Destiny's Wrath (Destiny Series - Book 3) by Straight, Nancy (manga ereader txt) 📕

‘host-swap’ and go into hiding. You and your precious Council wouldn’t let that be one of the available options that day.”

“It’s my fault we wanted to rid the planet of Samael’s existence? You cannot possibly believe that I could foresee these events.”

“You and your stupid Council decided that with Samael in me, the best way to destroy him was to murder me. The fact that we found a way to keep me alive, you think that somehow translates to it being my fault? You’re frickin’ nuts, Renny!”

“There is enough blame to go around; we do not need to pass it around like a potato.”

“Screw you.”

Renny turned her attention to me. “Lauren, if Samael is still in the young man, and they go to prison, Samael could easily change hosts again, and cause chaos all over again. We need you and Max to leave. Your presence constitutes a wild card, and we cannot take the chance with either of your lives.”

“Renny, because Samael was in Max before, is he at a greater risk of possession again?”

“We don’t know, dear, we just don’t know. Max is the only known host that has been permitted to live.”

Max cut in, full of rage, “Permitted? You permitted me to live? You’re bat-shit crazy. Dakota stopped you from murdering me! Get out, now.”

“Dakota is certainly more resourceful than we had given her credit for. Her intervention is what allowed this atrocity to take place. I do not recommend you seek her assistance again. The results this time were tragic; a second time could be disastrous.”

A friendly voice came through the closed door, “Renny, I wish I could say it was a pleasure to see you again, but as always, it is the bane of my existence to be near you.” The door opened, revealing Dakota smiling brightly.

“Dakota, stay away from these two. You have no hold over them. They cannot be influenced by you.”

“Well, isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black? If my ears are not deceiving me, I believe Max has already dismissed you.”

A tense stalemate between the two women took place, like a school-yard stand-off, both waiting for the other to flinch or to back down. Eventually, Renny bowed her head toward Max and me, stood up from the table, and walked out the door.

Dakota didn’t wait to be invited in; she stepped in and took Renny’s place at the dinette.

Once Renny was well past ear shot, Dakota focused her attention on Max and me. “You two have no business being here, but it is not my place to tell you to leave. You are barking up the wrong tree with Maggie; she is but a distraught mother. She never saw the evil that resided in her son, and once the initial shock is over, she’ll turn a blind eye to the evil again. If you want to help, steer the policeman in the right direction.”

“Wait, the policeman? What do we tell him?”

“That is entirely up to you. As I said, you should not be involved. But neither of you are intelligent enough to come to that conclusion on your own. You won’t listen to Renny, so I’m equally certain you won’t listen to me. Do what you will, but you have been warned.”

“We’ve been warned?”

“I agree with Renny: you two have no business here. No one from the Cabinet can get close enough to the investigation to influence it. You seem to have a knack for law enforcement. Share only as much as is necessary with this policeman you met with the boy’s mother.”

“We can’t just tell him there’s a demon inside Jimmy.”

“You forget the true problem. Samael is living in Jimmy because he was not strong enough to continue on in his true form. He has gained strength these last several months. He may soon be able to shift into anything again. It isn’t like Samael to allow destinies to be so far altered from their mapped path. The Cabinet is concerned that Samael may be getting ready to morph into a new being.”

“Like a shape shifter again?”

“No, his true form is that of a shape shifter. Although he tends to resonate to evil, up until now he has maintained that the universe must stay in balance. Something may have changed while in this host. We just don’t know.”

“So he isn’t in favor of balance anymore?”

Dakota didn’t look like she had an answer. Instead she asked, “Max, when he resided in you, did he ever share anything about his intentions?”

“No, not really.” Max looked away from Dakota and looked straight at me when he continued, “He really had a thing for Lauren. Sometimes I couldn’t tell if he didn’t have some sort of a connection to her specifically. He refused to let me distance myself from her.”

“How do you mean?”

“I was still trying to deal with having Samael in there with me: I tried not to see, or to talk to, or even to think about Lauren. I was worried sharing anything about her with Samael could put her at risk. It seemed like my mind was always wandering to her, like my thoughts weren’t all my own. This one time he made me believe that he had taken control of my body while I slept and he hurt her. At the time I thought he was just pushing my buttons, but looking back, he was really obsessed with her.”

I took Max’s hand in mine with a quick squeeze.

Dakota pondered this for a minute and absently stated, “So, Lauren is likely the one best able to communicate with Samael.”

“What? No, that’s not what I meant.”

“Max, you said it yourself. If he feels a connection or a kinship to her, Lauren is our best shot at finding out what is going on with Samael. If he is getting ready to morph into a new entity, we’ll all need to be involved.”

“You just told us we shouldn’t be anywhere near here. Which is it?”

This time Dakota stopped talking to Max and redirected her