Second Nature Read Free Page B

the peaceful, happy place of
fairy tales. It is brimming with racial tension and conflicts going
back centuries. For the most part, we could be broken down into
seven classes: nature spirits like me, demons like my siblings,
angels like Dylan, as well as the undead, the fringe elements that
operate within human society, beasts such as werewolves and other
animal-based creatures, and human-based entities such as witches.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t as clear-cut as that. Witches embraced
Gaia, called us Earth Sister, but they resented demons. So where in
the hierarchy did angels fall?
    He studied me, waiting for my response.
Something about him was so sad and pathetic, like a lost puppy who
only wanted me to take him home. Ah, what did I have to lose? I
nodded, and a grin split his face. He led me over to one of the
reading couches, and I perched on the edge as he sprawled in a
chair facing me.
    “I promise I don’t bite,” he said with an
easy smile. I so wanted to trust him, but all that had led up to
this moment taught me it wasn’t safe to trust anyone other than my
siblings. “So if North Carolina isn’t home, where is?” he
asked.
    “Nowhere.” I thought of the town I had grown
up in for a moment, but everything that bound me to the town was
gone. I missed the life I could never have back. Sadness threatened
to overwhelm me before I realized it was time to let the self-pity
go. The weight lifted off my shoulders was immense. My eyes
narrowed suspiciously at Dylan. “How did you do that?”
    He held his hands up in the placating
gesture of innocence. “Hey, all I did was ask a simple question. I
just have a talent for asking the right ones.”
    I smiled and realized I could be friends
with this guy. But I had to test him, and I didn’t feel like being
subtle about it. “So before we go too far, I want you to know my
siblings are both part demon, and if anyone harms them, I will
unleash the fury of the Earth on them.” I met his eyes with all the
malice I could muster.
    “Ho, wait a sec, how’d we go from let’s chat
to me being threatened?”
    “I don’t trust easily.”
    His eyes widened and one corner of his mouth
quirked up. “I see that. But I promise you, I don’t mean you or your family any harm, Lia.”
    I don’t know if it was his words or the way
he said them, but I trusted him. Maybe I was just tired of not
trusting anyone. So I told him my story, in order this time. I
started with finding out I was Gaia and my sudden change. I
explained how I figured out my best friend was involved in the
murders of Otherworlders and her parents’ hatred. I cried over the
battle that cost us our father’s life and eventually our mother’s
as well. I glossed over the fight in the botanical gardens and
focused heavily on how I leaned on Nate in the days afterward only
to have him disappear. I told him everything that led up to today
and me telling Nate to get out. Afterwards I slumped back on the
couch, exhausted and spent. Through it all Dylan listened intently,
nodding in all the right places and clucking his tongue in
sympathy.
    “That’s a lot to go through.” His smile was
tinged in sadness. I nodded without meeting his eyes, raising my
brows for emphasis. “I can’t compete with that. You win!”
    I laughed. It felt so good I did it again.
“So how does an angel come to work at a bookstore?” Traces of a
smile still lingered on my face.
    “Angels gotta eat too.”
    “So were you alive and died, or are angels
born?”
    “Angels aren’t exactly what people think we
are. We don’t work for a deity, and we’re not all powerful.
Nevertheless, we are forces of light, obviously. I’m still getting
a feel for it. I only found out what I am within the last five
years. It’s born into us but gets released in a moment of great
sacrifice. Since all angels have an altruistic nature, it happens
sooner or later.”
    I nodded, tonguing my back teeth in thought.
“So what was your sacrifice?”
    He