Götterdämmerung Read Free Page B

wasn’t something that Morgan Watts felt good about noticing at a time like this but he was a heterosexual man and it was impossible not to take notice.
    He took one tentative step towards her, trying not to worry about the fact that he was wearing a brand new suit. It was going to be ruined after all this but in the end, his fashion woes paled next to the possibility of a woman dying.
    “Stay back!” she shouted, swaying slightly. She held her arms out to help keep her balance but Morgan’s heart still swelled up into his throat.
    “Come towards me,” he pleaded. “No matter what’s gone wrong in your life, there’s no reason to do this.”
    The girl bit her lower lip and looked down at the street below. A crowd was gathered, comprised mostly of police and emergency workers but there were plenty of gawkers, too, even in the middle of the downpour. Inspector Cord, one of the few honest cops in Sovereign, was down there. He’d given Morgan the green light to come up and try to talk the girl down. Morgan wasn’t sure if it was because of his reputation for sweet-talking pretty girls or if Cord just genuinely had faith in him.
    “I saw in the papers about the others,” she murmured.
    Morgan nodded, knowing what she was talking about: six suicides in the past four days, all with victims that shouldn’t have had any reason to end their lives.
    “What’s your name?” he asked, sliding a bit closer. He was still too far away to grab for her.
    “Beth… Elizabeth, really, but everyone except my dad calls me Beth.”
    “I bet he’s going to be so sad if you fall, Beth. Don’t do that to him.”
    Beth looked up into the rain and Morgan thought she was crying from the way her shoulders moved. It was impossible to be sure since there was so much wetness already on her face. “I’ve always seen things, you know? Things that I shouldn’t.”
    “Did you see something bad, Beth? Is that why you’re up here in the rain?”
    “Yes.” She turned and looked at him, freezing him in place. Her eyes looked haunted and he was reminded of soldiers who had returned from The Great War, shattered inside in ways that made their physical health a secondary concern. “Sometimes I have dreams of things that come true. I wonder if the others saw it, too. The same monstrous things I did, I mean.”
    To most people, those words would have sounded insane. But Morgan was a member of Assistance Unlimited and, alongside Lazarus Gray, he’d seen enough weirdness to last several lifetimes. “Whatever it is that you saw, I can help you. That’s what I do. You’ve heard of Lazarus Gray, right? I work with him.”
    “He’s going to fail. They’re all going to fail. And then we all die.” Beth closed her eyes and lowered her head. “I’m too much of a coward to wait for it to come. I couldn’t bear that… horror.”
    Morgan saw her foot lift off the roof’s edge and he called her name in sudden horror. He lunged towards her, arms outstretched, but it was too late.
    He made it to the edge and peered over, seeing her body tumbling down. She twisted at the last minute, her face now turned towards his.
    Her expression was one of relief.
    She smiled at him… and then she hit the ground.
    * * *
    Samantha Grace had rarely seen Morgan look so deflated. He was seated in one of the offices located at 6196 Robeson Avenue, home to Assistance Unlimited. He had a warm blanket thrown over his shoulders and he was holding a steaming cup of coffee in his hands but she could see that he was shivering in his wet clothes, which he’d refused to take off.
    The pretty young blonde was one of Sovereign City’s most sought-after figures, not only for her head-turning good looks but also because her family was so well known. More than just a shapely débutante, Samantha was skilled in multiple languages and was capable of besting men twice her size in unarmed combat. None of that was as useful to Lazarus Gray as her ability to sense the emotions of