The Megidda: First Daughter of Heaven

Chapter 6

The two tree truck arms pinning her to the strange man's chest released her and she stumbled forward, nearly hitting the couch where her mother's unconscious body had lain only a few seconds before.

"No!" she screamed and punched the couch cushion. "Why did you let him take her? She was my mother, and now she's probably dead." She screamed, again, her anger and fear weaving into a blanket of deep red that glowed over her skin.

The large man narrowed his eyes at her, taking in her glowing skin, her angry expression, and her fisted hands.

"So, the powers have awakened," was his reply. "Good." He looked relieved.

"Powers? Scroll? Big ugly monsters? Little ugly monsters? The Megidda—what is going on here?" She'd lose her voice if she kept screaming like that, but she didn't care. Someone had to tell her something or she was going to start tearing the house to pieces!

The big man's face softened and he looked at her with piercing eyes, filled with compassion and...regret?

Jess knew what regret looked like. She'd seen it in her own eyes in the mirror every morning. She'd regretted all the things she'd done over the last year, and sometimes, she regretted even getting up in the morning. Those days were the worst.

No, today was the worst!

"Start talking or I start hitting!" She flexed her arms, disgustingly tiny compared to his arms.

Calyx took one look at her—she probably looked silly—and lifted his face to laugh into the ceiling. His laughter was rich, deep, and made Jess's skin tingle. She shivered.

"Don't laugh at me. I may look small, but I pack a punch." Dear Lord, she sounded like a bad 80s cop drama.

He stopped laughing then, and pinned her with his gaze. "Oh, I know. Believe me, I know all about you."

His words stopped her heart cold.

"What do you mean?" She hated how she'd gone from glowing red to barely able to form words. "Who—who are you?"

"No time for that. We need to get going. No telling who else Abaddon might send to get that scroll piece." He spoke as if Jess understood any part of that ridiculous sentence.

She planted her feet, balled her hands into fists, and raised her chin.

"I'm not going anywhere, especially with you, until you start telling me what in the world is going on here!"

The large man twitched, like he was itching to grab her and shake her, but he pinched his lips, glared down at her again, and held his breath.

Jess could tell he was thinking, weighing his options, probably trying to keep himself from throttling her into next week.

"Fine—"

The word barely left his mouth before Jess nearly collapsed with relief. She quickly recovered, though, when he stepped forward and reached toward her.

It took every ounce of mettle in her to keep from stepping backward.

Don't show weakness, you're stronger than this...you're stronger than this... Her mind was lying, and she knew it, but the thoughts helped to calm her racing heart.

She was stronger...at least stronger than she'd been when she watched helplessly as that creature man-handled her mother.

Anger whipped through her again, and the red glow began to rise over her.