Just like the rest of them.

Fine. I was used to being uprooted and taken from friends before I had a chance to know them.

Never stay