Cataclysm Read Free Page B

his life that day, and he had been a member of their family ever since.
    Part of a chosen bloodline, Kerrigan was a Guardian of the Light. The Light was a supernatural power that had been handed down through the generations of women in her family. The gift was to be used to protect a person’s free will—one’s right to choose the path they walked in life. Free will was crucial. It determined a person’s destiny and, ultimately, their fate. There were people on the opposite end of the spectrum who would stop at nothing to steal that right for their own, otherwise evil, agenda.
    Dominic was a living, breathing testament to that fact. His ex-girlfriend, Sinclair Davis, had attempted to vacate his soul from his body to use his physical form as a vessel to bring her true love, Drake D’Mon, back from the dead. The kicker was that Drake was Dominic’s flesh and blood father. A vessel in the direct bloodline of the would-be body snatcher was a requirement to pull off such a feat.
    After two attempts on Dominic (the first leaving him a mortal man by day and a ghost by night), Sinclair and Drake had failed miserably. Dominic had already given his soul to Kerrigan for safekeeping, and she wasn’t about to relinquish that gift. When Colton had shown up on their doorstep claiming to have received a phone call from Dominic—a call Dominic knew damn well he had never placed—it was clear that Drake and Sinclair had set their sights on his baby brother.
    The old grandfather clock downstairs chimed the countdown to midnight, and Dominic momentarily stiffened. He hated the time of night when his earthly form evaporated into nothingness. There were no longer any secrets between him and Kerrigan, but taking his vaporous form was still a burden. It made him feel like he was abandoning her even though he was right there.
    Kerrigan knew the cue and turned in his arms to face him. It was her way of offering encouragement to help him get through the dreaded change. The tingling sensation began in his extremities and worked its way toward his center. The smile on her face was comforting. He tried to mirror it, but he knew she saw through the façade.
    Just before his face disappeared, she closed her eyes and pressed her lips to his. When she opened them again, he was gone.
    “Let me see you,” she whispered. After nearly a month, he was still ashamed to let her see him that way, and she couldn’t fathom the reason. Nothing could deter the love she felt for him.
    He gave her what she wanted—just like he always did and always would—and manifested before her eyes. His form was transparent and ghostly, but he was still the same man through and through.
    She smiled up at him. “There, much better. I can see your eyes.”
    His eyes had been a darker green all his life, up until the time he was first touched by the Light. After that, they had become brighter, celadon. It was a characteristic anyone who carried the Light within them shared.
    She shivered and pulled the blanket tighter to her neck. His apparitional state created a chill in the room, but she never complained. “I’m surprised he hasn’t noticed.”
    She was referring to Colton. Even though the rest of their friends knew about his condition, Colton was still in the dark, which was a miracle considering how chatty Kerrigan’s flamboyant best friend, Gabe, could be.
    “You should tell him, Dominic. He’s your brother. It’s not like he’s going to stop loving you because of something you have no control over.” She always knew what he was thinking.
    “Are you sure about that?”
    “Of course I am. Aren’t you?”
    Dominic got out of the bed, wishing he could smoke a cigarette, and walked over to the open window. The Florida sky was clear of clouds, every star present and accounted for. They winked down at him. Whether it was because they agreed with Kerrigan or were mocking him, he couldn’t tell.
    “I just don’t know if I can take that chance, Querida.” His