Libera Me Read Free

the girl, of Nesy. It’s her, I know it is. And I will prove it.
    “Why are you so certain it’s her?”
    Cass’s voice returns, thundering through me. It pulls my attention to her, breaking the spell cast by images of Nesy.
    “I just am,” I say through gritted teeth. “Why are you so certain that it isn’t?”
    “She’s been gone for six months and nothing—not a prayer, not a thought. Nothing. The real Nesy would find a way to tell us that she was alive, especially after the last time. The real Nesy would find her way back to us.”
    “She found her way back to Aydan. Maybe that’s enough.”
    “Not for Nesy, it isn’t. It’s not her.”
    I think about the words, wondering. A moment passes before I open my mouth to speak again. “I don’t care what you think, Cass. I know it’s her. With or without you, I’m going.”
    “What if it’s a trap, Zane? Did you think about that? What if she’s a demon sent by Azza?”
    “Then I guess I’m going to die.”
    In truth, I already have.
     

    The air crackles with energy as I step from the portal. A house stretches in front of me, yellow with white trim.  I stand near a hedge that lines the driveway, cloaked in shadow and my angelic form. A girl sits on the steps, waiting. Her hair covers her face as she chews her lower lip.
    Nesy.
    She checks her phone over and over. Waiting. Always waiting.
    “Now what? Are you going to speak to her? Forage through her thoughts?”
    I knew Cass would follow, knew her lecture wasn’t finished.
    “No. I’m just going to watch. See if there is anything that reminds me of her.”
    “How did you even find her?”
    “I followed her here yesterday. After school.”
    “Zane! You’re taking too many risks.”
    I have nothing to say to her, no excuses I care to make. Of course I followed the girl, what else could I do?
    Cass releases an exasperated sigh. “So you’re going to just sit here and wait for what, a sign or something?”
    I nod, watching as the girl continues to check her phone, her apprehension growing.
    “Suit yourself,” she says. “But I refuse to watch you destroy yourself again.” Cass turns away and fades into the night sky.
    A low rumbling trembles the ground and Nesy stands. She’s dressed in a short white skirt, a white tank and a denim jacket. So different from the way I’m used to seeing her. A broad smile covers her face as Aydan pulls into the driveway, straddling a motorcycle.  Nesy runs to him, her face aglow. It’s hard for me to watch, harder than it should be. He kisses her cheek as she climbs on the bike, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. He whispers something to her and she tilts her head back, laughing while part of me dies.
    Aydan pulls down on the throttle and the motorcycle roars to life. Nesy turns her head to where I stand. For a moment, our eyes meet. Everything stops and time is suspended. She searches my face with her eyes, reaching into the depths of my soul.
    Can you see me?
    In my mind I run to her, make certain she’s real. I enter her thoughts, finding my Nesy inside. She thanks me for saving her, tells me that she loves me. In my mind, all of this happens.
    But only in my mind.
    Aydan turns the bike onto the road as a slight smile tugs at Nesy’s lips. She turns away and tightens her embrace as they are swallowed up in the darkness.
    I close my eyes and inhale a sharp breath. “It is you,” I whisper to no one. “I knew it was you.”
     
     

 
    Chapter 3 – GIFT

     
    Aydan
    Her body burns against mine, throwing off my concentration. I want to pull over and wrap her in endless kisses. Remind her of what we are to each other. But I can’t. Not yet. She only sees me as someone she is supposed to know, not someone she’s risked more than just her life for, someone she loves.
    It’s a difference I need to fix. Tonight.
    I push the bike faster, enjoying the little tremors I feel from her as she grips my body. Every touch from her awakens a need from